Welcome to The Comfy Chair Blog... Tracy Rees
Tracy Rees was born in Swansea. She studied languages at
Jesus College, Cambridge, then moved to London. She worked in medical
publishing for eight years then retrained and worked as a counsellor for people
with cancer and their families for five years. She has also been a waitress,
bartender, shop assistant, estate agent, classroom assistant, university
lecturer and workshop leader. Tracy lives on the Gower Peninsula of Wales,
dividing her time between Wales and London. She was the winner of the Richard
and Judy Search for a Bestseller competition and the Love Stories Best
Historical Read award and was shortlisted for the RNA Epic Romantic Novel of
the Year award.
1.
What was your favourite
childhood book/author?
Oh so many!! I was a total bookworm, always immersed in a fictional world. Among many others, I absolutely loved the Jinny books by Patricia Leitch. I read and re-read the whole series and have done so since as an adult! I adored the bond between headstrong Jinny and her wild horse Shantih, and the themes of the beauty, fragility and importance of the natural world, and art, and creativity. Just gorgeous stuff.
2.
What inspired you to start
writing and how long has it taken you to get to this point?
One way or another I’ve always written – I think because
I’ve always read. When I was about three I started scribbling down short poems,
inspired by the Flower Fairies books by Cicely M Barker. Those were my earliest
reads along with Enid Blyton and I loved being in those magical worlds so much
it seemed second nature to try to create my own. But it took a LONG time before
my ability came anywhere close to my passion. In fact even now all my ideas
seem far more wonderful in my head than when I actually write them down. I
tried writing at intervals over the years but life, jobs etc always got in the
way. I was forty before I started really taking myself seriously. I think
before that I always thought it was a vain fancy – I think a lot of people who
long to write dismiss their dream in that way. Once I did start prioritising
it, though, things started happening very quickly – a poem shortlisted here, a
short story published there… Then a year or so later I won the Richard and Judy
Search for a Bestseller competition, Amy Snow was published and the rest in
history. It was a long journey to get to that point but completely worth every
step.
3.
Describe your writing space -
neat and ordered or creative chaos?
Um… creative chaos…
4.
What is the easiest and
hardest part of the writing process?
The easiest part for me is dreaming up ideas and starting
new stories, new worlds. The hardest part is halfway through when the doubts
start setting in. I have to be really bull-headed to plunge ahead at that
point. Then it gets all lovely and joyous again towards the end of a first
draft, when I sense it all coming together. Second draft and editing stages
also have their own challenges and rewards. It’s a very different headspace,
much more analytical, which sometimes can be a relief, because progress is more
tangible and measurable, but sometimes feels a little dull in comparison to the
creative flow!
5.
Which other authors are you
influenced by?
Again, so many! In fact, I would say “other authors” in
general – because it’s so very inspiring and nourishing to read the wide
variety of literature that’s out there. I think it’s important to read in my
own genre and outside it as well. I love to read old favourites I know I can
rely on, as well as new authors – sometimes I’m disappointed, sometimes
thrilled. It all feeds in to what I’m doing as a writer. Some of my favourites
are Tracy Chevalier, Salley Vickers, Elizabeth Berg, Sarah Addison Allen, Mke
Gayle… I could go on…
6.
What does literary success
“look” like to you?
For me it’s two things really. The first is practical – to
be able to earn enough money to keep writing. Of course more would be lovely,
but as long as I can just about afford to keep earning my living as an author,
keep writing my stories every day, I really am happy. The other aspect to it is
to have a measure of creative freedom. We hear a lot about “brands” and
“genres” these days and commercial wisdom encourages us to build a brand. I do
this to some extent but I also try to vary what I do within my genre and also,
when opportunity allows, branch out and try new things. That way, the thing I
most love doesn’t become workaday or repetitive. I do feel really, really
blessed to be in a position to write the books I do.
7.
How do you select the names
of your characters?
Oh gosh, names! I love names! I’m a bit strange like that.
Names are very often the first thing that pop into my head – the starting
point. Sometimes they appear in my head out of nowhere. I love that. Other
times, I need a name for a minor character and I’ll leaf through a book of baby
names trying to find the right fit. (I usually end up spying several other
names I really want to use too, and so my cast of characters grows and grows!).
8.
Do you hide any secret
‘messages’ in your book that only a few people will understand?
I don’t think I’ve done that yet but now you’ve suggested
it…
9.
What do you hope your readers
take away from your book?
I hope that my books are heart-warming, escapist and
ultimately uplifting. I would love readers to take away a warm feeling, a sense
that good things are possible no matter what difficulties occur in life, and
hopefully a sense that the characters are friends. I love it when people tell
me that my books got them through a bad week, or that they’re missing the
characters now that they’ve finished reading. Those are the things books have
done for me as a reader so it feels like the highest praise.
Lastly, Jenn (The Comfy Chair)
likes to enjoy a good read snuggled up with a cup of tea and piece of cake... what
cake or sweet treat would you suggest to accompany your book?
I think the perfect sweet treat
would be a chocolate brownie made by Gower Cottage Brownies. They’re made
locally to me and are quite literally the BEST brownies I’ve ever tasted. And I’ve
tasted plenty!
Website: www.tracyrees.com
Twitter: @AuthorTracyRees
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