Author Crush Friday: Casey Griffin

GLITTER: Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.

 CASEY: 

1. I lived in Japan—twice.
2. I enjoy 40’s music
3. I got my motorcycle license on a whim
4. I bowled the best game of my life recently—155!
5. Zombies scare me a lot—I have a contingency plan

 

GLITTER: How would you describe your writing to someone who hasn’t read your work yet?  

CASEY: It’s fun and lighthearted, and yet it has its deeper moments that really give the story meaning and purpose. However, I always want to leave you smiling—I’m a sucker for a happy ending. I think if you’re a fan of Janet Evanovich, Sophie Kinsella, or Meg Cabot, you’ll enjoy my books.

 

GLITTER: Where did the idea of Secrets of a Reluctant Princess come from?

 CASEY: It all began with a toilet. No, really. An aspiring inventor I knew half-jokingly decided that what the world really needs is a toilet bowl that glows in the dark, preventing the midnight visitor from having to turn on the light.

Apparently something like this already existed, but it got me thinking. What if someone made a fortune off a product like this? We’re talking big toilet money and fame: TV, radio, billboards. Now how embarrassing would it be for their teenage daughter? Embarrassing to her, but hilarious to everyone else. Have it take over her life, including her love life, and the Porcelain Princess was born.

 

GLITTER: In Secrets of a Reluctant Princess, what was your favorite chapter/scene to write and why?

CASEY: My favorite scenes to write were probably the larping scenes. I love writing fantasy, so the swordfights and magic were fun to work into a contemporary novel. It was especially cool since it was contrasted by the reality surrounding the characters, like the nearby Costco building peeking through the trees, or a couple taking their dogs for a walk right through the middle of their battle.

 

GLITTER: Do you have any weird writing rituals?

 CASEY: I don’t know about weird. With my schedule, I don’t have much of a routine. I write when I can, how I can. But I always have to start with a pen and paper. Any paper, really—I’ve even used a napkin before. But it has to be pen and not on a computer, or else I just start drawing blanks.

 

 GLITTER: What advice do you have for new writers?

 CASEY: Never stop never stopping – The Lonely Island

Or maybe more eloquently put:

“You never fail until you stop trying.” – Albert Einstein

 

Don’t feel disheartened if your current book doesn’t sell (my first few didn’t). Writing is a process. We learn, we grow, we constantly improve our craft. Rejection is just part of the process. It doesn’t mean failure.

 

There is no failure in the path to publication unless you give up trying. No matter how many books it takes, if you truly love writing, you’re still doing something you enjoy, regardless of the outcome. As long as you keep trying and growing as an artist, you’ll get there. You just need to believe in yourself.

 

GLITTER: What one book do you wish you would’ve had growing up, and why?

CASEY: Honestly, I didn’t read for many years. I loved reading as a kid, but then school got serious. The types of books I had to read for homework bored me to death, so it put me off reading for fun. Of course, I appreciate these stories now and understand why we had to read them. But where were the Harry Potters, the Twilights, the Daughter of Smoke and Bones?

 

I get that these books aren’t classics. It’s not like we could have had an in-depth, intellectual class debate on Team Edward vs Team Jacob—but that would be an awesome class, right? But I wish there’d been more variety in the styles of books we were assigned, because maybe it would have lured me back to literature a lot sooner than my early twenties.

 

GLITTER: What are you working on now?

CASEY: What don’t I want to be working on right now? There’s not enough time to work on all the projects I’m excited about exploring—both YA and adult. Now that I’ve finished the third novel in my Rescue Dog Romance series, I’m writing a proposal for another contemporary teen romance novel (geek couture related, of course). And if I ever learn how to manipulate time, I’d eventually like to self-publish my book Dreamcatchers (plus the rest of the series), which got me to the finals in the ABNA contest.

Casey Griffin can often be found at comic conventions on her days off from her day job, driving 400 ton dump trucks in Northern Alberta, Canada. As a jack of all trades with a resume boasting registered nurse, English teacher, and photographer, books are her true passion. Casey is a 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel finalist, and is currently busy writing every moment she can.

Casey writes both romance novels and books for teens, including A Rescue Dog Romance series and the upcoming YA novel Secrets of a Reluctant Princess.