Ondia Morris

Find Ondia Morris
on table number 9
at the summer
Oxford Indie Book Fair
on 13-July 2025

See home page for details, map and more.

I’ve written fourteen books, but writing about myself might be the hardest thing to do.

Let’s start simply.

I was born in Jamaica.

No, I can’t run or sing, and if I tried either, it wouldn’t be a pretty sight.

My love of books began the moment I could read on my own and discovered how powerful stories could be. Surprisingly, it was my father who taught me to read—despite being dyslexic himself. He’d taught himself using newspapers and old catalogues left behind by tourists at the resorts where he worked as a carpenter. That’s where my love of words was born.

In my teenage years, I turned to reading as a way to escape the emotional upheaval of my parents’ breakup. I think that’s when I started to see writing as a form of expression, a way to say the things I couldn’t speak aloud.

Believe it or not, I’m a naturally shy person, and writing became my voice.

As an adult, I dabbled in writing and treated it as a hobby, but when I went back to university to study English Literature, it gave me the chance to read more broadly and analyse what makes stories work. I loved that experience, but I still didn’t consider writing anything more than a side pursuit—until the last two years, when I finally began to take it seriously. Since then, I’ve written and self-published about fourteen novels and novellas.

So why do I write romance?

The simple answer is that during my hardest times, the idea of a happy ending gave me hope—and now I want to pass that feeling on to others. And why science fiction? As a lifelong Trekkie, I always wondered what would happen if Kirk or Picard stayed with their alien love interests. Those stories intrigued me, but also, as a Black woman who loved sci-fi, I rarely saw myself reflected in the characters or worlds I adored. So I started writing characters who looked like me, who had adventures and fell in love, and who got to live happily ever after. I don’t just focus on the romance; I build in danger, human emotion, and wild adventures that bring my characters together in meaningful ways, with foundations that feel solid and earned.

As for my process? I write around the chaos of life: two small boys, a husband, a home, work, and the PTA. My family is wonderfully supportive—everyone in my house is a techie—so when I sit down to write, they know to give me space. I prefer writing at night when it’s quiet and I won’t be disturbed.

And if I ever had an alien encounter, I’d handle it in true Jamaican style—I’d run.

And honestly, I wouldn’t care how I looked doing it, as long as I didn’t trip, I’d be fine.

So if you’re looking for stories with heart, humour, romance, and just a hint of sci-fi chaos, try one of my stories.

I promise they will take you on a journey out of this world.