Indie Love Blog Hop 2014: Featuring Tracey Ward

This blog hop is being hosted by b00k r3vi3ws.

My Featured Author:
Tracey Ward

It's no secret that Tracey Ward is one of my favorite Indie authors, and I'm so excited to introduce you to her and her works today! She was the first Indie author that I discovered, and she has remained at the top of my favorites list. I hope everyone enjoys this as much as I did. Don't forget to enter the giveaway at the bottom of the post!

Excerpt from Tracey Ward's newest release, Dissever

Too soon it was time for me to return home. I was reluctant to go. I wanted to stay there at that table eating and laughing with Ro and his family, surrounded by Spring. Free and easy. But when the time came I reluctantly let Roarke drape my cloak over my shoulders, shrouding me in shadow once again. We waited outside for his father, watching the fireflies swirl in the trees. I secretly pretended they were pixies.

“It’s so lovely here, Ro. I would stay here forever if I could.”

“I wish you would.”

I snorted. “You’d grow tired of me.”

He shrugged. “Probably.”

“You’re mean! You’re supposed to say ‘Never! Please stay!’”

He grinned. “I won’t say that.”

“You’re mean,” I repeated.

“Only to you.”

That made me smile. If you were ever a child and a little boy pulled your hair for no apparent reason, you understand why.

“Do you like your presents?” he asked, gesturing to the two small wooden figures I held in my hands.

They were beautiful carvings, perfect for our games of war. What made them even better was that they were of us. Roarke and I.

“I love them,” I assured him, running my fingertips over their smooth surface. Then I looked at him sadly. “I can’t keep them, you know. If my father or any of the servants ever found them…”

“I know.” He reached out and gently took them from me. My hands felt especially empty without them. “I’ll keep them for you and bring them with me whenever I visit.”

“Are you ready, Anna?” Kian asked, appearing behind me.

“Yes, thank you.” I turned to Roarke and smiled. “Thank you for a wonderful birthday. I’ll never forget it.”

He smiled as well. “You’re welcome.”

“Goodbye, Ro.”

“Goodbye, Anna.”

Roarke and I never played again in the orchard. That night, that goodbye, was it for he and I for a long time. It should have been more. I should have told him he was the greatest, purest friend I had ever known. That I thought him painfully good looking and rudely charming. That I loved him as dearly as anyone could love another human being. But I was young and those words would never have come. I was too unsure of myself then, but most importantly we simply did not know. And that’s the terrible truth of goodbyes. You never know when it’s the last one.

  I've already purchased Dissever, but I've yet to get the chance to read it yet. This excerpt makes me want to drop everything and go read it right now. It's different from her other works, but I know it will be just as amazing. Have you gotten your copy yet? What did you think of it?

Tracey's Dream Cast for Backs Against the Wall:

Joss - Emma Watson because I love her, she's adorable but kick ass and she was hilarious in This Is The End.

Ryan - Liam Hemsworth because he's not a popstar Disney twig (I'm looking at you, Efron!)

Crenshaw - Jeff Bridges because he can play crazy better than anybody and still be so loveable.

Trent - Tom Felton because no one trusted Draco Malfoy but deep down, didn't you want to?

Vin - Ryan Gosling. If you have to ask why, you were picturing a hot pimp all wrong and I feel sorry for you.

Ali - Mandy Moore because she could play unstable and a little crazy without losing your faith in her. 

Jordan - Chris Pine because of the eyes and the cavalier attitude. I feel like he could lose his hand and keep on smiling.

Author Q&A with Tracey:

1. You were the first Indie author I discovered. Thank you for that! What inspired you to self-publish? 

Thank you for giving me a try! Being an unknown and untested author, it's amazing to me when people pick up any of my books. I'm grateful for every single reader who takes a chance on me, even if they don't enjoy what I wrote.
Sleepless was the first book I wrote and I submitted it to several publishers, but I was rejected by all of them. I loved the story so much, though, that I didn't want to give up on it but I also didn't want to keep trying to get it published. For one thing, it's a downer to get rejected and for another, the process is extensive and exhausting. It's honestly easier to write a book than it is to submit it to multiple publishers and with a toddler, a part time job and a husband I love spending time with, I chose to give self-publishing a try to keep from losing my mind.

2. What's the hardest part of writing for you?

Finding time to do it! :) I love writing, but I feel like I gave up reading to do it. All the free time I used to spend with my Kindle, I now spend with my computer writing. Oh, and editing. I HATE editing. You can read your story fifty times, over and over until you're sick at the sight of it, but you will not find every error. I've started re-reading Sleepless to get ready to finish the sequel, and I'm still finding errors. I have mini rage strokes every time I see one.

3. Which character, from your books or others, would you want to be?

Arista from Michael J. Sullivan's Riyria series, hands down. She was tough, smart, she had some pretty amazing magical abilities and even though she was royalty, she was humble and an adventurer at heart. It's an amazing series, every one of the books landing in my top ten all time favorites.

4. What's the hardest scene you've written?

I have a hard time with action scenes but I think the hardest one so far, and yet a scene that I ended up being really proud of, was the sex scene between Alex and Nick. It was a really important moment for both of them, mostly Nick, and I didn't want to gloss over it but I also didn't want to get too in detail. The entire time I was writing it I kept thinking, Mom is going to read this. Do not shame your mother! It helped me keep it classy even though I still got a review saying it was "graphic". Oh, and my mom still hasn't read it :)

5. What books and/or authors have had a strong influence on your writing?

I have favorite authors, but I think the ones that influence my writing the most are the ones I don't like so I'm not going to list them because it seems mean. But seriously, I feel like I learn from books that I read that make me angry/annoyed/frustrated/shocked because it reminds me to be aware not to do certain things in my books. My biggest pet peeve is insta-love. Can't stand it. And authors who write men the way they want them to sound and not at all the way they actually sound. The majority of my friends have always been male, so when I read some books and see a guy spouting off this long lecture to a girl about how she's changed his entire world and he's desperate for her to mother his children, I'm internally gagging.

6. Where's your favorite place to write?

Locked in my bedroom with noise cancelling headphones on. I have a 5 year old son who LOVES to be wherever I am, but it's surprisingly hard to write with a toddler wanting to help you. Most of my writing happens at night when he's asleep or in the morning when he's at school and my husband is at work. I love them both dearly, but I also really, really love the silence sometimes.

7. What's a random fact about you that your readers wouldn't expect?

I've never watched Walking Dead. I think zombies are terrifying, but I'm actually not a huge fan even though over half my books revolve around them. I love a good apocalypse story, though (Under the Never Sky is an awesome apoc read!), so I wrote Until the End for my husband because he is a very huge zombie fan. When we were buying our house he looked at me straight faced and said, "I like it. It's a split level so it's an easily defensible position in a zombie apocalypse." Yeah. So I sent him a chapter a day while he was deployed, then I shared it with my best friend (another huge zombie fan) and they both encouraged me to publish it.

8. What's your favorite thing to indulge in besides reading and/or writing?

I'm addicted to HGTV. I have been for years. It's a sure sign I've become fantastically old.

9. Do you have a comfort food?

Cheesecake! I'm like the fifth Golden Girl. I love it. 

10. If you could chose any TV/news program to go on to promote your book, which one would you want to be featured on?

The Daily Show, Colbert Report or Ellen. I think all three hosts are hilarious and even though I doubt any of them would enjoy my books, I'd love to just meet them. I'd geek a little. Or a lot. 

11. What can readers expect next from you? Are you currently writing?

Backs Against the Wall, the sequel to Writing on the Wall, is coming March 1st. After that, I'm finally going to finish Fearless, the Sleeplesssequel which will end that series. I'm also slowly writing my newest project, The Seventh Hour, a zombie-less post-apocalypse story set hundreds of years in the future. I'm actually really excited about that one.

Tracey Ward's Books:

Goodreads | Amazon | My Review

Goodreads | Amazon | My Review

Goodreads | Amazon

Goodreads | Amazon | My Review

Goodreads | Amazon

Coming Soon:

Backs Against the Wall (Survival Series #2)

Fearless (Birds of Stone #2)

The Seventh Hour

Connect with Tracey Ward:
Goodreads | Facebook | Her website

Giveaway:

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Books Up For Grabs!

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