Ask the Author: Christopher Hawthorne Moss
Answered Questions (6)
Christopher Hawthorne Moss
I -- so far -- don't get it. My stories are all too compelling and the research suggests the action.
Christopher Hawthorne Moss
I could not be anything else. After forty plus years of wandering about, I know have my "dream job". My days are busy but self-directed.
I love the research. Someone once commented, when a reader asked about all the research necessary to bring another time to life, that the historical research was "the best part!!" I could not agree more to that. Even the most trivial aspect, like what gases an ambrotype photograph gives off when it burns or the position of noble eunuchs in the Byzantine court is just too compelling not to follow. Now that I am working on a contemporary novel I have to research the precise nature of what it means to be asexual. It's a lot more complex than just not ever wanting sex, and I come to recognize the challenges such folks face.
I love the research. Someone once commented, when a reader asked about all the research necessary to bring another time to life, that the historical research was "the best part!!" I could not agree more to that. Even the most trivial aspect, like what gases an ambrotype photograph gives off when it burns or the position of noble eunuchs in the Byzantine court is just too compelling not to follow. Now that I am working on a contemporary novel I have to research the precise nature of what it means to be asexual. It's a lot more complex than just not ever wanting sex, and I come to recognize the challenges such folks face.
Christopher Hawthorne Moss
That's easy. Two things:
1. Read constantly.
2. Just write.. don't second guess yourself or procrastinate. Do NaNoWriMo. The proof is in the editing.
1. Read constantly.
2. Just write.. don't second guess yourself or procrastinate. Do NaNoWriMo. The proof is in the editing.
Christopher Hawthorne Moss
I just finished a manuscript called ANGEL EYES about Michael Murphy from WHERE MY LOVE LIES DREAMING and the story in CLOSET CAPERS "Le Beau Soleil". It was submitted just a couple weeks ago. Now I am working on a TA novel about a transgender high school boy and his friend who is struggling with his asexuality. It's a compelling story and I am surprised to find myself writing a contemporary novel and loving every minute of it
Christopher Hawthorne Moss
Once I have an idea of the characters I start the historical research. I find that so fascinating and involving that the characters become fleshed out and the story develops as I learn. Once this starts ir is a never-ending approach.
For example, with WHERE MY LOVE LIES DREAMING i had the essence of Frankie in my mind, plus put him on a riverboat. As I looked into the nature of riverboats, the events of the pre-Civil War period and the conditions in New Orleans, the story almost wrote itself.
For example, with WHERE MY LOVE LIES DREAMING i had the essence of Frankie in my mind, plus put him on a riverboat. As I looked into the nature of riverboats, the events of the pre-Civil War period and the conditions in New Orleans, the story almost wrote itself.
Christopher Hawthorne Moss
I had already written a version of this novel where the main character was a lesbian living as a man, but then as my own gender transition started, I realized the book was about a transgender man. It was an amazing feat to change the book, more, I think, than changing my own gender. The result is real, authentic, and stirring I believe. I had to convey my own feelings and convictions and illustrate what it might be like for an early 12th century woman who knows she's a man and has to figure out how to pass without hormones or surgery.
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