The next Dave Chat is with indie author S. S. Frankowska, where talk about all things writing related, her journey, and – most importantly – her book series! This is an exciting premise that isn’t as simple as it seems on the surface and promises a lot of excitement and depth. That sounds like just the ticket, right? Well, that’s not all! With some great tips and a very calm and relaxed demeanor, this is one writer you want to keep an eye on.
Let’s jump in.
Hi Sandra, thanks for taking part in this Dave Chat! Let’s kick things off right – tell me when you knew you wanted to be a writer, and what’s your journey been like so far?
This is probably a rather strange answer, but I didn’t know I wanted to be a writer until I wrote my second book. I wrote my first one back when I was 16. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it and I thought that writing just wasn’t something I was good at.
I went for years without writing, trying to get the images out of my head through different forms of art, like painting and drawing, but with time passing the story that was in my head began to develop further, and I started to plot it all when I was 22. It took me four years to plot the whole idea for the series and once that part was done; I was ready to write (again!).
Towards the end of writing my second book – which became my debut novel later on – I knew I didn’t want to stop writing ever again.
I’m going for a tangent already! You draw and paint – that’s really cool. My artistic skills are pretty much non-existent. Does your art draw inspiration from your writing, or vice versa, at all?
Thank you! Drawing/painting on paper always comes first. I am a plotter, so usually have all scenes inline before I start to write, however sometimes I’m not in the right mood for writing or the scene/character/creature in my head only appears far in the future (if not in the next or another book); so, drawing it down – capturing its context or essence – is like another layer of plotting for me. Just a visual one, if I can call it this way. It allows me to take this image out of my head and save it for the future, before I get to write it.
By no means I am best artist out there, but it helps my process a lot.
That’s really cool. I’m jealous! Okay, back to the writing stuff. Who would you say has been the biggest influence on your writing career so far?
There are many authors whose work I admire, but if I had to point to the key authors/books that impacted me the most, I would go with The Chronicles of Narnia (C. S. Lewis) and Jurassic Park (M. Crichton).
The first one, for the idea of portals connecting our world with something else. Crichton’s book, for creating a believable world within our reality, and underlying message of huge consequences resulting from (what seemed to be) insignificant logical error.
Your first book, Heroes of the Shadow; Blue Scar Indeabinito is at the top of my TBR pile, and I’m excited. Tell me what the inspiration was for it?
I am excited for you to read that!
As mentioned above, both The Chronicles of Narnia and the Jurassic Park played a part in developing my first story, but my inspirations go beyond that. I always wanted to find a story that connected in one place the things I love in both science fiction and fantasy.
The Universum is made of different worlds, to which one can sometimes travel. The planet where dinosaurs can live next to mermaids and dragons. Groups of superheroes who were not born as one but worked their way through becoming one. I didn’t find it anywhere else, while the scenes from this world wouldn’t stop playing in my head. Sharing them with the rest of the world became my inspiration to continue to write, regardless of how hard it sometimes was.
What are your plans for this series? I know you’re working on another book, but can you share the long-term goal?
It’s true, I am currently working on getting book 2 out later this year, as well as writing book 3. The long-term plan for this series is to end at 24 books. However, HOS comes with a miniseries within it.
The miniseries will make to 20 books in total (at least that’s the plan at the moment!). Each miniseries will be dedicated to a different main character and his/her way of becoming a Hero of the Shadow. Some of them will only have one or two books, others – like Blue Scar – will be longer (4 books).
Readers will be able to pick up any miniseries and read it independently from other miniseries within the Heroes of the Shadow universe. The last 4 books will be different: to truly grasp a story reader would have to read the other 20 books first.
That’s quite the big ask – for you and readers! How do you plan to keep their interest from one miniseries to another? Will characters return? Will events affect what comes after, even if you can read them independently?
Ha! That explains why self-publishing was my choice of publishing, doesn’t it? On a more serious note, here are 3 things I’m planning/keeping in mind for HOS series:
First, there is one central character that is plotted into every story. He appears in every book of these 20 in the series until he will get his own stand-alone novel (book #21).
Then there are moments in which characters from different miniseries are jumping into another miniseries (like spin-off characters). Book #21 will be crucial for events in books #22-#24, and since character from book #21 appeared in all other books, some information from his timeline will be there, too.
Finally, I foremost write these books for myself. Even if only a few people ever read the full series, it will be still worth it for me to continue. Having great family and friends, I am 99% certain that there will be at least a few more people to read all of them (once I get them finished!).
That. Is. Awesome. I’m looking forward to reading them all! So, thinking to the future, do you see yourself branching out from fantasy stories? What else would you like to write?
My fantasy is already not quite a typical fantasy (rather a science fantasy as the story develops), so probably something in line with science fiction. I have some ideas for these, particularly on the dystopian end of the spectrum, already written in my notes, but honestly? Finishing current series may take me quite a while. Hard to predict where my brain will be keen to take me after that part is completed.
That makes sense. It’s quite the plan you’re bringing to life. Are there any tropes you enjoy writing – as well as any you despise?
There are tropes I love, because I grew up reading books that used them (like a prophecy and chosen one), but in general I don’t believe in good and bad tropes. Rather, it’s their execution.
I can’t imagine not enjoying any trope if the author did a brilliant job developing it – no matter how many times I’ve seen that trope before. If your story is original and beautifully delivered, it doesn’t bother me that this trope was already used somewhere else. The way you wrote it in your story is unique and new to me, so most likely I will enjoy it!
What a refreshing way of looking at it. There’s so much talk about tropes, but it’s impossible to please everyone. Do you have a top tip for anyone looking to write their own book, or for writers thinking about self-publishing?
Write in the way that works for you and that brings you the most of joy. Writing is art, and as such, there are no boundaries and rules that everyone must follow. We have our own ways. If you love writing every day, write every day. If it makes more sense for you to write once a week, do it once a week. Let no one to tell you how to write. Ask for tips and experiment with different methods, but always keep in mind that what works for others doesn’t have to work for you.
Regarding self-publishing; it’s a tough journey. You will need a lot of patience, learning, and resilience. However, if your ultimate goal is to deliver your story in the way you exactly wanted it to be delivered (from your story, to cover, images – anything), self-publishing is your go-to.
The freedom you will find in choosing this way is both – a huge workload, and reward in itself. Any time you receive a review for your self-published work, you can be sure of one thing; from thousands and thousands of books that are out there, backed with established names, marketing budgets, and professionals who designed covers and wrote a blurb – someone still chose your story.
Someone spent their time reading a book that is 100% you. They liked your choice of cover, your choice of font, your blurb etc…Everything, all the way to finishing your story and leaving a review. This is huge. It’s hard to describe how much happiness it brings me to realise that over and over again. And among other reasons, this is the one I really love self-publishing for.
That’s great advice, and a good attitude for anyone looking to self-publish, especially. How can people keep up with you and the latest news on your books?
Best option is to follow me on Twitter. I am not great with other social media, but Twitter is where I’m posting nearly every day. My website is also a good place to find everything you might want to know about my books.