Name: Novel, usually. But I sometimes go by Crystal

Age: 32

Location: Kansas

Likes: Reading, Writing, Starbucks, Soft Breezes, popsicle kisses, good reviews, music, tiny feet, watching thunderstorms...

Dislikes: Inattentive drivers, ignorant people, and when the ice cream man won't stop.

Here's the deal... If you haven't read the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs, stop reading my mediocre work and go read some good stuff! I worshiped Twilight before I read her books. No offense to Steph, but you HAVE To READ THEM! Start with Moon Called, then go from there. NOW! I MEAN IT! STOP READING THIS AND GO!

A little about how I got into writing:

I never thought I'd be an author. I hadn't read fiction since they made me read it in school. Don't get me wrong, I love to read...just not fiction - or so I thought. My friend Miriam kept hounding me forever to read this book I had never heard of called Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I didn't. All of the ladies in my circle read and loved it and told me to read it. I didn't. The movie was coming out, and we decided to all go together on opening night and squeal like teenagers (which we did, by the way).

I decided that if I was going to go with them, maybe I should have some idea about the book. I reluctantly borrowed Miriam's copy, which was in high demand, and couldn't put it down, of course. I borrowed all the others, and had all four read twice within the two days I had them in my custody before I had to release them to the next in line.

As soon as they left my hands, I felt empty. I went and bought all four, of course, and read them all eleven times in a row before my husband brought me The Host, which I also read as many times. All of this was less than a week (I didn't sleep much). I was desperate for more, more, more, so I called up my friend, who recommended some others, Jane Austen among them (no, I hadn't read any Jane either). I got sucked into the world of reading fiction, and loved it. I spent a lot of time - and money - at Barnes and Noble. I enjoyed the House of Night series, and Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series blew Twilight out of the water (sorry Steph) and the Midnight Hour Series is one I just found. It's similar to the Mercy Thompsons.

It wasn't more than, oh... I don't know... a month or so, when one day I just said to myself 'I'm going to write a book', and so I did. I moved from Barnes and Noble to Starbucks, and practically lived there (still do, actually) going in for sometimes twelve hours straight to write. I had three boys ages five, four, and two, so writing at home was a little...distracting...or maybe...frustrating...or maybe...infuriating.

My writing now:

My full length novel is now in the final stages of my editing process, and Miriam checked it out to see if I was doing well (She says I did, and after her book recommendations, each of which I loved, I definitely trust her judgment in books) and Carrie just gave it back with a few good notes. I'm giving it one more big reconstruction now. Everyone convinced me to submit it to publishers, even though I really only wrote it for myself. It took me less than two months to write. I've been a little obsessed, actually.

I don't know whether it will ever be published, and truly, I don't really care. I love the story, and the characters, and it's enough for me that I got to see what happened (I never know what's going to happen from one line to the next when I write, and often, the characters really surprise me).

As much support as everyone has given me - my husband, my kids, my friends, the people at Starbucks (who are now all on a first name basis with me - and some of them, in part, are in the book), my extended family, and everyone else who knows about it, and as much as they have all begged me to submit it, I feel like I owe it to them. It may come to nothing, but they all hope that I'll hit the jackpot like Stephenie Meyer and be rich and famous, and I can give them one thing... the chance to hope, if only for a little while.

I told myself that I couldn't start another book until this one was off to the publishers, but I couldn't help myself, and began another one. It's going much better than the first. My writing style is solidifying, and I'm finding that my writing is better and it takes me less time to do it. I'm about half of the way through with it, and I'm excited. I think I may actually be able to make a living at writing.

On to fanfic:

Anyway, through the writing process, I stopped buying books. If I didn't, I'd never get any work done. During that time, I accidentally found fanfic while surfing, and became utterly addicted. I had some ideas brewing in my mind for fanfic and they wouldn't leave me alone until I put them down on paper. Mercy Thompson doesn't have nearly enough, and there's House of Night, Twilight...so much to do, so little time...

Some of the ideas that I have are too big, and I can't undertake them without sacrificing my novels, but one idea in particular I couldn't leave alone, and I recently found an incridible fan fic writer on here named NCChris, and convinced her to do it. She promised to take good care of my baby for me, and even wants my imput throughout the process, which is nice. I'm looking forward to starting it.

I was unable to resist completely, though, and did a very, very long one shot for the Mercy Thompson series, and have been amazed and thrilled by the response. I then wrote another, even longer, one of the same story from Adam's POV after many requests. I'm was really excited to see that people were blown away by it.

That's when things got out of hand! I had the two Adam/Mercy fics. I should have been satisfied. Warning: fan fiction is addictive. I have now started a Twilight fic, though to be fair... it's not my fault! People keep requesting it! Between reading fan fic and writing it, I'm having trouble finding the time to write my book, though I'm still managing. I hope you will all read my stuff when I get published! If I get published...

Fulfilling popular demand, I did a Jasper/Bella one-shot just to tide everyone over and since you've all been so nice to me, I then completed another... second place winner in my one shot poll - a Carlisle/Bella one-shot.

All the reviews have been encouraging and helpful. I've changed my writing as I've gone along and can see it getting better. Plus... I like the yummy deliciousness of the lemons... so I like to read my stories as much as you do... :)

I spent six months or so getting divorced and struggling with writer's block. I'm struggling to get my life on track now and it's exciting and scary. The good news is, I just had a breakthrough! I started writing my poetry again, thanks to a friend who got me reading it. I also started reading. Somehow, the block lifted and I have picked up my novel! I'm thrilled to revisit my friends and start the pack war. I recently submitted some of my poems for publication, so wish me luck! I have grown past fanfic for now, but because I have such wonderful fans who love me and continue to encourage (read beg) me to write more, and because they just featured me in a blog and wrote me an AWESOME review, I'm going to give another shot to at least finish my incomplete fanfic. Wish me luck! : )