Tell us about yourself.
I write in English, French and Hebrew. Raised in France, I lived in Israel, in a kibbutz and in Jerusalem. After 40 years I immigrated to the United States in 2003.
Living in Atlanta, my desire to own the language and understand America led me to plow through William Faulkner, James Baldwin and Toni Morrison novels.
Despite my books being based on my experience I believe that life-writing amounts to no more exactitude than fabulation or storytelling, as our lives themselves are often based on the stories we tell ourselves.
I use collage of styles. I call my books 'works' to mark the difference between market-oriented products, categorized by genres, and the literary realm in all its manifestations. I do not consider myself a poet but several of my readers find my wording poetic because I blend lyricism in my prose.
I practice the saying: ‘Writing is sustained reading’ as an intense reader, first for pleasure, but also to perfect my craft and learn about other authors.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in the suburbs of Paris, France. When I moved to the big city and join high-school I discovered modern French literature as well as other European writers. through the events of May 1968 I began to be interested into the Nouveau Roman and in the latest novels by Louis Aragon. It influenced my writing by believing that there should not be so much emphasize on forms, plot, structure and that categorization in genres does not necessary benefit my writing or readers.
What was your journey to getting published like?
I am 77. For my first book, I decided that I don't have the time to engage in the search for agent, editor, big press and prioritized self-publishing through Amazon KDP. I did it all by myself with the help of workshops, Reedsy, ( for provider of cover and interior design), and Kindlerpreneur for learning about KDP.
For my second book I decided to hire a copyeditor and a coach and I enjoy the process- That's how I got to know about this website. I am much more satisfied this time.
What’s the best piece of feedback you’ve ever received?
Several of my readers told me or wrote that they never read something like that.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
If you plan to self-publish which is my experience due to my age (77), and being a new author, I would say, get a good editor (s), development and copy, and a self-publishing coach. It would save you unnecessary troubles, save you money in the long run and give you knowledge. Also, use workshops parsimoniously!!! They give you the same things and formulas.
What’s a fun fact about you that your readers might not know?
Since I swinm into three languages French, hebrew and Englsi and I write in English I often let the words or the expressions during the first draft writing, to be in the language they present themselves and will return to translate them at the time of rewrite.
What’s your guilty pleasure book or genre?
poetry which include prose or prose which includes poetry. breaking genres is my guilty pleasure
What’s your favorite quote about writing?
{Writng is sustain reading . Toni Morrison
When you’re not writing, how do you like to spend your time?
Walking, music ( Spotify or live Opera), chating with freinds at cafes.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
Les Miserables, victor Hugo especially the beginning and the story of second chance for Jean Valjean. It impacted my social consciousness, my sense of fairness and the idea that every one deserve a second chance
What has inspired you and your writing style?
the exposure to French modern literature the New Novel era, the deconstruction of novels and the prioritization of language over structure, plot, etc. Since some of these authors blended different styles into one book, often inserting real world documents, sometime poetry, sometine pictures, I grew into the belief that I can break away from conventional forms and even language
How do you deal with negative reviews?
I will look at what can I learn from the feedback. I don't ignore that it hurst at first, but, out of respect for the reader or editor I will hold my reaction and check if I can improve without betraying my voice or intention. This, only if the criticism goes beyong the commercail aspect of publishing.
How do you connect with your readers?
I work with a coach, and I decided that since my goal is to get more readers for my next published book I need to develop a core of readers, interested in my kind of writing. I focus my efforts on beginning a newsletter or a Substack following, for that purpose I follow and comment on selected Substack's authors or magazines/newsletters.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I work on a book I see as un unfinishing book, meaning, as I read, and I am an intense reader, my associations are both to other books from the same authors or to what I wrote before, published or not. I am convinced that we do always write the same thing, altering the form, the setting. Therefore, I work on a book whose form I did not finalize (fragments or fiction-fragments) , but it would be notes-on-notes-on-notes, ad infinitum
Are there any Easter eggs or hidden messages in your work?
No. Some would say that my candor could even be too raw and revealing. But even if it seems to be a memoir, there is no such thing, in my opinion, as truly factual writing. our lives are often guided by stories we tell ourselves
How do you approach writing dialogue for your characters?
I don't write dialogues or characters
If you could share one thing with your fans, what would that be?
trust what you feel and don't necessary force yourself to understand. maybe the write seems confused because the confusion is what's lives under the lines and how could you feel it if you were not confused by what you read. I like this quote from one of my favorite writers: "Poetry must scorch your ear."
Gil Frank’s Author Websites and Profiles
Website
Amazon Profile
Gil Frank’s Social Media Links
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.