Welcome to Crystal Crawford's official author blog!

Fantasy literature has been popular for centuries, captivating readers with its magical and imaginative elements. While some people view fantasy books as mere escapism, the truth is that reading fantasy can have numerous benefits, particularly for teenagers. While many of these benefits are true of reading in general, there are some benefits that I believe are somewhat unique to the fantasy genre (as opposed to other genres of books) because of the way it immerses readers in

Reading fiction can offer numerous benefits for teenagers. Find out more in this post!

YA Clean Reads Book Review for The Uncertainty of Fire by Stephanie Daniels

The final segment of MJ's and my "Brooding Heroes" Trope Talk series is up, and this time we're discussing how brooding heroes have shaped our own stories, what this trope can add for readers, the ORIGIN STORY of our friendship, the satirical, 4th-wall breaking e-magazine we launched in 2019, and more! (Plus the obligatory Twilight reference, of course.) You can watch our latest chat video below! We have plenty of fun future videos planned, too, including a chat about MJ's a

Today is book release day for Evernigh by M.J. Padgett! I beta-read this book prior to its release, and it's such a fantastic, well-developed fantasy! If you're into epic fantasy, definitely check out this book! Its protagonists are young adults--probably upper teens to early twenties, I'd guess--so it makes a perfect recommendation for my YA Clean Reads list. Grab the book on Amazon (paperback and e-book), Kobo, or Nook -- or read my full review below for more information!

Hello, everyone, and welcome to my very first YA Clean Reads Book Review post! I'm starting this project as a way to help parents find "Clean" Young Adult Reads for their teens. (For more information on the Facebook group that I started to help parents share recommendations, learn about YA books, and more, click here.) For the purposes of my YA Clean Reads standards, "Clean" is defined as: No on-page sexual content (romance that focuses on emotion and/or stops at "just kisse

Welcome to another one of my random late-night entertainments: making satirical magazine covers based on book tropes!

Find clean/sweet romance serials on Kindle Vella with the "Just Kisses" tag!

Kindle Vella launched a few days ago, and I've been testing out the platform, checking out stories, and closely watching the forums and chatter! I've learned a lot about Kindle Vella, and I'm just as excited as ever about the potential for this new venue for readers. If you want to learn more about Kindle Vella and how it all works -- as an author AND as a reader -- check out today's video update! And if you're interested in checking out my Vella story, Macchiatos, Faerie Pri

...And so is my brand new story! ​ I'm thrilled to announce the first publicly-released portion of the Leyward Stones universe: my brand new serial, Macchiatos, Faerie Princes, and Other Things That Happen at Midnight, available through the new Kindle Vella program! You can find my shiny, new story in Vella here! (It's definitely available in the web browser; If you're looking for it in the Kindle iOS app, it may or may not be up yet--they seem to be rolling out availability

There's a new readership platform launching... it's coming very, very soon... and I'm going to be a part of it! So, what is it? I explain all about Kindle Vella, Amazon's new serial reading platform, in this video! Are you excited about Vella? Does this style of reading platform appeal to you? Let me know in the comments below!

A new Trope Talk video is up! This month we're chatting about the absent or clueless parent trope found in many young adult books. What does this trope communicate to teens? Why is this dynamic used so often in YA fiction? Does it serve a purpose? And what can we learn from it -- or take as a caution -- as readers and/or writers? Join us today for Trope Talk #2: What's Up with YA Parents?

Grab a coffee, pull up a chair, and join us as we chat book tropes! I just launched a fun, new thing on YouTube: Trope Talk with MJ and Crystal! I've teamed up with my friend and co-author, M.J. Padgett, to what we do best -- talk about books! Only this time, we've captured it on video. Episode 1: Love Triangles just launched tonight, and is the first of a monthly Trope Talk series on YouTube where we'll talk all things bookish as we analyze tropes, break down how we use the

I just wanted to send out a quick message between my regular newsletters to let you know about a promotion my books are in this week...

Everyone needs at least one book-nerd friend. Here's why!

Announcing my VIP Readers and Writer Chats Facebook groups!

Hello, and welcome to another exclusive interview from Swoonworthy Battle Heroes magazine... Warrior Women edition!

Welcome to the first-ever installment of our brand-new Evil Overlord advice column, brought to you by a coalition of super-villains...

Hello, and welcome to an exclusive interview from Swoonworthy Battle Heroes magazine!

19 fiction books by American authors I have personally read, and which I believe have had a major influence over time.