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Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Interview with Pam Bachorz, Author of Candor

Today I'd like to welcome Pam Bachorz, author of her spine tingling and thought provoking novel, Candor which will will be published September 22nd 2009!

In your debut novel, Candor, Oscar Banks knows that people in the town of Candor, Florida are being fed a steady of diet of subliminal messages which are secretly pumped throughout the entire cookie cutter development. Let’s say you had the power to influence people through any subliminal message you wanted- is there one thing in particular you’d love to manipulate people into doing or not doing?

Ohhhh, fun! Well, first I would like to ensure that everybody gives me cupcakes. Then I suppose I should move into things that benefit other people, eh? I wish I could make everybody treat others with kindness—somehow eliminate the jerk factor that seems to have infiltrated our society. I hate jerks.

Many dystopian novels are depicted in futuristic settings. The story for Candor unfolds believably within our present time. Did you ever debate about laying Candor out in a more far away time period, and if so, what made you decide to stick to the present instead?

I love having CANDOR happen in modern day because it opens up the possibility that this very place could exist somewhere today. I mean really… couldn’t it? Or at least aren’t there some people who wish that it did? I have always been enchanted by the idea of secret societies and secret places existing inside our mundane world, and it’s a recurring motif in my work.

The setting of Candor was inspired by the six years you lived in a planned community in Florida. Can you tell us more about how the places inspired you in the writing process? Was there one thing in particular that really got the creative ball rolling?

My former Florida home is very beautiful, and it was full of places to use as starting points when I thought about setting. One place that really influenced CANDOR was a model home (which isn’t a model anymore): it had this gorgeous shed in the backyard, bigger than my kitchen and family room combined, and stocked to the hilt with gardening gear, dried flowers, etc. There was even a place in the wall to plug your iPod into the speaker system. When I needed a place for my main character to use for a secret hideout, that shed immediately sprang to mind.

The two girls in Oscar Banks’ life are Nia, the dark, fiery free spirit and Mandi, the straight laced, overachieving, perfect Candor teenager. When you were that age, were you more of a rebel like Nia or a studious, follow the rules type girl like Mandi?


Probably there’s a little bit of me in every single one of my characters. But I think there’s actually a lot more of my teen self in my main character Oscar (which is a little scary to admit since he’s not necessarily the nicest guy all the time). People in Candor think he’s got everything figured out, but inside he feels like a total outsider. Oscar longs for someone who sees through his façade… and still loves him. That’s how I felt during all of my teenage years, and sometimes I still feel that way!

On your blog, you have some questions you love to ask the authors that you interview. I thought I’d turn the tables around and ask YOU a couple of them instead!

First question--What do you think sixteen year old Pam would have to say if she was to read Candor?
She would be insanely excited. I’ve been writing since I dictated a Pooh Bear picture book to my mother, in preschool. And sixteen year-old Pam would love the premise, since her bookshelves are filled with creepy YA by authors such as Lois Duncan and Mildred Ames.
Second question - What would you say to convince my grandmother that young adult novels aren’t just for teens and that she should read Candor too?
Who doesn’t remember being a teenager? For many of us, it’s the most vivid part of our memories. Reading YA reminds us that we’re not as removed from our teens selves as we might think—and it also opens a reader up to a world of fine-crafted, tight fiction that never has a dull moment.
If Candor were to be made into a movie, are there any actors in particular that you envision playing the roles for Oscar and Nia?

Wouldn’t that be cool? But honestly I haven’t seen any particular actor who screams “Oscar” or “Nia” to me. I would love to see age-appropriate actors who are smart and have the air of rebellion about them. I figure that if there’s ever a movie of CANDOR, it will take awhile, and those kids are probably in elementary school right now! I would love to see Neal McDonough play Oscar’s father, Campbell Banks: he excels at characters who are both smooth and dangerous.

What was your road to publication like in getting Candor published? How long did it take to write it?

Over five years, I wrote 3 novels (one of them CANDOR), had a child and moved to a new state. It was all kind of mixed in there so I can’t honestly say it took 5 straight years to write… but it was five years from first word to sale. Things happened very quickly once I started subbing to agents. I ended up signing with the fabulous Elana Roth (with Caren Johnson Literary) and then sold the book to Egmont USA not long after that.

For all of us that have read Candor, and were left staggering from the chilling ending—can you tell us if there will be a sequel to the book?

Thanks! I hope the ending affects people and surprises them. I’m not working on a sequel right now—my next book will be about entirely different people in entirely different places—but I wouldn’t rule a sequel out.

What projects are you currently working on now that we can look forward to?

Egmont USA will be publishing my next novel, another YA novel that pulls the reader into a dark community that exists inside of our own. It should pub in 2010 or 2011.
A very special thanks to Pam for stopping by!





54 comments:

D Swizzle said...

Interesting post...she sounds like a great author.

A Passion For Books said...

Great interview! I am so excited to read Candor!

Jessica said...

Great interview. I especially enjoyed the question concerning typical dystopian novels set in the future as opposed to the present.

I am even more eager to read this book!

Miss Remmers said...

Awesome interview! Thanks for having her!

Shawna L. said...

Shawna Lewis
weloveourdogs@juno.com

Great interview my Dear. I think it is cool she used her home in Florida for the setting of this book. Wonderful keep up the super work. ;o) winks Shawna

Mari - Escape In A Book said...

Great interview, Kim!

I, like Pam, have always been fascinated by the idea of it existing secret societies in our world. I think it is really cool that she has written an dystopia novel set in our modern time, the few dystopia novels I have read are all set somewhere in the future.

Many people never stop feeling that it was just yesterday that they were 18, so I think that there are a lot of people out there who would really enjoy YA novels if they just gave it a try.

I have Candor in my Amazon WL and this interview made me long to read this book even more!

nfmgirl said...

What an interesting concept for a story! Living down here in south Florida, I can envision the story very well! And I love that you turned her own questions around on her.

Zombie Girrrl said...

Great interview! I love that you turned her own questions on her; everyone knows exactly how they'd answer their own questions so she's probably been waiting for someone to do that. :)

Pam said...

I hate to be repetitive, but great interview! I love the question about who she would envision playing her characters in a movie. This is a question my book club often discusses.

Anonymous said...

I haven't read anything by Pam Bachorz before. She sounds like an interesting author.
wandanamgreb (at) gmail (dot) com

suzie townsend said...

I'm excited to see a dystopian novel set in the present! It sounds really good :)

Valerie Kemp said...

I've been wanting to read this ever since I saw it described a few months ago as being sort of Stepford Wives-like. I love hearing there's a chilling ending! I'm one of those weird people that isn't all about the happy ending! Can't wait to read this!

Unknown said...

Great interview. I love the picture you used for the author. I can't wait to read this book.

Mariah said...

This book sounds really good. Great interview makes me want to read the book even more.

Llehn said...

Now I need to read Candor!

Anonymous said...

i've heard a bit about this book.Sounds really good.i'm looking forward to reading it

Unknown said...

It sounds so interesting. I'll definitely have to check this out.

Emma said...

God this book sounds amazing! Awesome interview! I can't wait till it comes out.

Ghost Girl (aka, Mary Ann) said...

I can't wait to read CANDOR! And I'd be happy to bake you cupcakes, Pam!

Wrighty said...

I love the idea for this book and that it's set in present time. It's so creepy! This sounds like a great debut and I can't want to read it. I look forward to the next book as well.
(I agree, YA is not just for kids!)

Sophie said...

I am so looking forward to this book!!!

jpetroroy said...

I am dying to read this!
jpetroroy@gmail.com

Debbie's World of Books said...

Great interview! Now I'm curious how it ends that it leaves open possibility of a sequel.

Bri Meets Books said...

Great interview. I loved the first question, and her answer was great.

Leslie said...

very awesome interview!!

Book Butterfly (Kim) said...

Thanks everyone!! Pam was so fun to interview and Candor is one of the best books I've read this year. :)

Michelle said...

I can't tell you how excited I am to read this novel. I enjoy dystopian fiction a great deal and Candor looks like it's going to be a wonderful read for me. This interview only adds to my excitement for it.

Park Avenue Princess said...

I love that this takes place "now"...modern day! I also love that Pam believes that you don't have to be a YA to love today's YA books! Who wasn't once a YA?

xoxo AMY (Park-Avenue Princess)

Ms. Asphyxia said...

I have a lot of fun with YA books. Even those with serious subjects are refreshing. Sometimes we forget what it was like to be young. It's not as carefree as we'd like it to be.

Anonymous said...

Nice interview, it got my interest on the book... Like other commenters, I'm also interested that it's set in the present. I think I'm going to try and get my hands on the book...

AnAddictedBookReader said...

Great interview, her book sounds really good!

SerieslyReady said...

This is a good interview. I really want to read this one. It reminds me of a book series I read and a movie I watched a few years ago. Some authors have a lot of patience and self discipline. That's kind of a requirement anyways.

chocowafer said...

"Well, first I would like to ensure that everybody gives me cupcakes." - LOL.

Great interview! Pam Barchoz seems like a fun author. :)

Nikola said...

I think it is great that, although it's a dystopian novel, the author chose for it to be set in present time. And I can see how it works.

Thanks for the informative interview!

Sheere said...

Great interview!
I hope she writes a sequel and her nezt novel sounds intersting!

Dani. said...

Cool interview! I can't wait to read Candor, it sounds SO GOOD!

Kate said...

Wicked interview. I really want to read Candor.

Mavie said...

Candor seems really interesting! I really want to read it... Great interview!

ReggieWrites said...

It's awesome that you got to interview Candor's author! Can't wait to read it!

Reggie :-)

regietc@gmail.com

Gaby317 said...

Great interview! You've gotten me very curious about the ending.

I'll have to look for her books!

Ashley said...

I look forward to reading Candor - looks great!

Shawna L. said...

Shawna Lewis
weloveourdogs@juno.com


How cool that a shed in the backyard put this book into action.
Perfect review/interview Thanks for the time spent!!!

Book Sp(l)ot said...

oooooooh, this has been on my Amazon wishlist for months and I didn't even know it was set in Florida...While I don't live in one of those planned communities, I do live in FL and somewhere were they're building quite a few of those ...hmmm

book.splotATgmailDOTcom

Mya said...

LOL @ making people buy her cupcakes. I like how she thinks. Also, that story about the model home is vaguely unsettling. I don't know how I feel about being able to plug my iPod right in the wall... it feels so... perfect. LOL!

Megan said...

Great interview. I loved the questions you asked. Very interesting.

Megan

Ezzy said...

wow she seems quite down to earth !!

Haley said...

wow, this book sounds good. she's cool :D

~H

clenna said...

I can't wait to read Candor. i'm glad you set it in today's time. I think it's more eerie that way. (and more believable too).
I love YA books - there are some very exciting ones out there.

Nelsby said...

I was so impressed that Pam wrote 3 novels, had a child, and moved to a new state -- all in JUST 5 YEARS!
Thanks!
Aimee
sierranelsby (at) gmail (dot) com

BlackWolf said...

Great interview. Very intresting the questions you asked. I can't wait to read Candor

Kiara said...

"Over five years, I wrote 3 novels (one of them CANDOR), had a child and moved to a new state." She did so many things in so little time! It's amazing!
Thank you for the interview :)

Meg said...

She seems so cool!! I cant wait to read Candor.

Mariana S said...

Great Interview, I cant wait to read Candor!! ^^
Mariana
sarima89(at)gmail(dot)com

L said...

Awesome interview. I can't wait to read Candor, it seems like a really original book.