We recently connected with Crissi and have shared our conversation below.

Crissi, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I’m an established professional in the equine industry, as a trainer, instructor, and Masterson Method equine bodyworker. I dreamed a story that featured killer whales as part of the main characters. I thought it would be one book, but it turned into a trilogy and pulled me out of the 2020 depression that was so prevalent for many of us.

Not wanting to wait years for a traditional publisher or agent to accept the story, I self-published my trilogy and began marketing (to the best of my ability), looking for reviews, and entering contests. My trilogy has performed well – not great, but also not ignored by readers. I’m extremely proud of it, and am still in love with the whole arc of the story, and the characters.

In interviews at the time, the question I was asked the most was “Why Killer Whales?!” Sometimes it was genuine curiosity, sometimes, as the conversation went on, it was clear that the person/s thought of me as a horse person, and that was my only lane.

Was it risky to branch out? Sure. But I couldn’t ignore the story, or how I felt as I wrote it.

Was it risky to enter contests? Yes. Many times, I didn’t even make it to the semi-finals. There was a lot of failure and rejection. But there were a few times a book made it to the finals, and the second book ended up as a finalist.

Was it a risk for this empathic introvert to throw my beloved books on Amazon, on social media, and send it out for reviews, knowing the story would face criticism, negativity, and misunderstandings? Yes. I was terrified of this the most, because given our current state of the world, negativity and pain seem to be dominant emotions for most people.

I was fifty-one when I began writing the trilogy, and for the first time in my life, all those reasons that had previously held me back, the cage of my self-imposed limitations, didn’t matter. I stepped out of the cage, and threw every bit of heart and soul into those books, and I wouldn’t change a thing about them, or the magic of the process that brought the stories to me.

Crissi, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’ve been writing since I was eight years old, when I wrote and illustrated a book about an Arabian horse. My writing continued through my school years, and then into college. I published my first book, a non-fiction memoir/self-help about my recovery from a traumatic brain injury sustained during a horse accident. Four more books followed, one more non-fiction horse book, and three fiction books that comprise a trilogy.

Since I’ve worked in the horse education and instruction industry for over three decades, my unique strengths include being able to clearly articulate concepts to people so they can learn how to improve communication with their horse. Writing and teaching are two mutually complimentary talents I’ve honed over my life, and I’m proud that I’ve found ways to be creative whether I’m writing a book, or helping people with their horses.

My mission is to walk through the world with as much kindness as possible, toward myself, others, and our beautiful planet. Being with animals and learning how to more clearly communicate with them is one of my great joys, and solaces, as is showing others just how much is possible if we do our best to not only listen to others, but hear what they are saying.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Since I believe we are an inherently creative species, I’d challenge people who don’t think of themselves as creative to take a closer look at their life. Creativity includes problem solving (whether it’s accounting or management), making a beautiful meal, organizing time (for your life or the life of your family), helping those who need help, and many other situations that life sends our way.

I also believe that some of us are drawn to other forms of creativity; more traditional avenues such as playing an instrument, writing, painting, crochet/knitting, sculpting, etc. Any one of these can be explored at any time of our life; creativity isn’t limited to a certain age. I’m fortunate that writing became my avenue at a young age for not only self-expression, but self-awareness. Later, I learned to play the violin and piano, and those two instruments are something I’ve dabbled in throughout my life. I’m currently learning how to knit, and have also tried jewelry making, leather work, and painting with watercolors.

The important thing to remember about our creativity muscles, is that they get better with two things: lots of practice (hopefully with lots of joy!), and lots of failure. I think sometimes our fear of failing, whatever that means to each of us, certainly keeps us safe while at the same time limiting our ability to express ourselves in ways that words sometimes cannot.

If you’re curious about something, explore it! Give yourself six months to practice it. If it doesn’t ignite a fire in you, try something else. There are so many ways to be creative, and it’s so easy to find others who are happy to help you.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My particular goal with creativity is to maintain my sanity so I can be a positive force for good in this world. It’s so easy to let the darkness creep in, to let go of any sense of beauty, to sink under the waves of the viciousness of the world.

If, however, we look for it, the light is there too. Kindness, generosity, beauty; we need these reminders more than ever. There are so many ways to find the light; go to a museum’s art exhibition if you like paintings. Read an inspiring book (fiction counts here, at least for me). Walk in nature. Cuddle your pets or kids or partner. Volunteer your time or donate food. All of these activities arise from looking inside yourself and being creative about what you need to fill your heart, so that you can then be a source of light for others.

When I’m lost in the darkness, it’s tapping into creativity that is my candle.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.crissimcdonald.com

Image Credits

Mark Rashid, Kayla Goelz, Bo Reich, Crissi McDonald