Author: Krista Tibbs

Krista Tibbs studied neuroscience at MIT. She once had a job that involved transplanting pig cells into live human brains. She had another job that gave her clearance to the White House. Her books, The Neurology of Angels and Reflections and Tails, are mostly not about those things. Learn more about Krista from her blog, and her Amazon author page.

A Part-time Writer’s Vacation

I go to an office five days a week in exchange for a regular paycheck and a limited amount of vacation time. Most of my vacations are spent with family and friends, but occasionally I take a few days just for myself, for that coveted stretch of uninterrupted writing time. This is hard to explain to a colleague. The conversation usually goes something like this:

“What are you going to do on vacation?”

“I plan to write.”

Pregnant pause.

“Yeah, but what are you going to do for fun?”

It’s at this point that I realize I shouldn’t tell more of the truth. So I’ll answer with a vague, “Oh, take long walks and hang by the pool–you know, relax.” Then my colleagues can sigh with relief that I am normal after all. They never have to know that what I’m really going to do is pretend that I quit my job to be a full-time novelist because I have a huge and devoted fan base clamoring for my next title. Continue reading “A Part-time Writer’s Vacation”

About Commitment — A Writing Proposal

When I was invited to become part of the Indies Unlimited staff and write an article every month, I felt surprised and delighted and honored. Then I wanted to vomit. I’m not good with commitment. I tell myself that I like writing too much to be obligated to it, so we’ve just been cohabitating. I write whatever I want to, whenever I feel like it — or not — no pressure.

We have had our periods of exclusivity, and I’ll admit that I used to swing dance every Friday and Saturday night but now I mostly write. Yet the choices leading to now have been more about the moment or an alternative than a decision to make writing a priority. I’d rather research an essay than dance this Friday. I’d rather edit stories than watch TV on Tuesdays. I’d rather work on character development than cook — ever. There were some big concessions, but I never fully committed. Okay, I’ll write a book, but I’m not promising to let anyone read it. Okay, I’ll publish it, but I’m not going to tell my friends about it. Okay, I’ll start a second novel, but if it frustrates me so much I cry, I swear I’ll put it in a drawer and not think twice about it; I can’t handle that kind of drama in my life.

Recently, writing and I have been in a good place. I want to write every week. The stories are humming along, I’m getting ready to publish again, and my next novel is beyond the throw-it-out-the-window stage. For crying out loud, we were in Vegas on vacation and the thing I most wanted to do was write (by the pool and in between concerts, but still…). Isn’t that enough? Why did this proposal have to come now? Continue reading “About Commitment — A Writing Proposal”

What is Your Book About? by Krista Tibbs

Author Photo - Krista Tibbs
Author Krista Tibbs

One question I dread to hear is: What is your book about? I should be happy that someone is curious enough to ask, but in truth, it’s akin to that point in a job interview when a person says: Tell me about yourself. I want to point to my resume and say it’s all there, can’t you just read it? I want to hand potential readers a bookmark or a preview booklet or a page of review excerpts or send them my video trailer or website — everything I created to avoid having to say it out loud — but the question inevitably comes. So, even though I’ve written my spiel and practiced it for hours, when a person asks what The Neurology of Angels is about, I usually end up mumbling something like, ”Oh, well, there’s this neurologist and a little girl with a rare disease, and, you know, he’s trying to cure her, and um, it’s hard to do, and it’s kind of expensive, what with the monkeys and all, and, well, yeah…” Continue reading “What is Your Book About? by Krista Tibbs”