Location: Canada
Member Since: April 16, 2015

1 reader has added this author as a 'Favorite Author'.

Sign in to subscribe to email alerts for Francois Houle

Francois Houle

Biography

François Houle’s first novel IT HAPPENED TO US spent multiple weeks in 2019 as an Amazon top 100 best seller in two categories. His fiction explores themes that are universal such as family and friendships, love and grief, and anything else that makes us all human. Reviews often refer to his books as “beautifully written,” “heartbreaking and heartwarming,” and “intense and emotional.”

François is one of five boys so it’s no surprise that family is a strong theme in his books. A lot of the inspiration for his first two novels IT HAPPENED TO US and BEAUTIFUL MIDNIGHT came from the passing of his father in 2005.

François grew up in a small town outside of Montréal, moved to Toronto when he was ten, and currently lives in Ottawa. An avid reader from a young age, he tried to create a comic book when he was twelve, penned hundreds of song lyrics as a teenager, and wrote his first novel in 1985.

When he's not writing, he's probably outside doing something around the house or down in his basement workshop, enjoying a little woodworking.

If you’d like to stay current with what he’s working on, signup to his Insiders Group and get a free ebook as a thank you: www.francoisghoule.com/your-free-starter-library/

Smashwords Interview

When did you first start writing?
I was twelve. I started writing and drawing my own comic book during the summer of 1975 and managed to create 6 pages (the drawing part took a lot of time). Then I started grade 7 in September, my interests changed, and I never got back to that comic book (but I still have those 6 pages). Throughout high school I wrote lyrics for probably more than a hundred songs (I still have them all in a binder). I’m not a musician but at the time I’d wanted to learn to play the guitar. The first novel I wrote was a sci-fi and it took me two years to write (1985-1987). I had no idea what I was doing, but after I wrote it, I knew I had to write more, learn (I read a lot of books on fiction writing over the years), practice to get better, and hope that someday I would see my work published. Smashwords has helped me make that dream come true.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
When I write a scene that comes alive, where I totally identify with what is happening to the characters. When I get that feeling I know I’ve written something really good and hope that when readers read that scene that they will also experience that feeling. When I write, I can't think of the book as a whole because that's too big. It's easier to think in terms of scenes, and then work each scene until it's as good as it can be, and then move on. When we read we read scenes, we remember great scenes. They are the building blocks of a story. So that's my goal, to write the best scenes that I can, and repeat until I reach the end of the story I want to tell.
Read more of this interview.

Where to find Francois Houle online

Website: http://www.francoisghoule.com
Facebook: Facebook profile
Blog: http://www.francoishgoule.com/whats-new

Where to buy in print

https://www.amazon.com/Fran%C3%A7ois-Houle/e/B00TNTI62I

Books

The Hope of Times to Come by
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 77,980. Language: English. Published: April 12, 2022 . Categories: Fiction » Literature » Literary, Fiction » Women's fiction » General
The Hope of Times to Come digs into the scars that shaped our childhood to find the strength we never realized we had, and unleashes the truth we must face to set us free.
The Trees Have Buds by
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 76,470. Language: English. Published: September 29, 2020 . Categories: Fiction » Women's fiction » General, Fiction » Literature » Literary
The Trees Have Buds is a poignant and heart-rending journey of two women who struggle to shed their past, learn to trust, and define the true meaning of family.
The Little Lies We Hide by
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 88,370. Language: English. Published: December 5, 2019 . Categories: Fiction » Women's fiction » General, Fiction » Literature » Literary
A slip of the tongue during a heated argument will dig deep and expose a secret so unforgivable that it could destroy every member of the Knighton family. THE LITTLE LIES WE HIDE explores the decisions we make, the secrets we keep, and the regrets we package into convenient little lies that we learn to live with – because doing otherwise would be worse. Get THE LITTLE LIES WE HIDE today!
Beautiful Midnight by
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 82,110. Language: English. Published: June 1, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Coming of age, Fiction » Literature » Literary
Beautiful Midnight is the story of two young women coming to understand who they truly are while navigating the imperfection of their lives and friendship, and learning to let go of a past marred with regrets, denials, and painful truths. Perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah, Nicholas Sparks, and Kate Hewitt.
It Happened to Us by
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 59,750. Language: English. Published: April 21, 2015 . Categories: Fiction » Literature » Literary, Fiction » Women's fiction » General
All it takes is a second to change everything. It Happened to Us is a beautifully written and true to life depiction of the struggle, the pain, and ultimately the healing that follows a devastating tragedy. Perfect for fans of Emma Robinson, Kate Hewitt, and Nicholas Sparks.

Francois Houle's tag cloud

contemporary literary fiction    contemporary women    death and grief    domestic life    drama family    drama fiction    fall in love    fall in love again    family drama    family lies    family life    family life fiction    family saga fiction    family tragedy    lies and love    losing a child    lost love    love and drama    love and loss    marriage    marriage and divorce    marriage and relationships    marriage breakdown    marriage relationship    mothers and children fiction    personal grief    romantic relationship    second chances    small town    small town and rural fiction    starting over    teenage love    women fiction    womens domestic life fiction