The air is crisp, the leaves are an array of warm hues that make you feel like you’re in a painting, the smell of spices waft in the air. It’s fall, the season of change, transformation. For this lovely October month of fun, I had the honor of bringing to my blog for this month’s Aspiring Author Spotlight the sweet, talented, and grand Francine A! 😀 Welcome and please enjoy her interview and a sample of her work below!
Interview:
- When you wake up in the morning, how do you see life?
>When I wake up in the morning— what morning? I’m a night creature. I melt in the sun.
>Seriously though, I see life as complicated and sometimes constricting especially if the thing you want and the things other people want from you are different.
- How did writing finds its way into your life?
>I started writing when I was in high school. My otaku friends and I were just making up stories during break time and then it evolved into actually putting it into a readable material. However, I had been reading novels since I was a little kid and it had been a huge influence when I did start to write.
- What does writing do to you?
>Truth be told, writing actually drains me, especially when I’m trying to internalize a character and see from their point of view. However, it does help me release emotional stress and allows me to sleep.
- What sort of genre or type of writing do you do?
>I write romance, paranormal, fantasy, dystopian, fan fiction, role play, and reivews.
- Do events in your life or people you know affect your writing?
>They sure do. My WIP is actually based on an experience I had before. It helped me see and realize things from both his perspective and mine. Moreover, brainstorming with my brother has helped me improve my lore making, while he keeps insisting that his idea is the best which usually results to me ignoring him.
- What are you currently working on or what was the last thing you wrote?
>The story I am working on right now is Luxuria. This is the first book in the Siete Picados series. Siete Picados translates as “seven deadly sins” though there is also a group of seven islands in my country with this same name.
- Can you tell us a little about it and its inspiration?
>Luxuria is a story about Constance and her struggle with her inner demon which was a “gift” from the Nameless Deity who was the Community’s most treasured possession after the Crisis. This story could be filed under romance, paranormal, and dystopian, although I’m not yet sure if it’s under Young Adult or New Adult. The lore itself was inspired by several authors like Sherrilyn Kenyon, Veronica Roth, Rick Riordan, Watase Yuu, Arakawa Hiromu, etc, and revolves around the seven deadly sins. Constance and Tam’s story was, as I mentioned earlier, born from a specific experience I had before.
- What are your goals for the future?
>Definitely to finish this first book and to prevent my brother from further influencing it.
- What are your interests or hobbies?
>My hobbies… I actually have a lot, but, mostly, I’m into reading and gaming. My TBR shelf is too crammed that I actually feel surprised when I scroll through my Kindle and actually discover several that made me wonder why I haven’t read them earlier. My latest gaming addiction is Minecraft and I still play it even though it makes me dizzy. I keep getting lost even with a compass. Go figure.
- If you could be a superhero, what are your powers and how would you use them to help the world?
>This question actually reminds me of a manhwa I’ve read a few months back titled “The Gamer” which was about a character whose life actually turned into an MMORPG game, complete with pop ups that announces that he has leveled up. He said, “Healers are nobles” and I agree. I’d love to have the power to heal people from their affliction. There is a certain satisfaction of knowing that you have helped eased someone’s burden, even if it’s just on the physical. Besides, if I have this power, I could keep on healing and regenerating myself and I’ll be immortal! #cue evil laughter#
>Just kidding. I don’t want to live forever. You’d just regret more things that way.
- What advice would you give people who want to write?
> Acknowledge your pace. Some writers write like they have speed zombies after them and that’s well and good. Then, there are people like me who are slower than turtles because my creative space happens to be in the bath and, as soon as I step out, it’s gone.
- If you could be remembered for one thing or thought, what would it be?
>We have a saying, “Ang taong hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paruro-onan” translates as “The person who doesn’t know how to look back from where he came from cannot go to where he wants to be.” And I agree, if one doesn’t acknowledge what he is and where he came from, then there is no chance of him being able to reach his goal. Our past, the people and the experiences, shapes us into what and who we are now. To deny it means you’re living in an illusion.
Example of your work:
Chapter 1
Fifteen years ago
“And here we have the infamous Nameless Deity suspended in a state of Inanimation.”
A hand shot up from the group of bored-looking nine year olds.
“Yes, Tam?” the teacher acknowledge, turning slightly away from the giant glass column that housed the Nameless Deity. Her hair would’ve been the color of fresh blood flowing from a cut artery as they floated about her, and her eyes would’ve been the bright silver of a fork, polished to a high shine as they stared unseeingly at the kids, but the color was muted, her skin, so pale and blemish-free shone with a marble-like sheen.
The bright, green-eyed kid frowned in confusion. “But why is she like that, Len-teacher?”
Len-teacher smiled at the rareness of the question. Usually, no one’s interested in any of the artifacts displayed in the Pre-Crisis Collection—and definitely no nine-year-old cared enough to. Gesturing widely to the glass column he said, “I’m glad you asked, Tam,” he replied, much to the annoyance of the other kids—they can feel a century-long dissertation coming. “You see, history shows that this particular deity was once very powerful and dangerous. It was because of her that the whole world almost came to the brink of destruction—”
“But why?” asked little Tam. “What did she do? She looks so nice.”
Len-teacher sent out a derisive laugh. “She does, doesn’t she? I tell you, though, she is the embodiment of the very thing that drives humans crazy.”
Now Tam’s curiosity is piqued. “What’s that, Len-teacher?”
Len-teacher sighed. “No one knows, kid. All records related to such had been eradicated after the Crisis.”
“What’s erad… eradacatid?” an adorable blonde little girl spoke up with a serious face. Len-teacher recognized her as Constance, the class’s walking dictionary—who couldn’t abide not knowing a word.
“Eradicated? It means totally destroyed or erased from existence.”
At this point, another new voice was heard. It was such a rarely-heard one so all heads turned to the direction of the speaker who stood beside the teacher. “Then why didn’t our old people eradicate this Nameless Deity?”
Len-teacher frowned and clamped a hand on the kid’s mouth. “Careful of your questions, Zash,” he cautioned. “You don’t want to be Taken Away.”
Everyone gasped. They all know that those who were Taken Away have never EVER returned to their family.
Turning back to the rest of the class, Len-teacher resumed his lecture, “After a specific period of time, seven people were chosen to become this Nameless Deity’s Guardians. They will undertake training and guidance from the retiring Guardians where they will learn everything there is to know about this Nameless Deity—which isn’t much—and they will spend the rest of their lives researching about her. Now, everyone follow me and I will show you the Pre-Crisis recreation room where they have cool low technology toys.”
The class gave a loud cheer and pushed against each other in their haste to be the one to enter the recreation room first.
Tam stood in front of the glass holding the Nameless Deity. He looked at her thoughtfully and, apparently making up his mind, he took a deep breath and whispered, “I will be a Guardian and I will work hard so other people will know you too. I know you’re not the evil thing they make you out to be.”
With that said, he turned and followed his classmates out of the room.
***
Constance stepped from behind a marble column where she had slipped to hide when she saw that Tam opted to stay, and stared at the retreating figure of her dreams. Hugging her books to her chest, she heaved a deep sigh. He looks adorable, she thought. Even his back is adorable. Sighing again, she shook her head to collect herself and walked towards the door at the other side of the room. Halfway there, something caught her eye. Frowning, she turned to the glass that held the nameless being her Tam had been so fascinated with.
Had it been her imagination or did the being’s lips move?
Moving closer, she stood in front of the glass with her nose almost touching it. She stared at the being closely, but after a few seconds, she felt foolish for doing so. As she was about to turn and join the others when the lips moved again, just a slight movement. This time, though, one word escaped those perfect lips; one little word that sent chills down Constance’s spine and sent her running from the room.
“Lust.”
Short bio:
Francine A. exists in an archipelago with 7,107 islands favored by tropical climate and numerous hurricanes. Her favorite genre is anything except horror and her book hangover takes almost a week to more than a month if it’s really good. Don’t ask her who is her favorite author as she’ll just return it with a question of “Which genre?” Her favorite past time is book bingeing, which usually lasts until the series ends. She is an admin of Sherrilyn Kenyon Fans, Philippines, and runs a blog mostly filled with book promotions and reviews. She lives with her parents and four younger siblings who like to annoy her every day and she showers them with hugs and kisses which annoys them back. She has a dog named Meredith.
URLS:
- Blog: tsukimereadsandreviews.wordpress.com
- FB: facebook.com/tsukimereadsandreviews
Thanks for having me on your blog, Morgan. 🙂