Tee Morris

Thomas Earl "Tee" Morris

Morris in 2012
Born (1968-10-28) October 28, 1968
Richmond, Virginia, United States
Occupation Author
Nationality American
Genre Epic Fantasy/Detective Fiction/Steampunk
Literary movement The Podiobook (Podcast Novel)
Website
teemorris.com

Thomas Earl "Tee" Morris (born October 28, 1968) is a contemporary American author of Epic Fantasy, Detective Fiction, and Steampunk as well as a classical actor and podcaster. He is a graduate of James Madison University with a degree in theater and mass communications, and resides in Manassas, Virginia.

Biography

Morris was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, the youngest of two. His earliest memory of science fiction is as a child when he and his father would stay up late together and watch reruns of Star Trek. Along with the 1977 phenomenon Star Wars and reading Choose Your Own Adventure novels, Morris began to explore creative writing in the fifth grade.[1] 'I never took it seriously enough to think I would be a writer.' he said in a 2003 interview.[2] While he dabbled in short stories throughout his teen years, it was in high school when he discovered acting and went on to study theatre at James Madison University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Theatre and Mass Communications.

Acting career

Morris' first professional acting job was with the Children's Theatre division of the Richmond Theatre Company. From there, he went on to appear in numerous stage productions between Richmond and Washington D.C. His most notable performances included Ian in D.O.Q. (produced by the Studio Theatre of Richmond), Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest (produced by the Washington Project of the Arts), Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol and Dromio of Syracuse (produced by Vpstart Crow Productions), and the title role in Figaro (produced by Classika Theatre). He also appeared in an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street in the first part of "Kellerman: P.I." as a "first on the scene" witness. "The cast is real," Morris recalls. "I had broken my arm in a stage combat accident three days before my callback. When the casting agent saw the 'look' I was sporting, they loved the realism so they rewrote the script. Instead of my character being a jogger, I was a guy walking his dog."

The most influential period of Tee Morris' acting career was his seven seasons (1993–1999) with the Maryland Renaissance Festival. He played a variety of characters there, but for his final three seasons he played Rafe Rafton. The character was described as a swashbuckler, privateer, and all-around scoundrel. On his website, Morris recalls the research behind the role. "[Rafe was] ... a Tudor version of Han Solo. In creating this privateer, I took a few notes from Errol Flynn in Captain Blood and Tommy Lee Jones in Nate and Hayes." This would be Morris' final role at the Festival, and a lead character in his debut novel.

Stage work

Writing career

Morris' debut novel, MOREVI: The Chronicles of Rafe & Askana, was a Historical-Fantasy epic (written with Lisa Lee) began in the most unlikely of places — an online chat room for Fantasy role players who combined various gaming rules and characters to interact between one another. It was here that Tee Morris' Rafe Rafton met Lisa Lee's Askana Moldarin. Their online role playing adventure turned into a new 2002 title for Dragon Moon Press, an EPPIE finalist for Best eBook Fantasy of 2003, the first book to be podcast in 2005, and a Parsec Award Finalist for Best Podcast Novel in 2006.

In the same year Morris also received an Honorable Mention in the CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology contest with his short story, "Asleep at the Wheel." This would be Morris' first byline with short stories. Since 2002, Morris has written books on social media, video editing, and even appeared as a columnist for Blogger & Podcaster Magazine and AppAdvice.com. After several years of writing non-fiction, Morris returned to his first love — fiction — in 2011. His co-written novel with his wife Philippa Ballantine Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novel won an Airship Award for Best Steampunk Literature of the Year.[5]

Writing

Morris began writing adventure stories in the fifth grade.[6] 'I never took it seriously enough to think I would be a writer.' he said in a 2003 interview.[7] Morris has written books on social media, video editing, and been a columnist. In 2011 his co-written novel with his wife Philippa Ballantine Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novel won an Airship Award for best written work.[8]

Podcasting

In January 2005, Morris was the first author to podcast a novel, Morevi the Chronicles of Rafe and Askana, followed by Mark Jeffrey in February of that year (first YA novel podcast) and Scott Sigler (first podcast only novel) in March.[9]

Along with Evo Terra and Chris Miller, Morris is one of the founders of Podiobooks.com.[10]

Bibliography

Books in print

Podcast novels

Podcasts

Columns

Short works

Chapters

Articles

Short stories

Awards and recognition

References

  1. ↑ Morris, Tee. "Biography". Tee Morris. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
  2. ↑ Janelle, DiOrio. "Triple threat books a future". Montpelier. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
  3. ↑ Triplett, William. "A Rootin', Tootin' 'Taming of the Shrew'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
  4. ↑ Rose, Lloyd. "Theater; Blustery 'Whirlwind'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
  5. ↑ "Steamcon III Airship Award". Steampunk.com. Retrieved 2011-10-18.
  6. ↑ Morris, Tee. "Biography". Tee Morris. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
  7. ↑ Janelle, DiOrio. "Triple threat books a future". Montpelier. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
  8. ↑ "Steamcon III Airship Award". Steampunk.com. Retrieved 2011-10-18.
  9. ↑ "Novels by podcast: how to make money from 'free'". Wired UK. 2009-08-07. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
  10. ↑ "Podiobooks Staff". Podiobooks.com. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
  11. ↑ About Tee Morris. AppAdvice. accessed September 28, 2011.
  12. ↑ "2013 Readers Choice Award". Steampunk Chronicle. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
  13. ↑ "Steamcon III Airship Awards". Steamcon. Retrieved 2011-10-18.
  14. ↑ "2008 Winners & Nominees". Parsec Awards. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  15. ↑ "2006 Winners & Nominees". Parsec Awards. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
  16. ↑ "2005 Book Of The Year Award Winners and Finalists". ForeWord Magazine. Archived from the original on 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
  17. ↑ "Independent Publisher Book Awards 2005". Independent Publisher Online. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
  18. ↑ "2004 Book Of The Year Award Finalists". ForeWord Magazine. Archived from the original on 2007-08-16. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
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