Crystin McDaniel

It’s aliiiiiiiiiiive!!!!

*cue screaming and assorted drama*

Back after an extremely extended hiatus, a hearty welcome to today’s guest … me. Yup, that’s right. The quirky, thinks-she’s-pretty-funny author that you all know and love (or don’t-odds are no one is reading this anyway, which makes this more of a journal, doesn’t it?) Regardless, I’m back baby! Now, for how long? That’s anyone’s guess, really. My track record with this blog/website thing hasn’t been the greatest … but I have the intention to at least try?

So. What does ‘being back’ mean? Well, for one, I figure the website needs a little updating. Plus, I thought I’d do some basic life updates for the fans that may actually still be out there, waiting for news of … well. News. So here it goes!

School: While I’d love to claim that getting my degree is what caused me to fall of the face of the internet … that would be a lie. Mostly. I was taking classes, and I now have about a year and a half worth of credits needed to graduate with my Japanese degree. I even managed to score a 4.0 in my last semester! But school is currently up in the air, because …

Location: I moved to Georgia to be closer to my family. This happened in 2022, which contributed to the internet absence, but even this is only a small slice of the ‘why isn’t Crystin writing to update virtual strangers?’ pie. Though it certainly influenced the other reasons; moving means finding a new job, a new residence, new roommates, new friends … and having to figure out all those new things takes time away from more important pursuits, like hobbies. Or writing. Originally with the move, I planned to finish up my degree at UGA – but it turned out finding the employment factor (and the rising cost of inflation, which is still kicking everyone’s butt, even now) meant I had to choose between living on my own or going to school. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my family. Very much. But quite frankly, having to move in with my parents to finish a degree at 40 years old? No thank you. I don’t want the degree that badly. So instead I got a new desk job, and for now I’m going to focus on just getting a decent paycheck, and maybe later I’ll take a couple of classes a year to finish that degree. I’m still practicing Japanese, but for now the dream of translating books is on the back burner.

Writing: Right, now for what everyone really wants to know. Have I been writing? Is there a new book on the horizon??? … No. But also yes? I have a WIP, and I have big ideas surrounding it. But when I dropped off the internet, I pretty much stopped writing too. Heck, I’ve not really been playing World of Warcraft lately either, which is ridiculous because the newest expansion is Dragonflight, and anyone that knows me knows that I’m obsessed with dragons. Instead, I’ve just been working on getting on my feet, setting a routine with the new job (I have to commute now, and Atlanta traffic is the worst), and just overall getting my life back in order. But I think I’m finally in the mindset to start writing again. I’m definitely ready to try writing again, hence this post. This is the beginning of what will (hopefully) be a regular writing habit – though it’ll be a mix of blog posts, the WIP, journaling, or pretty much anything to get my writing muscles working again.

So yeah: stay tuned for more shenanigans!

Crystin McDaniel

2021 – The year that wasn’t.

Okay, that might be a little overdramatic. 2021 definitely existed, and I actually accomplished a lot. 2021 was not, however, a year for creative writing. Or keeping my website up to date … oops. I have a really good excuse though!

For those who aren’t aware, I recently embarked on a quest to finally get my college degree! Barring no unfortunate setbacks, I’m tentatively set to graduate with my major in Asian Cultures and Languages: Japanese degree, with an English minor in 2023. So yeah … the reason why there wasn’t much author work going on in 2020 or 2021 wasn’t entirely due to the pandemic. School takes a pretty big chunk of my time, and a lot of headspace. This means that any loyal fans who are hoping for new content will have to wait just a little bit longer – but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, I promise!

I still have a brainstorm/outline for the next big project I want to undertake. It’s going to be a fairytale retelling, featuring my favorite Disney princess: Sleeping Beauty. I won’t go into too much detail (mainly because I don’t have it yet) but I’m excited to eventually sink my teeth into this story. 😀

Additionally, to help keep momentum going (and help stretch some fairly rusty writing muscles) I *hope* to start posting little updates throughout the school year. It might be a review of something I’ve read or learned in class (Ya’ll, I’m taking Viking literature and the Age of the Samurai this semester – I’m bound to learn something fascinating to share) or just a random observation on life in general. BUT! Next summer, I hopefully will be interning in Tokyo – which means there will be at least a weekly recap of my experiences. And I don’t mean about work (though there might be a little bragging at first – it’s supposed to be in the publishing industry. ふじたさん, if you can read this: I would love to work for you and your publisher). Food, sights, sounds, history: I’m gonna share everything. And pictures! So many pictures.

Finally, because my entire goal with my degree is to become a translator, I may start posting short little pieces in Japanese. I definitely need the practice, but don’t worry! The English translation will be included. Who knows? Some of my fans may also want to learn Japanese, and I could be practice 😀

So I’ll end by saying:

はじめまして。私の名前はマクダニル・クリステンです。どうぞよろしく。

Nice to meet you. My name is Crystin McDaniel.

Crystin McDaniel

Release Day!

Surprise! Dual Blessed is now available for purchase!!!

I know, I know. I’m a little late in my announcement: technically, release day was yesterday, 12/14. However, the paperback took a little longer to process than the kindle version and wasn’t available until late last night. Fortunately, all seems to have gone well, and readers can now discover what happened to Kisara and her friends!

For now, the titles are only available for kindle or paperback only, but I hope to have links to the iTunes store up soon.

Now, just because the Blessings of Myrillia has reached a conclusion, doesn’t mean there isn’t more content coming your way! There might be another fun short story, featuring a particular character near and dear to some readers, coming to the fun stuff section of my website in the future. Plus, I have another secret project that’s been simmering in my subconscious for the last two years – my tentative hope is to start the rough draft next year! I’ll try and be better about posting updates for everyone, both on the writing front and to share fun updates. (Btw, the new World of Warcraft expansion is sublime!).

I want to end with saying thank you to all of my readers. I know this last volume has been a long time in the making, and I appreciate your patience and support. Even more importantly, thank you all for making my childhood dream come true. It’s not enough to just write a book: I wanted to have someone read and enjoy it as well. So thank you, all of you, from the bottom of my heart.

Crystin McDaniel

2020 … enough said.

Hoo, boy. This year has been a wild ride, am I right? I honestly, truly hoped I would have been writing this about five months ago … but life and – quite frankly, 2020 – had other ideas. I’m incredibly lucky and grateful to share that I am well, as are my family and friends, but I appreciate that I am in the minority. My heart goes out to everyone affected by the pandemic, civil unrest, fires, and the myriad of other craziness we’ve dealt with this year.

However, despite the insanity of the world at large, I finally have a tiny piece of good news to share! The final book in my Blessings of Myrillia series is (almost) complete! By that, I mean, I’m only waiting on feedback from my beta readers – it’s about time, right?! I want to thank all of my loyal readers for their patience during this extended hiatus while I got my life back together. It means the world to me when fans want to know what comes next for my characters, and I appreciate you all so very much.

So, without further ado, I want to announce the release date for Dual Blessed! The final volume will be available on December 14, 2020. Soon, you’ll all be back with Kisara and friends, and you’ll get to share their adventure as they finally begin to bring balance back to Myrillia.

Crystin McDaniel

An Isolation Gift

Let’s face it: the world is a little crazy right now. Whether you believe in the dangers of COVID-19 or not, the facts are that many businesses and events are closing down. People are self-isolating and losing jobs and going on spring break early. To be perfectly blunt, life is scary and anxiety-inducing at the moment.

I’m a pretty optimistic person, though. I think eventually, things will be okay. I believe some of the discoveries made in the light of this crisis will result in positive change. I have already seen people doing wonderful things: posting uplifting messages or photos on social media, creating virtual sales to support artists and musicians, reaching out to the at-risk people in their community to provide food or services.

Some of my author role models have blown me away with their generosity and support for various communities. Sabaa Tahir has been using her platform to promote debut authors who have missed out on their tours and signing events. V.E. Schwab reached out to the artist community to hire several for character art. Seanan McGuire is supporting friends and family – and frequently shares pictures of her gorgeous Maine Coons. It’s awe-inspiring and heartwarming … and I want to be a part.

Unlike my idols, I don’t have a huge fan base. My platform is nearly non-existent, and my paycheck job pays enough that I don’t have to choose between groceries or a couple new books. So my gift to the world right now isn’t much, but it’s what I have. Hopefully, my little gesture of goodwill will motivate someone else to do something for their community.

Starting today, my ebooks will be on sale for $0.99 each on Amazon and Apple Books, and the sale will extend until the end of August. It’s my hope that they will provide a few people a respite from the craziness. Plus, they’re classified as young adult novels so you can feed them to your bored teenagers!

Note: if you’ve been affected by closures and/or cancellations and desperately need a literary escape, send me a message. I’ll happily provide you with a free copy of my ebooks in exchange for an honest review or a comment on social media. 🙂

Crystin McDaniel

Introducing …

The gorgeous cover for Dual Blessed, the fourth and final installment of the Blessings of Myrillia series!

It may be a bit early, since I’m still in the drafting stage, but I couldn’t wait to share this beauty. Besides, I know fans have been waiting oh-so-patiently for news of Myrillia, and I hope this will help tide all of you over a just a little bit longer.

(And, honestly? Now that I have a pretty picture waiting at the finish line, I’m much more motivated to write and edit.)

So, behold! Dual Blessed!!!