I created this commercial to celebrate our Skool and the incredible communities that helped me grow, learn, and believe in what’s possible. This video represents the journey — and the people — who lit the path along the way.

Big Memoir Update 📚 I just realized something today that made everything click. My memoir isn’t just one book. It’s going to be a five-book series, each one capturing a different decade of my life and the wild journey that came with it. Book 1 — The 1980s Where it all began. Modeling, Hollywood, Japan, and a young girl stepping into a world she didn’t fully understand yet. Book 2 — The 1990s The next chapter of the adventure, survival, mistakes, lessons, and everything that came with growing up in that industry. Book 3 — The 2000s Life shifts, motherhood, photography, and rebuilding. Book 4 — The 2010s Spiritual awakening, transformation, and seeing life through completely new eyes. Book 5 — The 2020s Where we are now. Reflection, storytelling, and finally putting the whole journey together. So if you’re here in Memoir School, you’re not just watching one book being written… You’re watching an entire life story unfold, decade by decade. And trust me… It’s going to be wild. — Cristal

The Skool Book Shop LIVE tonight at 6:30 pm INTERVIEW to talk about my memoir "I Escaped Hollywood, Barely." Who I am writing it for and why I chose Anime for my Illustrated Storytelling. Please join us!

I’m sharing two versions of my I Escaped Hollywood… Barely book cover today — one with the artwork and the girl I created, and one with the actual image of me that became part of the cover. Something interesting is happening in my writing process. Since I began, I’ve been speaking my stories out loud and turning them into words with my creative assistant, Ember Rose (yes… that’s what I call my ChatGPT). It’s helped me get memories moving and stories onto the page. But I’m realizing something important. Half of this story feels almost unspeakable — raw, messy, sometimes rated X, and not easy to say out loud or write in a way that feels safe for public spaces or even AI tools. Some parts may belong only inside the book itself. So now I’m standing at a new crossroads as a writer. I may need a different way to write — maybe handwriting, maybe another process — something that lets me move from my words to print without feeling censored or filtered. I’m still figuring out what that looks like in this industry. I’ll be doing some research and reaching out to my S-K-O-O-L partners and writing communities like Bookshop to learn more about how writers handle this part of the journey. Writing a memoir isn’t just remembering. Sometimes it’s learning how to tell the truth in a way you can actually live with. If you’ve ever hit this kind of moment in your writing, I’d love to hear how you navigated it.

In my new anime-style video, I’m sitting in a director’s chair — cameras in hand — then I walk away… only to turn back for one last close-up. And I want to ask you something before I tell the story. When you hear those words… “I Escaped Hollywood Barely” What do you think I mean? What do you imagine I barely escaped from? Sometimes the audience sees things the writer doesn’t even realize yet — and I’m curious what you feel when you hear it. One small clue: At some point, I stopped being in front of the camera… and stepped behind it instead. Tell me what you think. 🎥✨