Author Interview ~ CR Moss

Okee dokee… It’s another Monday and we have another author on our couch today with me and Megan.

:::Megan waves:::

So, let’s all make sure we give CR Moss a warm Menagerie welcome.

Welcome to The Menagerie couch, CR. Hope you have fun with us today. :-D

Let’s get started. Where are you from?

I’m from the hot, high desert in the southwest where I don’t have to deal with snow in the winter and, if I want to see the white stuff, all I have to do is look up
at the mountain ranges.

Yeah, I love living in the southwest. I rarely get snow.

Lucky duck. I get white stuff half the year on my front lawn. I’m jealous. When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Geez, I’ve been working toward a career in writing for as long as I can remember. I had been creating stories since I started to read, but the thought of writing for a living solidified when I was in middle school and received an A in English. I looked at the grade and that’s when my life was defined. I realized I could do it. From that point on, I put pen to paper to get my thoughts down and made sure to take classes appropriate to learning and honing the craft. I did Creative Writing and Drama in high school. My BA from Rutgers stems from a concentration of courses in Communications and English. I’ve even taken a couple of novel writing workshops where I was mentored one-on-one by a Kensington author (see mentor question). Now there are the classes at the conventions, conferences and through the local RWA chapter that I attend, which helps to keep me writing.

Wow, color me amazed!

You’re a busy girl. But all that practice and pushing makes you better, doesn’t it? If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Terri Valentine, author of several romances including Paradise Promised (Kensington, 1996), was my mentor and instructor in a couple of writing courses I took back in the late 90’s. If I had to choose authors I’ve only read and whose works I admire, they would be Stephen King and Anne Rice.

Very interesting…

Gotta love King and Rice. I finally made the jump to erotica after reading Anne Rice. Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

Not just one, but all my English teachers from middle school through college, including my literature and creative writing professors. & Terri was a big support, too.

It’s always important to have those people around you to support you and to make sure you know you’re not insane.

Love that support system. Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?

No, but when I pick places for my stories, I try to make them places I’ve been or where I have contacts so I can be as realistic as possible with the descriptions of the locations.

LOL, that sounds familiar.

See, Kealie? That’s why I ask you about Vegas all the time. Until I get there, you help me make it realistic.

Yes, yes, I see… you can bug me for details all you want and you know it, ya goob.

Speaking of stories, how many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

I’ve written about twenty-two stories that range from short works of about 4,000 words to novels over 75k. To date, my favorite Devine Destinies story is Postponing Eternity… Well, actually all three stories in the series are my favorites. I enjoyed writing about Tarrin and ‘seeing’ him on a regular basis. And from eXtasy Books, my favorite is Dirty Little Demons.

How awesome! That’s a lot of works. :-D

I love favorite characters. Sometimes it’s a shame to finish the story because it’s hard to let them go. But that’s where page one is a great thing—go back and start over. Kealie and I are both up and coming authors. Do you have any suggestions to help us become better writers? If so, what are they?

Learn the craft! This means grammar, characterization, plot, etc., all the good things that go into a story. You might be able to ‘tell’ a good story, but, if you can’t write it by showing what the characters are doing/feeling, your writing career won’t go anywhere. Get involved in a critique partnership/group. Learn the non-creative side of the business as well. Be prepared.

Ah, good thing we found each other. Now down to the fun questions, as a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

There was a very short time period when I was very young when I wanted to be an astronaut, but I have a fear of heights and was afraid that if I went up in the rocket that I’d fall back to Earth. Then I thought of teaching, but the older I got the less I wanted to work with kids. When it comes right down to it, though, I’ve always wanted to write, be a published author. And, here I am.

LOL, I don’t think we’ve had an author admit to that one before. Now, as Megan said, it’s time for our “absolutely-nothing-to-do-with-writing” questions: Do you hate how you look in pictures? Why or why not?

For the past several years I have. Basically I hate having my picture taken and how I look in them since I quit smoking and gained a lot of weight. When I was in my early 20’s I used to not mind having my photo taken and would actually ham it up for the camera.

There’s a gift in being comfy in one’s skin. What were you doing at midnight last night?

I was editing a story and watching television. I’m a bit of a night owl and sometimes that’s when I like to write and take care of revisions and such.

Oh, so you’re one of those peeps like me who can do more than one thing at a time. I’m dying to know what tv show you were watching, though. What is your favorite pizza?

When I’m not dieting, it’s pepperoni. When I’m trying to watch what I eat, I like to have spinach, onion and garlic.

Diets... pah....my balanced diet is a chocolate in each hand. I’d say something else, but I’d reveal way too much about me and the boys. Do you like thunderstorms?

Love thunderstorms! Especially when the sky turns that tinge of green. Unfortunately, where I live now, we don’t get too many of them.

Aren’t they comforting? Do you sleep with the light on? Why or why not?

Nope. In fact, our windows in our bedroom have black paper over them so that light can’t get in and just in case we have black-out curtains and black curtains hanging over them as well. Aside from our digital clocks, we like to sleep in complete darkness.

You must live with a vampire because that sounds like my windows. Gotta have it pitch black. Can you taste the difference between Pepsi and Coke? If so, which do you prefer?

When I used to drink soda, I preferred Coke over Pepsi and Diet Pepsi over Diet Coke, and, yes, I could tell the difference between the four.

And now we come to the time in the interview where we say “good bye” or at least, “Okay, we need the Cabana Boys to bring us some drinks so we can just hang out now. “ In any case, the interview is over.

CR thank you so much for hanging out with us today. It was great fun having you on the couch and getting to know you better. Don’t be a stranger.

Thank you as well to all of y’all that have popped in and read this interview. Thanks for hanging out too. So, until next time… don’t do anything we wouldn’t do.

C.R. Moss, a self-proclaimed eccentric and eclectic writer, pens stories for both the mainstream and erotic romance markets, giving readers Worlds of Possibilities. For more about the woman behind the keyboard and her books, visit: www.crmoss.net

Dirty Little Demons by CR Moss

So many demons, so little time. What's a slayer to do?

Hell's demons. Personal demons. Making sure her friend, Sophia, doesn't kill a dancer. Bonding with her soulmate. Ridding the world of the scourge that entered Las Vegas… It'll be a busy night.

Jaime Sue, now called Jay for confidentiality purposes, is back in Las Vegas, gearing up for a dangerous assignment. Sophia wants her to attend a revue with her. Master Dante requires her to go to the show since the two contacts she needs to meet work in it. There she realizes one of the dancers she has to bond with is her one, her soulmate.

While battling inner demons, fighting the demon-gang that came to town and fending off their leader, Ash, and falling in love, Jay finds there's more at stake than just her life.