Welcome Ms. Crystal Kauffman to Love Romances and More, thank you for joining us. Thank you for having me!
Did you always want to become a writer?
Absolutely. Not only have I always disappeared into books as fantasy (I wanted to be Nancy Drew) but when I was a teenager I thought being a writer was as glamorous as being a movie star, and much more important, like the director of a movie is more important than the stars. I thought I was going to write a best-selling novel, earn millions, and buy a big mansion for my family. Reality hit hard, (in so many ways) but that didn’t stop me from writing.
What is the most, and the least interesting fact about writing?
I’d have to say the most interesting fact is that you really do feel like a celebrity when you finally make that first sale. I think the least interesting aspect is that it isn’t all about thinking up the next Great American Novel. You truly do have to know how to write. So all those things that drove you crazy in school -like compound fractures and where to put the apostrophe- you gotta know it.
How did you celebrate your first release? What was it like to see your book in a bookstore? Do you have a special ritual for celebrating a book release?
My husband took me out to dinner to our favorite sushi restaurant, where the waitress remembered me from our last visit and tried to return the giveaway pen I’d left when I signed the bill. She didn’t understand that it was a chatchke. J
How did your family react to fact that you also write romance novels? Have your family read your books?
Not well. My dad, the control freak, thinks he should be my agent. My mom doesn’t really care because “romance isn’t her genre.” And my mother-in-law thinks my manuscripts should get optioned for movies. Gotta love her for that. The most important person though, my husband, has always been a pillar of support.
Most authors are also avid readers. Is this the case with you? If so, who are some of your favorites? Have any influenced your writing?
I’m voracious! I As soon as I finish one book I start another, but I’m not a one-sitting kind of reader, I like to savor my books. When I get to pick up my current read, I feel like I’m going back to see old friends. Maybe that’s why I like the series so much. I’ve read the entire Stephanie Plum series, Sue Grafton’s alphabet mysteries, JD Robb’s Eve Dallas, and even the Harry Potter books. I’ve just bought the first of JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood and I can’t wait to start reading it. Maybe that’s why I like writing series so much, too.
When I finished writing The Combat, the Guardians had so much more to give, (as did their vampire counterparts) I couldn’t stop. The Collision and The Clash are complete, and with my editor now.
Your characters come to life in your books. Do you feel each of your characters live with you as you write? Do their lives sometimes take over a part of your life? Can you name an example? Do you have living role models for your characters?
I’m much more influenced by photographs than by real people. In some photographs you can see a story, or a world of emotion in a subject’s expression. I once received a postcard from a writer-friend congratulating me on a contest win. It was a photo of a blond girl and a Native American man, high on a bluff in Monument Valley, lighting a fire during the day. I was so intrigued by this postcard I still have it. And yes, I eventually did write their story. Wild At Heart is a historical romance about the youngest white daughter in a large family, and the Cherokee warrior who steals her heart.
Where do you get the inspirations for your books?
This is a tough one, because honestly ideas come from everywhere. And sometimes it’s just a smidgeon of something that mushrooms into something huge that’s completely un-related to what inspired the thought in the first place. I have a very vivid imagination, and it takes me places. I’m going to be a hoot when I’m old and senile.
Do you find it difficult at times to write love scenes?
Only in the sense that it’s tough to make them fresh. But even though my books have action and adventure undertones, romance is the integral part, as well as my favourite part. I love writing love scenes, probably because they’re the culmination of the hero and heroine’s journey toward each other.
What is your favourite book from the books that you have written so far? Who are your favourite hero and heroine, and why?
I’ve only sold the one book, but I’ve written the three in the series. I’d have to say Cvetelina, the vampire heroine from my third book, The Clash, is my favorite. She’s so strong and courageous, but so down to earth. Most of all, she likes herself and doesn’t have a problem being a vampire.
If you could change places with one character from your books, who would it be and why?
I think it would be Faewen, the only female member of the Guardian sect of San Francisco. For one thing, she has a gorgeous, heroic, powerful Guardian warrior for a husband. For another, she can fly.
Do you listen to music while you are writing and if so what music is it?
No music, no background noise. I’m a total-immersion kind of writer, and music just distracts me.
If you could choose of your books for a movie, which one would it be and who would you select as the cast?
I’ll let my mother-in-law handle that.
Are you working on anything right now, and can you tell us a teaser about these projects?
Without divulging too much, I’m dabbling in my historical-writer roots with a short story about a stable master who steps in to protect the abused wife of a viscount. I love this hero because he’s humble, honest, with more integrity than his noble counterparts.
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