BIO

C.A. (Candy) Simonson has always had a love for words. She started writing stories as a child and even won a contest for writing in the third grade. (See the story in Stories to Read: “The Budding of a Writer.”) Her first published piece was a poem in a national magazine at age 17. That was enough to get her hooked.

She is an award-winning author and writer of short stories, articles, and books. She is a frequent contributor to online publications and print magazines, now almost 400 pieces.

Candy occasionally writes content for Crowd Content and Textbroker. These online companies present a list of articles, blog posts, ads, and other content that need to be written. “It provides a happy distraction when writing is slow, or the ideas don’t come.” Although this is a ‘write-on-demand’ type of writing and sometimes requires a lot of research on a deadline, it presents the type of challenge she loves to meet.

In 2013, her contemporary Christian fiction, Love’s Journey Home -The Search for Love, debuted. Two years later, the sequel, Love Looks Back – The Search for Siblings, was published, and the following year, Love’s Amazing Grace -The Reunion. A Christmas novella, The Christmas Adventure came out in 2018. Her award-winning short stories and flash fiction have been published in nine anthologies.  Click for a list of publications.

Runaway is a drama/mystery about the plight of runaway/throwaway/trafficked children, fostering, and adoption, being released in 2019. Runaway won the Literary Titan Gold award and was nominated for the “Reader’s Favorites” awards. The Chosen One: Mary’s Story was first published on Kindle Vella in 2020, the book gives the biblical account from Mary’s perspective as a 13-year-old. It came out in print format in 2021. Rock Band Roadie, a Christian thriller, came out in 2023.

Her nonfiction books include a primer/storybook/coloring book: All Beautiful Creatures, a food tip book: Food Hacks, Helps, and Hints, and a five-minute devotional: Reflections of the Soul. Finding Your Super Powers is an activity/story/coloring book for ages 8-12 based on the Beatitudes of the Bible. In 2022, another devotional was released which is also a prayer journal, God Help Me.

Simonson worked in the technical field for over 20 years as an elementary computer teacher (K-6) to over 300 students in two Wisconsin schools. Moving to Springfield, Candy worked with two companies with training on computer applications of MS OFFICE, ADOBE, and a variety of other apps. She also taught classes at the Springfield Senior Center in 2018 and has done numerous speaking engagements.

When she is not writing, she loves to craft, garden, forage, and fish in their backyard pond.

CONTACT for Speaking or Help with Self Publishing