Writer Interviews (Pt. 2) Leigh Crescent
Leigh and I have been friends on Instagram for a few years now so I absolutely had to feature her on my blog! She is a phenomenal writer and a talented artist (and her account is so aesthetic).
Project Juggler Extraordinaire
Writer of YA Fantasy/Romantasy, Leigh Crescent is currently juggling 4+ projects all in different stages. I definitely admire that skill coming from someone who can’t manage to work on even two projects at the same time. She is planning to self-publish In The Midnight Blue (I beta read it and it was fantastic) and traditionally publish ASoTS (full title not yet revealed). Keep reading to learn more about her many projects!
What has been the biggest struggle that you have faced as a writer?
Comparison, by far. Everyone is publishing and finishing these insanely long drafts and I just feel stuck. I haven't finished a book in years, since 2021. But I'll get there again soon. I just have big ideas and even bigger plans. Time-management is also a pretty big struggle for me, not just in everyday life, but as a writer too.
What are you working on now? Please share as much as you are comfortable with.
My novel In the Midnight Blue is my main focus right now! I plan to have a trilogy, with some prequel novellas/mini-novels and possibly even a spin-off. ITMB is a fantasy set in an alternate planet in space. The setting is super mystical and whimsical, and book one is primarily set at a magical academy. There's a few scifi/spacey elements, but it's mostly a magical, young adult adventure with a smidge of sloooowburn romance! There's also definitely a dystopian/rebellion vibe going on too. I like to pitch it as Keeper of the Lost Cities x Star Wars x The Hunger Games.
My second project is ASoTS (title not yet revealed), and I started it last summer. Draft one is just under 26k words, and I tend to only work on it during the summer. I'm really hoping to finish the first draft this summer! I'd like to traditionally publish this one. It's a young-adult pirate romantasy with western elements, strange magic, and clean but swoony romance!
I also have a historical (ww2) romantasy and a dark romantasy in the planning stages as well. The historical project will likely take several years to complete due to the heavy volume of research that will be required to ensure utmost historical accuracy, but think Divine Rivals meets Masters of the Air.
Once I finish college, I have several new adult genre romance/romcom novels planned. Think Emily Henry vibes, Swiftie inspired soundtracks, and cartoony covers! Those will come a bit later.
And then there's always Starchasers, my YA scifi novel. Guardians of the Galaxy meets Ocean's Eleven meets Aurora Rising. I'll work on that one day, but probably not anytime soon. Same with Project Skylark. Victoria Aveyard published Red Queen at 25, so I've got this haha
What is your number one piece of advice for other writers?
Write your story for you. It's going to seem bad at first. It's going to seem unoriginal, and overdone. It's okay. I promise. Stick with it, and the words will come naturally, then the story will shape up into something even better than you could have ever imagined. It takes time, though!
How do you prioritize your mental health when writing?
I honestly just make sure I don't compare myself to other writers too much. It's hard, when people are out here publishing entire series before their eighteenth birthday, writing 2,000 words a day, or banging out 100k+ word drafts in three months. But I'm writing for me, and I know I'll end up where I need to be. If I feel burned out, I'll do something else I enjoy. It's that simple.
What media (film, t.v., literature, etc.) has inspired you?
I could go on about this for hours. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross, and Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard are some of my all-time favorite novels, and such inspirations to me. Top Gun: Maverick and Station 19 are also big inspirations to me, the found family and tropes in that film and show are done so well!
What is your favorite part about the writing process and why?
I LOVE worldbuilding. I really just take an idea and run with it, creating these complex, real-feeling worlds and combining all sorts of elements and inspirations are where its at for me!
How have past successes and failures influenced how you approach writing?
I've learned that not everything happens overnight, and not everything I write or do will be good the first time, second time, or even fifth time. I really just try to treat my writing as a process of trial and error, while still having fun with it of course.
Final Words:
Thank you so much to Leigh Crescent for allowing me to interview her and I cannot wait to read all her projects when they come out!
Bonus Feature:
Leigh Describes Her Favorite Season (Very Poetically)
They all have things I love about them: the weather is beautiful during fall, it's football season, my birthday is in October... Winter is pretty for one day and then I want it to be over. It's so boring and dark and cold after the Christmas season passes! Spring is beautiful, it's feminine and colorful and full of new life and joy. But it also rains and storms a lot where I live, and the allergies are awful. I'd say overall summer is the best! It's warm, I can lay out by the pool all day with a book, an iced drink, some music, and eat fresh fruit while getting tan. The days are long, colors are brighter, friends and family are home from university, and everything feels like a movie. There's camp and sleepovers and staying up late without a care in the world. I have time for my creative passions. I get to travel and wear sundresses and feel like a main character. Yeah, it's unbearably hot and I nearly get fried every time I get in my car, but overall, summer has my heart.
