Tracey Clark’s Blog Tour!

Hello readers!

Slight change of plan. I know I promised a haul post, but that will have to wait, because I have been invited to be be a part of Tracey Clark’s Blog Tour! Tracey’s new book, Shocking Finds (Amazon US, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Indigo, Smashwords), was released on Monday and honestly, I can’t wait to read it!

So this post will take the form of an author interview, i.e., I ask Tracey questions and she responds. First though, here’s the blurb to give you an idea of what Tracey’s book is about:

“An act of rebellion, Marin doesn’t think that running into the new store in town will hurt anything. Her aunt will never know… right? One car wreck later, her aunt is hospitalized, Marin is forced to spend her twenty-first birthday fighting for her life, and magic – the very thing her aunt has always sworn to be for fools – is real. And so is the irresistible Fae dedicated to Marin’s protection. 

Kyland has searched Earth-side and all the other realms, looking for a missing Fae child. A child his Queen prophesied would be able to one day save the Fae people from the Danshue, as the evil Fae threat tries to overwhelm the entire Supernatural Community. A child that would know nothing of her blocked gifts, or her Fae heritage waiting to be claimed. A child that has grown into a curvy, delicious morsel he would love to taste 

Together Marin and Kyland will fight Fae assassins, overcome betrayals, and if they’re lucky … they will find the Danshue responsible for their plight. That’s if Marin doesn’t shock him to death with her erratic new gift, and her out of control emotions.”

It sounds amazing, right?! So definitely go and click the link above to buy a copy! Plus, this is just the first in the series, so we will have lots more of Marin to come, but more on that later!

You can find out more about Tracey herself over at her blog, so go and investigate in a bit, but first! I think we’re ready to start our interview!

So, Tracey, when did you first realise your love for the written word?

“When I got sick with Multiple Sclerosis I could no longer do a lot of the things I loved. Walking was difficult, reading hurt my head, my writing wasn’t legible, watching TV made me wont to cry in pain… etc… the one thing I could do to occupy my mind and my time was dream… I would tell myself stories, make up worlds, and entertain myself. World building saved my sanity, my life. It took about three years for my motor skills and visual skills to improve. It was a slow process but as I improved I began to record the stories and worlds that had been a part of my every waking moment for so long.”

I can’t even imagine losing as much as you did when you got sick. It must have been so dreadful to lose everything you loved doing! But what was your very first piece of writing about? Or the first piece you can remember, anyway?

“I loved writing for a daily journal in high school, and entertaining my classmates with stories of the insanity and laughter that took place in my home. My mother is the picture child for ‘a quick wit’ and most of my stories revolved around her. But for the most part I loved Mathematics, numbers were a puzzle that I took to with ease. Writing on the other hand, and reading aloud, filled me with dread. Growing up with dyslexia I avoided additional reading projects. It wasn’t until my junior year that I found a genre that held my attention long enough that I craved what I found on the written page. After I became ill, my numbers disappeared. To this day I have trouble with numbers, but thankfully my ability to write is fine, and I learned a long time ago to work with my dyslexia. Besides my high school journal writing, Shocking Finds is my first piece of writing. The first thing I created after I was diagnosed with MS and my world changed.”

Wow! It’s great that you’re able to share that first story with the world now that you’re recovering. Can you tell me a bit about your writing process after you found you were able to start writing again? Where do you work best? How do you keep your focus? Do you set yourself deadlines?

“I write when I can. Coming up with stories isn’t an issue, but editing my stories is still difficult with my MS and can take longer than usual. Grr… I have a favorite recliner that I use as my writing chair. I make sure that I am completely comfortable so that I can work longer hours. I love my stories and want to spend as much time as possible within them as I can. Participating in the NaNoWriMo and all the other NaNo activities helps me to get a lot of work done. I am the queen of procrastination and NaNo keeps me on point.”

That recliner sounds great! I’m longing for an arm chair of my own, but I just don’t have the space (or the money) to have one yet! I absolutely adore Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels, amongst many other genres, but what made you choose that genre for this novel?

“I love Paranormal/Fantasy Romance. It is the genre that got me to read and helped me to work through my dyslexia. I love to write and read it. Unless of course there are cowboys involved, because… yummmm… cowboys!!”

Ah yes. The cowboys. I too enjoy cowboys! What about Marin? Can you tell me a bit about your inspiration for her character?

“I wanted to show a girl finding her way in the world, trying to be independent for the first time in her life. I wanted a girl doing things that she never imagined, that she never had the chance to experience. I wanted to show her as she found out that she was stronger than she thought she was. Mostly, I wanted people to read Shocking Finds and get the feeling that anything is possible in life.”

Well, I absolutely can’t wait to read Shocking Finds, I have it waiting on my Kindle as we speak. But what about you? Are there any books you’re desperate to get a hold of at the minute?

“Like every other Karen Chance lover, I am dying to read Reap the Wind on Nov 3… I love her Cassandra Palmer series but I am obsessed with her Pritkin character in that series… this book is supposed to be big on the Pritkin information… yay…”

I can’t say I’ve ever read any Karen Chance, but maybe she’s one I’ll give a go in the future! As we’re aware though, Shocking Finds is a Finder’s Keepers novel, and I’m sure I’ll be dying to find out more about your universe. Is the sequel in the works? How long do you think readers will have to wait to read more about the amazing world you’ve created?

“I hope to have most of the first round of edits for the second book done by the end of November… as I said, NaNo is extremely helpful when it comes to my process. I want readers to love the Finder’s Keepers series, and I want to give those reader books that comes as soon as possible. Sadly, editing never ends with the first round. Books have to be edited a million times, beta read, and then more edits… lol… it is editing hell. On the plus side, I already have a handful of shorts and other novels in rough draft form, so I am ready to deliver. I just need to… you guessed it… Edit… 😛 ”

Brilliant! I haven’t even read the first one yet and I can’t wait! For future novels though, do you see yourself writing more in this genre, or do you think you may branch out?

“I hope to do both. Lol… I have about five rough drafts in this genre and two for the contemporary genre. The paranormal/fantasy romance genre comes easier for me, but I have a contemporary world that just refused to be ignored. For my Paranormal/fantasy romance rough drafts, three of them are for the Finder’s Keepers series, the other two are off-shoots of that world. I hope to one day have the three heroines from those three worlds meet and work together for a few stories.”

Not going to lie, that sounds absolutely amazing! You sound like you get a lot of writing done. I’m so unbelievably jealous, I just wish I had the time to sit down and write properly. As an aspiring author myself, and I’m sure there are many, many more out there reading this post, is there any advice you can give me on creating my very own fantasy world?

“Start with something that you know, and then make it magical. And visualize what you are writing about. Draw it out, use the computer or make models to create the most complex/magical aspects of your world. For one of my future books, the bad guys are using the Ky cave systems as a base of operations. I like to sketch out those caves to help me sink into my world. It doesn’t have to be perfect, and you don’t have to think of yourself as an artist… but making something to aid in visualization helps me.”

That does sound really helpful. I tend to get just as far as building my characters’ backstories and then get stuck when it comes to setting, so building a physical representation of what I see in my head seems like it would be very helpful! Finally, if there are any people out there who are still reluctant to go out and buy your book after all this, could we have a little teaser?

Marin Yarthine had trouble containing a childish giggle or two. She had managed to locate an Orion Starbrary Indigo Violet Aura Lemurian Seed Quartz Crystal for her boss. The longest, oddest name for a rock, but Anton had been very specific. Besides, she was the best Finder at Finder’s Keepers, who better to go on this mission.

Okay… so her job wasn’t actually to go out in the field and complete Finder’s missions. Finds were completed by a different department. Marin knew that she was nothing more than a high paid researcher. She could take a piece of cloth and tell you where it had been, what had been near it, who had touched it, and more importantly, she could visualize where any related objects might be located.

Yesterday, Anton handed Marin an old textbook written in something that looked like Latin, and asked her to Find a rare crystal for his collection. The words on the book cover had been meaningless to her, but once Marin had held the fragile text in her hands, she had known exactly where to go.

Marin had wanted to complete just one mission on her own. She had been prepared to search the dank and cold Kentucky cave systems, not stopping until she had her Find. It was a simple case, with no danger involved. She would never attempt the kidnaping cases, or one of the Finds involving a murder weapon.

Marin had been surprised to feel the newest store in the area, Crystal Sights, pulling at her Finder’s gift. Anton had sworn up and down that the crystal would be hard to locate. Aisle six – rare gems and crystals—was not her idea of difficult. In and out and no one had gotten hurt.

Her aunt, Lindal, refused to even allow her to look at the building as they drove past, and now Marin had been inside and explored.

Marin had completed her first solo Finder’s mission. She had located exactly what Anton needed and managed to purchase a crystal of her very own. Not that she believed in crystals and magic. Her aunt had explained how her own ability, to locate the lost or stolen, was the closest thing to real magic left in the world. If Lindal knew that Marin had purchased one of the crystals for herself, her aunt would lose her ever lovin’ mind.

For once in her life, Marin didn’t care. She had felt the heat coming off her crystal as she held it in her hands. Maybe her aunt was wrong. Maybe the shopkeeper had told the truth, and the fragile but beautiful rock would help Marin come through her Transition with more protection and control.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Well, I’m certainly intrigued! You can find a longer teaser over on Tracey’s blog if that isn’t already enough to send you straight to Amazon! Thanks so much to Tracey for answering all my questions so well, and I urge you all to go and check out her blog, then go and buy her book! Also, go and check out the other blogs on Tracey’s Tour, they’re all amazing:

Sharon Buchbinder

ThatScribbler

Kathryn Kane

C. D. Hersh

And you can also find Tracey on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Goodreads. Once more, I urge you to go buy and enjoy Shocking Finds!

’til next time, readers!

Georgie xxx