'NY Comic Con 2014' Guests: 'The Three Kingdoms' Author Gives Us The Inside Scoop On 'Sky Bound' & 'Surface' [VIDEO]
As a sophomore at Belmont University in Nashville, one would assume that James Morris is your typical student.
However, what makes the 19-year-old stand out from the majority of his fellow classmates is his various pursuits.
Aside from his academics and music aspirations, Morris is also a book author, having penned two out of three books for his suspense-filled adventure series, The Three Kingdoms.
While at the 2014 Comic Con in New York on Oct. 11, the Tennessee-based creative spoke to Enstars about the premise of the trilogy, which kicks off with Book 1, Sky Bound.
"Sky Bound is based in the future where the world has been split up into three kingdoms," he said. "In one word, life on the surface is crap-tacular."
The main character of The Three Kingdoms is Sam Cutter, 15, who risks severe punishment to exit the tyrant-ruled land for a better life.
With minimal possessions, Sam attempts to become the first person in a decade to escape the surface.
"Sam is from the surface and right off the bat, he decides he's got to get out of there and through some trouble, he escapes up to the Sky Nation to find a better life," he explains.
Once the protagonist reaches the Sky Nation, he ultimately finds himself up against several new obstacles, which as Morris puts it, are more than he, or anyone initially reading will anticipate.
"Once he's up there, he's thrown into this on-going revolution-fighting for his life and also trying to figure out how to survive in this basically new world. As it turns out, he may be more important than anyone could have guessed," he said.
Although Sam is complex and his backstory is one of a troubled past, the character's loyalty remains intact; a quality that will undoubtedly have readers feeling the emotional twists and turns of the journey along with him.
"Sam is not a perfect character. He is flawed and human. Regardless of that, he will fight for his friends and follow his morals," he said.
Book 2 of the trilogy, Water Tower, has also been released to a warm response. It gives readers a deeper look into the early beginnings of the three nations.
Currently, Morris is in the midst of writing the third and final book of the series, Surface.
Speaking of its anticipation, the writer dished about a Comic Con instance in which a reader had passionately approached him about the third book.
"This woman comes running and goes, 'I hate you, 'I'm only twenty pages in and I already love Sam and hate you because you're going to make me wait for the third book,'" he said.
While Morris plans on wrapping up The Three Kingdoms after putting the finishing touches on Book 3, he has yet to rule out a prequel, if there's a strong enough market for it.
"I'm almost done with Surface. I have my story arc, and a conclusion I want to happen. If there's enough interest, I would write a prequel describing a different character's adventures," he said.
Surface is slated for release in April of 2015. To learn more about Morris' books and to listen to his music, be sure to check out his website.
The first two books of The Three Kingdoms series, Sky Bound and Water Tower, can currently be purchased on Amazon.
