top of page
Search

Indie Author Spotlight, Episode 18

Hello! It's me (again). S.E. Reed, your favorite multi-genre Indie Author and volunteer at The Writer's Workout. Okay, so maybe I'm not your favorite, but I am an Indie Author who has made it her mission to help you find out more about others like me. Each of these episodes features a Q&A-style interview with an Indie Author so you can get to know more about them and their writing. In addition, some of the authors have chosen to participate in a 2nd interview on my website, Writing With Reed, which I'll link at the end.


I am thrilled for today's interview, because it's with Desirae Gracyn, an author I have watched blossoming on social media over the last year. Desirae has multiple pen names, writes in several genres, and has been taking the indie world by storm with her active nature. She's friendly, kind, supportive (and a great writer!). I'm so happy to introduce her to you. I hope you'll take the time to get to know more about Desirae and her work.


book signing at B&N

Thank you so much for meeting with me today! Can you tell us a little about yourself. 


My name is Desirae Gracyn, and I’m a fantasy, Disney, and adventure fanatic. Each room in my home I’ve designed after a different Disney movie or fantasy book. I am obsessed with themed events and dress up; I sort of never grew out of either thing. My mom has always supported my sister and me with our creativity; she still does. When my sister and I were three, it’s possible you might have found us dressed up as a dog at the grocery store, Church, post office, etc. We’d even walk on all fours and bark. People stared, some laughed, and my sister and I just had the time of our lives. It was amazing. With all of these things, it’s no wonder I fell in love with reading fantasy novels. 


There used to be a theme park near my house, and if you were a homeschooler and read a certain number of books during the year, you got a free summer pass. Of course, my sister and I always read above and beyond the list. So… after reading so much, and my mom always encouraging us to make up stories at the dinner table or bedtime, I naturally became a writer.


I started writing when I was little, but doing Dr. Seuss-type books. Then, after a while, things in life got hard, and I stopped. I didn’t start again until my mom grounded me in ninth grade and told me to write her a story. She gave me two topics to write about. The first, I hated. So, I wrote about the second in a notebook. Weeks later, after I was ungrounded, I hadn’t finished the book. I didn’t know what to do with the antagonist. Life got stressful again, and I stopped writing, but I always carried the notebook with me. 


Over a decade later, in December of 2021, after confessing for the first time out loud that I wanted to be a writer, I picked up my computer and wrote a story inspired by the other topic my mom had given me. That book turned into my debut novel, A Bond of Blood and Lavender. I ended up finishing this book and the one I started in ninth grade in less than a month (though it was just the first drafts). I haven’t stopped writing since then. I published A Bond of Blood and Lavender on June 16th, 2025, under the pen name Caroline Crews. I have a YA romantasy coming out very soon (bought the ISBN today), and a MG fantasy coming out a few months after. I also have twenty-one short stories and flash fiction pieces accepted into magazines and anthologies. As of now, seventeen are published, and the only paid short story I wrote received third place. I’m also currently a judge for a mermaid, dragon, sea creature paramythromantasy by Micromance Magazine.


Tell us about your writing style. 


  1. Genre – Honestly, I write in every genre. I know that’s wild (secretively, I think a lot of us dabble in more than one genre). A lot of people tell me that I should pick one and stick with it, but with writing pieces for all these anthologies, I sort of have to branch out from my preferred genre and tap into other ones. So, I’ve written horror, speculative fiction, adult fiction, YA fiction, romance, etc… 


    Hands down, my favorite genre to write in is fantasy. That is my go-to, my love. After writing for Micromance Magazine and beta-reading an adult fiction romance for someone, I have fallen in love with fiction romance. I’m not sure if I’d ever write a full-blown romance novel without fantasy characters, though. Maybe, one day.


  1. Age Range – Most of the stuff I write is for the upper young adult to new adult. However, with the short stories and flash fiction pieces I’ve written for the anthologies and magazines, I have done a few adult stories and one silver story. I am also writing a novel under the pen name, Beatrice Crews, that is for middle grade.


  1. Style – So, I’m not sure if I am answering this question correctly. I hope I am.


    My style is full of adventure, lots of both internal and external dialogue, and I try to have at least one sassy character. In most of my writing, there will always be a neurodivergent character, someone battling mental health issues, or an LGBTQIA+ character. I always want to see myself in the stories I write, and these three things represent me. I also always try to have a game, task, or adventure in my story. One of these days, I might dare someone to find a story of mine that doesn’t include it, excluding my mental health flash fiction piece.


book cover A Bond of Blood and Lavender; mirror, dagger, pocket watch and purple shimmer

Tell us about a project you’re proud of and link it. 


I’m proud of all my stories. So this is a very hard one to answer. 


I guess the winner would be A Bond of Blood and Lavender. This story is close to home for me for many reasons, one of them being that it’s my debut. It took me about three and a half years to publish, and I learned a lot as a writer in that time. I went to conferences, read craft books, had different editors, and so much more. But most importantly, I’m proud of this story because of the wild journey it took me through. For instance, I decided to completely rewrite the book after it went through edits. So, this book actually started in the female main character Sierra’s POV. Many moons ago, when querying the book, I realized I wanted it in the male villain’s POV. So, I rewrote it in Tartarus’s voice, which was a lot of fun, and I can’t express how thrilled I am by the way it turned out. Another reason this book is so close to my heart is because it’s a story about redemption; it’s about showing people (and myself) that you don’t have to follow in your family’s footsteps. Just because they are your blood doesn’t mean you are like them. You can make your own path, be your own person.



Desirae in a dress on a balcony in France

Spill the tea, what are you currently working on?


  1. Fate of the Summer Games

This is my YA fantasy with a very heavy romance subplot. I don’t know if I would call it romantasy as this story is about the main character’s growth. This is my second story I’m proud of, and this one is even closer to home. 


I wanted a story out there that represented me: someone who had crippling OCD and anxiety. When I am with people, if there is an awkward moment or silence, I have to fill it. I’ll ask people questions, but sometimes they don’t seem to want to answer, or they answer vague, so then I fill the space with stuff about myself. I don’t do it on purpose; I just don’t like awkward silence. Well, because of all of this and other things, I started to be known as self-centered and always talking about myself. So I wanted to write a character who didn’t realize this as well. I also desperately wanted to see a character that had OCD, autism, other neurodivergent and mental health conditions, and put a positive twist on them. I know these things aren’t always fun, but they are a part of us, something that can’t change, so we must learn to adapt to them and use them to the best of our ability. After many years, I now find my OCD to be one of my greatest strengths. It still can be hard, but it can also be beautiful and comes in handy for a lot of things. So this story shows that.


This story has just finished formatting. I got the ISBN today. And sent off to the copyright office. I should have it up for ARC within the next month, hopefully. Then it’ll be published a month after that.


  1. Life Twists

This is my only middle grade novel. It is based on my favorite childhood movies, but with a fantasy twist. This won’t be published until after FOTSG. It is ready, but waiting on the cover.


  1. Unknown Title

I’m in edits for this book now. I think this is my favorite story of mine.


What is your biggest/best piece of advice for other Indie Authors?


No matter how much you hate it, word of mouth, social media, and advertisements can mean the world. At first, it was hard, frustrating, and awful for me to do. It was like pulling teeth. I hated having to be on socials, but I found a community there. I wouldn’t have made the friends I did, learned about anthologies, learned about events that helped my book sale, and many other things if it hadn’t been for social media. You don’t have to be all artsy or post lots of videos, but as long as you sign in every day and post something, it helps. And make sure to scroll and see what’s happening, how others are selling their books. Also, with word of mouth, get bookmarks, business cards, and stickers. Then, everywhere you go, drop one. Someone will pick it up and learn about you and your book. Also, it never hurts to mention to strangers that you wrote a book. The worst thing they can do is not buy your book, but if you didn’t mention it, they wouldn’t have any way. So it can only help you. Don’t be afraid to talk about your book.



logo Desirae Gracyn

Who is your favorite Indie Author? 


This is a hard question. I have so many amazing friends in the writing community who are Indie Authors. Bruce Buchanan, Adele Liles, El Hoffman, Demi Schwartz, Gail Lynn Brown, Jade Feldman, and so many others out there are amazing. I couldn’t pick my favorite. I have a hard time picking my favorite anything. My ‘favorite’ color is rainbow. Why? Because it has so many colors inside of it. Then I don’t have to choose one. I also answer with a prism. They reflect all the colors.


So, anywho, out of all of my amazing author friends, I’ve read the most of Demi, Gail, and Jade. I love all of their works. They are very talented writers.



Where can someone find your work, social presence, etc. drop some links. 


Startree Books—Imprint for My Novels: 

Desirae Gracyn:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desiraejgracyn or @desiraejgracyn

Caroline Crews

Beatrice Crews


Check out the additional Desirae interview over on my website Writing with Reed: https://www.writingwithreed.com/post/bonus-episode-with-desirae-gracyn

Comments

bottom of page