My guest today is aspiring author Candi Wall. She is a co-contributor at
MuseTracks Blog and a contestant in the latest Dorchester contest for aspiring authors:
The Next Best Celler. Contestants publish a story in increments of 500 words between June 1 and November 1, 2009. Readers vote on their favorites, and the twenty most popular stories move on to the next round. Dorchester editors pick their favorite ten out of the semi-finalists, and a winner is chosen from those ten based on fan base and editorial input. The finalist wins a coveted $2000 publishing contract from Dorchester.
Ciara: What’s your story about?
Candi: My story STAY is a contemporary romance set in Maine.
My hero, Bracken Elliot is the Captain of the local Fire & Rescue team. He’s a bit cynical and lives with a deep seeded guilt over the deaths of his youngest son and wife in a tragic accident. Overcautious tends to be an understatement with Brack, and when his deaf sixteen year old son is kicked out of school, he’s got his hands full.
Enter Heroine. Extremely un-cautious, Abby Burke, ex-coast guard diver, rule breaker and all around nice gal, she’s not only interested in joining his team, but she’ll be a resource teacher for his deaf son. But Abby never stays in one place too long. Her mentally ill mother always seems to find her and makes things difficult. As opposite as they might be, Abby finds herself drawn to Brack, and the life she never thought she’d find.
Ciara: What’s your writing process? Do you start with characters or plot or something else?
Candi: At one time, I thought you had to be one or the other, a plotter or a pantser. Me? I’m a little of both. Some stories are intricately plotted, while others – like STAY – just happened. An idea popped into my head and the story just fell into place.
Ciara: How did you get involved in the NBC contest?
Candi: I first heard about the contest on the RWC loop. At first, I didn’t think about it too much. Just seemed like a strange way to write. When I read a few blog posts and visited the site, I was intrigued by the novelty of the idea. I registered, posted my first chapter – and I was hooked..
Ciara: What makes text novels different from regular novels?
Candi: Actually, there isn’t a huge difference for the purpose of the NBC contest. The only real difference here is that the story is serialized in approximately 500 words increments.
Outside of the NBC, the ‘chapters’ are typically short, lacking a huge amount of detail. They tend to leave more room for the readers interpretation and imagination. In Japan, text abbreviations are often used as well.
I’ve read both styles, and in each – as with all writing – there were some that grabbed me and some that didn’t. Here’s where we reuse that word we all hear so often in this business – it’s all subjective.
Ciara: Why do you think text novels are so popular in Japan? Do you think America audiences will be hungry for the same?
Candi: I think what really sparked the text novel popularity is the emotion that’s contained in some of these novels. Short chapters might be daunting for those of us used to reading a huge portion at a time, being sucked into another world and reading for hours, but the intensity inherent in some of these small chapters is amazing. I truly believe that the power of the words in that small increment is what makes the readers come back for more.
Will the American audience react to that emotion? I think so. We have so little time to read, and there are many of us who want to find the time but can’t. Imagine sitting at the bus stop and reading a chapter or two on your iphone. Wow.
Ciara: How do I read your story on my iPhone?
Candi: Textnovel is accessible through the browser of most cellphones. Just open your browser and go to textnovel.com to read through stories. Normal connection and data charges from your carrier apply.
If you are subscribed to get story updates by text or email, then just follow the link in the text or email from your cellphone to the story update.
Ciara: If you were stranded on a desert island, what five books would you bring?
Candi: This is an easy hard! Would I get a day at the bookstore before being stranded?
1. Edgar Allen Poe – A complete work. My all time favorite. Just couldn’t go without him!
2. Stephen King – Dreamcatcher
3. Jane Austen – Sense and Sensibility
4. Nora Roberts – Rebellion
5. Catherine Coulter – The Heiress Bride
Ciara: Do you think you are the next Charles Dickens or the next Louisa May Alcott?
Candi: Absolutely not! I don’t even pretend to want to stand in the shoes of greatness. I want to write and be read. I want to know that somewhere, somehow, my words affected someone and made them smile, laugh, cry, or think.
If my writing is someday considered great, then I can claim that fame, but for now, I just want to write. And isn’t that what made most great writers great? They had passion. And in that – I can say I’m equal.
Now that most of you are aware that I have novels entered in Dorchester’s Next Best Celler Contest at
www.textnovel.com, I wanted to let you know that MuseTracks will be raffling off the first 5 pitch spots to five lucky winners.
How do you enter?
Simple.
Search for: STAY, WHAT SHE WAS MISSING or PRIMITIVE NIGHTS.
You can also find my name in the sidebar under Dorchester Contest – Most Popular. If you click my name it will take you to my profile and you can access the storied from there.
Also, all three of my novels are in the top ten under Romance-Contemporary in the top category bar on the home page.
Three easy ways to find me.
Three easy chances to be entered for a chance to have your pitch be one of the top five spots – guaranteed.
And we have a stellar line-up of Agents for Nov.
Lois Winston
Kevan Lyon
Emmanuelle Alspaugh
So don’t wait. Go vote.
Starting today – you have until Oct.31, 2009 at 11:59, E.S.T
Vote/subscribe/& comment on one of my stories and you’re name will be entered in the raffle. If you
vote/subscribe/& comment on all three novels, you are entered three times. Just
vote/subscribe/& comment, then shoot me an e-mail at candi_agent_shop @
yahoo.com (underscores between the words) with your Pen name so I can match up with TextNovel and you’re in!
On Nov. 1st we’ll draw the five lucky winners. That’ll give you time to get your pitch to me before the Nov. 8th Pitch GO day.
Remember, register with a valid e-mail, vote, subscribe and comment on any of my three novels.
So what the heck are you waiting for? Go to
www.textnovel.com and hey, spread the word!
You can find more info about ‘Agent Shop’ at
MuseTracksThanks for visiting Candi! Please visit www.textnovel.com and check out Candi’s story ‘STAY.’ If you like what you read ~ give her a thumbs up & subscribe!
It’s my favorite time of year: Halloween! Why? you might ask. Not for the candy, which I used to collect but never eat. Not for the ghost stories, which give me nightmares. Not for the pranks. When it comes to fun, I’m all about the costumes. This year I worked on five costumes for an Alice in Wonderland themed pub crawl before I was laid low by the flu. Fortunately the costumes are finished (see me as the Cheshire Cat at right). Unfortunately I’ll have to live the pub crawl vicariously through pictures. I also love pumpkin carving, and although I made it out to a pick-your-own-pumpkin patch, I didn’t get around to carving the darn things. 
The Emerald City Writers’ Conference was a fabulous success, but it was still nice to rejuvenate from conference fever on the beach in Kona on the big island of Hawaii. I wrote by the pool, read a stack of books, snorkeled with colorful fish and sea turtles, hiked through Volcanoes National Park, viewed lava rolling into the sea, and got up close and personal with manta rays.
WELCOME TO TEMPTATION by Jennifer Crusie
My manuscript won First Place in the 2009 Golden Gateway writing contest, sponsored by From The Heart Romance Writers! I am, to say the least, thrilled. The first fifty pages and synopses were judged. September 1st I found out I was a finalist, and last night I found out I won first place. The final judge editor requested to read the full manuscript!! I’ve got it finished and ready to send out, so as soon as the Emerald City Writers’ Conference this weekend is done I’ll print it and send it off. Wish me luck!