Riverside author brings Jacksonville communities to life in short story collection
Riverside resident and author Sohrab Homi Fracis draws inspiration from many things, including the Jacksonville neighborhood where he lives and its surrounding communities.
In “True Fiction,” his second short story collection, Fracis brings to life the Riverside and Five Points neighborhoods, which serve as the settings for several of the stories in the collection. Readers will recognize familiar locales, from Bold Bean to Riverside Park to Five Points Coffee and Spice.
This is Fracis’s third overall publication. He followed his debut publication — a short story collection and winner of the Iowa Short Fiction Award titled “Ticket to Minto: Stories of India and America” — with his first full-length novel, “Go Home.”
According to a press release announcing his latest publication, Fracis first moved to Jacksonville in the ‘90s from India, via Delaware and Michigan, where he had worked as a systems analyst. It wasn’t until he settled here that he realized he needed “to think of something that I could feel motivated to do and enjoy doing for the rest of my life.”
After obtaining a master’s degree with an emphasis on creative writing from the University of North Florida, Fracis taught both literature and creative writing at his alma mater. He has served as judge and presenter for the annual Page Edwards Short Fiction Award at Florida State College, Jacksonville’s Florida First Coast Writers’ Festival.
Fracis spoke of the way his surroundings and locations influence his writing in the press release.
“I love how self-contained a walking town-center is, how aesthetic it all feels, and how much there is going on all around, whether you’re talking parks by the river, art museums/markets/studios, music venues, restaurants, bars, and of course our own historic cinema theater,” he said. “It’s all so alive and vibrant.”
All three books can be purchased online or ordered through local bookstores.
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