Spotlight on Young Adult Author, Crystal Collier

Today we're spending a little extra time getting to know Lightning Quick Reads author, Crystal Collier.

First let’s take a gander at Crystal’s bio:

Crystal Collier is a young adult author who pens dark fantasy, historical, and romance hybrids. She can be found practicing her brother-induced ninja skills while teaching children or madly typing about fantastic and impossible creatures. She has lived from coast to coast and now calls Florida home with her creative husband, three (soon to be four) littles, and “friend” (a.k.a. the zombie locked in her closet). Secretly, she dreams of world domination and a bottomless supply of cheese.

LQR: Thanks for joining us today! What else can you tell our readers about you?

Crystal: The first girl after 4 boys, I was always a bit of a tomboy. (I still blush while reading romance.) Ask me about real ninja techniques, and I’ll give you an ear-full. Want to go spelunking? Scuba-diving? Backpacking? I may as well be an honorary boy scout. But I veered away from my brothers through the arts: sketch art/cartooning, vocal performance, orchestral composition, vocal coaching, choir directing, acting, teaching, authoring books and reading avidly. My first love has always been telling stories—in any medium.

LQR: If you had to pick only one moment that spurred you to write professionally, what moment is the most inciting?

Crystal: While living in NYC, I queried a single agent. Just one, and GOT A REQUEST!

LQR: Sheesh – how awesome is that?! Now tell us, does the majority of your work focus around or within a single theme?

Crystal: We live in an age of entitlement and a growing self-interest. My themes typically revolve around self-sacrifice (based on love, plutonic or romantic) and thinking of others first—a huge part of coming of age if you ask me.

LQR: Tell us about your newest release.

Jane Eyre meets Supernatural.

Alexia’s world consisted of waiting for Father to bargain her off as some nobleman’s wife, until her nightmares became reality. Now people who can heal with a touch, kill with a scream, and rob a person of their memories are her everyday companions and friends: the Passionate.

But the Soulless—red-eyed wraiths that feed on her kind—are hunting her. Only the man she loves stands in their way, until he is robbed of the power to protect her. If Alexia can’t master her own gifts, she will doom not only herself, but all of the Passionate.

The Soulless are coming.

(MOONLESS released October 2013, and the sequel, SOULLESS, released October 2014.)

LQR: What is one of your favorite authorial moments from your career so far?

Crystal: When I got cornered and asked point blank when the next book is coming out, or when a fan stopped me and raved about her favorite scenes. It’s amazing to share the stories in my head, and mind-blowing to have readers excited to see the conclusion. Readers rock!

LQR: Share with us a five year and ten year goal for your writing career.

Crystal: I have about thirty stories screaming to see the light of day (simultaneously, so you know it’s noisy in my head), and I hope to see at least half of those out in the world within the next ten years.

LQR: Do you write what you read? Watch? What are your favorite television shows and movies?

Crystal: I’ve dabbled in so many genres... If I’ve read it, I’ve probably tried writing it. Favorite movies: Princess Bride and Serenity. Favorite TV shows: Falling Skies, Firefly, Supernatural, Burn Notice, and the Matt Smith years of Doctor Who. 

LQR: If you had one week away from any and all responsibility what would you want to spend your time doing?

Crystal: Reading. Writing. Playing with my hubby and kids. Enjoying nature—beach or mountains. And singing my guts out for absolutely no one.

LQR: Anything else you’d like to add?

Crystal: I completely ADORE flash fiction and am stoked to have a reason to write/share it once a month!

LQR: Where can readers find you online?

Blog | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook