Thursday, September 15, 2011

WRITER PROFILE: TRACY FALBE (Part 1 of 3) AN INTRODUCTION TO TRACY


Tracy Falbe ranks high among independent writers with her first book, Union of Renegades, enjoying 25,000 to 30,000 downloads. Her journey from unknown to rising literary star is one of epically Hobbit proportions. Tracy’s story of achieving her dreams as a writer is infused with strength and determination.

Like Frodo Baggins, Tracy Falbe has found herself compelled to cover great distances in her journey as a writer. Tracy’ interests, education, and career have taken her from Mount Pleasant, Michigan to Las Vegas, Nevada, and on to Chico, California before returning to Michigan. There are some differences in the quest of Tracy and Frodo, enough to ensure Tracy out-distances Frodo in the hall of heroes. Sure, Frodo walked whereas Tracy most likely drove a car. She was never impressed into service in a goblin army (where there is a whip, there is a way!) And Frodo has harry feet to help him along on his travels--I suspect the same cannot be said of Tracy. Not to mention, Frodo never had to endure passengers who failed to roll down the window before tooting their own horns. Of course Frodo had to risk life and limb to ditch that oh so tempting bit of bling-bling into the pits of hell, but has he ever faced finals week? I think not, good sir! Neither has he combed the internet in anxiety, wondering if today is the day he will stumble across the first negative review of his literary works.

As with Frodo Baggins, Tracy Falbe grew up in a small, quiet corner of the world known as Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The major difference between The Shire and Mount Pleasant is that the latter is a party town--so I guess it’s not all that quiet--failing to require an eleventy-first birthday party for a rip-roaring good time. Growing up in this atmosphere well-prepared Tracy for her two year sojourn in Las Vegas, Nevada, as well as her extended stay in Chico, California where she studied journalism at California State University, Chico (voted the number one party school by Playboy Magazine in 1987).

Tracy’s explanation for her decision in moving to Las Vegas mentions a childhood dream of running away to join the circus. (Apparently she never read Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes, or she is a scary person who relishes in the macabre delights of demonic carnivals.) Her years in Vegas are shrouded in mystery, and probably best left uncovered. Seems she left the city without a criminal record. It’s safe to say she avoided repeating much of the lunacy and debauchery that ensnared Hunter S. Thompson. (In defense of Vegas, Thompson had been in the throws of lunacy and debauchery since early childhood.)

In 2000, Tracy graduated from Chico with a journalism degree, and promptly changed course to focus on the world of fiction, opting for the ever competitive and exciting genre of fantasy, a worthy choice having been a life long fan of J. R. R. Tolkien. Tracy is the author of the Rys Chronicles, a four book fantasy series filled with wonderful characters, hard choices, magic and imagination--all the ingredients required for a successful fantasy epic. Penning the series began in 1997, and did not see completion for another six years in 2003. During this time, Tracy embarked on the worst nightmare for any writer--submitting query letters to all the likely publishing houses. As is the case with so many talented people in this highly competitive market, Tracy got no where fast, but she was far from defeated. In 2005, she started her own company, Falbe Publishing, and began distributing her books as an independent writer, sighting her self-employed parents as her inspiration. Since then, she has created the brand name Brave Luck Books, published a total of five novels with the most recent made available August 1, 2011. Tracy has also published a short story, “Challenging Lessons,” and is busy on the guest blog circuit when not answering pesky emails from other bloggers attempting to write about her.
When feeling the need to allow the muse to rest, Tracy finds pleasure in the Hobbit traditions of raising garden crops and baking tasty treats. Bicycling, boating, and swimming help to clear her mind when hashing out those frustrating plot points. To learn more about Tracy Falbe, click on the following links:

Brave Luck Books Homepage

Tracy on Twitter

Tracy's Blog

Guest Blogs:
Fan Girl Favorite: Lieutenant Uhura of Star Trek Past and Present
To Read or Not to Read
Two End of the Pen
My Favorite Scenes from Lord of the Rings

Books:
Rys Rising: Book 1
Union of Renegades: The Rys Chronicles Book I
The Goddess Queen: The Rys Chronicles Book II
Judgment Rising: The Rys Chronicles Book III

The Borderlands of Power: The Rys Chronicles Book IV

Challenging Lessons

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