If you think you’re too busy to write and publish a book, think again. Dr. Crystal Hernandez proves that you’re never too busy to do anything. You just have to make it happen. Keep reading to meet this incredibly productive and generous writer.
Let’s get started learning about you. Who is Dr. Crystal Hernandez?
I am a psychologist by training, a systems thinker by necessity, and a mother of three, including a wonderful autistic young man who has taught me more about how systems really work than any graduate program ever could.
Professionally, I have spent more than twenty years in behavioral health and addiction care, much of it inside the parts of the system people prefer not to examine closely. I have served as executive director of Oklahoma’s forensic hospital and a civil psychiatric hospital. Today, I am the founder and CEO of Dr. Crystal Hernandez Consulting, LLC, where I work with government agencies, Tribal Nations, healthcare organizations, courts, and public safety agencies to design systems that actually work. I am a proud Cherokee citizen and Latina, and culturally rooted care is not a line item in my work; it is the foundation of it.
As for the writing: I’ve always been a creative. Painting, drawing, writing—it’s been there my whole life, mostly in private. What I love is that books let me work in two very different registers. Some of what I write is strategic and practical, the hard-won lessons from my career and life, put into a form someone can actually pick up and use on a Tuesday. And some of it is story—narratives that have been living in my notebooks for years, waiting. I’m in what I’d call my era of public expression now, and both kinds of writing bring me joy for completely different reasons.
I’m three books in, with my first series in production. I also speak and train nationally and host the Black Feathers podcast, where we talk about Tribal disabilities through culture, storytelling, and data. The through-line in all of it is the same: I’m interested in the gap between how systems are supposed to work and how they actually treat the people inside them.
Tell us a bit about your book, Obedience for a Paycheck. What is it about and what inspired you to write it?
The subtitle is Inside Organizational Indoctrination, and I chose that word Indoctrination deliberately. Not “culture,” not “engagement,” not any of the softer language we use in leadership circles. Indoctrination. Because that’s what it is when an organization teaches people that their job depends on not noticing things.
The book explores what happens to good people inside systems that quietly teach them to stop thinking: how compliance gets rewarded, questions get punished, and institutions train staff to mistake obedience for professionalism. I have spent two decades inside behavioral health and justice systems, and I have watched capable, ethical people slowly learn to go along. Not because they are weak, but because they have rent to pay and children at home, and the system knows it.
What inspires me generally isn’t complicated: my three children, my friends, and watching the world unfold around me and wanting to either make it better or make it entertaining. This book is the “make it better” kind. I’ve watched too many good people lose themselves inside organizations, and I wanted to hand them a mirror.
I wrote it because I don’t think most people inside these organizations know it’s happening to them. That’s the nature of indoctrination—it doesn’t feel like indoctrination. It feels like being a team player.
You’re a busy person. How do you find time to write so much? What is your writing process, or does it change?
I do not think I found time so much as I stopped pretending I needed a special kind of time. Many of these books began as notebooks: years of observations, fragments, and ideas I could not stop thinking about. By the time I sit down to write a book, a good portion of it already exists in raw form.
The process changes depending on what I am writing. The practical books are structured work: I outline, I know where I am going, and it feels close to the way I approach a systems design project. Fiction asks something different of me. That is the notebook material finally getting its turn, and it tends to arrive less linearly. I have learned not to force one mode into the other.
Who is your target audience, and what do you hope readers get out of your work?
The audience depends on the book, which is part of the fun.
Obedience for a Paycheck is aimed at people who are living through a toxic work situation, or recovering from one—and at organizations willing to take a hard look at their own culture and find an actual path forward. So the audience is broad, but the need is specific.
True Crime Soothes the Soul came from a completely different place. True crime is enormously popular, especially among women, and I’m one of them. I kept getting asked the same question: Why? Why are you like this? So I wrote the book to answer that—for the people inside the following, and just as much for their partners, parents, and friends who don’t understand it. It’s practical and playful, but it also takes care to honor the people actually impacted by crime. That sensitivity mattered to me.
The House on Blackthorn Hill is for readers drawn to the history of asylums and the corruption that has lived inside those institutions. It’s a symbolic play on something I experienced.
And Silver Sleuths is imaginative storytelling with characters I love, written for a general audience.
What I hope readers get is different each time—recognition from one, an answer from another, a good story from the next. Mostly I just hope they enjoy them.
How did you find Argyle Fox Publishing, and how did you know we were the right publisher for you?
A colleague who had published with Argyle Fox recommended them, which is how many good things find you: through someone who has already been through the process. I knew fairly quickly that it was the right fit. They were delightful to work with, easy to reach, and the editing and feedback support continued throughout the entire process rather than appearing at one stage and disappearing at the next. When you are new to publishing, that matters enormously. You do not know what you do not know, and I needed a publisher willing to walk me through it rather than simply hand me a checklist.
Now that your book is published, how will you measure whether it’s a success? What is your goal for your book?
Success is a hybrid measure for me. Speaking invitations matter because they tell me the ideas are traveling. But the most meaningful measure is one reader telling me the book changed how they see their job or their life. That is the whole point. And yes, I hope the sales follow.
What are you doing to market your book and let folks know it is available?
I use my social media platforms, and I have set up a dedicated Instagram account just for the books. I have signed up for book signings and book fairs, and I am looking for more. My approach is organic: keep showing up, keep talking to people who care about this subject, and trust that the right readers will find it.
What feedback have you received so far?
It’s been incredible. The feedback that means the most has been personal—readers telling me the book put words to something they’d been living with and couldn’t name. I’d like to see that continue. I’m deeply appreciative of this journey and this opportunity.
What did you learn about the publishing process that surprised you?
How much there is to learn. I’ve taken two books all the way through now, with several more in process, and I’m still learning. I don’t think I appreciated how many distinct stages of editing there are, or how many considerations go into a manuscript that have nothing to do with whether the writing itself is any good.
The bigger surprise has been how differently fiction and nonfiction move through the process. They are genuinely different crafts, and they make different demands at every stage. It has been a real learning journey, and I have found it fascinating rather than frustrating, which I credit in part to having a publisher who explains things instead of assuming you already know.
What would you say to other writers who have a story but aren’t sure if it’s worth publishing?
I’ve always been a creative—painting, drawing, writing—but almost all of it stayed private for most of my life. I’m only now entering what I’d call my era of public expression, and I’ll tell you what I wish I’d understood sooner: The question isn’t whether your story is worth publishing. It’s whether you’re willing to find out. Those are very different questions, and only one of them is actually in your control.
We know you have other books up your sleeve. Could you give us a sneak preview of what’s next and when you plan to present your other books to the world?
Quite a bit is in motion. The House on Blackthorn Hill launches any day now—it’s for readers intrigued by the history of asylums and the corruption that has happened inside them, and it’s a symbolic play on something I experienced. My first series, Silver Sleuths, is in production: imaginative storytelling with characters I genuinely enjoy spending time with, written for a general audience.
The House on Blackthorn Hill asks what happens when institutions built to heal become places where power hides. Silver Sleuths turns that same curiosity toward a lighter mystery world: sharp, funny, observant characters solving what other people overlook. Blackthorn Hill is scheduled to launch first, with Silver Sleuths following as the series moves through production.
Where can readers find you online?
Readers can find me at drcrystalhernandezllc.com, listen to the Black Feathers podcast, and connect with me on LinkedIn. I also share book updates through my dedicated Instagram account for readers.
Is there anything else the world should know about you or your writing?
Only that I write for two reasons—to make something better or to make something entertaining, and I don’t think those are as far apart as people assume. A book that helps you see your workplace clearly and a book that keeps you up past midnight are both doing the same job: they’re getting your attention and giving you something true in return.
I’m grateful to be at this point, and grateful to Argyle Fox Publishing for making the road walkable. Thank you for having me.
The pleasure is all ours! Thanks so much for sharing, and here’s to success!