K.S. Hello and welcome to the blog. I am very
excited to have you here. Why don’t we start off with a small introduction?
Tell us a little about yourself.
Hi! Thanks for having me here today. :) My name is Chris, and I write under the
names C.R. Moss for erotic and mainstream romance and Casey Moss for mainstream
dark fiction (horror, suspense, urban fantasy). My professional bio for C.R.:
“An eccentric and eclectic writer, C.R. Moss pens stories for the mainstream
and erotic romance markets, giving readers Worlds
of Possibilities when it comes to love.” Basically I write stories from the
light and sweet to the dark and deadly with varying degrees of sexual heat. The
bio for my other persona: Casey Moss delves into the darker aspects of life in
her writing, sometimes basing the stories on reality, sometimes on myth. No
matter the path, her stories will take you on a journey from the light-hearted
paranormal to dark things unspeakable. What waits around the corner? Come explore…
K.S. Any interesting writing quirks or stories you
would like to share with my readers?
Writing
story/background: Upon my ‘calling.’ I had written a story for a magazine. It’d
been rejected, but that was my start. After that, I began studying the craft of
writing. It started with working on the school newspaper in middle school to
creative writing classes and Teens Art Festivals in high school. I received a
BA in Communications, Information and Library Studies from Rutgers College
with a strong concentration in English Lit/Writing and Interpersonal
Communications/PR. Studying under the mentorship of Terri Valentine (author of
‘Sands of Time,’ a Zebra Historical Romance), I honed my novel writing skills.
In the mid to late 2000s, I finally put my foot down, got over my nerves and took
the plunge into submitting stories to publishers. I’ve been published since
2008, and as for the craft, I’m still learning things by taking the occasional
online class, attending industry conferences, and devouring all the writing
how-to books I can get my hands on.
K.S. When did you realize you wanted to be a
writer? What sparked the desire to pen your first novel?
For a very
brief period of time, I had ideas of becoming a teacher or an astronaut. Both
occurred before the age of ten. But for the most part, I knew I wanted to write
at a young age, as early as I learned to read. I was always cooking up stories
to entertain myself in the rural area I lived in. Had to since there were no
other kids around to play with. My defining moment came when I received an A in
English in grade school. I was just shy of being a teenager when I had my ‘calling.’ Ever
since then, most of my choices in life have revolved around my goal of becoming
a full-time fiction writer and being published. In answer to the other question,
see the reply in the next spot.
K.S. What would you say has inspired you most in
your writing career? Or, who is your favorite author and why?
The
early works of Stephen King, like The
Shining, Pet Sematary, Carrie and Christine, turned me on to writing and started me on writing horror
and then in the early 90’s I read Jude Deveraux’s A Knight in Shining Armor which started me on romances and romance
writing.
K.S. What genre do you write?
I like to explore different genres. Keeps me open
to whatever my characters want.
K.S. What does your family think of your writing?
Depends upon
which family member you talk to. My mom doesn’t quite like my erotic stuff. My
one sister won’t read my erotic stuff. My other sister reads anything of mine.
Hubby’s read my stuff, likes that I’m writing cause it makes me happy, but he
does sometimes wonder where my mind goes with the stuff I come up with.
K.S. What was one of the most surprising things
you learned while creating your book/s?
I don’t think
I’ve come across anything too surprising yet. ;)
K.S. What inspires you?
I get ideas
from everywhere…conversations, news headlines, television, songs. On occasion
I’ve been known to pull from my old careers and the people I’ve known, drawing
out tidbits of personalities for characters, places for settings and
information to assist with subject matter—for example, using the basis and
background knowledge of energy work that I learned in the massage field for
paranormal stories I’ve worked on. I love using the places I’ve lived in and
visited as the settings. There was one story I wrote (it’s not available at the
moment) where I used a situation I’d been in one night on a beach. Granted, I
elaborated on the situation and made it much more intense than it had been, but
the foundation was there.
K.S. Can you tell us a little about any of your
novels?
Today I’m here to tout my
latest C.R. Moss release, Lovers and the
Fiend, which is a story in Evernight Publishing’s Naughty Fairy Tale line.
The characters, Jack and Kristina, appeared in my short story – Chasing Miss Kringle – that’s in an
Evernight Publishing anthology – Stockings
and Suspenders. This is the first of a handful of stories I have planned
for the NFT line that revolve around the world started in CMK and Lovers. You don’t
have to read the anthology story to read Lovers,
but it’d be nice if you did. ;)
Blurb/Back jacket copy:
Ex-cop turned private investigator, Jack Vorst, learns his elf girlfriend Kristina has been missing for a few days after being invited to an underground vampire club. He, too, is summoned to visit club Hexenringe and is taken captive. Jack finds Kristina bound and gagged in a human sized bird cage. They’re both thrust into a kinky world at the hands of Kol, the club owner. Kol, a vampiric beast, shifts into human form to be with Jack and Kristina and needs them to remember their pasts and to love him so he can return to what he used to be. Can Kol make the pair fall in love with him despite his current situation and the fact he’s keeping them captive or will they leave, making it too late for him to change all their fates?
Blurb/Back jacket copy:
Ex-cop turned private investigator, Jack Vorst, learns his elf girlfriend Kristina has been missing for a few days after being invited to an underground vampire club. He, too, is summoned to visit club Hexenringe and is taken captive. Jack finds Kristina bound and gagged in a human sized bird cage. They’re both thrust into a kinky world at the hands of Kol, the club owner. Kol, a vampiric beast, shifts into human form to be with Jack and Kristina and needs them to remember their pasts and to love him so he can return to what he used to be. Can Kol make the pair fall in love with him despite his current situation and the fact he’s keeping them captive or will they leave, making it too late for him to change all their fates?
Warning: ménage
a trios, M/M, bondage, anal sex, sex toys, public exhibition
A peek into the beginning of the story…
Chapter One
A peek into the beginning of the story…
Chapter One
I have your woman. A nice piece of ass
she is, too. She tells me you’re not bad yourself. I would love for you to join
us later. A car will be waiting for you outside your office at noon today where
my assistant will fill you in on some details. If you know what’s good for you
and your gal, you’ll take advantage of this invitation. See you soon. ~ Kol
Ainmire
Jack
Vorst’s temper went full tilt within a second. His blood pounded hard through
his head and body. He’d told Kristina to be careful when she went out on her
cases, but it seemed she still had gotten herself in trouble. Not good.
“Vic!
Get in here!” Trying to check and rein in his anger before he popped a vessel,
Jack grabbed the letter he’d found on his desk while going through a stack of
mail and a couple of case files. The paper crinkled within his one clenched
hand, and the envelope it’d come in bunched up in his other.
He
kept his gaze downcast, ground his teeth. No sense in looking at the tan
colored walls that were littered with stenciling in his office and be more
irritated than he already was. The design and colors reminded him of the Native
American beaded belts people sold at roadside stands.
Vic’s
wife, Malory, who worked in the adjoining office suites, loved her southwestern
motifs. All the rooms for both divisions of the business were decorated to
represent Arizona and New Mexico. The decorating style with too many colors and
crazy patterns made his head swim, gave him a headache. He hated headaches.
Staring
at the crumpled papers in his hands, he sighed. Truth be told, Kristina’s
whereabouts and her lack of checking in for several days only concerned him a
little. She was able to take care of herself, and he trusted her. He loved her,
wanted her to be safe, so of course he worried some. But being an elf gave her
an advantage that mere humans didn’t have—the ability to escape situations by
simply disappearing and reappearing elsewhere.
Except
this time.
K.S. Where can we buy your novel?
Evernight
Publishing:
http://www.evernightpublishing.com/lovers-and-the-fiend-by-c-r-moss/
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Lovers-Fiend-Naughty-Fairy-ebook/dp/B00B5OAMPI
All Romance
eBooks:
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-loversandthefiend-1048240-140.html
Bookstrand:
http://www.bookstrand.com/lovers-and-the-fiend
K.S. Do you have a website, fan site, or Blog that
we can visit?
Find C.R. Moss
here ~
Email: contact@crmoss.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CRMoss
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CRMoss.author
Website: http://www.crmoss.net
Blog: http://crmoss.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CRMoss
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CRMoss.author
Website: http://www.crmoss.net
Blog: http://crmoss.blogspot.com/
Double D Ranch
Tales: http://doubledranchtales.blogspot.com/
Evernight
Publishing – C.R. Moss: http://tinyurl.com/CRMoss-EvernightPublishing
Decadent Publishing: http://tinyurl.com/CRMoss-DecadentPublishing
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/C.R.-Moss/e/B002DBE49W
All Romance Ebooks: http://tinyurl.com/CRMoss-ARe
Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/cr-moss
Link for Casey Moss ~ http://caseymossbooks.com/
Decadent Publishing: http://tinyurl.com/CRMoss-DecadentPublishing
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/C.R.-Moss/e/B002DBE49W
All Romance Ebooks: http://tinyurl.com/CRMoss-ARe
Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/cr-moss
Link for Casey Moss ~ http://caseymossbooks.com/
K.S. Do you have any closing advice to aspiring
writers?
After learning
the craft, as in grammar and story structure, start promoting yourself before
the first story is picked up/published. And if you’re going the e-book route
through e-book publishers, get two or three places under your belt right away.
If you’re doing the independent route (or e-publisher even), perhaps finishing
two or three books first before you send book one out to the world would be a
good idea. This way you don’t have to rush to build a back list and can space
out the publications of the ones you already have done while you work on more.
But on top of knowing about writing mechanics, learning about marketing and
promotion and getting that going is just as important.