AUTHOR CRUSH FRIDAY: TRACY CLARK
Glitter girls, you have pressing questions for your favorite authors and we have their answers. Welcome to our new weekly segment, Author Crush Fridays.
We love asking questions and we love the answers from some of our favorite authors. Today we’re talking to Tracy Clark, author of Deviate (Mar. 3, 2015; Entangled Teen). Thank you for talking to us today, Tracy! We’re honored!
GLITTER: What was it like writing / jumping back into the Light Key trilogy series?
TRACY: I’ve been fully immersed in the series nonstop for the last two-plus years. Often, I’m juggling work on the books—editing one while drafting the next. That can be a good thing because I inevitably wanted to add or change something in the previous book because of what I was writing in the next. It also allowed me to stay firmly in the characters head and in the story. I’ve loved “living” in this world and watching the characters grow and change through the series. I cried the day I finished the draft of book 3 because it’s both and accomplishment and an ending.
GLITTER: We loved your trailer for Scintillate. They’re captivating. Will there be another one for Deviate?
TRACY: Thank you! My fiancé makes book trailers for a living and what he did for Scintillate blew my mind! It was totally surreal to see my characters come to life like that. There is a trailer for Deviate and I’m just as in awe as I was the first time. I can’t even imagine how it must feel to have a movie made from your book because just having live-action trailers was amazing!
GLITTER: Cora is such a complex character and we love her for that. How did you come up with her?
TRACY: I’m so glad you love Cora! It’s a challenge to show character growth per book and also throughout the series and I strove to have a solid starting point for her that some teens may be familiar with—being sheltered by an overprotective parent—and therefore unsure of herself. It was fun to watch her bravery and missteps as she doggedly looks for answers about herself.
She was very much modeled after one of my best friends who is seemingly quiet and reserved but man is there fiery lava at her core! I liked that juxtaposition and wanted Cora to be that way.
GLITTER: For those not familiar with the series, can you explain to our readers what it’s about?
TRACY: The Light Key Trilogy is very much a metaphysical mystery dealing with the energy we give off and take on. It’s about a girl who suddenly starts seeing auras around people and realizes hers is different from everyone else’s. It soon becomes clear that she’s being hunted for what she is and that there’s a global conspiracy to keep the existence of her kind a secret. As the series moves forward, you see just how deep and wide this conspiracy is. Cora must find the answers in order to save herself and mankind.
GLITTER: What kind of research went into the trilogy to make it authentic as it could be?
TRACY: I did a TON of research! Not only research on auras and energy but historical research so I could construct a mythology that is very much set in fact and real world mysteries and events. I had to go far back into history and link together clues from many cultures, religions, and legends in order to make it as real as possible. Deviate and Illuminate definitely have a Dan Brown-esque feel to them. I think people will be surprised by where the series is headed.
GLITTER: Your new puppy, Gatsby, is adorbs! How did you come up with his name?
TRACY: He’s such a sweet cheeks ball of fluffy love! I was enamored from the minute I held him. I knew I wanted a name based in fiction and for about five minutes, I seriously considered naming him Zuko from Danny Zuko in Grease because I’m a nerd like that. For another five minutes, he was Frodo. Kids overruled me and we all settled on Gatsby—Great Gatsby.
GLITTER: What is been the sweetest thing a fan has ever gotten you?
TRACY: I received a silver bracelet with a triple spiral charm on it. That symbol is very meaningful to the series. Beyond a tangible gift, it’s so touching when I do school visits or signings and a fan gushes about their love of the book(s). I’m always amazed and consider that fandom an extraordinary gift.
GLITTER: For those not familiar with your series, tell them in three words why they must read it now.
TRACY: Mystery. Intrigue. LOVE.
GLITTER: What are you working on next?
TRACY: I have a YA thriller coming out in 2016. Mirage is about a girl skydiver who, after a stunt gone wrong, finds herself and her life unraveling and is unsure whether she’s going crazy or is being haunted. I hit some kind of free creative stride with that book and I’m really proud of it and excited for everyone to read it! It’s edgy, sexy, and scary.
I also just returned from a trip to Paris where I was researching a new YA. It’s a historical thriller set in the 1880’s and is based on a real-life mysterious death. It’s in the very early stages of note taking, research, and plotting and I can’t wait to write it!
Tracy Clark grew up in Southern California but now resides in Nevada with her daughter and son. She is the recipient of the Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Work in Progress Grant and a two-time participant in the prestigious Nevada SCBWI Mentor Program. Tracy is a part-time college student, a private pilot, and an irredeemable dreamer. www.tracyclark.org
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