Special Interview: Powdermonkey Lisa Interviews Candace Camp!
Lisa: Break out the rum, Captain, blogging with us today on the ship is historical author Candace Camp. Candace’s first book-Bonds of Love was published in 1978. She currently has 44 (correct me if I’m wrong) published books, both contemporary and historical. Her next book- The Wedding Challenge will be released in September and is the third book in her beloved Matchmaker Series. Welcome aboard Candace! Help yourself to the rum and any hot deck hands we have running amok
Candace: Thank you. It’s great to be here. In this weather, anything with rum sounds great—and if you happen to have a deck hand running around that looks like Johnny Depp, I’ll be happy to accept him, as well. But I have to tell you, you were a little low on the book number. The Wedding Challenge will actually be my 57th book—61st if you also count the four novellas I’ve written for Harlequin anthologies. The Wedding Challenge is the third book in the series. There’s a fourth one, The Courtship Dance, due out February, 2009. The Wedding Challenge is about the Duke’s sister, Callie, who has appeared in the first two books. I’m afraid everyone will have to wait until The Courtship Dance to learn what happens with the Duke and Francesca—but take heart, all Duke and Francesca fans, they are in The Wedding Challenge more than in the first two books, and the reader will learn a little more about their pasts.
Lisa: Candace can you share with us how long it was after your first submission that you became published, and can you share your call story?
Candace: I sent in my very first novel to Avon; back then, the publishers still were very active with their slush piles. Unfortunately, Avon rejected it after about six months. So I sent it to another company; the name, I believe, was Pyramid. A few months after I sent it in, I graduated from law school in North Carolina and got a job back in Texas, so I moved to Paris, Texas. I had by this time sort of given up on this company wanting it. I hadn’t given up on submitting it again, but it had gotten pushed to the back of my mind. I had been working in Paris a couple of months, and one day I went home at lunchtime to get something at my apartment, and I picked up my mail. There was a letter there from Jove Publications, a division of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. I had no idea what it was, but I opened it. The letter was from an editor at Jove. It seems that Jove had been Pyramid and had been sold to HBJ in the meantime and changed their name to Jove. This editor liked Bonds of Love and wanted to publish it, but they had been unable to reach me by phone and so were writing me a letter in the hopes that it would be forwarded to me.
I started jumping up and down and shrieking like a maniac and immediately called my mother and told her, and we both did some more shrieking. (Thank goodness, there was no one else around at the time, or they would have thought I had gone insane, I’m sure.) Then I called the editor, afraid that they might have changed their mind in the meantime, but they had not. Needless to say, I went back to the office a little late, but grinning like crazy.
Lisa: Out of all the wonderful characters you have created over the years do you have any that you hold a greater affection for more than the others?
Candace: I definitely have my favorites—but I’ve written so many books, I’m afraid I have quite a few of them. I suppose that Luke in Rainbow Season is my very favorite male character. That book is my favorite of my books, as well. It is one that—forgive the cliché, but it’s true—came from my heart. It is set around 1900 in East Texas, where my mother was born. It’s a place and time that really resonate with me.
Other guys I really, really loved were Jeremy in Bitterleaf, Devin in So Wild a Heart, James in Evensong. (I tend to like emotionally wounded heroes, whether they’re covering it with laughter, cockiness, or a sullen attitude.)
But I also love an honorable, stand-up guy, the one you can always rely on—like the Duke in the Matchmaker series or the modern Sutton and Marshall brothers from a couple of my Intimate Moments series.
I love strong, even bossy heroines, as you may have noticed from my books. Katherine from my very first book, Bonds of Love, Meredith from Bitterleaf, Miranda from So Wild a Heart, are all very dear to me. I love a scrapper, and Francesca, in her own very uppercrust way, is a scrapper, too. I love Francesca, and I really enjoyed writing a happy ending for her in The Courtship Dance.
As for families, the Marshall family, a group of three brothers I wrote about in a Silhouette Intimate Moments series, and the Suttons, another IM family, are favorites of mine. And probably the mad Morelands are my very favorite—from their odd parents down to the always-in-trouble twins, Con and Alex.
Lisa: What do you enjoy most about writing historical romance?
Candace: I love losing myself in another time and place. I’ve always loved history; it was my minor in college. And I have read historical novels ever since I can remember. I devoured Frank Yerby novels when I was young and Anya Seton books. Victoria Holt’s and Dorothy Eden’s nineteenth century gothics. Of course, I loved the Bronte sisters and Jane Austen.
One thing that is nice about historicals is that one has very set societies with which to work. It makes it easy to set up protagonists who one way or another challenge the system. My heroes and heroines generally tend to be rebels in one way or another, even if it’s sometimes only a rebellion against social attitudes. Certain periods really appeal to me because the society is at this point of great change, a sort of breaking point, with an inherent conflict between old ways and new that makes for great settings. Two of my favorite periods fit in with this, though they are quite different. One is the Regency period, the era most of my current books are set in, and the other is the post-Civil War West. In both cases, the world is undergoing great change; there’s been the upheaval of war; attitudes and mores are fluctuating; life is never going to be the same. They are also times that see the start of great changes for women—think of the sudden rise of female writers in the Regency period and afterwards—Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, the Bronte sisters. And in the settlement of the West, I think women had the opportunity to prove themselves and to establish their independence and self-worth.
But besides all that, I just love the clothes, the hair styles, the carriages, the houses, the language. Plus, the slower-moving world gives one a greater opportunity to develop my characters and their romance.
Lisa: You write most of your books in a series format. Can you tell us why you enjoy writing mostly series, and do most of them revolve around two or more characters throughout each series?
Candace: I started writing series by accident, simply because as I developed a family for one of the main characters in a novel, I would come to like their siblings or friends so much I wanted to write other books about them. Later, as with the Aincourt series or Lost Heirs series, I set out to write about a family. But I still sometimes stumble into them. When I wrote Mesmerized, I set out to write a stand-alone novel because I had just finished two series and was a little tired of them. But then when I came up with Olivia’s odd family, I had to write about the other brothers and sisters, so I wound up doing a series of 4 books about the mad Morelands.
In my series, characters from the other books usually make an appearance in some or all of the books of the series; it just sort of depends on the story. The Lost Heirs series was a little difficult because I had to bring all the characters from the first two books back in for the end because it concerned the whole family, and arranging that scene got a little unwieldy.
But I usually don’t have a set of characters like the Duke and Francesca who have an important role in each of the other books, leading up to the last book that’s solely about them. But the matchmaking idea lent itself to doing the series this way, and I really enjoyed it. From the reader responses I’ve been getting, I think that my readers have liked it, as well.
Lisa: Can you share a blurb from your soon to be released book entitled The Wedding Challenge?
Candace: I’d be happy to. In The Wedding Challenge, Lady Calandra Lilles, the Duke of Rochford’s younger sister, sets out to find a husband, so naturally she turns to her friend Francesca, Lady Haughston, for help. Tired of having her suitors frightened away by her protective older brother and sure, after five years on the marriage mart, that she is simply not the type to fall in love, she determines to make a ‘good match.’ Armed with a list of attributes that her future husband must have, she and Francesca start their social hunt. However, she soon finds, to her astonishment, that there is a man who can steal her heart away— unfortunately, it’s Lord Bromwell, her brother’s sworn enemy and the last man in London she should trust.
Lisa: Are you currently working on any future series?
Candace: Yes. I’ve finished the fourth book of the Matchmaker series, The Courtship Dance, in which, at last, Francesca and the Duke get to have their own story.
So now I’m at work on a new series, just in the planning stages right now. I’m not even sure of a name for the books or series, although I’m working with a tentative series title of Willowmere. It will be three books and will concern three Regency noblemen, half-brothers, who have a gaggle of marriageable young ladies dumped on them when a relative dies. It’s up to them to see the girls established in society and married well, but how are they to accomplish this with four independent and unpolished American beauties?
Lisa: Candace, thank you again for cruising the waters with us on the Romance Writer’s Revenge. We hope you have enjoyed the rum, and companionship. We can’t say enough, how much we admire you as an author, and we wish you much success with the release of The Wedding Challenge. Mateys, keep your eyes peeled for the release of this much anticipated third book in the Matchmaker series. Thank you. It’s been so much fun talking to you. I hope to sail these waters again sometime!
August 29th, 2008 at 5:17 am
Welcome aboard Candice and welcome home Lisa!
Great interview….I feel that I have glimpsed the soul of a great writer.
*desperately looking for a deck hand’s outfit*
“Hey Bos’n, is there a spare deck hand outfit anywhere. I feel so conspicuous in this dress suit,top hat and monocle”
“Oh NO Terri, I’m not wearing those frilly panties or that flimsy blouse!”
“What sort of pirate ship is this. I can’t even find a man-sized cutlass! I know, where does Sin hide her box of toys? I’m sure she has a sharp Ninja banana that might serve, if Candice doesn’t look too closely”
*preparations completed*
“Candace, I’m probably the closest thing to Johny Depp to be found on board so perhaps I might be of service….and I have a string of questions longer than your arm”
“What was that Cap’n. Did you say that Candice couldn’t stay to chat?”
“Dang Blast and Shiver me timbers…That means I put on this ridiculous outfit for nothing!”
“Guess she must have met the real Johny Depp”
August 29th, 2008 at 7:13 am
Q - Try not to have a wardrobe malfunction there. LOL! You look dashing in anything you wear, no extra effort needed.
Ms. Camp - thanks so much for joining us today. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on how the industry has changed during your career. Are there more limitations now? Is it more difficult to find new ideas with so many Romance authors on the shelves these days?
August 29th, 2008 at 7:21 am
Welcome aboard, Ms. Camp!
Thank you for joining us.
I was wondering if you could answer the age old question for us: plotter or pantser?
August 29th, 2008 at 8:35 am
Hey mateys! I’ve missed this ship. *looking around for me grog of rum*
Q, I’ve missed you! How have you been?
Welcome Ms. Camp! I’m so excited you are aboard the ship today! Thank you for interview.
I discovered your wonderful writing style when I read the first book in The Matchmaker series. I so look forward to reading this new release, and since I am a Francesca and Duke fan I look forward to February as well:)
Are their any authors who inspired you to be a writer?
August 29th, 2008 at 9:25 am
Afraid I misinterpreted the interview as indicating that Ms Camp would not be available today.
An appropriate mistake perhaps as I have been reading ‘Impetuous’
The prologue describes how Sir Philip tries to keep a midnight assignation with Joanna but due to her awful handwriting, mistakes the room number and ends up in bed with Cassandra…
May I say that this prologue entranced and amused me so much that I couldn’t resist reading on. I got to bed at midnight and gave Mrs Q a kiss. The top buttons of her nightdress were undone and she opened her eyes, winked and said “Have you been reading Impetuous!”
May we call you Candace by the way?
Could you perhaps comment on the use of a prologue to ‘grab’ the reader early on?
Do you have many male readers……count me as one now!
Do you have a favourite period for historicals and which of your 61 books are you most proud?
August 29th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Ms. Camp did email to say she would try to visit with us today, if she could.
Hello, Ms. Camp, thank you again for interviewing with us today! My favorite book of yours is: Heirloom. (I cried and cried, but I loved it. Usually I’m a very “light and happy” reader, I like humor rather than angst, but this book was phenomenal.) I haven’t read a lot of regencies lately, so I have not had a chance to read the Wager series, but I will definitely put them in my TBR pile.
What is your favorite part of the writing process? What do you do to “keep the well fresh”?
August 29th, 2008 at 9:59 am
Hi Lisa!!!! *Waves*
I do hope Ms. Camp is able to stop by periodically. I’m interested in her answers to some of the questions, like, how the industry has changed over the years.
Ms. Camp, do you still get excited with each published book? Do you ever look at a book and say, “Wow, that’s me!”? How many books a year do you produce? I’ve heard say one-three a year is the average and author writes.
Thank you for stopping by.
Renee
August 29th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
I love this series, and have read a ton of your books (but not all 44, LOL). What’s the secret to being able to have such an enormous body of work? Do ideas come easily to you?
August 29th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Hello, everyone!
Wow! I never expected so many questions. And, Quantum—some outfit, I must say! Maybe I’ll reconsider Johnny Depp.
I hardly know where to start. Two people asked about changes in the industry so I’ll go there first.
Yes, there have been enormous changes. The major one for writers, I guess, has been the fact that when I started you really could mail your manuscript to a publisher and have it read and purchased. Nowadays, from what I can tell from my own daughter’s experience—she’s just finished a YA—you really almost have to get an agent. I think it’s much harder to get published now than it was then.
And, yes, many ideas—and even time periods—have been used so much that they’ve become passe. Still, one thing I’ve seen over the years is that writers still manage to put fresh spins even on ideas that have been used and re-used many times.
Another big change for writers is the huge amount of information that’s out there now—websites, conventions, writing seminars. The first two or three years I was writing, I was so ignorant, it’s kind of amazing. I didn’t know anything abut publishing; I didn’t know any other writers. I had actually written 4 or 5 books before I ever went to a writers conference. When RWA was formed, it really opened a new and exciting world. I was so happy to meet other romance writers and share conversation and laughter. It was totally different from today, where you can go to a website and type in a question and get 4 or 5 immediate responses from fellow writers.
Quantum, yes I do have some male readers. It’s hard to tell how many because they usually aren’t the readers I hear from. But I know several men who have read my books and been really surprised to find out how good romance books are.
I’ll tell you my favorite story along this line: I was once at a bookstore in a mall with a group of about 6 or 7 other romance writers. As we sat there, this guy drifts into the store. He looks like he just got off his Harley–I’m serious—tattoos, sweatshirt with the sleeves ripped off, long hair, motorcycle boots. He stood and looked up and dow the line of us sitting there with our romance books on the table before us, then came closer, shaking his head. He said, “These books…”
We were all going, uh-oh, he’s about to make some terrible, derogatory remark, and how are we going to respond.
And then he went, “I just love these books!”
It was great.
Marnee Jo—I am definitely a plotter. When I began my outlines were very brief—my outline for my second book was only a page long, just roman numerals with an idea beside each one. A few years later, when I began to sell my books to publishers on the basis of an outline instead of a completed manuscript, I started making more detail outlines. Over the years, my plot synopses have become more and more detailed. Now they tend to run about 50 pages. I just feel more comfortable knowing that I have it all laid out and I don’t have to worry about getting stuck halfway through it with no idea what to do next. (This actually happened to me once, on about my sixth or seventh book. I wrote five chapters and the story just fell apart on me. I realized it was boring and going nowhere, and I just gave up on it.) Now I can see that as I’m writing the synopsis.
Also, it saves from another bad situation that also happened to me. I sent in the second book on my contract, and my editor didn’t like the story–at all. I would up selling this one elsewhere and writing a new one for her. That was when I started selling my books on the basis of a synopsis. I know before I start writing it if my editor has major problems with a character, time, place, or plotline.
That doesn’t mean that I don’t ever deviate from the synopsis. I do. I may go a different direction or add a character or enlarge one who becomes unexpectedly appealing as I write. I’ve even been known to change the villain of the piece somewhere in the middle of the book.
Someone raised the question of prologues. I like prologues. Often they’re attention grabbers, and they’re especially useful when you have an event in the past that has some influence on the present. For instance, in the Lost Heirs series, everything hinged on this thing that happened to a set of siblings when they were children. So for each book, I had a prologue concerning that incident. The prologues tied the stories together and piqued the reader’s interest.
And Lisa, about writers who inspired me—there are so, so many! I have always read like a maniac. My favorite childhood memory is going to the library. I loved Anne of Green Gables. I still think they are wonderful books and L.M. Montgomery was a terrific writer. It was probably around the time I was reading her series of books about Anne that I began to want to write books myself and make my first, kinda pitiful, attempts to write.
And I loved Gone With the Wind—read it so many times I can’t even count them. I loved historical novels, as I mentioned in the interview. I was crazy about Exodus and read it over and over, and read a bunch of Leon Uris books. (You can tell I like those grand sweep of history kind of books.) When I was in college, my favorite book was Catch-22. Oh, and, of course, J.D. Salinger, my favorite writer when I was in high school.
But for sheer entertainment, for books that I never get tired of reading, I love Georgette Heyer, who wrote the most wonderful Regencies, and Elizabeth Peters. Her Amelia Peabody series has really endured; I still buy each new one as soon as it comes out.
Whew! I think I’m done. If I’ve missed one of your questions, let me know. I’ve got to run now, but I’ll drop by later to see if anything else has come up.
Thanks—and happy reading!
Candace Camp
August 29th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Just a quick addition. As soon as I looked at my posting, I saw two new comments, so I’ll try to answer them quickly.
Yes, I do still get excited—I don’t jump up and down anymore, but it’s still such a thrill to see my name on the cover of a book. It’s also so exciting to walk into a store and see several different books of mine on the shelf. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that.
I typically write two books a year.
I don’t think of myself as being someone to whom ideas come easily, although obviously I must have had a lot of them over the years, given the number of books. The idea process is the most fun in one way; after all, it’s just day-dreaming. On the other hand, it’s scary. I know an idea is going to come to me, but I always have this little fear–what if I can’t think of anything!
I think the secret to writing for so long–well, I really think there are two important things. The first is that I just keep on working. I keep writing; I keep thinking. I’ve always looked at it as a career, not just book by book. When I finish a book, I am very rarely sad. I feel like I’ve accomplished something, and it’s great, but I want to move on to another story. (Bitterleaf was one of the few where I felt kind of depressed when I finished because I had just enjoyed it and the characters so much. This Matchmaker series was another like that. When I finished The Courtship Dance, I was blue and wished I could keep on writing more about them.)
The other thing is being willing to change and adapt, to keep your stories and writing fresh. Periodically, I re-assess my books and try to see where I’ve fallen into ruts or started taking the easy course. I look at what’s being read currently in the romance field. I read other writers and try to analyze what they do well and why it succeeds.
Til later. . .Candace
August 29th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
What I find absolutely amazing is, after 57 or 61 published stories, you still sound so passionate about your work.
Thank you for sharing,
Renee
August 29th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Thanks, Renee. I am passionate about writing; I guess I always will be.
And thanks to all of you for dropping by and offering comments.
I’ve appreciated the chance to talk to you.
Candace
August 29th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Thank you for taking the time to answer all our questions and what great answers they are. Like Renee says, it’s wonderful how your enthusiasm comes through in your responses. Thank you for inspiring the rest of us to keep at this and just keep writing!