I first met Tracey Gerrard on social media, and when we discovered we liked the same kind of books, we soon became friends. As well as writing books, Tracey works full time, so she is a busy lady, and I’m delighted she found the time for a chat with me. Without further ado, I’d like to welcome Tracey to my blog.
Good afternoon, Tracey, I thought we might start by learning a bit more about you. Perhaps you could tell me a bit about yourself?
Hello, everyone, my name is Tracey Gerrard and I was born and raised in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. I work full-time as a learning support assistant (TA) in a primary school, and in my spare time, of which I don’t have much, I write romance books. I love to read romance, but most recently I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone and broadened my choice of genre.
I never set out to be a writer, but after reading romance stories for some time, I decided to give it a whirl. It was a challenge I set myself back in 2016, which I enjoyed immensely. I found the storyline came easy but struggled with dialogue. However, in March 2019, I had my first book, When We Dance, published. I went on to publish the second in the series, When We Hurt, in July 2019, and the third, When We Love, in June 2020. Since then I’ve published a further two books, The Deeper We Fall, in October last year, and my latest novel, Let Me, in April of this year. At the moment, I’m struggling with my sixth. For whatever reason, this one is testing me, and I find I need to put it away and go to one of my other “works in progress” and then return when my head is a bit clearer.
In the future, I hope to be able to write full-time, but until then it will just be my hobby.
What inspired you to start writing?
Reading inspired me to start writing. I’ve read lots of books over the years; too many to mention but when I started reading romance, I found I was coming up with ideas of my own. I played around with two of the ideas for a while then decided to go ahead with my main characters, Holly and Vlad. That is when Ain’t Nobody Series came to life.
Do you plan the chapters out, or do you just start writing and see where the story takes you?
I plan most chapters. I love to have pen and paper to hand and sit there for hours just putting ideas together. Then I will write the chapter out in rough before typing it on my laptop. I just go ahead and write some chapters if they come to mind while I’m working on another. I never want to lose ideas, so whether I use them or not, I’ll keep them until I finish the story just in case.
Do you like reading the same type of books that you write, and what is your favourite genre?
My favourite genre is romance be that erotic, suspense, or contemporary, then I will read it, so in answer to the first part of the question, yes, I do like reading the same type of books I write, but I hope to branch out in the future and write something completely different.
What was your favourite book as a child?
At a very young age, I remember reading the little ladybird books. The Princess and the Pea, Three Little Pigs, Jack and the Beanstalk…. I would devour those. My twin sister and I had nearly every one of them between us. I would have to say Beauty and the Beast was my favourite book as a small child.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
I would tell my teenage self to pay more attention to English and don’t be afraid to try something new.
I think I would agree about paying more attention in English classes! I suspect many authors would say the same thing.
What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
That would have to be my laptop. When I first started writing, I had a cloud book which wasn’t very good. Every time I sat down to write and was in full flow, the cursor would jump in between different sentences or paragraphs, and I would lose where I was. It became quite frustrating.
That sounds really annoying. I have an old laptop but find it more comfortable to use my desktop computer for writing.
Do you hear from your readers much? And what kind of things do they ask?
I hear from some readers. It’s usually family, friends, and friends of family. They tend to ask, are you working on anything at the moment? When will your next book be out? And the funniest one is from people who know me well. They all want to know; how I find the time to write.
I’m retired, but I still seem to be just as busy as when I worked full time, and that’s a question I’m often asked too. I suspect the answer is that we all find time to do the things we like doing best.
What was your favourite subject at school, and which was the lesson you always wanted to avoid?
I had two favourite subjects at school, Maths and P E. The subject I always wanted to avoid was probably Geography.
What is your favourite place on Earth and why?
I’m not much of a traveller, but I have been to Canada quite a few times. The first time I visited the Rockies I was so overcome with the magnitude of it all, I shed a tear. I love the openness of the place; how peaceful it is. The sites are amazing, the people lovely, and there’s something to do for everyone.
I’ve only been to Canada once and that was to the Rockies too. Funnily enough, I was also reduced to tears for no particular reason, when we visited Lake Peyto. It was such a stunning blue and so beautiful. We were on a coach trip, and as we drove away the song “Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong was played and that was enough to set me off again!
What advice would you give to someone who wants to become a self-published author?
I would say, go for it. Write every day. Even if it’s just a paragraph, a sentence or a few words, get them down. For some writers, and I will include myself in this, it’s not always easy to put down on paper what is going around in your head. Finding the right words can give you a bit of a headache. Plus, it’s easy to forget what you originally thought of, so as soon as you can, write it down. Pen and paper, tap it into your phone, or whatever works for you. You’ll soon be on your way to writing your first novel. Some people may find it comes easy, but I would still say to write every day even if it’s just thirty minutes.
Thank you so much for talking to me today, Tracey; it’s been very enjoyable.
Readers, if you would like to find out a bit more about Tracey and her books, here are her social media links:
Amazon.co.uk: Tracey Gerrard: Books, Biography, Blogs, Audiobooks, Kindle
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