Author Frances Metzman chatted about her latest book “The Cha Cha Babes Dance with the Devil.”
Metzman also discussed being an author in the digital age, and she furnished her advice for young and aspiring authors.
Background on Frances Metzman
Frances Metzman has published numerous short stories, essays, articles, interviews, two novels and a short story collection. She was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2018.
Her most recent novel, “The Cha Cha Babes Dance with the Devil” is a sequel to “The Cha-Cha Babes of Pelican Way.” She is the recipient of the “Dzanc Book Award” for “Best of the Web.”
Throughout her career, she has presented writing workshops at Temple University, Pennsylvania State College, Bryn Mawr College, and the University of Pennsylvania, among other academic institutions.
At Rosemont College, she taught as an adjunct professor for graduate students, and she also taught publishing and creative writing. Metzman is a fiction editor for Schuylkill Valley Journal and a freelance editor.
Metzman teaches creative writing/memoir at Temple University’s OLLI program. Her MA was earned from the University of Pennsylvania and a BFA from Moore College of Art.
Q & A interview
What inspired you to write this book? Why did you decide to take on the topic of human trafficking in this story? (What is it about this issue that affects you so deeply?)
A few years ago, When I saw some data on sex trafficking it inspired me to look further since I knew little to nothing about it. Then I wrote an article about sex trafficking captives. It haunted me for a long time.
I asked people I knew and many I didn’t know if they realized the USA was among the big importers of sex slaves – young women and children. Nearly 100 percent responded in the negative.
What little information they had gave them the belief it only happened in foreign, poor countries. To add to this dehumanizing, underbelly of criminality, there is human trafficking that profits off the backs of males, females, and all ages who are enslaved for labor – factories, farms, maids, sweat shops restaurants and the list goes on.
Before writing “The Cha Cha Babes Dance with the Devil,” I had already written a book about baby boomer women who lived in a Florida retirement community entitled, “The Cha Cha Babes of Pelican Way.”
In that novel, the women accidentally walk into a murder mystery that endangered their lives. They develop from naïve women who loved to do the cha cha to clever sleuths.
Plotting sex trafficking (an estimated $150 billion a year), as a fiction, the research/interviews are factual. It is character forward that includes friendships, family issues, senior romance, hideouts, and figuring out ways to find justice. They cling to memories of a previous life and find black humor in death-defying pursuits.
While this book takes on the subject of human trafficking, it is also about friendship, can you talk a bit about this powerful aspect of your story and how it evolved?
The two female, main characters are very different, but they connect through dancing, humor and other commonalities. They remain best friends because they respect and trust each other through thick and thin. They visit Philadelphia and get mired in global Mafia cartels.
They are kidnapped to be groomers/spies for the women and children. After escaping, they decide not to return to the comfort of their home in Florida but rather hide and try to find justice for the captives however small.
They go through death-defying and unnerving experiences and are joined by the main character’s beau and daughter. Although their presence brings uplifting moments it adds tension as well. Relationships are layered and deep. There is quirky, dark humor to help keep their ordeal from imploding.
The women shared humor before going into hiding and it comes naturally to their friendship. They share happy/zany memories that they recall in the face of destruction from powerful forces. It helps them keep their sanity.
With the expansion of digital media, what is it like for you to be an author in the digital age?
Oh, that is a painful question (half-joking). I love writing. I design who they are, give my characters a back story and check my own opinions at the door. To do that I dip into my experiences and unconscious and scour my inner, hidden world. That is the most exciting place for me to be. It sounds rather sad, but I do have a social life – thank goodness.
What I find difficult about the digital world is that I’m not a marketing sort of person and don’t like to push myself. But it has become a necessary part of publishing, and social media is the center of it all.
We have to have PowerPoint, media kits, press releases, reviews, blogs, podcasts, websites, Facebook (Meta), Twitter (X), and on and on. To be fair, I enjoy the part of meeting old friends, their children and making new friends. It is a fascinating world. Bottom line, I do like being nudged into the digital world. Onward.
Humor plays a significant role in your writing. How do you approach incorporating humor into a mystery or thriller themed novel?
Yes, I live for humor! My addiction is at least one belly laugh a day. People without a sense of humor scare me. My humor is sometimes irreverent, or satirical. So, I want my characters to laugh as well. They have a deep, important friendship based, in part, on humor, dancing the cha cha and enjoying each other.
Getting mired in mysteries doesn’t take any of these qualities away from them. Even in the dire situations they can find a twisted piece of humor. For me, it is a way of life. For them, it keeps their sanity.
As a bestselling author, what advice do you have for aspiring writers?
I teach creative writing and memoir from the basis of understanding the structure. It is like building a house. You need the foundation and suggestions of rooms. Once you have that, the beauty of furnishing and adding colors are what make it shine.
Every major career comes with a structure. Once you know and understand all the elements of writing, you can then write seamlessly. Only then can you devise new ways or experiment. It is nice to write with your heart, but it is only the icing on the cake.
Her latest book, “”The Cha Cha Babes Dance with the Devil,” is available on Amazon by clicking here.
