Crystal A Hill

::looks around at my undiagnosed ND parents, my diagnosed ND siblings, and my diagnosed ND children::

Not genetic at all. 😂😂😂

It’s terrifying anyone can take this seriously.

What a joke. People are losing their government jobs because of “wasteful spending” and yet…

Holding my neurodivergent kids tight, they are beautiful people just the way they are, calling the way they think diseased because it’s non-conforming is disgusting.

STL city museum outdoor area

Vibes: enjoying the spring sun while my 11 and 14yo explore without me “slowing them down” 😂 #stl #citymuseumstl #citymuseum

Pitch Becky Vaughn is a pushover. In her junior year of high school, she endures her ex-best friend’s bullying without a fight. She also follows Dad’s plan without question, partly because he monitors and controls her every decision, move, and keystroke, but mostly? She’s too close to earning his pride, maybe even his love, to risk losing any scrap of his favor. When Becky discovers Mom’s secret—her dad isn't biologically her "real father" due to an unfathomable mistake made at a clinic—she’s faced with a “what if.” Who was she meant to be? Would she have turned out better, stronger, if Scott, her biological father, had raised her instead? To find out, she schemes to secretly get to know both Scott and Dad’s bio-son, Alex, whose commonalities with Dad end with height, black hair, and alcoholism. As they build a platonic closeness, Alex shows Becky that inner and outer monsters don’t have to dictate who she is. Just like how he has to battle his addiction, it’s up to her to not become the thing that controls her. Becky no longer wants to let Dad’s bigotry influence her actions in hopes to please him, but if she can’t escape his control over her, she’s doomed to remain his hard and judgmental version of herself forever, regardless of DNA.

Written By: Crystal A Hill is mom of two and an aeronautical analyst living in St Louis, MO, but once upon a time, she flight instructed in small airplanes and operated film movie theater projectors (experiences to be included in future stories!). Represented By: Tina Schwartz, The Purcell Agency, tina@thepurcellagency.com

Snippet His eyes go distant. “Some people think artificially created people like us are unnatural, outside of God’s plan or whatever. Like artificial souls. But we’re a step further, aren’t we? Completely accidental people.” I might need a few hits from someone’s blunt to meet him in these drunken deep thoughts. “That’s a weird way to think about it.” “But you know what?” he says, his focus back on me. He sits up with a slight sway. “Aren’t we all accidental people? Not just you and me, but like, everyone?” His words actually resonate—the secondhand must be working in my favor. Had we been raised by our bio-dads, he’d still wonder if boys can marry boys, still be tempted to surrender to his addiction when things got too hard. I’d still draw and yearn to create. But the way our dads react to what’s inside us affects how we see ourselves. “We’re born who we are,” I say, “but influence can help us love or hate ourselves for it. Shape who we are on the outside.” He grins as he shakes a finger at me. “Accidentally.”

An Editor's Guide to Accidental People - YA Contemporary 86k words Pictures of girl with red hair, DNA helix, boy with black hair in black shirt

Comps: The Words We Keep by Erin Stewart, The People We Choose by Katelyn Detweiler, You'd Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow, Far From The Tree by Robin Benway

Tropes Switched At Birth Platonic Girl/Boy Friendship Rich Girl/Poor Boy Private School Controlling Father Gold-Digging Mother Daddy Issues

Themes Coming of Age Found Family Claiming Personal Autonomy Friendship Breakups Addiction Who You Are Versus Where You Come From Setting: Palo Alto, California

Editor’s guide to my YA contemporary story, Accidental People, currently on submission! #YA #editorsguide #agented

Screen shot of TikTok welcome back message thanking Trump.

Thanks for the reason to delete my account. I feel so gross.

a woman is saying `` this is the bad place ! '' ALT: a woman is saying `` this is the bad place ! ''

That message that got sent out to 170 million Americans saying Tr*mp will work to get TikTok back? Textbook propaganda. But w/o TikTok, w/ Muskrat controlling Twitter, w/ Zuck owning Meta, there isn’t a place with enough reach (sorry Bluesky) to have that conversation.

AMI (alternate method of instruction) day 4 for the 5th and 8th grader after getting 10" dumped on us AFTER 2 weeks off school for the holidays. Send help. 🫠

two men in suits and ties are standing next to each other in a dark room holding badges . Alt: Sam and Dean from Supernatural in suits and ties standing next to each other holding FBI badges.

Just finished up Supernatural again and I already miss it. 👻

Screenshot of Google Task lists showing Reviews OVerdue, Reviewing Upcoming, Beta To Read, and Published To Read.

Getting organized for my 2025 goals: prioritizing being a better literary citizen over my TBR!

Brochure of the St Louis Teen Book Festival

Goals!!!! #amwritingYA
#stlteenbookfestival

Create Compelling Suspense and Tension No Matter What’s Happening in Your Story | Jane Friedman Triumphs are most compelling when the hero has to fight for them, so even quiet stories need plenty of obstacles, challenges, and uncertainties.

Some stories are “quieter.” So how do you keep tension strong without scenes of overt tension and suspense? Tiffany Yates Martin says, "Lean away."

Mariah Carey on a stage at her Christmas concert.

Crystal and her mom in front of a poster for the Mariah Carey Christmas Time concert.

Mariah Carey with my mama last night! It’s officially Christmas!

The book Men in Books Aren’t Better by Amanda Nelson and Lisa Marie Potter held up next to Christmas lights on a dark street.

The book Men in Books Aren’t Better by Amanda Nelson and Lisa Marie Potter sitting on my lap.

So damn excited, screaming to everyone I know—my friend’s @anelsonlmpotter.bsky.social book is out in the world!!! So proud of you two!!! ❤️
#amreading

Yet another reminder that if you see someone talking about a thing you personally did not enjoy and they do not specifically ask for opinions or takes, then, as ever, saying nothing and moving on with your life are free

Show me your pet and what they’re named for.

Meet McKenna 😆

Collage of 9 images: a pile of film, burning film, a projector platter, a still from Empire Records, a theater auditorium with popcorn on the floor, a teen climbing a fence while 2 teens watch, a teen girl sitting on a roof, the outside of a small town movie theater, a shot of someone pointing a remote at a tv with popcorn.

Wrote over 3000 words today! 😳 This is not my norm but I hope it keeps flowing. I need this movie theater book OUT of my head.
#amwritingYA

Someone called this mass exodus from Twitter ‘the fall of the Broman Empire’ and I died laughing. 💀

#WritingCommunity

Using a GIF, spoil an event that happens in one of your books with no context.

“There is no ethical way to use the major AI image generators. All of them are trained on stolen images, and all of them are built for the purpose of deskilling, disempowering and replacing real human artists.”

This sums it up perfectly. It’s not a conversation.

Also: If you don't have money to buy my (or anyone's) books, and you live in the anglosphere, before you pirate them, try to get them from your local library instead. They have it or can get it, they pay for the books, and in many places writers get paid for their books being lent. Everyone wins!

Same, I’d never survive without audiobooks!

You're not "late to the party" when you enjoy an old book for the first time. Books don't have an RSVP deadline. The party started long ago, and guests show up when they're meant to.

a man says " writers don 't read we write " in front of a globe ALT: a man says " writers don 't read we write " in front of a globe

On my (x)th rewatch of New Girl, Nick Miller is my inner writer.

Yaaaay thanks Lindsey! 😊

Ooooo cranberry curd tart! Sounds amazing

One of these days my skin care routine won’t just be all my teen’s rejects because “it stings” and the hell am I going to just throw it out. 😅

Selfie of Crystal in a gray shirt with a green sea glass pendant necklace and her blonde hair in a ponytail.

McKenna, the golden lab shepherd wearing a happy birthday bandana, looking at the camera with a serious face on her second birthday.

Hey writing friends!! I’m Crystal, full time aeronautical analyst and mom of a tween and teen, writing YA when I can. Also, here’s my newly turned two-year-old monster.

Found it!
Settings > Accessibility > Require Alt Text Before Posting ❤️