Sunday, December 9, 2012

Interview with Candycane Claus author of North Pole High: A Rebel Without a Claus




Please share a little about yourself, your genres, any other pen names you use.

I publish under my full legal name, Candace Jane Kringle. Kringle is our family name. But nobody ever calls me that in real life. Up here in the North Pole, I'm just Candycane Claus. Since my book is a true story, it’s non-fiction. But my publishers insist on calling it young adult fiction because they think most readers don't believe I exist. Whatever. I might try writing some real fiction one day. But if it’s not Christmas-related, I’ll probably publish it under my rap name, “Triple-C” (for Candycane Claus) to avoid confusion.

Tell us a little about your latest or upcoming release.

North Pole High: A Rebel Without a Claus is my first book. I’d been thinking about writing a book for a long time because I realized a lot of people are curious about what it’s like growing up in the North Pole with Santa Claus for a father. When I first brought it up a long time ago, he just went, “Ho-ho-ho!” and referred me to his lawyers who explained the need for secrecy and blah, blah, blah. But I did a lot of growing up and learning in my tumultuous junior year of high school and decided it was time I let the world know the truth about Christmas.

Are you a mom?

LOL. I’m only sixteen. I know those two things aren’t mutually exclusive in places like MTV, but here in the North Pole that kind of thing doesn’t happen. Oh, while I’m on the subject of mothers, can I say I have the best mom in the whole world? She never gets enough credit, but if it weren’t for her, Christmas would never happen on time.

Is there a theme or message in your work that you would like readers to connect to?

Initially I’d hoped my book would be a lesson for parents about when to let their daughters grow up. But I have to admit, I learned a few lessons myself in the course of events that take place in the book, and I imagine other kids can benefit from my experiences too. My mom says the most important message is the need for regular checkups with your dentist.

What would your readers be surprised to learn about you?

That I don’t get presents every day, and that my favorite movie is Grease, not It’s A Wonderful Life. And that sometimes, even I can be a little bad.

When you’re not writing what do you do? Do you have any hobbies or guilty pleasures?

We play snowgames almost every day after school at Butterscotch Hills. Snow scootering, Snow Pod races, snowball wars, building snowcastles, and making snow angels with boys. There’s so much to do up here, it’s hard to find time for homework and writing a book and helping my dad make Christmas happen. I’ve also won quite a few cookies betting on the unicorn races.

If this book is part of a series…what is the next book? Any details you can share?

Since this book is about things that actually happened in my life, I can only continue it as a series if more stuff happen that’s book-worthy. I can tell you right now I’m a little worried I might end up with a new story or two about fighting in your War on Christmas, assuming I live to tell about it.



North Pole High: A Rebel Without a Claus
Candace Jane Kringle aka Candycane Claus

Genre: YA teen romance/humor/fantasy

Publisher: elfpublished books
ISBN: 978-0615681917

Number of pages: 302
Word Count: 80,000
Cover Artist: Jessica Weil

Book Description:

MEET SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD CANDYCANE CLAUS. She's the most popular girl at North Pole High. Her father is world-famous. And every day is Christmas. What more could any girl want?

BOYS! And the new boy, Rudy Tutti, is hot chocolate. But he hates anything to do with Christmas!

When Candy and Rudy are forced to work together on a school Christmas-tree project, her world is turned upside down: Her grades start to suffer, she loses her taste for ice cream, and now the two North-Star-cross'd teens must contend with her overprotective father — Santa Claus — before Christmas is ruined for EVERYONE!


About the Author:

Candace Jane Kringle is a junior at North Pole High. She likes candy canes, unicorn races, and making snow angels. Her father is the most well-known and beloved toymaker and distributor in the world. Her memoir, North Pole High: A Rebel Without a Claus, is her first book. After high school, she plans to enroll at North Pole University and write more books.





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