Abbey Franer is the creative mind behind the YA Fantasy novel, Dragonhearted. Renowned for her compelling world-building, inspiring and empowering characters and slow-burning romances, What We Reading sat down with Abbey following the release of her latest book, All Our Flaws And Furies, to talk about everything from returning back to writing to the challenges presented by AI, social media and the self-publishing world!
Thanks for speaking with us, Abbey! First off, tell us a bit about yourself and what led you to the world of writing.
Hello and thanks for having me! I am a self-published YA Fantasy author with three books currently available. I’ve always loved reading and the craft of storytelling, I think, has always been in my bones.
I started writing when I was a young teenager and churned out about 12 books, most of which will never see the light of day. After taking two courses with The Institute for Children’s Literature at the ages of 15 and 17, I began seriously pursuing writing with the goal of publishing.
Graduation, college, work, marriage, family, and mental health struggles all contributed to me giving up that goal for about 10 years. In an effort to get back to myself, I condensed and rewrote one of my early trilogies into Dragonhearted, my debut novel. I will forever be grateful I set aside fear and doubt and came back to writing. Writing is a part of who I am!
Talk to us about All Our Flaws And Furies. What is it about, and how does it differ compared to what readers might have come to expect from you?
All Our Flaws and Furies is a fantasy adventure centred around a dragon knight tournament that becomes the stage for a dangerous political plot that threatens not only the royal family but all the dragons of Calagon. Our main character, Thea, finds herself caught up in the action as she’s framed and punished for acts she didn’t commit. As with my all books, there is slow burn, “non-spicy” romance!
While it is set in the same world as Dragonhearted it isn’t necessary (but it is encouraged) to have read Dragonhearted first.
One minor way it differs from my previously published works is that it’s written in 1st person present tense POV. I’ve written in 1st POV extensively but this was my first time using present tense. I enjoyed the challenge and how the immediacy of the tone added intensity to high-tension moments.
What is the number one goal you want your books to have with readers?
The number one goal, I think, is that I want readers to feel some sort of connection to a character or the story that helps them learn something about themselves or gives them courage or comfort. My characters overcome adversity, fiercely protect those they love, and learn to be unapologetically true to themselves and what they believe in.
Especially as a young person, I’ve found ways of understanding myself and my own tangle of thoughts and emotions through the characters I come to love while reading. I hope my readers have a good time and, hopefully, hold my characters in a special place in their hearts.
“I want readers to feel some sort of connection to a character or the story that helps them learn something about themselves or gives them courage or comfort.”
What do you think makes you stand out as an author? Are you someone who throws themselves into the stories they write?
I immerse myself totally in one story at a time and I love my worlds and my characters; I hope that comes through in my writing.
I’ve been told my world-building is lush and often bears a whimsical note. Readers can feel and taste the world around them without superfluous descriptions.
My romances are “non-spicy” but full of tension and the sweet ache of wanting. As a YA author, most of my romances are “first love” and the characters find safety and security in one another, the strength to be themselves and be loved for it.
What would you say has been your biggest success so far?
Success is so relative and I don’t tie my success to sales or review numbers. While I am proud to have never had a zero month in the years I’ve been published and I am so grateful for each and every review, my greatest success so far has been taking the plunge into publishing in the first place. I could have listened to doubt and anxiety and the thousands of roadblocks I conjured, but I didn’t.
If you could go back in time to one book you read for the first time, what would it be and why?
So many books come to mind! I think I would choose A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer. While I used to devour books for fun all the time, I’d been so busy with ever-changing daily life as a wife and mother that I had set that joy aside. Kemmerer’s Cursebreaker trilogy was my first step back into pleasure reading (and realizing I could use the Libby app) and I loved it. I read it so quickly I’d love to go back and slowly savour the story without knowing the ending already!
What do you think is the biggest obstacle facing independent and aspiring authors these days?
AI is certainly one of them and it’s a concern that’s growing and changing shape. We need to be diligent in protecting our intellectual property and supporting our artist friends who are facing similar challenges.
The rapidly changing climate on social media dictating interest in certain genres can be difficult to navigate, though I always say don’t write for current tastes, write YOUR story.
I think the publishing industry as a whole is in a state of upheaval and we aren’t sure how things are going to shake out. That can be daunting to new authors, but shouldn’t be a deterrent. Keep writing! The world will always need stories.
If you could go back in time and give your younger self one tip, what would it be?
Don’t stop. Don’t let self-doubt or anxiety trick you into giving up.
And learn how to write an outline!
And finally, what do you hope the future holds for you and your writing?
I hope to keep writing and publishing! I have another book in the works, a dark academia fantasy with horror-adjacent elements, and several more brewing. I’d love to connect with even more readers and fellow authors!
Connect with Abbey and check out all her work on Instagram, Twitter/X and TikTok!
Check out our interview with J Mark Stacy
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
