The Author Interviews: #16: Errin KRYSTAL

In this series, I'll be interviewing self-published authors about their books and their lives as writers. For my sixteenth interview, I had the privilege of interviewing Errin KRYSTAL on 21/06/2016. KRYSTAL writes fantasy/ romance.Let's get started!What made you want to become a writer?As a kid I used to write little stories and I never really stopped. I have always just written. Whenever we had free time in school, I would write stories about talking animals or about characters I had seen in a movie, or read about in a book. (I suppose these days you would call that fan fiction, lol). I just always loved it, my teachers at high school nurtured my writing and were always very encouraging. It was something I always just did purely because I loved it. I never really considered becoming a ‘writer’ for real, it was just a natural progression really.Why did you choose to write in this genre? Have you ever considered trying other genres?I have always been a fan of the fantastical. Dragons, elves, fairies, vampires, magic, anything along the fantasy line I just love. It was never really a question of ‘choosing’ a genre, it was just the natural choice.In the beginning I tried to write along the lines of historical romances. I used to read a lot of them when I was younger, and thought to try my hand at one. I’ll admit, I wasn’t a huge fan of the amount of research I was doing in trying to write a historical romance. Plus, I have a lot more fun creating my own worlds, yes I do still need to do a certain amount of research on things, but not quite as much.What do you love most about writing and why?Character creation. I just love creating new characters and backstories. What they look like, what their personality is. And I love seeing these characters take on a life of their own once they hit the page. They don’t always do as their told either, so that’s always interesting to see where they end up. I love writing their stories.What do you dislike about writing and why?What do I dislike about it? Well, the days when I sit in front of my computer and simply have nothing. I can usually manage to get a little something, even if it’s just a paragraph or two, but it can be very frustrating process at times.If you could trade places with any of your characters, which would you choose and why?Ahh, geez, that’s a tough one since most of my characters have rather complicated backstories… I’d perhaps have to go with Violette from Midnight Redemption. Out of all the characters, her backstory is perhaps least fraught with drama. But she is a mage and has fire magic, so that’s pretty cool thing to have.If you could live in any of the worlds you have created, which would you choose and why?All my stories are set in the same world, but I’d have to say I’d live in the realm of Nildör (where my current WIP is set) after the war of course. Nildör has had its fair share of issues, the banning of magic being a major one, but things will be more settled after the war ends. Why? Because it will have a new monarch and a new beginning, and magic will no longer be forbidden!What's your writing routine or schedule like? Do you struggle to find time to write? How do you stay organised and keep to your deadlines?I like to try and get my writing done before work. I am a chef, so after work at night isn’t the best time to be sitting attempting to write. I do have a fairly strict schedule, although I am still struggling to find that balance between writing, family and the day job. I only went back to work a few months ago, so I’m still trying to find my groove, but I’m getting there. Slowly but surely. If I manage to stick to the schedule, I do get 5 days of solid block of time to work.Who or what inspires you? Where do you get your inspiration?So many things! Books, movies, TV shows, music anything really. I can be prepping at work and the idea for a scene will just pop into my head. Literally anything. I might here a line in a song on the car radio that I like and suddenly I have a whole scenario formed in my head by the time I get home, bases around this one lie that I kind of liked.Do you have a favourite author and if so, why do you enjoy their work?Strangely enough, my favourite author is not actually a fantasy writer. She’s a historical romance author. Kathleen Woodwiss. I absolutely love her romances. Her books just sweep me away and draw me in, and I just fall in love with the characters.I have read her books over and over again, to the point where they are literally falling apart.What do you find most challenging about being an indie/ self-published author and why?With my Patreon serial, Midnight Redemption, I’d say trying to promote it an get it out there is probably the most difficult. I kind of have no idea what I’m doing in that department.Any COMMENTS/ NOTES to the reader:You can read Midnight Redemption for free on Patreon,https://www.patreon.com/ErrinKrystalThanks to Errin KRYSTAL for this interview and all the best with your books. For more information on this author please click here.