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| Candy Crum |
The book centers around Kailah, a 20 year old woman who lives a very busy life as a nursing student as
well as an ER tech (Certified Nursing Assistant in an ER). When she meets a new
physician she begins having strange visions and panic attacks. She soon finds
herself in the middle of a war between Vampires and Immortals that has been
ongoing for the better part of 3,000 years. She learns that she is the
descendant of a long line of Immortals but that her great-great grandmother
commissioned a Native American tribe to use their magic to break the link
between herself and her family because she couldn’t take running from them any
longer. Her family is filled with cruel Immortals that will stop at nothing to
annihilate the Vampire Race – though most do not deserve it. Because the powers
were passed from generation to generation down to Kailah without ever having
been tapped into, now that they have awaken, Kailah is believed to be the most
powerful Immortal to ever exist – except she has no idea how to use her
abilities yet. The Vampires want to use her to kill the Immortals; the
Immortals want to use her power to destroy the Vampires. But there are the
innocents out there that only want to help Kailah do what she knows is right.
What
are your current projects?
Currently I am working on the sequel to TEG. It will be titled The Eternal Echo and I am hoping for a
mid to late November 2011 release. I am also getting ready to start laying out
the design (with an amazing artist/designer
friend of mine named Jodi Lane) for a graphic novel based off of the first
novel. I am hoping that it goes well enough that Jodi and I can create one for
every book. I think this would be so much
fun to do!
What do you consider to be your best accomplishment in writing?
My best accomplishment is being published. It doesn’t even matter if
it sells just one more copy or a billion more (though I hope for somewhere in
between!). All that matters is that I can officially say that I did something a
lot of people won’t be able to do. I think (and hope all do) that everyone should have that moment in
their life. When they do something they know not many others can do, so they
can carry that pride with them. Whether it’s being a nurse or doctor and saving
a life, or writing a book, or selling a painting, or inventing something, or
anything at all your mind can dream up. Everyone should have that moment of
happiness and self fulfillment.
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There is a lot of me in
Kailah. And I wrote it that way because I am living vicariously through her. I
want everyone to know that your life can change in an instant. You may not be
living up to your true potential and you won’t ever know that unless you do
something to get there. In real life, it was my writing. That is how I am
living (or trying to!) up to my true potential. I am learning more and more all
of the time about writing technique and how to improve. If you look inside yourself, there is
something in there no one else has that you haven’t tapped into yet. Finding it
is the mystery and most people get overwhelmed trying to find it. I’m 26 years
old and just now getting to know my better side. It takes time. Don’t get
discouraged around 18 or 19 years old and burn out thinking it will never get
better. That’s how you get stuck! Take whatever you have and build from it.
That’s my message from Kailah. She starts off in this life of hers where she
feels ‘stuck.’ Eventually, when she realized who and what she is, it shocks her
so greatly that she is just in a state of darkness. She feels she can’t go up
and can’t go down. But something big happens to her that forces her to grow and
once she sees what life means to her, she forces herself to deal and build off
of what she can already do or what she knows.
Do you have a ritual prior to writing?
I usually don’t do anything special when I start to write (though
maybe I should!). When I begin a new project,
I sit down and make a timeline. I make a list of 20 or so things I expect to
happen and an ‘estimated’ ending. Once I have that list of 20 or so things,
they all become their own chapter (if they are ‘major’ ideas). Once I get all
those into their own chapter categories, I begin building off of those and
writing in smaller ideas. I do this because I began a novel seven or eight
years ago and I made it to chapter 6 because I was just writing when I sat
down. I had no plan, no timeline, nothing. I got lost and writer’s block
settled in and it made it nearly impossible. So that is why I take so much time
coming up with the initial ideas!
Are your characters based on people you know?
Kailah is more or less myself but named after a beautiful girl I
used to work with named Kailah Clark. She is so easy to write because I’m so
sarcastic and we share the same sense of humor. Amanda (Kailah’s sister) is
based off of my sister Amanda. Rachel is loosely based off of a couple of
friends of mine. Not one in particular but a jumble of three of them all
together. Aeric, Brett, Khanae, and Sayen are all figments of my imagination. I
didn’t really have anyone in mind when I wrote them, which is good because I
want them to have their own attitudes. Kailah’s great-great grandfather (who
remains nameless in the novel) is based off of my own great grandfather. I
didn’t know him. I never even saw a picture of him. But I remember my
grandfather telling me about him and the powers he had as a Native American man
and it gave me a mental image of him. It’s probably way off, but I hope that he
understands and finds honor in the strong man I portrayed in his image.
How can writers improve the writing experience?
My biggest advice is to start with the layout. Please, just make the
layout so you know where your story is headed. Even if “well it’s all in my
head and I know it front to back.” It doesn’t matter. Write it all down. Do not start editing until the book is
done. You will bore yourself and slow yourself down and losing momentum can be
a bad thing. Focus on your story first. You can always rewrite later. I always
leave the last chapter I wrote open so that when I start the new one I can go
back and remember exactly what I wrote (since its usually a few days between
writing sessions). It’s also how you can keep the flow going nicely in your
book. It will have less ‘chops’ going through.
Find out more about Candy Crum in the links below.
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Find out more about Candy Crum in the links below.
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