Hello Frolic Babes! I am here today, with a Q&A with one of my favorite authors, Candace Osmond. This is Candace’s second chat with me here on Frolic and I’m so excited for the opportunity to chat with her again. Without further ado, let’s get into the chat, I hope you enjoy.
Bree: Candace, thank you for taking the time to chat with me. September 12, 2019 was when our last chat posted here on Frolic, so for any of our new readers, can you please give us an elevator pitch for who you are and the types of stories you like to write?
Candace: Thanks for having me again! My name’s Candace Osmond. I’m a #1 International and USA TODAY Bestselling Author of Fantasy Romance. My popular Dark Tides series is a Time Travel Fantasy Romance about pirates set in 1707 Newfoundland. But mostly, I’m just a big ol’ nerd who loves to read, write, drink caffeine in any form, and hang out at home.
Bree: It was your Dark Tides series that introduced me to you, and I was instantly in love; it had time travel and pirates, I was hooked! Since we last chatted, you added one more book, The Gilded Stone to the series and we have The Cursed Sea releasing next year! What’s been your favorite part about writing this series?
Candace: Oh, gosh. That’s such a hard answer to narrow down. What started out as a planned trilogy exploded into a 6-book series pretty fast and it’s mostly because of the characters. And not just the two main ones Henry and Dianna. I sometimes enjoy writing the secondary characters more. Ones like Finn, the rough-n-tough Scottish pirate hiding the secret of his sexuality. Or Lottie, the pretty blonde barmaid who’s actually a badass, knife flinging daughter of infamous pirate Red Jack Roberts. Through them, I’ve been able to widen the Dark Tides world and I love every second of it.
Bree: I recently read The Wayward Witches series which is a series of novellas following a coven of witches. It’s fantastic! It’s sexy as hell, I loved all the magic and you gave me just enough with each character’s book to really build that anticipation for book five. Did you know when you sat down to write the first book that it would turn into a series? What inspired you to write a series of novellas rather than one full length book?
Candace: I’m laughing right now because The Wayward Witches was a random, one-off side project I embarked on years ago in an attempt to blast through some serious writer’s block. I brainstormed with authors I know, collaborated with some creative writer friends, and sat down to feverishly develop the novellas. It’s not my “brand” because it has sexual content (super duper sexual content! LOL) so I set it out to the world under Candace Osmond writing as Natalia Cross, just to let my readers know it’s a little different from my usual “behind the door” love scenes. I decided to do them in a series of novellas so I could really give each witch in the coven their own story and fantastic cover design (done by Corey at Majeau Designs)
Bree: In The Wayward Witches series, I loved the friendship dynamic between Lenora, Ridley, Bianca, Sloane and eventually Jacey. You did a phenomenal job at capturing how important the bonds between women can be. I thought the different ways you explored power were amazing; the power each woman was born with, taking power back and when power is too much. What did you want readers to take away from the women in this series and their overall story?
Candace: Wow, thank you so much! I love them all, but I’d say Bianca and Ridley might be my favorites. The basic take-away from this little novella series is that no matter what life throws your way, you can rise above. You can set your mind and attain anything you want. Whether that’s writing a book, leaving a toxic relationship, or…achieving immortality? LOL
Bree: You have had me so excited with your writing inspiration photos for your upcoming series, Kingdom of Sand and Stars. Book one, Ancient Hearts, releases September 24, 2020. What inspired this series, and can you share with us, what we can expect with it?
Candace: I’m super excited to launch Ancient Hearts with my upcoming Kingdom of Sand & Stars series! Mostly because it’s literally my first solo series since I launched Dark Tides well over two years ago. Since then, I’ve been focusing on co-author projects and other things. But Kingdom of Sand & Stars is bringing me back to what I love most; Time Travel Fantasy. Anyone who knows me is aware of my obsession with ancient Egypt, so I thought why not write a series set there? The series follows our main character Andie Godfrey. She’s a young archeologist following in the footsteps of her famous father, Professor Alistair Godfrey. When she loses him and her boyfriend to a cave-in over in an underground temple in Egypt, Andie hops on a plane to search it and find some closure. But she’s battling addiction and that doesn’t mix well with a broken heart, especially after being sucked back in time through a hidden portal.
Readers can expect to see Egyptian Gods such as Anubis, Bastet, Isis, Amun, Osiris and more, but in a stripped-down way that humanizes them. I’m hoping readers love it as much as I loved writing it!
Bree: In your Dark Tides series, the heroine Dianna time travels back in time. In Reigning Magicks which you co-wrote with author J.J. King, the heroine Princess Ashlynn time travels into the present. You nail it every time! What do you think is the key to getting time travel right, and why go the route of time travel instead of writing an historical novel set entirely during a specific time period?
Candace: Hmm, good question. I like to think I take the idea of time travel and almost “normalize” it. (Maybe?) I love the idea that time isn’t linear, and there’s always a constant that anchors everything together. Like in Dark Tides, the ocean is a constant. Always existing, never changing.
Bree: Okay, we’ve been living in self-isolation basically all year at this point. Has this changed your writing or reading at all?
What was the last book that you couldn’t put down?
Candace: My heart breaks for the world right now. This is definitely not something anyone could have predicted, but it’s here. We’re dealing with it. The pandemic for sure threw a wrench into my writing and publishing schedule, mostly because I have two little kids who were suddenly at home instead of at school. It took some time, but my husband and I developed a schedule where we could both work and parent at the same time. I’m one of the lucky few, I’m sure. And I’m super grateful for the ability to continue doing what I love to do during a global crisis.
A book I couldn’t put down? The Forest of Arrows by V.F. Sharp. It took a few pages to get into, but once I did BOOM! I devoured it in a couple of days.
Bree: Do you have any author recommendations? Anyone you’ve been enjoying that you think everyone should go read?
Candace: I always have to give a shout out to my author besties JJ King and J. Margot Critch. JJ King is the queen of shifter romance. Seriously, she has a massive Omegaverse with spin offs and tons of sexy shifters. And J. Margot Critch is our fabulous Harlequin master. If you love contemporary romance, check her out. Aside from that, I’ve been feverishly reading non-fic by all my fav celebs. Anna Kendrick, Lauren Graham, Amy Poehler, Amy Schumer, Tiffany Haddish, etc. Such good books!
Bree: Lastly, I’m so excited about the Kingdom of Sand and Stars series, but I have to know; are there any other time periods you’re interested in exploring next?
Candace: I haven’t given it much thought, although I’d love to do an era more recent like the 70s. Kingdom of Sand & Stars is set for 5 books, so I’ll be in ancient Egypt for a long time. After that, I have a handful of new series to consider, all roughly plotted, but none in the Time Travel niche. But still in the Fantasy Romance genre! Promise!
I will definitely be patiently awaiting whatever Candace publishes. Go keep up with her on Instagram @CandaceOsmond and check out her website, candaceosmond.com for blog posts, excerpts and freebies.
