With Metzman, murder, and mystery to be the topics of the day. This book is quite gripping, well-written, and overall, compelling.
Regarding her inspiration to write the book, The Cha Cha Babes of Pelican Way, she said, “As a writer, I’m somewhat obsessed. There were some minor issues in the first printing that I thought needed trimming.”
“Also, I wanted to do away with any words that didn’t forward the story. It plays into my kookiness,” she added.
When asked how she came up with the characters in her book, Metzman explained, “My theory is that everyone you meet, read about, see in plays or movies goes into a file in your unconscious.”
“You may rarely or never think about them. When you are in a regular pattern of writing, this file is opened and you pick and choose the characteristics that meld with the concept you are trying to develop into a story,” she elaborated.
While it may sound like a fantasy, she is a firm believer that this happens to her regularly when she writes. She shared that she has spent time in Florida, where she visited multiple retirement communities. “None produced Boca Pelicano Palms, rather it was a fictionalized version of my own invention. It became its own character in the novel,” she said.
Aside from being a best-selling author, Metzman is also a writing teacher. For young and aspiring writers, she encouraged them to “learn the structure.” She underscored the importance of studying the foundation of writing. With this way, aspiring writers can follow it or manipulate it any way they want for their stories. “Without that knowledge, you can go astray and lose your reader,” she said.
She acknowledged that although writers may write from their hearts, it needs to be done within an organized yet complex understanding. “The author must write with a clear direction that will make a story seamless,” she said, prior to adding that a surgeon must know anatomy to perform his or her job well.
Metzman noted that she looks up to such esteemed authors as Joyce Carol Oates, Alice Munro, Anne Tyler, Ian McEwan, and Jodi Picoult, among others. “I rejoice in authors who examine human behavior, however subtle it may be, to create fully developed characters,” she said.
She praised all of these aforementioned authors for displaying feelings, emotions, thoughts. She added that their writing resonates with people.
Her next book takes on the topic of sex trafficking, which is a rather dark subject matter. She shared that she has a deep interest in “white-collar crime and organized crime.” “The horrific concept of sex trafficking, girls as young as eight, gnawed at me and solidified my wish to bring it out in the open,” she said.
“There are many people that think that sex trafficking happens in third world countries and not the United States of America. That is wrong. We are one of the largest importers of sex slaves in the world. It is a crime that dehumanized children and young women, not to mention their lives are constantly endangered by their jailers,” she explained.
She is a graduate of the Moore College of Art and the University of Pennsylvania. Aside from publishing many short stories and co-authoring her first novel Ugly Cookies with Joy E. Stocke, she is an instructor of writing at various local universities and colleges.
Metzman writes fiction since it affords her the opportunity to find closure for various events and relationships whereas in real life they always prove elusive. A former sculptor, she traded creating images with clay to images with words.
The Cha Cha Babes of Pelican Way is available on Amazon.
To learn more about best-selling author Frances Metzman and her new book The Cha Cha Babes of Pelican Way, check out her Facebook page and her official website.
