C.S. Chatterly aka Candace Sams loves Halloween and this year she wanted to write something fun for this spooky season.

BYS: What went Between the Sheets of this book? Either what was happening in your life when you wrote it, or what was happening with the book as you wrote it.

CS: When I wrote Sarah's Treat, it was near Halloween and I was in the mood to write something lighter for the season as opposed to dark or frightening.

I wrote The Sleigh Maker because it seemed like a fun idea – a union Elf who's a workaholic mixing it up with Santa's sleigh maker.

BYS: When did you decide to sit down and write your first novel and what led up to the publication of your first book?

CS: I wrote my very first novel (Gryphon's Quest, which is the first title in a fantasy series of paranormal romances known as the Tales of the Order) when I couldn't find anything on the shelves that I wanted to read. That title won several national writing competitions; a publisher contacted me based on that contest exposure. (Gryphon's Quest is now being vetted for movie adaptation).

BYS: Where did you find the idea to write this novel?

CS: I've always loved the Halloween season; Sarah's Treat was an idea that had been brewing in my mind for a very long time.

For The Sleigh Maker, it was near Christmas and the mood of the season was upon me.

BYS: How long did it take to develop your characters for this book?

CS: Probably a couple of hours. For any book, I write all my specifics about each character on a piece of typing paper and then just go for it.

BYS: Why this story at this time?

CS: I was tired of reading dark, menacing characters in paranormal romances. I just wanted to try something with an alternate reality that wasn't so ominous, but fun for different seasons.

BYS: Take us through a typical writing day and your creative process.

CS: There's usually a lot of research done beforehand. I don't use any plot devices except the seat of my pants.

BYS: Are you a visual writer? Do you see scenes and characters in your head? Or do you hear the characters voices?

CS: Yes to all three questions; this pretty much makes me in need of medication - like most authors.

BYS: What are your thoughts on First Person verses Third Person? Which is your preference?

CS: I don't read or write First Person. For some reason I find it annoying. I want to view the story and each of the characters in it the way any reader would; as if I was reading the story for the first time as an outside looking in. Third Person works for me.

BYS: What is your re-writing and editing process? Do you let anyone read your work in progress before it goes to your editor?

CS: I simply keep re-writing until I get the story where I think it needs to be. If I type the last word and have that this is the best I can do feeling, then I know it's the best I can do. I don't let anyone else read it first except a few trusted advance readers - not authors.

BYS: What is your opinion of critique groups? Do you find them helpful?

CS: I suppose they would be if I was involved with one. I don't like sharing ideas with others before I've got them completely written (that means the book will be done before I let anyone see it). I don't have time for critique groups to get back to me. I write around 20 pages at a time and most folks just don't have the patience to go through all that and work on their own writing projects. Some trusted advance readers are the best review group I've ever had. They represent those who'll be buying the story. Authors are sometimes too worried about mechanics. All I care about is if the story is going to be entertaining. The best mechanics in the world won't sell a story...an entertaining plot will and mechanics can always be fixed.

BYS: How is your family affected by your writing career?

CS: They aren't affected at all. I write romance; it's not rocket science. It's not something that's going to reshape life as we know it or move the stars around in the firmament. I simply write because the stories are in my head. Life goes on for everyone whether I write or not.

BYS: What keeps you going and motivated when life throws you a curveball?

CS: I think about the kind readers who keep emailing me; those who just want to read what I've written without making an issue of 'how' I did it.

BYS: Were you an avid reader as a child? What did you like to read?

CS: Yes to both questions. I read anything I could get my hands on.

BYS: Do you have time to read now? What authors do you read?

CS: I read reference books mostly. My reading sources are pretty eclectic.

BYS: Who or what influenced you to write and what inspires your imagination?

CS: I began to write because I couldn't find anything I wanted to read. I love vampires and werewolf stories, but it seemed for a time that this was all there was to read in the genre of paranormal romance. There's a cornucopia of other mythological creatures that never get used by writers and I've never figured out why.

BYS: How important is self promotion in today's publishing market and what do you do to promote your books?

CS: Promotion is very important though it rarely works. What I've learned is that if all the authors are doing the same things, then they can only expect the results other authors are getting.

If everyone is blogging, Tweeting, Facebooking, etc, then all that's going to get tedious for readers. If everyone is sending out cross-posts which announce the latest releases, readers sometimes get inundated and will delete the messages. If everyone is promoting using the same methods, people aren't going to pay attention. Be different. Find another way to get your books in front of those who read what you write. Don't promote in the same magazines everyone else is using...you'll pay a lot of money to get ignored.

There are a few sick authors out there who like to get on the Net and post nasty comments about other authors. Those who do this are always looking to promote their books; they usually don't know a thing about the party they're harming but they're going to shoot their mouths off anyhow. They don't even particularly care what they say as long as they get attention. This is certainly one way to get your book releases and your name in front of readers. Anyone who hurts someone else will certainly draw interest, but not necessarily for the reasons they'd wish. This is probably one of the saddest means of promotion that I've seen in the last fifteen years. It's done more and more nowadays (almost daily it seems) and it smacks of desperation. It's actually a bit sick. Anyone who doesn't want this done to them might want to stay clear of these tactics.

I let readers judge whether they'd like to do business with these individuals or support their work. Anyone who'd resort to such devices can't have penned stories with any depth of feeling or emotion. No one instigating such callousness has the heart to reach others with the written word.

BYS: What are you working on now?

CS: Because I've had some 'bites' from movie production companies in regards to my Tales of the Order series, I'm working on the next book in that line now.

BSY: What advice do you have for aspiring writers? And how did you keep your spirits up until the first book was published?

CS: I'm really not anyone who can offer advice. But there's more than one way to get published. Just because someone did it one way back in the 1980's doesn't mean that their way works now. You have to do what's right for you. It's far, FAR better to work with a publishing company that's honest than to work for one just because it's large or well-known. Ask questions; don't sign any contract without going over it with a microscope. Publishing companies love to play semantics with their contract clauses. The size of a company has nothing to do with integrity. Just try and remember that there's no such thing as someone being more published because they did it one way or another. Readers (those not privy to the author loops and the world in which authors live, but 'real' readers) don't know one publisher from another. You can bet they pick up a book because:

1. They liked the cover and the blurb or
2. They liked what the author wrote before or
3. They're looking for something to read to entertain them and both the cover and the blurb appealed to them at the time.

Very few readers will buy because they like the publisher. In fact, most people couldn't care less about who published the book and couldn't tell you that information even if you asked.

BYS: Anything special that you want to tell your readers about yourself?

I'm almost always at my computer. Contact me through www.candacesams.com or www.cschatterly.com.

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