Christopher Candy
Working full-time as a Manager for Tranzit Coachlines, Christopher has many years of bus-related experience that brings his characters to life. Christopher is based in the Tararua region and enjoys spending time with his partner, farm animals and pet dog, Tupance.
Do you try more to be original, or to deliver to readers what they want?
I try to be more original. I have a goal with my books. From the reviews I have received, my goal is being achieved.
How do you select the names of your characters?
The character in my children’s book (the driver) is based on an extraordinary person in my life.
What was the first book that made you cry?
The Dinner Club as it had characters that resonated with me.
If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?
Paid more attention in English classes. I wanted to be a chef and focused all my attention on classes that would help me achieve that goal.
Have you Googled yourself? Did you find out anything interesting?
When I google my name, it comes up with myself and an actor, If I add an author at the end, it gives me many links to my book and media releases.
Are there any secrets in your books that only a few people will find? Can you tell us one? Or give us any hints?
Only a bus person would notice the little “bus-sy” things I added to the illustrations.
Did you ever consider writing under a pseudonym? Why?
No, I never considered this.
How did publishing your first book change your writing process?
It didn’t change my writing process but changed my publishing process. I will never use a vanity publisher again. I spent $15k publishing a book, then they printed the unedited version, and I have 200 copies of useless books. They only sold four copies while they had the book. I have sold over 1000 copies after bringing the book back to me and self-publishing under my own name.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
I have two. One is the third book in this children’s series, and one is a short whodunnit.
Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
Yes, I always read them. So far, I have had mainly positive ones. You need to weed out the negative ones, as some are just negative people who only post bad reviews as a hobby.