Cristyn West's Blog

I know, I know. I should write more commercial. More accessible, but...

I like to challenge myself. More over I like to surprise my reader.

Now sometimes that tips over to shock, horror, or even revulsion, but hey, it surprised them! LOL :-)

To accomplish this by picking unusual heroes. Or at least make you think they are an unusual hero.

Many times my hero has to be so eccentric or I have such a large paradigm shift coming up that my hero has to stay hidden.

Hence the 'Shadow' Hero. I don't wa...

A.K.A. my nemesis

No, really, not just in the literary sense, but in a I-struggle-with-writing-them kind of nemesis.

I don' t like to spend a lot of time in the villains POV. Cuz, well, I don't like them.

I have to keep reminding myself that your Hero is only as strong as your villain. I guess I just like to keep the villain as much as a mystery as possible.

This even creeps into my television watching. Case in point I LOVE the L&O series. I even LOVE Criminal Intent. What do I not love? Um, th...

Going Indie was a big decision for me.

I could have gone traditional small press, but I looked at the numbers and they just didn't add up.

First off, with the low advance, there was no way any house was going to put any marketing money into the book.

So basically I would have had to market the book myself anyway.

However to have the "privilege" of being in print, I would give up my digital rights. Now that Amazon has crossed the 1/2 way point and is now selling more (most likely FAR more by next...

With only a few exceptions, guy authors rule the roost when it comes to thrillers.

I know that I was encouraged to adopt initials rather than use a clearly feminine name on the front cover.

What is that about?

The sad fact is thought that guys, for the most part, will only read books by guys. Weird, right?

I mean, clearly this must be some kind of primordial/reptilian brain type thing because it certainly doesn't seem that any rationale and let's be clear, well-read man, who stands at the booksh...

I have a love/hate relationship with them.

I love going back to favorite characters, but always fear that the author/filmmaker has run out of ideas of what to do with them.

You know the term 'sophomore slump' and have seen or read it many a times. It is where the first book/film kicks serious ass, but then the next attempt, is just that... an attempt.

The plot feels like a retread. The characters feel like they are just phoning in their roles.

Since I knew that Plain Jane was just the first in h...

To write of course. #duh

If I could just have a book that ricocheted from action sequence to sexual tension back to action I would be one very, very happy girl.

Yes, I know I need all the other stuff like characterization and scene setting and oh I don't know logic, but wouldn't that be a wonderful world?

Why do I like to write action?

I think it is because it so comes alive as I write it. Honestly no matter how well or in detail I beat out an action scene, it always surprises me as I write it.

T...

I know how important it is. I get it. I know when it is missing in fiction that I read.

Yet, I still find myself pulling up short when it comes to this type of prose.

Now orienting you to the room, I am great at. Where is everyone. Does the action make sense, that stuff I am all about.

But telling you the shade wall paper or the stale smell in the air or the shabby curtains?

Ugh!

My brain just doesn't work that way. I think a part of me thinks that every part of writing gets to be fun.

That so...

As much as I love my leads, I actually relish writing my supporting characters. Especially in a crime drama.

I mean, come on, we've all seen the blustery police lieutenant/captain. Whenever I encounter a chance to write such an iconic character like this, I think, how can I make them 'pop?'

I mean, I need a stern supervisor to bust my Hero, Kent's, chops, but how can I write them so that you don't feel like you have 'seen' it all before?

In Plain Jane I wanted the guy (I could have chosen a wo...

As I mentioned on the stream I am working on a new project. Writing nearly 16 hours a day, trying to make up for someone else being 5 weeks past a dead-line (guess it was more of a 'we might kill you'-line).

I am eating, breathing, and dreaming of this story. I love it, but...

It seriously has taken over my brain.

I was thinking about going out in the ocean in a new swimsuit and honestly thought to myself...

"No," she thought, "I will debut it tomorrow when the surf is calmer." Of course the f...

How I love them. Well, how I love to YELL at them.

If I am going to watch a show based on, oh I don't know, police procedure, I would like to see... actual police procedure.

Folks, this isn't the X-files. You can't just make up the science and then expect me to believe it.

Ok, for the procedure 'lite' shows like Castle, The Mentalist, etc, fine. Do what you want. I am not watching those for the nitty gritty realism. Honestly I am watching for the hot lead and fun dialogue.

But come on, C.S....