The big leap will take place this weekend at the prestigious Mouans-Sartoux Book Festival, where Franck Viano will present his first novel entitled “My Friend the Evil,” freshly released by a young 100% Nice-based publishing house, Éditions Du Bailly. A pure “Made in Nissa” product, its plot unfolds in the capital of the French Riviera and one of its most beautiful districts, Old Nice.
“I wanted to tell what I have experienced over the years in this neighborhood that saw me born, grow up, study, work, and that has given me so much. To be honest, my second novel partly takes place here as well because everything here is a spectacle tinged with history and stories.” The author, originating from the “village vieille,” is preparing for his first meeting with the public. “It’s a first, and what a first, in this Festival that hosts the greatest, and being there with a publishing house founded by two friends is the cherry on the cake that would have already been satisfying enough.”
“My Friend the Evil” is a story of friendship, lies, and truth with a hint of fantasy. You start reading, and curiously, you find it hard to put down, with a desire to see what happens on the next page, page after page until the end, when you regret the blank page that follows. This first work resonates truly, even though, like all first drafts, it deserves adjustments and tweaks, and it has won unanimous approval from the reading committees it went through, as well as from the familial and friendly circle, albeit sometimes not quite impartial. But on Saturday, it will be the big leap and the first confrontation with a much larger circle: The public!
“It’s only happiness because I’ve always loved writing. And then, life’s encounters led me to have the opportunity to publish this first novel with a brand-new publishing company set up by two Niçois friends. The circle is therefore complete, and everything that follows will only be additional joy. Writing is a true liberation, like a deliverance, and if what I write can please those who read it, I will be delighted.” Founder of Nice Premium, ten years ago, Franck Viano is currently Information and Communication Technology Mission Officer at the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropole and the Pedagogical Coordinator of the new Media Manager Master’s program at Ipag Nice.
Franck Viano will be signing at the Mouans-Sartoux Book Festival this Saturday and Sunday at the Editions Du Bailli stand, and very soon at the Jean Jaurès Bookstore and the Lu Fran Calin Restaurant for a session that will blend writing and cooking, another passion of this pure-bred Niçois.
