We are thrilled to have debut author Candice Marley Conner with us today! Candice’s two books, Sassafras and Her Teeny Tiny Tail (picture book) and The Existence of Bea Pearl (young adult novel), came out this month. We will be talking with her about books and the methods, and challenges, of writing for such different age groups.
Hello Candice! We are excited to have you on The Winged Pen. Congratulations on your debuts! We are in awe of authors who write picture books and novels. While they may be for similar age groups (children), their format, structure, and word counts are completely different. We are excited to hear your processes for each. But first, tell us about your new books that debuted within one week of each other.
Candice: Thanks for having me on The Winged Pen, Halli! You are correct—my picture book and YA debuted a WEEK of each other. Whew! Sassafras and Her Teeny Tiny Tail is about a little squirrel who has a stubby, bristly-as-a-chewed-up-pine-cone tail. Since squirrels rely on their tails for so much, i.e., balance and communication to name the two I focus on, she’s teased a lot. But her shortened tail also gives her an advantage the bullies never saw coming and she might just be able to save the day.
The Existence of Bea Pearl is about a 16-year-old girl whose brother disappears when their home is flooded. With the help of her best friend and a mysterious boy from the river, Bea Pearl tracks down clues to uncover what happened to her brother, and piece her family and herself back together, because if her brother could stop existing, could she too?
At their core, both stories are about believing in yourself and holding onto hope.
TWP: Wow! These books sound amazing. Full of important questions and beautiful messages that everyone needs, especially kids. Can you tell us where the inspiration for each came from?
Candice: Sassafras was inspired by a stub-tailed squirrel in a neighbor’s yard. My children are great at reminding me to be present and ask questions and the manuscript scampered and grew from there!
Bea Pearl came from a Writers’ Digest prompt to write what scares you (losing a loved one), the adage to write what you know (the swamps and river I grew up in), and my childhood love for Nancy Drew books.
TWP: We love writing from prompts (both visual as in your real-life squirrel and written). They can be so inspiring, as we see with your two books. As mentioned earlier, we are in awe of authors who write picture books and novels. Can you tell us about the different processes in writing these books?
Candice: So. Different! I’m one of those authors who LOVE describing the setting. I treat it as a character to set the tone, tension, and atmosphere. In picture books, the illustrations do all that, so any setting I wrote in Sassafras had to be cut. Show over tell is important in both, but when your words are limited to 500, you have to be so much more concise!
TWP: That is very interesting and highlights the relationship between writers and illustrators as they work together to create the best story. And we want to mention that the artist behind the beautiful illustrations in Sassafras is Heath Gray. Going back to writing these books, which do you find more difficult to write?
Candice: Each form has their own challenges, but in this particular instance, I’d probably say Bea Pearl because she changed the most. In early drafts, she got hurt a lot worse in the flood and suffered from amnesia, which made her an unreliable narrator and the timeline unchronological. A revise and resubmit urged me to have the story unfold chronologically which was a massive undertaking but did strengthen the story. That being said, I have picture book manuscripts languishing in desk drawers because I can’t get the story right. And that 500-word limit is definitely a challenge.
TWP: Yes, clearly both have their challenges, for many reasons. Because they are so different, how did juggle writing, editing, and working on edit letters from your publishers? Did you alternate days? Was there a trick or tool you used to get in the right mindset for each?
Candice: As it turns out, Sassafras was originally set to debut in 2019 so pretty much all the editing was done before then. I worked on Bea Pearl’s edit letter in 2020, then received my pass pages earlier this year, turned those in, then I was handed Sassafras’. So luckily, all the editing paced itself out nicely.
TWP: Phew! That was a relief. Let’s talk about your publishing journey. Having two books debuting in one year is not a common occurrence. Can you tell us how that came to be?
Candice: COVID pivots? The Universe unfolding in mysterious ways? Haha, I have no idea. But as I’ve never debuted before, I have no standard for comparison for this experience 😉
Bea Pearl’s preorders and ARCs opened months before Sassafras’ so I was able to focus on one at a time for a good part of the marketing/promotion. Though as we got down to the wire, I constantly worried I was confusing people by posting/promoting about both. I wanted my social media to feel balanced and not “too much,” you know?
TWP: Social media can be tricky. Speaking of marketing and promotion, the readers and gatekeepers for pictures books and young adult novels are completely different. How are you getting each audience’s attention?
Candice: For Bea Pearl, since my audience is allowed on social media, I focused more on booksellers (with postcards and bookplate offers) and a preorder campaign to get her out into the world. I’m a part of #the21ders, and formerly of the #roaring20s debut groups, which have helped a lot. Also, since so much of this book pays homage to the waterways I grew up in, I wanted to use it as a platform to promote and protect Alabama’s biodiverse water systems. I commissioned my talented artist friend, Erica Ross, and used her artwork to set up a merch shop on Threadless with proceeds going to the Alabama Rivers Alliance.
With Sassafras, I’m focusing more on pre/elementary schools and play center visits especially now that I’m vaccinated. She was part of the #NewIn19 debut group, and even two years later, members of that debut group are graciously helping spread the word about Sassafras by reviewing on Goodreads.
TWP: We love debut groups! Of course we know you are still writing. Can you share what you are working on now?
Candice: To change up my age group again, I’m working on a STEAM chapter book series and having such a blast with the character and her absurdly fun thought processes. Chapter books bring on a whole other writing experience as I still can’t delve much into the setting (though do more than in picture books!) and my characters don’t have growth arcs, (which they aren’t supposed to have in chapter book series). I am constantly learning so much about the unique writing specifications of the different age groups.
TWP: Chapter books! We are so impressed. And of course, can’t wait to read them. Thank you for taking the time to answer our hard questions. Now let’s have a little fun!
TWP: Where is your favorite writing space?
Candice: My office/library with a door my two kiddos more or less respect, haha.
TWP: Do you write with music?
Candice: No, I find music too distracting. I feel like I’m the only writer that doesn’t use playlists to get into the story’s mood.
TWP: What is your favorite writing snack?
Candice: Twizzlers!
TWP: What is your favorite part of writing – research, first draft, or revisions?
Candice: I can use research as procrastination, so I have an uneasy relationship with that part of writing (but getting sucked down rabbit holes of information is so much fun!) First draft and revisions equally especially when the Divine Spark is present. That’s what I call it, inspired by Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, when the words just flow, and it feels like you’re tapped into something bigger than yourself. That’s just the best feeling to me.
That does sound like a wonderful place to be in! Thank you very much for joining us today and letting us be a part of celebrating your new books.
For more information on Candice, and to follow her future endeavors, you can find here website here.
You can purchase copies of Sassafras and Her Teeny Tiny Tail and The Existence of Bea Pearl, at these links. The Haunted Book Shop Mobile (Bea Pearl) The Haunted Book Shop (Sassafras) and Bookshop. And don’t forget Bea’s merch shop!
Growing up between swamps, a river, and the Gulf Coast, Candice Marley Conner’s stories emerge from gnarled cypress knees, muddy water, and salty air. She is the kidlit haint at a haunted indie bookstore (but not haunted how you’re thinking), a Local Liaison for SCBWI, and an officer for her local writer’s guild. Her short stories and poems are in various anthologies and magazines including Smarty Pants Magazine for Kids, Highlights Hello, Cabinet of Curiosities, Under the Full Moon’s Light, Babybug, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and more. Her picture book, SASSAFRAS AND HER TEENY TINY TAIL releases June 8th, 2021 with MacLaren-Cochrane Publishing, and her YA Southern mystery, THE EXISTENCE OF BEA PEARL, comes out June 15th, 2021 with Owl Hollow Press. She lives in Alabama with her husband and two children (one of whom is possibly feral).
