Author Interview – Francene Stanley

As a participant of the Ultimate Blogging Challenge, I met and networked with many bloggers, shared tips and gave feedbacks on each others’ posts. Such was the chance encounter with Francene Stanley who never failed to give honest feedback on my style of writing, her opinions on what I wrote.

Francene Stanley found initial inspiration in poetry and songwriting but later turned to writing novels. Like her main characters, she expresses optimism, determination to succeed, and strive to illustrate the principle of positive thinking combined with the trust that things will work out.

Born in South Australia, Francene later on moved to England, where she worked as a nanny, travelling around the world with the family she worked for. Now retired, she lives beside a strip of Victorian cottages, which nestle together along the old Roman road from London to St Albans, backed by riding stables and facing a stand of trees before open fields.

She was gracious enough to accept my request when I approached her for an author interview.

 Francene Stanley found initial inspiration in poetry and songwriting but later turned to writing novels. Like her main characters, she expresses optimism, determination to succeed, and strive to illustrate the principle of positive thinking combined with the trust that things will work out. She has authored six books and currently blogs here.

Your books are dystopian in nature. We would like to know what your inspiration behind choosing this particular style was.

Two of my books, Still Rock Water and  Tidal Surge, are present day paranormal – in that my main character experiences visions by means of an ancient Egyptian ring. Another four, Wind Over Troubled Waters, Knights in Dark Leather, Golden Submarine and Long Doom Calling, occur after the Great Flood sweeps over Britland.

The inspiration came from the ancient star moonstone ring. The main character gives it to the British Museum at the end of the fourth book set in the present day. This set me thinking. What would happen to it in the future? I approached another writer, with whom I’d exchanged ideas, and asked if she’d like to become involved. When she agreed, we each chose three characters. I began the story.

You also have co-authored a few books with Edith Parzefall. How easy/difficult was it to write like that?

Edith lives in Germany and I’m near London. 1 hour apart. We worked well together, gave respect and patience and sometimes sent more than 20 e-mails a day. We worked through each book, one scene at a time. She’d write, I’d go over her words and make changes before writing the next scene. We both loved the experience. Each of us fired more enthusiasm in the other. We never flagged, and often made suggestions about how the next scene should go.

People seek refuge, make friends with and take revenge by means of their writings. How did writing happen to you?

Writing for me is a way to get inside another person’s mind and work out how they would handle a situation. We all see the same fire from a different angle. I approach each person in my novel with understanding, knowing they do the best they can within their own circumstances.

After I retired, I embroidered, wrote poetry, and then songs. In novel writing, I found an occupation to engage my creativity which would never grow dull.

What does writing mean to you?

I live to write. Every day is geared to make the most of my imagination. I want to show a positive mind-set and a belief that things will work out for the best with the right attitude.

Since we are a large group of bloggers here, it would be wonderful if you would share your views on bloggers authoring books. Also, in what manner do these two, i.e. writing and blogging, differ, if they do?

First thing in the morning, I check the daily news and write a blog based on something that attracts me. It’s a good exercise in writing. At the same time, readers might like my style enough to buy one of my novels. So it’s a form of marketing as well. I tweet the daily blog four times a day, and share it on my personal Facebook page in the morning and my author page in the evening, which keeps my name in front of contacts.

On the scales, the difference between my views-on-news and my novels is varied-fact on one side, fiction on the other.

What would be a word of advice to the bloggers who are reading this right now?

Write and write. We have to start somewhere. I really admire those who speak several languages. The more practice you get, the better your work will become.

Thank you, Francene.