How long have you been writing? I have been writing since I could write with a pencil – about third grade, when I started writing poems, and fourth grade, when I started writing books in pads of paper; in ninth grade I really started writing poetry, and took high school newspaper, which catapulted me into college newspaper and freelance writing. I was paid for my first magazine article when I was 19. I have been writing professionally for 30 years.
When did you first know you could be a writer? I knew I could be a journalist from high school – but I differentiated “work” writing from “real” writing for many years. Journalism (newspaper, magazines, editing, blogging) paid the bills but felt like cheating because I was then too tired to write a poem. I felt like I was only really writing when I could get a draft of a poem down. In my 40s, I made peace with both sides of the heart and became better at both kinds of writing. My journalism became easier and more poetic; my poetry eased into everyday life. Writing is writing. It doesn’t have to live in hierarchy.
Can you share a little of your current work with us? My great-aunt Doris passed away two years ago and left me her diaries from the 1920s. I fell in love with her writing style and have been publishing her diaries on Facebook and Twitter, a few lines at a time. (Visit Facebook/TheDorisDiaries or Twitter @TheDorisDiaries). Last fall the first volume was published by IV Ink; I’ve Got Some Lovin’ to Do: The Diaries of a Roaring Twenties Teen (1925-1926), which contains these boy-crazy, hair-raising flapper stories from an eyewitness to the times. The second volume is due out this fall, and it’s called Reaching for the Moon: More Diaries of a Roaring Twenties Teen (1927-1929). You can read more about this project at www.thedorisdiaries.com. (Both of those are edited and annotated by me.)
Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)? I have not traveled with Tongues of Angels, but I travel a lot for The Doris Diaries. In March, I went to several high schools, girls’ clubs, women’s clubs and libraries to speak about Doris for Women’s History Month. Last fall I traveled 4,000 miles by train to speak in libraries, bookstores and in speakeasies from Portland, Oregon, to Albuquerque. I was in Portland again in March, and will be on the road again with Volume Two of the Doris Diaries in September. I hope to hit the East Coast this year.
Who is your publisher? My publisher is Indie-Visible Ink, an excellent consortium of women who work together to produce and promote works of literary fiction, fantasy, YA, mystery, essays, and creative nonfiction (www.indie-visible.com). These women are strong, smart and sassy. I couldn’t do it without them. Look for them on GoodReads, Smashwords, and Amazon.
What contributes to making a writer successful? The work is never done. I will never stop writing til I drop dead because there is always more to write. If you want to be a professional writer – leave your job and do this fulltime – you have to be prepared to work nonstop, at blogging, freelance, promoting, marketing, reviewing, teaching, sharing, volunteering, and so on. Freelance work is a sales job – you have to keep it flowing so that the next check comes in six months. Writing books is the same thing. They don’t write themselves, and they don’t promote themselves, either. Someone has to write those tweets, and someone has to check all the various media sites, and Google alerts, and email, and so on. That someone is you. Either you’ll be a success or you won’t — because either you’ll do the work or you won’t.
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Genre - Contemporary Romance
Rating – PG13
More details about the author
Connect with Julia Park Tracey on Facebook & Twitter
Website http://www.thedorisdiaries.com/
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