As you know, I snagged a spot at the Second City Signing in Birmingham, UK in July 2015. I decided it would be great to get to know all the other confirmed authors who will be appearing at the event with me.
I hope everyone will share these posts around and comment on them, wishing each author well. Maybe even some of you will come along to the event to meet us all in person.
Up this week is…. Tracie Podger
Tracie Podger currently lives in Kent, UK with her husband and a rather obnoxious cat called George. She’s a Padi Scuba Diving Instructor with a passion for writing. Tracie has been fortunate to have dived some of the wonderful oceans of the world where she can indulge in another hobby, underwater photography. She likes getting up close and personal with sharks.
Tracie wishes to thank you for giving your time to read her books and hopes you enjoy them as much as she loves writing them. If you would like to know more, please feel free to contact her, she would love to hear from you.
Publicist, Paula Radell, can be contacted via Passionatepromos@gmail.com
Interview with Tracie Podger
1. Tell me about yourself… the usual, age, name, (penname if different – if it is different, explain your choice behind it), location.
My name is Tracie Podger, it’s my real name and I’m from Kent, UK.
2. What genre do you predominantly write in? What drew you to that genre?
I write contemporary romance. I don’t think I was drawn to any particular genre, I just had a story to write. It happens to feature very passionate people and so it followed that my sex scenes are very graphic.
3. How many books to you have on sale right now?
Four with another to be released at the end of this year. By the time Birmingham arrives the Fallen Angel series will be complete, all seven books will be available.
4. When do you plan to have your next release available? Tell me about it.
Robert, the next installment in the Fallen Angel series, is due for release at the end of September with a blog tour starting 6th October.
5. When did you start writing? Was it for fun at first, or did you want to write for publication from day one?
I started writing in 2009, I think. I wrote a book, A Virtual Affair (to be released September 2015) just for me, to exorcise some demons but the writing took over. As soon as I finished that book, I started the next and I haven’t stopped since.
6. When you decided to write that 1st book, what motivated you to keep going?
I wrote at part of my therapy to overcome depression, I’d found something I could get lost in and forget my troubles. That was very motivational.
7. Are you a planner or a pantser or a mix of both?
I’m a mix of both. Only in the sense that I write a description of my characters, a family tree and I will research their ‘jobs’. I know how the story ends but other than that, I just start to write and see where the characters and the plot takes me.
8. Who is the favourite character you have ever written? Why?
It has to be Robert Stone because he is so complex but a close second is Evelyn. She is a wonderful, supporting character with a powerful story of her own.
9. Where do you draw inspiration from?
I draw inspiration from the people I know, people I see on the street and places I’ve visited.
10. What do you find hardest, naming characters or thinking of an overall title?
I have to confess to not finding either that hard but the one I think more about is the title. I will normally have the title of the book in my head before I start writing the story. Sometimes the title will change but I can’t write a book without knowing what it’s called.
Now for the fun part….
1. Would you rather have hands for feet or feet for hands?
Hands for feet, I might be able to type faster then.
2. If you could have written any book, what would it be and why?
Oh, difficult one. Probably To Kill A Mockingbird because I wonder what Harper Lee, the author, had to go through to be able to write that story.
3. If you had a superpower for the day, what would it be and what would you do with it?
Time travel. I could say I would go forwards a week or so and get the lottery numbers but I would go back in time and tell myself to start writing sooner than I have.
4. If you could start on your writing journey from the beginning, would you do anything differently?
No. I have learnt by the mistakes I’ve made. I’ve met some wonderful people, some of whom I consider great friends.
5. If someone gave you an elephant to hide, where would you hide it?
I would replace it with the one already standing in my hallway and hope no one could tell the difference.
6. When writing, do you need total silence or background noise?
I need silence, other than the voices in my head of course.
7. You’re having a dinner party, and can invite 5 authors (alive or dead), who do you invite and why?
Okay, tough one this. Jasinda Wilder because I admire her for the reasons she started her career. John Steinbeck because I love Of Mice And Men and would love to hear how he came to write that book. Ernest Hemmingway for the simple reason, he is my husband’s favourite author and hubby would then have someone to talk to. Mario Puzo to know whether he really spent time with the Mafia and Charles Lutwidge Dodgson to find out what on earth he was taking to produce Alice in Wonderland!
8. If you listen to music, do you have a specific CD or playlist, or do you live life on the edge and shuffle everything?
Shuffle, but then I sit there and fast forward to a song I like. I should just make a playlist but can’t be bothered.
9. If you could have the experience of reading a book for the first time, which would it be and why?
Another difficult question. Without trying to sound conceited, my own. I write a story, I am excited about this story, I’m sad when I reach the end. But then that book spends months being edited, beta read and edited again, it’s dissected, picked over, it ceases to become the ‘story’ more, the work in progress. Occasionally I like to go back and read them as a reader would, to enjoy them again and feel the same excitement I did when I first wrote them. To read a book as a reader is very different to reading a book as an author.
10. Who do you fangirl over? (Doesn’t have to be an author)
Oh, loads of people! Jasinda Wilder is one, Joe Manganiello, my muse for Robert. is rather pleasing on the eye and of course, I’m quite partial to a bit of Gandy Candy. But if Jonny Depp knocked on my front door, I think I would quite easily pass out.
Finally…
What are your top tips for aspiring writers/authors?
Write from the heart. Get your story down and don’t worry about spelling or grammar or structure to start with. Just get it out of your head, that work can come after. Beta readers are a must and not family or friends. Someone you trust to give you an honest opinion and be open to listening to those opinions.
Can you tell us (and maybe tease us) about your latest WIP or next release?
Fallen Angel Part III will be available at the end of the year. It’s a continuation of Robert and Brooke’s story but in this book we see a development in their relationship that is unexpected. We have a situation that potentially tears the family apart.
Give us all your social media links so we can all stalk you (legally and pay you money to do so)
I can be found on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TraciePodgerAuthor
On twitter – @TRACIEPODGER (not sure why that’s in caps but it is!)
Or at www.TraciePodger.com (although this is very overdue an update)
And if you really want to stalk me, go like my Amazon page – the more likes the more Amazon likes me 🙂
What are you hoping to gain from attending the signing in Birmingham?
To meet new readers and hopefully introduce them to the Amazon best selling Fallen Angel series 😉
Thanks for taking part and I wish you lots of luck and oodles of cash at the event. See you there!
Comments