The winner of our second contest, ~frankieofthehills, sat down in an interview to discuss her writings.

A bit about the Novelist

DA Identity:
Name: ~frankieofthehills
Website: None
Age: 16

How do you see yourself through your literature?

Well, I think parts of me are expressed in what I write...but I'm a bit of an escapist really, I like to forget myself in writing and reading and films...and all art I guess. So I guess I don't so much see myself through my literature as hide myself? Not in a bad way though.

How would you describe what you generally write?

uhh *laughs* varied? I write a lot of poetry but I think I enjoy prose the most...and I do tend to use fantasy settings, but I wouldn't call myself a fantasy writer...I just prefer a setting I can manipulate.I tend to focus on individual characters and their relationships the most, a sort of everyone has a story to tell thing.

So, being able to manipulate the setting, how does that intertwine with your worlds and how you come up with ideas?

Well, if you're writing a strictly real life story or something historical, you have to stick to basic rules like...gravity and the laws of physics and history...but if you're using an original setting you can just drop a great big faceless army in there to stress your characters out, and I think people are always more interesting when they're stressed out

Do you prefer books of that sort, where the characters are under a lot of suspense and stress, or others?

Well constantly happy books just don't work...the best books are the ones where the characters are pushed to the ultimate limit, I guess you could look at The Lord of The Rings as the prime example. Stress and suspense brings out the best or the worst in a character.

What books would you recommend readers and authors take a look at?

Uh, my favourite book is Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, which is ridiculously misinterpreted I think...just seen as a love story by so many people so I guess I'd recommend that readers have a look at that, but I understand it's not really for everyone. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks is pretty mindblowing, but extremely harrowing...and Eve Green by Susan Fletcher is pretty amnazing. Other than that I'd recommend the ones that everyone goes on about, the catcher in the rye, sophies world, 1984, the lord of the rings, Harry Potter I could go on forever

Who do you admire the most, authorwise or otherwise?

I have a bit of a Johnny Cash obsession *blushes* he is just incredible- he had an astounding voice and was such a great song writer. Author wise I guess I'd have to say Shakespeare, which is horribly cliche but those plays have stood the test of time and are still funny, beautiful and so evocative.

Are they your muse? Or does something else drive you to write?

*laughs* No they're not really my muse...I think just the love of seeing my own creations on paper drives me to write

And what dreams or future do you hope to create for your writings?

I guess in the end I'd like to write as a living...novels etc, but I know it's hardly the most successful industry.

If you run into a literary wall, how do you plow through the blockage?

I read a book or watch a film that inspires me...I haven't really experienced that much of writer's block to be honest.

What most do you want to be taken from your writings? What deeper meaning or inspiration?

Well I always find in writings that I love it's the identifying with charcters and situations that inspires me, so I suppose that's what I'd like people to take from what I write

Any words for your fans out there in the audience?

uhh *laughs* I don't think I have any fans...

< Insert Peer Pressure Here >

Well I do want to thank everyone whose been supportive of me on deviant art and my watchers...I think deviant art has really brought me out of my shell in terms of writing, I found it virtually impossible to show anyone anything I'd written before I joined so yup, thanks