Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started out writing (and drawing) a cartoon about a rock band when I was in the fifth grade. Much to the relief of my audience, I gave up the cartooning (I really can’t draw worth a lick), and stuck to writing. I wrote teen romance short stories in High School, and dreamed of becoming a “real author”.
Marriage, family and work intervened in my writing plans after college, but the dream still lingered. In 2010, I finally sat down and wrote FINDING MY ESCAPE, a paranormal thriller, in about a month. (It took her a year to edit it.) The sequel, FINDING MY WAY BACK, was published in 2013.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
FINDING MY WAY BACK is the sequel to the Kindle best-selling FINDING MY ESCAPE. I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of dreams mixing with reality. It’s funny – when I first started talking to people about my concept, a lot of people compared it to the movie, Inception, which to date, I’ve never seen.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a tendency to be very eclectic in my writing. I used to write by the seat of my pants, but now I’m almost obsessive about outlining in almost minute detail! The more I know about the story ahead of time, the better. The outlining phase can make me really crazy. Oh, and it involves ingesting massive amounts of chocolate!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I seriously doubt you want me to take up ten pages on your website, but some of my favorite authors are Ted Dekker, Jane Austin, Louisa May Alcott, Preston Douglas and Lincoln Childs (love those Pendergast novels!), and Roald Dahl.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the final book in the FINDING MY ESCAPE series, a romantic comedy
entitled FIVE STRIKES with co-author J. Bryden Lloyd, and a book on organizing for Sanguine personality types with co-author Mishael Witty.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
That is an interesting and very loaded question! I’ve tried so many things. I’ve done some paid ads, some of which have produced more than others. At the moment, I’m concentrating on working on getting my book promoted by developing my platform via Twitter, my websites (http://franveal.com/ and http://indieyabooks.com), and FaceBook. I’m also working to get my books featured on the many webpages, such as Awesomegang.com, who offer listings to authors.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
The best advice I can offer new authors is to learn as much as you can about writing and practice, practice, practice. Get advice from more seasoned authors, but as it relates to the meat of your story, listen to your heart. Another person can give you ideas about how to write you story, but you’re the one who will develop the voice, the characters, the setting, the plot – all of those spring from the creator of the story – YOU.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve ever heard came from Rachel Aaron’s book 2,000 to 10,000: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love. Rachel made the excellent point that we, as authors, often write “filler” scenes that we aren’t really crazy about, but if WE don’t like WRITING the scene, how can we expect the READER to enjoy it? Now, if I come up against a scene and find myself bored with it – it gets scrapped.
What are you reading now?
I tried to read as much as possible because I LOVE IT, and because I think the more you read, the better writer you are. Right now, I’m reading James Dashner’s THE EYE OF THE MINDS. I really loved his MAZE RUNNER series, and finished those over Christmas (2013). I’m also reading a beta for my friend, author J. J. DiBenedetto from his DREAMS series.
What’s next for you as a writer?
This summer I’ll be appearing at the Tennessee Valley Author Event, and I’m really excited to connect with my fans. The event will be July 12 at the Grande Event Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you make it out there, be sure and swing by my table!
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Arrgghh! I hate this question. I’d like to CHEAT and say I’ll take my Kindle and a generator, but somehow I don’t think that’s what you mean. I’d have to have my Bible, first and foremost, then I guess I’d want Ted Dekker’s Showdown and Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. And my Kindle and a generator!
Author Websites and Profiles
Fran Veal Website
Fran Veal Amazon Profile
Fran Veal Author Profile on Smashwords
Fran Veal’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account