Interview with Tim Frankovich And His Debut Novel, Until All Curses Are Lifted.

 I interviewed Tim on 13/08/19 in another blog, now defunct. 

Today, I am interviewing Tim Frankovich about his debut novel, Until All Curses Are Lifted. Tim used to have a website called Christian Fiction Review where he would review and showcase Christian Fiction. It was Tim and CFR that encouraged me to start reviewing all those years ago! It is my pleasure to now interview him about his new novel.

So let's get started! 

Welcome Tim! Thanks for stopping by!

How about we start with you telling us what inspired you to become an author? Has it always been a desire of yours to write?

It actually has. I started drawing stick figure comic strips when I was in 3rd grade. By the time I hit junior high, I had written four or five “novels,” which were highly derivative of other fantasies and mysteries I had read. Most were set in a Narnia-style world with talking dinosaurs. I re-wrote some of those stories multiple times all the way up until the birth of my first child. After that, I abandoned writing for years, figuring it was just one of those things that I had to sacrifice to be a good parent. Only in the last few years did I realize that I could come back to writing without it consuming all my time. As to what inspired me… that's hard to say. Comic books, Godzilla movies, and all the books I could read, I suppose.

You’re currently promoting your new novel Until All Curses Are Lifted. Can you tell us what it’s about?

Marshal has been cursed from birth because of his father’s sins. When his half-brother sends an assassin after him, he flees for his life, but he has to do more than just escape. If he ever wants to live without fear, he has to find a way to lift the curse.

Seri wants to become the first female master mage. But no sooner does she begin her training than the earth begins to shake. The magic that holds the world together is deteriorating. When Seri discovers a unique ability, she must use it to help discover the problem with the world's magic, and maybe a cure.

Needless to say, their stories are connected…

What inspired you to write this novel? Has any of your favourite authors influenced this novel?

When I decided to take writing seriously again, my first work was a YA novel (with dragons!). It didn’t get any traction for a while, so I started thinking about what I would write next. I went through my old notes and ideas and found the beginnings of a fantasy story that a friend and I concocted back in college. After some brainstorming, I combined it with another idea and started writing.

Yes, my favorites have influenced it. 

I can imagine some of them would have been introduced to you when you reviewed their novels in Christian Fiction Review. That was a great resource and I loved getting each new review from you. I picked up so many novels from that resource. I thank you for what you did with that website. You were one of the inspirations for my own review blog!

Thank you. I enjoyed that period of my life, and it definitely played a part in preparing me for getting back into writing. Congrats on your website. I know how much work that involves!

My favorite authors include the obvious: J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis - I have entire shelves dedicated to their works and writings about their works. But for living writers, my favorites are Stephen Lawhead, Brandon Sanderson, and James Byron Huggins. All three have influenced me in different ways: Lawhead for gritty descriptions that put you into the moment; Sanderson for incredible depth of world-building and fantastic climaxes; and Huggins for fast-paced action scenes. Toss Larry Hama into that action category too.

You have stated that Until All Curses Are Lifted is not a Christian novel in the sense of most of the Christian fiction you have read and reviewed over the years but you have taken something specific from the Bible and transplanted it to a different world and asked, “What if….?” This places your novel in the genre of speculative fiction. What have you specifically taken from the Bible for this novel? Or would that be too much of a spoiler?

I think “What if…?” is one of the greatest questions a writer can ask himself. What if Moses presented the moral law (Ten Commandments, etc.) to disparate tribes in a world where magic was real? And what if the magicians thought this was such a great idea, they should use magic to enforce it? And then what if Moses himself… oh, wait. That would be a spoiler…

As a writer who happens to be a Christian, I feel like I'm walking a narrow line. I write the stories that come to me. C.S. Lewis said “The first business of a story is to be a good story.” That’s all I want to do. Unfortunately, because of who I am, my work is generally going to be pigeon-holed. It's frustrating, because I want a wider audience.

Is my novel a “Christian” novel because most of the people in it have monotheistic beliefs? So do most of the people in Patrick Rothfuss’s novels, but he’s not called a Christian writer (and doesn't claim to be, I don't think). Mormon writers like Sanderson or David Farland don't get pigeon-holed, yet they include religious ideas throughout their stories.

So… it's hard to answer all of this.

Despite your novel not being in a similar vein to what you have read and reviewed, is there a Christian message or Biblical theme(s) running through it?

Theme? Yes. Preaching? No. In that sense, I would say grace versus law. It’s an important concept that I struggled with a lot as an adult. This book only begins to touch on that theme, but I hope to keep going with it, which leads to…

I visited your author website and noticed you have the next novel, Until All Bonds Are Broken, in the draft stage. Is this going to be trilogy? What can you disclose about this next novel?

In my current outline, the series has four books. I put up the progress counter to show that I’m not George R.R. Martin; I really am working on the next book. :)

I can't say much yet, since very few people have read the first book, but the story continues with the same characters (and some new ones). The scope widens, etc.

The title is referencing The Laws of Cursings and Bindings that govern the land, as described in the first book.

Some authors wait until a series is established with a few of its novels published and then release a prequel (or two!). Any plans for this in this series?

I have no prequel plans right now.

Who is your favourite character in the novel and why?

Tough question. It shifts constantly. I started almost exclusively focused on Marshal, but then Seri grew into such a wonderful character. Meanwhile, I have this problem with Kishin the assassin. He’s sooo interesting, but if I focus too much on him, it would derail the main story. He’s best in small doses. (Plus, if he was around too much, everyone else would be dead…)

As I’m writing the second book, my favorites keep shifting. Ask me next week and it would probably be different.

From the novel’s description on Amazon, you have mentioned Marshal and Seri as main characters. Am I joining the correct dots in that romance develops between them?

You can ship all the characters you want. I will neither confirm nor deny any romantic theories until they actually play out! Good try, Peter! LOL!

Do you show or imply the origin of magic in this novel? The inclusion of magic and it being a foundation of the novel’s world-building is a hot topic amongst Christian readers and authors. It is usually seen as a demonic and therefore considered not be in a novel written by a Christian, or in a novel with Biblical themes. However, a lot of Christian authors include magic in their novels. What are your thoughts on this?

It's a different world. It’s: “what if this world existed, and magic was a part of it?” I don’t worry about it any further than that.

That being said, the “origin” of this world’s magic is a subject of some debate late in the novel…

As far as world-building goes, what can we expect from this series? Maps, prophecy, other realms, other beings, supernatural power, unique language, history?

The book has a map. One prophecy has been alluded to. I do introduce a fantasy race that, as far as I know, is fairly unique. Lots of history. I’m toying with a unique language, but only a few words show up. There have been hints of some other things, but I can’t say more. Spoilers.

Why have you classified this novel as epic fantasy? What makes this so?

The term epic fantasy is usually a reference to scope. While the focus in this novel is on two specific people and what is happening in their individual lives, their choices and actions impact the entire known world. You could also call it high fantasy, as it takes place entirely in another world (or worlds).

You offer a free short story when someone joins your mailing list on your website, The Leper’s Second Kill. What is this about? Any connection to your novel?

Yes, it does! One of the minor (but important!) characters in the novel is an assassin named Kishin. This short story shows part of his origin. It’s not a happy story. It’s not necessary for the storyline of the novel, but it’ll be interesting to people who want to know more about him. It also contains a hint or two of something that may come up in the next book…

What kind of reaction are you hoping to receive from readers? 

In my author bio, I say that my goal as a writer is to transport readers to another world, make them care deeply about characters in dire situations, and guide them deeper into life itself. That’s kind of my credo, both for this novel and everything else I write.

What was the hardest part of writing your novel?

When I started, I wanted to give myself a challenge to really work my writing muscles, so to speak. I hadn’t decided on the nature of Marshal’s curse at first. Then I settled on the inability to communicate. He can't talk, he can’t learn sign language, nothing. Do you know how hard it was to get inside his head? What does that do to a person? I hope I succeeded, but that was quite a challenge.

How has writing and being an author impacted your relationship with Jesus Christ or vice versa?

Eric Liddell, the Olympic gold medalist in the 1920s, once said, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast! And when I run I feel his pleasure.” That’s the same for me. God made me full of stories. And when I write them, I feel his pleasure.

What advantages or challenges do you think does a writer in your genre face in today’s fiction market?

It's crowded. I just did an Amazon search for the Epic Fantasy category and there are over 40,000 results. Trying to find a way to stand out, to break out from that crowd is a huge challenge. I won’t know if I’ve succeeded at that for some time, probably.

Fantasy readers are a picky lot, and they can afford to be choosy with all these options. If a story doesn’t have solid world-building, plus compelling characters, PLUS a good plot, it won't get far.

When writing, how do you keep track of timelines, ideas, inspiration and such? By notes on the computer, a notebook perhaps?

I use everything I can. My primary software is Scrivener, which lets me make all kinds of notes and such, all over the place. Then I have some plain spiral-bound notebooks that I fill with brainstorming, character arcs, and so on. For the timeline in this novel, I had to set up a spreadsheet to keep track of the days, so I knew what was going on with one character while another character was doing something else, etc.

Do you prefer to extensively plot your stories (plotter), or do you write them as they come to you (pantser)? 

I’m a little of both. I write out a broad plot, and I have very specific scenes in my head from the beginning (usually the climax). But then as I write, new things tend to happen because of the characters. If I’ve done my job in giving the characters full personalities and motivations, sometimes they’ll decide to do things that I did not plot. Seri does this to me all the time. I almost can’t plan her side of the story.

Do you have a favorite genre? Is it the same genre you prefer to write? 

It’s definitely fantasy. I could read it all day. But I also enjoy some sci-fi, a little mystery and suspense.

Where can readers find you? What are your social media platforms:

I’m on Twitter: https://twitter.com/timfrankovich

My Facebook author page: facebook.com/timfrankovichauthor

And of course, my website: timfrankovich.com

I have Instagram, but I forget about it for weeks at a time, post a random photo, then proceed to forget again.

Tim, that ends our interview! I have enjoyed this. Thank you for giving us some great insights into you as an author and your novel. I am looking forward to reading Until All The Curses Are Lifted.  Please consider returning when your next novel is released. You are very welcome!

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Reviews also help promote the author’s message (and God’s message) to the reader, whether Christian or not, who may need encouragement and support in their lives while being entertained by the story.

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