Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Meet Tracey H. Kitts Guest Author

Tracey H. Kitts
Welcome and thanks for joining us Tracey to talk about your latest release and other fun stuff. Thanks for doing the interview.

-Tell us a little about the book and where did you get the idea to write this story.

The idea for Frank and The Werewolf Tamer started pretty simply. I had never read anything sexy about Frankenstein before. Now, don’t get me wrong, my character Frank Eastwick, isn’t your traditional Frankenstein monster. In fact, I don’t consider him a monster at all. However, there are enough similarities that the name fits. I thought of this character and then asked myself, “Why should Dracula and The Wolfman get to have all the fun?” By the way, I’ve had more readers tell me this character (Frank) is drop-dead-sexy than any other character I’ve ever written. Now that’s encouraging.

Frank and The WerewolfTamer is available in ebook and print.

Blurb:

Katherine has had a hard time finding work, mostly because she’s a vampire. Turns out, people aren’t clamoring to work with the undead. She goes to the massive theme park, Notte Oscura, as a last resort. What Katherine doesn’t realize is, there’s a lot more waiting for her than just a job.



 

- What’s the best and worst part of being a writer?

The best part of being a writer is getting to share your thoughts and feelings with the world. The worst part is figuring out how to get the world to read it. Ha. Ha.

- What is your writing schedule like?

This is probably going to make a lot of people cringe, but I don’t have a schedule. The more I limit myself, the more my creativity is strangled. When I’m working on a new book, I try to work on it each day for as much time as I can. For example, when I wake up, I turn on the computer. I’ll then take short breaks to eat, a longer break to workout, and a few breaks to do laundry. Once my son gets home from school, I usually stop for the day. If a story is really flowing, I might work on it some more after everyone is asleep. The middle of the night is a great time when nothing else has to be done. When you stay home and write, much of the housework (if not all) falls on you. That’s something a lot of people don’t realize. I also take days off in between when I’m at a good stopping point. If not, my family gets really upset and complains that they are ignored. When I’m really into a project, I average between 6-10 pages a day.

- How did you get started writing novels?

I always knew I wanted to be a writer, the length of the work never entered into the equation at first. Writing novels was always one of those things, “I’ll do someday.” So, one day in 2007, I decided it was about time. In three months I wrote books one and two of my Lilith Mercury series. Four months after that I had a publishing contract. I’ve never looked back.

- If you could turn any of your books into a movie which book or series would it be?

I’ve always thought my Lilith Mercury: Werewolf Hunter series would make an excellent choice for HBO.

- Do you have any favorite movies?

It may be surprising, since I write romance. (And love it.) But, I do not like most movies labeled “romance.” I also have a special hatred for romantic comedies. Ha. Ha. Ha. My idea of a romantic comedy is The Princess Bride. Most movies that get labeled as romance are very depressing to me. I’m not into tragedy. I get that it may be closer to reality. But whoever said you go to the movies for reality? I go to escape reality and expand my imagination for a few hours. Personally, I love horror movies. It’s become my favorite genre as there hasn’t been any decent fantasy since Lord of the Rings. Be still my heart! I just remembered that the new Lord of The Rings movie, The Hobbit comes out this December AH! Okay, I’ve got a grip now. I promise.

-Do you write a novel straight through? Or revise as you go? Plan a whole series in advance? Or does the series evolve?

It is slightly different every time. There have been several books I wrote straight through in the beginning. Now, almost 5 years later, I tend to pause and take a couple of weeks off right in the middle. I do this to be sure the ending is clear in my mind. It helps me avoid plot holes. Ha. Ha. Okay, so that’s funny when you say it out loud. Oh, and I always revise as I go. I’ll write a chapter and then read it over the next day before I move forward. It helps make editing at the end move faster.

As for planning a series, I knew in the middle of book one that the Lilith Mercury story would become a series. There was just too much to tell in one book.

- Which books were the most fun to write? The hardest to write?

There are several books that come to mind for this. Once I get into a story, I mean really into it, I always have a blast. Only one was ever hard to write and that was a novella, Three Days of Night. It was so different (in my mind at least) from what I normally write, that I kept pausing and asking my writing partner, “Is this too out there?”

- What’s next?

Well, I just had a new release with Ellora’s Cave also, Constant Cravings. I am currently making notes on two new book ideas. Plus, as contracts are expiring on some of my backlist, I’m re-vising, re-editing, and in some cases adding lots of content before re-releasing those on my own. I’m very excited about this as I’ve also been doing the cover art for my indie books myself. Did I mention I did the cover for Frank and The Werewolf Tamer also? It was my very first.

- Do your books have a particular theme or premise?

At first, I didn’t think they did. I simply write paranormal romance. But then I realized (very recently) that all of my books tell the story of Beauty and The Beast. They just tell it very differently. But if you’re looking for a theme, it’s there. I think that’s kind of sweet and not entirely surprising. It has always been my favorite fairy tale.

-Would you like to share something surprising about you that not many people know?

I’m not sure how many people know it. Maybe my Facebook friends. (LOL) But, I’m a big video game nerd. I have a particular fondness for epic RPG games. I’m so into Dragon Age right now, I feel like I know the characters personally.

I also collect Batman comics, though I’m very selective. I don’t go for value, but rather my favorites.

I also stay pretty physically active, despite all these lovely “sit on your butt” activities I love. Right now, I’m training for my very first 5k.

- For fun. What is your favorite kind of chocolate or chocolate dessert? (I love chocolate covered cherries)

I love really gooey chocolate brownies when they’re hot out of the oven.

Here’s where people can find me:



3 comments:

Tracey H. Kitts said...

Thanks again for having me:)

Anonymous said...

Tracey rocks! Keep up the good work!

Kathy Kulig said...

You're welcome Tracey. Great interview. :) Thanks for taking the time to answer all the quesitons.