On Sequels and Juggling Chainsaws: Interview with Crystal Collier

Today we have Super Mom and Super Author Crystal Collier here to shed light on writing sequels and juggling chainsaws. Her latest release, SOULLESS, is available now!

Q and A with Crystal Collier:

1. SOULLESS is the sequel to MOONLESS. Had you written a sequel before? How did you prepare for the process of writing a sequel?

I have actually written a couple other sequels. Great practice. SOULLESS wrote itself for the first 50 pages, then I told it to stop and plotted out the rest. If you want a solid story that carries specific themes and character arcs, you do have to slow down the muse sometimes.

2. What were your main writing lessons learned from writing a sequel? Continuity of story arc? Character arc? Adding new plot elements? None of the above?

It was somewhere between character arc and plot arc. I had to push my characters harder and into more difficult moments/decisions than in book 1. I agonized with them. It hurt.

3. Which marketing tasks worked best for MOONLESS? Which did not? Are you trying anything new with SOULLESS?

Because we home school, I’m pretty much confined to digital marketing for now. In that vein, the blog tour worked great. Goodreads giveaways expanded exposure, and getting featured on a ton of review blogs brought in significant traffic. With Soulless I’m being slightly less aggressive, focused on spreading the campaign out. I’ll be trying a facebook party and a live reading via youtube. We’ll see how they go.

4. Now that you have two books out, how do you balance being a busy wife, mother, author, marketer, and juggler of chainsaws?

I eat cheese, of course.

There is no balance. Some days I tip one way, the next, another. My weekly calendar is plotted out with a balance of tasks, one major thing to be done each day with writing, marketing, chores, family events, and whatever else comes along. Sometimes the planning even works, but effort over time (even with disruption,) equals eventual accomplishment.

5. What is the most important writing advice you’ve ever received? Why did it resonate with you?

I don’t know that it was an exact piece of advice. It was more an encouragement to study my industry and know what’s out there, what’s selling, and what publishers were looking for (both in technique and plot). That included reading all the time—industry books and popular fiction. Mostly it was that light bulb moment when I realized I needed to treat this job like a profession, not a hobby.

6. What’s next for the wonderful Crystal Collier?

(You called me wonderful! Yippee!) A baby. A serial story (Bellezza). The third book in the Maiden of Time trilogy (Timeless). TONZ of cheese. Survival.

Survival is good! Crystal, thanks so much for hanging out with us here on the blog.

Friends, have you ever written a sequel? What's your favorite writing advice? There are prizes! Want to enter? a Rafflecopter giveaway

About SOULLESS...

The Soulless are coming... 

Alexia manipulated time to save the man of her dreams, and lost her best friend to red-eyed wraiths. Still grieving, she struggles to reconcile her loss with what was gained: her impending marriage. But when her wedding is destroyed by the Soulless—who then steal the only protection her people have—she’s forced to unleash her true power. 

And risk losing everything. 

Connect with Crystal:

Blog | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Website

Author Interview with Crystal Collier

Friends, today I'd like to welcome Crystal Collier, author of MOONLESS, to the blog! Can't wait to read MOONLESS? Download it right now, right here. Or mark it "to read" on Goodreads here. MOONLESS is described as Jane Eyre meets Supernatural. Cool, right?

Below, Crystal and I chat about writing and publishing. But first, a little about Moonless:

In the English society of 1768 where women are bred to marry, unattractive Alexia, just sixteen, believes she will end up alone. But on the county doorstep of a neighbor’s estate, she meets a man straight out of her nightmares, one whose blue eyes threaten to consume her whole world—especially later when she discovers him standing over her murdered host in the middle of the night. 

Among the many things to change for her that evening are: her physical appearance—from ghastly to breathtaking, an epidemic of night terrors predicting the future, and the blue-eyed man’s unexpected infusion into her life. Not only do his appearances precede tragedies, but they are echoed by the arrival of ravenous, black-robed wraiths on moonless nights.

Unable to decide whether he is one of these monsters or protecting her from them, she uncovers what her father has been concealing: truths about her own identity, about the blue-eyed man, and about love. After an attack close to home, Alexia realizes she cannot keep one foot in her old life and one in this new world. To protect her family she must either be sold into a loveless marriage, or escape with the man of her dreams and risk becoming one of the Soulless.

Yikes! I'm intrigued. And now some Q & A with Crystal Collier:

1. From idea to final product, how did Moonless come to be?

MOONLESS happened. I didn’t have any notions of writing another book, just sat down and it wrote itself in a matter of days. But then, (as with all first drafts,) it went straight into the folder labeled “never to see the light of day.” 

Fast forward several years. I hosted a major beta reading (30+ readers) and my readers pushed me into querying. After winning a couple contests and earning enough attention, Raybourne Publishing picked MOONLESS up. 

2. Can you give us a brief summary of your writing process? Plotter? Pantser? Somewhere in between?

I dream a dream, binge write for 10 to 20 pages, make plot notes, then go away and let it sit. My subconscious is constantly rotating back and building on what I have. By the time I’m ready to seriously plot, I have the beginning, ending, and at least 3 major plot/turning points. From there it’s a question of taking a week to fill in the blanks, then writing a consistent 1,000 to 2,000 words a day until the first draft is done.

3. Moonless is published by Raybourne Publishing. Can you tell us a bit about your experience with a small publisher?

I’ve had a great deal of independence, and WAY too much say in the process. It’s been awesome! 

4. Can you offer us any advice about book promotion? What's working for you and what isn't?

Being a relative newbie at this… I believe book promotion starts with personally inviting those you know to get involved. Ask their opinions on covers, blurbs, taglines, etc. When people are invested, they’re going to share. Your personal reach only goes so far, but the six degrees of separation can extend you to any corner of the world. 

5. Is there any writing or publishing advice you'd like to share with us?

Love what you do. Read, read, read. Do your best, and when all else fails, eat cheese and be happy.

Friends, what do you think of Crystal's book blurb? Her writing process? Her take on book promotion? Her obsession with cheese? Please share!

Want goodies? Click here for a Rafflecopter giveaway

Click here for a peek at the MOONLESS release blog tour.

Happy Thanksgiving!