Hello!
This time I am talking to author Christina Moss who was born in New England — close to Boston. She was raised and educated there. She was a teacher and guidance counselor at a private school in Cambridge, Massachusetts for ten years. Then she moved to Los Angeles in 1992. Currently, she is a life coach for young adults, and she writes novels — mainly Science Fiction.
Q: Do you remember the first story you wrote?
Christina Moss: Yes, I do. It was a dramatic poem about a handsome male who committed suicide by drowning himself in the ocean. Funny you should ask because I will never forget that poem. I might even still have it stashed away somewhere.
I’ve always been involved in writing but never really considered myself a serious writer until three years ago this month. That’s when I began writing my first novel, INTWINE. It was a very exhilarating experience for me and when I finished it in two months I had to admit to myself that I was an author. I didn’t know any authors and had no idea that two months for a full-length novel was actually pretty darn good. It wasn’t until later when I made friends with other authors that I realized most writers take a much longer time to churn out a novel, and a long time spent on a story does not necessarily mean it’s good.
I wrote three more after that first story. All four are published, and I’m working on my fifth now.
Q: Were you inspired by someone or something?
Christina Moss: Well, naturally, it’s the things that I find interesting that inspire me. For me interest equals inspiration. When I get excited about anything, I want to write about it. I figure there will be other people who find it equally fascinating too, and I imagine them reading it. Every artist needs an audience and that’s how I envision mine.
Q: What do you love about writing a story?
Christina Moss: EVERYTHING! I love dreaming up characters, I love action, I love inventing new things and describing them. I love the point where my characters become well-developed, and the story begins to write itself. Those things are the best kind of fun for me. It’s a little weird that I’m so emotionally impacted by my characters. I’ll literally cry my eyes out, or laugh hysterically while I write. I think that’s unusual for a writer, but I don’t really know. I read somewhere that Steven King doesn’t get frightened when he writes his own stories. I do not understand that, and someday I hope to meet him and ask him about that. I’ve written things that scared me so much it made me uncomfortable, and I found myself squirming and nervous. But I’ve only written four books and Steven King has written —. I don’t know how many. So many he probably doesn’t even know. In time maybe my personal emotional impact will wear off, or maybe it’s just part of my process as a writer. It doesn’t bother me or anything. It just is what it is.
Q: I understand you have written a saga called “Intwine”. Can you tell us a bit about the books and main characters Juliette Greenmoss and Seth?
Christina Moss: Yes, the INTWINE Saga consists of four books: INTWINE, INSIGHT, INCIRCLE and I’m currently writing the fourth one called, INSPIRE. It’s about a high school girl, Juliette, who meets and falls in love with Seth who she discovers to be an alien from a planet on the other side of the Milky Way Galaxy. Juliette, because of her love for Seth, is forced to confront a lot of shocking realities in a short period of time. There are lots of twists and turns in this story and because of that, it is not predictable. I don’t like predictable stories. My characters are so unpredictable they surprise even me.
Q: How did you come up with the story for the saga?
Christina Moss: Three years ago, in May, I woke up and had an idea for a story. I told my son about it, he thought it was awesome, and he told me I had to write it. So I started that night.
Q: Are the characters based on people you know?
Christina Moss: Not really. Each character is a composite of several people. Only the dog is based on a real living being. He’s my dog, Remy.
Q: You have also written a book called “Vampire of my Dreams,” can you tell us a bit about that?
Christina Moss: Yes! It’s a novella. It’s my mini-masterpiece. Everyone should read it, even if they don’t like to read. I wrote it for the non-reader, that’s why it’s short. It’s a free download on my website. Here’s the link: http://www.christinamoss.com/FREE-STUFF.html
Q: What do you love about writing Sci-Fi and fantasy?
Christina Moss: With Sci-Fi and Fantasy, it is not that I get to write and create “out of the box,” it is simply this: there is no box. It’s a blank canvas with no lines and I can write whatever I want.
Science Fiction and Fantasy readers tend to be intelligent. To read these genres, and appreciate them, requires a certain ability in the reader. They must be able to experience a “suspension of disbelief.” Not everyone is able to do that. It makes some people very uncomfortable.
There is something very special about Sci-fi in particular (which these days are better known as speculative fiction, but I happen to like the old-fashioned label). Science fiction doesn’t mean “impossible fiction.” Fantasy is impossible. But Sci-fi stories project ideas into the realm of future possibility. I write what I totally believe COULD happen.
My series, the INTWINE Saga is a perfect example. Very possibly there is a planet on the other side of the galaxy that is just like Earth, and it might be populated by humans. We don’t know yet. Even the Hubble spacecraft can’t see beyond the nuclear bulge, so we’re talking about a scientific unknown.
For a creative writer, that’s a wonderful thing. Because I can make it all up as I go along. And I get to create spaceships and decide how they should be powered, and space guns that operate in interesting ways and strange creatures and a galactic government called UTOPIA and the Earth is deliberately being kept in the dark.
For all I know, it could be factual. And if it isn’t, it sure is fun imagining it and I think my fans will tell you the same.
It’s interesting with early Sci-fi. Years have now passed and some of the projected speculative views of earlier authors have been proven to be non-factual. For example, there do not appear to be any green men on Mars. So what. Those stories now fall into the fantasy category. That’s the way I see it.
On the other hand look at the old Star Trek shows. Do you remember Captain Kirk’s little hand-held commlink? Looks a lot like a cell phone to me. Back then, Sci-fi fans thought it was the coolest thing in the world. There were no cell phones in that decade. But these days people literally do business, have relationships, and do their banking via cell phone. Our present culture factually LIVES and BREATHES through cell phones.
Q: Are you working on something new at the moment?
Christina Moss: Yes, I am! A multi-award-winning musician and recording artist has written a music soundtrack for my first book, INTWINE. The release of his CD is on June 3rd. The red carpet event will be broadcast live and worldwide through StageIt, an online venue. Tickets are selling fast but the last time I checked there were still some left.
Here’s the link: http://www.stageit.com/christina_moss_author/magnificent_intwine_project_cd_release_party/9187
Q: Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
Christina Moss: If you want to write a book, you should! Don’t worry about what happens next. Finish your book first and then call yourself an author, because when the book is done, you will be. Then find out how to present it and to whom it should be presented. That’s my advice.
Q: Which author inspires you?
Christina Moss: Ernest Hemingway, Isaac Asimov, Jane Austin, and Shakespeare. Shakespeare was a funny guy. Of all the writers in history, I’d most like to interview him. He had an exquisite understanding of human nature.
Q: Where can people go and read your work?
Christina Moss: All of my books can be found on my website listed below. The books are on Amazon. They’re also available for Kindle, and in various online bookstores. Readers can check out some sample pages on my website and request a free download of Vampire of my Dreams: http://www.christinamoss.com/FREE-STUFF.html
Q: Where can people find you on the internet?
Christina Moss: Website: www.christinamoss.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christina-Moss-Author-of-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/434887660141
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/christinaauthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4296074.Christina_Moss
WordPress: http://christinamoss.wordpress.com/
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/ChristinaMoss2012
Q: Is there anything else you want to share with the readers?
Christina Moss: Yes. Thank you! It is an honor to be interviewed for your website and I want you to know that I respect your project and your support of authors.
You are welcome 🙂 It was my pleasure!
Thank you Rena! And thanks again, Books & Writing for the interview.