Secrets in the Mist (2021) — A Celebrate Lit Tour: A Guest Post, My Thoughts, and a Giveaway

About the Book

Book: Secrets in the Mist

Author: Morgan L. Busse

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy

Release date: August 10, 2021

What’s lurking in the Mist is the least of their worries…

In a world where humanity lives in the sky to escape a deadly mist below, Cass’s only goal is survival. That is, until she finds a job on the airship Daedalus as a diver. Now she explores ruined cities, looking for treasure and people’s lost heirlooms until a young man hires her to find the impossible: a way to eradicate the Mist.

Theodore Winchester is a member of one of the Five Families that rule the skies. Following in his father’s footsteps, he searches for the source of the Mist and hopes to stop the purges used to control overpopulation. But what he finds are horrifying secrets and lethal ambition. If he continues his quest, it could mean his own death.

The Mist is rising and soon the world will be enveloped in its deadly embrace, turning what’s left of humanity into the undead.

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About the Author

Morgan L. Busse is a writer by day and a mother by night. She is the author of the Follower of the Word series and the award-winning steampunk series, The Soul Chronicles. Her debut novel, Daughter of Light, was a Christy and Carol Award finalist. During her spare time she enjoys playing games, taking long walks, and dreaming about her next novel.

More from Morgan

I’m afraid to fly. At first, I tried to ignore it. Then the panic attacks came. And the one time I accidentally grabbed my neighbor’s arm during turbulence, which was really embarrassing. But it was when I was waiting for my flight at the airport and felt like I was going to burst into tears right there at the gate that I knew I needed help.

I didn’t want to stop flying. I love traveling! But the fear of plummeting to the ground scared me, so I talked to my doctor and was given medicine to help me calm down. The problem is it made me really groggy. But hey, at least I could fly again.

Then I started writing Secrets in the Mist. Half of this book is about flying and one third is hang gliding. You know, flying with just a kite on your back. To write realistically about hang gliding, I started studying the sport. I read all the articles I could find, watched a lot of YouTube videos, and in the end spent over 10 hours immersing myself in the sky.

As I first imagined, then wrote each scene in Secrets in the Mist, something started to happen. I started to lose my fear of flying. It wasn’t the first time I tried to read the science behind flight to help me lose my fear of flying, but this time, I was doing it in my head. I was feeling the air and wind, tilting my glider, catching the air drafts, and not just understanding how to fly in my mind, but also with my heart.

I realized a plane couldn’t fall out of the sky just like my character couldn’t fall out of the sky. That an experienced flyer understood what to do in storms and sudden gusts of wind. And should the plane actually lose its engines, the pilot would help it glide to the ground the same way my gliders eased their way to a landing.

Not only that, by creating the exhilarating feelings my character felt when she was gliding began to seep into my psyche. I felt her joy and freedom, her lack of fear, and even more, how she felt more connected to God when it was just her, the wind, and the sky. I saw the beauty of flying through my character’s eyes.

I can fly now. Without medication. I actually enjoy the takeoffs and the feeling of the plane gliding through the air. Will I try hang gliding someday? Probably not, I still hate heights. But I never dreamed that writing about flying would help me overcome my fear of it. This is the power of imagination, and the power of story.

My Thoughts

Secrets in the Mist by Morgan L. Busse is OUTSTANDING! It’s been a really long time since I’ve read a Sci-Fi/Fantasy. When I was young, my grandmother got me hooked on the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. While Secrets in the Mist is nothing like the Dragonriders of Pern, reading it did fill me with the same giddy, excited feel I felt when I was a little girl. Secrets in the Mist is captivating. I was hooked from the very beginning and could not put this book down. I love the unique world created in this story. How people have to live on the tops of mountains and on floating cities in order to survive away from the Mist. And, the zombie-like Turned — just fascinating! Speaking of the Turned, what a great way to create constant suspense and a good bit of terror. These guys are super creepy and they had me sitting on the edge of my seat the whole time. In addition to all of this, I totally love Cass and Theo. What excellent protagonists! Both unique, relatable, and endearing. I like the chemistry that starts to build between Cass and Theo. It’s clear they are going to be great friends, and maybe even more.

There are a lot of excellent topics discussed in this book. Secrets in the Mist is another novel I highlighted like crazy. The topic that resonated with me the most is the many discussions on fear. I really appreciate how Busse acknowledges that fear is a natural emotion. There are very genuine reasons to be afraid. In a great moment of introspection, Theo contemplates his words of bravado spoken to Cass during an extremely scary moment. During that scary moment, Theo encourages Cass through her fear to help her stay strong. His words hit their mark and Cass buoys her strength and gets through the moment. As Theo contemplates what he had told Cass, he realizes that some fears are perfectly normal: “It was natural to be afraid of that which could hunt and kill you.” Truer words have never been spoken. Later in the story, Cass’s fears begin to get the best of her. She has to buck up and gain control over her fears because she is part of a team. If she loses herself to her fears she could get a teammate hurt. I appreciate the distinction made in this story between natural fear and letting your fears get the better of you. There are things we should be afraid of — God built us with a natural flight or fight instinct to protect us from that which would hurt or kill us. But, there are a lot of times where humans let fear take over their brains and actions. This kind of fear is not the natural kind, and it’s not good or healthy to let this kind of fear get the better of us. When we do, we can end up hurting ourselves or others. This kind of fear needs to be squashed the second we realize we’re feeling it — for our sake and the sake of others.

Secrets of the Mist is a superb story. I am sad my time with these characters is over … for now. I really, really recommend this excellent novel. This is a unique story you will not want to miss!

I received a review copy of this novel in eBook form from the author, Morgan L. Busse, via Celebrate Lit. I also purchased a copy of this novel in eBook form from Amazon.com on August 28, 2021, in order to review. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Morgan is giving away the grand prize package of a Steampunk themed basket that includes a signed book, coffee by Barnie’s, a soy candle (so it should be safe for everyone), and a $20 B&N gift card!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway!

Click the link below to enter.