Touring the blogosphere this month is first-time author Candis C. Coffee, whose debut literary novel, Mariposa, just hit the shelves last month. A native of West Texas, Coffee is currently at work on a children’s book and pursuing a doctoral degree in alternative healthcare and the healing arts. In this interview she talks about Mariposa and about writing and publishing.

When did you decide you wanted to become an author?

I wrote an essay in the third grade, about my weekend, and I lied. The teacher knew that it had to be made up, but I didn't care. I thought it was a thrilling experience to say what I wished to say rather than what was expected of me.  I also kept a diary in childhood, and instead of writing down the day's actual events, I described the day as I'd liked it to have been. In high school, I wrote a short story that received a lot of praise. I loved writing the story and the praise was great, too.

Do you have another job besides writing?

I work as an Intuitive Counselor. 

Were you an avid reader as a child? What type of books did you enjoy reading?

I read as many books as I could hold in my arms. I loved mysteries, biographies and most of all, The Chronicles of Narnia series.  

Tell us a bit about your latest book, and what inspired you to write such a story.

Mariposa is the story of a young woman's quest to become whole. She lives to connect, with nature and with people, and after some time has passed, she realizes that these connections provide only a momentary sense of nourishment. Then she is left on her own. She finally simply becomes present and conscious, and she sees that she is full and complete. I wanted to write about the old home my grandparents inhabited during my childhood, and I felt that it could be helpful to express my feelings about Mexican culture, as an Anglo woman from Texas. I chose to set the story in the 1920s-1930s because that was the time of the Mexican Renaissance. Also, as a country girl myself, I knew little about modern Chicano politics. I only remembered the feelings between Anglos and Mexicans in dusty West Texas, and this seemed as if it belonged to another time. Most of all, I wanted to explore the idea of using other people to fill ourselves up, as if it can be done, and it can't. 

How would you describe your creative process while writing this book? Was it stream-of-consciousness writing, or did you first write an outline?

I wrote a detailed outline, and then it became stream-of-consciousness. I wrote the book in one month, putting in five hours a day. However, the book took shape in my mind nine years before I actually wrote it. I had to live a bit more before the book was ready to be written.