FREE BOOK FEATURE: Interview with author FL Rose

FREE BOOK FEATURE: Interview with author FL Rose

HEAR YE! HEAR YE!  Welcome to Free Book Sunday. 

This week's newsletter begins a new feature: author interviews. Today, I'm interviewing F.L. Rose, author of The Point of Us, a featured titled in BookFunnel's Classy Reads literary fiction expo.

Rose lives on the east coast of Australia and writes across a range of genres, including under the pen name Fallacious Rose.

We connected after she read my new book, Death Magnanimous, and I read one of her essays, No More Running and Jumping, a powerful and moving examination of an athletic young man suddenly paralyzed faced with the decision to live with extreme disability -- or die by his own hand. 

Death Magnanimous -- also featured in today's Classy Reads lineup -- is about a young attorney burned beyond recognition in a light-aircraft accident faced with the same choice.

As always, click the links for the titles, ALL free this week.  

Without further ado, here's Part One of my FL Rose Question (MM, Mike Martin) and Answer (ROSE).

MM:  On the surface, the four main characters in The Point of Us are quite different: Paul, a Catholic school teacher losing his faith in God who signs up to visit a notorious hit man in prison; Dave, a school bus driver accused of racism; Emma, a mom who finds a long-lost brother doing life in prison; and Terentia, an award-winning novelist who may not be on top of her game anymore.

What brought them together in your mind as you crafted and wrote the story? Other than each person arriving at a critical crossroads, what other qualities, especially subtle ones, do they share?

ROSE:  In The Point of Us, it’s not so much qualities that the four characters share, but a destiny as humans – that of being bound by the limitations and possibilities of the kind of people we are.

We all look for purpose, but depending on who we are – stubborn, principled, creative, nurturing – we seek it and achieve it in different ways. Dave, for instance, is an idealist, and that brings his world crashing down. On the other hand, it also offers the possibility of positive change.

Terentia, the rejected novelist, has a critical, rather selfish outlook shaped by her identity as a creator. But the rejection itself, and her daughter’s crisis, is a catalyst for growth.

I guess the point is, nobody changes who they are, but through challenging circumstances, we do grow and learn.


MM:  You have an unusually-frank style. You don't mince words, as a trip through your site, Butimbeautiful, reveals. You also tackle some tough subjects: loss, grief, death, sex, and humor (which is so NOT easy).
 
Mincing words, however, has become something of a political and even economic necessity in many countries, especially democracies grappling with the language behind the --isms: racism, sexism, feminism, genderism, and so forth. In short, honest words can get you into trouble, especially in certain areas, like academe and business.

What advice do you have for writers in a world where honest words have become so charged?  Do you ever worry that careful wording could wreck quality writing, which as Hemingway famously noted, is all about writing the truest sentence you can?


ROSE:  You’re so right: these days it’s hard to walk a line between artistic truthfulness and the possibility of causing offence. I think the purpose of art is to show truth and beauty. So if you censor art, you kill it.

Ironically I find writing commercial fiction has a similar chilling effect; you find yourself thinking, ‘oh, my character had better not say that, people won’t like it!’.  In this respect it’s great being obscure; if you say something politically incorrect, nobody notices or cares.

I wouldn’t presume to advise another writer on how to deal with this; it’s about whether you want to be true to your art (god, that sounds pretentious!) or quite reasonably prioritise some other principle such as caution, politeness or whatever. Be understanding, kind, truthful and skilful? Something like that.

MM:  It's pretty easy to tell what books qualify as genre fiction: crime, mystery, fantasy, romance, science fiction, and so forth. It's not as easy to describe literary fiction.

What are the qualities of literary fiction? 

ROSE:  Not being a fan of rules and labels in general, I’m not sure what qualifies as literary fiction. But I think there is a class of books I’d classify as ‘literature’.

Literature, of whatever genre, uses words carefully and with a sense of their power and beauty. It possesses originality, but reveals something true about the universe we live in (you see, I’m not being too prescriptive here, in terms of specifying ‘humanity’ or ‘our world’).

In the real world, literary is often shorthand for pretentious, boring and inaccessible – which is NOT something I aim for.

FL Rose also enjoys writing song lyrics and paddling at the beach with her Australian Kelpie, Darcy.  You can find out more about Rose’s books at www.fallaciousrose.com


 

 


Gullivar Jones and the Treasure of the Tsar

 



What will Charlie Chessman choose? Is the life he wants to end instead the life he's been waiting to begin?

Advance Reader Remarks


"There are two choices at play in Death Magnanimous: the external---Can I kill myself?—and the internal---Will I kill myself? 

"Ironically and beautifully, we see Charlie Chessman learn that even after tragedy, even after everything you’ve known is flipped upside down, life will go on. We are the only ones who can decide if and how we want to be a part of it."


CLICK for your FREE copy of DEATH MAGNANIMOUS

 

https://books.bookfunnel.com/classyreads/frla0hyga8


‍What if the person who knew you best forgot your name?

Jack and his wife Sara retired years ago to the house of their dreams. Jack has made an impossible promise: He and Sara will stay together in their beautiful home no matter what Alzheimer’s brings.

After nine years of selfless caregiving, complicated by his own failing heart, Jack finally admits he can no longer care for her at home, so he arranges an assisted living facility.

On the day of admission, Sara is having one of her few good days, and Jack is unable to follow through. Instead, he takes them on an impulsive journey to confront their past and reclaim their future.

CLICK for your FREE copy of BLUE HYDRANGEAS

https://books.bookfunnel.com/classyreads/frla0hyga8


THE TROUBLE

Irish homicide detective Adam Kincaid pursues a serial killer exacting revenge for crimes connected to high-ranking Catholic Church officials.

Click It to Get It 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BCXD8MVR/

Young scientist Jen Zendeck and her research team must rescue the greatest discovery in history from the universities, governments, and trillionaires fighting to keep it for themselves. A realistic take on science and discovery 20 years from now, CRIMSY is perfect for fans of Andy Weir and Michael Crichton.

◆◆◆◆◆"Loved it! Amazing plot. Very insightful on the scientific parts of the story. Great writing."

◆◆◆◆◆ "Scientific backstory excellent!"

◆◆◆◆◆ "Paints a picture of true scientists and the values they share. I recommend this to those who enjoy good dialogue, thrillers, and realistic fiction."

◆◆◆◆◆ "My type of book ... great characters, lots of thought-provoking problem solving."

◆◆◆◆◆ "Parts of this book would make a GREAT movie."

◆◆◆◆◆"A funny, thought-provoking, and well-written story of space exploration, politics, and the moral issues of scientific investigation."

GET Crimsy: A gripping, funny, realistic near-future sci-fi adventure AT:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08MXY3PK6

NEWLY WIDOWED AND STRUGGLING with single fatherhood, SILHOUETTE hero and small-town prosecutor Ben Harper investigates a murder and uncovers racially-charged secrets that threaten a charismatic Black mayor's ambitious plans for New Orleans.

◆◆◆◆◆ "A fascinating read, clear and suspenseful, all the way until the end. Keeps the reader guessing and turning the page. This is a complex tale with lots of character."  

◆◆◆◆◆ "The author does a wonderful job expressing the intricacies and nuances of race in America."

◆◆◆◆◆ "Ben Harper is smart, anchored, educated, and cares about his people. Unlike many previous portrayals of Black detectives that play to various stereotypes, Ben is worthy of Black readers' admiration."

GET Silhouette: Murder, politics, New Orleans AT:

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A heartfelt thank you to Marcie Cumberland, who reviewed The Fires of Lilliput on Goodreads and Amazon:

Thought provoking and hard to put down.

The Fires of Lilliput reads like a fascinating documentary. The fictional characters blended so well with the historical settings , it was difficult to remember this is a novel. I be recommending it to all my friends but particularly my Polish friends both Catholic and Jewish.


GET THE FIRES OF LILLIPUT FOR KINDLE, FREE IN KU:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PZDFMWY

GET THE FIRES OF LILLIPUT PAPERBACK AT:

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Thank you so much for reading!

Until next time,

Michael Martin

2,610 subscribers

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