Bookpleasures.com welcomesas our guest Shelly Frome. Shelly is a member of Mystery Writersof America, a professor of dramatic arts emeritus at theUniversity of Connecticut, a former professional actor and, alltold, has written over twenty-five plays in addition to hisarticles and novels. 

He is a frequent contributor ofarticles on all facets of creative writing and acting, Shelly appearsin numerous periodicals including Southern Writers Magazine wherehe is the film columnist. He is also a contributor to writers'blogs and websites in the U.S. and the U.K.

His fictionincludes Twilight of the Drifter, Lilac Moon, the Hollywoodcrime caper Tinseltown Riff, Murder Run, and his recentlypublished The Secluded Village Murders, Miranda and the D-DayCaper and Moon Games.

Among his works of non-fictionare the acclaimed The Actors Studio and texts on TheArt and Craft of Screenwriting and writing for the stage.  

Norm: Good day Shellyand thanks for taking part in our interview.

What is the one thingother people always seem to get wrong about you?

Shelly: I’m alwayseasygoing, nothing gets me down.

Norm: Is your writingan art or craft or some combination of both? 

Shelly: It’s acombination of both.

Norm: What advice canyou give aspiring writers that you wished you had received, or thatyou wished you would have listened to? 
 

Norm: Do you thinkabout your reading public when you write? Do you imagine a specific reader when you write?

Shelly: I’m aware thatonce the story stops percolating, a reader will simply put it down.

Norm: Does the linebetween truth and fiction sometimes become blurred for you?

Shelly: If it rings truethan it’s alive. Otherwise it’s just writing.

Norm: Do you ever dreamabout your characters?

Shelly: I often daydreamabout what they’re up to now and where they’re headed.

Norm: When did the ideafor Miranda and the D-Day Caper first emerge? 

Shelly: When I recalledthe days when Jean Shepard reminisced about the innocent, good olddays in small town Indiana during his midnight broadcasts on WOR NewYork.

Norm: What were yourgoals and intentions in this novel, and how well do you feel youachieved them? 

Shelly: I wanted tosomehow combine the whimsical days of my youth with the bizarreright-wing politics of today and generate some kind of synthesis.Judging from the thirty-nine reviews on Amazon so far, I seemed tohave engendered a “romp” which may or may not have anything to dowith what I originally intended. But, as always, you never knowwhat’s going to happen once you put your work out there. 

Norm: What was the mostdifficult part of writing this novel and what did you enjoy mostabout writing it?  

Shelly: The most difficultpart was dealing with my assigned editor who kept finding gaps in thenarrative I wasn’t aware of. The thing I loved about it was whenSkip and Miranda’s backstory took over, emanating from the dayswhen they were kids allowing them to just wing it. 

Norm: Did you write thenovel more by logic or intuition, or some combination of the two?Please summarize your writing process.  

Shelly: Once I set up themost promising dynamic and set of characters, I let each beat withineach scene play itself out within the given circumstances at themoment, so that the narrative becomes self-generating.

Norm: How did you goabout creating the characters in the novel?

Shelly: If they had anecessary function, they just came to me after all the years I spentplaywriting, acting and watching people in real life and on thescreen.

Norm: Did you know theend of your book at the beginning?  

Shelly: I only knew themain characters were on a collision course and there had to be somekind of climactic scene in a crowded outdoor venue in Asheville. 

Norm: Where can ourreaders find out more about you and  Miranda and the D-DayCaper?

Shelly: They can look upmy WEBSITE   They can always read the reviewson Amazon or Goodreads.

Norm; What is next forShelly Frome?

Shelly: My publisher justsent me a contract for Shadow of the Gypsy which is darker talethan my other works of fiction. It’s a crime novel, a love storyand a reluctant hero’s journey not unlike those of myth.

Norm: As this interviewcomes to an end, what would you like to say to writers who arereading this interview and wondering if they can keep creating, ifthey are good enough, if their voices and visions matter enough toshare?  

Shelly: As I intimated,you have to do a lot of reading of contemporary works, especiallythose novels you can identify with, find a good editor even if youhave to pay her, and then, after you get some honest feedback, decideif there’s a match between what you’re  compelled to exploreand some facet of today’s publishing world.  

Norm; Thanks once againand good luck with all of your future endeavors
  

FOLLOW HERE TO READ NORM'S REVIEW OF MIRANDA AND THE D-DAY CAPER