Join us for a conversation with the multifaceted author, Francis T. Perry Williams, whose remarkable journey from the world of sitcoms to the serene landscapes of Hayden, Idaho, has shaped his unique perspective on life and nature. A San Diego State University graduate with a degree in drama and a minor in art and music, Williams has worn many hats throughout his career. Not only did he grace our screens in beloved shows, but today he’s the author of two captivating books, Pollen and the Ring of Harmony, an exploration of living in harmony with nature, and Saving Christ: Starway Seven, a profound journey into understanding the true love of Jesus. In this interview, we’ll delve into the inspirations that have driven Williams in his literary and life pursuits.
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now? Do you have any pets?
I grew up in National City which is part of San Diego. Growing up I had a love for the movies. I remember Saturday and Sunday I would walk to the movies and spend all day there. They were my main source of entertainment. Back then I started writing poems, very short ones but they got me started.
After high school and being very poor I felt I had no choice but to enlist in the Navy. After training camp my first assignment was Vietnam and this was during the war. I survived and after getting out I used the GI bill to go to college. I finally ended up at San Diego State University where I majored in Drama with a 
minor in music. During my time there I wrote, directed and acted. This is the first time I saw my written words actually being performed by actors and I loved it! Everything I write is for the purpose of being performed either by me or by other actors.
From there I moved to LA where somehow by accident I got a job at Paramount studios as a production assistant. I was able to turn that job into my first acting career where I had small parts in Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Bosom Buddies and many more. And I even wrote an episode of Laverne & Shirley.
I also always had a desire to work out and somehow Paramount had me take a young Tom Hanks into the gym to teach him how to work out. From there everything changed and I turned into a trainer for the next thirty years. But even during that time I continued to write screenplays though even after much effort I was never able to sell them. I turned one of them into a novel called, Pollen and the Ring of Harmony and came close to selling it but ultimately no cigar. That book was basically about an alien with amazing powers sent to earth to protect nature from us humans.
At some point I decided no more training and I left LA and moved to Hayden, Idaho where I have twelve acres and lots of nature. I have two cats, Rex and Bo who are Maine Coons and so friendly. Nature is all around me. People travel thousands of miles to see the great Bald Eagles all I have to do is to walk out my front door and look up into the trees and see them and their huge nest. I didn’t feel any urge to write until one day I was looking at an old National Geographic with a picture of Jesus on the cover with the caption, “The Real Jesus”. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, even now.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
When I was young I had a fascination for the movies but one book really stood out for me and that was, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. I loved his style of writing which was exactly the way people talk in real life. Of course, my two favorite authors are Stephen King and Michael Crichton because everything they wrote would become a movie which I could go see. I actually started writing during my time in college and everything I wrote I wanted to see performed and most of it was, I was so spoiled.
When I write I can actually envision everything as if in real life and that it has actually happened. That is how I write.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read? Who inspires you in your writings?
As I said before Crichton and King. But I like a good story and I want it to be entertaining. I like science fiction but grounded meaning pertaining to us and what is happening today on our planet. Movies like ET and Close Encounters come to mind. Star Wars is fun but not my style.
My inspiration is making something that people will not only want to read but will also look forward to the book being made into a movie. When I write everything seems real to me as if what I am writing has actually happened. In my latest book, Saving Christ: Starway Seven in my mind everything in that book has happened and I am just telling the story.
Tell us a little about your latest book.
Beyond a doubt the most important person to ever live on our planet is Jesus. Even two thousand years after his death he is still the most known person on the planet. Who wouldn’t want to go back in time just to meet the real person? In my new book, Saving Christ: Starway Seven, agent Jennifer Williams does just that. She is sent back in time to prove that Jesus actually existed and that he was the true son of God. Whether you believe in Jesus or not he is still the most interesting person of all time. He was half god half man and I was driven to find out as much as possible about his human side and could he fall in love with just one.
I spend six months researching everything about Jesus no matter how small the detail. Some I liked and used in my book and some I didn’t. I was totally against the Da Vinci code theory that said Jesus married and had a daughter which created a bloodline. Jesus died to save us all and he would not let anything get in his way and marrying and having a daughter definitely would. I was compelled to write as if something controlled me. I wrote (with an editor) 114,000 words in less than three months. It was like it was already written and all I did was tell a story.
I wanted a story that would be fun and interesting to read. I put love, action, history, suspense and everything I could find into it. First and most important, it is a pure true love story. Jesus and Jennifer do fall in love but nothing changes from the bible. Even though Jennifer tries desperately to save him because of her love, she fails because Jesus must do what he is destined to do, save us all.
I also added a new key element to my story. One of the crew members sent back in time with Jennifer is an atheist and wants to destroy religion by making sure that Jesus does not die on the cross. Jennifer must save Jesus at all costs only to know he is going to die a horrible death on the cross. A tragic love story in the purest definition of tragic.
Of course another element and probably the most important is the concept of time travel. In order for the story to happen there must be time travel. The time machine is named Starway Seven because you could only tell time by the position of the stars. A time machine would stand out in the time of Jesus so I gave it the ability to create a hologram in the image of a leper colony. Nobody got near it. Another factor I put in is that if you die before you are born all knowledge of you and your existence completely disappears. Another point is that you can only travel in the past as the future has not happened yet so you can’t travel to nowhere.
In my book you will meet most of the important characters from the bible. You will get to know them as real people just as you will gain a new understanding of Jesus and what kind of man he was. For instance Judas can’t understand why Jesus is now with a woman. He does not like it while the other disciples really like Jennifer and fall for her and her charm.
The President chooses Jennifer for this mission precisely because she is beautiful. He knew that Jennifer being so different from everybody else at the time would get the attention of Jesus. In fact some people from the time of Jesus think Jennifer is an angel sent from God. And in some ways she was.
Are you ready for a new and fresh retelling of the greatest story ever told? I think you are, if only to satisfy your curiosity.
Thank you, Francis T. Perry Williams
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Purchase Saving Christ: Starway Seven
Pollen and the Ring of Harmony
Pollen, a visitor from space, is on a mission to save Earth with the power of his mysterious living ring. He journeys across the United States along with a group of new friends to deliver a message. Unless humans learn to live in harmony with nature, the Earth will be destroyed. But as stories of the ring’s amazing abilities spread, the ambitious vice president decides the ring belongs in his hands. The vice president is able to separate the ring from Pollen, but Pollen’s new friends refuse to turn it over. They run and hide while the combined forces of the U.S. military search for them. Their only hope is to somehow get the ring back to Pollen.
