Tuesday, 27 November 2012

AUTHOR INTERVIEW - CANDACE JANE KRINGLE / CANDYCANE CLAUS



What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?
My full, legal name, and the name I publish under, is Candace Jane Kringle. But up here, everyone calls me Candycane Claus, or just Candy. I was born in the Village of the North Pole and will probably always live here because the Pole is the absolute funnest place in the world to live, and because this is the best place for my father to do his work.

What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarise it in less than 20 words what would you say?
My latest book, which is also my debut book, is called North Pole High: A Rebel Without a Claus - a memoir by Candace Jane Kringle. Wow, the title alone is almost 20 words. Here’s the quick and dirty summary: Santa Claus has a teenage daughter. She’s dating a boy on the Naughty List. (Hey, that’s fourteen words too, same as the title!)

Who is your publisher? or do you self publish?
I made a list of agents I wanted to query, then checked it twice like my father taught me, and it turned out they were all on Daddy’s, um, “bad” list. So I decided to let the elves have a crack at publishing. So this is actually the first book ever to be “elfpublished.”

How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?
Since this book was  a true story, I first had to sit down and figure out what parts of it would become the beginning, middle, and end. That resulted in a three-page summary. Then I expanded that into a sixty-step outline, then a detailed 25-page “treatment.” All that took two months. The first draft took four months. Two or three subsequent drafts were one month each, with two-month breaks in between for distance and to wait for notes from my editor. All-in-all, it was about a year.

Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?
If there’s enough demand for a series, and if anything book-worthy happens to me in my senior year at North Pole High, then I would definitely like to expand this into a series. Otherwise, I may try my hand at fiction, but I haven’t decided yet what that next book will be.

What genre would you place your books into?
I call it non-fiction, but the lawyers insist on labeling it fiction because they say a lot of people don’t believe I exist. As fiction, I categorize it as young adult. It’s definitely more whimsical than most of the dark, paranormal/dystopian YA that’s out there, but at its heart it’s a teen romance that’s appropriate for teens from 12 to 92. And there’s certainly nothing objectionable in it for the advanced middle-grade reader either.

Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?
Always. The good ones make me smile all day. The bad ones make me cry. Remember that, reviewers. Just because I live in the North Pole doesn’t mean I’m some cartoon character. I’m a real person, with real feelings. :)

How do you come up with the Title and Cover Designs for your book/books? Who designed the Cover of your books?
An elf friend of mine has a cousin in California, America, named Jessica who is a wonderful graphic designer. Since candy canes are my namesake and style, Jessy used the stark red stripes over a white background to evoke candy canes as well as a Christmas theme. Then she made the stripes noticeably askew to hint at all the craziness that goes on at the North Pole (and in the book).

What do you do to unwind and relax? Do you have a hobby?
I love to sing Christmas carols, and I’m constantly coming up with new Christmas tree designs just for fun. We all play tons of snow games up here. We like to ride our snow scooters on Butterscotch Hills and ice skate down Main Street and build snow people and igloos. Sometimes Chefy lets me help in the kitchen. I also have one of every toy ever made, so I never get bored.

Which format of book do you prefer, ebook, hardback, or paperback?
Oh, definitely ebooks. We have a great infrastructure up here for delivering packages out of the North Pole, albeit all in one night every year, but it’s much harder to get physical books shipped into the Circle. Whispernet is like magic!

Where can readers follow you?

Your web site?
http://www.northpolehigh.com/

Your Facebook page?
http://facebook.com/NorthPoleHigh

Your Goodreads Author page?
http://goodreads.com/CandycaneClaus

Your Twitter details?
http://twitter.com/CandycaneClaus

And any other information you wish to supply?

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/NorthPoleHigh

Amazon US
Kindle: http://amzn.to/Ps5im6
Paperback: http://amzn.to/Th0P4P

Amazon UK
Kindle: http://amzn.to/RkQLpc
Paperback: http://amzn.to/TWhwz9

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