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Morgan Richter

@morganrichter.bsky.social

Author of THE DIVIDE and THE UNDERSTUDY, both from Knopf. Gen-X pop culture maven, Duran Duran aficionado, Miami Vice expert. Failed screenwriter, retired YouTuber. https://morganrichter.net/

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Morgan Richter@morganrichter.bsky.social · 1h ago

It's been one year today since the release of my opera-themed thriller THE UNDERSTUDY, and even if you haven't read it, I feel like you should *definitely* read the utterly unhinged piece I wrote about it last year for @scalzi.com's site. whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/07/t...

The Big Idea: Morgan Richter

Sometimes, you try your best, and it simply isn’t enough. Author Morgan Richter explores the question of “should the main character always be triumphant, even when under-skilled compare…

whatever.scalzi.com

Morgan Richter@morganrichter.bsky.social · 12mo ago

I wrote a freewheeling piece for @scalzi.com's Big Idea feature about THE UNDERSTUDY that somehow managed to encompass The Karate Kid, Miami Vice, Duran Duran, and Joe Esposito, all while talking about opera. I'm quite pleased with this one. whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/07/t...

Morgan Richter@morganrichter.bsky.social · yesterday

At my elementary school in Spokane in the 1980s, all the crossing guards were fourth graders. I remember being 8 or 9 years old, wearing a safety vest and stepping out in front of cars to block traffic before and after school each day.

Greg Abbott’s Arborist@samoanattorney.bsky.social · 2d ago

When I was a kid in the 70s our school system used *high school seniors* as *school bus drivers*. My brother would get out of class early to drive the bus to the elementary school and pick up kids to take them home and then park the bus at our house at night.

Morgan Richter@morganrichter.bsky.social · 4d ago

Today's AI-scripted "pay us money to feature your book in our book club" scam kicks off by reciting my Knopf bio back to me. They embellished it in flatteringly obsequious ways (nice to know I "...refuse to look away from the darkly comic underside of modern life"), so I'll give it a B- overall.

Excerpt from a scammy AI-written email to me: "Dear Morgan Richter, Your recent work, The Divide, is a neo-noir thriller that blends dark comedy and psychological suspense with the sharp, pop-culture-savvy voice you have honed across a singular career. You are a graduate of the screenwriting program at the University of Southern California's film school, and you spent years working in production on television shows like America's Funniest Home Videos and Talk Soup before turning to fiction. You built a cult following with your essay collection Duranalysis: Essays on the Duran Duran Experience and five self-published novels, and now your traditionally published work with Knopf has brought your unique blend of Hollywood satire and noir atmosphere to a wider audience. Based in Seattle, you write the kind of genre-bending fiction that refuses to look away from the darkly comic underside of modern life."
Morgan Richter@morganrichter.bsky.social · 3mo ago

“Hmm, how can I sell an author on my transparently scammy book-marketing services? Maybe I should email her an AI-written summary of all her bad reviews, then insult her pop culture tastes!”

AI-written email to me: "Hello Morgan Richter, There is a specific kind of review that tells you more about a book's positioning problem than any sales figure ever could, and The Understudy has been collecting them since August. They read something like this: "interesting premise but required too much suspension of disbelief" or "went from thriller to mystery and lost momentum" or "I couldn't understand why Kit didn't just report Yolanda to the police." These are not reviews written by readers who disliked your book. They are reviews written by readers who arrived expecting a different book entirely a procedural, a tight domestic thriller in the Liane Moriarty mould, something where logic governs every turn. They found instead a novel that is campy, operatic, morally slanted, pop-culture-saturated, and deliberately absurdist in its escalations, a book that knows exactly what it is doing and does it with precision. The problem is not the writing. The problem is that the readers who would love The Understudy unconditionally are not the ones currently finding it. And that is a positioning problem, not a quality problem, which means it is fixable."
Morgan Richter@morganrichter.bsky.social · 5d ago

Mesmerized by the Zillow listing for a cheap historic home in Spokane, in which half the house is gorgeous and the other half is clearly haunted. Kudos to whoever had the sense to add the creepy old-timey baby carriage to this photo. (I want to buy this house and live out my days as a mad wraith.)

Photo of a wreck of a room inside what was clearly, maybe a century ago, a perfectly lovely home. The only furnishing, save for a painter's stool glimpsed in a closet, is a creepy old black baby carriage.
Morgan Richter@morganrichter.bsky.social · last wk.

This triggered a memory! I had to do the *exact same thing* with our home phone as a kid. Seemed normal at the time; seems unfathomably weird (yet hilarious!) now. I'm tempted to start answering my own phone "Richter residence, Morgan speaking," just to unsettle callers.

Julie Guyot@julieguyot.bsky.social · last wk.

The baristas are all so rude without uttering a word. It’s crazy. I was a teacher’s kid and we were taught a certain way to talk to people and provide service. I had to answer our home phone with “Guyot residence, Julie speaking” when I was 10.

Morgan Richter@morganrichter.bsky.social · 2w ago

Author Giles Blunt would no doubt be shattered to know that a sloppy, scammy, AI-written pitch from a fake book club was lazily sent to me instead of to him. I received my own scammy pitch as well, and boy howdy, there's nothing more soullessly glib and obnoxious than AI-written marketing text.

AI-written email from "Alison White," though I'm sure this person does not actually exist: "Hello Giles, I came across your book Bad Juliet, and I was immediately captivated by its haunting atmosphere, emotional depth, and intriguing blend of historical fiction, romance, and mystery. The setting of a tuberculosis sanitarium in the Adirondack Mountains creates a powerful backdrop for a story filled with longing, secrets, and uncertainty. Paul Gascoyne’s growing fascination with Sarah Ballard, a survivor of the Lusitania disaster, adds a compelling emotional layer, while the gradual unraveling of her memoir promises twists that keep readers questioning what is real and what is imagined. The combination of suspense, heartbreak, and beautifully drawn characters makes Bad Juliet a truly memorable reading experience. Our book club is dedicated to connecting exceptional books with passionate readers through curated reading experiences, engaging discussions, and strategic promotional campaigns..."AI-written email to me from "Alison White": "Hello Morgan, I came across your book The Divide, and I was immediately captivated by its irresistible blend of mystery, suspense, and Hollywood intrigue. The premise of a failed actress and grifting psychic becoming entangled in a murder investigation after being mistaken for her missing doppelgänger is both original and incredibly compelling. Jenny St. John’s journey through a world of celebrity, deception, hidden identities, and long-buried secrets creates the perfect foundation for a fast-paced and unpredictable thriller. The combination of sharp wit, psychological tension, and a cast of fascinating characters makes The Divide the kind of novel that keeps readers hooked from the very first page. Our book club is dedicated to connecting exceptional books with passionate readers through curated reading experiences, engaging discussions, and strategic promotional campaigns..."
Morgan Richter@morganrichter.bsky.social · 3w ago

I just watched a YouTube video on "15 Iconic '80s Songs That Never Reached Top 10!", and it was filled songs I love, including several from the Donnie Darko soundtrack, but the narrator kept pronouncing INXS as "Inks," and now I doubt their commitment to Sparkle Motion.

Morgan Richter@morganrichter.bsky.social · 3w ago

Adding arcades and roller rinks to the list of now-vanished third places for kids/teens. Also, a single cabinet arcade game could turn anywhere into a third place: My local Thrifty Drug had an Asteroids game (plus cheap ice cream cones), which was a sign it was fine for kids to hang out there.

Wm Henry Morris@wmhenrymorris.com · 3w ago

In addition to what’s already been listed: Affordable amusement and water parks, especially if there was one local and you bought a season pass City pools back when they were seem as a place for teens to hang out instead of for just kids and adults who want to swim laps

Morgan Richter@morganrichter.bsky.social · 3w ago

A salute to the three young women I passed this morning, who were jogging on UW's Greek Row while blasting Night Ranger's "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" on speakers, for demonstrating wisdom far beyond their years in their choice of workout music.

Morgan Richter@morganrichter.bsky.social · last mo.

"NO SLEEP 'TIL BROOKLYN" I cry, as I enter the Unicorn Tapestries display at The Cloisters, after having spent the morning at the Metropolitan Museum, satiated by exposure to art, yet dearly longing to return to the calm, quiet loft in Brooklyn where I've been staying for a bit.

Back of me as I enter the famed Unicorn Tapestries display at The Cloisters in NYC.
Morgan Richter@morganrichter.bsky.social · 8mo ago

“NO SLEEP ‘TIL BROOKLYN!” I cry, as I, a mild-mannered fifty-something lady and Gen-X pop-culture aficionado, advance on the Brooklyn Museum.

Back of my head as I storm the Brooklyn Museum on a wintry day.
Morgan Richter@morganrichter.bsky.social · last mo.

Wine shop clerk in Brooklyn, after I told him I’m visiting from Seattle: “We have a lot of wines here from Oregon!” Followed by, in the face of my uncomprehending stare: “Seattle is in Oregon, right? Did I mess that up?” He did, but who cares? Seattle is not in Oregon, but he was lovely.

Morgan Richter@morganrichter.bsky.social · 2mo ago

In my fantasy playlist comprised entirely of sinister and evocative Cold War classics, The Nobodys' No Guarantees (showcased in an early Miami Vice episode, and also in 1984's "Firstborn") pops up way at the top. Give it a listen, if you don't know the song.

maurmaur8part2.bsky.social@maurmaur8part2.bsky.social · 2mo ago

@morganrichter.bsky.social I had no clue but I'm sure would've preferred this over James Remar guilt monologuing www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlBQ...

Morgan Richter@morganrichter.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I have a Tribble--two Tribbles, actually--from the DS9 episode "Trials and Tribble-ations." When Terry Farrell guest hosted Talk Soup to promote it, she brought a ton of them with her. Our set was, predictably, overflowing. (I expect to someday look into my closet and see it teeming with Tribbles.)

Nanoraptor@nanoraptor.danamania.com · last yr.

Do you own any items - individual specific items, not just ones of the same type - that have a cultural significance in some group? A Trek prop, one of Mulder’s office posters, one of Steve Jobs’ turtlenecks, an animation cel, the spear of Longinus, a pope’s finger bones - anything?

Morgan Richter@morganrichter.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Excerpt from a best-selling YA book, which I am enjoying, but this passage made me blink. "Chased criminals that they always caught"? Huh? Miami Vice was an *unfathomably* bleak show, in which justice was never really served. That was the whole point of the series!

Excerpt from a young adult book, the title of which I'm withholding because the author is on Bluesky and I don't want him to feel ambushed if he does a vanity search for his name: "That night, with the lights of the bay twinkling outside the floor-to-ceiling windows of their luxurious suite in the sky, Mariel and Gena watched comfort TV. Cheesy episodes of some show that aired years before Mariel was even born. Mariel leaned into her mother, who gently stroked her hair, while two smooth Miami detectives, dressed in pastels, chased criminals that they always caught."