Aspiring Author Profile: Chrissy Taylor

UPDATE:  Chrissy has an agent!  Congrats!

Name: Chrissy Taylor

Location: Northeast, US

Age…ish?: 37 (I think... I can never keep track)

Genre(s) you write: Steampunk, Paranormal, Romance, Mystery, Historical

Books/Authors you love: Diana Gabaldon, Anne Perry, Elizabeth Peters, Tess Gerritsen, Nora Roberts, Martha Grimes

How long have you been writing? Five years

Do you have any professional/industry experience as a writer? Nope.

Had anything published? Nope, though I have a short that will be out in a zine shortly-- next month, I think.

Agent status (please X all that apply)
[ ] Need one
[ ] Want one. Desperately. Want. One.
[ ] Got one
[X ] We’re “talking” (Though after Tuesday, it may be more of a Got One or a Need One.)
[ ] I’m cyberstalking him/her, but so far they have yet to respond to my inappropriate sexual advances…. Erm, I mean, my query letter.
[ ] Agent? Who needs an agent?

Either/Or when you write:
Pen and paper, or computer screen? Computer screen

Plotster (outlines, scene cards, etc.) or Pantster (writing by the seat of your pants)? Definately Pantster.

Music on, or off? Off for writing, on for thinking.

Solitude, or surrounded by people, sounds, things? Where and whenever I can get a free minute, though it usually involves getting interrupted every couple of seconds by one of my two monkeys... er, kids.

Cleanest first draft possible, or screw grammar/spelling/punctuation and fix it later? Cleanest first draft possible, though I inadvertently leave out entire words from lack of sleep.

Slave to the whimsy of your muse, or writing like it’s your job, even when you don’t feel like it? Always writing... the muse never leaves me alone. Well, maybe she does take the occasional nap, but I write anyway.

Do you have a certain place/time of day/writing implement/obsessive ritual/etc. that is crucial to your writing process? I just need my laptop and enough super strength tea to keep me awake.

Where do you get your inspiration? The voices in my head, and the music lyrics to the bizarre songs I listen to.

What one thing do you really love about your own writing? I don't so much love my writing, but i do love my characters.

What one thing do you wish you could do better? Stop dangling my participles.

Anything else you want to say? um... nope.

Anything for us to read? Sure. Here's an excerpt about a just developed herbal drink with some curious side effects.

“To yer success.” Seth raised his glass to her and then drank, the rest of them following suit.


The taste was not bad, but being quite petite in build, it did not take long before Phoebe started to feel the herbal’s effects, though it was quickly becoming clear she would need to make adjustments to the formula. Curiously, her skin felt somehow electrified, and though her mood had indeed lightened, it also left her feeling light-headed, her knees threatening to give way.


Seth must have realized, pulling her into his arms to offer the support she desperately needed, but his touch sent waves of desire through her, like nothing she had ever felt before. His arms wrapped tight around her waist, their bodies pressed against each other as the herbal coursed through them both. With their inhibitions gone, Seth leaned in and kissed her, his lips soft on hers at first, before his kiss deepened, setting her skin on fire, her desire no longer contained as she was overcome, and left quivering in his arms.


When he spoke it was just a whisper in her ear, his breath sending a shiver down her spine. “I dinna ken if that was the effect ye were after, but I’ll be damned if ye couldna’ make yerself a fortune.”