Chris Morris (author)
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Christopher Crosby Morris (born 1946) is an American
author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
of fiction and non-fiction, as well as a lyricist, musical composer, and singer-songwriter. He is married to author
Janet Morris Janet Ellen Morris (born May 25, 1946) is an American author of fiction and nonfiction, best known for her fantasy and science fiction and her authorship of a non-lethal weapons concept for the U.S. military. Background Writing Janet Morris b ...
. He is a defense policy and strategy analyst and a principal in M2 Technologies, Inc. He writes primarily as Chris Morris, a shortened form of his name, but occasionally uses pseudonyms.


Background

Chris Morris began writing music in 1966, fiction in 1984, and nonfiction in 1989. Much of his fiction and nonfiction literary work, including all of his book-length science fiction and fantasy, has been written in collaboration with his wife ''
Janet Morris Janet Ellen Morris (born May 25, 1946) is an American author of fiction and nonfiction, best known for her fantasy and science fiction and her authorship of a non-lethal weapons concept for the U.S. military. Background Writing Janet Morris b ...
'', with whom he has also written two novels under the joint pseudonym of Daniel Stryker and one novel under the pseudonym of Casey Prescott. He has contributed short fiction to the
shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...
series ''
Thieves' World Thieves' World is a shared world fantasy series created by Robert Lynn Asprin in 1978. The original series comprised twelve anthologies, including stories by science fiction authors Poul Anderson, John Brunner, Andrew J. Offutt, C. J. Cherr ...
'', '' Heroes in Hell'', and '' Merovingen Nights''. He has also co-authored with Janet Morris five titles in ''
The Sacred Band of Stepsons The Sacred Band of Stepsons is a fictional ancient cavalry unit created by Janet Morris and based on the historical Sacred Band of Thebes, an elite strike force of paired lovers and friends that flourished during the fourth century BC in ancient Gr ...
'' saga. Chris Morris has also authored song lyrics and melodies. Notably, Chris served as chief songwriter, singer, and leader of the "Christopher Morris Band", formed in 1976, whose first members were Chris Morris, Janet Morris, Leslie Kuipers and Vince Colaiuta. The first "Christoper Morris Band" album, produced by
Al Kooper Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. ...
of
Blood, Sweat and Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is a jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. In addition to original music, the group has performed popular songs by Laura N ...
fame and featuring the
Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted the b ...
horn section, was titled the ''Christoper Morris Band'' (MCA 2282), and released by
MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...
in 1977. The album's nine songs, all of which are sung by Morris, included eight songs written or co-written by him. The ''Christopher Morris Band'' album was reviewed by Ken Tucker in
Rolling Stone Magazine ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cov ...
. and in GIG Magazine. The ''Christopher Morris Band'' album was also one of
Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...
's "Top Album Picks" (7/16/77) and listed by WBCN Boston as among WBCN's "52 Heaviest Records for 1977." The ''Christopher Morris Band'' album was also reviewed in
Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...
, July 23, 1977. The Christopher Morris Band was reviewed after their first major live performance as a headliner in
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
by Tom Long. Previous to that, Chris Morris was the band leader, and the original Christopher Morris Band was the core back-up band, for Al Kooper's 1976-1977 "Act Like Nothing's Wrong" national tour. In the realm of nonfiction writing, Chris Morris has authored books and articles on military and defense matters in collaboration with Janet Morris and others. Chris Morris served as Research Director and Senior Fellow (1989–1994) at the United States Global Strategy Council, as well as Adjunct Fellow at the
Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. CSIS was founded as the Center for Strategic and International Studies of Georgetown University in 1962. The center conducts polic ...
(1993–1995). At USGSC, Morris co-authored the nonlethal weapons concept and the seminal paper, ''Nonlethality: A Global Strategy'', and co-led the USGSC's Nonlethality Policy Review Group. Events surrounding Morris's work in the nonlethal weapons area are chronicled in Chapter 15 of ''War and Anti-War'', by
Alvin Toffler Alvin Eugene Toffler (October 4, 1928 – June 27, 2016) was an American writer, futurist, and businessman known for his works discussing modern technologies, including the digital revolution and the communication revolution, with emphasis on th ...
and Heidi Toffler, (Little, Brown, 1993). In 1998-1999, Chris Morris was a member of the
Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...
Independent Task Force on Nonlethal Technologies and his views are reflected in the associated report, ''Nonlethal Technologies: Progress and Prospects'',
Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...
, 1999. He served in 2003-2004 as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations Independent Task Force on Nonlethal Weapons,
Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...
Independent Task Force on Nonlethal Weapons,
which produced the report ''Nonlethal Weapons and Capabilities'' in 2004.


Fiction Bibliography


Thieves' World shared universe

*"What Women Do Best" (1984) (with Janet Morris) in ''Blood Ties'', Asprin & Abbey, ed. *"Red Light, Love Light" (1988) in ''Uneasy Alliances'', Asprin & Abbey, ed.


The Sacred Band of Stepsons saga

*''City at the Edge of Time'' (1988) (with Janet Morris) *''Tempus Unbound'' (1989) (with Janet Morris) *''Storm Seed'' (1990) (with Janet Morris) *''The Sacred Band'' (2010) (with Janet Morris) *''The Fish the Fighters and the Song-girl'' (2010) (with Janet Morris)


Heroes in Hell

*'' The Little Helliad'' (1988) (with Janet Morris)


Threshold

*'' Threshold'' (1990) (with Janet Morris) *''
Trust Territory United Nations trust territories were the successors of the remaining League of Nations mandates and came into being when the League of Nations ceased to exist in 1946. All of the trust territories were administered through the United Nati ...
'' (1992) (with Janet Morris) *'' The Stalk'' (1994) (with Janet Morris)


Merovingen Nights

*''Festival Moon'' (1987) (with Janet Morris) *''Fever Season'' (1987) *''Troubled Waters'' (1988) *''Divine Right'' (1989) *''Flood Tide'' (1990) (with Janet Morris) *''Endgame'' (1991) (with Janet Morris)


Other novels

*''The 40-Minute War'' (1984) (with Janet Morris) *''Medusa'' (1986) (with Janet Morris) *''Outpassage'' (1988) (with Janet Morris) *''Hawkeye'' (1991) (with Janet Morris, as by Daniel Stryker) *''Cobra'' (1991) (with Janet Morris, as by Daniel Stryker) *''Asset In Black'' (1985) (with Janet Morris, as Casey Prescott)


Short stories

*“Cross-Currents“ (1984) *“What Women Do Best“ (1984) (with Janet Morris) *"Undercover Angel" (1986) *“Sanctuary Is for Lovers“ (1986) (with Janet Morris) *"Son of the Morning" (1986) *“The Shattered Sphere“ (1986) *"Snowballs in Hell" (1987) *"The Nature of Hell" (1987) (with Janet Morris) *"Sword Play" (1987) (with Janet Morris) *"Night Action" (1987) *"Hearts and Minds" (1987) *"Handmaids in Hell" (1987) *"The Ransom of Hellcat" (1987) *"Saying Yes to Drugs" (1987) *“Battle for the Plain of Just Desserts“ (1988) (with Janet Morris) *"Sign On" (1988) *"Mystery" (1988) (with Janet Morris) *“Red Light, Love Light“ (1988) *“Eye of a Needle“ (1989) *"Postpartum Blues (1989) *"Rapproachment" (1990) (with Janet Morris) *“The Price of Victory“ (1990) *"Escape from Merovingen: Finale in Two Acts - Act One: The Fool Must Die" (1991) (with Janet Morris) *"Escape from Merovingen: Finale in Two Acts - Act Two: Escape From Merovingen" (1991) (with Janet Morris) *"Escape from Merovingen (Act One Reprised)" (1991) (with Janet Morris) *"Escape from Merovingen (Act One Reprised) (#2)" (1991) (with Janet Morris) *"Interview with ''the'' Devil" (2011) (with Janet Morris) *"Erra and the Seven" (2011) *"Babe in Hell" (2012) (with Janet Morris) *"Battle of Tartaros" (2012) *"Fools in Hell" (2013) *"Alms for Oblivion" (2013) (with Janet Morris) *"Words" (2014) *"Seven Against Hell" (2014) (with Janet Morris) *The Black Sword" (2014) (with Janet Morris)


Select Non-Fiction Bibliography

*Nonlethality: A Global Strategy (1990, 2010) (with Janet Morris) *Weapons of Mass Protection (1995) (with Morris and Baines) *The American Warrior (1992) (Morris and Morris, ed.)


Discography

*Christopher Morris Band, (MCA 2282), 1977
Everybody Knows - Christopher Crosby Morris (Singing Horse), 2016


References


External links


Chris Morris entry at Fantastic Fiction
*

information on Chris Morris

Council on Foreign Relations Independent Task Force Report on Nonlethal Weapons

Nonlethality: A Global Strategy

Weapons of Mass Protection

Chris Morris interviewed by ''Zauberspiegel-Online Magazine'', 29 June 2011

Chris Morris (with
Janet Morris Janet Ellen Morris (born May 25, 1946) is an American author of fiction and nonfiction, best known for her fantasy and science fiction and her authorship of a non-lethal weapons concept for the U.S. military. Background Writing Janet Morris b ...
) interviewed by ''Zauberspiegel-Online Magazine'', 29 June 2011 * ww.youtube.com/watch?v=2EylzKQa4yg"Social Reconstruction through Historic Fiction: The Role of Literature in Envisioning Our Future." Chris Morris and Janet Morris presentation at the US ''Library of Congress'', reading and discussion, 25 June 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Chris 1946 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American fantasy writers American science fiction writers American science writers American military writers American technology writers American male composers 21st-century American composers American male singer-songwriters American singer-songwriters American lyricists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American male musicians