Meet Bridget Morrissey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bridget Morrissey.

Bridget, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Growing up in suburban Illinois, I had about a thousand dreams at once, most of which centered on being involved in the creative arts. I would write plays for my first-grade classmates to perform with me, always making sure I gave myself the most interesting part. The youngest of five, I’d drag my entire family into our living room to watch me choreograph a dance routine for myself on the spot. At age nine, I drew a graphic novel called Playful Love that’s become infamous in my family for its content. I thought all the signs were pointing me toward a career in acting, hence my move to Los Angeles when I was 21.

Pretty early into my time out on the West Coast, I realized that my passions centered on storytelling in general. The format wasn’t as important as the act itself. I started writing Young Adult novels in 2012. It became clear to me that this was what I wanted to do with my life. I love working with kids and teens. My day job is as the head coach of a competitive gymnastics program. Writing allowed me to speak to those experiences with kids, satisfy my creative needs, and pay homage to my lifelong love of books.

It took six years to publish my first novel. It wasn’t the first novel I wrote either. I shelved a manuscript and started a few others before I landed on what would be my debut: a YA contemporary called WHAT YOU LEFT ME, about two teens who connect at their high school graduation, only to be thrown into tragedy mere hours after the ceremony ends. It was a weird, ambitious book featuring two narrators, dream sequences, and several references to Van Halen and the Chicago Cubs. After the shelved stories and the countless rejections, getting my strange, special book onto shelves was the kind of victory I’d dreamed about.

In June of 2019, my publisher, Sourcebooks Fire, released my second YA contemporary, WHEN THE LIGHT WENT OUT. It’s the story of seven neighborhood teens who reunite five years after their friend’s death to complete a scavenger hunt she left behind. And that’s where I’m at today, twenty-nine years old with two books on shelves and hopefully many more to come.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Before I landed on writing as the appropriate outlet for me, I tried to do what we tell every eighteen-year-old kid in America to do: go to college. I got accepted into a respected theatre school that took in only fifty acting students per incoming class, with the promise of cutting that number in half after the end of the first year. The idea of a mandatory cut seemed exciting to me. I thought I wanted that kind of intensity and pressure. I gave over all of my time and most of my sanity to that program. Turned out the first year didn’t even involve much acting. Instead we performed our personal experiences for our small classes. Basically stood up in front of a classroom and shared our traumas with unqualified professionals, over and over. I was taught how to rip myself open and use that pain for my art, with no tools for how to close those gaping emotional wounds. Much to my surprise, I got cut from the program.

It devastated me. With no game plan outside of obtaining a degree, I turned back to gymnastics, the sport I’d excelled at for most of my childhood. Getting a job as a gymnastics coach ended up being one of the best things that ever happened to me. I learned how much I love teaching kids. I got daily lessons in perseverance and determination. I remembered the joy that comes from working hard and achieving something. I was able to lick my wounds and muster up the courage to try again, this time in Los Angeles.

Publishing is certainly its own journey. Similar to acting in that there’s a lot of rejection, but different in that you have the gift/curse of receiving a lot of that with explanation. There’s so many vagueries in the acting world. You come close to getting apart and then it goes to someone else and you have no idea why. With publishing, editors and agents and all the people that make books happen will tell you why it is your story isn’t a good fit. And it is refreshing. But can also be disheartening. It can feel like you’re on an endless quest for the right fit with no viable options insight. Even though I’ve gotten two books published, that part of the job never goes away. There are still closing doors and stories that don’t sell. I know that firsthand. It is a daily exercise in humility. I remain grateful for every opportunity I do get because not one of them comes easily.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am an author who specializes in writing imaginative contemporary novels that feature big casts. I love stories about friendship. That is always the heartbeat of all my books and would be what I’d consider my authorly brand. My two published novels follow large friend groups made up of messy, loving, strong, curious teenagers. Both deal with the after-effects of tragedy and the way trauma shapes us. Both celebrate the power of friendship and the magic of being truly seen by another person. Both also happen to feature orange houses, busted noses, letters, people breaking into homes, and meaningful midnight wanderings down empty streets.

I’m proud of the fact that they exist. It scares me sometimes, knowing these pieces of myself are floating around in the world for anyone to have. But it’s magical, too. To have concrete proof that my courage can be louder than my fear. I hope what sets me apart is that I try to do everything with as much compassion as I can. I want these to be stories about feeling small but being brave anyways. Finding hope when the world goes dark. Creating community in unexpected places. Leading with your heart and trusting your gut.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career so far was receiving a message from a reader who had picked up my book and found comfort and healing in the pages. They’d had a best friend that passed away under circumstances similar to what happens in my book. The reader told me they related to the story in many ways and truly needed to hear what I had to say. They said it felt like the book gods were screaming at them to pick up my story, and they were so grateful to me for writing it. That really, really touched my heart. I cried for hours after I got that message. It made all my struggles worth it. For that one reader to have that moment. And for them to share it with me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bridgetjmorrissey.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/bridgetjmorrissey
• Twitter: twitter.com/bridgemorrissey

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.