Pump Up Your Book Chats with Frank Scully

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Frank Scully Photo 2

Frank Scully was born and raised in a small town in North Dakota and received a Bachelor’s degree in History with Phi Beta Kappa Honors and a Juris Doctor degree in Law from the University of North Dakota. He then served more than five years as a Judge Advocate General Corps Officer in the U. S. Army in the U. S., Vietnam, and Thailand. After that he attended the prestigious Thunderbird School and received a Masters in Business Administration with honors. In his professional career he has worked as an executive with large aerospace and defense manufacturers and also owned his own small business.

Depending on the vagaries of the universe he has been well off at times and broke, but never broken, at other times. Blessed with an understanding wife who gave him twin sons, he has remained through it all a dreamer whose passion is writing stories that will entertain readers.

Resurrection Garden, a mystery novel, is the first of five books Frank has under contract with MuseitUp Publishing.

You can visit Frank’s website at www.frankjscully.com.

Q: Can you tell us why you wrote your book?

Resurrection Garden is a part of my Decade Mystery Series. I am writing at least one novel set in each decade from the beginning of the 20^th century to the current time set in different locales with both continuing and new characters in each one. There is something unique in each decade that marks it as separate from what went before or what follows. I shall explore aspects of what is unique as it is expressed in the locale chosen and how it affects the culture, characters and the tenor of the times and yet also see the common humanity that never changes. Resurrection Garden is unique among the books in the series in that it is set where my grandparents settled. The idea behind the story came to me while I was driving through one of North Dakota’s harsh winter blizzards. The idea led to research which fed the story background.

Q: Which part of the book was the hardest to write?

Fortunately, this book did not have any parts that were difficult to write. The research and historical information provided excellent background to build the base on which the story rests and the rest flowed easily from there.

Q: Does your book have an underlying message that readers should know about?

The lure of America’s western frontier was the chance to build a better tomorrow. Many people traveled a long way to find out that tomorrow comes from hope and love.

Q: Do you remember when the writing bug hit?

I was first seriously bitten by the writing bug in college but put it aside as I went into the military first and then built a career in business. It wasn’t until 1990 that, at my wife’s urging, I got back to it and starting writing again.

Q: What’s the most frustrating thing about becoming a published author and what’s the most rewarding?

The most frustrating thing has been the long and difficult road to publication. There were so many dead ends and disappointments but perseverance paid off. The most rewarding is hearing a reader say how much they enjoyed reading the book.

Q: Do you have a writing tip you’d like to share?

It is not a new tip but it is an axiom for any writer. Write what you enjoy reading.

Q: Would you like to tell us about your home life? Where you live? Family? Pets?

I live in North Dakota again after spending a good part of my career in many other places such as Vietnam, Thailand, Arizona and California. I have been married for over 30 years and have twin sons who are lawyers. I work full time for a major aerospace manufacturer as a Contracts Manager and write when I get the time. I live in the home my grandfather built in the 1880’s.

Frank Scully photo

Q: Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

I write on my laptop at a desk in my home. I don’t require anything special except time to get into writing mode.

Q: What do you do to get away from it all?

In the summer time if I need to get away from it all I will get out into the yard or garden and do some work. In the winter I will find a quiet spot and read. I’m not a fan of winter sports.

Q: Were you the kind of child who always had a book in her/his hand?

I enjoyed reading from an early age but I was forced to spend a summer in bed while I was 10 years old with Rheumatic Fever. During that time I read constantly and developed a love for books of any kind but most particularly mysteries and suspense novels.

Q: Can you remember your favorite book?

I can remember that I started with the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew and went on to Rex Stout who has remained one of my favorite authors.

Q: Do you remember writing stories when you were a child?

I didn’t write much while I was a child. It was later while I was in college that I had a professor who encouraged me to write and felt that I had some talent.

Q: What was the first thing you did as far as promoting your book?

The first thing I did was to enlist the aid of family and friends to get the word out. I purchased some business cards with the cover, a short blurb and the buy info printed on the face and started handing those out and getting others to push them out. I was lucky and got some publicity from a local newspaper that did a story on me.

Resurrection Garden card

Q: Are you familiar with the social networks and do you actively participate?

I am familiar with them but do not actively participate in twitter or facebook.

Q: How do you think book promotion has changed over the years?

It used to be centered around bookstores, signings and other personal appearances. Now it is more an online activity. Blog tours, emagazines, reviews from buyers on bookseller sites are vastly more important now. Word of mouth is now online as opposed to face to face.

Q: If you had one wish, what would that be?

Wisdom. It would be simple to say peace, health, etc. but wisdom is what I would really want.

Q: If you could be anywhere in the world other than where you are right now, where would that place be?

There are a lot of places I would love to be but I think I would pick someplace I haven’t been yet that I want to see someday. The Tuscany region of Italy.

Q: Your book has just been awarded a Pulitzer. Who would you thank?

My parents first. My father wanted to be a writer for the movies. I have in my files a letter from a movie production company to my father dated 1927 in which they respond to a pitch he made for a story. They rejected it but encouraged him to keep writing since they thought it had merit. He was never able to break in and the depression forced him to go in other directions. He never mentioned this dream to any of us and we didn’t discover it until well after his death, but my mother and father always encouraged us to follow our dream. Now, finally, I have been published and the dream realized.

Also my wife, since she is the one who essentially forced me to sit down and dedicate myself to writing and never giving up on the dream.

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Aiken Brown, SON OF A SOLDIER

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Miri Leshem-Pelly, SCRIBBLE & AUTHOR

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Shami Stovall, KNIGHTMARE ARCANIST

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Sharon House, BRIMSTONE AND WATER

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Bacon Press Books

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Deborah Serani, DEPRESSION AND YOUR CHILD

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Lee Papa, TEMPLE OF ALL KNOWING

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Madeline Wynn, DAUGHTER OF THE FALLEN

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Mary Lawlor, FIGHTER PILOT'S DAUGHTER

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Karen-Anne Stewart, ASH TO STEELE

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Lauren Carr, Best-Selling Mystery Author of Mac Faraday, and Lovers in Crime, Mysteries

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Question of the Day

How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

-- Sheila Roberts, Author of Winter at the Beach