Bonus Episode: Meet Our Associate Producer, Candace DeLeon!

Meet a very special person and power behind Black Writers Read, our Associate Producer, Candace DeLeon!

Candace DeLeon is an artist from Detroit based in New York City. She brings her talents and background in theater and administration to The Black Writers Read podcast as Associate Producer. 

Candace is an avid reader and has been writing since age 10. She has written plays, poetry, short stories and more. This year she plans to finish her debut novel, a work that's been in the works for a while, and enter the world of querying and publishing. 

Find Candace on Instagram: @subjective_adventures

Find Black Writers Read on Instagram: @blackwritersread

Find Black Writers Read online: https://blackwritersread.com/

Check out our Bookshop link to purchase books featured on the podcast: https://bookshop.org/shop/blackwritersread

Support Black Writers Read on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/blackwritersread

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:13

Hello and welcome to Black Writers Read. My name is Nicole Young Martin, and I'm the founder, producer, and host of this podcast. Thank you for tuning in for this special bonus episode. Launched on Juneteenth, 2020, Black Writers Read was created as a platform to showcase, celebrate, and elevate the words, work, and traditions of Black writers from across the country, across genres, across experiences, and across the African diaspora. Black Writers Read is a behind-the-scenes conversation into the craft and what it means to create as a black author in today's society. So starting the series during the summer of 2020, we've hosted over 100 authors representing 15 plus genres from six countries and 28 states. I wanted to take an opportunity to introduce and have you meet a key player of the podcast, someone our guests and their teams get to chat with, but not necessarily others in our community. She is my left and right hand, my good and bad angel, as she pushes me to take risks, double checks everything, and ensures that our guests are onboarded in a way that makes them feel safe and confident to share with all of you insights into their writing lives. Today, I'd like for you to meet our associate producer, Candace De Leon. Candace De Leon is an artist from Detroit based in New York City. She brings her talents and background in theater and administration to the Black Writers Read Podcast as associate producer. Candace is an avid reader and has been writing since age 10. She's written plays, poetry, short stories, and more. This year she plans to finish her debut novel, a work that's been in the works for a while and into the world of querying and publishing. Candace, girl, you are so much more. And you are so uh very, very modest. This is one of the reasons why I wanted our community to meet you specifically as a writer. Before we go into our conversation, I would like to share with you some more on Candace, who is extremely talented. We met as theater students back in the day in Detroit. We've known each other for amount of time. We've known each other for a couple of decades. You can guess how long. I don't wanna I don't wanna age the two of us, but many of you can probably guess that. I still remember when she was in the production of Ofello. I was a graduate student and she was an undergrad um back at Wayne State. And we bonded. I can't remember the specific moment we met because the undergraduate and graduate programs we worked very closely together. But I do remember the moments we had an opportunity to work together. And me being a graduate theater management student, we actually worked very heavily with the BFA acting students because we ran a lot of their shows. I worked box office in front of house for and also fundraising for many of the undergraduate theater performances. And I'm so glad that Candace and I kept in touch for this long. I still remember when she reached out to me a couple of years ago wanting to support the podcast, and for a while she was my personal assistant, and then recently I was like, I need to I need to upgrade you a little bit more because you're so good at not only organizing and producing, which so many people don't understand all of the nuances that go on behind the scenes of a podcast, but also she is a fellow writer and so so so slick and knowledgeable about her particular genre, which I want to say before we go into our conversation. I make a comment about horror being a genre that we have yet to explore on the podcast. Some of that's true, some of that's true. For folks who have been following the podcast for some time, we have had speculative fiction authors on whose work dabs into horror, but we have not necessarily talked about the specific elements of that genre. We've had on Eden Royce, we've had on Michelle Miguel Vargas, and we've had on Tracy Cross. Those three authors have elements of horror in their particular books, but we did not go into the nuances of horror, and I really hope to do that at some point. Candace, I love that horror is your genre, especially being a woman of color, being a Latina, because the genre needs more of our voices, and I cannot wait until your book comes out. We don't talk necessarily about her book, but we talk about the process of writing. Black Writers Read is about the craft, and given that Candace heavily supports getting folks on and also doing review, like doing um not reviewing, but she has reviewed some books on our behalf, but doing research on our guest and coming up, helping me come up with questions. She really, really, really knows how to nuance a conversation and getting to the heart of why authors write. This is another reason why I wanted you all to meet Candace now. So, with that said, I'd like to turn it over to our conversation. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode, and I hope that you'll enjoy it as much as I did. So, Candace. Many people have wanted to meet you and they get to meet you now. There are so many people who have been on our podcast who have had an opportunity to chat with you as they were prepping to be on, and so now they get to hear from you, and you're a writer yourself. And so let's dive in. And I'm probably about to learn a lot about you too. So super excited. So, my first question for you is when did you discover your voice as a writer? And what was your first writing project?

SPEAKER_00 7:24

Uh, well, my voice as a writer came much later, and I'm still working on it. Um, but my first project, and I remember this very clearly, was uh I was 10 years old and I started writing a book about a little girl who goes into the woods and finds friends. Um, because my favorite show when I was younger and very young, like kindergarten, was David the Gnome. It's a show that no one's heard of. Um I didn't make it up though, it exists. Um, you know, I started copying what I loved, right? So that was my first book, go out into the woods and find friends. Um, I paid a girl uh to illustrate it. I paid her with Doritos for my lunch. It was very silly. Um but I think my voice came a lot later when I started writing what I currently write, which is horror and like psychological, I wouldn't call it thriller, but like if there's a lot of psychology that goes into my writing and darkness and things like that. So that's the genre I like to read, that's the genre I like to write. I always have, even from a very young age. I you know, I didn't watch Full House, I watched Tales from the Crypt. I, you know, that's just that's that that's me.

SPEAKER_02 8:57

So yeah, and it's actually really cool that we're doing this interview because I this is a genre I have yet to explore on the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 9:08

It's a fun one. There's a reason it's stuck around. Um, I was commenting or I was well, I was talking to a friend who's a writer, and we were she also likes horror. And you know, the shadow work has come out. Like people need to do shadow work and don't be afraid of that part of yourself and things like that. I'm like, yeah, I've been doing it my whole life. What do you think being obsessed with horror from a very young age is? You know, it's that it's that other side, and I think it I think it lends itself um very deeply to discovering who we are, and it's not necessarily to um, you know, be to delve into it. Like I don't I'm not saying anyone should be evil, but to know that that exists and to fight fight through it, and you know, even if you're overcoming out out you know, evil outside yourself, I think it's good to know. So and they're always exciting. I love vampires.

SPEAKER_02 10:27

So you started talking a little bit about um the genre that is your craft. So I would love to know what genres do you like to read, and then why the particular genres that you chose to write in.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

Sure. So uh it's on top of mind because I can't stop talking about the TV show, but I was grounded for a summer and uh made the uh deal with my mother that if I was gonna be in the house for the summer, then I needed books to read. So she took me to the bookstore and bought me the first four books in the Anne Rice series interview with the vampire, and I read them. Um my sentence didn't last all summer, um, but I did finish them, and I really fell in love with the genre, had already been watching a lot of media, vampires, witches, things like that. Anne Rice really inspired me, inspires my work to this day, and that led to all of the other, you know, R.L. Stein, Fear Street. I was reading all of those. I read Christopher Pike, all of those. Um they they just had a big impact on my upbringing, which it sounds funny, but impact on my upbringing and my writing.

SPEAKER_02 12:07

This is an aside question. Sorry that I'm posing this, but now that I'm thinking about it, and I'm only asking this because we're both women of color. Um, is there a woman of color author that you can think of offhand that writes in this genre that we should be reading?

SPEAKER_00 12:24

I read Mexican Gothic years ago.

SPEAKER_02 12:28

I have one of her books. I've already had, but I have it. Her name, what is this? Sylvia Gareno Garcia Moreno. I'm messing up her name. Silvia Moreno Garcia.

SPEAKER_00 12:40

Yeah, you're so close. Yes. So I read Mexican Gothic years ago, and it's you know, it's very it's the genre that I write in, so I tend to read, um, which I think is you know good practice. And um but I would also say Isabel Allende has elements of these things in her stories, even though I she's not characterized in the genre of horror or uh things like that. She just she really has elements of the style of her writing. I'm also taking her uh Maestro class on BBC Maestro. It's amazing. She's a really great teacher, she has really, really great insights and she's funny. Um, but yeah, those are two off the top of my head that I would recommend.

SPEAKER_02 13:41

Yeah, thank you for that. Because um, the other author, Sylvia, I won one of her books in a raffle recently, and I haven't had a chance to read it yet. But I like there's a long list of books that I'm gonna read. But as a professor, it's rare that I get a chance to read for pleasure. I'm always reading what I'm teaching, but I definitely want to read her work, especially Mexican Gothic. What have you read this year for pleasure that you absolutely loved? And what did you read this year for craft insight that you loved?

SPEAKER_00 14:12

Yeah, so I discovered audiobooks this year in a very big way. So I have already read 14 books. Um, and I haven't read I didn't read during May and June because I was moving and I was crazy. Um so this is my little uh advertisement for audiobooks. I love now listening to books while I'm making dinner, and it means making sure that I am reading every you know, every day. Or I'm on the treadmill, I put the audiobook on. I go for a walk, I put the audiobook book on. Um, and what I've read this year is an old book, but I read If It Bleeds by Stephen King, who's one of my favorite authors. Um, The Shining is one of the only books that terrified me while I was reading it. Books don't often do that to me. Um so If It Bleeds is four short stories, and also it has one of his recurring characters who is amazing. Her name is Holly. Um, and I read The Outsider, which also has Holly, and that was made into a series on HBO, which is one of my favorite things to do, is read a book that was made into a movie or a series, and it's kind of my own little class that I'm doing. So if it bleeds has Mr. Harrigan's phone, which was a movie. So I watched the movie after I read the short story. Um The Rat is in there, it's about to be made into a movie, I think. The Life of Chuck. It's an incredibly devastating and beautiful story about life. Um and so I really liked reading that book. I will say this though, I read this book last year and I still tell people to read it because I was obsessed. The Ministry of Time. I I think it's pronounced Kay Kaylian Bradley. Or Kaylee, yeah, let's just say Kaylee Bradley. Not sure how to say her first name. I was obsessed with this book. We read it in the book club that I'm in, and it was one of the only books where we had so much to talk about. Um and she used, I I had to look words up because she I could understand them, uh, understand what it meant through context, but I was I've never heard of this word, I've never heard it in my life. And I loved that about this book. The vocabulary is amazing. Um, the story itself is very fun. Um, so highly recommend that book, The Ministry of Time. I tell everyone to read it.

SPEAKER_02 17:19

How often do you write? And can you talk about your writing routine?

SPEAKER_00 17:28

Uh so cliche, but I should probably be writing more and more consistently. Um, I am trying to get on a daily writing schedule. Um I haven't gotten there yet. I'm up to like three times a week. Um, but instead of writing for like an hour, that was beginning to feel like a sentence. Like you have to sit here for an hour, you have to write. Um, I started with 555 words, which is so doable. So as soon as I hit 555 words, I was done for the day. Um then and I now raised it to 775. And more often than not, I go beyond that because I'm, you know, in it. But if I stop at 800 or I stop at a thousand, not only have I, you know, checked that box for the day, I did what I said that I was gonna do. Um, but I don't feel like I should be doing more, which is an issue that I have that keeps me from writing. So I think a word count, and then also you're not sitting there for an hour. If I can get 775 words typed out in 40 minutes, I'm already done. You know, I type fast. So um, yeah, I think that's better. But also, I did want to go back to the and very quickly. Um the the craft book I'm reading right now, I have to say, because it's amazing. Um, it's called A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Sauders. And I want to take this person's class. It's so good. Just from reading this book, we're we're going through short stories, classic short stories, and we're talking about them. And the first, the first one you read is by Anton Chekhov. It's called the um The Cart, and we a page at a time reading it, and then he talks about it, and then the next page and he talks about it, and we're analyzing the story. So it is like being in a class, and I I just love it. Also, he's very funny, and I've laughed out loud. So, not only is it a is a wonderful book for craft so far. I haven't finished it. I imagine that by the end I will have the same opinion. Um, I am enjoying reading it, really enjoying reading it. So highly recommend.

SPEAKER_02 20:18

What are you working on right now? And what is the timeline for this project?

SPEAKER_00 20:24

I am trying to write a novel. And if I stick to 775 words a day from today, I can have around 70,000 by early or mid-November. That's why I chose this. Because it's also very important, I've heard, to uh, you know, stay in your lane with word count when it comes to genre. Um, so they don't want a fantasy novel that's uh 50,000, which I'm sure I'm sure someone's broken that rule and did it great. Uh but they don't want a romance that's um, you know, 400 pages. So I am trying to stick to a 60, 70. I really don't even think that this book could do 80. Uh word count, 80,000 word count, probably not, but uh I'm working on a book.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

This is a set of questions that we ask our black writers, read guests, and I want to ask them to you.

SPEAKER_02 21:38

Why do you write? What does it mean to be an author during this time? Why is it important to share your work and words in this way?

SPEAKER_00 21:48

So why do I write? Because I always have. Um poems, songs, short stories, plays. I've started three novels. Um, but it was always there, and it's always been a comfort to me. And I when it started to be a burden, I gave myself permission to quit. And I didn't write anything for 13 months. And I decided that if I came back to it, I should do it willingly and not only willingly, but with enthusiasm. And I did, and I'm very thankful for that. Um, because whether or not I get published, whether or not this book gets finished, kind of determined to do it this year. Um, I think it's a it will be a great accomplishment if I finish a book, but also I just I really love it. I love writing. Um, I hate it too. Um I think I think a lot of us may feel like a blank page is our best friend and worst enemy. Um but I I quit for a long time and came back to it, so I I just need to. Um what does it mean to be an author in this time? It's a little scary uh considering um the times and the way information and thinking are portrayed in everything. The media, social media. Um I think that's why it makes it important though, to keep doing it uh to get information out there. Even if it's fiction, I feel like you know, fiction taught me how to think. Um not what to think, but how to think. And I think that writing and reading um is so important. And personally, it was a huge escape for me when I needed one, and it still is. Um and it's just it's just keeping me going. It's it's an escape, it keeps my mind alive. Um I think it's just really important. And that's why it's scary to be a writer in these times, to to be an author in these times. Um I don't want to be seem dramatic, but it seems like you know, the arts, all of the arts are under attack. And we've just got to keep going and keep doing it. Um, I don't want to get too soapboxy or too purple. Um, but yeah, it's important. This this can't stop. Stories are the oldest, you know, the oldest things that really makes us human. Telling our stories, passing them on. Um, you need perspective that lets us all know that we're connected. It's it's a wonderful thing. So it's why I write, it's one of the reasons I write, and that's how it feels. And sorry, what was the third part?

SPEAKER_02 25:51

Yeah, I do this as you know to all of our guests. Um, why is it important to share your work in words in this way?

SPEAKER_00 26:03

Yeah, so I think I got I I kind of got into that with my rant. Um, it's important because this art form is important. Um, you know, the story starts and a painting is made. The story starts and a dance is created, a story starts in movies, TV. A story starts, and you know, you go and live your dreams. You know, that's it's important, and it's um writing is my favorite form of expression. Writers write, dancers dance, you know. I I see this, I I dabble in a little bit of everything having a theater background. You had to learn a lot, you know, the whole business. So costuming, design, all of those things. I I draw a little bit, I paint, I I write. Um, music is not in me, it affects me from the outside, but it cannot come from within. And that's one of the reasons it is fascinating to me. Um, and then also the the writers who write songs. It's one of the most difficult things I've ever done. That whole story in three minutes. Um, but it's important to do it because of, you know, hopefully all of the things I I said that can be uh edited into a coherent narrative for anyone listening. Um, but yeah, it's all important. Art is art is it's the most important thing.

SPEAKER_02 27:48

How do you wish for your work and voice to contribute to the wider literary canon?

SPEAKER_00 27:54

I don't know if I have a little imposter syndrome going on or that I'm just being, you know, realistic. I have no I have no real thoughts about that yet. I have to finish something first. Um, I I I've finished some plays, I've finished some poems, I've finished short stories, but I like I said, I've started three novels. This is my fourth one. I need to finish this first, and then I I can think about um really think about where it would go. The dream is to be a published author that helps or that connects with people. That's where I want to be in in the literary canon. It's hard to do that in thriller horror genre, but it it has been done. And I think it I think for me, it's done all the time. I connect with those books much more than I connect with some others. Um, but I'm always I'm always reminded of uh I think it's Walt Walt Whitman in his poem that and I hope I'm not paraphrase paraphrasing, I hope I'm remembering this correctly. That the powerful play moves on, and you may contribute a verse. That's all I want to do. Contribute a verse.

SPEAKER_01 29:26

And lastly, what is next for you and how can a Black Writers Re community support you on this journey?

SPEAKER_00 29:34

Oh, I suppose uh send me vibes. I I uh writing is really hard, and um, I do love it and I hate it because it's really hard. Um, what's next for me is I am kind of mapping out my novel. I'm I'm more of a pantser. I think that works better for me because as soon as I can't map out the plot, I'm like, oh well, this doesn't make sense. No, no, no, no. Um, so I'm doing a little bit of both. Um, I will be trying to finish this book by mid-November, Christmas at the latest, the deathline for myself, which if I had started when I wanted to, a lot happened this year, but you know, uh I just want to finish a book this year. That's what's next for me, and I don't know if it'll be published, and I don't know if uh I'll ever look at it again, but I want to finish a novel, and that's what's next for me. So yeah, send me vibes. Um you'll have my social media so you can send me, I don't know, YouTube videos I should watch for motivation. Um, yeah, that's it.

SPEAKER_02 31:09

Thank you so much for joining us for this episode of Black Writers Read. Black Writers Read is available on all platforms. Please be sure to subscribe to Black Writers Read wherever you listen to your podcasts to receive each new episode once they are released. Please review the podcast as each action helps others to find us and help us continue to grow. I hope that you are so moved and encouraged to take your support of Black Writers Read one step further and join us on Patreon. Thank you for championing this work and helping to sustain this award winning, independently produced virtual platform. To learn more, please visit BlackwritersRead.com. Thanks again for your support and for ensuring that Black Writers continue to matter.