| |
| Visitors |
 |
Current visitors : 23
Members : 8
More...
|
|
| Accounts |
|
Members : 4583
Last account : Elg
Member list
|
|
| Search |
|
|
|
| My favorites |
|
|
|
| Poll |
|
No Polls Available
|
|
|
|
| News - Categories |
|
|
|
| August 2006's Featured Member: The_Faery_Queen |
|
Posted on 8/3/2006 9:26:50 PM by pmmg. - Articles
This month's featured member is The_Faery_Queen who we will come to know as Fran Jacobs. Here is her interview conducted by Joey.
First, I'd like to thank the person/people who nominated me. It means a lot to me, so thank you 
1: Congrats on having "The Shadow Seer" accepted. How's that going? Could you share how you felt when you got the acceptance?
Well I'd been off line for a week or so because of pc trouble so when I was finally online again I had a ton of emails to go through. I'd already convinced myself I would be rejected. I hadn't heard from them and it was long past the date they said they'd contact us, and I'm rather pessimistic about things like this, so when I did find the acceptance I was so shocked. Then I ran around saying 'yes' a lot, to the cats, as there was no one else here. Then I called my parents, and texted all my friends, and blurted it out all over the net to anyone and everyone. So yeah, you can say I was happy
2: What would you say the biggest difficultly you have with your writing is, and how do you overcome it?
I write myself into a corners a lot, that's a problem. It can be hard to think of new ways to structure something when you've done that as well, as everything else I try tends to put me back into that corner. Ideas, though, is probably the biggest hurdle for me. I'm not a big idea person. They come to me fairly rarely, and obviously, that's a pain! You can't write when you have no idea what you want to say. With the Shadow Seer, I was inspired to write the beginning, as I was with the Soul Keys, and I just let the novel take shape from there. But with short stories I find you need a direction before you start, to avoid the dreaded waffling. That's why I have very few short stories in circulation, six in fact, I think. I have others that are just badly written, and 15 or something insane that I've started and lost heart for, but only 6 ideas that actually came together properly into a decent (in my mind at least) story.
3: How do you cope with rejection?
I shrug it off now, and then resubmit. I used to get upset, but now I'm just frustrated. I want to sell the stories and it irritates me that I can't, especially when the two that are currently being rejected (the only two that aren't reprints) are what I think are my best stories! So I get very annoyed about it, but I force myself to send it off and try again. There isn't anything else you can do. If you want something, you have to keep trying for it.
4: A lot of your stories feature gay characters. Are there any specific difficulties you've encountered in writing about gay men, especially in the first person, seeing as you are not one yourself? Have you had any strong reactions to it from readers?
I see gay men and women as people, with different sexual tastes. I don't think it makes them different from anyone else, so I treat them as individuals, write them that way, and hope that it works out. I don't think it's any different from writing about a woman, when you're male, or a man, when you're female, as long as you treat them like people and not gender types or stereotypes then it should be ok. I have had one reaction, from a gay person, who hated it. But his argument seemed to be that straight people shouldn't write about gays, because we don't understand it. Well, if that's true, in my mind, men shouldn't write about women, or vice verse! You can never really understand another person's thoughts or feelings or life, you can only do your best and try and be sensitive to it, and I hope that I’ve done that.
I have had compliments from other women, who like what I’ve written. One compared me to Storm Constantine and Tanith Lee. Though I'm not a fan of either writer, it's still nice to be compared to a professional.
5: Do you have plans for any more novels when you've finished your Shadow Seer sequence?
Yes. A friend of mine once told me I was flogging a dead horse with it, though, because I have planned a prequel and sequel to the Shadow Seer main series. One that shows the life of his opposite and one that is a revelation of his prophecies. A world of demon destroyed terror kinda appeals to me, so that will be the one i write first, i think. I also want to finish off the Soul Keys series, especially as the erotic fantasy fiction genre seems to be expanding.
6: Who are your favourite authors, and what do you like about them? What do you look for when you pick up a book?
My main two favourites are David Gemmell, who sadly died on Friday, and George RR Martin. For Gemmell I loved his consistency, it was easy reading, you knew what was going to happen, but his characters were so vivid it was still enjoyable to read them. I also loved how sensitive he was to women, how he seemed to understand us, and how he didn't indulge in shock tactics and violence to get across the idea of his war torn worlds. I was always impressed with that. And Martin, well, he's amazing! Complex plots, vivid characters, I never know what is going on and it's so deep. I also like Robin Hobb and Lynn Flewelling. Both write good characters, although there have been a few books they've written that I didn't enjoy, which is why i haven't ranked them as a favourite.
What I look for, I don’t know anymore! I haven't brought a new book in a long time. I used to go on the blurb, but so many sound the same. Now I tend to go on recommendations, but I have been recommended two books that I thought were awful, but also one that was good, wicked, by Greg Maguire. I found Flewelling via LJ, someone was talking about her bone doll's twin book and being into the macabre it was something I had to try, and I’m glad I did. So I find books in different ways, but very rarely do I read the blurb anymore.
7: Any plans for the future?
Big dream plans, house, money, fame. The usual. Small serious plans, get back to Swansea, finish the nightmare that is book 3, get me a job and spend time with my friends, who I've missed the last few years, since I mistakenly moved away.
www.franjacobs.com
|
|
| Comments |
|
| 17 Comments |
Posted Thursday, August 03, 2006 by newm. 
Great interview. Congrats on Shadow Seer!!! |
Posted Thursday, August 03, 2006 by DancingFaerie.
Congrats! |
Posted Thursday, August 03, 2006 by avorian. 
Way to go, TFQ. I can see your personality in your interview. You're awesome. And I'm so happy for your book. Cyber hug. |
Posted Thursday, August 03, 2006 by KingAramis17.
yeah! we luv you TFQ! |
Posted Thursday, August 03, 2006 by pmmg.
Congratulations TFQ. Good interview. What Mushu said.  |
Posted Friday, August 04, 2006 by lesliweird.
Congratulations |
Posted Friday, August 04, 2006 by wannabewriter87.
Congratz! |
Posted Friday, August 04, 2006 by Nyki.
Congratulations. |
Posted Saturday, August 05, 2006 by dark elf.
Congrats to being chosen for July's "Featured Member", TFQ. |
Posted Sunday, August 06, 2006 by jack.
Congrats. Your short stories are my favorite here. |
Posted Sunday, August 06, 2006 by lenamilo.
Way to go, TFQ. I gave you a nod because I knew that someone of your talents and insights was long overdue for being recognized. |
Posted Sunday, August 06, 2006 by Serafyr.
Hurray for TFQ! *cheers* |
Posted Sunday, August 06, 2006 by the_faery_queen.
aw, thanks dudes |
Posted Sunday, August 06, 2006 by Luna.
Made me come back to FW just to read your interview. Way to go  |
Posted Monday, August 07, 2006 by Clare.
Nice one, congrats |
Posted Tuesday, August 08, 2006 by kurtius.
Gratz!! |
Posted Thursday, August 10, 2006 by WordWeaver.
Congrats! P.S. Where are you?  |
|
|
| Old News |
|
|
|
|
|
|
