Crystal King
Author Interview - Crystal King
Author of In the Garden of Monsters and The Chef's Secret
About In the Garden of Monsters:
A woman with no past. A man who seems to know her. And a monstrous garden that could be the border between their worlds…
Italy, 1948
Julia Lombardi is a mystery even to herself. The beautiful model can’t remember where she’s from, where she’s been or how she came to live in Rome. When she receives an offer to accompany celebrated eccentric artist Salvador Dalí to the Sacro Bosco—Italy’s Garden of Monsters—as his muse, she’s strangely compelled to accept. It could be a chance to unlock the truth about her past…
Shrouded in shadow, the garden full of giant statues that sometimes seem alive is far from welcoming. Still, from the moment of their arrival at the palazzo, Julia is inexplicably drawn to their darkly enigmatic host, Ignazio. He’s alluring yet terrifying—and he seems to know her.
Posing for Dalí as the goddess Persephone, Julia finds the work to be perplexing, particularly as Dalí descends deeper into his fanaticism. To him, she is Persephone, and he insists she must eat pomegranate seeds to rejoin her king.
Between Dalí’s fevered persistence, Ignazio’s uncanny familiarity and the agonizing whispered warnings that echo through the garden, Julia is soon on the verge of unraveling. And she begins to wonder if she’s truly the mythical queen of the Underworld…
Author I draw inspiration from:
2024: Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities I love Calvino...he combined literary and fantasy so seamlessly.
2019: There are a number of authors that inspire me, but lately, I have been feeling very inspired by Italian author Italo Calvino. His books are filled with beautiful description and imagery, and his writing touches a part of my soul.
Author Interview - Crystal King
Favorite place to read a book:
2024: My cozy red leather office chair, with my kitty Merlin curled up on the wide arm next to me.
2019: I tend to read mostly by Kindle at night before I go to sleep, but I also have a super comfy big oversized leather chair in my office that is perfect for book reading.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
2024: Willie Wonka, from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl) because we'd fly upward in that elevator, over the world, and then into a delicious land that fired up the imagination of so many kids of my era.
2019: Probably Hermione because she would know the precise spell to use to get the elevator unstuck.
Author Interview - Crystal King
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
2024: I'm not sure, but I was quite young. I read voraciously as a child, and was writing poems and stories before I even hit kindergarten. When I was ten I went to a young writer's conference and got to meet Madeleine L'Engel, whose books I adored. Probably somewhere around that age, because I was surrounded by people and teachers that encouraged me.
2019: I don't really remember the exact moment, because I was quite young, but I remember going to a Young Authors conference of some sort when I was about ten and I met Madeleine L'Engle. I loved her books so much as a child and to meet the person who created them was hugely inspiring to me.
Author Interview - Crystal King
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
2024: I love a good physical book, and I listen to audiobooks in the car or the shower, but overall I prefer ebooks because I read so fast (800-900 wpm) and it's simply easier on an e-reader, and when I read so many books so quickly, there just isn't enough physical space in my house for them all.
2019: ebook. I read so much and so fast (800-1K words a min) that an e-reader makes that much more manageable for me.
The last book I read:
2024: I just finished THE DEVIL AND MRS. DAVENPORT by Paulette Kennedy which is a wonderful gothic thriller set in 1950s suburbia. I read it in two late late nights...I was riveted.
2019: an advanced copy of The Parting Glass by Gina Marie Guadagnino, which I devoured.
Author Interview - Crystal King
Pen & paper or computer:
2024: I brainstorm with pen and paper, and sometimes I'll go sit in a cafe or library and write long-hand, but for the most part I'm all in on technology. I use Scrivener, and I have a 49" monitor that lets me have multiple screens open, which is fantastic when I'm doing a lot of research while I'm writing.
2019: I use both. Primarily I write on the computer, but sometimes I'll go sit at a restaurant or bar and have a glass of wine and spit out a scene free-hand. I find that when I move those scenes to the computer screen that they are richer and more interesting.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
2024: Eliot Waugh in Lev Grossman's The Magicians. I just think we'd be so tight. He's similar in personality to some of my current close friends.
2019: Trillian from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. She's smart, fun, funny, and nothing holds her back.
Author Interview - Crystal King
If I wasn’t an author, I’d be a:
2024: In my less glamorous life I'm already an instructor for a tech company, teaching social media and AI. It's a job that I am lucky to also love. If I'm writing or teaching I'm pretty happy.
2019: a social media professor. Oh wait, that's my day job! But it's one that I love and if I can't be an author full-time, for me, it's a great next-best substitute.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
2024: I'm a child of the 80s so while there is some nostalgia there, the 80s were such a crazy innovative time for fashion. We threw everything that had come before upside down and had fun with color, with shapes, and design. I love how over-the-top everything was, especially in comparison to the boring, casual, much lazier fashion of today.
2019: The 80s. Maybe because that's when I grew up, but also because that's when fashion hit it's wildest, both in form and color.
Place I’d most like to travel:
2024: Italy. My heart is always in Rome, and anytime I can return to il bel paese, I'm over the moon.
2019: Always to Rome, where my heart is. But if I had to branch beyond il bel paese, I'd say the UK. I've always wanted to see Ireland, Scotland and England, and have never been to any of them.
My signature drink:
2024: I'm a chartreuse girl, and a Last Word or a Bijoux will make me equally happy.
2019: I have a cocktail named after me by Boston bartender Todd Maul, called The Crystal. Its primary ingredients are gin, elderflower liqueur, cognac and grapefruit. It's bright and delicious. I'm also a fan of green chartreuse, preferably V.E.P. and neat.
Favorite artist:
2024: I love music and at one point I wanted to be a music promoter (and worked for Virgin and Sony for a bit) but when I discovered how poor I would be, I ditched the idea. But I've never given up my love for music. Choosing one artist would be difficult. Right now it would be a tossup between Editors or Jovanotti.
For paintings, it would be Warhol. And then, of course, Salvador Dali.
2019: My husband. He's a contemporary sculptor and painter. I also love Warhol and Bernini!
Number one on my bucket list:
2024: I've almost accomplished my #1, to become an Italian citizen. My husband just received his, and I passed (the rather difficult) language test that spouses must take. I'm waiting for his paperwork to finalize, and then I'll be able to apply for mine. This has been a dream of mine for years.
2019: Pay off my student loans (right now the schedule has me paying them off six months after I turn 65).
Anything else you’d like to add:
My books are full of food, and if you love cooking, you can download free companion cookbooks to my novels from my website, www.crystalking.com.
Find more from Crystal, here:
Threads https://www.threads.net/@crystallyn14
Goodreads http://goodreads.com/crystallyn
Instagram http://instagram.com/crystallyn14/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCREuBdccpdvYx-asb4RZp4w
Facebook http://facebook.com/crystallynking
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/crystal-king
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Crystal-King/e/B01HWO1V5E
About Crystal King:
Crystal King is the author of the novel, In the Garden of Monsters, as well as The Chef’s Secret and Feast of Sorrow, which was long-listed at the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize and designated as a MassBook Awards Must Read. A social media and AI professor by trade, her writing is fueled by a love of history and a passion for the food, language, and culture of Italy. Crystal has taught writing, creativity, and social media at Harvard Extension School, Boston University, and GrubStreet. A Pushcart Prize-nominated poet and former co-editor of Plum Ruby Review, she holds an MA in critical and creative thinking from UMass Boston. You can find her at crystalking.com.
