Margo Candela is the author of five novels including Life Over Easy, More Than This, Good-bye To All That, Life Observed, and The Brenda Diaries. She's here today to help us kick off our newest author feature, Bee Random, where we ask authors-you guessed it-random questions to learn more about them. Without further ado, here's our interview with Margo. Enjoy!


Margo Candela

First concert you ever went to?

I can’t recall the first one, but I do know which is the first concert I wanted to go to and went out of my way to find the money to buy a ticket. It was for Sonic Youth in the mid-90s when I was a college student in San Francisco.

Favorite weekend activity?

Just having a break from all the mundane stuff I have to get done through the week makes not doing anything particularly productive a favorite weekend non-activity. I’m a big fan of not forcing myself to have or make plans just for the sake of looking busy. Of course, that means most Mondays are spent frantically trying to catch up on what I could have gotten done over the weekend.

Britney Spears or Katy Perry?

Katy Perry, even though I’m more familiar with Britney Spears… That’s probably why I’m going with Katy.

Best gift or letter/email you received from a fan?

I spent a day at my old junior high school, giving presentations to a series of English classes and a few weeks later I got this huge envelope with thank you letters from the kids. Some were really funny and all were sweet. I still have them all.

Guilty pleasure?

A variety of reality based shows—Extreme Couponing, Bridezillas, Say Yes To The Dress, Bethenny Ever After and a few more I can’t bring myself to admit to.

Brad Pitt or George Clooney?

Ideally, I’d like a combination of Brad Pitt’s body and George Clooney’s wit, but if I have to choose on or the other… I’m going to be shallow and go with the body.

Most random song on your iPod?

Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar On Me.

Why should people buy your books?

My main focus is always writing for the reader, to give her the best experience possible. There’s a lot of humor in my books, but they deal with serious themes like divorce, family problems and love life issues. I like to balance the salty with the sweet and I’m always trying to do better. I can only hope a reader will take a chance on one of my books and like it.

The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?

The Beatles, most definitely.

Favorite scene you've written?

In my second novel, Life Over Easy, the main character goes to a silent retreat after her live-in boyfriend breaks up with her. I had written about a fourth of a chapter on how she dealt with going to the bathroom when it was so quiet. I thought it was hilarious while my editor and a couple of readers said they could do without it. I ended up cutting it, but I still managed to figure out a way to get across that the character didn’t belong where she found herself. That’s part of the challenge of writing and it’s one I enjoyed tackling.