Meet Sally Franklin Christie

Interview with Sally Franklin Christie, author of If I Should Die.

Watch the trailer and read an excerpt at Blazing Trailers.

Why don’t you begin by telling us a little about yourself? I want my tombstone to say “I told you I was sick.”

I am a daughter, sister, mom, wife, grandmother, artist, photographer, researcher, organizer for social change, homeschool teacher, eaves dropper, and the list goes on. I also write.

I like to give my topics a unique slant. I live my life with unusual physical challenges and write from a skewed point of view. I believe that Life is a Story and it is my job to Tell it Big.

When I visit the local cemetery, it is not the date that intrigues me, it is what happened during the dash that comes between a person’s coming and going.

When did you decide you wanted to become an author?

I’d like to say I was born with a fountain pen in my hand or that I wrote my first story in the third grade. I remember the wide ruled paper with a big space at the top for illustrating the story below. What did you do on your summer vacation. But, my first visit with writing was a self absorbed diary I used to feel sorry for myself in high school. I wrote some short fiction in college. I wrote more during a really bad relationship. Then one day I saw an ad for a correspondence course in writing for children. In 1994, I began to learn the craft. I went on to become a ‘professional student.’ I sold some articles and wrote for newsletters. I’ve written four or five novels and don’t know for sure when I ‘became’ an author.

Do you have another job besides writing?

I am a Marketing Manager for Damnation Books and Eternal Press. I also moderate at The Writer’s Chatroom. I began my work-a-day life as a student in college where I made my party money working in the library, cancelling government documents and later became a police dispatcher. I suppose it was inevitable that I would at some point begin to tell a story.

Were you an avid reader as a child? What type of books did you enjoy reading?

When I was a kid, all I wanted was to be as old as my brother. He learned to read and color inside the lines. I could hardly wait. Reading was natural for me. Reading is something I did to pass the time. It was something I could do during long hospital stays.

I used to sneak into the library during a semester in high school when for some reason I was not assigned to a class or study hall for a period right after lunch. To access the library we needed to sign in at the study hall room. To avoid having the error discovered I would sign up for the next hour and go ahead and access the library early.

Why do you write?

I write as an effort to thank all of the authors who came before me. They let me escape to places I will never see. The allowed me to experience physical and mental feats that I would never do. They gave me information. Entertained me. Gave me building blocks. I write because they did it first. I want to take my reader on a journey, too. I write because someone else cared enough to give me something to read.

What would you tell aspiring young writers about the publishing business?

Writing your book is just the first step. After the letter of acceptance comes cover art, editing, more editing, marketing, formatting, editing, marketing, the behind the scenes things that happen to your book on the way to the virtual and real bookstore shelves is a long and winding road. When your book is accepted it is no longer yours alone, the publisher is betting on you, that you wrote something that is going to sell. They are investing in you as they assign editors, cover artists and jump the hoops of getting it ready for consumption. It is a business and it is also a commitment.

What other types of artistic talents do you have?

I paint landscapes, take lots of photos and crochet. In my WIP, work in progress, two of the main characters are photographers and I took an adult ed class to research. Photographers use the same things in a writer’s kit, scene, feeling, theme and composition. Painting is very satisfying because it is hard to be anything but creative during the process. Crocheting is all about following a pattern and building up to the whole. I don’t know if these are talents but they are creative outlets.

What is(are) your favorite book/author(s)? Why?

Wuthering Heights is one of my favorite books, I wrote a thesis paper about why Heathcliff, a dark and brooding character was a hero. Dr. Starr gave me an A-. Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird really goes to the heart of ‘life is a story.’ My third favorite book is by Stephen King, The Stand. The Stand is rich in character and it is where I was introduced to the idea that those who survive an initial catastrophe may not have the skills to survive the aftermath.

What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

The president of the Women’s Writers Guild sent me a postcard with my membership that said, “Life is a Story – Tell it Big.” I took that to heart and used it as the foundation of my blog.

Where do you find ideas for stories?

I get story ideas from dream fragments. I also like to watch people in parking lots and assign or make up back stories for them. It sounds like a creepy game of “what if,” but I think most authors do this in way or another. My own back story include a highly functional family life, all things considered and I have many things to draw from random childhood events.

Have you ever woken in the night with the need to write? If so, how do you deal with this urge?

Drugs. Zolpidim. Seriously. What I write during the intervals between repeating dreams is illegible. Without drugs I am alert most of the night.

Do you have any recurring dreams or nightmares?

I’m losing control of my car. My teeth are turning cold and falling out. I’m smoking. I have totally forgotten to attend a college class.

The car dreams began when I was a kid. Back in the olden days a parent could leave a kid or group of kids in a car for huge blocks of time. I remember a town in southern Illinois with very steep hills. I always feared the car would begin to roll. Now, that I can drive, I dream all sorts of scenarios related to losing control of my car. A computer voice intruded one dream and advised I was about to experience a head on collision.

Teeth dreams began when I was living a totally day to day sort of life with my daughter and her dad. My teeth turn cold like porcelain and just sort of begin to fall out. I’ve heard this is common to people with self esteem/image problems. Whatever the cause, it disturbs me deeply.

I used to smoke and I loved it. So much, I have a short story I’ve been shopping around for years called, Smokers. I quit in 88 and oh, how I miss it. In my dream, I have forgotten how quickly I got hooked on those things the first and second times and I have no memory of quitting. Just recently, I smoked ten cigarettes at our local Mc D’s. Dr. Oz was there dancing and breaking out in a very bad rash. I could not believe my son and husband who were also there and did not stop me.

I’ve gone on too long about the dreams I have, so you’ll have to make up a reason for my last reoccurring dream.