UFI welcomes Tracey Martin Author of Wicked Misery. Thanks for Joining us!!
What can you tell my
readers about yourself that they might not know from looking on your bio or
reading in another interview?
I started dabbling with
writing in high school as a consolation prize to myself. I really wanted to be good
at music like a lot of my friends, but I finally had to accept that I have no
musical talent. So writing, it was!
What do you enjoy doing on
your down time?
Besides reading? That’s
probably the obvious one. I also love hiking, and I have a weakness for fantasy
TV shows like Lost Girl and Game of Thrones.
What is your Favorite part
of writing?
I’m probably weird this way,
but I love editing. I love the feeling of taking something ugly and turning it
into something shiny.
Do you have any certain
routines you must follow as you write?
No routines, but I don’t
write well in public. I need quiet. Coffee helps too.
What are some of your
Favorite books or Authors in the Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Genres?
So
hard to choose! I’ll have to go with Jaye Wells and Ilona Andrews, and right
now I’m finally getting around to catching up on Chloe Neill’s Chicagoland
Vampires and I’m a bit addicted.
How would you pitch Wicked
Misery to someone who has not heard of it before?
Framed
for murder, a woman who’s been cursed to get a magical high off human suffering
must find a way to use that shameful ability to uncover the real killer.
Can you tell us a little
bit about the world that your series
is set in?
I
wanted to do something different than the sorts of creatures that are common in
urban fantasy, like vampires and shapeshifters. So I based mine on the seven
deadly sins, then narrowed it down to five “sins” for simplicity. Basically,
humans are stuck sharing the world with creatures that prey on their weaknesses
– greed, jealousy, lust, rage, and vanity. Then, of course, I needed to give
humanity a way to fight back, so I had to give some humans the power to do
that.
Do you have a favorite
scene in Wicked Misery?
Probably
any of the scenes between Jess and Lucen. There’s so much tension between them
that it makes for fun dialogue.
Which character was your
favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about?
Jess
is definitely my favorite – it’s fun to be in her head. She has so much angst,
but she covers it up with humor. Steph, her best friend, was probably the most
difficult. She’s based on someone I knew who is transgender. I felt a certain
responsibility about getting her right because there are so few transgender
characters out there, yet I didn’t want it to be a big deal in the story
because it’s not what defines her.
What Other Projects can we
look forward to reading from you?
Well,
I recently sent Wicked Misery’s sequel to my editor, so hopefully that next
year! And for something totally different, I have a contemporary YA novel,
Another Little Piece of My Heart, that’s filled with rock stars and
dysfunctional families coming out in December.
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Tracey Martin grew up outside of Philadelphia, the lucky
recipient of a drama-free childhood, which is why she spent so much time
reading about other people’s lives. It was while she was working on her
doctorate in psychology that she had an epiphany -- imaginary people are way
more fun than real ones. And so she began writing. Never able to choose just
one of anything, she currently writes both urban fantasy for adults and
contemporary stories for teens.
She likes her coffee simple, her music epic, and her movies
to contain explosions. A city girl at heart, she doesn’t understand how she and
her husband ended up living in New Hampshire, but writing keeps her off the
mean, small town streets. You can find her online at tracey-martin.com.
Wicked Misery
Miss Misery #1
It s all quasi-legal fun until somebody gets framed for murder.
Jessica Moore thrives on misery. Literally. Thanks to a goblin s curse, she gets a magical high from humanity s suffering. A shameful talent like that could bury a girl in guilt, so to atone, she uses her dark power to hunt murderers, rapists and other scumbags until one of them frames her for his crimes.
In desperation, Jessica seeks refuge with the one person she trusts to not turn her in a satyr named Lucen. Like every member of his race, Lucen uses his lusty magic to control Boston s human population, and Jessica isn t immune to his power. But the murder victims belonged to a rival race, and when they discover Lucen is harboring Jessica, dodging the cops becomes the least of her problems.
With only five days to find the real killer, Jessica faces a danger far more serious than the brewing magical war. The danger of succumbing to Lucen s molten seduction.
Warning: Contains a heroine with a lust for misery, creepy murders, and creepier goblins, satyrs so hot you'd sell your soul for one, and scaly sewer rats masquerading as dragons. Who said magic was all sparkles and tiaras?
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