We
are very happy to welcome J.S. Frankel to the Smoocher’s Voice blog today. Frankel’s
latest novel Lindsay
and the Marauders is available at Amazon.
J.S. Frankel was born
in Toronto, Canada, many moons ago and managed to scrape through high school
and university, earning a BA in English Literature and leaving no book unopened
during his time at the University of Toronto. Shortly after graduation, he
moved to Japan in order to teach English to the hapless residents of whichever
city he happened to be living at the time.
In 1997, he married
the charming Akiko Koike and their union produced two rather interesting
children. Frankel and his family make their home in Osaka where he teaches
during the day and attempts to write YA fiction at night.
Jodi: Thank you, J.S., for taking the time to
answer some questions for our readers. Tell us a little about yourself.
J.S.: The
brief bio above says it all. I was born in Toronto, Canada, but moved to Japan
at the age of twenty-six. Japan intrigued me back then and it still does. I’ve
been living here half my life (!) and the journey never ends. So, too, with my
writing, the journey never ends and I hope it never will.
Jodi: Why did you choose to write in the young
adult genre?
J.S: It wasn’t a
conscious decision. It was just something inside me that said “tell a story”. I
know it’s supposed to be ‘the’ market today and I’ve looked at the
demographics, but really, it’s just the kid in me who is, in a way, retracing
his youth through his novels.
Jodi: So far you have four published young adult
books? Do all of the books have an element of science fiction and romance?
J.S.: Yes, they do,
although having romance isn’t necessary. I’ve always loved science fiction,
ever since I was young when writers like Ray Bradbury and Frederik Pohl
captured my imagination with the stories they wrote. I like to think about the
possibilities of life among the cosmos and my stories are representative of the
what-if element.
Jodi: Do you find creating the science fiction
elements difficult? What type of research is necessary to write in this genre?
J.S.: Yes and no.
The biggest problem, if you want to call it that, is consistency. If you
world-build, you have to be consistent with everything that goes on there. The
rules must apply to everyone. Bending the rules of physics is fine as long as
you give some kind of explanation and that consistency is observed. This is
what older, more experienced writers have said and I took that advice to heart.
Jodi: You have written both male/male and
female/female romance into your books. Why have you chosen to explore LGTBQ
themes?
J.S.: Again, it
wasn’t a conscious decision. I’m interested in writing good character-driven stories.
If the MC(s) happen to be gay, that’s fine, as long as they’re well-rounded,
realistic characters. I also think that in the LGBTQ area, there could be more
S/F novels although there are some fine ones out there. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin, the Warchild
trilogy by Karin Lowachee, are just two examples, and they’re both solid
entries in the S/F canon. I enjoyed reading them along with other S/F novels.
To me, the orientation of the main characters is really incidental although
it’s a positive portrayal and that, I feel, is a good thing for the LGBTQ
community. Too many stereotypes abound and these stories are an excellent way
of countering those stereotypes.
Jodi: Lindsay
and the Marauders is the first book in a series. Is this the first series
you have written? Why did you choose to explore a series with these characters?
J.S.: Yes, this is
the first series I’ve written. I wanted to take the classic ‘fish out of water’
scenario and see what I could do with it. At first, LVTM was going to be a one-off, but I liked the characters and the
situations so much, I continued on.
Jodi: Why did you choose to have females as the
main characters?
J.S.: I like strong
female characters. In fact, I like strong characters, period. Who wants to be
wimpy? Every character I’ve ever written—even the bad guys—regardless of
orientation, is strong. They’re more appealing to me and to the readers. (I
hope).
Jodi: Tell us a little about your inspiration for Lindsay and the Marauders?
J.S.: Believe it or
not, I got the idea from the movie Paul,
the one with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. In it, they were discussing their
favorite author and the books he wrote…’Jenny Starpepper and the Great Brass
Hen’ for example, and while the title is ridiculous—and funny—it sparked an
idea, so I took it from there.
Jodi: What was your inspiration for the marauders?
J.S.: Pirates are
never nice. They’ve been done in a lot of genres over the centuries; they have
a bad rep, and they’re cheats, liars, and all-around scum. However, I didn’t
want to use the word ‘pirates’ as it sounded too juvenile, so I thought of the
word ‘marauders’. It’s old-fashioned, but it’s still being used, and to me, the
title Lindsay Versus the Marauders
just sounded right. You have ‘versus’ in a title and you just know there’s
going to be conflict!
Jodi: Are the Council Members symbolic?
J.S.: In a sense,
they represent what society thinks of the LGBTQ side of things although I
didn’t want to make them too much that way. Their position regarding Jo and her
relationship with Lindsay is made quite clear without going overboard. When you
do that, if you preach (no matter what the subject matter is) then you run the
risk of turning readers off which is something I don’t want to do.
Jodi: How did you come up with the idea for all of
the evil entities in the book?
J.S.: Imagination,
imagination, imagination. It took me a long time to get the scum right. If
you’re going to do scum, do them well and make them memorable. If you just have
a bad guy (or girl) who says “I’m gonna hurt you,” it doesn’t convey menace.
But if you have someone erudite and well-mannered—although still a killer and
all-around baddie—then his or her demise is far more satisfying.
Jodi: Both Lindsay and Jonephra have struggles with
coming out despite the fact that they live in different worlds. What is the
message you are imparting with that concept?
J.S.: Simply put,
no matter where you live, you’ll face discrimination. As we can see in society
today, discrimination is in every country regardless of race, religion or
creed, and it cuts across all social, ethnic, and economic barriers.
Jodi: Both Lindsay and Jonephra are independent
young women who are on the cusp of adulthood. Why did you choose to make them older
when the target audience for young adult books is usually middle to high school
students?
J.S.: I wanted to
show the first pangs of love along with the idea of coming out and doing
something about it. As well, when you’re dealing with romance, there is the
element of physical sex (although it doesn’t have to come to that) and
depicting underage participants, while it does happen, of course, is considered
a no-no. Also, I just wanted to write about slightly more mature characters.
Jodi: Tell us a little about the planet Carinna and
your inspiration for the conditions on the planet?
J.S.: If you want
inspiration, look no further than our own ozone depletion and the rise of
antibiotic-resistant strains of some infections/diseases. The air pollution
problem in China is a life-threatening one in some cases, and there are other
examples of how we’re ruining our environment. I just took it to a sci-fi
conclusion. I still have hopes for Earth, though.
Jodi: What was your inspiration for Twisted?
J.S.: Jenna
Talackova, the transgendered Ms. Universe contestant, was my main inspiration.
When I saw a picture of her for the first time, I had no idea she was
transgendered. I just thought she was totally gorgeous and I still do. But I wondered what it would be like to be in
a different body. Gender dysphoria is a very real psychological problem, one
that is largely misunderstood by the general public. I wanted to address that
in Twisted.
I’d
also add that gender switching is nothing new. It goes way back to ancient
Egyptian times and beyond. I wanted to do a ‘twist’ (sorry) on the traditional
way of writing that particular kind of novel.
Jodi: In Twisted,
you explore the topic of transgender as the main male character is transformed
into the body of a female warrior once he is inside the video game. Why did you
choose to explore this topic in the book?
J.S.: As I said
above, gender switching is nothing new. I wanted to see how a male
heteronormative character would react being in a female form without resorting
to stereotypes.
Jodi: What type of research did you need to do for Twisted and Lindsay and the Marauders?
J.S.: For
Twisted, a lot of it takes place in
Medieval England, circa 1430. I needed to do research on how the people
dressed, what they ate, the hairstyles…everything. Here, I relied on my
sister’s knowledge—she’s been a member of SCA (Society for Creative
Anachronism) for years and helped me quite a bit with some of the
terminology—as well as using my Google-fu to help me find out what other things
I needed to know.
With
LVTM, imagination came to my rescue.
I just ran the idea of a lesbian protagonist through the proper channels. I did
not want to do a stereotype of any
character. That simply doesn’t make for a good story.
Jodi: There is some violence in both books,
although the violence is more prominent in Lindsay
and the Marauders. Did you feel those battle scenes were important to the
plot and character development?
J.S.: Yes, I did. Trial by fire is a
common theme in novels. I wanted Lindsay to grow as a person, go from a shy and
sort of nerdy young lady to someone who could deal with the physical
difficulties of life as well as the psychological ones. And the old adage of
“what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” does hold sway in this situation.
Also, when
you’re dealing with cutthroats, they’re not going to play fair or be nice. To
quote a line from an old Star Trek show, you have to match their evil. And I
did.
Jodi: What is your next project?
J.S.: Right now,
I’ve just finished the final novel in the Lindsay/Jo trilogy (Lindsay, Jo and the Well of Nevermore)
and I hope it will be accepted. I’m also working on a YA novel featuring a
transgendered character and while it’s almost done, I want to go over it and
make it right. The tentative title is Picture
(Im) perfect. I’ll see how that goes.
I’d
like to add a sincere “Thank You” for allowing me this interview. It was a
great experience writing the Lindsay/Jo series, and I hope it will be well
received by not only the LGBTQ community, but by the entire book-loving
community as well.
Lindsay versus the
Marauders
Shy Lindsay Fleming has
just summoned up all her courage and come out. All she's ever wanted is to be
accepted for herself, but though her best friend, Myra, is okay with her sexual
orientation, many of her high school friends are not. Her parents don't
understand at all, leaving Lindsay angry and confused. During the Christmas
season, Lindsay attends a meeting for the "newly out," but she leaves
when that turns into a disaster. On her way home, she saves a young woman from
being mugged - by four red-skinned aliens!
The woman, Jonephra
("Call me Jo") is a resident of the planet Carinna, located in
another dimension. The red-skinned men, known as "Marauders," are a
mean, ruthless bunch who stole jewels that power Jo's home world, and she's on
a mission to get them back. Turkel leads the band of heartless pirates, and
they'll kill anyone who gets in the way of their looting and pillaging. Lindsay
is reluctant to get involved, but she agrees to help Jo, who she is attracted
to. Jo is tall and self-confident, and Lindsay thinks Jo might like her, but
she feels so shy and awkward. Will she be able to shed her shyness and gain
enough confidence to win Jo's heart? Even more risky: will Lindsay survive the
dangerous Marauders, find the jewels and return them before Jo's planet runs
out of reserve power?
Buy Links
Another reason I chose Vancouver was because of the prominent LGBTQ+
community. There is a vibrant queer community all over Vancouver, focused
mainly in the West End. It is entirely possible that both Maíra, and her love
interest Carol, were part of the community, and went to queer youth meetings.
It is a generally accepting place, and also one of the only cities in Canada
that have doctors that diagnose Gender Identity Disorder and can start a person
on the road to transitioning.
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