An Interview with Morgan Baden

The 2020s have thus far been surprisingly light for Scooby-Doo content. Throughout this lighter period, one of the pieces of media that I've considered to be underrated gems are the few young adult novels we've gotten! The Daphne & Velma series are a standout piece of media from this decade, in my opinion. Especially given the television series at the time, Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?, had more limited characterizations, I thought it was really cool to see the franchise adapted specifically for a young adult audience.

I was honored to have a conversation with Morgan Baden, the writer of books 2 and 3 from the Daphne & Velma series, over email! She shared so much cool info about her writing process for The Dark Deception and Buried Secrets, as well as her memories of growing up with Scooby and other mystery books. You can read our conversation below:

ScoobySnax.com: You’ve mentioned in other interviews that you grew up watching Scooby-Doo. Did you have a favorite episode or movie? If not, were there any Scooby series you remember watching frequently?
Morgan Baden: I’m a child of the 80s, so while the original “Scooby-Doo, Where are You” cartoon was old at the time, its reruns were on TV pretty regularly. My sisters and I (and eventually our baby brother) loved them! I still remember entire scenes from those episodes. I credit those original Scooby-Doo episodes with installing in me a lifelong love of spooky stories! 

ScoobySnax.com: You’ve mentioned in other interviews that Veronica Mars and The Babysitters Club were big inspirations for the series. Were there any other detective/mystery book series or TV shows you took inspiration from when writing the series?
Morgan Baden: To me, there’s no greater story premise than a group of friends trying to solve a mystery. R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series was always bouncing around in my head when I was writing Daphne & Velma. Sweet Valley High’s Super Thrillers spin-off, too! But I think “Veronica Mars” is the closest in terms of tone and vibe for sure. Which reminds me, I’m due for a rewatch…

ScoobySnax.com: The first book in the series was written by a different author, Josephine Ruby. Did you find that continuing a series started by another author made it easier or more difficult than if you would have written the full series on your own?
Morgan Baden: I used to ghostwrite, so I’ve been trained on how to mimic voice while also infusing my own wherever possible, and on how to pull at threads that were started by other writers. That experience was really helpful when writing books 2 and 3 in this trilogy. Josephine Ruby did an excellent job setting up the plot and establishing the characters while also leaving tons of room for me to expand! 

ScoobySnax.com: Which of the two books was your favorite to write, and why?
Morgan Baden: Each of them was satisfying in different ways! With The Dark Deception, I got to build on decisions made in the first book while setting up some key moments that needed to pay off in the final book. Operating in that middle space is fun! For book 3, Buried Secrets, I wanted to introduce more characters and, with them, more tensions. Bringing a movie production to Crystal Cove and dissecting what kinds of drama – pun intended – would accompany it was a blast. I really enjoyed building out the tension and drama between all the characters. Especially Velma and Fred! 

ScoobySnax.com: I love how the series was able to include Easter Eggs to past Scooby content! When adding in Easter Eggs, did you try to reference aspects that had personal significance to you, or did you lean more towards references that would best serve the story?
Morgan Baden: A little of both! When writing in a world that’s already so well known and so beloved, you have to be careful. You want to balance all the elements that fans already know and love about the characters while also staying true to your own ideas and interests. 

ScoobySnax.com: I You did an excellent job creating a darker atmosphere in Buried Secrets! Did you find it natural to make the series darker, or did it require experimentation with tone and atmosphere?
Morgan Baden: The stakes needed to be higher in Buried Secrets, and my editor encouraged me to go darker. Once I got that green light, I didn’t look back. If I ever get the chance to continue the series, I’ll go even deeper and darker and keep raising those stakes. 

ScoobySnax.com: I Because this series is written for a teenage audience, the series is able to explore more mature character arcs that we don’t see in the original series. Which character arc was your favorite to explore?
Morgan Baden: Because the characters are teens, we wanted to make sure the relationships reflected real things teens go through: family stuff, friendship changes, and of course, some romance. I loved getting to explore all three of those for different reasons. Digging into the family dynamics for each character was exciting and helped make Daphne and Velma, and even Shaggy, more real; more grounded. Romance is always fun for me, so exploring what a Velma-Fred relationship might look like had me grinning as I wrote. But above all, the friendship between Daphne and Velma themselves was probably the most satisfying. Teen girls are complicated; there are so many layers to those friendships, especially when you have as much history as those two characters do. 

ScoobySnax.com: I really enjoyed how the series explored coming-of-age topics for a young adult audience. What message(s) do you most hope that readers will take away from Daphne and Velma’s lives in this series?
Morgan Baden: Being a teenager has gotten more and more challenging for each generation as the world around us changes so significantly. I hope readers see themselves in these characters and also see the empathy and admiration I hold for them. 

ScoobySnax.com: What was your favorite memory, and what was the biggest challenge of creating this series?
Morgan Baden: I wrote Buried Secrets at the height of the COVID pandemic. I had no childcare – in my region of the U.S., daycares and schools were virtual for months and months – so my husband and I swapped hours throughout the day to try and get our work done. It was exhausting. The world was dark and scary and stressful, but writing this book was fun and energizing and hopeful. I can’t think of my experience writing these books without also thinking of how challenging those days were, and how lucky I was to be able to escape into them. 

ScoobySnax.com: What memorable responses or feedback have you received about the series?
Morgan Baden: The Dark Deception came out a few months after the COVID pandemic hit the U.S., and as most readers know, the pandemic really hurt the publishing industry. Buried Secrets was then delayed for quite some time due to industry turmoil, and then eventually released only as an ebook. So it’s safe to say this trilogy hit a lot of roadblocks. Despite them, though, readers continue to find the books and constantly reach out to me about them. It’s been amazing. The Scooby community is so passionate and eager and helpful and hungry for more, and I have absolutely loved getting to know so many of you all through these books. I’m grateful for every DM, every email, and every review! 

ScoobySnax.com: Are there any current projects (or books you’ve worked on since publishing Daphne & Velma) that you’d like to share about?
Morgan Baden: If you like the four-friends-rallying-around-a-project concept, you all might enjoy my new middle grade series! Famous Anonymous was just released in September 2025, and it features two sets of middle school siblings who accidentally become famous on social media…only they’re in costumes in their videos, so no one in real life knows it’s them. They have to navigate what it means to be secretly famous, and how that impacts their friendships and their lives. The sequel, Famous Anonymous: Undercover Summer, comes out this July, wherever you buy books! ​

To conclude our interview, I wanted to share a couple of cool pictures Morgan shared with me! The first picture features Morgan's copies of the Daphne & Velma series. Although the third book was never in paperback due to printing issues, Morgan was able to get a custom copy printed from her ebook!

That wraps up my interview with Morgan! I want to give a huge thank you to her for taking time out of her busy schedule to do this interview. It was so fun getting to read her answers, and learn more about her experience writing these books. Hope you all enjoyed the interview!