UNION, NJ — A true man of many talents, Union High School alumnus Frantz Charles recently celebrated the release of his novel, “The GCP: The First Resurrection,” an exciting fantasy set in the not-so-distant future.
“The GCP stands for ‘God’s Chosen People,’” Charles told Union County LocalSource. “It tells the story of three different characters who face different challenges, like depression, parental issues, dealing with toxic relationships and anxiety while defending Earth from the gods who seek to destroy it.”
The young-adult fantasy novel takes place in a parallel universe, where the planet is being attacked by a set of gods, led by the mighty goddess Vera. Three teenagers become humanity’s defenders as they battle their own demons. Angela Lopez, a 17-year-old, fights depression along with alien forces and discovers her superpowers. Cade Walker, a 16-year-old, has conflicting alliances as he commits to protecting Alice, his pregnant lover. And Cade’s half-brother, Colvin Walker, an 18-year-old, is a cold-blooded captain leading the war for Heaven.
While Charles may not be taking on the responsibility of battling gods and saving the planet, he is taking on the responsibilities of being a full-time student at William Paterson University, where he is majoring in communication; a novelist and poet; a public speaker; a mentor; and a businessman.
“Before writing stories I did poetry. It’s such an amazing art, and I implemented poetry into my debut novel. Poetry to me is a deep expression revealing what’s inside of a person,” Charles said. “I do speaking engagements and I do mentor young men to live a better and proper lifestyle. I personally have a heart for inner-city kids who lack a foundation and parental guidance. I want to be that figure and I’ve been blessed to have that opportunity to do so. Right now I’m running my own company called Godly Visionz, which is an entertainment company. Right now I’m publishing book titles under Godly Visionz and I plan to release films as well with my company.”
As the CEO of Godly Visionz, Charles was able to publish own novel, which — with all his other undertakings — took eight years to complete.
“Being a full-time student and writing a novel — as well as being a full-time manager at Red Lobster — was very difficult, and it’s why it took me years to finish this book,” Charles said. “I never really had time to myself. There were days I did school then I went straight to work. In between classes I’m editing writing. Once I’m at work I’m focused at work, and when I get home I do homework. The time I have to write is really late at night, and that’s when my creative juices flow best. If you notice, I didn’t have much time for social events or to myself because I was focused on doing what I love and see it come to life. I’m a workaholic.”
But it is this multitasking personality that fuels Charles’ creativity; he usually combines exercise or listening to music with his creative process.
“My writing process usually starts with me jogging or daydreaming while listening to music. My mind begins to play a movie in my head of a new story. I find myself saying the dialogue and seeing the characters and the challenges they face,” Charles said. “I don’t just freestyle and write, but I write down the issue of the story. Then I begin to plan out the story, character, setting and the plot.
According to Charles, structuring the story before putting pen to paper helps keep him on topic when he does eventually write it down.
“I love just writing,” Charles said, adding, however, that he does not enjoy writing fight scenes. “I hate writing large-scale fighting scenes, but it’s my mind telling me this is a vital scene needed. But I do enjoy reading the end result of my fighting scenes — very fun to read.”
Though Charles grew up in East Orange and West Orange, transferring to Union High School at the start of his junior year had a profound impact on his writing.
“Union helped me become a better writer because I attended a class called ‘young-adult fiction,’ Charles said. “Just reading books like ‘Uglies’ helped me become a better writer. Union was the only city that had a class like that that helped build one of my talents.”
Despite having accumulated so many accomplishments already, Charles has no intention to slow down.
“Right now, me and my agent are working on a few titles to publish soon,” Charles said. “One of my future goals is to get into the film industry. I’m currently in William Paterson for communication–media production. I love writing, but I do want to see my creativity on screen. So I’m working on those for right now.”
For more information about Charles and his writing, visit www.frantzcharles.com. “The GCP” is available for purchase on Amazon.com and through Barnes & Noble.