New Zealand Writers
CHERRY, Frances
There is a strong anti-establishment strand in Cherry's writing.
CHERRY, Frances (1937 - ) is a fiction writer for adults and children and has been a teacher of creative writing for more than twenty years.Cherry was raised in Wellington and has lived in the region all her life. The daughter of well-known communist parents, accounts of her early life describe her embarrassment at finding her mother on a soapbox in Courtenay Place, or her father up Cuba Street selling the People's Voice.
Perhaps because of these early experiences, there is a strong anti-establishment strand in Cherry's writing. Feminism, lesbianism and identification with other women writers are also recurring concerns.
Short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies including Shirley Temple is a Wife and Mother (1977); New Women's Fiction (1998); In Deadly Earnest (1989); Subversive Acts (1991); Erotic Writing (1992); and 100 New Zealand Short Short Stories (1997).
Mary Daysh writes: "Cherry is certainly a gifted writer who has sustained a consistent and high standard."
Cherry's collection of short fiction is The Daughter-in-Law And Other Stories (1986). Her novels for adults are Dancing With Strings (1989); The Widowhood of Jacki Bates (1991); and Washing Up in Parrot Bay (1999).
Alison Laurie describes Washing Up in Parrot Bay as "...thoughtful, witty and topical... a refreshing and open-hearted look at New Zealand women involved in complex relationships with other women and men."
In The Dark (1999), is Cherry's novel for junior readers. It shows a family custody dispute from the child's point of view.
Frances Cherry's fiction has been extensively broadcast on National Radio, including an adaptation of her novel The Widowhood of Jacki Bates. She has tutored creative writing since 1980, and has been a judge in numerous writing competitions.
(KC.)
Updated Information
Leon (2000) was shortlisted in the Senior Fiction category of the 2001 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards.
Gate Crasher (Earl of Sea Cliff Art Workshop, 2006) is Cherry's latest collection of short stories.As Ronda Bungay writers,' Gate Crasher takes the random and turns it; there is a sense of intimacy, a feeling of being inside the stories, an underlying knowing that nothing remains unhidden here.'
Her latest young adult novel is Flashpoint (Scholastic, 2006). It is a story about a teenage girls life that gets turned on it's head just as everything was going well. It is described by a reviewer as "that sort of book - you open it, start reading, and feel compelled to finish."
Frances Cherry is available to talk to intermediate and secondary students. She is happy to talk about anything to do with writing. She will talk to groups of 15 and she is able to run workshops. She is prepared to travel out of town for Writers in Schools.
KIDS AUTHORS PICTURES AND INFORMATION
Some questions for Frances Cherry
Where do you live?
I used to live Waikanae on a quiet country road with cows, sheep, ducks and pukekos but now I live in Petone.
What sorts of books do you like to read?
Mainly good fiction, books that grab me and take me out of this world so I forget everything else. I also like biographies.
Do you have a favourite author?
Two - Ian McEwan and John Marsden.
Where do you get your ideas?
Sometimes I get an idea from something that happens to me or someone else. Mostly I sit down and think! I might get some characters together or think about what bothers people, especially kids.
What is the best thing about being an author?
I love living in worlds that I create. I really believe in my characters – they are so real to me. I can have an exciting life and not leave my computer. It is just wonderful - I love it.
Some Questions for Primary School Students
Do you have any pets?
A black miniature poodle named Chloe, a Stafford Bull terrier named Connie and a tortoise shell cat named Gloria. Gloria is getting quite old though she can still jump up on things.
Do you have a favourite colour?
Blue/purple for clothes and red for walls.
Do you have a favourite food?
Chicken salad.
Do you have a favourite movie?
It changes but, at the moment, it’s Magnolia with Tom Cruise.
Do you have a favourite game?
Trivial Pursuit.
What is the most fun thing about being an author?
Having kids like you, ask questions.
How do you make books?
I type out the chapters on a computer, print them out – each page double spaced – and then I send it to a publisher who, if they like it, have it made into a proper book with a nice cover.
Where do you like to go for your holiday?
Sometimes to parts of New Zealand to stay with friends, often to my son’s place in Melbourne.
What was the naughtiest thing you ever did at school?
I hid under my bed and didn't go to school.
Questions for Secondary School Students
How did you get started?
I have always always wanted to write. I used to write stories for myself, but didn’t know what to do with them, so I went to a writing workshop at Victoria University with Christine Cole Catley.
Did anyone inspire you when you were starting out?
She did, Christine Cole Catley, and so did all the other good writers in the workshop. I was also inspired by a woman named Naida Ingram who liked my writing and helped me.
What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
Sit down and do it! Get good experienced feedback. Go to a workshop. Listen to criticism and don’t get upset. Don’t give up, keep doing it, the more you do, the better you get.
Is it difficult to make a living writing in New Zealand?
Most definitely!
What were you like as a teenager?
I was very irresponsible and dreamy. I didn’t work well at school and I never got school cert! I loved drama and art though.
Are there any other stories you’d like to tell us?
When I was at primary school I dressed myself up like an old man and knocked at my neighbour’s door. When he answered I fell into the hallway gasping ‘water, water’ Mr Smith got such a shock he swore (I won’t repeat what he said). I couldn’t get over him swearing because he wasn’t that sort of man.
Another time my sister and I, along with two friends, packed up our beds with pillows so you could have sworn they were sleeping bodies in them, and sneaked off to the pictures (movies). We’d left a box outside the open window so we could get inside again. When we did there were all the beds with the covers off! Mum, who usually just looked in to see if we were ok, had come in to ask where I’d put the jelly I’d made. We didn’t have a fridge and I’d put the jelly in the tub in the laundry because I thought that was the coldest place. Mum was so angry – but she got over it.
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