Happy Thursday Critters! I’m very excited to share an interview with debut author, Candy Wellins today. Her debut picture book, SATURDAYS ARE FOR STELLA, illustrated by Charlie Eve Ryan, releases with Page Street on August 11th— an it’s received a starred review from Kirkus! (Congrats, Candy!) I’m thrilled to have Candy with us today to tell us about her debut, upcoming projects, and process.
Without further ado, please welcome Candy Wellins!
Where do you live?
My family and I live in rural Central Texas—not too far from Austin when we need our big city fix.
When did you know you wanted to write picture books?
I feel like I’ve always wanted to do it, but it seemed like an unlikely dream. Even though my background is in writing (I have a degree in journalism) and working with children (I was an elementary school teacher for a decade), I felt like picture book writers were on a different echelon than the rest of us. In 2016, I met a neighbor in an exercise class who told me she was a children’s author. Hearing her story and how she broke into the industry (a lot of hard work and gumption) inspired me. I joined SCBWI and started taking craft classes and, of course, wrote lots and lots. I signed with my agent later that year and we sold this manuscript about two years later.
Tell us about your road to publication, what did that involve for you?
Well, it’s a notoriously rough road. I feel fortunate that my agent and I connected pretty early into my writing career, but I’ve still faced a lot of rejection. We submitted several manuscripts and got loads of rejections (some nice and some not so nice) before we sold SATURDAYS ARE FOR STELLA to Page Street. I had spent so long waiting for that YES! that when it finally came, I was totally unprepared for it (but still overwhelmingly thrilled).
Can you share a bit about your process?
I keep an idea journal, but I do all my actual drafting on my MacBook. When a story comes to me, I usually have to buckle down for as long as it takes to get the story out. Then I let it sit (for days to weeks), share it with critique partners, read it to my own kids, and revise. Each time I make revisions, I start the process over again (it can be tedious, but it is effective). When it feels right, I share it with my agent.
What do you do to shake the rust off or get new ideas?
Reading a stack of brand new picture books always inspires me. I am amazed at the brilliant ideas that people come up with and how they share them so effectively. It’s impossible for me to read new stuff and not want to go tackle some of my own projects.
Anything you can’t live without while you write?
I can write with paper and pencil just fine, but really prefer to draft on my MacBook. The instant editing abilities are so helpful for my scattered brain. So that and a quiet house—naptime is the golden hour for writing where I live.
Any authors and/or illustrators who inspire you?
I grew up on Beverly Cleary books and, man, they still hold up decade after decade. She’s a master. Mo Willems is a genius. He has an ability to take such obvious, simple ideas and turn them into masterpieces. I love Bob Shea’s humor too. Abby Hanlon wrote a series called DORY FANTASMAGORY which is absolutely hilarious and seriously underrated. And Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales are a perfect blend of history, great writing and humor.
Dream project to work on?
I really love history and biographies so I’d love to publish some true stories that are inspiring and really deserve more attention.
Tell us about your debut book.
SATURDAYS ARE FOR STELLA is a tribute to the grandparent-grandchild relationship.It began in 2016 as an idea of writing a love story between grandparent and grandchild. My MC George looked forward to his Saturday dates with Stella and made a big deal of cleaning up for her and bringing her flowers. Stella kept pictures of George all over her walls and gushed about him to her girlfriends. I took it to my critique group and they thought it was sweet, but needed more. I decided having Stella die would give the story some emotional impact, but I couldn’t figure out how to end the story on a positive note. I had written the scene where George is blacking out all the Saturdays on his calendar and it reminded me of the times I had marked the weeks during each of my pregnancies. Suddenly I realized the cure to George’s sadness was a new Stella.
Charlie Eve Ryan (whose work reminds me of Tomie de Paola’s) did the illustrations and I think they’re just fabulous: warm and sweet and lovely. She captured George and his Stellas perfectly.
We sold the manuscript to Page Street Kids in 2018 and the book (finally) comes out on August 11. It’s been a long journey, but worth every step along the way.
What’s up next for you?
I’m really excited about my next book. It’s a picture book biography of Edward White, the first American to walk in space.
In 2018 I was teaching a middle school class on the US Soviet Space Race and White’s name came up. I read an article where he was quoted as saying the end of his space walk was “the saddest moment of (his) life.” My picture book writing ears perked up at that because it’s such a kid-thing to say. I thought it was a great story…for someone else to tell. I’m not a big space buff and it seemed way out of my comfort zone. But the story wouldn’t leave me. I kept thinking about it, doing a little researching here and there and wondering if I could pull it off. During a summer road trip, our plans changed at the last minute and we suddenly had a free day on the east coast of Florida. My husband suggested a stop at NASA and I agreed without really thinking about Edward White. We bought tickets and rushed into the first exhibit we could without even consulting a map. I opened the door and looked up and saw a huge photograph of White and an exhibit dedicated to the Apollo 1 mission he was a member of. At that point, I felt like fate was telling me what to do. I went home thinking about it more and more and literally dreamt the first line. After that, it was a matter of hunkering down and getting the rest of the story written.
We sold the story to Philomel and the book THE STARS BECKONED: EDWARD WHITE’S AMAZING WALK IN SPACE comes out April 2021. Courtney Dawson illustrated it and really captured Edward and the midcentury period well. It’s been an incredible experience working on a nonfiction piece. White died in 1967, but I was able to share the manuscript with his children and they’ve given feedback every step of the way so I feel like what we’ve produced is completely authentic, but also a really loving, lyrical story.
And last, but not least, favorite 80s movie?
Pee Wee’s Big Adventure has everything you could want in an 80s movie! Mystery, romance, horror (Large Marge), bar top dancing, a trip to Texas and Mr. T. What could be better?
Huge thank you to Candy for stopping by Critter Lit today! Congrats on your debut! We are so excited to hear about all of your projects!
CANDY WELLINS is a lifelong writer and book lover. A former elementary school teacher, Candy has a BA in journalism and an M.Ed. in literacy education. She’s now a full-time mom to three wonderful children who keep her up-to-date and immersed in kid’s literature. When she’s not reading, writing or mother, Candy loves running, traveling and naps! Her debut picture book Saturdays Are For Stella (Illustrated by Charlie Eve Ryan, PAGE STREET KIDS) earned a Kirkus-starred review and comes out in August 2020. Her Debut picture book biography The Stars Beckoned: Edward White’s Amazing Walk in Space (Illustrated by Courtney Dawson, PHILOMEL) comes out in early 2021. Candy and her family make their home in Central Texas. For more information visit her online at www.candywellins.com.
Follow Candy on social media:
Instagram @candywellins
Facebook @candywellins
BUY THIS BOOK To order a copy of Candy’s debut picture book, SATURDAYS ARE FOR STELLA, click here.
WIN A COPY! Want to win a copy of SATURDAYS ARE FOR STELLA?! Leave a COMMENT below or RETWEET this post on Twitter. One lucky winner will be announced on Thursday, August 13th! US addresses only please.