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NTRWA
March 2004 Spotlight On...
CANDY
HAVENS
by Juliet Burns
Published
author, syndicated columnist, entertainment reporter for 96.3 KSCS. And
the list goes on. These are only a few of Candy Havens’ accomplishments.
How does she explain such success? “Say yes to everything! Even when it
scares you,” she says. And it’s a good thing she did.
Candy had studied at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
in Houston and was headed for a career in dance while
attending the University of North Texas. But during her freshman
year she hurt her back and her dreams of being a professional dance
teacher ended. Her father suggested she try writing. She had always been
a voracious reader, kept diaries, and written for her schools’ newspapers,
but that was the first time she’d seriously considered writing as a
career.
She earned a degree in Journalism and answered an ad in the newspaper to
write a column for a cable magazine. When she discovered the staff had
never interviewed celebrities for the column, she made a cold call to
Bruce Willis’ production company and the rest, as they say, is history.
She quickly became a syndicated columnist in over 1600 publications for
Tribune Media Services and has interviewed dozens of celebrities from Costner
and Clooney to Kidman to Roberts. She attends network press tours in Los Angeles and has fallen into the arms
of Jim Belushi, literally. (She said he was really nice about her tumble)
Her published works include a biography of George Clooney and another
about Joss Whedon, the genius behind Buffy. In November 2003 she joined
FYI Television, and the company now syndicates her new columns to more
than 70 newspapers.
On a personal note, Candy has been married almost twenty years and has 2
sons, Jeffrey, 16, and Parker, 13. Her favorite authors are Nora Roberts,
Maggie Shayne, and Shannon Drake and her secret talent is crocheting. Her
grandmother taught her to crochet and she makes 20 -30 blankets, hats and
scarves for the homeless each year.
About a year and a half ago, a friend called and asked Candy about
writing romance. 3 months later, Candy had the first draft completed of a
romantic suspense called SANGUINE DREAMS, which is now under
consideration at Berkley. Currently, she’s working on
a paranormal called, THE WITCH’S DIARIES, and this fall, her third
non-fiction book will be released, EMPOWER AND INSPIRE THROUGH HEROES FOR
HUMANITY—a book of true stories of everyday heroism. She joined NT last
August and is also a member of the DFW Writer’s Workshop.
I’ll end with one of Candy’s favorite quotes: “Many people hear voices
when no one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in
rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers
and they do pretty much the same thing.” - Meg Chittenden
Visit
Candy’s website.
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