Next month authors and readers will come together in Peterborough (UK) to celebrate the Darker Side of Fiction. This week I’ll be posting about a few of the authors who will be joining me at the event, signing and selling books and meeting readers.
If you want to join us on October 7th check out the Darker Side of Fiction website.
I recently interviewed Tracie Podger about her books and the upcoming signing.
Carmilla Voiez (CV): Tell me about the genre(s) and subjects of the books you write and will be showcasing at the Darker event next month.
Tracie Podger (TP): I’m a multi-genre author writing contemporary romance, erotic romance, romantic suspense, women’s fiction, and thrillers & suspense. However, I’ll only be taking my thrillers & suspense and perhaps a few copies of my newest releases. All my books are heavy on the angst. I’m not a sweet romance type of girl. I like my characters to be challenged in some way.
CV: What got you into writing darker fiction?
TP: I’m not only a multi-genre author, I’m a multi-genre readers. I’ve always like to read thrillers and crime books. Gabriel was first full on suspense and was inspired by a photograph that Wander Aguiar took. That image became the cover, although sadly I have changed it since. I saw the image and immediate the character started to show me a plot in my head.
Wander Aguiar
CV: Do you consider yourself morbid?
TP: Not at all ha ha "A Deadly Sin" has some gruesome murders and I had to delve into the depths of my imagination for those!
CV: What do you think is the attraction of dark fiction?
TP: There are many elements of ‘dark’ to fiction from taboo subjects to full on angst. I think these subjects takes the reader so far out of their comfort zones some times, they are so far from our reality, they become pure escapism. And who knows, maybe there is a little of the ‘serial killer’ in us all at times ;)
CV: What is your absolute favourite quote from one of your books?
TP: I don’t think I can come with an ‘absolute’ favourite, I have many but this is from "Harlot" and I think can apply to many people in many situations…
‘What happens when you’re tired of surviving?’ ‘You start living, Charlotte…What you’re doing right now is existing, there’s a big difference.’
CV: Do your characters talk to you? If so what do they say?
TP: Characters don’t ‘talk’ to me, that would make me rather mad ha ha I hear their voices as they tell a story, I picture their story like a movie in my mind and I write what I see. The story changes, constantly. I’ll write a scene and know at that point we are off in a different direction. Although I plot my thrillers as they can involve many different sub-plots, I still let the flow take the story to wherever it wants to go.
CV: Have you attended author events before? If so which ones?
TP: I’ve been very fortunate to be invited to many signings, some abroad, and some in the UK. Early this year I was in Canada, last year it was Vegas. The Darker Side of Fiction is my last signing for this year. I tend to do one abroad and two or three in the UK. I’ll be heading to the Bahamas in 2019!
CV: How many years have you been writing?
TP: I’ve been writing for about nine years now. I wrote four books before I published the first; I wasn’t really expecting to actually publish a book when I started! I wrote, initially, just for me, a way to occupy my mind after being poorly.
CV: If you had to choose one favourite book from all the books you have read, which would it be and why?
TP: Tough question! It’s not often that I re-read books, I don’t actually have time to read many books any more as it is. However, I’d have to say, of the recent books I’ve read, B N Toler’s "Where One Goes" is probably at the top of my list as it’s only the second book to make me cry!
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