Copyright Clancy Tucker (c)
Quote of the day:
"Laziness is stupidity of the body
And stupidity is the laziness of the mind."
Frank Fiore - Guest Screenwriter and Novelist
G'day guys,
Today I welcome a very successful screenwriter and novelist - Frank Fiore, who lives in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Frank has published more than a dozen novels. Today he shares some insights into what makes him tick. Welcome, Frank. Tell us your story.
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR WRITING JOURNEY.
Well, to start with, I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. I’ve done so many things in so many different areas. Mostly, I’ve been an entrepreneur but I always wanted to be a writer. I started writing guest columns for local newspapers then went on to
write non-fiction books on Internet marketing, online shopping and starting an
online business. I’ve sold over 50,000 copies of those books. But now I’ve
turned my attention to writing novels.
WERE YOU A GOOD READER AS A KID?
Oh yeah. I’m a big WW II buff and must have read every book on WW II in the high school library. I also enjoyed reading the golden age writers of science fiction like Bradbury,
Asimov and especially Heinlein.
WHEN AND HOW DID YOU BECOME A WRITER?
I really wrote my first story in grammar school. It was called ‘I made history’ and was bout a toy metal truck in the 1940s that ended up being melted down for weapons ending up in the Enola Gay and dropped the first atom bomb on Japan.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
Telling story and entertaining people.
WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
The hardest part always seems to be writing the first line of the chapter.
I know what I want to tell in the chapter but finding that entry point
that would be interesting to reader can be a showstopper. Most times I wind up
with a good ‘pull’ in to chapter for the reader. Sometimes that’s not possible.
WHAT WERE YOU IN A PAST LIFE, BEFORE YOU BECAME A WRITER?
Mostly, I’ve been an entrepreneur but I always wanted to be a writer. I started writing guest columns for local newspapers then went on to write non-fiction books on Internet marketing, online shopping and starting an online business. I’ve sold over 50,000 copies
of those books. But now I’ve turned my attention to writing novels.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WRITING ACHIEVEMENT?
A column I wrote for the local newspapers to my son on Christmas Eve. It was entitled ‘Yes Christopher, there still is a Santa Claus’. It was a play on the famous editorial about Virginia and her belief in Santa. I received call all Christmas Eve day from people who said it touched them. I was so surprised that it touched so many people.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?
My current work is the Chronicles of Jeremy Nash. Jeremy Nash is a noted debunker and skeptic of conspiracy theories, urban legends and myths is drawn into pursuing them. Each Nash chronicle in the series is a thriller that sends Nash on an investigation of these myths
and legends. Though he doesn’t believe in any of them, he is forced into
pursuing them by threats to the lives of his family members or himself or
threats to his reputation. The Chronicles is three book series that is available on the Nook, Kindle and Apple platforms. I am currently running a promotion for the books. Two of them are selling for only .99 cents and SEED, the second book is being offered as a serial of 15 parts that can be downloaded from Smashwords for free.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Movies. Lots and lots of movies. Believe or not, I break the first rule of being a writer. Read
novels. I don’t. I watch tons of movies and write my novels as movies. The pacing is the same and plot twists are the same. I learn a lot about story writing by watching them.
WHAT GENRE DO YOU WRITE?
Right now I’m writing thrillers and action/adventures. But I am very eclectic in work. For example, I’ve just completed a novel that would be considered as mainstream fiction. Not a thriller but a coming of age story.
DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR NEW WRITERS?
Don’t write for money or fame. Write because you enjoy telling a story. If that story is good enough, the money and fame will come. And never quit.
DO YOU SUFFER FROM WRITER’S BLOCK?
Nope. Never have. I have my stories very well outlined and I have many stories to be written in the que.
DO YOU HAVE A PREFERRED WRITING SCHEDULE?
I start ‘writing’ - and by writing I don’t mean just putting words on paper – at 8 or so in the AM after I walk the dogs. Then I write at my desk or at a nice restaurant somewhere to about 3 in the afternoon. I’m the cook in the house so after my day of writing, I go shopping for that night’s dinner. I don’t usually have the TV on or even music since I need to
concentrate.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE WRITING PLACE?
I really enjoy writing at nice bar at a local resort.
WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHOR AND WHY?
Michael Crichton because I write in many genre’s.
WHAT’S THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER?
The plot twist in one of my Jeremy Nash books. He said it kicked hit in the gut because
it was so unexpected. That was my intention.
WHAT WAS THE WORST COMMENT FROM A READER?
From the same guy. He said It shocked him at that I should have telegraphed the scene
ahead of time. Go figure.
WRITERS ARE SOMETIMES INFLUENCED BY THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THEIR OWN LIVES. ARE YOU?
The first Jeremy Nash book – A Taste of the Apocalypse – has Jesuits in it. I went to a Jesuit high school and I know them very well. I drew from that experience.
HOW MANY BOOKS HAVE YOU PUBLISHED?
Over a dozen non-fiction and four novels. I’ve sold over 50,000 copies of my non-fiction books.
DID YOU HAVE YOUR BOOK / BOOKS PROFESSIONALLY EDITED BEFORE PUBLICATION?
I hire story polishers for all my books. A good one is worth every penny paid to them.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?
I’ve just finished a novel called Murran. Murran is the story of a young
African-American boy named Trey coming of age in the 1980s, and his rite of
passage to adulthood. Trey is a member of a ‘crew’ in Brooklyn and is enticed
into helping a violent street gang. He is eventually framed for murder and
flees with his high school teacher to the teacher’s Maasai village in Kenya.
Trey goes through the Maasai warrior’s rite of passage, becomes a young shaman,
and returns to America to confront and defeat the gang leader that framed him.
WHERE CAN WE LEARN MORE ABOUT YOU, YOUR WORK OR ANY PETS YOU HAVE?
WEBSITE: www.frankfiore.com
BLOG: http://frankfiore.wordpress.com/
LINKEDIN: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/frank-fiore/0/189/b86
Thanks, Frank. Now, leave your laptop, head down to that cozy bar at the local resort and have a drink for me - CT.
Keep Writing!
I'm Clancy Tucker
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/clancy-tucker/42/72/156
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