Morgan Mourne - Bones, Baguettes, and Bullies

Morgan Mourne writes darkly funny horror stories about killers, cults, monsters, and the quirky but loveable characters who try to stop them. When not plotting darkly funny horror novels, he enjoys comedy horror movies, loud music, and pretending his snack-obsessed pets are co-authors.  As our Author of the Day, he tells us all about his book, The Bone Collector's Daughter.Please give us a short introduction to what The Bone Collector’s Daughter is about.The Bone Collector’s Daughter is about a thirty-something introvert who just wants to be left alone to live her quiet, comfortable life. Izzy cleans crime scenes for a living, shares her apartment with a yogurt-drop-obsessed rat named Edgar, and does her best to avoid people, which isn’t easy when your father was one of the most infamous serial killers in history. She’s spent years keeping her head down and staying out of the spotlight.Then her father turns up dead.Suddenly, social media explodes, and Izzy becomes a reluctant public figure overnight. She’s recognized not by her name, but as “the Bone Collector’s Daughter.” To make things worse, she inherits an ornate puzzle box containing one of his grisly trophies—a human femur—and a cryptic letter telling her to finish what he started.That kicks off a reluctant quest she never asked for. A doomsday cult wants the bones her father left behind, and Izzy has to decide whether to step up and stop a world-ending ritual or sit back, pet her rat, and watch it all burn.What sparked the idea for The Bone Collector’s Daughter—was it Izzy, the serial killer dad, or the doomsday cult first?It actually started during a freewriting exercise I do when brainstorming new story ideas. I set a timer for ten minutes, grab a piece of paper, and just jot down whatever comes to mind—no editing, no second-guessing.One of the ideas that popped out during that session was, “What if a serial killer left his trophies to his child?” That was the seed. It stuck with me, and from there I kept building. The cult, the apocalypse angle, even Izzy herself, they all grew out of that one unsettling little question.The book features an apocalypse plot… and yogurt drops for a rat. How do you decide where to dial up the absurdity and where to keep it grounded?I’m obsessed with comedy horror movies, and I love writers like Tim Dorsey and Carl Hiaasen. That dark, absurd, slightly unhinged world just feels like home. I knew I wanted to tell a story with that kind of energy, but with my own twist.I love throwing serious characters into completely ridiculous situations and watching them handle it like it’s just another Tuesday. So even when the stakes are apocalyptic, I try to sneak in something weird, funny, or off-kilter—like a rat with a taste for yogurt drops—because life’s never just one tone.Izzy’s squad includes “social rejects who understand quantum physics better than eye contact.” How did you build this oddball ensemble?I love nerdy sidekicks. One of my favorite comedy horror films is Ghostbusters, so I definitely drew inspiration from that kind of brainy, awkward, endearing character type. Both Dr. Nakahara and Felix are built in that mold—people who are brilliant in theory but maybe not so great with, you know, eye contact or basic social cues.I also have a lot of friends who are that way. They’re hilarious, deeply smart, and often a little out of sync with the world. I’m not nearly smart enough to be one of them, or even to keep up half the time, but I love writing those kinds of characters.They were a natural counterbalance to Izzy’s darker tone and her whole Wednesday Addams energy. Comic relief, emotional ballast, occasional chaos—they just fit.This is your debut novel you’re letting the world see. How terrifying was that, and how did you get past it?Honestly, it wasn’t terrifying. I just felt really good about this book. I’d already written three novels before this one—sort of my practice runs—and each time I re-read them or shared them with close friends, I could tell they weren’t quite ready. The writing was decent, but not at a professional level yet.After that, I shifted to screenwriting for a few years. I had some success there, placing in contests like the Austin Film Festival and getting a couple scripts optioned by producers. That experience built up my confidence a lot. It also reminded me how collaborative screenwriting can be, and how much I missed telling a story that was fully mine.So I came back to novels and wrote The Bone Collector’s Daughter. And when I finished, something felt different. Most importantly, when my wife read it, she said, “You’ve always been a good writer, but this is a real step up.” That meant the world to me. And when I re-read it myself, I agreed. That was the moment I thought, okay, maybe this one’s ready for other people to see.You blend genres—comedy, horror, urban fantasy, supernatural thriller. Did you ever feel pressure to “pick a lane”?Not really. I think I’m firmly in the lane of supernatural thriller. Most good supernatural thrillers already include elements of horror, and if they’re set in the modern world, you naturally get some urban fantasy in the mix.As for the comedy, that’s just how my brain works. I tend to add levity through dark humor and absurd situations, even when things get intense. It helps me—and the reader—breathe. So while it might sound like I’m genre-blending, I see it more as layering tones inside a single lane that just happens to be a little wider than average.Some reviewers mentioned the pacing was tight and addictive. Any structural tricks or rules you followed to keep that rhythm?I’m a meticulous outliner. I always start with a free-association exercise to generate scenes or ideas, and from there I create what I call a “one-line outline”—a single sentence describing what happens in each chapter. That lets me see the whole book at a glance and spot any slow spots early on.From there, I expand that outline into something close to a treatment. Each chapter gets fleshed out before I write a word of prose. That helps me keep the pacing tight and identify sections that might drag.That said, the characters still surprise me. There were plenty of moments in this book where someone veered off the path, and I let them. As long as I still know where I’m going, I don’t mind the detours.And honestly, I rely heavily on my wife. She’s my first reader, and she’s brutally honest. If she says, “You’re boring me,” I go back and fix it.Despite the blood, bones, and cults, the book touches on legacy, trauma, and identity. How conscious were you of those emotional through-lines?Most of the stories I write end up circling similar themes—usually things I’m working through myself. Writing is definitely a form of therapy for me. The situations in the book are obviously way more extreme than anything I’m living through, but the emotional core is very real.Sometimes those themes evolve naturally from the story. Other times, I start with a theme in mind and build the story around it. It depends. But either way, I think those emotional through-lines come through more authentically when I’m writing about something I genuinely care about or am wrestling with in real life.Was Izzy’s relationship with her father always meant to be complex and unresolved, or did that evolve during writing?Yes. From the beginning, I wanted that relationship to be messy and unresolved. Izzy starts the story feeling a very specific way about her father, but as things unfold, those feelings get challenged in ways she didn’t expect.Without spoiling anything, I’ll just say I wanted to explore what happens when someone you thought you understood—good or bad—turns out to be more complicated. Watching Izzy struggle with that was one of the most interesting parts of writing the book.Have readers interpreted anything in the book in a way that surprised you?Not yet, really. One reader told me they hated the chapter titles because they felt like they gave too much away. Others said they loved them. So that’s more about taste than interpretation.But it’s been a good reminder that people are going to respond in all kinds of ways. No book lands the same way for every reader, and that’s part of the fun and frustration of releasing something into the world.Do you hope people walk away thinking about something deeper—or just thoroughly entertained (and maybe slightly disturbed)?Being entertained is the top priority. I want to tell a complete, engaging story that people enjoy, connect with, and hopefully recommend to others.If readers come away thinking about deeper themes like grief or legacy or identity, that’s great. But if all they take from it is a wild ride and a bit of fun escapism, that’s completely fine too. I’m happy either way.Can we expect a sequel? Or is Izzy’s mop officially retired?The plan was always a three-book arc, but The Bone Collector’s Daughter tells a complete story on its own. I don’t believe in cliffhangers without a guaranteed follow-up. If enough people want more, I’d love to keep going with Izzy’s story.For now, I’m focusing on standalone books that can grow into series if the demand is there. Every book I write will have a full beginning, middle, and end. I don’t want to leave anyone hanging and wondering if they’ll ever get closure. I’m looking at you, George R. R. Martin.If The Bone Collector’s Daughter got a screen adaptation, who would you cast as Izzy? And who would voice Edgar?Since day one, I pictured Jenna Ortega as Izzy. She has that perfect blend of deadpan and emotional depth, and she’s got the whole Wednesday Addams vibe that fits Izzy so well.As for Edgar, I’d love to hear someone like Seth Rogen or Will Ferrell voicing him. There’s something really funny about pairing Izzy’s darkness with that kind of unexpected comedic warmth in her head.What are you working on right now?I’m finishing final edits on a novel called Moonlight Sin: A Vince Lockwood PI Novel. It’s a noir PI story set in 1985 Los Angeles—with werewolves. It’s bloody, weird, and full of dark humor. I’ve always loved classic crime stories, and this is my take on the genre.I’m also working on a novella called The Final Girl Is Tired, which I’ll be giving away free to anyone who signs up for my newsletter. It’s about a fifty-something woman who survived a 1985 summer camp massacre, which inspired a cult slasher movie franchise. She never wanted the fame, but now someone is recreating the film deaths to reboot the series—and she has to survive all over again. It’s part horror, part satire, and all blood-soaked exhaustion.Beyond that, I’ve got a slate of new projects lined up. I’m aiming to release three novels this year, plus the free novella, and then get into a rhythm of publishing two or three books annually. The stories aren’t slowing down anytime soon.