Crystal Caudill Interview

Today I am pleased to welcome author Crystal Caudill to I & R. Crystal Caudill is the Christy Award–winning author of “dangerously good romance,” including the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age series. She is a stay-at-home mom and caregiver near Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Today, Crystal is going to talk to us about her latest book Sung in the Shadows and she is giving away one print copy to a lucky winner in the U.S.!

Crystal, welcome to Interviews & Reviews!

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Can you tell us how the idea for Sung in the Shadows came about? The acknowledgments mention a "last-minute pivot" from your original proposal—what changed, and how did that shift shape the story we have now?

Originally, I planned the story to be about Nora exposing a killer and preventing a woman from being wrongfully forced into an asylum—just as her mother had been. I inserted this small plot line where her mother’s secrets and mental illness play a part in Nora not knowing who the real enemy is. Not a bad story, if I say so myself, but my
editor saw the real story God was calling me to write. Mental illness wasn’t meant to just be a thread, it was supposed to be the backbone.

I surrendered my storyline and leaned into what I wanted to ignore—my own family’s struggle with mental illness and supporting those with mental illness. From there, the story grew into one where a young woman wrestles with her faith and the potential she may be going insane like her mother—either that or the danger is real—while forming a relationship with a man who challenges her and supports her despite her struggles.

The book deals with mental health in a historical context—paranoia, depression, and the treatment of mental illness in 1881 asylums. What was your research process like for portraying Longview Asylum authentically?

Finding information on Longview Asylum was actually incredibly difficult. I was able to locate a few of the annual reports and newspaper announcements, but treatments were largely taken from other asylums and doctors of the time who published their plans and rationales. I am lucky to live right across the river from Cincinnati, and there is a giant bookstore with rare and local books. They happened to have a single poster-sized page from an 1868 atlas about Longview Asylum. It had details I couldn’t find anywhere else, so I coughed up the $30, and it because a critical resource for providing descriptions of the building.

Mental illness is a very difficult topic. What research did you do to portray it accurately and with hope?

With a strong family history of mental illness, the years of medical trauma I’d endured as a caregiver, and my own hurdling toward mental breakdown as I wrote the book, I had more personal experience with the topic than I’d wish on anyone. However, everyone’s experiences are different, so I interviewed multiple Christians who struggle with mental illness or have supported those with mental illness. They were kind enough to be raw and open with me, all while sharing how hope can still for them, even in the darkest
seasons. Almost all of what you see in Sung in the Shadows is derived from those interviews with some sprinkling in of my own experiences and feelings. I wanted the people who struggle with mental illness and those who support them to feel seen and
encouraged. I also wanted those who are blessed to not have experience with either to gain empathy and understanding of what it’s really like for a Christian to walk that journey.

The book tackles difficult questions about faith and mental illness—characters who do "everything right" spiritually but still struggle, and the harmful advice Ezekiel's mother received about just "praying harder". What message did you want to convey to readers who might be wrestling with similar struggles?

Struggling with mental illness does not make you any less of a Christian. You’re not being punished by God. You’re not being abandoned by Him. You’re not a failure just because you cannot escape the struggle. We all have our crosses to carry, but we do not carry them alone. Not only is Christ with you, but He has brought people in your life who can help you bear it, like two oxen yoked together. Lean into those God has given you.

My favorite scene is where Ezekiel talks to Nora about Matthew 11:30, “For my yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Nora pushes back against her burden of mental illness being easy or light. Ezekiel acknowledges it is hard, but he also describes the purpose of Christ’s yoke. It doesn’t make the burden go away. It becomes easier to bear when you’re not bearing that alone. Turn to Christ, but also be honest about your struggles with those He has placed in your life whom you can trust. There is a whole lot more there in that scene, but that’s the bottom line. You were never meant to bear the burden
of mental illness alone.

The cat, Tristan, steals so many scenes! The acknowledgments mention he was suggested as a joke. How did this cantankerous, one-eyed cat become such an integral part of the story, and did you draw inspiration from any real cats in your life?

Mental illness is a heavy topic, and every story with heavy themes needs to have some levity to break things up. Tristan became that levity. I’ve only had one cat in my life. Simba was a smart, ornery thing. You couldn’t say or spell shrimp without him coming and clawing you until you gave some. He had no problem climbing up your body to snatch a shrimp from your hand if you tried to be more stubborn than him. And those poor mockingbirds . . . Simba would come and go outside as he pleased, and those mockingbirds would divebomb him every chance they got. He would backflip, catch them, and leave nothing but the beak and feet behind. He got along great with my dog, but it was always obvious who was the dominant one in the relationship. I’d say Tristan has a lot of Simba in him.

Nora carries knitting needles as weapons, sets booby traps in her home, and has learned to mask her emotions since childhood. She's both strong and deeply afraid. What do you hope readers take away from her journey from "singing in the shadows" to stepping into the light?

Fear is a trap that can’t hold you when you share those fears with others. You’re no longer fighting alone, but amassing an army of those who love you, will fight for you—whether literally or on their knees in prayer—and who will remind you of the truths you need when you need them.

How can readers connect with you?

If you want to learn more about me, participate in my monthly reading challenge, read my blog, or find bonus content for my books, visit my website, crystalcaudill.com. I also have Facebook and Instagram under then handle @CrystalCaudillAuthor, but the best way to connect with me is through my newsletter. Not only do subscribers get a free e-book of Counterfeit Truth, I pray for my subscribers by name every month, share bits of life, story fun, and of course you get all the news about books, covers, and launch teams there first. I also love emailing back and forth with my readers. You can sign up at CrystalCaudill.com/Newsletter.

Thank you, Crystal. And now dear readers, if you would like to win a copy of Sung in the Shadows and live in the U.S.A. just fill out the form below! This giveaway will run until March 5, 2026 and winners will be notified by email and announced on this website and Facebook.

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Congratulations to Rebecca M. You have won a copy of Sung in the Shadows! Watch for our email!

When past darkness prowls, will stepping into the light lead to a brighter future?

In nineteenth-century Cincinnati, fear keeps Nora Davis caged with secrets and lies. Her true identity as the daughter of a famous opera singer is too dangerous to reveal, with her former captors still on the loose. But weekly singing lessons at Longview Asylum—her paranoid mother's permanent residence—light a flame in Nora, and it's one she can avoid fanning for only so long.

With his suicidal ma in the asylum, Ezekiel Beaumont's soul is weary, but Nora's presence at the asylum intrigues him. As a Pike's Opera House employee, Ezekiel thinks Nora might be cut out for the stage. He also begins to wonder if Nora's ma is really the famed Constanza Brisbane, who went missing mid-performance. He's determined to find out.

Though Ezekiel brings the performance world a little too close for comfort, Nora is drawn to his warm personality all the same. The two of them steadily grow closer, but then Nora begins to fear she's being watched, and her own paranoia blooms.

As the line between what's real and false grows fainter, will Ezekiel's and Nora's faith and love overcome?

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