I was lucky enough that writer Tracy James Jones would take the time to answer some of the questions I asked. A writer through and through, but also a good person he has been told he was overprotected by the woes of the real world around him. Sadly, after the death of his beloved grandmother, who taught him to treat others as he wanted to be treated, that changed. Never to be a stranger to the hardships of life again and suffering through love, life and death, Tracy has done what he loves best....write.
He has majored in Journalism and minored in Mass Communications, been an actor at a local theater and as a stand-in for some award winning films, and even written a screen-play adaptation of his novel "Searching For Eden". The subject of his first published book, Steve Mitchell “No Tears For A Hero,” was produced as a documentary film by an acclaimed Dallas Director & Brokedown Films entitled, “Champ: The Steve Mitchell Story,” which won the official selection seal for the 2008 Dallas Video Film Festival. He is currently marketing his works as both book and film projects.
Read on to find out more from this jack of plenty trades, and at the end you'll find the links you need to meet him!
*Who are you and where are you from?
My name is Tracy James Jones and I am a published author from Waxahachie, Texas. I also live in Dallas, which I consider my home away from home. I sort of migrate between the two.
*What was your life like before becoming an author?
Starting very young, I always wanted to do something in the entertainment field. Before turning to write full time, I had the opportunity to sing, model, and perform as an extra/stand-in for several movies filmed in and around my hometown. When not pursuing those dreams, I worked a lot of jobs to support myself until the next opportunity for my star to shine.
*When and why did you begin writing?
I started creative writing while in high school journalism as a way of expression. I was a reader early in life, so writing sort of just because an extension of self-entertainment. I began with poetry that eventually evolved into stories that I enjoyed writing and sharing with my friends.
*How personal is your writing?
For the most part, there is a message in everything I write because I feel it is important to me as writer to do more than just tell a story. So yes, it does become fairly personal because of the emotional connections I have with my stories and characters.
*Do you have a specific writing style or genre?
My writing style changes from book to book, but my genre sticks mainly to the elements of the human condition. Be it romance, men’s adventure, psychological drama, everything I write comes down to how people interact with each other throughout various life-defining experiences.
*Which comes first? The character's story or the idea for the novel?
*Which comes first? The character's story or the idea for the novel?
Sometimes I have a specific type character that a story has to be built around, and sometimes the story idea comes first. It depends on what inspires me in the moment.
*Tell us about your latest book?
My latest novel, “Secrets & Lies”is an in-depth emotional journey into the private lives of four central characters that unfolds as a provocative, multi-cultural, modern-romance with a twist…
“Sometimes a need for keeping secrets… Can be just as intriguing as a reason for telling lies…”
Kennedy Jordan is a handsome young man with a secret past and a challenging future that keeps him in the balance between having what he wants versus what others expect of him.
Camilla Vargas is a beautiful ambitious young woman with big dreams of success that she has planned to obtain by any means possible, and vows to not let anything keep her from it.
Ulanda Jefferson is a hip outspoken fashionista with a fiery attitude. Armored with sharp-wit and an uncensored tongue, she is more than just a force to be reckoned with.
Bren Searcy is a grown-up lost in transition, (literally from male to female). There is almost nothing she wouldn’t bear to hang onto the happiness she has finally found.
* * *
In the end, for everyone involved, even the elements of true confessions gets lost in translation as the explicit details of who they are brings the group together in a surprising, yet necessary finale that could change the course of all their lives forever…
*What was your favorite part of the book?
My favorite part of this book was writing about the true romantic connections of all the characters involved. Some are all for love, and some are not, but they all have some form of love in their life whether they admit to it or not.
*What was the hardest part to write?
For the longest time I had trouble allowing my characters to just be who they are, whether I liked them or not. Once I learned that, especially in this book, nothing was held back. The hardest part was writing the strained emotions between character conflicts because I had to look into my own life experiences to be able to show those emotions in full effect.
*Do you have other previous published books?
Yes. I am in the process or re-releasing my first fiction novel.
"Searching For Eden - The Story of Stacy Christian" -2003
In the middle of the night, seventeen-year-old Stacy Christian ran away from home or he would have been dead by the light of day. He had no idea that his nightmares were only just about to begin…
By the time he was twenty-one, Stacy had been transformed from a street-wise kid into a well groomed young man, thanks to his chance meeting with a beautiful and rich socialite, Bethany Foster-Thompson, and her handsome young husband, Devin. Financially, Stacy was living the life he had always dreamed, but he was far from escaping the nightmares of his past.
In the wake of his darkest hour, Stacy is faced with a brutal attack on the Thompson’s, leaving one with a bloody lump, and the other near dead. For the sake of his own life, he flees the scene and finds refuge in the arms of five Texas strangers.
In the end, it is for the lives of his friends that Stacy comes face to face with his enemy, past and present, and a final battle ensues that could cost him everything, including his life. From California to Las Vegas, Nevada to the south Texas Coast; for the past he hopes to escape, and the future he seeks to find, this is where his journey begins, “Searching For Eden.”
*Do you have any books in progress?
Yes. My next new release is called, “Torn: Sixty Days of Calaboose.”
(Psychological Drama)
“It is said that a mind is a terrible thing to waste. For some, it is also a terrifying thing to lose.”
This title will not likely fit in with the general reading public because of the subject matter. Though it offers no graphic sex or extreme violence, it deals heavily with all elements of a single character’s downward spiral into madness and other experiences behind the walls of a local county jail. In a way it can be somewhat compared to HBO’s once popular prison series “Oz.”
*Who are your favorite authors/books?
Dean Koontz: Brother Odd Series
Anne Rice: The Vampire Chronicles – The Mayfair Witches – Taltos, etc…
Charlaine Harris: The Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood) Series
*What advice do you have for someone who would like to become a published writer?
Everyone knows that writing a book starts with an idea. If the story is there, I say, why not write? If the passion is there to tell a story, go for it. Write what you know and write for yourself. Finding an audience can sometimes be difficult, but the desire to write something, start to finish, begins with the would-be writer. After that; do your homework, edit your work. Attend conferences and join writing groups. Help is always there. I have found that there is always someone out there willing to lend a hand, but the first part starts with you, the writer. First things first... Write that book!
*Where can we find more information about you and your books?
Contact:
Amazon's Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0067T760U
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