Franki deMerle The IAN Interview

Franki deMerle is the author of Deception Past and Ripples on the Surface. Her name is on the Wall of Tolerance at the Southern Poverty Law Center, Montgomery, Alabama, and at the Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr Memorial in Washington, DC, as a founding member of the Build the Dream Foundation. She is a former professional musician and a retired civilian employee of the United States Army. Her hobbies include yoga, gardening, knitting, pets, and Scottish country dance.

IAN. Please tell us about your latest book.

Fd. This is the story of two sisters and the man one of them falls in love with. Daphne ignores the dream she has on her wedding night, right before her honeymoon on the Scottish Isle of Arran, and finds herself trapped in an abusive marriage. She dreams that there is a man somewhere who will truly love her and treat her with respect, but she doesn’t know how to find him. Thanks to the sacrifice made by a stray cat, she finally finds the courage to escape her abusive husband.

Deandra, her sister and an army officer, sends a friend to rescue Daphne. He is a retired officer, and he turns out to be the man of Daphne’s dreams. When she meets him, the Major is preoccupied with his recent retirement. He and Daphne fall in love, and then she and Deandra discover their hidden pasts. Together, while living in the Pacific Northwest, they explore their past lives and what the past means for them in the present. This is a romance novel about dreams that connect us, dreams that come true, and dreams that reveal the past. “There are places we can only reach in our dreams while our bodies sleep.”

IAN. How long did it take to write the Dragonfly Dreams?

Fd. 10-11 months

IAN. What inspired you to write the book?

Fd. My own retirement from working as a civilian for the US Army.

IAN. Talk about the writing process. Do you write at night or in the morning?

Fd. I prefer to write at night, although that’s not always the case. I write when I’m inspired, have something to say, and realize something about a character or scene.

IAN. Did you use an outline or do you just wing the first draft?

Fd. I outline in my head. I spend a lot of time thinking about a character and/or scene before I write. I rarely write the book in order. I like to put some scenes aside and do them last—usually violence.

IAN. How is your book different from others in your genre?

Fd. The characters, though fictional, are inspired by combinations of people I’ve known and matched with real characters from the past, with one exception. The Major was inspired by my teddy bear in uniform who shared my office when I worked for the Army. He started out as a private; my sister named him Major Ursa, and then, for his remarkable ability to keep his mouth shut, he was promoted up to Colonel by the time I retired. The dreams the characters have in the book actually come from my own vivid dreams.

IAN. Is your book published in print, e-book or both?

Fd. Both

IAN. What do you hope your readers come away with after reading your book?

Fd. I hope they get a few laughs, some personal insights, and some deeper thoughts about the bigger picture of humanity. I hope those that live in Scotland, western Oregon or Southwest Washington will appreciate the local landmarks in the story. I also hope those that don’t live in these areas might take away some images and maybe be inspired to visit.

IAN. Where can we go to buy your book?

Fd. Online or if your local bookstore doesn’t have it in stock, it can be ordered. It’s on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Powell’s, www.reincarnationbooks.com, and, of course, the Independent Author Network, http://j.mp/elTVij Please support independent bookstores too!

IAN. Tell us about your next book or a work in progress. Is it a sequel or a stand alone?

Fd. I don’t do sequels. I’m in the middle of the story of five women who reincarnate in three different historical situations. The historical situations are ones that have been told many times through the eyes of certain men. My intent is to show how the characters develop through their personal choices in different directions.

IAN. Any other links or info you'd like to share?

A. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8HaN5MNLUA I also have a blog at

http://deceptionpast.wordpress.com

Dragonfly Dreams by Franki deMerle

Page count: 213

Genre: Novel

iUniverse

Excerpt from book:

Daphne was sound asleep when a man arrived in her dream with a warm, orange glow about him, like a fireball of warmth and energy; he was smiling the warmest smile she had ever encountered. To say she was attracted to this dark-haired, olive-skinned creature, like a moth to a flame, didn’t begin to describe it. He was somehow intimately familiar to her. Before she knew what was happening, she was flying along at his side, too fast for feet to keep up, much less touch the ground, and with no effort.

They were flying fast above houses and trees, and as they left the planet further and further beneath and behind them, it seemed they were flying on the wings of pure harmonious sound. It seemed it was the vibration that was propelling them. Daphne felt like her body had turned into pure harmonic vibration, and together they flew on the same wavelength until they were soaring among the stars beyond the solar system.

Daphne found herself dreaming of this angel and flying with him almost every night. Sometimes he appeared to her in a silvery light with bright white hair, but most of the time he was dark surrounded by light.

Please visit Franki deMerle at IAN

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