Welcome to BRB, everyone! It's been a while since I've posted an interview, so I hope you enjoy meeting author Francis H. Powell. What genre do your currently write? And, is
there a genre you'd like to write, but haven't tried yet?
I write dark fiction, however there is a
strong element of wit. I would like to write a historical novel based on fact.
Many authors use a nom de plume, and they
may use one opposite to their own sex. Do you think an author's sex or sexual
orientation should dictate what genre they write?
Theoretically not…I know in the past it was
much harder for women authors to be published, so they took on male names to
help this ambition. Maybe these days men who write romantic novels, take on
board a female name, to enhance sales.
Some authors have issues with character
development, writer's block, plot summary etc. What is the biggest challenge
you face when writing? How do you overcome the problem?
I write short stories, when I am writing
one, the story goes round and round in my mind…I really live with it in my
head. For me my stories have to open with a strong sentence, that is going to
have a defining effect on where the story is going… Bugeyes begins with… Bug-eyes
was due a life of toil. Seed begins with Captain Spender’s wife was ovulating. Cast from Hell begins with There it
was: I was to be banished from hell. The ends have to have a dramatic twist,
with events leading up to this. I have to have a strong sense of continuity
running through my stories. With a short story each sentence has to meaningful,
helping to push the story along. Characters have to be established quickly.
Dialogue has to be powerful. As I said before problems with stories have to be
figured out in my mind.
What has been the single most successful
marketing tool you've used to date?
This is hard to say…I tweet a lot…of course
I post everything I feature in, on facebook…I do Pinterest and Linkedin and
Google +. I also have a book trailer in youtube. I am a disciple of Goodreads
and few similar type sites.
If you had to live as one of your
characters, which one would it be, and why?
This is an interesting question, as my
characters fall into different categories, they can be despicable, odious
characters, or outsiders, oddballs and freaks. In one way or another they all
have their flaws. Maybe an interesting character to live with would be a
character called Gecko, who is this wise charming gangster in my story Opium.
He is hunted down by a preacher called Preacher Moon, because a town is falling
into the abyss due to opium abuse. However he is a far more humane and witty
person than the pious priest, who is all threats and menace. If I lived with
Gecko, and his beautiful daughter, I would have this hedonistic life.
While writing, have you ever drawn from
personal experience, and why?
I was born in a “dormitory town” called
Reading, not famous for much, apart from a huge Rock festival, and for the fact
that Oscar Wilde was sent to prison there and wrote “The Ballad of Reading
Gaol”. My family then moved to a farm in the country, in Sussex, not too far
from London. I was sent aged eight, to a boarding school, so I would spend long
periods away from my family.
Imagine having regular prison sentences, imposed upon you, as a child.
At some of the schools I attended, there were psychotic teachers and cruel
nasty children. I used to count
the days when I could be reunited with my family. I became a recluse in the art room and painting was my
salvation. I had a teacher who encouraged me to paint and introduced me to
various artists, including Kandinsky. I went from austere harsh boarding
schools to Art College, a very different environment.
Late on in my life I moved to a remote
village in Austria. It was not far from Vienna, but a very oppressive and
strange environment. I thought I should try writing a book. I launched into
it…nothing came of it. I do many creative activities, painting as well as
writing music. Writing lay dormant, put to one side. Then later, living in
Paris at this point in time, via an advert, I made contact with a man called
Alan Clark, who had a literary magazine called “Rat Mort” (dead rat). I submitted four short stories for this
magazine, encouraged by Alan, I began to write more and more short stories, and
developed a style…I guess if I compare these stories to earlier efforts at
writing…there has been a huge development…I am sure my early attempts were
imaginative but raw.
Just for fun–
What is your favourite colour? It is a bit
of a cliché but it is blue
Which do you prefer: a little left to the
imagination or explicit? A perfect mix of both…
When you first met your
partner/spouse/lover what drew you to him or her first?
I met my wife at a “house warming party” in
Paris it was fate that drew us together, a pattern of ironic circumstances. I
am a fairly shy person, so she had to make all the initial running…
If you could indulge free of any
consequences, what would be your ultimate sexual fantasy?
Being placed in an “Exsexive Machine” as in
“Barbarella”.
Website Link:
http://theflightofdestiny.yolasite.com/
Flight of Destiny
Blurb:
A collection of 22 short stories about misfortune
characterized by unexpected twists at the end of each tale.
Excerpt:
ARRIVAL
The task of placing a name, can be
niggling, but what if this task becomes an obsession and the person behind the
name a dark specter?
"Mr. Weisler is coming! Mr. Weisler is
coming! Mr. Weisler is
coming!" The words swirled around in his head like
a rampant tornado, scooping up all his thoughts, amplifying them until the mixture
seemed ready to devour him. Yet, what was vexing him was that he could neither
connect to nor put a face to the name.
Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0988664097
Publisher Link: http://www.savantbooksandpublications.com
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