Wow! What a difference a month makes, eh? Last time we did an Author Behind the Series blog post, everybody had toilet paper in the stores. I saw a meme a couple of days ago showing a toilet paper aisle in a store filled with all the different types. The caption read: Throwback Thursday. Funny stuff.
However, not all of it has been fun and games. "Online learning," "social distancing," "flattening the curve" are all new words and phrases that will surely find their way into Merriam-Webster's Dictionary soon. Doomsday reports of catastrophic death totals will make even the most ardent introvert clean some things that haven't been wiped down with a clorox-laced wipe in a while.
We are praying for safety and health during these troubling times. Those of us who take reasonable precautions should weather the storm, regardless of your political affiliations.
With all this extra time on our hands (Have you noticed we are getting by okay without rich sports stars bouncing, hitting, or kicking balls around?), one of the things we can do more of is read. I'm hoping for a uptick in the number of people getting turned on to reading. Never before has there been such a plethora of material out there. Surely, everyone can find something that interests them. All they have to do is look. And this blog site is one of those places where readers can find out about authors and their writing and possibly find a "new favorite author."
With that segue, I want to welcome a newer author to me. She is part of the Mantle Rock Publishing family, of which I recently became a member. She has been with MRP longer, having just published her second novel with MRP. Please welcome to the virtual Florida front porch (we are keeping our CDC protocols in place), Candace West!
Candace, as is our custom, give us a quick bio to get us started.
In fifty words or less, who is Candace West?
I’m a recovering tomboy. Growing up, I was a strange blend
of Tom Sawyer and Anne of Green Gables. Mississippi mud flows through my veins, but the Arkansas Ozarks
captured my heart. Jo March understood me better than most of my friends. She
introduced me to historical fiction, by the way, which is what I write!
Before you ever got a notion of
becoming a writer/author, how old were you, and what were you doing in that
time of your life?
When
I was twelve, I loved exploring the woods and playing in the mud. Mama
instilled in me a love of reading when I was little. I also loved hearing a
good story. Before we moved into the country, we lived in a small town. Most of
the people on our street were retired. Often, I would migrate from house to
house, sit on the porches or carports of my elder neighbors, and ask them to
tell me a story. And what great stories! My grandpa and granny also enriched my
childhood with stories of their formative years. Storytelling was inevitable! I
stumbled upon writing on a long car trip to Colorado one summer. To pass the
time, I penned my first short story, “Following Prairie River” in my notebook.
The rest is history.
That's cool. What educational background do you
have?
My
parents homeschooled me from the third grade until graduation, and I consider
it to be one of the greatest blessings of my childhood. Through school, my
relationship with my parents deepened. Being a preacher’s kid, I didn’t have
social problems because I had a church full of friends. After graduation, I attended
the University of Arkansas at Monticello and graduated with a B.A. in English.
I chose Monticello because it was close to home. I could commute and keep my
part-time job working at a crop duster service.
What makes you
cringe?
Unacknowledged text messages. If I send a friend a text
message, I don’t expect them to answer immediately. Everyone has busy lives,
and sometimes we forget. I understand it. But neither do I expect the message
to go completely ignored. I guess I’m old school. It feels the same as being
snubbed in person. If someone speaks to you, be polite and speak back. Text
messaging is someone speaking to you. Even a simple thumbs-up would be better
than silence. That’s just a pet peeve of mine.
Besides
storytelling, what talents do you have?
I sing and play the piano, bass guitar, and acoustic
guitar. You would have to ask my friends their opinions of it, though. Hearing
myself sing is another thing that makes me cringe, by the way. I try to do it
for God’s glory, though. My piano playing is okay, though my mom has the real
talent there. I’m much more comfortable playing the bass or guitar, sitting
more in the background.
We are our own worst critics! I play the drums and sing too. I get it.
Besides the usual things authors
face, has there been an unusual event that changed your perspective about being
an author?
I
quit writing for a time after a good friend of mine was tragically killed. Every
time I tried to write, the process was too painful. The words would dry up
before I could write them. Even though I didn’t accomplish a lot of writing in
that season, I learned words and emotions would return with patience and a
little courage. The act of writing during or after tragedy heals the writer…and
the reader. The most important thing in the process is never to rush it. Don’t
force the writing. Many times, it’s better to let the words come to you, if
that makes any sense.
Makes perfect sense. Even when you aren't dealing with anything tragic. Rushed writing leads to deleted writing more times than not.
Of all the
stories/books you have written, which one is your favorite? And what compelled
you to write this story? (I know it's like choosing between your children, but...)
You are right! It is like choosing between your children!
Lane
Steen is so much a part of me because she came to me at a time when I
needed her the most. God used her to bring me through a painful time in my
life. We grew together and healed together. But I’ll have to say that for now
Valley
of Shadows is my favorite. After ending
Lane Steen, I ached to
resolve the situation between Lane’s parents, Earl and Lorena. But how? The
rift between them was a chasm. After all, Earl had kidnapped their daughter and
disappeared. They had too much to overcome.
Or did they? I had to find out. The process and adventure of
the characters showing me how to overcome was both painful and joyful. At
times, they lured me so deeply into the story that I had to remind myself they
were fictional characters. Over time, Earl captured my heart. I never expected
the villain in the first book to become the hero in the next. No one else in
Valley Creek did either. I think I’ll always hold a special place for him.
Getting to know Earl was a gift.
Should we have put a "SPOILER ALERT" sign in that last response somewhere? :-)
Tell us about your
writing day. How do you go about writing?
These days my writing is sporadic, if I’m lucky. Raising and
homeschooling a nine-year-old boy takes a lot of time. By nature, I’m a night
owl, but I reserve those times for reading. Sometimes I do write late, but it’s
not a good way to wind down after a long day. Characters sometimes refuse to
hush when I’m tired. After housework and schooling, I try to squeeze time in to
write. I’m not always successful, though. I have to remind myself to keep
trying, to never stop writing. Even though I’m not always typing away, I’m
making notes of the stories buzzing around in my head.
Knowing what you know
now about writing, publishing, etc., what piece of advice would you give to the
person thinking about writing that novel they have always wanted to pursue
since they were young, or the person who believes they have a non-fiction book
in them that would be helpful to others?
Just make the time and put those words down on the page.
Even if you only have ten or fifteen minutes a day to spare. You might have a
busy schedule like me, but don’t let it discourage you. Get those words inside
of you on the page. You never know who it may touch. I once had a writer tell
me that even if those words never went beyond my desk drawer, it still might
touch just one who needed it most. I’m nowhere near being a bestselling author,
but I can honestly say that I’ve been blown away by readers who contacted me
after reading Lane Steen and now Valley of Shadows. I never knew
those stories would stir or bless them so deeply. They, in turn, have blessed
me more than I can describe. And it has made the writing and publishing journey
so worth it!
How do you come up
with the names for your characters?
This is a funny question! When I first started writing, we
still had things called phone books. I would open the phone book and scan names
until I found one that sounded right. For my first novel, I think I pulled
Lane’s name from the phone book. Most of the other names come from family names.
Mr. Wallace was named for my grandpa Wallace, for example. Other names come
from a list that I compile. Tabitha was the name of a girl in my Kindergarten
class, and it became a favorite name of mine. I used it for Tabitha’s character
in Lane Steen. In Valley of Shadows, Ella’s character is named
for my great-aunt.
If you had one person you could
meet (think outside the Bible here) and could spend as much time as you wanted
with that individual, who would it be?
Oh,
that’s a hard one. There’s too many on my list. After some thought, I chose
Corrie Ten Boom. From the first time I watched “The Hiding Place,” I was
riveted by her story. Here’s a lady who knows nothing about warfare or the
underground, yet she and her family are thrust into it. God used her harrowing
experiences to fill her with such wisdom, grace, and even humor! How could she
even laugh after living through tragedy? Yet, she did and even thrived. I love
hearing her tell the stories, especially the one of the Nazi soldier who asked
her forgiveness after the war. Wow! Forgiveness is a subject that resonates
with me. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. Only God makes it
possible.
If you had one person you could
meet (think ONLY Bible characters here) and could spend as much time as you
wanted with that individual, who would it be besides Jesus?
Now,
this one is easy because I’ve thought a lot about it over the years! It would
be Peter! Here is a crude, brash fisherman. Wishy-washy. Opinionated. Bold one
minute, cowardly the next. He is the perfect candidate to betray Jesus. The
Lord said that Satan desired to have him. Why? Could it be because of these
flaws? Yet Jesus calls him a rock. While Judas gave up on Jesus’s messiahship,
Peter never did. I love studying Peter’s transformation in scripture. This man
who rebuked the Lord for talking about His coming suffering later writes,
“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves
likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased
from sin.” 1 Peter 4:1. I would love to sit with Peter and ask him scores of
questions. What was it like to walk with Jesus? To witness His miracles? His
death? His resurrection? His ascension? Though Peter in the beginning was
wishy-washy, I believe he had one characteristic that never changed. He was
teachable.
Why do you live where you live?
My
husband and I make our home near our families and the church my dad pastors. We
grew up in the Delta. Our friends and church family are here as well. Though I
love my home, I would much rather live in the Arkansas Ozarks where I set my
stories. My family’s roots are nestled up there in those picturesque hills and
valleys, along the creeks, within old, cherished cemeteries, and vacant
homeplaces. As often as we can, my family retreats back to those places during
the summer, spending several days enjoying and resting in the beauty. For me,
it’s like going home. Have you ever visited a place that speaks to you this
way? You see it, and you just know. Almost like love at first sight. And I’m
always loathe to say goodbye.
Yep. The beach. On a balcony. Watching the waves roll in. Listening to the roar that never ends, even in the dead of night. Nothing washes stress away for me more than that.
We know “Readers are leaders, and
leaders are readers.” Is there a book you’ve read in the past five years or so that
has helped you become a better you? If so, which one was it, and how did it
affect your life?
Yes!
Martyn Lloyd Jones’ Spiritual Depression encouraged me in my walk with
the Lord so much. It details the types of spiritual battles that Christians
fight. I taught it for our women’s class at church. The ladies and I read the
book together and discussed a chapter each week on Wednesday nights. Every
chapter, filled with wisdom, would speak to different situations we were
facing. If you haven’t read it, let it be the next book you order and read.
He has several that are good! Good choice. I remember reading "Preaching and Preachers" years ago in seminary.
Candace, as we near the end, is
there anything else you’d like to share with our readers about you, or anything
we didn’t cover?
No
matter who you are, no matter your circumstances, you are not beyond hope or
redemption. You are special in God’s eyes, and He has a plan for your life. My
stories carry this theme of transformation and redemption. Forgiveness is
always possible with God. He takes the dark places in our lives and pours in
His light. Walking with Him is a transforming journey.
Awesome.
Readers, you can find out more about Candace, her writing, stay in touch, and more, at the following sites and in the following ways:
To
purchase Valley of Shadows: https://www.amzn.com/B084YQHMS9
Readers, here's the back cover copy of Candace's latest novel, Valley
of Shadows:
Forgiving
is far from forgetting.
Lorena Steen gave up on love years ago. After arriving at Valley Creek to visit
her daughters, she stumbles first thing into Earl, the husband who abandoned
her.
As for Earl, facing Lorena while fighting his own demons tempts him to flee
town. How can he rebuild a relationship with his daughters and cynical
neighbors when guilt shadows every step?
While the storm brews between them, another storm descends on Valley Creek.
Will a ghost town stand in its wake?
But then the townsfolk devise a plan. All they need is a former concert pianist
and violinist. A wife and husband estranged.
Can Lorena and Earl set aside their feelings to rescue a community? Even though
it sweeps them back through valleys best forgotten? Especially when a forbidden
love claims his right to win Lorena’s heart?
Until next time, everybody, stay safe, stay healthy, be smart about your specific situation during our times of quarantine and six-foot-apart relationships.
I recently read a book for an author review/endorsement. I’ve done several over the years and am always flattered to think another author would even be okay with me endorsing their work. As I read this particular book, I found myself thinking of how the author could have “done this” and “done that” to make it better. After each chapter, I would have to check myself and remember the genre was different. The parts and details I wished would be present—but weren’t—would have been great additions…within the genre I write. Not this one. As I thought about other reviews and endorsements I’ve done in the past, I remembered similar feelings when the book’s genre was different.
