I’m Crystal P. Willingham, a cinematic writer and the author of a work in progress called, “The Seven Realms of Elarius”.
Please excuse my proverbial dust as I build this space one more time. I made this website because I wanted a landing place, a space where my imagination, musings, short stories, and writings could live outside of my head and spirit.
I’m in a new phase of life. One I’ve been calling “Crystal 5.0,” and I’m excited to see where it leads.
I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, moved to Atlanta in 2007, and now live in Columbia, South Carolina. I’m 55, married to Marlon, and the mother of five, including one daughter I carry in memory. Through marriage, our family has grown into a blended family of six children and three grandchildren, each one a blessing to my life beyond words.
For me, writing has always been sight, sound, and smell. If you close your eyes and see what I write, you should be able to turn 360 degrees in your mind and have a panoramic view of what you read. I don’t just want to tell you what happened. I want you to see it, feel it, and sense what is moving between the lines. I’m drawn to write about the unseen world: the dimension of existence we can’t always see with our eyes but still know is real. The supernatural. The hidden. The part of life that leaves imprints on the ordinary.
That unseen world is a major thread in my fantasy writing. But if I’m honest, I always find a way to touch it in everything I write, short stories, plays, and short film scripts.
The Seven Realms of Elarius is not a standalone story. It is the beginning of a novel series, with three books unfolding across the same world. I may even connect a few stories here and there. It is a world with history, consequences, betrayal, restoration, the presence of evil, purpose, grief, wonder, and victories. The doors that keep opening into the realms of Elarius. Some of those doors will lead into the main novels. Others will open through short stories, fragments, archives, memories, and characters who have their own reasons for stepping forward.
I’ve been writing in one form or another all my life, but in 2007, I dove into it with dreams of success and legacy. From scripts to improv to fantasy, inspiration has always come to me through life’s trials, hardships, and victories. My faith, music, the Bible, and authors like C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Frank Peretti have always made me aware that there is more happening behind the scenes of life than what is sitting on the surface. Those are the stories I’ve always written. It’s type and shadow storytelling draws me in and drives me to share my imagination with the world.
So come in. Sit down. Read a short story.
Look around the world of Elarius with me while I build it. Stay in the loop as this unfolds, changes, grows, evolves and becomes what it is meant to become.