Since my recording didn’t render much in the way of material to report, I asked each author to answer some of the standard interview questions. I love asking the same questions and seeing what each author has to say.
1. Where do you currently live?
CR- Las Vegas, baby, yeah! Land of sun and warmth and not too much humidity.
RM- I live in Henderson, Nevada.
2. Are you Married? kids? pets?
CR-I’m married and in a TINK situation, unless you count our cat as a K. He sure can be as needy as one. Interesting tidbit, Marius, our cat, is the inspiration for Myrddin, the feline in my current series with Devine Destinies. Oh and TINK is ‘two incomes no kids’ for those who might be wondering.
RM- I’m married, one son age eleven and a step-son age thirty two.
3. What/who/ How did you get started writing?
CR-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. Now there are the classes at the conventions, conferences and through the local RWA chapter that I attend, which helps to keep me writing.
RM- I’ve written for many, many years. From diaries to journals, to short stories. Six years ago I decided to try my luck at novel writing. My first novel took me five years to complete. I was in graduate school, so I wrote when I could. Usually early in the morning, and late at night.
4. Do you want to thank one person in particular for giving that extra push?
CR-Not just one, but all my English teachers from middle school through college, including my literature and creative writing professors.
RM- Yes, and she knows who she is; my writing soul-mate.
5. How many books did you attempt before you were published?
CR-I had a full novel completed and two others in the works when my first novella was contracted. Since then two of the full novels have been published, one which was expanded and split into three segments, and the third is currently being dismantled and worked into four different novellas
RM- Oh boy…a few.
6. Do you have any MUST haves to write? Food, drink or time?
CR-Sunflower seeds. Water or coffee depending upon the time of day.
RM- I need music in my ear. The type of music depends on the scene I’m writing.
7. Which novel is your favorite of your books?
CR-I’d have to say, right at this moment, it’s my novella Dirty Little Demons, the fifth story in my Dirty Little series. It was written in collaboration with my writing partner, RM Sotera. We’re quite excited about these stories. Check out the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKS7sNsJCzw
RM- Probably “A Thirsting Love,” the first book in my vampyre series. Yes…the name is spelled funky because we are not talking about the supernatural kind. Do I have you wondering?
8. Who is your favorite character?
RM-From the Dirty Little series, I have to say handsome demon Ash. Dark hair, eyes, goatee…think Robert Downey, Jr. in Iron Man either dressed in the suit in the desert or in that burgundy shirt and black dress pants http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2193856000/tt0371746
or http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2411959808/tt0371746…mmm…purr…
RM- My favorite character in my books is probably a tie for hero between Jordan in “Thirsting Love,” and Jett in “Dirty Dancer.” As for heroine, It was a blast to write Mia in “Thirsting Love,” and Sophia in “Dirty Dancer.”
9. How many books do you have in the works now?
CR-Let’s see… I have one I’m wrapping up that’s due out in the summer. That’s a time travel called Look What the Cat Dragged In for Julie and will be available through Devine Destinies. Then four more contracted. One is for extasy books—Dirty Little Boys, where Keg is the hero and has to rescue people from Hell, and where Ash lets a secret out. The others, stories that follow the remaining inhabitants and friends of Raritan Manor from the Look What the Cat Dragged In series, will be available through Devine Destinies during the next year or so. I’m also in various stages for about ten more stories from novellas to full length (80K+) stories.
RM- Too many!
10. For your next book, what is the name and when is the release date?
CR-My next book due out is Dirty Little Demons and is slated for release on June 15, 2010 through www.extasybooks.com.
RM- My next book in the Dirty series is titled “Dirty Deed.” The release date is pending. I need to finish writing it first.
11. . What made you write a dark book?
CR-My writing roots started in horror. I wanted to be the next great horror writer until a friend of mine lent me her copy of A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux. Since then I’ve been writing romance and currently merging romance with the darker aspects of life. What can I say? I like to torture my characters at times; In fact, the first two books in my Dirty Little series were considered ‘creepy’ by one of my critique partners. And my story, Beautiful People, is pretty disturbing as well. Dirty Little Demons isn’t as creepy or disturbing, but it still has a dark angle to it.
RM- My Catholic upbringing. LOL
12. Do you like writing the hot romance scenes?
CR-It depends upon the story and if my characters and muse are in the mood.
RM- It depends.
13. Do you have plans for another new book/series?
CR-Like I mentioned, I have about ten more WIPs. Some of those stories will finish out the Dirty Little series. Another one will be part of a cowboy series. The remaining stories will be for two other paranormal series and at this time I’m keeping mum about them. One has to have some mystery surrounding them, right?
RM- Yes…check out my website at www.rmsotera.com The site was updated recently with my works in progress.
14. What is the 1st book you remember reading and falling in love with?
CR-There have been different books at different times of my life. As a very young child, it was Winnie the Pooh. I think I drove my mother and the library people nuts with always taking out that book, along with Beauty and the Beast. As a young girl, there were Black Beauty and The Black Stallion. In high school it was Pet Sematary (& anything else by King). In my late teens and early 20’s they were Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, Remembrance by Jude Deveraux, then two by Clive Barker—Imajica and Weaveworld. The last book as an adult I can remember falling in love with was the third book in the Beauty series by Rice.
RM- Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility,” and “Interview With A Vampire.” Yes…I know, quite an eclectic mix.
15. Who are your favorite authors? Favorite series?
CR-In no particular order: Clive Barker; Stephen King – Dark Tower series; anything by Anne Rice (including her more recent works); Frank Herbert – Dune series
RM- Anne Rice remains all supreme for me. Love…I mean love…the “Sleeping Beauty” series.
16. What is your favorite quote?
CR-“This too shall pass.” (King Solomon)
RM-“Thou art to me a delicious torment.” Emerson.
18. Naughtiest book you ever read?
CR-I read V.C. Andrews in eighth grade—the first three in the Dollanganger series. I thought those were naughty. Then I read Rice’s Beauty series, Belinda and Exit to Eden the early 2000s. Now those were fun, naughty books.
RM- Probably the Anne Rice Beauty series.
CR also said:
Thanks for having me & my writing partner R.M. Sotera on the blog!
C.R. Moss, a self-proclaimed eccentric and eclectic writer, pens multi-genre 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: http://www.crmoss.net/
1. How does writing together work? I’m interested in the work process 🙂
2. tweeted here: http://twitter.com/Stella_ExLibris/status/14893955149
3. Stella
stella.exlibris (at) gmail (dot) com
Hi Stella,
For me, the writing process with CR has been a dream come true. It does not work for everyone, and you must truly trust the person you’re writing with. When we get together, the ideas flow like a river. I know that sounds a bit cliche, however, it’s the truth. I call it a kindred writing spirit.
When we started working on our joint venture, “Dirty Little Demons” and “Dirty Dancer,” we talked for hours on the phone, emails, and in person. Our idea of writing jointly differed from many authors who write together because our stories are in two different books. Meaning, we didn’t joint write the same chapter. The premise is one night, one show, two best friends, ending in a night they will never forget. It was truly exciting to watch the books take form since we wrote from different character points of view many of the same scenes.
This is how our procedure worked. We would brainstorm scene one, write chapter one, email each other our work. We looked for consistency in storyline, and plot, then moved on to the next scene.
I say…if you are interested in writing with a partner, get together with that person and brainstorm a few ideas…see where that takes you.
Our joint project is due to release on June 15th, and we are stoked about it. So stoked, we have several projects waiting in the wings. And the funny thing is…everytime we talk…we add something new. LOL
Yes…CR and I will continue to be a writing team way into our golden years.
Great interview and thanks for letting us in on how you work together!
I haven’t read your work . . . yet! That will soon change. 🙂
I wish you both every success!
(Don’t enter me in the contest, Kelly.)
Stella ~ RM summed up the writing partnership pretty well. Lots of discussion and back and forth, asking each other ‘if your character did/said this then mine could do this’ & ‘if this happens in your story then i could have __ happen in mine.’ A partnership is a trust thing. It’s also a fun thing. I think if you and the person you’re working with aren’t clicking and you’re not having fun then it might not work. There’s a lot of give and take and you have to be open to ideas and changes. RM and I have a great symbiotic writing relationship.
Adrian ~ Thanks for stopping by and that you enjoyed the interview!
=)
C.
Love the covers!!!
Of course I have the badge! On my sidebar
Leilani
[email protected]
Hi Leilani! Thanks for stopping by. Dirty Little Secret and Dirty Little Lie were done by Martine Jardin. The rest were done by the wonderfully talented Angela Waters.
=)
C.
Great interview, both of you – and what fun, to hear how you write together! Collaboration can lead to wonderfully rich experiences, on and off the page – sounds like the ideas really flow and you have a lot of fun. Congrats on the joint venture!
Adriana
Thanks for stopping by Adriana! Glad you liked the interview & you’re right, collaborating is a rich experience!
=)
C.
Thanks HH! We were having such a great time together there wasn’t much on the tape so DL actually had to send us a Q&A. 😀
It was such a pleasure meeting you two!
=)
C.
Hi HH,
We really did have an awesome time with you and DL. The laugh fest of the century. And the golden cucumber goes to…
I enjoyed the interview and those book covers are killing me! (must fan self)
I’m glad today is payday because I plan to buy some books this weekend!
I posted on Twitter..
http://twitter.com/bl0226/status/14932747403
Thanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 at gmail dot com
Hey there Tracey! Thanks for stopping by. Yeah, those covers are hot aren’t they?
=)
C.
Yes we will! Looking forward to your next visit. We’ll do the show again with you.
Thanks for the interview and having us on here!
=)
C.
WHoa! I really like your blog! LOL Sexay! Anyway am following you now from Fun Follow Friday ehhe
check out our blog
http://goodchoicereading.blogspot.com
Hi guys! The interview turned out great. I’m not sure what the tape had but tons and tons of laughing, but it looks like DL got an interview out of all the joking around after all!
Hi RM & CR
Had so much fun with this interview. We have to get together for girls night out next time I’m in Las Vegas. See what kind of trouble we can get into.
Glad all these new peeps are getting to know you and your books as well.
DL
You are so welcome. Should be posting some book reviews of yours soon.
Sorry I wasn’t on much today to chat, my oldest has a home pass from the base for the weekend! Yeah…
Hope to chat soon. I may be coming out in June…
Thanks for the great interview. It was great to find out that people can work so great together and come up with something as great as these books
Shared on Twitter –
jellybelly82158
http://twitter.com/jellybelly82158
Shared on Facebook – user name
jellybelly82158
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000594583971
Hey CR & RM What Inspires The Both Of You To Write Your Books? If You Were Not Writers What Would You be Doing?
I Posted This Link On My Facebook Page (Raquel Vega-Grieder).
http://www.facebook.com/skyla11377
I Tweeted About This Event (@skyla11377).
http://twitter.com/skyla11377/status/15008364268
Name: Raquel Vega-Grieder
skyla11377(At)AOL(Dot)Com
Why do you write exotic novels instead of regular paranormal ?
-follower
[email protected]
Thanks for stopping by everyone!
Jellybelly – glad you liked the interview!
Raquel – Thanks for stopping by! Different things inspire me. I’ve gotten ideas from songs and song titles; snippets on tv & in newspaper articles; watching people on the street, etc. & if i weren’t writing…before i became published, probably working as an admin in an office somewhere. after, physical therapy/personal trainer.
Elizabeth – Thanks for stopping by! I write both mainstream and erotic romance in several different genres. Writing erotic allows for the use of certain words and frank description of the sexual act so if the story calls for it, i use it.
=)
C.