Not everyone is bold enough to share their diaries with an audience. Not every writer gets the opportunity to publish a book. Not every author who publishes a book sees it reach over 30,000 people in a matter of months. Cameron Crews is a rare breed. At only 24, she recently published her debut work “To the Monsters of My Past.” In the untraditional autobiography, Cameron candidly shares every experience that broke her heart over an eight year period. Through the pages, we see her grow through the pain and become the admirable person she is today.
While spending a large portion of quarantine alone in Santa Barbara reading, writing, and running until it was time for bed, Cameron decided she had nothing to lose by sending her manuscript to a few publishing houses. She had found herself sharing poems with friends going through their own struggles over the years, and the young author realized that if this work was published it may be able to soothe or entertain or comfort people beyond her immediate reach. She selected ten poems for a manuscript, wrote an information page, and sent it off to a list of over 20 publishing houses. In 24 hours, she received offers from over half. By the end of the week, she had offers from every house she submitted to.
“The strength of this work is not in the writing style. It’s elementary style poetry. I was 16 when I wrote some of these poems. It doesn’t take a degree to understand or require you to have a dictionary on hand. I think the reason it’s seen success and has resonated is because of the honesty that marks the pages. I write about my own life and my moments of utter weakness with 100% authenticity. It’s my diary. It wasn’t written for an audience initially, and I didn’t take anything out. I decided if I was going to tell my story it would be in its entirety. I wouldn’t edit out the bits I’m especially ashamed about or the emotions I didn’t share when I was experiencing them. The raw writing is what I like to read. An honest writer is what I will always be,” the author discloses.
Cameron is currently living in Los Angeles, working as a freelance writer (@camjcrews), and is working on other personal writing projects she is not yet ready to disclose. “To the Monsters of My Past” is available for purchase online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Xlibris, and Indiebound. You can find more information at https://cameroncrews.wordpress.com
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