About CrissyMoss

I've been writing as long as I can remember.

The Half Blood Sorceress

Posted on May 9, 2016 by CrissyMoss

The Witch’s Trilogy is finished, and I’m off to the next project. It took me a little while to decide which project to work on, but I finally nailed it down.

I thought it best to stick with the fantasy genre for now but I wasn’t ready to go back to the world of Peyllen just yet. Instead I found a plot I’d written at NorWesCon last year and realized this was a perfect time to write it. At first I was concerned that it was a single book instead of a trilogy… Then I started plotting it. What started as a “simple” story, a one off plot, grew into a five book arc.

The more I work on the plot for this series the more I fall in love with the setting and characters. This world is completely different from Peyllen, with only two races: humans and dragons. Cities and small towns are spread out around a vast continent, and there are places walled off from the rest of the world by dragon-kin. Vast oceans to cross. And forgotten cities sinking into swamp lands inhabited by ancient forgotten creatures.

It’s a vast, beautiful world that I can’t wait to introduce you to.

And the amazing part? Just how quickly the plot has flowed out. 4k a day. The only time I’ve written that much before was back during the toughest parts of NaNoWriMo. The five books plotted out show the amazing journey of Sybel, the half blood sorceress, as she gets closer and closer to the raging ice dragon at the far ends of the world. There will also be a companion book about her friend Lucia, the servetor, and possibly a second companion book about the ice dragon, himself.

What’s a half blood sorceress? And what’s a servetor? I’ll be sharing those juicy bits as the story unfolds because… I think I’m ready to start writing! I’ve got plots, and foreshadowing, and different characters sketched out… Now it’s time to breathe some life into them.

I’m so excited!

The beginning is often the hardest story to tell.

Posted on May 6, 2016 by CrissyMoss

A few weeks ago I announced on the Bradbury Challenge that I would be finishing, and publishing, Witch’s Sight. I finally finished writing it tonight, now it just needs a bit of an edit. However, I wanted to give everyone here a quick peek behind the scenes. You get to read it before anyone else.

As you probably know, the Witch’s Trilogy is now finished. While finishing up the last book in the series I started thinking about the origin of the Little Mother, and how she made her own escape from the acolytes. That tale is here, in Witch’s Sight.

I love this world, and I’m going to keep coming back to it with new books down the road. It is such a wonderful world to write in. However, the other stories I have planned for the world of Peyllen don’t take place in the Sea of Tears. They are in the far distant realms beyond the edge of the sea. I will eventually be making a website specifically for Peyllen with a timeline, maps, and some more information about the world at large.

For now, I’m off to write in a different direction, taking a short break from Peyllen to see what other mischief I can get into.

And, as promised, here is Witch’s Sight.

***************

~~Witch’s Sight ~~

Katrina sat in a sea of people, all of them moving at once. They were big as trees, towering over her. Though she clung to mama’s hand, Katrina shivered. The big people were screaming at someone, shouting and calling names. Names she’d never heard before. But she didn’t need to know what they were to know they were bad. Just the way they screamed them out told her so.

The bodies pressed in, jostling her against mama, and she clung with all her might as the sea of people tried to sweep her away.

“Mama!” she screamed, but no one could hear her above all the voices, the screaming. The crying.

Mama grabbed her, and pulled her up into her arms. Safer, Katrina sunk down into mama’s embrace, feeling mama tighten her grip, keeping her safe from the crowds.

“Look away, Katrina,” mama cried. “Don’t look!”

It was an order. Mama gave so few orders, and Katrina tried to obey them all. She did now, shutting her eyes tight as she lay her head against mama’s shoulder. But the commotion outside her mother’s embrace was too enticing. Katrina wanted to look, wanted to see what the people were yelling at, and wanted to see what angered them so.

She blinked, catching glimpses of people towering over a small figure at their feet. Another blink, red blood covering the small figures face, hair a mess.

It was a girl with short hair lying on the ground. The girl tried to scramble to her feet, slipping on the wet stones. She wasn’t much bigger then Jamie, Katrina’s neighbor who came to watch Katrina when mama was in the fields. But Jamie was always smiling and happy, this girl was crying. Dirty tear tracks ran down her face, and she pulled herself away from the crowd, clawing at the stone to get away.

“Why are they so mad, mama? Did she do something bad?”

“Look away, Katrina. You’re so young. You shouldn’t see this.”

Mama pushed through the crowd, elbowing people to get out of the way. Katrina watched as the tiny figure got swallowed up by the crowds, and still she could not understand why they were hurting the girl.

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The Trilogy is Complete!

Posted on April 30, 2016 by CrissyMoss

The trilogy is now complete!

Witch’s Sacrifice

Her forbidden secret will make her powerful… and hunted.

Witch’s Curse

Hunted since birth, now Okira must use the power she’s been hiding…or die trying.

Witch’s Stand

The battle has been won, but the war is far from over.

One last short story, “Witch’s Sight,” to come out next weekend. It’s going to the editor today. Or you can get the entire trilogy in one convenient pack, with the bonus short story. That will also be out next weekend also.

The final short story is how Salvia became the little mother.

I am so thrilled to have them all completed. The story tells a wonderful transformation from meek girl to powerful witch, and leader of her time.

A quick update

Posted on April 29, 2016 by CrissyMoss

Good morning all you lovely people out there. It’s a beautiful day. The sun is shining. And I am just happy as a clam.

I thought I would give everyone just a little update.

I’m waiting for the final edits on Witch’s Stand. It should be out this weekend though.

I finished Witch’s Sight last night so I’ll be doing some editing on it and it should be out in a couple weeks. I will probably send it to my newsletter tonight as a sneak preview.

I also have some other short stories done. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do with them. Release as an anthology? Shelve them? Print them and make them into wreaths? A couple of them are long enough to be stand alone short story books, but they still need edits and covers.

Otherwise, I’m just deciding on the next project to do. Urban fantasy, or regular fantasy? Dragons or gods? Then there is the scifi young adult book… So many books, so little time.

Thoughts?

And it’s out!

Posted on April 17, 2016 by CrissyMoss

this It’s here! The Scarab Necklace

A prima donna pop star. Her mousy assistant. And a cursed necklace that slowly changes their personalities.

It is longer then the other Illicit Gains Saga shorts and qualifies as a “novelette”, but who actually uses that word anyway? So i guess it’s a really long short story. All I know is: it’s good. I love it, and I’m so happy it’s finished and out for everyone to read.

The next one in the series is going to be a little complicated. It’s about a pocket watch and involves time travel. I’m going to need a timeline and a lot of notes. Thankfully I already have a basic plot.

I also have “Mirror” which was sent to my newsletter a few weeks ago. That is episode zero of this series. I’ll be editing that and publishing it May 27 or Jun 3rd.

An prophec3y d I think I potionshop should mention that Prophecy by Barlight and Potion Shop are free this weekend. If you haven’t picked them up yet now is a great time to do so.

Even more exciting news! Witch’s Stand should be out in two weeks!!!!! I’ve got the edits back and I just need to do my revision, and send it back to the editor (which takes less time the second time around) and then a quick revision before uploading it. So excited!

Plus, just look how great these covers look together: threecovers

A Busy Month

Posted on April 6, 2016 by CrissyMoss

Books are coming!

The Scarab Necklace will be out this weekend. A novella in the Illicit Gains series, it follows Samantha as she shifts from mousy assistant to the heroine, Becca Blake, into a self assured woman. And it just takes a little assistance from a magical artifact to do it. Never mind that the artifact has some nasty side effects.

Then I should be getting edits back for Witch’s Stand early next week. Another week to edit, and it will be published by (I hope) the end of the month, or beginning of May.

In May I have Witch’s Sight (a prequel to the Witch’s Trilogy) and Mirror (a prequel to the Illicit Gains series) coming out.

I have a few ideas for a June release as well. I’m not sure if it’s going to be an anthology, or a stand alone yet, but I have a few things that I’ve been working on. I do have a lot of science fiction short stories from the Bradbury Challenge to polish and publish. I will be doing that in June or July.

I should probably put up calendar of expected publications, because I have several more that will be happening up until October.

I have been working hard finishing up a few new stories to get up on amazon, and on getting healthy again. I really can’t wait to share some of these new stories with everyone.

And, just a reminder, if you’d like to read the short stories I’ve been writing for the Bradbury Challenge then you can sign up for my newsletter. I have managed to send six short stories this year, and there will be more in the comming months as we continue with our challenge.

I’ll be honest, I felt a little down the last few days because of how much this bronchitis had been limiting me, but after thinking about what I’ve accomplished the last few weeks, and what I’m going to be able to do the next couple months because of it, I’m rather proud of myself. I didn’t give up, even when my body was literally attacking itself from within, and I have something awesome to show for it.

So keep an eye out for the new books.

Norwescon!

Posted on March 28, 2016 by CrissyMoss

Back from Norwescon and it was AMAZING!

Gregg wore his armor again, with a couple of extra pieces that he did, and new findings to make everything a bit more polished. He, of course, won again. In fact he won BEST OF SHOW for workmanship. That means the judges thought his costume was put together better than ANYONE at the masquerade. It was amazing. He basically leveled up and was told that now he has to compete as a master because he’s just that good.

This made me want to wear a costume and compete in the masquerade next year. So ya… I’ve been designing something awesome that I want to make for next years conventions. (We already have tickets for next years con.)

So, w
hat did I get out of this years con? SO MANY GOOD THINGS! First, I sat in on several live action demonstrations of fighting. They demonstrated some aikido, sword fighting, shield, roman legionnaires, and many more. They even took requests from people in the audience on what to demonstrate, and answered lots of questions. I took some video and I hope to share that on youtube later this week.

I also sat in on a number of panels about writing, specifically, the failures various authors have had, and the issues they had to overcome. They even talked about getting tables at conventions and selling your books. I also asked “what if you have anxiety” to which most of the people at the table said “stay on the internet…” I can’t blame them for having that thought. Anxiety and other social disorders are really hard to overcome, and most people who have them probably don’t try and push themselves to overcome them. Thankfully one of the panelists, Ryan Macklin, said he also has anxiety issues, so much so that he takes medication for them, and he manages by having that safe space behind his table and when he gets overwhelmed he goes to a quiet corner to just get away from everything and find a a quiet moment for himself. That was really great of him to speak up and share that with me.

I am not going to lie, having the other authors up there and their first reaction, “stay online,” was disheartening, especially since I really like two of them (them as people, and their books.) I don’t know if having a table at a con would be a good thing, or just be a crushing blow to what little ego I have. But telling me not to even try…hurt. I know it’s going to suck, I know I’m going to have anxiety attacks. Hell, I have them just going to the convention itself some times. But I have so much fun, learn so much, and meet so many new people at the cons. Why wouldn’t I want to just TRY to sell my books there.

It won’t be easy, in fact I know it’s going to suck ass for a while, but I still feel like it will be good for me, and I will learn a lot about myself, and my books.

So, second thing I learned… Annie Bellet was at a few of the panels I went to and I have mentioned her 20 sided sorceress books on several occasions. They are really good, and I think anyone who loves urban fantasy should read them. Dresden type book with more gaming for the win!

But, anyway, she mentioned in one of the panels that almost all of the big urban fantasy writers write in first person POV. I thought about it: Patricia Briggs, Diana Rowland, Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, and Annie Bellet… All the urban fantasy writers that I love to read, All of them in first person POV. WHY ISN’T MY URBAN FANTASY IN 1st PERSON POV? Seriously, I love writing in first person, and I should have done it, but I didn’t. So, I will be updating my “Eternal Tapestry” series about goddesses in the modern age to be first person POV.

She also had a lot of things to say about “writing to market” that actually clicked with me. She didn’t talk about picking a genre you think will sell and write in that. She talked about finding the things you love in a series you love, and the things you love in the genre, and writing that because that’s what you love. It made more sense then anything else anyone had said.

I also got a fantastic idea for my next short story, and I GOT COVERS!

“Witch’s Stand” should be out in a few weeks. I will get the edits back, then be able to send it out once I go through them.

Witch’s Sight is a prequel that I am currently writing. I’m not sure when it will be available, but I did get some great ideas to make it even better this weekend.

I’m really happy with how they turned out. The artist, J Caleb, really came through for me, and kept the feel of the other two books in mind while doing it. Thank you J!

I will post some pictures, and maybe some video, from Norwescon soon. And have a wonderful week, everyone.

Maya has the best writing prompts.

Posted on March 24, 2016 by CrissyMoss

A quick update, i just sent the final Witch’s Trilogy book to the editor. It will, hopefully, be published in a few weeks!

Now on to the main event, the Bradbury Challenge.

Last week Maya gave a great writing prompt. I can’t remember exactly what it was, and it is only on the audio podcast so I couldn’t look it up yet, BUT it did revolve around a stone wall.

Her prompt about the stone wall got me thinking of The Wailing Wall in Isreal where men and women put little notes and prayers on paper into the chinks in the stone masonry. Then I wondered…what if it wasn’t a prayer they were putting there, but a medal. A military metal, one earned in a great battle where nothing is left but the wall.

This story is a bit more experimental then I usually write, but I like the consept. I might redo it later to make it better though.

And now… The Wall.

**************

The Wall

The rough stone bit into my fingers as I ran them down the wall. Chips where bullets peeled out sections. Names carved into the loose concrete. Larger holes left behind by pocket knives, broken bottle shards, or daggers. Each line, wrinkle and pit told a story in the wall.

I found a name, Judith Gavin, etched in a flourished handwriting only slightly jagged from the use of a knife on stone instead of a pen on paper. Beneath it a medal had been embedded into the stone. Rank first class gunnery. A tiny brass star gilded the center. Elite marksman. Judith had been the best of the best in her devision, and she left her medal here as a reminder.

Other medals for foreign service, combat action, organizational excellence, and commendations littered the wall, their enamel paint glittering in the low sunlight. Here a purple heart fit inside a deep well carved by a bullet. Another a badge for a medic with a long cut through the center, possibly done by a knife. Little flecks of red marred the caduceus. Blood?

Each medal, each badge, each trophy a memento that told a story. But what story?

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Writing no matter what

Posted on March 22, 2016 by CrissyMoss

What do you do when your body can’t get along with your mind? You want to write, you have ideas in your head, but you’re tired, sick, or mentally unable to focus. There is too much stress, the house is gaming apart, and that new video game you wanted to play is out.

You write anyway.

I’m currently on week five of acute bronchitis. It’s a viral infection so they can’t treat it with anything, I just have to suffer through it and let my body fight it off. That means nights with too little sleep, days with fuzzy thinking, and moments when I just want to curl in a ball and cry because of the pain and coughing.

So, I write. I use those good moments when I can breath and think and get as much down as possible. I use the not so good moments to write a few words here and there. Every word counts, and gets me closer to something finished.

It isn’t easy, but writing is important to me. I want to be an author more than anything. I want too breathe life into the worlds I dreamed up. And that means writing even on the crummy days.

There have been men who wrote novels while in prison and had to smuggle them out. A man who wrote an entire novel by blinking each letter. Some who endured concentration camps, and mental health facilities where they were given electric shock therapy. And yet they wrote, they accomplish what they set out to do.

If so many others could overcome those horrible situations, I think I can endure a cold.

We live our lives blind to what is beyond our personal experience, and when we get to a low point we think “this is rock bottom,” never realizing we might hit an even lower point a month later. Never knowing that what we think of as “rock bottom” would be utter heaven to someone else.

So many people ask “how do I write?” The answer is: you do it. Even when it’s hard. Even when life is trying to break you. You tell the story only you can tell, and you keep telling it.

Giving up is easy. You go play a video game, or read a book, or take a vacation. You put those things ahead of writing, or painting, or learning a musical instrument. You have fun, and make memories, and keep going.

But when you wake up ten years from now will you be happy with the memories, or will you feel like you’ve missed something by not finishing that book?

What’s important to you? There are no wrong answers. Not everyone is meant to write a novel, but you need to be honest with yourself. Only then will you be able to stand against all those things trying to get in the way… And just write.

Ravens, Androids and Time Travel, OH MY!

Posted on March 18, 2016 by CrissyMoss

This is just a quick email to let you know that “Small Bites 4″ is currently free on Amazon.

It’s a short anthology of three science fiction tales. One is about terraforming on a distant planet. Another is about time travel, and some of the odder repercussions. The last is about… Well I don’t want to spoil it, but let’s say it’s about a little girl.

If you’ve read any of the Small Bites books it would be really helpful if you could give me a review. A lot of blogs, and advertisers will only take your book if you have at least ten reviews, so every one counts.

And thanks in advance!

Crissy

Author Crissy Moss

The art of telling a good story.

Author Archives: CrissyMoss