First of all, I have to say how much I love Fresh Fiction and how thrilled I am
to be here today talking about my June release, LOVEGAME :-) LOVEGAME is a little
different from my normal books—it’s darker, twistier, more psychological and
suspenseful—but from the moment I first had the idea, I knew I had to write it.
What I didn’t realize at the time was that it was going to take me three
years—and fifteen other novels—before I would actually get it done. And if you
want to talk about coming full circle, I actually first had the idea for
Veronica and Ian when I was in Dallas at a 2013 Fresh Fiction event—which is why
it seems fitting that the first place I talk about the book is here on this blog :-)
Every writer, at some point in their career, has an idea that scares them. That
keeps them up at night. That matters to them so much that they are terrified
they’ll never be able to do the idea justice. That—in the writing of it—makes
them grow as both a writer and a person. I am lucky (and unlucky, lol) enough
to have had two of those projects in my life. The first, DOOMED, was a young adult
modern day retelling of the Pandora’s box myth, where Pandora opens an
attachment instead of a box and hearkens technological Armageddon. It’s a book
that—after it was done and after writing it nearly killed me--became my favorite
that I’d ever written, a book that has been named to numerous state and national
library lists and a book that my children love, even now, to brag to their
friends about me writing :-)
The second project that scared me to death and nearly convinced me that I should
give up writing forever, was LOVEGAME. It was a story
that was so complicated and had characters so dark and damaged, that I didn’t
think there was any way I could do justice to it. I was certain that I would
mess everything up, even more certain that I would end up disappointed when I
failed to write the book that was in my head—and in my heart.
I was so worried about failing with this book that I held onto it long after I
could have turned it in. Held onto it—and withheld parts of it—so long that my
publisher had to change my pub date—twice and my agent threatened to come to
Austin and pry it out of my cold, dead hands if she had to. Eventually I
surrendered it, and now I’m exactly one month away from its publication date of
June 7th and I am absolutely thrilled. I am also absolutely
terrified, but that kind of comes with the territory, doesn’t it? When you put
the rawest, most vulnerable part of yourself on display for the world to see
(even when it’s couched in the story of two people who lead very different lives
than you do) it’s supposed to be terrifying, because it matters so much. But
it’s also exciting and exhilarating and really, really fun—and it’s an
experience I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.
So how about you? Have you ever done anything that frightened you only to find
out that it was totally worth it in the end? Leave a comment for a chance to be
entered to win a copy of any backlist book of mine that you choose.
Oh, and just in case you’re curious, here’s the blurb for LOVEGAME :-) Enjoy!!!!
Hailed by J. Kenner as an author who “knows how to steam up the pages,”
Tracy Wolff delivers a darkly addictive novel of seduction and psychological
obsession. The stakes are high in Lovegame, when a movie star with a
shattered past meets a man who can either break her or make her whole.
True Crime novelist Ian Sharpe has spent his career writing about serial killers
for very personal reasons. For his latest exposé, he is taking on the sadistic
madman known as the Red Ribbon Strangler, and when his research leads him to
Hollywood’s most private and provocative actress, he will break every rule to
uncover her truth.
The daughter of one of Hollywood’s golden couples, chased by paparazzi and
treated as a commodity her entire life, Veronica Romero wields her sex appeal
like a weapon. She expects Ian to be as easy to control as every other man she’s
ever known. But from the beginning, he refuses to fall into line. Mysterious and
cool, challenging and just a little bit dangerous, Ian somehow makes her feel
safe—even as he digs into the deepest secrets of her life and pushes her to the
breaking point.
As raw ecstasy gives way to agonized truths, their dark obsession exposes
secrets that have been buried for far too long. Ian wants to tear down her walls
and heal the sensual woman underneath. But if Veronica’s learned anything, it’s
that the line between pleasure and pain is a narrow one—and when caught between
them the only thing that matters is how you play the game.
Tracy Wolff collects books, English degrees and lipsticks and has been
known to forget where-and sometimes who-she is when immersed in a great novel.
At six she wrote her first short story-something with a rainbow and a prince-
and at seven she forayed into the wonderful world of girls lit with her first
Judy Blume novel. By ten she'd read everything in the young adult and classics
sections of her local bookstore, so in desperation her mom started her on
romance novels. And from the first page of the first book, Tracy knew she'd
found her life-long love. Now an English professor at her local community
college, she writes romances that run the gamut from contemporary to paranormal
to erotic suspense.
This really sounds really good and I'm glad you perservered! Thank you! (Kathleen Bylsma 1:59pm May 7, 2016)
Wow! It sounds great! Thanks for sharing your story, yourself, with us. (Daniela Caldarola 10:48pm May 7, 2016)
I can't wait to read this & the new Ethan Frost... Yeah! (J Elise Ortiz 11:05pm May 7, 2016)
I think being challenged forces you to do more than you thought you could often with terrific results (Donna Antonio 7:49am May 8, 2016)
I can totally relate to the way you wrote a dozen other stories before this one. Everytime I have something important to do, I always manage to do a dozen other things first. Fear? Procrastination? I don't know. But the more I want to do it, the longer it will take me to get it done. Lots of other things will get done but I save the best for last. Congratulations on completing it. I look forward to reading it. (Leann Griffiths 8:14am May 8, 2016)
You persevered and succeeded. Wonderful. Congratulations. (Sharon Berger 2:33pm May 8, 2016)
There are many things that have scared and terrified me in life. It's all about not psyching yourself out. The more you physic yourself up the bigger the obstacle seems. Just breathe and take baby steps to overcome whatever it is. Hand holding is ok if you need it. (Vanessa Hinman 8:32pm May 8, 2016)
I think I would enjoy reading your book. (Jackie Wisherd 11:35pm May 9, 2016)
The Book sounds great!!! (Cathy Garner 12:42pm May 10, 2016)
Love your books...Looking forward to Lovegame... (Karen Dieffenbaugher 9:37am May 10, 2016)
I think any major change can be terrifying. I'm glad I had kids though (even if they sometimes drive me nuts) (Krypton I 11:12am May 10, 2016)
Sounds like a great one.Got to see what happens. (Marsha Baurns 12:36pm May 10, 2016)
I believe that at 40 I'll be learning to finally drive and take an airplane ride both scare me, but in the end I'll be relieved and wondered why I took forever. (Kimberly Miller 12:53pm May 10, 2016)