Morgan Davis casually strums his guitar, preparing to sing his song, “Worst Nightmare.”
Davis wrote the song for his second book, “Referral to Reality,” part of his Prescribed Life series. The book follows high school student Leah Clark as she tries to rescue her boyfriend from a coma induced by a pill that causes its user to enter a dream which they can control.
The song title fits the plot of the book perfectly. And the chorus fits it just as well: “This dream’s my worst nightmare. Reality’s unfair. I need you beside me there.”
Davis created the song for his book’s website to stir more interest in the series.
“Aside from writing Prescribed Life, I also like to do a lot of poetry, and it really helped me to come up with the theme song, ‘Worst Nightmare,’” Davis said. “Just being able to make a song my own, instead of buying the rights to other music, was way more convenient, and I got exactly what I wanted out of it. People really enjoy it when they visit the site that I’m putting more into it than just writing.”
Davis started the book in July 2012 and worked on it during his shifts at the Plant City skate park. It took him only about five months to finish it. By comparison, his first book in the series took about 18 months.
“It was easier, because the characters were kind of already set up,” Davis said about his second release. “There were a few new ones, but I had experience on how to introduce characters from the first book.”
The 21-year-old, self-published author said his fans, friends and readers also helped him to finish the book sooner through their feedback on his first effort.
Davis always has loved writing. In high school, Davis began posting poems on Facebook and Myspace. A friend encouraged him to take his poems further by writing a novel. He started the Prescribed Life series in 2010.
In the first book, Clark is put on a trial drug after she has trouble socializing at school. The drug has a strange side effect that takes her into a dream world, where all her desires come true. But trouble starts when kids at school find out about the drug and abuse it.
“My second book is just a continuation from the first one,” Davis said. “It basically has a slogan that once you live a dream, reality’s not enough. And the whole book is pretty much centered around that.”
With no plans to stop writing, Davis already has ideas for the third in the series.
“No matter what is going on in the world around me, whether it’s pen to paper or typing it, I can just get away from anything,” Davis said. “Nothing matters when I’m writing other than what I create, and I can create whatever I want from it.
“It’s hard to describe the feeling of just making that happen and just seeing your creations not only come to life but progress — it’s just huge,” he said. “I don’t have any kids, but I imagine it’d be like watching your kids grow up.”
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.