Interview with....DEBBIE D'ARCY

I love being surprised. Well, okay, not in that people-waiting-behind-my-furniture-to jump-out-and-shout-“Happy Birthday!” kind of way, but, rather, in the way of “Wow! This quiet-seeming British woman is a FanStory phenomenon!”

How has she been a member only nine months, yet has amassed seventy-three “Recognized”s, fifty-six ATB’s, won Reviewer of the Month, Poem of the Month, many, many contests and prompts, and, just this week, was announced as this month’s Recognized Writer?

Meet DEBBIE D’ARCY, a FanStorian since February 2023, who’s taken our site by storm!

Good evening to you from Upstate New York, though right now at your house, in Swansea, South Wales, it’s 2:00 a.m. Thankfully, by virtue of our many, many wee-hours conversations, I know you are a night owl.        

You have lit up our wonderful site here and proven yourself to be a bona fide FORCE! But you’re so subtle about it and under-the-radar that I can’t help but be disarmed. I’m sure I’m not alone.

How did you come to find your way to FS?

        I found FanStory by looking for a site that provided feedback, which I felt was very important.

That makes sense. Has it been what you expected?

         No, not at all. I expected it to be a light hobby, but it’s actually become all-consuming.

Ohhh, yes! We all understand THAT facet of it! What’s been your favorite aspect?

         It’s fun, and so much better than, for example, Zoom tutorials. It’s also a meeting place for like-minded people, a friendship community. It gives me a tangible sense of achievement, and I actually love the business of finding the visual or video, the rubber stamp of completion.

You were a probation officer for twenty-five years. In my mind, that’s like Mary Poppins being a probation officer. Tell us how this came about!

         Oh, I don’t think I’m Mary Poppins for one minute! Because I had quite a rebellious streak myself, I was drawn to the idea of working with people who were outcasts or non-conformists. I was just simply nosy and wanted to know how they got to where they were. I loved doing case studies and, later, Court and Parole reports, although I hated that these often had to be expedited or fast-tracked for the convenience of the system.

The teacher in me has to ask: What were the three most important lessons you learned from that gig…but let’s have some fun here. Please make your answer in 5-7-5 style.

         Nothing is ever

         what it seems even when you

         dread meeting someone.

         To explain this: I would read a file on someone who killed his parents and decide that he was a lost cause. Then, I would meet the offender in an institution, and that whole first impression would be completely turned on its head.

         Sorry; I didn’t read the question properly. I’ll try again:

         Be understanding,       

         open to even the worst

         thankful it’s not you.

        

Whoa. That was sooo excellent!! Both of them. Quite stunning, actually.

You’ve been very generous with posting poems about your family: your granddaughter, Margot, your ice-cream loving grandson, your sister, Jan (that post was quite the heart-wrenching share. Oy!), your amazing late friend, Jane, your husband’s fur-buddy-for-life, “Mumba the Stray,” your war veteran dad and your daughter, Kate. Anyone I’ve missed?

         No, you’ve done your homework well!

The (as my husband teasingly accuses) “teacher’s pet/apple polisher” in me just loves you for that comment, Deb. Thank you.

Does your family know you’ve immortalized them?

         What a searching question! One family member never knew. I wrote the poem about my sister (“The Web”) because I’d just been on the phone to her, and she was repeating the same scenario that I’d heard countless times over decades. Having always known that any advice, even of the minutest kind, had fallen on deafened ears, I, indiscreetly, released my frustration in verse.

Oy, how I totally understand every syllable of THAT lament!!

You’re British-born, but now live in South Wales. Tell us how that came about.

         I’ve lived in South Wales for most of my life so now consider myself practically Welsh [well, only until there’s a game on between Wales and England!]

         My parents moved from Winchester, Hampshire, when my father got a promotion. I’d just finished high school and had no choice than to move with them.

Was it a difficult transition?

         I was mortified. My only understanding of Wales was from my school studies: that it was a land of coal mines. How wrong could I be! It’s utterly beautiful and has one of the best coastlines in the world, I’m told.

Okay! So, now to the writing facet of your life. Did you always write poetry?

         I’ve always enjoyed writing but only dabbled in poetry over recent years. I started writing short poems in greetings or bereavement cards. It all really came from nowhere other than, perhaps, inheriting some of my mother’s poetic skill. The strange thing was that, before I joined FanStory, I became increasingly desperate to write anything, even a business or complaints letter. I couldn’t ever stop now.

I’ve been a fan of yours since early on. As I’ve told you a time or two (okay, fine, ad infinitum…possibly even ad nauseum…), I LOVE Sunday morning FanStory because I know I will get to read yet another masterpiece of a poem that you’ve created that features a famous person. I never cease to be amazed by how you incorporate your subjects’ histories, psyches and titles of their works into a cogent, fascinating poem. And, as always, the cadences are seamless, and the rhymes are never-but-never forced or contrite. You knock my socks off every single week. Your pieces always feel like symphonies to my musician’s ear.

         You say such lovely things, which I really appreciate, Rachelle. But I suffer badly from Imposter’s Syndrome and can’t help feeling that I don’t deserve this praise. I actually get very nervous opening reviews.

Oh, trust me on this, Miss Talent: You are SOOO deserving of any praise you receive on here!

You cover the gamut from world leaders to musicians, actors and actresses, writers and even royalty. How do you choose the creative artist of the week?

         My choices are, I’m afraid, quite random. Sometimes, they might have been in the news, e.g. Navalny [horror of horrors, he seems to have gone missing now]. But, better still, when someone actually requests a favourite, I worry that it’s all becoming predictable and promise myself, each week, I’ll do something different. But there are so many personalities out there! The encouragement I get from reviews, though, is amazing. I am extremely grateful for it. So, I try my utmost for each poem to be unique. I concentrate on the essence of the character rather than attempt to include all the factual details.

You succeed in the biggest way, Deb. You needn’t worry about being in a writing rut! Every piece you write is creative and imaginative.

Has there ever been a week when you’ve begun with one person but ended with another because your original choice just wasn’t coming together?

         I’ve never started and not finished, though there were times when I seriously thought about it. It’s just that I won’t let them get the better of me, so I’ll agonise for hours. When I do non-biographical poetry, I wonder why I’m being so hard on myself.    

You obviously do SO much research in order to write these poems. Tell us how you go about the process.

         I obviously Google information in Wikipedia and other more concise biographies. Then, I research titles and their meaning, lyrics, sentiments, etc., and try to choose the best known. Listening, of course, to the subject’s poetry or songs helps to get a good feel, and You Tube is simply brilliant for that and for the references given.  I try to strike a balance between the narrative and the titles, but, sometimes, I get carried away.

Do you have a favorite from your immense and impressive portfolio?

         I actually like “Missing” because it’s the saddest of stories, and it just flowed. 

I agree; that one struck me very hard, I remember.

What are your writing plans/goals for the future?

         I’m not really thinking too far ahead regarding goals. It would be lovely, one day, to be published, but it’s certainly not on my mind at the moment. Right now, I’m just immensely grateful that members enjoy my work. That’s the biggest hit of all.

I hear you. But, I still want it on the record that I think you should compile these fabulous biographical poems into a book and publish it. I am convinced it would be a huge hit on both sides of the pond. But then again, maybe that’s just me being prejudiced because I’m your #1 fan…though, for the record, you ARE ranked as our site’s #9 poet AND, as I mentioned earlier, just received Recognized Writer for December. So, your fan base is obviously immense. When you joined, did you ever imagine you’d be so well-received so quickly?

         I never anticipated getting any more reviews than just single figures. I learned, quite late on, to promote as high as possible, because my work was just languishing, unread, and, ultimately, dying a death.

You’re pretty humble, another trait of yours I respect and admire immensely. Does your family even know the extent of your success here?

         I think my family is more concerned about the time I spend on this site rather than joining my fanbase.

HAHAHAHA. I think we’re all familiar with THAT aspect of the site, too! Thank goodness for our families, right? They work so very hard to keep us humble.

Well, Delightful-and-Fabulous Woman, this has been so extremely fun. Thank you for taking the time to do this interview and for providing us, your adoring “Fans,” with a glimpse into your backstory and the behind-the-scenes life of a major FanStory talent!! I know I am not alone in saying that we can’t wait to watch you continue to blossom here as a writer. Congratulations on your substantial and multitudinous achievements.