Crystal Hemmingway

About Crystal Hemmingway

Crystal Hemmingway is a corporate washout and novelist. She lives in Los Angeles with her favorite person and two cats. In her spare time, Crystal enjoys binge-watching TV shows, eating sugary cereals, and pretending to write at coffee shops.

Read BookTrib’s review of Crystal’s book, Mom’s Perfect Boyfriend.

BOOKS:

Mom’s Perfect Boyfriend (2019)

Biggest literary influencers:

Meg Cabot, Sophie Kinsella, Maria Semple

Last book read:

Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey

The book that changed your life:

The Martian by Andy Weir. It was the first time that I realized that sci-fi could be so funny. It opened my eyes to the potential of epistolary novels, and how that format can lead to some really fun and original storytelling moments.

Your favorite literary character:

Hermione from the Harry Potter series. She can seem bossy and annoying at first, but I relate to her from the moment she’s introduced. I really love how Hermione grows and evolves over the series, and how she becomes a hero because she’s smart and plans ahead. She’s basically the ultimate Girl Scout.

Currently working on:

A young adult sci-fi novel in prose, and another epistolary novel as well.

Words to live by:

“Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear; the brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all.” —Meg Cabot, The Princess Diaries

Advice to new and aspiring authors:

Write the stories that you want to read. I spent a long time trying to write in the style of fantasy authors like Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan, but I was devouring rom-com books and films in my spare time. Writing became much, much easier when I gave up on trying to be a “respectable” fantasy author and focused on a story that was fun for me to write.

Articles / Reviews:

IndieReader