Candy Abbott

Candy Abbott, who lives with her husband of 30+ years in Georgetown, Delaware, is a mother and step-mother, grandmom of four, author, speaker, and president of Fruitbearer Publishing.

In 1983, largely influenced by Catherine Marshall's book, The Helper, Candy discovered the power of the Holy Spirit and has been encouraging others to draw near to Christ ever since, primarily through her writing. In addition to independently publishing her own non-fiction book, Fruitbearer: What Can I Do For You, Lord?, Candy's stories appear in Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Volunteer's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Christian Woman's Soul, The Heart of a Father, My Turn to Care, For Better or Worse, God Answers Prayer, Stories for a Teen's Heart 2, Stories for a Woman's Heart, and Touched by Angels of Mercy.

In the area of fiction, the agent representing Candy's fantasy series on spiritual warfare, Gavin Goodfellow and the Lure of Burnt Swamp (currently under consideration by a major publishing house), says it has great potential for children 9 and up.

Titles published by Fruitbearer Publishing include: "Serving Time, Serving Others" by Tom and Laura Lagana, "Back to the Basics: the Johnny Janosik Story," and "No More Christianese" by Doug Addison.

Mentoring plays an important role in Candy's life. Eager to help others succeed in their God given call to write, she co-founded and has been directing Delmarva Christian Writers' Fellowship for more than a decade. Active in the Presbyterian Church as an elder, deacon, and choir member, Candy considers herself a 'conservative evangelical charismatic' because she is just as much at home within non-denominational circles as in the organized church. In fact, she co-founded Sisters in Christ, a women's prayer ministry representing a variety of denominations, which has been nurturing believers for more than 20 years.

Retired from a secretarial career at Delaware Technical & Community College, Candy is a graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature and was named 'Writer of the Year' in 2003 at the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference.

Candy enjoys public speaking. As a CLASServices graduate (Christian Leaders, Authors & Speaker Services) and member of the Word Warriors Ministries 'Traveling Light' speaker's bureau, she looks for opportunities to minister to women's groups, large and small, and is a frequent presenter at Christian writer's conferences.

She is the Honorary Chairperson for the 2006 "I Love to Write Day" campaign. To find out more, check out her interview at www.ilovetowriteday.org).