Francisco Spencer is an American-born author from Philadelphia, PA. Now nearing years old, Francisco spends most of his time in his study. The study walls are lined with bookshelves– thousands of them — representing every book he has ever read. A large, brown leather chair is placed in the center of the room in front of a thick, wood coffee table.
This is Francisco’s solace– his escape and his existence. A laptop is on the coffee table facing the chair. When Francisco isn’t sitting in his chair reading, adding more books to his already impressive collection, he is bent over his knees typing hard and fast onto his keyboard. The sounds of the room are the clicking of his fingers and focused chews of the gum in Francisco’s mouth. A whiteboard is behind the table facing him, as well. It is the outline of his next book. He is surgical in his craft.
He wouldn’t have it any other way.
A Philadelphia native, Francisco was raised by a single father. His mother passed from cancer when he was five years old. To make a comfortable life for his son, Francisco’s father worked long hours, leaving Francisco in many after school activities and day cares. As soon as Francisco learned to read, he didn’t stop. It filled his loneliness and passed the day, allowing him to escape to other worlds and interact with strange, and wonderful people. The world around him become one of possibilities, accessible through words on a page. So, he started to write.
His father was overjoyed at his son’s enthusiasm and bought his son spiral notebooks in excess. Francisco filled the pages. By his 16th birthday, Francisco had already been published 10 times. He received his first payment as a writer with his 11th published work: a flash fiction story about a boy lost in the woods, miles from home, surrounded by wolves. He received a check for $5.00 and was elated.
At 17, Francisco was an intern for his local paper. Although he did not enjoy that he could not choose his own topics, he looks back at that time as one of the most important learning experiences of his writing life. The internship gave him deadlines and responsibility. It challenged him to move out of his comfort-zone, taking an assignment and making it his own, while also sticking to the required subject matter. However, beyond the structure he gained from writing articles for the local paper, he was in an environment of other writers, and with that, came feedback– constant feedback.
To date, Francisco has written 13 published novels, the subject matter both fiction, and non-fiction, including self help, fitness, and philosophy books. His only goal now, is to be a book in someones study. Sitting on a shelf, read in full, enjoyed, and ever-lasting, among the other authors of his time, before his time, and those that come after him.