So, the bio was too short for you. You must know more about me? Well, for that reason alone, I adore you. Here’s some extra, random stuff you might be interested in. If you have questions about the books, check out the books Q&A page, too.
Is RJ Crayton your real name? Sort of. I was born Rasheeda Crayton (middle initial J, and no, I won’t tell you what the J stands for). So, in that sense, RJ Crayton is my real name. I am currently married (not to a Crayton, as that would be ewwww!), so I have a different last name. However, I write fiction under my maiden name.
Where does your name come from? Rasheeda is an Arabic name, and I’m named in honor of my grandmother, Rosetta. If you’ll note, Rosetta is the female English equivalent for Rasheeda. The Rosetta Stone is named after the town where it was found. The locals called the town Rasheed, the French called it Rosette and the British called it Rosetta (of note: Rasheed is masculine, but the French and British variants are feminine. Rasheeda is the feminine form of Rasheed. Arabic uses a different alphabet, so translation spellings vary, with Rashid, Rasheed, and even Rashyd).
What’s your family like? They’re all insane, like me! 🙂 The family I was born into includes three brothers, one sister, and two parents. When I was growing up, we spent a lot of time roller skating and went on a lot of family vacations in a brown, paneled station wagon. The family I picked (or was born to me) includes one husband and two kids. They’re a fun bunch, too, though slightly less insane than me.
What’s your writing schedule like? I prefer to write when things are quiet, which is often in the morning after I’ve dropped the kids off for school, or late at night when everyone is in bed. I tend to do my nonfiction writing — blog posts, guest articles, interviews, that kind of thing — in the morning.
One thing we don’t know about you? Just one? Really, I’m an unknown to the world, so I could literally tell you anything and you’d be satisfied? Excellent. I’m addicted to cupcakes. How’s that?
Books you Like? Certainly, it’s hard to pick favorites, but some books I’ve enjoyed include: JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series, SJ Watson’s Before I go to Sleep, Â Charlotte Bronte’s Jayne Eyre, Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series, most things by Harlan Coben, and William Wells Brown’s Clotel.
Movies you Like?  I like a lot of movies. Ones that were really cool and stand out in my mind: Memento (a must see), The Princess Bride, Coming to America, the Matrix, Inception, and Star Trek (2009)
TV shows? At present, I really enjoy The Flash and The Arrow on the CW. I used to adore Scandal, and still watch it, but not as fervently. I really like How to Get Away with Murder. I also got Netflix in late 2015, and started watching Bones (there are like 10 seasons at 22 episodes a season). So, catching up on Bones is going to take me a while and limit new stuff I pick up.
What do you do in your spare time? What is that? People out there actually have time to spare? Are you for real? I have to meet these people. 🙂 OK, I’ll be serious. Clearly, I’m watching television and movies and reading. Besides that, I enjoy sewing, crocheting, roller skating and baking (cupcakes, cookies, Rice Krispies treats).  Every now and again, I like to curl up and take a good nap.
Do you come to book clubs? If you’ve read my book and want to discuss it at book club, I’ll be glad to Skype or Google Hangout into your meeting.
Most embarrassing moment? Like I’d tell you!
Any child rearing advice? Well, now that you mention it, I do have one great regret. I introduced my son to Star Wars before introducing him to Star Trek, and now he has the audacity to tell me Wars is better than Trek. Clearly, I’ve failed as a parent. If he liked them equally, that would be OK, but I don’t get how he can’t love James Tiberius Kirk the way I do. (Sniffle, sniffle) Don’t make the same mistake I did. Start with Trek and then move to Wars.
Things you enjoy but shouldn’t? Â Oh, there are so many. But, I’ll name two: (1) the e-reader slap — my husband is reading late at night on his ereader and I say, ‘honey, you’re falling asleep, you’re going to drop your reader.’ He says, ‘I’m awake’ and then two minutes later the ereader falls smack on his face and he wakes up with a start. Clearly I shouldn’t enjoy my husband being beaten in the face with his own e-reader, but seriously, he should listen to his wife. (BTW, you can call it a Nook-slap, a Kindle-slap or a Kobo-slap depending on which device you have.) (2) the HISHE Youtube channel. It stands for How it Should Have Ended. While I abhor gun violence, I love the Wizard of Oz HISHE where the munchkins shoot the witch. I feel so guilty, but it’s so hysterical.
Do you answer mail from readers? Of course I do. What kind of schlep would I be if I didn’t? (Don’t answer that!) Â [I am not disparaging authors who don’t answer fan mail, as the people who don’t respond get an overwhelming amount. However, I am not at the point of being overwhelmed, so if you have a question or a thought, contact me and I’ll respond.]
Were you really abducted by aliens? Wow, where did that question come from? The truth is, probably not. However, there is a slim possibility that it’s true. You see, I grew up in Illinois, where it gets very cold and there is lots of snow. I now live in Maryland, where it gets somewhat cold and there is an average amount of snow. Only, I can’t stand the cold and snow here. I truly hate it and just wilt at anything below 20 degrees (that’s Fahrenheit for you international readers). This led me to hypothesize that I was in fact abducted by aliens at some point, and they implanted the memories in my head that I lived in Illinois. For any person who actually lived through Illinois winters really ought to be much tougher than I am when it comes to dealing with the cold. So, I’ll let you be the judge: abducted by aliens, or grown into a total weather wimp?
Where did you go to college? I went to the real HU. That would be Howard University. My alma mater is rivals with the Hampton Institute, which later changed its name to Hampton University. But, you know what they say: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. 🙂
Got More Questions? If there’s a question you’d like added to this page, send it to me. Â I’m open to answering questions you guys want to know, assuming it’s appropriate.
Last updated 1/14/2016