I love meeting authors and reading their books. I have loved reading books since I was a little girl, the age of three. When I got older I realized I also loved to write.
Have you ever read a good book and wondered what inspired an author to write the story? After reading a book I am always curious about what made an author decide to write it. I am the kind of person who likes to know the behind the scene stories.
I reached out on Facebook a few months ago and asked my writer friends to share their stories with me. I am excited that today is the first day of many author stories that I will be sharing with you. I hope you enjoy!
Today’s Guest Post is from Jim Clark. I asked him why he wrote his book entitled Making Friends With Candy.
A Little Info About Jim Clark:
Identified as a dreamer, a romantic, and a creative genius by many, Jim holds a passion for technology and for helping others any way he can. He’s also been called “crazy”, “weird”, and even “strange” by those who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him. If you get the chance, get to know him and make up your own mind. I’m sure you‘ll find out you have a friend for life and then discover why you too would’ve loved to Make Friends with Candy…
For over 23 years Jim Clark has been a creative director that is dedicated to seeing his clients succeed. Jim believes that if you’re not having fun at work it’s just work. As an agency owner Clark & Company juststay.com, Jim provides creative services from business and marketing planning, to comprehensive and integrated creative solutions. He works with his clients on everything from strategy, concept and execution of traditional and interactive media to business and marketing strategy consultation. Jim has been honored with many awards including the 1995 AAF Silver Medal Award Winner for Outstanding Advertising Achievement and over 100 Addys. He currently serves for American Advertising Federation – 4th District as Historian and was the founding President of the Emerald Coast Advertising Federation in 1992. Jim has served as a AAF ADDY Judge since 1995 judging throughout the United States.
Why did I write “Making Friends with Candy”?
I had never planned on writing a book but isn’t that the time you do something you never thought you would? I am one of “those people” who know that things do happen for a reason even if we do not know why. I believe people are put into our lives and it’s up to us to make the most out of those encounters and, that you can find love within the most troubling times or darkest moments in your life, as well as in the lives of others.
I wrote my book because of a chance meeting and my commitment to do what the voice in my head, as well as my heart, said was the right thing to do. I was sitting in one of my so called offices – meaning anywhere that has free wifi and something to eat or drink. I was eating a toasted cinnamon bagel with butter, drinking iced tea, and checking emails when I decided to check and see what was going on in the Facebook world. After seeing a few of my friends posts, I saw a picture of a girl wearing a cute hat who had commented on a post. She was smiling and looked friendly so I clicked on her photo to see her profile. I checked it out and decided to click on the “add friend” button because worst case scenario would be nothing happens, right?
A couple of weeks went by and I had already forgotten about the friend request. I was back to my work routine of looking for new clients since work had slowed down. Instead of getting depressed about the lack of funds I decided to go back on Facebook to see what everyone else was doing. I know, not good for business but doing this later became the main reason behind writing my book.
As I’m going through Facebook, seeing posts, reading about upcoming events, and laughing at videos, I see Candy’s profile picture again. I guess she had added me after all? Yes, the girl had a name and it was Candy. The first post I saw on her wall was about her going to her first round of chemo. I got a big lump in my throat. How can I not react to this? I cannot just leave and pretend I never saw it. We all know of people who have been affected by cancer or at least know someone who has had it.
I think for a few minutes and decided to send her a private message. Kinda bold I know, but whatever? I told her that if there was anything I could do for her to let me know. She replies, “thank you. I’ll let you know how it goes”.
The short version of the rest of the story goes like this:
We became friends, we were a lot alike, we enjoyed similar things, we never got the chance to meet in person, we were only friends online. I wouldn’t trade this relationship for anything in the world.
I would not wish the last year of Candy’s life on anyone. She lived through “hell on earth”, the death of her unborn child, being diagnosed with cancer, discovering more about herself, her “real” friends, and the family she never knew she had.
One of Candy’s Quotes…
“No more will I be lonely or sad. No more will I be in pain. My heart will be finally free to dance among the stars. My soul for once can rejoice and be at peace. I’m letting go of my yesterday and all of their misery. I’m holding on to my eternity and it’s joy. I have been loved. I have been cherished. I will go on in the hearts of those who love me.”
I was blessed to come into Candy’s life. I hope you enjoy reading my story about making friends with Candy, a view from down the street online. And, if you are as lucky as I was, you will learn something new about yourself or enjoy a good read as an observer looking in.
I promise her I would write a book about our experience, so I did.
If you are interested in learning more about Jim Clark you can find him at www.MakingFriendsWithCandy.com