So, without further ado (because I've been promising you this interview for a couple weeks now), here's the talented and awesome Tracy M. Joyce!
About Tracy
Tracy Joyce is an up and coming fantasy author based out of Australia. Her book, Altaica, has recently been published by Odyssey Books.
Where are you from?
I grew up on a farm in rural Victoria, Australia but now live in Melbourne.
Please tell me a bit about yourself:
I am the youngest of three children. I grew up in a rambling farmhouse where my grandparents lived as well as my parents and siblings. Both my grandparents were avid readers and encouraged this in me. Story telling seemed to follow naturally. I owned and rode horses for 25 years, and now that I don’t have them anymore I miss them every day. I also love archery.
About Her Writing:
How did you get into writing?
I’ve always enjoyed writing stories and creating fictional worlds. I can remember at about the age of 12 being asked what I wanted to be and I answered, “A writer.” The reply to this was, “You can be a journalist.” When it was explained to me what a journalist did, I replied, “No, I want to write books.” I was also then told that I would need a “real job”.
I studied English Literature at University and worked in a variety of administrative jobs, but the desire to write never left me. I had the idea for Altaica (actually the idea for book three came first) and it wouldn’t leave me. I felt compelled to write it down and plan it. A couple of years after that I was lucky enough to stop full time work and I picked up the pen and started writing again. It was the best thing I ever did.
How many books have you written?
Altaica is my first novel, but there will be about five books in the series. (Two duologies and a stand-alone book in between.)
What life experiences do you feel most influenced your writing?
A rural upbringing often gives you a different outlook on life which I think comes through in my writing. Growing up on a farm we worked hard, but had the kind of adventures you can only have if you grow up in the country. I suspect many of them make it into my writing. Certainly the horses I’ve owned over the years have made an appearance in my books, as does my love of history and archery!
When I think back to my childhood and having my mother read to me, when I was very young, and having two grandparents who loved books, that was probably the beginning of an obsession with reading which then became an obsession with writing. I was quite sick as a child, books and then writing opened up whole new worlds of escape for me.
Who or what inspires you?
I’m inspired by the people who remain strong in the face of adversity, people who don’t take “No” for an answer and who make their own opportunities in life. When I look at my writing I see many very strong female characters and I guess they’re based on my mother and grandmothers.
Altaica is an epic fantasy tale with themes of racism, superstition, identity and belonging and personal redemption. Isaura, the main character of Altaica, is an independent young woman, born to refugees within a community that fears her kind - for they are rumoured to be magic users. Isaura has few friends, but is fiercely loyal to those she does have. She is often uncertain and has a lot to learn about herself and others. She has to make some horrendous moral choices, yet she still keeps trying to help her friends. One of my reviewers pointed out to me that she is a young woman who doesn’t need a man in her life to make her “complete”. I hadn’t thought about this, but it’s totally accurate. I like strong female protagonists – there will be no swooning in my books!
The theme for this summer is success in writing. How do you feel you have gained your success?
Well, any success I’ve had so far has been the result of hard work, perseverance, and a great cover! However you can have the best cover in the world and if your contents are appalling then you are still not going to get anywhere – so hard work (being prepared to revise – sometimes a lot!) and then never giving up would be the main reasons for any success I’ve had. Also I think that writers must be prepared, to connect with their readers (which I love doing). You can’t write your book, sit back and wait for success to come to you as if the world owes you something – it doesn’t. Writers must never forget their fans, for without them there is no success.
Are there any future goals for your book that you have yet to reach?
Of course - I’m just at the beginning of my writing journey. Altaica is new and I would like it to continue to do well and be loved by many, many more readers.
Do you think you’ve found your audience? Or are your still on the hunt?
I think I’ve found an audience from teens through to adults and now the work is to build on that audience and make Altaica more well-known.
I originally met you on Wattpad. How do you think Wattpad is influencing your success?
The Wattpad community ROCKS! I had Altaica written and was looking at self-publishing it. My niece told me about Wattpad and I thought I’d try it and see what people thought of my writing. The feedback I received was, and still is, great! It renewed my faith in my work. (At this stage I was at the end of a long query process and only had one query still out with a publisher, Odyssey Books, who shortly thereafter offered me a contract.)
I am extraordinarily grateful to the fans on Wattpad who read, give me feedback and ask me questions. Writing is often a very solitary activity and Wattpad has been a way to connect with other writers and build an audience. Also, when my editor was pulling apart my writing and I was thinking to myself “How on earth did I make it through Primary School!” – it was the Wattpad feedback that made me remember that my book was good.
I will always participate in Wattpad. I love connecting with, helping and encouraging other writers.
What do you feel makes your story unique?
I think the characters are the foundation of what makes it unique. There are plenty of strong female characters within the story, who don’t conform and who make a place for themselves within their world. There are complex relationships within the novel, conflicting emotions and motives and characters, who you love, may act in a way that you don’t agree with. I like the notion of “moral greyness” – that “good” people can do “bad” things and vice versa. Altaica’s leading lady is faced with some horrendous choices which I feel many writers would not contemplate putting in their work. Readers see the world building of Altaica as unique, which is wonderful as it is merely a combination of my love of folk lore, myth and history. It seems that this combination resonates with many people from different cultures and on many different levels.
Her Writing Process:
On the topic of writer’s block - how do you handle it?
I get times where I'm not sure what direction to take something or I'm not sure something is working properly. I find the only way to get over this is to keep writing, even if you think it isn't working. I did about three versions of the opening scene of book two. I didn't like any of them, but I didn't delete any of them. I printed them out and picked the bits I liked out of each - sometimes only a paragraph or a sentence and combined them in a new version which I was happy with.
So I guess what I'm saying is keep writing because out of the dross comes a kernel of something you will be happy with and from that you will create exactly what you want.
Do you keep a writing schedule? How organized is your writing? Are you a pantser or a planner (do you wing it and let the story go where it will or do you plan out your story well in advance?)
I set myself daily word limits. I don’t always reach them, but sometimes I exceed them. When I don’t reach them I “beat” myself up about it and try and make up for it the next day. It’s a motivational tool. Three days a week I write all day and the other days I work on marketing and editing.
Am I “pantser” or a “planner”? Both - I know my story’s beginning and end. I know the low points / major conflicts I want to reach within the story, but in between these I “wing” it. However, if in “winging” it I discover something better than my current plan, then I adjust my planning as I go along. It’s a very fluid process for me.
How long did it take you to write your book?
I started writing Altaica when I was still working and I really made slow progress for a couple of years – I just didn’t have the energy at the end of the day to be creative and I faffed about too much. Once I knuckled down and established a work routine I wrote two thirds of it in 6 months. After that you can add in several months of revision and then another few months of some more revision.
Do you have any advice for fellow authors / people who are interested in taking this strange twisted road of writing a novel?
Advice? Yep – don’t give up! Perseverance, planning and research.
You must do some form of planning with your writing, however minimal, otherwise you run the risk of writing 300,000 words of rambling (beautiful if you’re lucky) prose that even your granny won’t want to read. (At least know your beginning and ending so you’ve got a goal to aim for in your writing and your character’s development.)
Perseverance: You must strive to write the best work that you can, even if it means scrapping stuff and rewriting! Perseverance applies when you are also looking to be published! Querying is a long process, so do not give up after one rejection and do not take those rejections personally.
Research: Research your target market and audience. Know what is expected in YA or epic fantasy. You don’t have to provide all those elements, for instance you might be writing a cross-over novel as I did, but you’ve got to put in something that will appeal to those markets. Publishers and agents will be looking for books they know they can sell to the market. If they think they can’t sell it because you haven’t considered it in your writing and put in something to appeal to your target market, then you won’t get picked up by either an agent or a publisher.
Research also applies to your world building. The world has to be believable whether it is a world like Altaica or whether it is set in a small town in the USA. People need to relate to it and to feel that they can see it. Great, believable settings with great characterisations are the foundations of your storytelling.
Another part of your research is your beta-readers. Have good beta readers from a variety of ages and backgrounds and reading tastes. Pick them for their honesty. Then when you get their feedback, don’t take it on face value. You need to take them out to lunch / morning tea and interview them thoroughly to see if they did indeed like it, hate it or understand it all. You’ll be surprised how many may miss some the nuances / clues in your writing. Based on their feedback you might need to revise again.
Get organized and be professional. Treat your writing as a business.
In terms of writing software, I strongly recommend Scrivener and Scapple (for planning and mind mapping.)
Work hard!
That is some pretty awesome advice, and very very true. (I'm also a HUGE lover of Scrivener, which now that I'm using it, I can't fathom how I managed to write my books before I had it! lol)
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If you'd like to know more about Tracy, or her wonderful book, Altaica, here are some places to visit:
Social Media:
Twitter: @TracyMJoyce
Google+: google.com/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/info0058/
For more about Altaica, check out the page on the publisher's site: Odyssey Books
If you like what you see, and you should because Altaica is pretty friggin' amazing, you can pick up a copy at the following locations:
Paperback
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Foyles
Ebook
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