A beloved poet, author and artist, Francis Powell is an Englishman living and working in France. What We Reading sat down to speak to him following the release of his latest book The Fish King And Two Wise Ghosts.
Thanks for speaking with us, Francis! First off, tell us a bit about yourself and what led you to the world of writing.
I was born in England but I live in France. When I was living in Paris, I came across an advert. It was a magazine called Rat Mort, (dead rat) looking for short stories. I wrote a short story and this inspired me to write more. I have written a lot in different genres. My first short stories were rather dark. I like to include a twist at the end of my stories.
Check Out The Best Books Like The Mysterious Benedict Society
Talk to us about your latest release, The Fish King and Two Wise Ghosts.
It was inspired by a drawing my son did a while back. It looked like a fish-like king, holding the hands of two ghosts. I wrote a long poem inspired by his drawing. Later I decided to change the poem into prose, but I kept a chunk of the poetry. It’s a fun story, in two parts. It begins with the king looking for a bride, only to be met with one disastrous suitor followed by another.
Eventually, he meets the right woman. In his castle there are two wise ghosts, who offer good advice, but who also like to play tricks on visitors to his castle. The second story is about the King’s son, who goes on an adventure and sees some incredible things.
It’s a book I hope children will love, as well as any parent reading the book to their children. I also did the illustrations for the book.
What is the number one goal you want the book to have with readers?
To make them laugh and imagine things in their heads.
What do you think makes you stand out as an author? Are you someone who throws themselves into the stories they write?
I work hard at writing; I enjoy writing. It is great to think up the plot and some quirky characters.
Talk to us about one of your biggest successes so far.
I got a five-star review from Readers Favorite, as well as a really nice review, which really understood the book and some of its elements.
What do you think is the biggest obstacle facing independent and aspiring authors these days?
Reaching a wide audience. Unless you have a big marketing budget, it is really hard to get your book noticed.
If you could go back in time and give your younger self one tip, what would it be?
Life will never be easy, but it might get better.
And finally, what do you hope the future holds for you and your writing?
Getting more books published and publishing something that gets a lot of recognition.
Follow Francis and his work on Twitter or check out his Goodreads profile
Check out our interview with author MT Hart
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).
