For this week’s Spotlight I had the pleasure of interviewing New Adult Romance Author Chrissy Snyder. Without Further Ado here is the interview:
SS: First can you tell us something about yourself?
CS: I’m a 46-year-old woman who has been married for 25 years to the love of my life. People are often surprised to hear that we only dated for 19 days prior to getting engaged. We not only still love each other, but more importantly, we still like each other.
I’m the mother of two children; a boy 18, and a daughter age 20. I’m a softie when it comes to animals, and I currently own a French bulldog named Mylo. He is quite the grumpy puppy and he often reminds me of a grumpy old man in a dog suit.
I’ve always been taken with the English language and developed a love of reading at a very early age. I was often reading a book a day, or sometimes more.
SS: Can you recall the first story you wrote?
CS: The very first thing I wrote was a poem. It was for my german class in high school. I won third place at the time and was honored with an award dinner.
SS: What type of genre do you write and why it stands out?
CS: I write romances or erotic romances. I’m the type of woman who likes to believe in fairytales (after all, I’m living my own J ) so my books always have a happy ending. I try to infuse real life issues and humor into my stories. I also touch on some serious and difficult subjects. I also see inspiration everywhere. Music, Art, quotes, people watching. Pretty much anything. Sometimes the smallest thing can create the biggest idea in my mind and then grow from there.
SS: How many stories and books have you written?
CS: I’ve written many books and stories, as well as poetry, but have only published two. So far. I hope to continue publishing as I have many manuscripts.
SS: What can you tell us about your writing process?
CS: I love to have music on in the background, specifically music that might help me put my mood to paper. When writing a romantic love scenario, I put on ballads, versus a scene that might have tension or anger in it.
I try to sit down and write every day, even if it’s for a short time. If I’m struggling with the particular manuscript I’m on, then I’ll move on to another. Another “tip” I utilize is what I call “word dump.”
You sit down at the computer and just start typing whatever comes to mind. It can be random words that make no sense. Usually, after a few minutes of doing this, inspiration eventually strikes.
If it doesn’t, then I might choose to step away for a day or two and try to read. I believe that authors can develop their own writing when reading stories written by others.
SS: Can you tell us about your books? How many have you written?
CS: I’ve written two books that are currently published. There are several other manuscripts in various stages. My debut novel Accepting Cherry is about a young girl who suffers great tragedy and eventually overcomes her difficulties after some lengthy soul searching. Cherry had to deal with loss at a very young age. I too, dealt with loss and I think that it made writing about it somewhat easier as I had the experience to draw on. I think authors probably pour a bit of themselves into every book they write. My second book is called Recovered Love. It is book 1 in the Love Series. It is about three brothers who face three differing yet similar challenges and how they come to find love.
SS: What are your favorite characters? Why do they stand out?
CS: My favorite type of character is authentic and doesn’t “veer” from who they are. An alpha male who uses salty language should sound just like that on paper. He shouldn’t use flowery words or even soften his swearing. I love a character that can evoke feelings in me.A good example of this is a book I read by Charisse Spears title Twisted Fate. It was the 2nd book in her Fate series and ended on a cliffhanger. It was so well written that I was crying and yelling at my kindle, wanting to throw it against the wall at one point. That feeling stayed with me for weeks after I finished that book. I hope that my books evoke strong emotions in my readers as well. As for my own books, My favorite female character is Cherry in Accepting Cherry. She found the strength to persevere after some major catastrophic events. Despite all the negatives she faced, she came out on top.
My favorite male character is Reid King from Recovered Love. Physically he is my type. Tall, muscular and alpha male. Despite being all man, he knows how to treat a lady. He has character and isn’t afraid of being himself, even if something he does isn’t considered to be manly enough.
SS: What is some piece of advice you found helpful when beginning to write?
CS: It’s fairly simple, but the best piece of advice I received was to: “Just write.” No matter what, write and write some more. I believe that might even be a quote from someone, but it was another Indie author, Victoria Ashley who gave me that advice.
SS: Do you have any special routine you have to follow when you write? For example, do you have to write in a quiet area of the house? Is Music a big part of it?
CS: I don’t have a specific routine per se. I do get my laptop out, my notebook and the current outline of the book is always beside me so I can refer back to it. It helps me to keep up with all the characters, their names and any side characters etc. I typically sit on the couch as that’s where I’m most comfortable.
I like to start writing as early in the day as possible. I wear earbuds and listen to music. There’s a playlist dedicated to each book (on Spotify), or I put specific songs on repeat while writing certain scenes. I find music helps to pull the emotion out of me and I’m then able to translate that onto paper.
SS: What were some of your writing influences growing up? Did you have a favorite writer?
CS: I have to say I’m a literary and musical “mutt.” I love all forms of music (except for the really heavy stuff) and almost all genres of books, including fantasy and sci-fi. I hope to someday be able to write a fantasy, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to. My strengths seem to lie in “real” things that I can relate to. I really admire fantasy authors who can make you see/feel/smell wonderfully wonky characters and places of interest. Who knows…maybe that will change as my writing grows.
I read VC Andrews, Stephen King, and Dean R Koontz. I also consumed every history romance ever written. Ok, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but during my summers that was my favorite thing to do. I also read true crime books such as Helter Skelter.
I find myself trying out a lot of Indie authors likeCharisse Spiers, Victoria Ashley, Penelope Ward, and Melanie Walker.
SS: What piece of advice can you give a beginning writer?
CS: Make sure to appreciate everyone that leaves you a review, even if you feel it’s a negative one. There is always something to learn or ways to grow from any and every comment you get. Also, don’t give up. The more you write, the better you get. Write what you feel. Write what NEEDS to come out of you. Those make the best reads.
SS: What do you hope your readers take away from reading your books?
CS: I hope my books are enjoyable and entertaining. I want readers to be able to sit down with my book(s) and having them feel relaxed and happy when they are done. I hope readers really enjoy the story. I hope that my descriptions are rich enough so that they feel as if it were THEM I was writing about – as if they were “living” the book.
SS: What are you currently working on?
CS: There are two more books in the Love Series featuring the other two King boys. They are at various stages in the editing and review process.
Following that, there are plans for an off-shoot series currently titled the Lost Series.
I always have “someone” yelling for me to write their story next – the characters in my head never seem to stop. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
SS: What is something we do not know about you?
CS Good question. I’m usually the awkward one in the room. I always find myself with my foot in my mouth, or stuttering or doing something utterly embarrassing. I’ve gotten so used to it, but every so often I surprise myself. I’ve always wanted to be this smooth, sophisticated woman who always knows exactly what to say, and when to say it. Instead, I’m anything but.
I’m also very goofy and I make up silly songs or rhymes, or I come up with weird things to call my dog.
SS: Thank you for being here today.
Here is where you can find Author Chrissy Snyder:
Accepting Cherry Book Blurb:
Twirl me around and watch me spin, a modern day princess lives within…..
Charisa has a perfect life. Just like her favored Princesses, she is living the life every girl dreams of for her very own fairytale, but even the sweetest fairytales must come to an end.
When happiness is at its peak, fate steps in and one by one she loses everything.
Picking up the pieces to a broken life can be long and bumpy. Most often than not things get worse before they get better.
Despite her despair and the hell she’s been through time and time again, she finds love and begins to plan a future as none other than Mrs. Prince Charming.
Convinced she’s going to finally get her happily ever after; fate steps in once again and she suffers betrayal and shame of the greatest degree.
Will she give the idea of love a second chance and find her one and only or will her dark secrets prevent her from truly finding herself?
Behind every prince is a story left untold.
Look behind the mask and you’ll see it unfold.
Sawyer has lived a charmed life. He’s the catch every girl is after when dreaming of her very own storybook ending. In real life, though, nothing is like it is in a fairytale. One childhood event can forever affect how a man looks at love and relationships, even a golden guy like Sawyer.
Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it, isn’t that what everyone has always taught in history class? He doesn’t have time for love or commitment. Even the most skeptical with love can sometimes find it in the strangest of places, when that one special someone catches his eye, suddenly leaving him dazed and confused.
The only way to reap the benefits of true love is to put your unknown demons behind and give love a shot.
When secrets start to emerge will the two beat the odds or part ways and let it destroy them both?
BIO
Chrissy Snyder writes New Adult erotic romance. She loves tattooed bad boys and misunderstood women with happy ever afters. She divides her time between writing and reading when not loving on her very jealous furbaby, Mylo.
If she isn’t writing about heartache or second chances, then she is managing her busy household with her very supportive hubby and two teens.
She dreams of traveling, to Europe, Costa Rica and Hawaii
Here are some Fun Facts about Author Chrissie Snyder:
1. Favorite food: Pasta
2. Favorite color: Blue
3. Favorite sweet treat: Chai Latte
4. Favorite mixed drink: whiskey and coke or margarita
5. Favorite thing to shop for: clothes or jewelry or gifts for others
6. Lucky number: 7
7. Favorite book: The Fight – by Charisse Spiers
8. Favorite movie: The Bourne series
9. Favorite song: Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran
10. Favorite sport: hockey