If you’re not excited about the upcoming Wild and Wicked Things, then I can only assume you have been living under a rock. But no matter! We’re here to change your mind. Great Gatsby meets Practical Magic but make it sapphic? What’s not to love? And if you already are excited, then get ready to be more so!
Before we begin, don’t forget you can follow Fran on twitter as well!
(And also don’t forget, you can check out Fran’s other works, under Fran Dorricott, if you’re looking for sapphic lit to tide you over while you wait!)
Thank you again for agreeing to chat with us! Let’s just get down to business, shall we. How did you first get into writing?
It might be a cliche to say it but I’ve always wanted to write, and have written for as long as I can remember. I wrote my first novel-length (very awful) project at 12 or 13, and started taking part in NaNoWriMo in 2005 or so. I always knew it was something that I wanted to do, as a hobby even if I wasn’t lucky enough to do it for a job. I studied creative writing at university, and then decided to go all-in and do my Masters in creative writing as well, and it was through that course that I met my agent!
That’s so inspiring to see someone who dreamed about something, did everything to achieve the goal and then actually succeeded!
Honestly I’ve been very lucky! My family are super supportive <3
That’s always a big help! And what would you say are your favourite genres to read and write, and are there any genres or tropes you wouldn’t write?
Absolutely! My favourite genres to read and write sync up very well. The genre I read in most would be fantasy — I’ve always read a lot of fantasy, from the big epic stuff to the quieter speculative fiction, I love it all. One of the first series I got super into as a kid was The Lord of the Rings, though I absolutely couldn’t create as much lore as Tolkein did! I currently really love that sweet-spot of crossover type fantasy that features young-ish protagonists because I feel like it appeals to all of the tropes I love best in fantasy. Unsurprisingly I also read a lot of crime. My favourite kinds are the really gothic psychological books that leave you really unsettled. I love Tana French and Gillian Flynn especially. YA (especially fantasy) is my other go-to, and I would like to write it at some point, although right now I’m happy writing adult fantasy and crime.
As for things I wouldn’t (or couldn’t) write, I really admire romance writers but I’m not sure I could ever do it. It’s really hard and my brain absolutely doesn’t work that way! I wouldn’t say no to a very subplot-level of fantasy romance, but contemporary isn’t something I think I could ever achieve. Tropes-wise I’d write most anything as long as there’s a legitimate reason for it in the plot. My books tend to be pretty dark but I’d like to think there’s an exploration there, and it’s all fairly sensitive. I’d never want to write violence for violence’s sake, especially not gratuitous violence!
You might be the first person we’ve talked to who admitted that writing romance is actually hard and not for everybody. Which is absolutely true! Romance books really stop working immediately if the pacing is even a little bit off, not to mention how heavily they’re focused on characters.
Yeah it’s definitely, as far as I’m concerned, some of the hardest stuff to write!! I also wouldn’t write hard-core sci-fi actually, because I’m truly not smart enough for the science part haha
I used to love reading sci-fi in high school, even the hard kind, but the older I get, the less I enjoy that. Feels like it should be the other way around, but alas. Truly, though, I can’t imagine how much work it is to create a whole world and plot with science in the background.
And how much research you have to do if it’s outside your particular science-knowledge wheelhouse!
Exactly! Who has the attention span for that! But moving on to more general writing stuff. How do you get inspiration for your books and what’s your writing process? At what point do you let other people read your drafts and who are they?
I am always so bad at answering the inspiration question because the truth is I don’t really know where it comes from. Or, I suppose, the truth is it comes from everywhere. Books, movies, music, conversations I overhear on public transport or random tweets. Pictures, scenes in nature, just my own brain sometimes. For each project though I tend to start with one of two things: either I need a hook, i.e. for my first book that was “two girls go missing during solar eclipses 16 years apart”, or I need a “vibe” or an aesthetic like for Wild and Wicked Things I went in knowing I was writing a “gothic witch Gatsby”. Then I let an idea sit for a long time before I write it, gathering information or characters or just little elements, usually at least a year but longer if possible. Then comes the inevitable Pinterest board and playlist making before I’m ready to write! I need a clear aesthetic visual in my head before I can get started. I tend to draft pretty quickly once I get going, usually aiming for a month or two, maybe three at the most, but my editing process is a lot longer because I’m not very good at plotting ahead of time and am very much a mood writer.
I tend to share snippets of what I’m working on with a few very close friends as I write it, but otherwise nobody tends to see what I’ve written until the first draft is complete and then I’ll polish a little before sending it to my agent. Only then will I share the book a bit more widely. I have this strange feeling sometimes that if I share too much about a book too soon it’ll sort of… collapse and I’ll lose both my momentum and the spark that’s driving me to create it.
That’s totally valid, I completely get being afraid you will lose momentum if you share too much. It’s like, the book starts living in other people’s minds and there are all those expectations you have to meet now, apart from your own. Also I’m very much a mood reader, so personally I get your writing process completely.
Yeah I think expectation is a big part of it. And also I always worry then that people won’t like it, but really what I set out to do to start is to write a book that feels like my truth.
Yes I’m absolutely a mood reader too, I think it’s the same sort of thing!
I never really thought about how the existence of mood readers implies the existence of mood writers as well… So obvious, though.
haha I’m sure I could teach myself to be more controlled and disciplined but… I haven’t managed it yet!
But then, isn’t this supposed to be fun, as well? So if writing like this works for you, and it clearly does, why even bother?
Yes, definitely! One of the hard parts about writing to any kind of outline (a la publishing) is keeping that spark for me, so I have to keep the fun wherever I can.
Makes sense! Deadlines are a nightmare, let’s be real. Speaking of publishing as a whole, which three authors would you say influenced your writing the most?
Ooh this is a great question! I think for my crime writing the author who I return to again and again is Gillian Flynn, her books are stunning. And while I don’t think the influence is visible necessarily I think Sarah Waters‘ books play a big role in my huge passion to write lgbt characters. I love her books so much — Fingersmith is still one of my go-to recommends because it’s so clever. And I read a LOT of Kelley Armstrong as a teenager so I think while I don’t write any kind of urban fantasy, the way she weaves magic into the real world has always stuck with me and it’s something I try to do in my own books.
Oh, those are such iconic writers! Especially Waters, sapphics everywhere truly are blessed.
We truly are! I remember the joy of reading Fingersmith for the first time and it’s still unparalleled.
There’s just something about novels that clearly celebrate its LGBT characters, especially if they happen to be ownvoices, too. What does ownvoices LGBT representation mean to you?
Yes, absolutely! Oh for me it’s everything. I remember when I was growing up and I used to take ONE individual “gay” book on holiday with me every summer, like a little treat. They were so hard to find easily that I had a dedicated spot on my bookcase and would save my lil gay finds like treasures so I could read them and devote my whole attention. And this year I think something like 95% of the books I’ve read have had some form of ownvoices lgbt representation. It blows my mind!! Coming out was a difficult experience for me — not awful, but I’m a people-pleaser so it took me a very long time to come to accept myself as I am, and the fact that now I can be open about that and read books about people who I identify with… it just feels very special. And I know that no matter the size of my audience, if my books end up in the hands of somebody who reads them and feels Seen then I’ve done my job. I’m just so pleased that we’re finally getting more representation across genres, not just coming-out and “issues” stories but stories with all kinds of casual representation too. It’s amazing!
More please, is all I can say haha.
Our running list for LGBT books of this year alone is about 1300 titles long, so I think it’s safe to say more is definitively coming!
It’s truly phenomenal, isn’t it? My gay book SHELF is now a whole bookcase and then some!
And like you said, that feeling of truly and completely identifying with a character, because they were written by someone who also understands your lived experience, is just immeasurable.
Yes, and there’s now just so much more room for different experiences and if we can keep expanding that, my aim is for everybody to feel Seen.
We literally won’t live long enough to read all those gay books!
Yes!! Isn’t it glorious???? We have a CHOICE! Gone are the days that I would just Deal with books I wasn’t enjoying much because they had representation. Now I can shout about books I genuinely love.
It still feels a little bit unreal, just how much there is out there these days, yeah! So what’s one piece of advice you would like to give your younger self?
I think my biggest piece of advice is still something I tell myself and my friends: Believe in yourself and your work, and that can be enough. It’s so easy, if things don’t work out straight away, to feel disheartened. It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that stories aren’t worth telling if they don’t have a huge audience, or if they don’t get picked up right away, but honestly for me I just try to remember why I started writing in the first place. I write because I can’t NOT write. So I try to believe in my stories, tell ones that feel authentic to me, and then I know I’m doing the best I can.
Oh, that is definitely an important life lesson, not just for writers, either.
Yeah definitely. I think it stems from a lack of confidence, which can affect anybody!
Okay, so now I have a few less serious questions!
Okay, shoot!
Summarise your most recent or one of your upcoming books in up to 5 words and a meme.
Gatsby but they’re lesbian witches (I love using the Gatsby meme because, details aside, it’s perfect lol).
Incredible. If (when!) your books were to be made into movies, who would you like to direct them?
Ohhh this is a really hard question. Honestly I’m gonna cop out and just say anybody who truly understands the heart of the book! I’m not picky in that sense, though given his proclivity for making super long films maybe I’d want a Peter Jackson adaptation because then it would last longer when I watched it 😂
nah, I’m kidding though. Ownvoices directors pls!
If you could have dinner with one member of the LGBT community, dead or alive, who would it be?
I’d really love to actually meet Anne Lister, I think. I bet she would scare me, but I think I’d learn a lot about self-confidence!
Can I come, too?
Yes, please, haha. She’d be FAR too clever for me.
Between the two of us we might have a chance. Which of your characters would you most want to fight a zombie apocalypse with?
Hmm, Isobel from Wild and Wicked Things. She is a healer and she takes ZERO shit. The zombies would probably run the other way.
Is there a famous franchise or simply a movie/TV show you’d like to be able to write for?
I’d love to write novelisations for any of my spooky faves, but especially The Addams Family.
Do you have any secret non canon ships in your books you wish people would write fics for?
I’d genuinely secretly love to read ANY non-canon ships! But I don’t think people will have many.
Fingers crossed the readers will surprise you. And last one question, or rather a request: rec us some great LGBT books you’ve read recently!
So I’m currently reading Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M Danforth which is deliciously gothic and very spooky (and incredibly sapphic to boot). I adored The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri for a sapphic Indian-inspired epic fantasy, and if you want a sapphic adult fantasy retelling Malice by Heather Walter was SO my jam, and The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo was beautiful. I’ve been lucky enough to read Fire Becomes Her (which comes out in Feb 2022) by Rosiee Thor which has amazing ace rep and lesbians in power suits! For historical YA I really really enjoyed Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Melinda Lo, and surprising nobody I really loved One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston and Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers for a bit of contemporary romance.
Sorry, I’ll stop now lol!
All those are such excellent choices!
I’ve had SUCH a great reading year so far.
We’ve been really lucky with sapphic books lately.
We really have. I feel so lucky! I can’t wait to read She Who Became The Sun as well.
Oh, same! I feel like I’ve been waiting for my copy to come for ages! Okay, so, this is it from us! Thank you so much for your time and I hope you had as much fun as we did!
Thank you so much for such awesome questions, and thank you for having me. This has been a lot of fun!! 🙂
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Francesca May grew up in the middle of England where she spent her childhood devouring fantasy books and brewing potions in her back garden. She currently lives in Derby with her family, two giant dogs and three mischievous cats.
By day she works as a bookseller. By night she accidentally kills every house plant she touches and writes novels about gothic mansions, witchcraft, and queer love.
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