fiction

The Idiot – Fyodor Dostoevsky

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‘Aha! do—by all means! if you tan my hide you won’t turn me away from your society. You’ll bind me to you, with your lash, for ever…..’

A few years ago I became slightly obsessed with Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. Now it is another Russian writer who has whisked me away into his world.

Dostoevsky first courted me with his Brothers Karminov, when a writer makes you laugh out loud I believe they are living through you. I had found a male writer making fun of the male frailties, I had so often encountered but had not been able to distinguish, I adored it. The characters and the authors voice were so endearing yet powerful, enticing and confronting. Of course his portrayal of the females were dated and sexist but as he seemed to be equally sexist of the men the story was balanced. Did he know how progressive his thinking was, I wonder in mid 1800’s?

Now it is The Idiot I am reading and again his perspective of male fragility and superiority, fear disguised as pomposity is so endearing. I enjoy observing our human ridiculousness, our rights and wrongs so blatantly made fun of. Conversation flows from the page, nothing stilted and yet the atmosphere so awkward, the characters flaws portrayed perfectly to charm the reader.

It’s just so wonderful to fall in love with a writers words. I can thoroughly recommend Dostoevsky to add humour and humility to your day! Buy his books here!

Crime and Punishment is my next read.

By Women For Women – Free For Five Days!

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Fictional Memoir

Fictional memoir, what is that? I hear you say! Capote was the master of this writing as far as I am concerned Breakfast at Tiffany’s etc are perfectly written. However, reading the wonderful tales in By Women For Women he has some competition! These stories from life have been woven into laughter, love and pain, expressing the perseverance of pleasure seeking that all women endure.

The Authors of By Women For Women – Book One

By Women For Women

Christine Rogers is a sassy Kiwi whose love of film and creativity is effervescent in her presence.  Her piece ‘Late to the O Party’ is witty and reminiscent of many first dalliances into the big wide world of sex.  Zoe Hull has produced one of the bravest pieces of writing I have read for a very long time. Meeting at Sexpo what seems like a lifetime ago it’s been a pleasure watching the pride in herself and her writing grow.

Angela Stubbs is an incurable romantic and her writing always oozes so much love. It reminds me of Jane Austen meets 20th century Aussie Chick.  Her journals are soon to become a great Australian read.  Carol Middleton is an award winning author and journalist currently working on her memoir Electric Gypsy which sees her searching for a sense of home in a psychedelic lorry.

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Essex Tails – Urban Fiction

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Underbelly Urban Fiction

Are you a fan of underbelly urban fiction? Well Essex Tails is just that! I remember reading one such book as part of a book club. It was not something I would normally read but I could not put it down! The fact that it was set in my home county of Essex was obviously appealing however as the subject was female trafficking it was somewhat confronting. The problem being that as part of my baby group a friends husband worked in this field of the Metropolitan Police and so as much as ignorance is bliss I unfortunately knew this world I was reading about was anything but fiction!

Essex Tails, an urban fiction set in Southend on Sea

In conjunction with the amazing new author Leo Christian who has taken one of the characters from Sharks and Lovers to a whole new level we have created Essex Tails.  This story of Lenny and Sharon, a drug dealer and his prostitute girlfriend is based on urban legend.  We’ve all had friends of friends who have seen this or heard that and this is where Lenny and Sharon live in that urban legend.

“It all started when I bumped back into Wieger a few weeks ago.  We were great mates back in the ‘80’s when everyone loved everyone! Mainly because of the ‘love doves ‘ (ecstasy tablets) that we were all eating.  He’s this tall Dutch guy that used to travel with his father to Essex where he worked at the oil refinery.  He was an old mate I used to buy from, we would talk about the plans we had to rule the world.  I’d been wondering along the seafront on the way back from a delivery to a regular who’s in a wheelchair and there he was, I hadn’t seen him for bloody years!”

All of our Essex Tails will be 10-15 minute reads and for a limited time Book One is free to download on Amazon with Kindle Unlimited.  However if you would like a free e-book sent to you please just email or message me.  All I ask is that if it grabs your attention and you enjoy the read you log onto Amazon and spend the couple of pounds or dollars it will cost you to write us a review.

Download at Amazon uk here

Download at Amazon Australia here

Email Frankie here for free e-book 

Many Thanks

Frankie & Leo

Learning And Sharing

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“Behaviour is often taken as evidence of identity or capability, and this is how confidence and competence are destroyed in the classroom. Getting a sum wrong does not mean you are stupid or that you are poor at maths. To think this is to confuse logic, it is equivalent to thinking a ‘No Smoking’ sign in the cinema applies to the characters in the film” Joseph O Connor & John Seymour: Introducing NLP (Element 2002).

Everyone needs a platform for their writing and finding the right fit for your time, genre, cashflow, audience and I.T capabilities can be difficult.

Three weeks into teaching at my local U3A and there is a group of very interesting and interested writers some using Instagram for the first time, some creating blogs on WordPress and one group have published on Amazon, yes in just three weeks!

Instagram was a keen favorite with some individuals because it is what it says, instant! It is also very simple to use, set up and a great way to share excerpts and blogs.

When the course started there were some conversations about not being computer savvy but that was simply confidence that needed building.

Teaching is a pleasure when the recipient is responsive and that is obviously a result of teaching what is relevant and creating confidence.

 

The Last Hour of Sexpo

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In the thirteenth hour at 11.45pm I am asked ‘What is your book really about? I’m interested in the psychology’ this wonderful Russian man enveloped me with his deep brown eyes. Sexpo can sometimes be an astounding assault on the senses with music coming at you from all directions, semi-naked people jiggling around all over the place so making eye contact can be the most important connection, well isn’t it always?

Immediately I was brought back to the whole reason I write because of Jung, because of Self, Persona, Anima, Ego and Shadow and so I explained as he nodded in agreement.

‘I knew it, I knew this was deep’ he said, ‘people think clever is up here’ he says pointing to his head. ‘But clever is to feel how can you know something unless you feel it’ .

Well that certainly won my 85% emotional self! It was great to be brought back to the heart of my writing. I have struggled with my emotional self this last year as a single Mum trying hard to ignite my logical thinking and leave emotional ‘Mummy’ on the doorstep.  Having the luxury of diving back into my creativity was simply divine.

I met some fantastic people sitting opposite the laporium, watching the ‘Sharks’ inviting the ‘Lovers’ into their lair. My ‘Write Your Book In A Weekend’ seminar drew passionate professionals to me in a focused group realising their dreams of driving better sex education, initiating intimacy and sharing stories of abuse. All shedding light on what perhaps has been their dark.

Meeting two beautifully brave men was a highlight as they told me about their prostate cancer which resulted in zero sex life, a sobering yet inspiring moment. ‘I told him about it, told him what to watch out for and then a few months later he had it too!’ Wow they really were friends for life! ‘He still has a wife!’ he told me as his friend shook his head and the frustration built from his toes to his ears. ‘It’s difficult’

The ‘Yoni’ wave of self love was in full swing and it was great to witness women teaching women about self pleasure, self love and happiness enriching the Sexpo conversation.

I left Sydney Sexpo realising my creative self had been neglected of late. I need to get stuck into producing my third book and finishing my fourth.

Within a couple of weeks of returning home I met with Dennis Jones to discuss International Book Distribution and received the most beautiful bouquet and champagne from my fabulous client Glen Coutinho!  It seems momentum is never ending at the moment, I guess I just need to go with the flow!

Thanks Sexpo for another enlightening experience.

Goodness only knows what July has in store!

Fictional Memoir

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Apparently Truman Capote was one of the founders of the fictional memoir. What a fabulous idea weaving fiction and fact together, most of us do that everyday anyway and sometimes the fabulous freedom of fiction can help you focus on the facts.

Letting fictional characters reveal truths about yourself and yet leaving the reader wondering about exactly which threads are real is genius.  As for the author talking to a stranger is so much easier, talking to the reader who we cannot even see is so much simpler, thank you!  

When a character knows you enough to take you through all of your trials and tribulations and takes the time to gently reveal a different perspective they become your allies, part of the team. Occasionally the protagonist propels their perceptions with no protection for the author but that’s ok we are just the singer in the band. Thank you Characters.

I believe the writer is in flow when they write from their subconscious not their conscious mind. That is why you cannot edit as you go and also why there are so many mistakes. It’s like a right hander putting the pen in their left hand and finally getting to their truth. Obviously it’s extremely freeing but also confronting and continuously changing.  Thank you subconscious.

Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas and On The Road are well known fictional memoirs. I wonder how many or which of Jane Austens novels are fictional memoir?  I’m also sure there are many novels that are still sitting in ‘fiction’ whereby even the author doesn’t realise or are not willing to admit to fact. Thank you authors.

If you would like to find out how to write your own fictional memoir then please get in touch! frankiebanks27@gmail.com

My fictional memoir Sharks and Lovers is available to download here Amazon

Drafts of Gold

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I have just re-edited and re-published my e-book, it was a decision made in response to feedback.  Although I am happy with the new edition with many minor changes to grammar and punctuation I still believe that one day my first ever draft will be published so that the bare bones are visible. I won’t substantially edit that because it would lose its honesty. For now however I will conform.

Having just started writing the ‘treatment’ for adaption into screenplay, I am combining book one and two. This process has so far minimised the story from around 150,000 words down to 30,000. These are the main scenes that carry the story and characters forward, almost the best bits which is very gratifying. Obviously I am now looking at both novels completely differently, it’s a confusing, interesting and enlightening process, suffice to say I am learning and growing.

The treatment is in effect just another draft, of hundreds. I thought once my book was published the endless drafts would stop but I was wrong. Every process needs a draft so the adapting, editing and reworking will continue.  Those first drafts are worth their weight in gold, I now realise.  Like most things in life you need time away from something to really appreciate it.

Next on the list is the S.E.L.F book project which explores how writing can be used as therapy this is my Sexpo project and is very much in draft form, another draft!

My book Sharks and Lovers is available to download here

 

Sexpo and the Writer

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I have this gig in November to talk about my writing and how it has empowered me.  As my novels contain rather a lot of sex I suppose it is appropriate for me to do this at the Sexpo S.H.A.R.E seminars but somehow I feel like I will disappoint the audience. I’m just a normal housewife who has found a passion in writing. I don’t have huge breasts or a fabulous figure. I haven’t even had my eyelashes extended (like so many of the mums in the playground).

I hope I can concoct a talk that entices people into writing and empowers people to embrace their so-called ‘dark side’. I wonder if anyone will listen or even show up, I hope I can deliver. I have three months to come up with an engaging, interactive talk, an outfit I feel comfortable in and most importantly a bloody big helping of courage!

I will keep you posted and if you have any advice I’d be really grateful….

Nailing Yourself to the Cross

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Publication

front cover proof one

My book is to be released into the world imminently for anyone to read and so it is not surprising that I feel slightly vulnerable.   My teacher told me; ‘it’s good because it’s authentic’. I hope people don’t nail me to a cross for what I have written because yep it’s pretty authentic!  When I sent my ‘Meta Data’ sheet off to the publisher this week I don’t mind admitting I felt just a little bit sick with nerves.  That just about to get up and talk to an audience sick, quite appropriate that next week I will be attending a ‘speaking’ course then. I may as well get all this nervousness out-of-the-way.

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Ready to Roll

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My Book is Ready

Finally after a year of Synchronicity, Submission and Skinny Dipping I am ready for my book to be published.  It is quite a strange feeling I don’t mind admitting.  I have had some very good advice from people that have already had a sneak peak and I thank them all enormously.  I have edited the content so many times but last weekend I picked up my working copy and realised I was trying to improve a sentence that was actually ok to begin with.  I am not Jane Austen however romantic my notions and my book is not a  masterpiece. However if it makes anyone smile, smirk, laugh, cry or even just wiggle with the uncomfortable truth I know I did my job well.

My book Sharks & Lovers is available to download here:

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