Tracy Krauss is a mom, author, playwright and a new Inscriber whose blog I recently discovered. She’s also a homeschool mom who is active in local theatre. She and her husband have lived in many places across Canada, including Churchill, Manitoba and the Yukon, and now make their home in British Columbia. Here, Tracy chats about how she became a writer and what inspires her to write.
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TKM: How did you become a writer?
Tracy Krauss: Hm … that is an interesting question. I suppose I should list my qualifications – that I studied the classics in University; that I am a Secondary School English teacher; that I have been practicing my craft for more than twenty five years . . . but quite frankly, all those things sound rather hollow.
You see, inside I feel that I simply AM a writer. I have always been a writer. Of course, I have a lot of other interests – I am also an artist, a theatre director, a teacher, a wife and mother – but if I had to define myself in just one way, I would say “writer.” It is who I am on the inside.
Practically speaking, I began writing seriously about twenty five years ago. (Perhaps “compulsively” is a better word for it!) It began when I had my first child and found myself scratching things in notebooks – scenes, character sketches, dialogue. Eventually, these became a story – my first novel. In those days, however, there was no internet and nobody had a personal computer, so I kept my writing mostly to myself.
By the time I was ready to share and seek publication, 16 years had gone by! My first forays into the publishing world were a real eye opener. Getting published wasn’t as easy as I had imagined. (Agents and publishers didn’t just love my work. Go figure!) I took some pretty hard knocks – much needed I will admit – and thus my real growth as an author began. The criticism that hurt so much in the beginning has now become my best friend. The analogy of fire purifying precious metal is so fitting. It is what is definitely needed.
Interestingly enough, that first novel never made it into print, but And The Beat Goes On was inspired, to some degree by it. In this book, an archeologist (who was a child in my first novel) is seeking the truth behind a bizarre and controversial find – pterodactyl and human remains purposely buried together.
TKM: What inspires you to write?
Tracy: I am inspired by a lot of things, some of which don’t make sense and really don’t always relate to the story I might be writing. Specifically I remember being inspired by music, nature, a curling game (yes, I said a curling game!), sitting in an airport looking at people. . . I was even inspired once by some characters I had made up while playing the Sims! (Some of these appear in My Mother The Man Eater).
Of course, as a Christian, I am inspired to write the story I feel God wants me to write, so much of my writing is faith based and redemptive in nature. (I am also a playwright, so this is not necessarily the case with my plays. Some of them are straight up comedy, while others have a moral lesson, but are not categorically “Christian”).
In my novel And The Beat Goes On, I was very much inspired by my interest in the creation vs. evolution debate and all the research I had done over the years on that topic. When I became a believer myself, I was confused by the discrepancy between what the Bible had to say and what the mainstream scientific community was saying. This led to a lot of digging on my part. When my children were school-aged and I decided to homeschool them, we delved even further into the topic together.
I suppose the book is also inspired by my penchant for sci-fi/fantasy, although it is not really of that genre. It would be best categorized as Romantic Suspense, but my inclusion of the Nephilim – the mysterious race of giants mentioned in the Bible, satisfied my desire to at least touch on this element.
TKM: Who is your favorite author and why?
Tracy: Hands down, my favorite Christian author is Frank Peretti. I love ALL of his books and own pretty much all of them. My favorite is still Monster – I could read it again and again. When it first came out I was almost finished the first draft of And the Beat Goes On. If you’ve ever read Monster, you’ll know that it also tackles the creation/evolution debate, so maybe that is why I liked it so much.
Of course, This Present Darkness and Piercing The Darkness are classics by now. He was so forward thinking in his treatment of spiritual warfare in a fictional format. Like I said, I love his writing.
I also love Francine Rivers because of her gutsy treatment of real issues (and her great story telling ability!). I’m not really a big category romance fan. I’m not into “sappy,” if you know what I mean. I do love a twist, and I’m not afraid of supernatural thrillers etc. Probably my love of sci-fi again, which goes way back to my pre-teen years when I was in love with Leonard Nimoy . . .
I also love a lot of the classics – Jane Austen, Shakespeare, George Orwell, Margaret Atwood . . . Maybe I’ve just been teaching English too long.
Anyway, thanks for hosting me!
More about Tracy Krauss
Tracy Krauss writes contemporary Christian romance with a twist of suspense and a touch of humor. Her books strike a chord with those looking for a hard hitting yet thought provoking read – no sugar added. Her work has won multiple awards and has been on Amazon’s bestsellers’ lists. She also writes stage plays tailored to a high school audience, and has contributed to several anthologies, devotional books, and one illustrated children’s book.
Tracy is on the executive of ICWF (Inscribe Christian Writers Fellowship), a Canada wide organization for writers of Christian faith. An avid reader, Tracy reviews books and posts most of her reviews online at Amazon, Goodreads, and on her blog. She is also a regular contributor to several other blogs.
To find out more about Tracy Krauss and her books, drop by her website. You can also find Tracy on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook. You can also find out what lessons Tracy has learned from a frog.
If you liked this interview, you may also like my other interviews about becoming writers:
One Response
Thanks for this great opprotunity and for the great interview. God Bless!