The Writer's Life— 12 Questions with Francesca Bossert

Grab a cup of tea, a glass of iced coffee or some freshly squeezed orange juice and settle down for a behind-the-scenes look at writing with the poet and author Francesca Bossert.

I met Francesca through her poetry. I think it was the poem Laura’s Revenge that first caught my attention. It took a painful scenario and transformed it into something I could grin over. What a refreshing way to write about a philandering husband, I said to myself. Her poems aren’t angsty, yet I feel them deeply. They can take a heavy topic and, in one swipe, turn it to air. But many of them are also romantic and joyous: “I’m good at conjuring up those fuzzy feelings we had as adolescents, or young adults, or when we first fall in love,” she said to me. Her poems give the impression of having simply bubbled up and out of her onto the page— which in my opinion is the sign of a poet extraordinaire. I was surprised to find out she only recently started writing poetry.

What inspired you to, and how did you first start writing poetry?

I wrote my first poem ever, ‘Wolf’, from one of

Beth Kempton

’s prompts in her Tiny Winter Poems series, in mid-February this year. Prior to that, I had never written a poem, never been interested in poetry, nor read poetry, and the only poems I’d encountered were the ones my mother read me as a child. ‘Wolf’ came from a place of anguish. I’d been suffering from writer’s block for over twenty years, and I was desperate to find my way back to the joy of writing, because I didn’t know what I was going to do with the rest of my life.

In the past five years, a series of health issues forced me to drastically change my way of life. I’d always been very active. I’ve had horses most of my life and spent between five to six hours a day at the stables. I rode dressage to quite a high level, and took great care of my horses, pre-ride and post-ride. In fact, I took better care of them than I did of me. Gradually my hips began to hurt, but I refused to listen, refused to stop. Until I could no longer walk!

So, I stopped for a while, had some physio, and then began taking Yoga classes to get back in shape again so I could resume riding. But I’m hypermobile, and my body can do things it shouldn’t. During my fourth yoga sessions, I felt a sharp pain in my neck, and under my left bottom rib, and ended up flat on my back for two months with electric shocks and convulsions. I was terrified, especially as for eight weeks none of the doctors I saw took me seriously. Eventually they found I had a neck ligament sprain with neurological damage, which still hurts three years later. Then I developed an intestinal autoimmune disease because of all the anti-inflammatories and other drugs prescribed, so in the past two years I’ve become sick a lot. I can’t ride anymore because of my neck, and there are days when I don’t dare leave the house because of my intestinal problem. So, I absolutely needed to reconnect with my creative side, which to me primarily felt like writing.

Before I discovered poetry early this year, I’d written a few longer pieces and was slowly beginning to tiptoe back into being playful with words. But I still suffered from anxiety. I felt overwhelmed and intimidated when I first joined Substack; in fact, I came very close to deleting my account several times because I didn’t feel clever enough to publish anything on here. There are so many accomplished writers on Substack and initially I felt silly and out of place. Funnily enough, it turned out I wasn’t even clever enough to delete Substack! I thought I had, but it hadn’t worked.

So, one morning, when my phone pinged and I discovered it was someone on Substack liking something I’d written it made me happy, and I decided to give it another go. I wish I knew who it was; maybe it was you?! Anyway, now Substack is my favourite place on the Internet. I was amazed by how excited, how “up” I felt after writing “Wolf”.

So, when Beth Kempton dropped her next prompt the following day, I wrote a poem from that one, too. Day after day, I’d look forward to finding out which word she’d drop, and my poetry took off from there. When the Tiny Winter Poem series ended, I just kept going. “Laura’s Revenge”, which you say is the first of my poems you came across, is inspired by a scene in my romantic comedy, JUST LIKE A MOVIE. Turning it into funny verse seemed like a fun and original way of promoting the book. I’ve since done quite a few poems based on that romcom, and they’ve been such fun! It sounds mad, but so far this year I’ve written 157 poems!

They’re not all fantastic of course, but there are quite a few I’m proud of. Many are funny, lots are romantic. Romance comes easily to me. I’ve written a couple of angry poems. Anger is a difficult emotion for me to access. I tend to go to pieces when confronted, so it’s been interesting to explore anger via poetry.

Poetry isn’t the only genre you write in. I’ve read your personal essay on when your parents got robbed or the autobiographical series you wrote on being a rock chick. You certainly have a way of drawing your readers in.

Let’s talk about Just Like a Movie, a romcom you’ve written. It’s spicy and filled with laugh-out-loud moments (and I know I’m not the only one who feels that way; you got quite a number of rave reviews). The story gives me The Idea of You vibes, even though it was written many years before the film came out. What inspired the book?

I wrote JUST LIKE A MOVIE 20 years ago. Initially, the book was called MUCHO CALIENTE, and was inspired by my love for Ricky Martin, on whom I based the character of Emilio Caliente. But I also wrote it because I absolutely wanted to go and live in Ibiza, and I honestly felt like I lived there during the eighteen months it took me to write the book. As for the plot, it originated when I saw a “Wanted” advert in a Geneva newspaper placed by a man seeking a woman he’d seen sitting next to on a flight between Rome and Geneva. I mean, how romantic?! So, I replaced a regular person on a flight to Geneva with an international Spanish popstar on a flight between Barcelona and Ibiza. I added a recently divorced slightly older woman in the seat next to him, and the book literally wrote itself. Magic! It was such a playful, joyful experience. Incidentally, a screenwriter friend of a friend in Hollywood read JUST LIKE A MOVIE earlier this year and loved it so much he is developing the screenplay! How cool is that?

It’s extremely cool, and I can’t wait to see it on screen one day. You have an interesting story of how Just Like a Movie became a book.

When I was writing it, I used to send the story out every evening, chapter by chapter, to a small group of girlfriends who always wanted to know what happened next. When I’d finished, I queried a selection of agents in England, and found representation within weeks. It was incredible! But my agent failed to sell the book, despite all the major publishers in the UK and the USA giving us very positive feedback, with some even talking about who would play Emilio and Gemma in the film version. So, my agent and I would get really excited by the good things, and then crash when someone in a higher position turned it down.

Meanwhile, I was supposed to be writing another book, but I put so much pressure on myself that I lost all the joy. The harder I tried, the worse I wrote. I had a wonderful story, but I simply couldn’t write it. After two years of trying, I thought I had something I might be able to build on, so I sent it to my agent, who read it, asked me to fly over to London and told me it was awful. Which it was. I know now that I could have asked her for help, explained why I couldn’t write, but at the time I didn’t know I could do that. I just felt like a failure and blamed myself. I felt as though I’d failed everyone: my agent, my husband, my kids, myself, my parents, my friends… I spiralled into depression and couldn’t even sit in front of the computer for years; I’d immediately get a migraine.

I developed a lump on the back of my neck that became so painful I needed a cortisone infiltration because I couldn’t turn my head or change gears in the car! Yes, I’m ridiculously sensitive, it’s so annoying. I recently read that such heightened sensitivity can be related to a specific form of ADHD. I’ll must ask my therapist about it the next time I see him!

A few years after the whole book debacle, e-publishers began to appear, and a friend in America suggested I submit my book to an e-pub she had just signed with. So, I broke up with my agent, sent the book to the US, and it got accepted. I received great reviews when it came out several months later, including a review in the online edition of ELLE USA that I discovered quite by chance by googling myself, and I even won a prize for best romcom in some random competition. Which was all lovely and dandy, but I didn’t sell many copies. Incidentally, the old title wasn’t doing me any favours as lots of people thought it was in Spanish!

Although I was dying to write again, I was still blocked. My thoughts just spun around, all stuttery and tangled, never going anywhere. It was the weirdest, most frustrating thing. I mean, I literally craved experiencing the same joy, the same effervescent passion I’d felt when writing MUCHO/JUST LIKE A MOVIE, but I simply couldn’t access it. So, I gave up. Then, during Covid, I asked for my rights back, but immediately developed all those health issues. It was only two years ago, when my neck injury calmed down, and I was now “only” dealing with the IBD, that I was able to work on the book again. I republished it last summer.

This goes to show that every book has its own journey, just as every writer has their own way. Do you have a favourite spot you write at?

I am lucky to live between two beautiful countries, Switzerland and Spain. My main residence is Switzerland, where my husband and I live and have a house in a small village in the countryside between Geneva and Lausanne. I have a lovely big, airy office with views over fields and the Jura mountains and Lake Geneva and the Alps. When the weather is clear we can see the Mont Blanc directly in front of our living room! We moved into this house a year and a half ago because we fell in love with its location. It’s very peaceful. I’m currently sitting outside on the terrace with my cat, Badu, asleep next to me.

It sounds like a dream. Is there anything else that fuels your writing?

I love writing to music and choose my playlists according to what I’m working on. I love music and used to pride myself in keeping up with all the new stuff, but I’ve definitely lost touch now. It’s ok! I recently saw Chris Isaak in concert at a lovely little festival on the Costa Brava. What a fantastic concert! My husband and I also went to see The Corrs there. And I saw my longtime favourite, Ricky Martin, in Barcelona in late July for the umpteenth time, with my sister and a girlfriend, and I had no voice afterwards because I sang all the songs along with the entire audience! I learnt Spanish with Ricky. Honestly! He’s the best Spanish teacher!

While writing JUST LIKE A MOVIE I listened to the Café del Mar compilations over and over, returning repeatedly to a specific track if it became a pathway to access a particular emotion. For example, to write the first major love scene in the book I played “Swollen”, by Bent, on a loop all day long. Now, whenever I hear that track it takes me straight to Chapter 19! I still think it’s such a sexy song!

It wouldn’t be an interview if I didn’t ask about your biggest fears when it comes to writing. I feel like fear is something every writer has to deal with on some level.

There’s a reason why my Substack handle is called “Just For Fun”. Initially, I came up with it out of shyness, out of not feeling good enough to write on the platform. Calling it “Just For Fun” allowed me to tiptoe in hunched over and round shouldered, with my tummy pulled in tight, muttering, “excuse me, excuse me”! It kind of made it ok to suck. Although not really… Nobody wants to suck! But what if we do?! I know we’re supposed to embrace the suck, but seriously??!! What if?!

I’m terrified of losing the joy of writing. Every day comes with a certain gasp of uncertainty in case nothing happens between my head and my fingers. It’s the oddest thing. And when the alchemy happens it’s always a wonderful surprise. For example, when I went to bed last night, I wrote a poem in three minutes. It just popped out. It’s a poem on showjumping, a discipline I haven’t done in decades. Beth Kempton has been doing her Tiny Poem series again; the prompt was “Corner”, but I hadn’t got around to playing with it because I was busy with my Rock Chick series. And then suddenly, boom, there I was, zooming around a course of jumps on a horse I owned years ago! Isn’t it amazing how our brains work?

Do you create in mediums other than writing?

My husband says I’m a creature of extremes, and he’s right. I become obsessively passionate about projects. I have had phases when I’ve done nothing but crochet. I made a huge bedcover, and a blanket for my daughter. Then I made bags. Then I needed to line the bags, so I bought a sewing machine and taught myself to sew. Then I started buying beautiful fabric online because you can’t find any nice ones here in Switzerland, so I had stuff shipped from Los Angeles, and the UK, and goodness knows where, and I bought ribbon and beads and all sorts of fun trimmings. And then I made bags out of fabric, too, and took photographs of them in my garden, and shared them Facebook and Instagram, and then people wanted to buy my bags! So I began making them on commission. So, I have piles of fabric in my craft room too, but since I’m writing again I haven’t touched my sewing machine in over a year.

I still crochet, mostly simple projects that I can do while watching television. I’m making a shawl.

I always need to be making something; my mother and both my sisters are the same. I’ve dabbled in glass painting, in fact I painted chandeliers like Gemma does in JUST LIKE A MOVIE, and sold a few of those, too! I did silk painting, years ago, and would love to get back into regular painting, but there simply aren’t enough hours to do everything.

Introvert or extravert?

I’d say I’m an extrovert introvert. I’m shy but depending on who I’m with I can be very outgoing. I’m intuitive and am quick to pick up on people’s energy. I prefer small groups to large gatherings, and I find socializing draining; I usually need a day to recover from being “on”.

It’s Saturday night; what are you most likely doing?

My intestinal autoimmune disease, Microscopic Lymphocytic Collagenous Colitis, makes eating complicated, so restaurants aren’t much fun anymore, which is sad. Dinner invitations stress me out, because although people try to accommodate my triggers, I never know what will trigger my intestines from one day to the next. Which means that my normal Saturday nights are pretty, well, normal. I might be watching a film or a series on television; the last series I binge-watched were Bridgerton and Palm Royale. Or I’ll be reading a book, or listening to a book and doing crochet. Or I might be in my office, writing.

What’s a favourite book you’ve read this year?

I try to read as much as possible. I began listening to audiobooks when I was injured after that yoga accident and couldn’t move at all (my husband literally had to feed me), and I often listen to books in the car, or if I’m in a pain flare, which still happens once in a while. I love my Kindle because it’s light and easy to hold. And paperbacks, too of course, and if I really love a book I’ll often buy it on Kindle and in paperback, as it’s easier to go back and find things in the paper version. I’m currently re-reading an old classic “Bonkbuster” from 1985, Shirley Conran’s Lace. It’s a massive, super-fat book, and I wonder whether such a huge book would be easy to publish nowadays! I love Taylor Jenkins Reid, and particularly enjoyed Malibu Rising and Carrie Soto is Back, more than Daisy Jones and the Six, although I loved the TV series. I adore Elizabeth Berg and have read almost all her books. Her book on writing, Escaping into the Open is wonderful.

The best book I’ve read this year is possibly Nine Stibbe’s Man at The Helm. I listened to it on audible; it’s funny and sad and quintessentially English and I loved it.

Are there any projects you’re working on that we can look forward to in the future?

I would love to compile my favourite poems in a book, with my daughter’s artwork as illustrations. I’d like it to be a beautiful coffee table book, because my daughter is an incredible fashion photographer and artist, and I think it would be wonderful to make something together.

I’m working on a novel; I’m excited about it, and I’m enjoying the process. Because of what I’ve been through I’ve been careful of not putting pressure on myself. I’m doing it for fun, with no deadline, no expectations, just as I did with JUST LIKE A MOVIE. I’ve been very defensive about discussing it and have only shown my pages to two close friends.

And lastly, because I know how small habits, done daily, are life-changing, do you have any that have changed yours?

I don’t think there is any daily habit that has changed my life, apart from possibly setting the intention to write one poem per day, which I’m aware is in complete contradiction to what I said about not putting pressure on myself! Writing poems has been great therapy. I was in a dark place at the end of last year; I had to come home to Switzerland from my house in Spain in January 2024 because my thoughts were so dark I frightened myself, and urgently needed to see my therapist. I’m not going to lie and be all fluffy and tell you that writing saved me. My therapist put me on an anti-depressant that also helps my chronic pain, as pain played a large part of in my depression. Thankfully, this drug works well, allowing me to access the joy of writing, which in turn has had a positive effect on my confidence. I must have been functioning with my “light-switched” dimmed for a very long time; I haven’t felt this clear-headed and focused for decades. I’m extremely grateful for this new mental clarity and the creative joy it’s brought me.

I kept a gratitude diary for about a year; my daughter swears by hers, but I feel I get more from my poems, at least for now. Oh! Stopping smoking, otherwise, years ago!! Definitely!

Francesca, thank you so much for being so open and honest in this interview.

You can find more from Francesca here.

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