Thursday 29 May 2014

#Guestinterview with @CaseyMoss_ #newrelease Open World @evernightpub

I have the lovely Casey in my hot seat today, so settle in to get to know her, as she tells us about her newest release

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Q. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Currently a resident of the hot, high desert in the southwest, I knew I wanted to write at a young age, as early as I learned to read, cooking up stories to entertain myself in the rural area I had lived in. But I took a roundabout way to settle down as a fiction writer, having worked in the corporate and real estate realms writing newspaper articles, press releases, corporate newsletters, etc. Now that I’m settled in the desert, I’ve returned to my first love: creative writing. When I’m not working at my computer cooking up another tale, I can be found hanging out with my husband and cat, reading a book, chillin’ in front of the TV, or working on a craft project. I’ve also been known to play WOW and other computer games.
I received “the calling” to be a writer in the sixth grade, though I had been writing earlier than that and always had a sense that’s what I’d do when I grew up. Back in middle school, I remember getting an A on an English project and that’s when my inner voice/sixth sense said I would definitely write for a living.
I’ve been studying the craft of writing since my early teens. It started with working on the school newspaper in middle school to creative writing classes and Teens Art Festivals in high school. I received my 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. Now I find myself taking the occasional online class and devouring all the writing how-to books I can get her hands on.

Q. What made you write ‘this’ story?

The world of C.O.V.E.N. (Clans of Vegas – Endless Night) first appeared in Evernight Publishing’s anthology Keyboards & Kink (available here: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/keyboards-and-kink/ & at other fine e-tailers) in Casey’s story, AFK.
In AFK, we saw a peek into I-D-8 Entertainment’s in-production MMORPG: Clans of Vegas – Endless Night, also known as C.O.V.E.N. when Beth and another gamer got sucked into the game for real.
Now, when it comes to Open World, it’s actually made up of parts from two novellas that had been previously published. Those stories were my very first published ones released in 2008 under my alter ego’s name. A few years ago, I received the rights back on them, and they sat in a file until this year. There’s been some major work done to revamp them from a sci-fi’ish plot to the computer gaming one present in the book today. I am so excited these stories, and more to come in the C.O.V.E.N. world, have found new life and a great new home with Evernight Publishing.



Q. Tell us about your cover.

Isn’t my cover awesome?! I love the coloring of the city and sky which represents how it looks during the day in the story. The women in the book come into their special powers and that’s symbolized by the weapon in her hand. Then of course since this is about a computer game, we have the power button symbol. :)

Q. Describe a typical day’s writing for us

First thing I normally do is check email, then I’ll check Facebook. Next I’ll get to my writing projects. When I’m working on a story, I’ll reread and do editing on the parts I haven’t edited yet to catch myself up. I’ll make the font a color other than black to keep track of what I’ve already gone through. Then I’ll write the new material. If I’m starting a new project, I do an information dump and outline as much of the story that’s in my head first thing. Then I work off the outline, fleshing out all the ideas and stuff as per above.  But then, when I'm really focused on a project, I tend to just plough through it and focus only on getting it done...staying up late writing, getting up early and getting back to the story, eating when I think I can get away from my ‘desk’ without ruining the flow... I say ‘desk’ because sometimes if it’s nice outside, I’ll grab my notebook and pen and either sit on my patio, or go to the pool, and write. The house and social life suffers, but I’m a slave to my art. :) Sometimes editing gets thrown in there or a blog post or two along with other promotional items, but that’s the life of a writer.

Q. What inspires you?

Music has been known to inspire stories for me. I’ll catch a line of lyric and it gets my mind going. Same with dialogue on television or between people in conversations I hear. News articles are known to get my creative juices going too. 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.

Q. If you weren’t a writer what would you be?

I’ve worked as a massage therapist, real estate agent and as an office admin/executive assistant. Most of my choices in life have revolved around my goal of becoming a full-time fiction writer and being published. Writing is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid. It’s like breathing and eating. It’s intrinsic, a must do or I’ll go crazy type thing. I’m an author in my soul. But, if I had no choice and couldn’t be a writer, I’d probably fall back on what I’ve done in the past.

Q. Do your characters ever surprise you?

Yes. There was one part of a story where a character ended up sacrificing herself and died for the greater good. I hadn’t planned that in the least.

Q. What could not do without when you’re writing?

Water, internet (thesaurus & google) & some kind of background noise.

Q. What words of wisdom do you have for the aspiring authors out there?

Learn the craft, from grammar to story building and everything in between. Adhere to the rules for a while. Once you do that, then you’ll understand how and when to break the rules and really let your creativity thrive.  After learning the craft, 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 in starting 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.

Q. Where do you see yourself in ten year’s time?

Making an extremely good living from my writing. Hopefully I'll have a beach house for vacations by then too.

Q. Do you have a favourite quote?

This too shall pass.

Q. Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?

Yeah, I do. When that happens, I go and focus on a non-writing related project to clear my mind and let my muse chew on the issue. More often than not, doing so helps to get rid of the block.

Q. What other books can your readers look forward to?
I’m working on the next book in the C.O.V.E.N. series. I have that book and three more in the works. I’m also hoping to revamp and re-publish an erotic horror series I have in my files.



Q. And finally can you share the blurb and excerpt with us?

Sure! Happy to! :)
In the story, Open World, some of the employees of I-D-8 have joined together for a LAN party to test the game. For definitions on the computer gaming term: open world, check out http://www.techopedia.com/definition/3952/sandbox-gaming).



~ Blurb ~
The world has broken out in wars. Las Vegas has been ravaged by chemical warfare and is now home to several clans and creatures.
Welcome to I-D-8 Entertainment’s newest game: Clans of Vegas—Endless Night.
Friends and family have gathered for a crunch time playtest of C.O.V.E.N.. When a horrible thunderstorm hits, everyone’s sucked into the game for real. In the MMORPG, Hope Collins is kidnapped by Buzz and forced to submit to his whims. Her boyfriend, Alden, has to delay his quest of defeating a clan’s prince to save her, but time and circumstance don’t seem to be on his side. Faith Collins is bombarded by strange dreams brought on by Buzz. Her boyfriend, Tavis, learns to dream walk, but can he help break the spell she’s under and save her before she’s lost to him?
C.O.V.E.N. is more than just a game. It’s a whole other world.

~ Excerpt ~

“I thought you might be interested in a hobby.” Buzz pointed at the yarn, which she put on the floor next to her. “The other items are to help you become the proper, submissive wife.”
“Speaking of being the proper wife. When are you going to give me some satisfaction as a husband should? Or do you have a problem in that department and can only get off on torturing helpless victims? Ones you have to capture and make submit to you?” The words tumbled out of her mouth without thought.
Buzz narrowed his eyes. His nostrils flared. “It’s not time yet for me to take your innocence,” his strained voice grit out. “And, for your lack in restraint in speaking to me, you will spend all night on the porch.”
“Yes, my love.” The dismal words seemed to fall on deaf ears. Doing as he’d instructed, she crawled behind him out to the back of the house.
He cranked open the windows. She undressed from the white shirt and gray skirt uniform, stepped forward and presented her hands in the air to be secured. Once she was in place, he took the dildo with the long horsehair attached to it and whipped her with the strands. Her ass cheeks burned and clenched each time they were marked with the lashes.
“Ah, what a lovely shade of deep pink my dear, like a nice piece of medium rare steak.” He slapped the area with his hand, then prepped the dildo and her anus with lube. Buzz shoved the toy up her ass.
The hairs danced in the breeze coming through the open windows and tickled her thighs.
Pins were placed on her nipples. She did her best to not react to the shooting pains zinging through her breasts. A blindfold covered her eyes.
Metal clanking and scraping sounded nearby. He didn’t leave the area as he normally would? Not liking the change in routine, the fact he stood somewhere close to her sent her nerves and heart racing.
Seconds later, a cold structure pressed against her abdomen. She recognized the cool metal to be the step ladder which usually sat in the corner. The apparatus pushed against her. When she heard the whiz of his zipper, she opened her mouth and granted him access. There was no use trying to fight him considering the position she was in.



Thanks for having me on your blog today! Here’s a bit more about me, where you can find me & buy the book…



~ Bio ~
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…

~ Casey Moss Links ~
Website: http://caseymossbooks.com/

~ Buy Links ~


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