V. M. Franck

I never planned to grow up to be a writer. I longed to be an artist, but in the world I grew up in, that was not an option. I was supposed to be a wife and a mother--having a job outside the home was considered a sin. Since I wanted to eat, I engaged in the sinful act of gainful employment. I also committed a worse "sin" by divorcing my first husband and enrolling in college. There, I learned I actually had value and a fully functioning mind. I had no idea my education would lead me to become a writer, so I could tell my family's story. I made that decision while sitting in the hallway outside the courtroom. Inside, my brother was being tried for murder. My goal was to help people understand what it is like to have a member of the family kill someone.

It took me years to develop my writing skills. The first book on the subject was published. The traditional publisher changed my book in ways that made some of it not true and de-emphasized the most important aspects. In a true story truth is primary. I rewrote it years later, once I had healed. A comprehensive, gut-wrenching look at that horrific tragedy, using creative nonfiction, is published here on Smashwords: Surviving Murder: How My Life Changed When My Brother Killed His Neighbors.

This book has had a number of titles. Each time I changed it, I hoped the title would attract more attention and better convey what this work is about. I made the most recent change because I was contacted by the Discovery Channel series, Evil Lives Here. They were not interested giving a balanced view of the work. They wanted to limit it to the "ain't it awful" aspect. As I saw it, their approach could promote hate and anger, so I turned them down. They found the work through the previous title. So I changed it to reflect what the story is really about.

I now write fiction and am currently working on my twelfth book. All of my fiction is in some ways reflective of where life as taken me, marginally autobiographical.

The next step in my evolution began in 2001. I started watching the Jerry Yarnell School of Fine Art on OPB. I recorded the step-by-step shows, watched and rewatched them, picking up painting tips, and I began painting. I discovered his website and purchased more instructional material. He taught me to paint and realize the dream that began when I was a little girl. Painting was the first activity I ever found where I became so engrossed I lost track of time and the myriad things which weighed on me. In 2004 my third husband built our website to display my paintings. I paint and design my own cover art. The site grew to encompass our areas of interest. Take a look.

If you believe in yourself and what you are doing it makes a difference. If you do nothing it makes a difference. Whether your attitude is positive or negative is up to you. I know it is easy to feel locked into attitudes and circumstances, but we can break free. As I grew up I didn't know this. I learned. You can too.

Read more of this interview.

Website: http://www.whereartmeetstheheart.com

http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=V.+M.+Franck

afterlife    alternate history    alternative beliefs    being different    betrayal    beyond death    christianity and islam and hinduism and zen and native american mysticism    cleaning up oceans    climate change    contemporary adult fiction    environment    extramarital affair    friendship    grief    jesus family    killers family    loss    love    love affairs    love and sex    magical realism    metaphyscal and new age and visionary    metaphysical and new age and visionary    moonshine    multicultural multireligious understanding    murder trial    native american    passion    peace activism    personal growth    phoenix    playful    ptsd    reincarnation    reunion    romance    second chance    self actualization    sex    sex and love    shaman    strong women    survival    tolerance    true crime    violence and rebellion    womens rights equality   

• Is There Time? on Nov. 14, 2016
  
  D. R. is a visionary with strong scientific underpinnings. In this book he clearly lays out what is coming and what we need to do to avoid extinction as a species. It is a matter of when, not if. He supports this assertion with clear, concise, easy to understand evidence, making a brilliantly insightful case for what is to come. Well worth the read, in my opinion to do so is imperative. The only thing it costs is the willingness to open the mind to the evidence and where it leads us. V. M. Franck
  
• Daddy's Different on Nov. 20, 2016
  
  If you like reading a book that immediately draws you in and won't allow you to put it down until you have finished it, this one is for you. D. R. is a visionary with strong business and scientific underpinnings. In this work, political intrigue is interlaced with the mind control exercised by nemesis Orchid, a cult leader similar to those in real life--Jim Jones in Guyana, David Koresh in Texas and Marshal Applewhite in Rancho Santa Fe. A clear understanding of this work can be extrapolated to recent day events in which so many were duped into believing in one of the major players on our political stage and why worldwide leaders fear him. The author's insights into the workings and mind-sets of those in the upper echelons of the business and political arenas add credibility to the story. The reader believes it. It is well worth the read.
  
• Layman's License on Dec. 20, 2016
  
  D.R. has an excellent mind and clearly relates his ideas. I am impressed by his depth. At times, this work reads like an essay, at times a scientific paper. At times, it is philosophical and at times it is a primer for survival. It offers encouragement to explore or in D.R.'s terms, dabble in the human experience and workings of the mind. Read it, if you are seeking a reason to explore yourself and wander in and out of possible realities. The book could be called Everything You Need to Consider to Be a Viable Human Being. It includes the far reaches of the universe, climate change, population growth, Earth's sustainability, death, life, spiritual beliefs, distance, time, teaching a daughter to change a tire, manners, obsession with technical devices and a myriad of other matters. Well-researched, with good flow from one dabble to the next, it would be excellent required reading for graduating high school seniors, incoming college freshmen and a college philosophy class. It provides a realistic look at what lies ahead and what one needs to do about it. I recommend reading it as a gift to yourself.
  
• Concoctions on Feb. 05, 2017
  
  D.R. has an excellent understanding of the human condition under a variety of circumstances, situations and mind sets. He is able to put himself inside the heads of his characters and write from their points of view. He was even able to show what it would feel like to be a sentient, artificial intelligence at risk of being recycled. He knows what it would be like to have your spouse of 65 years terminally ill and pass over when she passes. He explores what it would be like to be a homeless alcoholic who saves someone. He envisions what dying might feel like. This work contains many scenarios that give the reader reason to ponder. The stories are well-crafted. I highly recommend this work.