Happy Anny & Contest!

Amazing how time flies! I’ve been published now for a year. Wow. Since that time I’ve had several stories released at eXtasy Books and Devine Destinies. My first book which was released on May 1, 2008 was Deliverance. It was the first book in the Si’Ludo Sisters series and received some really great reviews. Feel free to check out the reviews here: http://home.earthlink.net/~cr_moss/id5.html Then on April 1st the first novel I had started to write years ago and finally finished ~ Concealed Affairs ~ was released at eXtasy Books. And just the other day I found out it made the top ten list! Yea! Check out details on that story here: http://home.earthlink.net/~cr_moss/id9.html So to celebrate my publishing anniversary, & the fact that my story Concealed Affairs made the top 10, I’m holding a contest for a lucky winner to receive a free book of mine. All you have to do is comment to this blog between now and Sunday May 17 at 5 PM PST and your name will be entered into a drawing. Sunday night I will put all the names into a hat, one will be drawn and the lucky winner will be announced on my blog on Monday May 18. The winner will receive a list of titles to choose a book from. Good Luck!

A Writer’s Thoughts on Writing ~ C.R. Moss

I’m currently reading my way through Frank Herbert’s Dune series and in the beginning of Heretics of Dune he has a commentary on when he was working on Dune – “When I was writing Dune there was no room in my mind for concerns about the book’s success or failure. I was concerned only with the writing.” He goes on to tell about the series, the aspects of life the books would explore, and how the books slowly gained momentum and ultimate success. Toward the end he talks of success and says “Looking back on it, I realize I did the right thing instinctively. You don’t write for success. That takes part of your attention away from the writing. If you’re really doing it, that’s all you’re doing: writing.”
When I read that, it struck a chord in me. Granted, deep down all authors would love to become the next big name on the charts, but Herbert was right, when you’re truly into your story and working your craft, you aren’t thinking of much else. I know I don’t. I write because I love to craft pieces of art with the written word. There are times when I’m consumed in writing a story, sometimes to the exclusion of all else. Yes, you may think that can be lonely or might not be much of a life, sitting at the computer and typing for hours on end with no significant social interaction. But it’s what makes me happy. If through a story I can divert a reader’s mind from reality, help them forget life for awhile and make that person happy or at least feel different than they had before, then it’s worth it.
At the end of Herbert’s introduction he also writes, “There’s an unwritten compact between you and the reader. If someone enters a bookstore and sets down hard earned money (energy) for your book, you owe that person some entertainment and as much more as you can give. That was really my intention all along.” Like Herbert, my intention is to entertain people, suspend their disbelief, spark their emotions and imaginations, even if it’s only for a little while. And, in hopes of showing you that I’m not full of hot air or blowing my own horn (ah, gotta love the cliché!) I’ve included comments of others. In a reader’s review of my first book Deliverance, they had this to say, “Any emotion is good emotion and those you elicited from me were heart stopping and heart wrenching. My compliments to you in not only stirring them, but inciting them so strongly. Do not change your ability to affect readers in that spectacular manner. That's a gift, and a valuable one. I loved Deliverance and am looking forward to the next part of the series.” Then in a professional review for Deliverance from Alternative-Read.com reviewer WitchGiggles said, “I found this an interesting read that gave pause to the theory that woman is the weaker sex. I found the characters realistic (in some cases too much so) and believable. It was an overall good read.”
Deliverance, Book One of the Si’Ludo Sisters trilogy can be found, along with Salvation – Book 2 and Atonement – Book 3 at www.extasybooks.com. In the next few weeks my first print book, The Mystics, a compilation of the Sisters trilogy and a fourth story only to be found in the print version, will be released. On Halloween Dirty Little Secret a short Fantasy Games horror story will be available. For a look at more books feel free to visit my website: http://home.earthlink.net/~cr_moss and/or join my MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/cr_moss
Come, let me entertain you in my world, if only for a little while…

Author Interview: Romancing the Edge with CR Moss

Author Interview by A.J. Llewellyn

1. CR, I noticed on your bio you talk about how you grew up in a place with no kids around and little to do that was fun. You said that you wrote stories to entertain yourself…what kind were they? I grew up in a rural section of New Jersey, back when farms were the norm and the word Condo referred to a place in the city. The first place I lived in was nestled between a river and a farm, and the stories I created were fairy tale in nature – the great prince coming to rescue his love. I loved the stories of Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast as a child.As an adult, I still love the story of Sleeping Beauty but it’s the one by Anne Rice now. :-) Then as I grew older and we moved to a dead end street, again with no kids my age and a river at the end of the road, the stories morphed into romantic adventure tales. In my teens, I went to what I call the dark side. Romance? What’s that? Horror baby all the way. I wrote horror in to my adult years and didn’t go back to romance till a friend turned me on to A Knight In Shining Armor by Jude Devereaux.Now I write a mix. In fact the first horror story I’ve written in ages will be released on Halloween. Dirty Little Secret, a story for eXtasy Books’ Fantasy Games line, goes back to my horror roots, and I’m really looking forward to the book’s release! Then for the 2009 Valentine holiday season, my m/m story, Dirty Little Lie, the sequel to Dirty Little Secret, will follow suit.

2. Tell me about the inspiration behind the Si’Ludo Sisters trilogy? And will you really stop at three books? Stop at three books? Nope! (chuckles) The Si’Ludo Sisters trilogy is actually a spinoff of a longer, mainstream series I’m working on, which will consist of several books within two series so far: Si’Ludo Prophesy & Si’Ludo Rising. And I’m working on a sequel story to the Sisters trilogy, where the bad guy gets his due. The inspiration for the first Si’Ludo Prophesy story (Postponing Eternity) came from a dream I had. Then the spin off of the Sisters’ stories came from something my muse spun last fall. So I ran with that idea and incorporated it all together. Atonement, the third book in the trilogy – out September 1st – is a far cry from what I originally thought it would be. The characters took on lives of their own and partake in f/f and m/m scenes due to the ‘religion’ they practice.

3. Hawk-man is a compelling creation. Where did he come from? His 'character' just came to me. I don't know how or from where. The figure appeared and I wrote what I saw. ‘Tis the work of a writer's mind. Hawk-man is actually the war head-dress/mask of the Sufs, so when the men have to confront the heroine for the first time they’re in the official mask to hide their identities. I’m not quite sure where it came from. Maybe I saw something on the web or television. But for the most part Hawk-man is Cor’s dream version of himself when he tries to seduce the heroine. He uses the moon of his true home world as the setting since he feels powerful there.

4. I know you are a practicing Wiccan. How does this influence your writing? I use aspects of it in my writing, but it doesn’t fully influence it.

5. What is your favorite Wiccan holiday? Samhain (pronounced: Sow-win) Celebrated Oct. 31: Witches' New Year, marks the death of the God and his the arrival in the Land of Youth, where he opens the gates so the souls can revisit their loved ones. It is said to be the day when the walls between the worlds are to be the thinnest and when contact with one's ancestors can take place. It is celebrated with the Festival of the Dead. This is a time of reflection on the year and a celebration of our ancestors. Happy New Year! & Happy Halloween!

6. What is your work routine like? Do you write every day? I wish I had the energy/time to write everyday! In the morning I’ll check email, do the promotion tasks listed for the day on my database, then if it’s Tuesday thru Friday I head to my job. There are days on my lunch break I’ll write, or do promo and participate in chats. Other days I’ll critique my crit partner’s work or I’ll edit my own stories. A lot of my writing takes place Saturday, Sunday and Monday, the days I have off from my job.

7. Who are your favorite authors? I know you love Anne Rice…who else? You have such an interesting mix of sci fi horror and erotica…would you say she influences this the most? Yeah, I’m big on Anne Rice, but I don’t think any particular author’s work influences mine. I like to think I have my own voice. I believe my mix comes from the huge range of genres I’ve read over the years and the horror/sci-fi films & shows I’ve seen. With an English background in college I was exposed to a lot of different writing. But when it comes to my own tastes, authors I’ve bought on a regular basis over the years… Stephen King, Clive Barker (met him in person and got his autograph on a book), Jude Devereaux, Fern Michaels. I’m into Frank Herbert right now.

8. That’s funny, I met Clive Barker at a book festival and bought his book and he autographed it. I was astonished how normal he was. How nice. What was your experience like with him? It was great. He was a real nice guy. Answered my nervous, silly questions and drew us some pictures in our books to go with his autograph.

9. I know your favorite all-time band is Rush. Do you play Rush when you’re writing or do you prefer silence? Love Rush! Several years ago I saw them three times during one concert tour, twice in Jersey (we were living there at the time) and once in Las Vegas. Yep, took a weekend trip to catch them at the MGM. The first show we caught in NJ we had 12th row seats. It was heaven. Interestingly enough I don’t listen to Rush when I’m writing. Side note: They just did their first American TV appearance in 33 years. Thank god I have Tivo! Music by Rush is great to drive to.Okay, back on track… music while I write, right? I have satellite television so depending upon my mood and what I’m writing determines the channel I turn on, either Audio Visions (music that you’d hear in a massage therapy session/spa environment) or Squizz-XL (plays a lot of Alternative). Though, if I’m having trouble with a piece, I’ll work in silence until I get through the rough patch.

10. Are you cats jealous of your computer? Do they try and kill the keyboard? Nope. Calvin and Marius leave me alone because I’ve designated my work area as a Kitty Free Zone. So my keyboard and wires are safe from their furry little paws. Calvin was of the Calvin and Hobbes duo, named fourteen years ago after my favorite comic strip. When we knew Hobbes, our husky/lab pooch, wasn’t doing well health wise, we brought our second cat into the house to give Calvin a companion. A week later Hobbes went over the rainbow bridge. That was in October 2007. He was almost fourteen years old and had been born on the day we got married. Marius, our second cat, was a rescue, as were Calvin and Hobbes. Marius is named after the character in Anne Rice’s novels and acts as I always expected a cat to act. Calvin is very reserved and most times you don’t even realize he’s in the house.

11. Is your husband supportive, even enjoy your books? Does he read them? We’re pretty supportive of each others’ goals. He likes to run and is currently training for a marathon, which is not as time constraining (which is nice) as when he was training for the iron distance Silverman triathlon here in town. So I support him in his races and his reacquired golfing goals, and now that I’ve boosted my writing schedule he’s good with giving me space to do what I need to do. He even came to a book signing event I hosted with other eXtasy Books authors.

12. What was that like? And did you sell a lot of books? It was an interesting experience. We held it in a small venue (wine store/boutique) so it’s not like we had droves of people flocking through, but still, I sold a few books and the eXtasy Books’ anthologies (Violet Visions & Atlantis Allure) the other authors had available sold like hot-cakes. I told people “I’ve been to enough of his events that he can finally come to one of mine.” Good thing I can entertain myself with my stories, though, when it comes to his gigs, standing around for 3 to 4 hours while he’s out running a race would be boring otherwise. Yes, he’s read my first two books and I asked him to read the third in the trilogy to give me some reader insight, which he was happy to do. He says he enjoyed them.

13. How do you like living in Las Vegas? I went there almost every weekend for several years covering boxing and it has changed drastically…how do you feel about the grand old hotel casinos being demolished and big expensive ones replacing them? There’re casinos here? Just kidding. We rarely go to the Strip, only when people visit from out of state for the first time or if we’re down there for the LV marathon (look for the marathon and a threesome in my December 1st release Holiday Spirits), and we barely gamble anymore, so when it comes to the old buildings replaced by the new and improved it doesn’t bother me.For the most part I love living here, the heat, the sun, the blue sky. The original reason we moved here was for the weather so he could train for the Ironman in HI.

14. Hawaii? *Perks* My favorite place…did you love it? Sadly, we haven’t been to HI yet. Having been in two bike accidents, my husband has stopped training for triathlons, so the goal of qualifying for Kona is no longer a priority. Hopefully he and I will be able to visit the islands one day, whether it’s for a race or not.

15. Stephen King…who is fond of walking, turns up at your door…all the way from Bangor, Maine (he resists being hit by a car). He asks you to take him to your favorite hangout. Where do you take him and if you could ask him three things, what would it be? I take him to Steiner’s for a great burger and some Death Valley Chips. I thank him for the Dark Tower books and the ending of that series which I was pleased with. Then ask -- Question 1: Dude, what were you thinking at the end of It? 2: What was the deal with Tommyknockers? 3: Could we collaborate? :D

AJ: I’ll bet Mr. King would collaborate! Thanks to CR for her time and her talent…Find out more about C.R. Moss at her website http://home.earthlink.net/~cr_moss/ Check out her myspace page at www.myspace.com/cr_moss Her books are available at http://www.extasybooks.com/