Monday Meet & Greet with crysta656

Greetings Lambchops!

This weeks Meet and Greet is with crysta656, author of one of the first and most original Jasper and Bella tales called A Passage of Time. I simply love and appreciate Crystal's writing - for ANY of her stories. You never know from one chapter to the next where she's going to take you, but you can always expect one thing: characters with depth and maturity. So, let's get right to it and find out a little bit more about Crystal and what makes her tick.

~IdreamofEddy


Tell us about yourself. Married? Single? Kids, age, ..whatever you'd like to share.

Tell you about me? My favorite topic. Well, I'm Crystal or Crysta as many of my friends like to call me. I'm a 25 year old stay at home mom and wife to my 3 year old daughter, Alex, and my husband, Daniel. I'm also the owner of an amazing chihuahua, Mojo. He's my little baby. We live back and forth between New York and Florida. My husband owns his own software company and works from home, so we travel quite frequently.

There are several things that I enjoy that help me with my fan-fics. I'm an avid shopper so brands tend to end up in my stories, I know it's bad, but I have an obsession with clothes, shoes and bags. I love photography although I'm not very good at it, much to the detriment of my husband who has to keep buying me things for my camera that I'm convinced will make my photos turn out better. I will pretty much read anything that I can get my hands on. I love immersing myself in characters, it's such a wonderful relief from the sometimes monotony of being a stay at home mom.

I'm a very sarcastic person and generally can't have a single conversation without someone asking me if I'm serious.

There isn't much else to tell about me as I am probably one of the most boring people you will ever meet in your life. I would love to say that I live an ultra glamorous life, that I have these amazing adventures and that my life could be compared to some posh celebrity. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be true, but hey, maybe one day.

Tell us about Twilight. How did you first get into the Saga, when was the first time you read it, and which book is your favorite?

I first read Twilight when one of my husbands friends practically threw the book at me and told me that if I didn't read it, my life would never be complete. I laughed at her when she told me that it was the best story she ever read. I ended up eating my words not too much later.

I took the book home with me and let it sit on my coffee table, probably for two or three weeks before I read it. I wasn't really interested by the book from the back description. I was like, “a teen book about vampires. You have to be kidding me.” I didn't think I would like it at all. However on one night, my daughter didn't want to sleep through the night, the joys of teething, so I picked it up and started reading it. I was floored. I absolutely loved it.

I went out the next day and bought New Moon. I was completely hooked and obsessed, so, naturally, I made everyone else I know read it to.

Now that all the books have come out, I can without a doubt say that Eclipse was my favorite. I enjoyed New Moon and Breaking Dawn, but to me, they just didn't have the pop that I loved in Twilight and Eclipse.

What got you to start reading Twilight Fan-fiction? Do you remember the first fic you read?

I started reading Twilight fan fiction after Breaking Dawn came out. I was so disappointed in the ending of the story that I had to find something else to replace it.

By the end of Breaking Dawn I had fallen in love with Jasper's character, so the first fan fiction I read was When Darkness Turns To Light by Janna Banana. It got me hooked on fan fiction and I haven't stopped reading stories since. There are so many authors that are simply amazing and it's wonderful to see that they have an outlet for their creativity. It still amazes me the grasp that some of these authors have on the characters and how well they are written.

Which are your favorite stories?

My favorite stories.... wow, I don't know if you have enough room on your server for my list. First Love Lost and Last Love Found by Oracle Vas are amazing as well as Midnight Margaritas. Sparkling Angel by VampVixen01 is another one that caught me from the first chapter. All That I've Got by BlackWingedGabriel was another fantastic one that unfortunately didn't get enough credit.

I really do have a list a mile long, but these are the ones that have always stuck out to me the most.

Who are your favorite characters, from who you like the most to er...who you would like to kill right off the bat?

I couldn't actually pick a favorite character. I really enjoyed Jasper, obviously, but Carlisle is definitely at the top of my list along side him. I love the bit of darkness that's at play in Jasper. There's always the possibility that he could go off the deep end, that he could make you feel just about anything and make you act on it. Plus, who doesn't love a man with a slight southern drawl and a dangerous aura around him?

I would have to say that my favorite female character is Rosalie. I think that she is such a complex character and I think that it was a shame that SM didn't give her more time. Rose is also my favorite character to write. I love taking her from what we read in the series and actually giving her more depth, making the readers see that there is more to her than a pretty face and a bitchy attitude. In reviews I generally hear how much everyone enjoys my interpretation of Rosalie so I try really hard to give it.

If I had to kill of characters, it would probably be Edward, Alice and Jacob, but it would only be them in the Twilight series. I enjoy their characters in fan fiction, but that's only because they are generally taken so far out of character that I can't help but like them, especially Edward.

Which fics are you reading right now, and which ones have your complete attention whenever they pop with an update?

Right now I'm reading Master of The Universe by Snowqueens Icedragon, Only at Night by TrampVamp, Treading Water by Larin20, Emancipation Proclamation by Kharizzmatik, Clipped Wings and Inked Armor by HunterHunting and Breathless Hunger by IdreamofEddy, although that has now been pulled. <--This has been re-instated to FFn since this interview.

I'm not much of an Edward fan, but Master of The Universe is a story that I have to read immediately as it's updated. I'm also addicted to Only at Night. It is definitely up there on my top list of Jasper fics.

What made you finally decide to start writing your own?

There wasn't really anything that got me started writing. I suppose if I had to pin it down on something though, it would definitely be that I wanted to show the characters how I actually saw them.



My first fanfic was The Passage of Time and when I started writing it, I wrote the entire story with the last chapter in mind. It definitely had some rough spots, but it got me hooked on writing fan fiction.

After my first story a plot for Saved started drilling into my mind until I couldn't take it anymore and decided to write it. With this story I got an amazing beta and friend, Catherine or DollyBigMomma. She has helped me so much with every story I have posted since then. It's thanks to her that everyone who reads my stories gets a much better version.

What's the atmosphere like when you're writing? Music.. quiet..kids screaming and ripping each other apart, or husband bitching in the background? Do you drink and/or smoke?

When I write I'm usually holed up in my office at my desk, wrapped in a blanket and pretty happy because my daughter has just gone to bed.

In addition to my blanket, there is generally a huge glass of Dr. Pepper, a pretty big stack of Reese's Cups and a bag of Flavor Blasted Goldfish right next to my hand.

I can't write unless I can snack and if I don't have any of those things I can't write a chapter. If I didn't mention that I have slight OCD at the top, I'm mentioning it now. Seriously, I drive my husband insane with the things that I do.

I have to be relaxed when I write, so I usually have The Spill Canvas, Coldplay, 30 Seconds to Mars or Hinder playing in the background on a really low setting. I generally don't listen to the lyrics when I write, more the melodies as to me it's the sound that inspires me.

I do smoke, but generally only when I write. My brain will start working too fast for my thoughts to process easily, so I tend to take breaks when I write. I definitely do not drink when I write. I tried it once and... yeah... didn't have a good turn out. My husband laughed, quite loudly, the next morning when I showed it to him.

What else do you like to read besides Twilight?

I have always been a huge fan of Harry Potter. I started reading it when I was young and it's kind of carried over as I've gotten older. I do read HP fan fiction as it's the only way I can cure my fix for Lucius Malfoy. I like the characters that are a little darker.

Currently I am enamored with The Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward. If you haven't read the books, I suggest you get up and run to Barnes and Noble and pick them up. Seriously, why are you still reading this? Run, go! The characters in these books are amazing and the characters are just, well... you'll have to read it to know what I'm talking about.

What else do you like to do?

I love shopping. If I'm not home with my daughter, you can usually catch me out, perusing the shops. It is probably the only thing that really relaxes me. Most of the time when I'm shopping, plots pop into my head as well as many of the conversations that pop up in my stories.

I also enjoy cooking, although I'm absolutely horrible at baking. I design graphics for my husband on some occasions, but mostly do banners for my friends stories. I adore Starbucks. I visit that wonderful place every day. I can't start my day without a vanilla latte.

Besides that, I love driving my Jeep, attempting to take masterful photos of my husband and daughter and spending time with my beloved dog, Mojo.









Tell us a secret.

A secret.... hmmm... you better not tell. I read Romance novels, you know, like the ones with some ultra smexy guy on the cover of the book. He will generally have muscles that could make you drop down in a hard faint. Yeah, those are the one's I'm talking about. I love them just as much as I love Birthday Cake remix from Coldstone.