Franki deMerle

Franki deMerle grew up in Huntsville, Alabama in the same timeframe as Deception Past's main character, Sand Strasberg, and her experiences provide the basis for Sand's story. The author's name is on the Wall of Tolerance at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama. She is a founding member of the Build the Dream Foundation to build a monument to Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr in Washington, DC. She now lives in the Pacific Northwest. http://reincarnationbooks.com

 

 

 

 

 

Books-and-Authors.net: Where did you grow up and was reading and writing a part of your life? Who were your earliest influences and why?

Franki deMerle: I grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, where my earliest influences were the Civil Rights Movement and the early manned space program. I never understood the insanity of racial prejudice. In school we were taught about the US Civil War, but I could never see the point of view of the Confederacy or Governor George Wallace's bigotry. I started writing poetry in my sleep as a young teenager. Eventually I transitioned to writing while conscious. My Dad taught me to pay attention to my dreams, and I've always used them for creative inspiration. When I was a teenager I spent a lot of time alone with Nature in contrast to the race riots at school. As a young adult I was influenced by the author William Bradford Huie, who married a former teacher (Bill's second wife Martha) of my husband. From Bill I learned to set aside time to write, tell the human story, and just keep at it.

 

 

 

Books-and-Authors.net: Why do you write? 

Franki deMerle: I write when I feel I have something worth saying. I just need to express myself.

 

 

Books-and-Authors.net: Briefly tell us about your new novel ‘Dragonfly Dreams’. Where did this plot come from? 

Franki deMerle: When I wrote Dragonfly Dreams, I started by writing the Major's daily gardening attempts and processing his thoughts from being recently retired. His friends were originally inspired by people I knew, but they changed and became their own characters as the plot developed itself from my own personal reflections on choices people make while under stress, choices people want to make but avoid until an outer catalyst pushes them, and how some people seem to avoid changing themselves at all costs. The story turned into a reincarnation romance, and I chose to give the characters symbolic animal-related names.

 

 

 

Books-and-Authors.net: Who is Daphne Robin?

Franki deMerle: Daphne is part of me. I'm an idealist, a romantic, and a classic guitarist who knits and loves cats. She's also the Major's shadow, since he hides her in his home until he feels safe bringing her out into his life. That also means that the Major is my shadow.

 

Books-and-Authors.net: What are your thoughts and beliefs in 'Dreams', ? What do you think we can learn from our dreams?

Franki deMerle: Most people either start out life in a belief system or develop one as they grow up. They interpret the world and events around them through whatever beliefs they hold onto. Whatever symbolism we use in our dreams tends to come from our beliefs, and those same symbols are what guide us in making decisions and choosing our friends. My beliefs share common ground with Nature, as expressed in the symbols used in 'Dragonfly Dreams'. I think the rainbow is probably one of the most powerful symbols worldwide. I love rainbows.

As I said earlier, my Dad taught me early on to pay attention to my dreams. The  subconscious communicates ideas and messages to us that we might overlook in the bombardment of waking sensations. We can be more true to ourselves if we listen to what our dreams tell us. Dreams can demonstrate for us cues others give us that we might not understand otherwise.

 

 

Books-and-Authors.net: If Hollywood called and asked you to cast ‘Dragonfly Dreams’’ . Who wold you cast and why?

Franki deMerle: I've never worked in Hollywood and know very little about the casting business. Someone else's interpretation of the characters would probably give me more insight into myself, so I think I'd want to be surprised and learn from the experience. 

 

 

 

Books-and-Authors.net:What advice do you have for other authors working on their first novel?

Franki deMerle: You can never edit, rewrite, and proofread enough. Don't get attached to a draft. Nothing's set in stone until it's in print. Editors are fabulous teachers.

 

 

 

Books-and-Authors.net: Discuss briefly your other book "Deception Past: A Novel".

Franki deMerle: This was my first novel. The character Sand grows up the same time and in the same places I did. I used actual events in the book, but the characters are fictional. Most of them were inspired by mentally combining traits of people I've known who didn't necessarily know each other. The narrator Brenda uses Sand as a role model to overcome her bias against traditional marriage and gender values. Brenda recognizes that Sand had her own issues to overcome, and she admires Sand for the way she's dealt with things. The telling of Sand's story helps Brenda find peace with her family traumas.

Deception Past is also a reincarnation novel, but more of a mystery than a romance. As a young child Sand remembers her past life and death in Dachau. She also has premonitions of a murder in her present family. She discovers her past life identity only when a former friend steals it. Meanwhile, Brenda's family has to deal with deception in other ways. Both characters succeed in learning to forgive.

 

 

Books-and-Authors.net: What do you hope to achieve with your books?

Franki deMerle: In writing my books, I learn more about myself and my reactions to events in my life. In sharing them with others, I hope readers find something meaningful or symbolic that helps them in some small way. I also hope readers enjoy reading them.

 

 

 

Books-and-Authors.net:What was the last book you read?

Franki deMerle: Postwar, A History of Europe Since 1945 by Tony Judt, and I highly recommend it.

 

 

Books-and-Authors.net: What's next?

Franki deMerle: I have another collection of poetry I would like to publish one day, and I'm currently writing a novel of group reincarnation using 3 different groups of historical women.