Q & A with Coralie Moss for the Sister Witches Urban
Fantasy Series
1. Tell us something about your writing process.
Writing is a very visceral activity for me. I’ve been told
I’m a ‘kinesthetic learner’, which basically means I learn-by-doing. Yep, my
parents loved having a kid who leapt first and looked later and I have the
scars on my knees to prove it.
When I’m in the idea stage of a new book or series, it
really helps if I give the lead character some skill that I already know at
least a little something about. I can always change all of that later, but it
helps to have a starting point that feels familiar. The writing process goes
more smoothly too if I set the story—at least at first—in a location where I’ve
lived. I need sensory input, and sense-memories, to jumpstart the writing
process.
I based some of the magic system in this series on needle crafts,
like sewing and embroidery, because I love to work with my hands and I know how
to do all that stuff. I set the first book in Northampton, Massachusetts because
I lived there for three years, and I visited it often when I still lived in New
England. It has tons of bookshops and cafes and an all-women’s college, and it felt
very natural to place ‘Needles & Sins’ along one of its side streets, in
one of its granite and brick buildings.
2. Who designs the covers for your books?
My cover designer is the very talented—and very patient—Elizabeth
Mackey. Working with her is so much fun that I sometimes wish I could just make
up book titles and have her design covers for them! We’ve worked on ten covers
together now, and our process starts with me looking through sites like Shutterstock
and Neo-stock for images. I like to give Elizabeth an idea for the cover model,
as well as images of objects that are important to the book.
For Once Blessed, Thrice Cursed’s cover, three things
were important: I wanted the model looking over her shoulder, in a pose that
says, “Hey, come on, let’s go explore”. I also wanted a staircase, open doors, and
*magic* sparkling from her hands. For the follow-up novella, Demon Lines,
I wanted a handsome ‘demon’ guy on the cover. He got a staircase, too, but his
was more elegant. He’s a prince after all.
3. How do you come up with your character names?
Naming characters is another favorite thing—could I just
make up book titles and character names, and design covers?! For the Sister
Witches series, it became clear there would be three sisters (and no secret
sisters. Or brothers, lol). Their names were unusual, and they came in
alphabetical order: Alderose, Beryl, and Clementine. But Clementine’s
personality came to me first and for whatever reason, I felt that she would be
the easiest to write. I think I might have poured a lot of the love I feel for
my own sister, into her.
Clementine’s sisters have been a lot more challenging to
figure out. Both Alderose and Beryl have secrets they keep from each other, and
sometimes I want to yell at them for it—but then I wouldn’t have as much of a
story to tell.
I find that clothes are important to developing each
character. Alderose loves leather everything, probably because she’s a
butt-kicking, knife-wielding witch. Beryl has all of her clothes made for her,
and she loves vintage-style dresses, interesting shoes, and handmade lingerie.
There’s a reason for all that—which we’ll learn about in book #4. And as for
Clementine, she’s into jeans and her dog, Sitka. Until she meets Laszlo. And
then she’s into demons, too.
Once Blessed, Thrice Cursed
Sister Witches Book 1
by Coralie Moss
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Clementine
Brodeur must untangle her dead mother’s legacy before the
clock runs out.
My name is Clementine and my magic is making me lose sleep.
My name is Clementine and my magic is making me lose sleep.
My two sisters and I have forty-eight hours to find someone our talented mother could not. If we don’t succeed, someone will die.
My magic allows me to see memories the dead leave behind--which forces me to relive the moment my mother was attacked by fae.
I must tell my sisters what I’ve seen, because I know what we need to do. Except I’m afraid they’re done with my “leap now, look later” escapades.
They’ve had my back for over twenty years. Why wouldn’t they have it now?
**Get it FREE!!**
Demon Lines
Sister Witches Book 2
Clementine
Brodeur has found her fated mate, and is now pursued by a
three-faced killer.
I wasn’t expecting to meet Laszlo Arkadi the same day I discovered my family was built on secrets.
I wasn’t expecting to meet Laszlo Arkadi the same day I discovered my family was built on secrets.
My
deceased mother? On the face of it, she was a matchmaker for witches
seeking love. Concealed from her daughters, she risked her life
freeing enslaved Magicals.
My
father? He wasn’t there for me. And since my mother’s death,
he’s been trying to join her on the other side.
As
for my oldest sister? I suspect she’s an assassin.
Now
I’ve bonded with my ice demon, Prince Laszlo, he’s taking me to
the Reformed Realm to meet his parents. Turns out, there’s more to
meeting the Queen than simply learning to curtsy.
I just want to catch a break from family drama--mine and his. That royal ball Laszlo and I are required to attend? The invited guests think the prince is still single. The uninvited guests intend to escape with the realm’s most vulnerable Magicals.
I have to follow my instincts. Only now I’m bound to another. Can Laszlo and I merge our magics? Can we challenge a tyrant who envisions a world with many of us in cages?
The Scarab Eater's Daughter
Sister Witches Book 3
Alderose
Brodeur must avenge more than her parents’ deaths.
I
use my muscles more than my magic. I have to. My father learned the
hard way that magic can be sucked dry. He made certain I knew a good
right hook is priceless, and to keep my blades sharp.
He’s
dead now. My two sisters and I are talking again. But there’s so
much Clementine and Beryl don’t know about me--and there’s no
time for a girls’ night out.
The
three of us must go up against Lionel Vigne, the same fae who brought
down our parents. We know he’s hiding in the French Alps. He’s on
the cusp of forcefully breeding rare Magicals, the crime that got him
banished from fae lands.
I
want to complete my mother’s mission on my own. Do I blend the
metal in my blood with my blades and use brute force to end Lionel’s
tyranny?
Or,
if I truly am the Scarab Eater’s Daughter, do I put down my blades
and let my magic act as a lure?
Coralie Moss loves everyday heroines and complicated witches, layered magic and earthly moments, and will always believe in the power of love. Whether she’s writing Urban Fantasy or Contemporary Romance, her characters get her up in the morning and Assam tea keeps her going. She lives on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia with her HEA, their son, and two globe-trotting rescue cats.
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Hi M.C.V.,
ReplyDeleteThank you for having me and my witches on your blog!
~ Coralie