Happy Holidays and Happy New Year

Christmas Eve is here and I've realized that I've not updated this website since I was laid off from my job in August.

I healed from my surgery with no noticeable issues. I also was able to find another job by the time September rolled around and so far I am very happy in my new position. I am working at a training center facility that is ran by my state's Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services as an executive secretary.

Also in this time I was informed that I had a poem I submitted published in The Book of the Tribes. Which is pretty exciting for me.

As of this posting there are only 15 copies left of the soft back version of The Book of the Tribes. It can be purchased at http://www.ozhorrorcon.com/apps/webstore/products/show/4171409.

Also, in my new job I've had a lot more free time, most of it has been spent catching up with friends, family, and doing a bit of crafting, now that things are beginning to calm down I'm hoping to take up writing again, both online and working on my next book. So be sure to look for more postings from me here as well as over on Clive Barker Cast.

Dealing with Job Loss

Getting laid off or having your position within a company be terminated can be hard. Especially in this economy. I've been dealing with having this happen to me within just the past week. The shock of it has finally worn off, the fact that I actually have a bit of free time while searching for another job is opening itself up to me.

However, with the stress of having just gone through surgery and then losing my job I managed to catch a hell of a cold. So this past week has also been spent trying to get better without going to the doctor because with the loss of my income I don't want to waste any money on things that can be avoided or done without. I'm finally on the mend and my fever has broken so I think that avoiding a copay at my doctor's office will be possible.

Thinking about things like that is a bit scary as well. What can I do without, what can I do to make our money stretch further right now so that we aren't facing foreclosure on our home in a few months if it takes me longer than expected to find another job. What kind of job do I even want to pursue...

It is like being a scared kid all over again, except now instead of being afraid of the monster under the bed, I'm afraid of putting too much strain on my husband, afraid of not finding another job, afraid of, well, everything. When you were nearly living paycheck to paycheck anyway losing a job is even scarier.

I know I'm not the first one to face this, especially in this economy, but for me this is a first time experience. I've never been fired or laid off before now. I've got a lot of emotions. Some are good, some are dark. But I'll just face this one day at a time as I do everything else. In the meantime I'm going to try to make more time for writing on here, writing for the Clive Barker Cast and writing my next book. I might even get the house cleaned in my spare time. LOL.

Character Profile: Captain Faryl

I'm going to do some character profiles on the secondary characters from Child of Galina. I'm doing this to help open up the world of Galina to the readers a little bit more.

Captain Faryl:

Age: Unknown, guessed to be around 30 the first time he meets David Bahzro.
Race: Dreymew
Physical Description: Nearly 6 feet tall, mostly covered in tawny colored fur, human torso with a mane around the face instead of hair. Legs are those of a lion accompanied by a tail that can alert others to the inner feelings of the Dreymew. Like most Dreymews, Faryl became a soldier as it is their nature to fight.
Characteristics: Loyal, Fighter, Brave, Strong, Forgiving with time

Captain Faryl is highly thought of within the Dreymew community and beyond it. He is ruthless in his training of the soldiers beneath him, but it is for their own good. He wants his soldiers to always be on the ready for it may mean their lives if they are not trained properly. Faryl is loyal to the Bahzro family due to Keila's kindness towards him and his Dreymew bretheran.

Books to Movie - Dream Adaptations

It is rare that a film gets the full spectrum of emotion and story that a book can impart upon someone. But there are a few that get it right. I'm hoping to see The Great Gatsby soon and I hope that it is not one of the disappointing literary to film creations.

To see what other people were looking forward to or enjoyed in the past as far as book to movie adaptations that have taken place or will take place I posed this question on Twitter:

So what are people looking forward to, daydreaming about, or have enjoyed as far as book adaptations go?

So the list on Twitter was

Thief of Always by Clive Barker (I hope that this becomes a movie one day).
Monster Hunter Inc.by Larry Correia (I haven't read this one yet, but am adding it to my list now)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin (Choose your pick of movie adaptations on this one)
Immortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham

I did have some replies on Facebook as well to this question.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Under the Dome by Stephen King
The Cement Garden - Andrew Birkin
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Ulysses - James Joyce

So what books to movies have you enjoyed, are looking forward to, or wish would happen?

Writing Techniques

When reading other people's techniques to how they write their stories and novels I've decided I must be the odd man(woman) out. I don't really plan my stories. I let the characters lead me where they want to go. Once they've finished telling me their story I go back through and fix the things that either have too much or not enough information. I make sure they left no dangling ends in the story line and brush it all up for them. I don't have an outline or a synopsis.

I've tried writing with an outline before. It felt overly forced and fake to me.

Don't tell my teachers this, but even in school when we had to write a story outline and turn it in before we started writing our stories I would write the entire story then write the outline after. While everyone else was writing their first drafts I was going through my story to make sure there weren't any glaring errors in the storyline. I tried the outline, it didn't work for me.

Now don't get me wrong, I've read authors who swear by the outline and they have phenomenal stories. It just isn't for me.

I would love to hear your experience with various writing techniques!

Daydreaming and New Ideas

There's a character that has taken up residence in my mind as I've began writing my next book. Her name is Celeste and she is definitely interesting to me. I had planned on someone else being the main character, but her personality is not going to stand for that, she is demanding to take up a bit of the story line and it seems like the story she has to share is going to be an interesting one. Can't wait to see more of the secrets that she has to share!

Child of Galina in Paperback

I've finally finished proofing and fixing the formatting issues with the paperback version of Child of Galina. It is now available on Amazon.com and on Barnes & Noble's website. If you want to buy it at your local bookstore ask them and see if they are willing to order it in for you!

I'm really excited about this next step in my novel and I've got to get started on figuring out the marketing aspect of everything. Any tips? Please share them with me!

Prefer to get Child of Galina on the Kindle? Go to http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C90G8DM

More than Fear - A Collection of Poems

I've been writing poetry since I was old enough to hold a crayon. Roses are Red, Violets are Blue. You know the sort of thing children like to write. I became obsessed with Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven at a very young age, and while I may aspire to his greatness, I'm not sure there are many who ever will.

I came across a notebook filled with poems from over the past 15 years of my life. I chose the ones that I felt were the best and compiled a small poetry collection called More than Fear.

If you like poetry, I encourage you to check this book out. It is an outpouring of my soul into the written word, during times that I could not express myself verbally. I hope if you read these poems that you will enjoy them. 

Child of Galina Book Proof

Received the proof for the paperback version of Child of Galina today. If I am absent it is because I'm busy using all my spare time to review it so that it can be approved and ready for purchase.

I'm super excited about this next step in publishing Child of Galina. Wish me luck in my endeavors!

Thinking of Boston

Words are hard to come by after the events that happened today.

It would be easy to see this event and the other things that have been happening lately and give up on humanity. But look a little closer and you will see the amazing people who come together to help one another. People who don't worry about their own wellbeing in order to help someone else.

So for another day, my faith in humanity is restored. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this horrific event, I cannot begin to imagine what you have been through.

Crystal Raen's Summer Reading List for 2013

I'm hoping for this summer to be a bit slower than last summer so that I can fit in some reading. The books I'm wanting to tackle this summer are:

Android Karenina by Bill Winters - Picked this book up a couple years ago and still haven't gotten around to reading it. I really enjoyed Pride and Prejudice and Zombies so I'm hoping that this one will be equally enjoyable.

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller - Once I found out there was a book out that was written by Helen Keller about her life it went on my must read list immediately. I find the story of her to be so completely inspirational.

Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman - It's Neil Gaiman, everything he's ever written is on my to read list.

The Inhuman Condition by Clive Barker - Like Neil Gaiman, anything Clive has ever written is on my to read list.

Soulless by Gail Carriger - The cover is honestly what originally grabbed my attention on this one. But it sounds like a good story.

So what's on your reading list for the summer? I'm hoping that some of you will add my new fantasy story Child of Galina.

Love and Let Love

"We must promote love, teach love, and even endure love as no love is ever easy, but any love is worth the fight to have it." -Head Celebrant Vega, Child of Galina

Above is one of my favorite lines from Child of Galina, that line definitely reflects how I feel about life. I have been very blessed with love, but in the past it was hard and life wasn't always smooth. No one's life ever is, but now I'm just grateful that I've found the person that I can share my life with. I hope that everyone does. In the meantime, show love and compassion to your fellow man. Imagine how much more beautiful the world would be if everyone did.

Child of Galina and the Missing Image

Published Child of Galina on the Kindle last night. Everything looked good in the preview, but after viewing it on the Kindle it appears that the image at the end of chapter one is missing. I will be working on fixing this glitch, but in the meantime for those of you who are looking for the image I will share it here:

I am amazed that the journey of writing this story is finally at an end, but the true journey is just beginning. I cannot wait to see where the journey ends up going and a second book is starting to form in the edges of my mind.

To buy my new fantasy novel go to: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C90G8DM/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk

***Update: The symbol image was not able to be uploaded, the description that I wrote into the book to replace it is: the symbol was a circle with three tails inside of a blazing sun.

Editing a Novel

I've finally finished editing my novel, Child of Galina. This book has been in the works since 2005. It has traveled with me from Woodlawn, VA to Loris, SC and back to Virginia. It has changed, morphed, had better versions of it created and then lost, forcing me to go back to the original draft and start again. Now I'm in the final steps of learning how to convert it to a kindle file and sell it on Amazon. The journey of writing this book has been a long one, but a rewarding one.

Having taken such a long break from the novel when I went back over it, it was amazing to me how much of my life was reflected back at me in those pages, scenes written based on what I had been experiencing in my own life at that time. It truly makes me appreciate novels as an extension of the author's life. I don't think that any writer can completely take themselves out of their writing, especially in fiction. The story has to come from somewhere. Even in a fantasy that story comes from the heart and mind of the writer.

I cannot wait until the novel is up and available for people to buy and read on Amazon. I will let you know as soon as it is for sale!

Mad Monster Party 2013

Richie and I attended Mad Monster Party in Charlotte, NC again this year. Our highlights of this year were:

Meeting the one and only Unicorn Master - Vic Armstrong

Scream Queen Linnea Quigley

Lea Thompson, who upon discovering how cold my hands were held them to her cheek to warm them. 

Danny Glover himself.

Haruo Nakijima - the king of all monsters (Godzilla)

The sweet and quirky Amelia Kinkade.

Gunnar Hansen - Gentleman Slasher (Leatherface)

Dan Yeager - Super nice slasher dude. Had an awesome convo with him.

Mini Scream Queen Danielle Harris.

Checking off the Bucket List

Friday I was able to check off one of the items that has been on my bucket list for awhile now. That is getting a tattoo. Although I almost psyched myself out before getting it. I was expecting the pain to be much worse than it was. It was not that bad at all.

I got the tattoo on my right forearm. It is an ampersand with two black birds on it. The ampersand is my favorite font character and with the amount of writing I do and the number of fonts that I work with in my job this tattoo reflects this era of my life. The birds, well, I love birds, one bird represents me, the other represents Richie.

I found an ampersand that I liked and added the birds from another image that I took apart.

For Richie, he wanted an ampersand since I was getting one as well, but he's always wanted a fox tattoo so I designed his ampersand around his fox using a font that was more "furry" looking. His tattoo is on his left forearm.