Ask the Author: Michelle Frances
Answered Questions (8)
Michelle Frances
Hi Heather, no the hamster food was just because Cherry needed a box to use in the post for the actress! Best, Michelle
Michelle Frances
Wow! I'm so glad you enjoyed them. Yes, I'm working on a new one right now, in fact, I've just taken a break from it to answer your message! It's another thriller and will be out next Autumn. x
Michelle Frances
The Girlfriend is the story of a mother, a son, his girlfriend and an unforgivable lie. I’ve always been fascinated by the notion that two women who are complete strangers are suddenly thrust together in a very intimately bonded relationship for potentially the rest of their lives. It’s a bit weird and great territory for emotional stress and anxiety. Will she like me? Will I like her? What about for the next forty years? There’s a lot at stake! Even in the most harmonious relationships, things can be misunderstood and easily spiral out of control. I imagined a scenario where this could potentially happen and the story for The Girlfriend went from there. Then during the course of writing the novel I heard a radio programme about the difficulties some women were having with their new daughters-in-law and one story particularly affected me. A heart-broken woman had phoned in and was in tears speaking of how she was excluded to the extent she hadn’t even known her son and his new wife had had not one, but two children. She had discovered that her grandchildren existed by accident. It reinforced to me that it’s a universal relationship that can affect a lot of women and cause a lot of distress – to either party.
Michelle Frances
Write as much as possible, at least five times a week. Get a cracking agent who will help you craft your novel before they sell it. And for a good old fashioned morale boost I used to take great comfort from reading other authors' stories on their websites. It's astonishing how many of the most successful writers got frequent knock backs before they were published.
Michelle Frances
I think having the freedom of imagination is a lovely thing about being a writer. It's wonderful to be able to let your brain roam free and (hopefully) come up with something satisfying to a reader.
Michelle Frances
It's actually really simple, I just get excited about a story and want to write it down. Initial ideas can come from many sources; perhaps from something I read or overhear but whatever it is it will have sparked a strong emotional reaction in me. Then the touch paper is lit and ideas start firing up in various directions (not all successful but all part of the journey to writing a novel).
Michelle Frances
If I'm having a 'stuck' day then I'll try a number things. Firstly, I find it sometimes helps if I just start. Get writing something and after a while it starts to flow. If this doesn't work then the reason it's not flowing can be because there's something wrong with the plot and so I'll sit back and put myself in the place of the character and think hard about what they'd do in the circumstances they find themselves. And if neither of these work it can sometimes help if I just get a change of scene. Even moving to another room can often unlock any problems!
Michelle Frances
I'm currently writing my second novel, another psychological thriller which is about a particularly ambitious maternity cover set in the world of TV. I'm at that nail-biting point where I'm heading into the finale and as in my first book, The Girlfriend, the ending could go a number of ways!
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