Like the sweet nectar of a picture plant I want to lure you closer to me w/the tip of my pen.
Wielding the dominance of my prose w/the dangerous skill of a powerful alchemist, I want to distort your senses until the only thing you see, the only thing you want, the only reason you breathe is to breathe…for me.
I want to run my fingers thru your imagination.
I want you to feel my lips fluttering against your ear as I whisper the words that will weave the webs that will entangle you w/in the nightmares that I have dreamt just for you.
I want to feel the chill that runs down your spine as you struggle to free yourself from my all consuming embrace.
I want to look into your eyes & watch as your pupils begin to dilate when you find yourself trapped w/in the phytotelma of my written words.
I want to be close to you so that I can feel the expression on your face change as you realize that I will…
NEVER!
let you
go,
Always & Forever
~Crystal
What you just read is the handwritten note I wrote as the intro for my anthology … And They All Lived Happily Ever After!
*
Hi guys! My name is Crystal Connor and as you’ve probably already guessed I write horror. I’m a Washington State native who loves anything to do with monsters, bad guys, rogue scientific experiments, jewelry, sky-high high heel shoes and unreasonably priced hang bags.
So when I was 1st asked to be the guest blogger for today I reacted the way I always do when I get this request. I buckled under the pressure and guilt and had a meltdown. See what had happened was…lol
So if you happen to scroll through my blog what you’ll discover is, until very recently, my blog looked like the Mojave Desert in the summer with the occasional tumbleweed blowing by in the form of a blog update.
I was seriously taking my social media presence for granted. It wasn’t like I was dismissing the importance of making a name for myself, not at all, but somewhere along the way it just got really overwhelming. I ended up with too many accts, I didn’t know what to say so I just stopped talking, and to make matters worse every time I was asked to be a guest blogger only served as an excruciating reminder that I was standing next to the punch bowl of the social media dance floor.
I had all the right accounts: the fan page, twitter, a blog the whole nine yards but I became emotionally unstable at just the thought of having to write a synopsis for a full length novel…trying to say what I wanted to say in only 140 characters or less was like trying to write a synopsis for a single sentence and violently thrust me on the brinkmanship of having to be institutionalized. Being that I am not a glutton for punishment my Twitter acct. was quickly abandoned.
I wasn’t updating my fan page because I really didn’t know how to utilize it, plus I was bummed out that I couldn’t tag my friends. I was happy with the content of my blog but because of the low activity it wasn’t really driving traffic. The whole social media thing was becoming a burden and taking time away from writing.
My biggest problem was feeling really uncomfortable just talking about my lasted review/interview/WIP. People usually find out on their own that I am a writer and they tend to find out fairly quickly. When I see authors/artists/biz owners posting every 15 minutes about whatever it is they are selling their posts become background noise and junk mail and that was the very last thing I wanted to be doing.
But then, thank God, I finally saw the light…actually I was shown the light.
I write at night, and while I was having breakfast before going bed I was watching a woman’s business show. The woman being interviewed about social media said ‘content is king’ and then she started showing how women are using Instagram to promote their business without being intrusive. She showed us a pet-sitter who was posted photos of dogs playing and sleeping. A fitness trainer showed tips on how to squeeze in workouts (even in heels), healthy looking meals, and ‘guilt free fast food portions.
I talk too much to tweet so Instgram seemed promising. I haven’t been on Instagram very long and I am still figuring out all the tips and tricks but so far I like it. Most of the posts are from book events, but there are random pix of my dog, me roaming around Seattle, and my desk.
Not all of my friends on Facebook are horror fans, but the people who liked my fan page are so with that in mind I’m starting to really have fun my fan page because my fans and I like the same thing. Most of the stuff I’ve posted there are genre specific which allows me to engage with my followers on a more quasi personal level without always talking about the latest review.
Remember the woman being interviewed said ‘content is king,’ well one on the things I noticed when I had my Twitter acct. was that people were posting the same thing to both their Twitter and Facebook and that was another thing that drove me away from Twitter and social media as a whole was that the things being posted seemed so redundant. So my goal is NOT to update the exact same thing to all three sites. And let me tell you, even thought it won’t be every 15 minutes, and probably not even every day, now that I have somewhat of a game plan, the prospect of keeping my fans and followers engaged with fresh new posts, and even guest blogging doesn’t seem like such a daunting tasking anymore.
Well speaking of social media and self promoting, if horror is your thing then I’m your girl ;p From Oct 17th thru the end of the month I am going to be on a virtual blog tour hosting by Sage Blog Tours promoting my horror anthology …And They All Lived Happily Ever After!
Unlike most blog tours this one isn’t going to have interviews and guest posts to blogs because for one this is my 2nd tour w/this book and for two I was in the middle of wrapping up the 3rd book in the Spectrum Trilogy when this tour was booked so I didn’t have a lot of time to donate to other projects.
What you will find are reviews and have the chance to enter a contest to win a free signed paperback copy of the book. For more info on the tour or just me in general follow me at www.facebook.com/notesfromtheauthor, www.wordsmithcrystalconnor.blogspot.com or www.instagram.com/notesfromtheauthor
Before I let you go I would like to leave you w/another excerpt from my anthology. It’s actually more than just a passage it’s the 1st story. If the ‘love letter’ didn’t quite set the stage for what to expect between the pages of this anthology the little piece of flash fiction should hammer it home.
I hope you guys had fun hanging out with me to for a while and Alicia I can’t thank you enough for letting me take temporary control of your blog. Have a kick ass day everyone!
Charitable Acts. By Crystal Connor
There's a whole host of benefits allotted to those, who like myself, possess these very specialized set of skills. One of the benefits is, that afterward, you sleep really good at night and I mean really good. What? Well, it's true, it's hard to believe I know, but trust me it's true. Sam, my uncle, sent me to this exotic land that used to smell of frankincense and myrrh. He sent us there, my brothers-in-arms and me, so that we could become proficient in the art of death. We were good at what we did too, because now it only smells of gunpowder, burnt oil, and death.
That's a hellofa predicament you've found yourself in, isn't it?
Well, at least now you know I'm good with a gun and thanks to my Uncle Sam I am also very comfortable with a blade. This ten inch beauty here is a staple, it's sharp enough to be used a machete. But this one, with the gut hook, is my all time favorite and I'll show you why here in a minute. Now, I can understand why you broke into my home, these are tough times, and a guy's gotta eat I get that. I do. Maybe I would have let you live if you had simply demanded my money and jewels, but, then again, I was never known for being charitable.
Visit Crystal @ http://wordsmithcrystalconnor.blogspot.com/
