Tracy Barrett

I grew up in a town where many authors live, and thought of writers as just ordinary neighbors. The wonderful Jean Fritz was one of these authors. She gave me an original illustration from her book that is still my favorite, The Cabin Faced West (the drawing is now hanging on the wall above my computer). And since I liked writing I thought it might be a good job to have someday.

But when I grew older I got discouraged about writing, because every time I read a wonderful book I would think, “Oh, I could never write that. Why even try?” And I was right. I could never write Charlotte’s Web or Mrs. Mike (two of my favorite books). It took until I was grown up to realize that this was okay—I didn’t need to write those books. Someone else had already done it! But there were other books that no one but I could write. So I started writing again. My first book wasn’t published until I was almost forty, and I regret that I wasted all that time being discouraged.


FAQs

Where do you get your ideas?
I learned about Princess Anna Comnena while doing research on medieval women writers. I wondered how she became the kind of person she was, and even when I finished my research, I couldn't get her out of my mind. So I wrote Anna of Byzantium to try to figure her out. I'll never know if I succeeded in uncovering why the real Anna Comnena turned out the way she did, but at least I was able to stop wondering about her!

The idea for Cold in Summer came to me slowly. We used to spend a lot of time on Center Hill Lake in Tennessee, which was formed when a dam was built, flooding a valley. It felt creepy to swim above what used to be a town, with houses and churches and stores. But that odd feeling wasn’t enough to make a story.

The author Sid Fleischman said that one idea is like a stick: you can’t do much with it. But two ideas are like two sticks: you can rub them together, and if you’re lucky, you’ll get a fire. My “second stick” for Cold in Summer was something that an old man who lived by the lake told my husband. He said that there was a crack in the side of the hill that blew out cold air in summer and warm air in winter. These two ideas came together to form the basis for Cold in Summer.


Will you write a sequel to Anna of Byzantium?
No, because I'm not curious about her any more!

I did, however, write a sequel to Cold in Summer. The main character (Ariadne's younger brother, Hector) gets involved in time travel to an ancient village in Italy where he has to right an old wrong without influencing the present. It's called On Etruscan Time.


How long does it take you to write a book?
I never know! I squeeze in writing between so many other things that I don't think I could ever count up the hours. I wrote one book in six weeks, but others have taken two or three years. I lead a busy life (I teach at a university and have a family and pets) so I fit my writing in where I can.


Which of your books is your favorite?
Whichever one I'm working on at the moment!


Are you working on anything now?
I usually have a lot of projects going! My next book, a young-adult novel called Dark of the Moon, is coming out in September. It's a retelling of the myth of the Minotaur, as told by the Minotaur's sister, Ariadne, and his killer, Theseus. Here's the flap copy (subject to change!):

Ariadne is destined to become a goddess. She leads a lonely life, filled with hours of rigorous training by stern priestesses. Her former friends no longer dare to look at Ariadne, much less speak to her. All that she has left are her mother and her beloved, misshapen brother Asterion, who must be held captive below the palace for his own safety.
    So when a ship arrives one spring day, bearing a tribute of slaves from Athens, Ariadne sneaks out to meet it. These newcomers don’t know the ways of Krete; perhaps they won’t be afraid of a girl who will someday be a powerful goddess. And indeed Ariadne finds a friend in Prokris, a pretty young woman who has come to marry the Minos.
    But the ship also brings Theseus, the handsome son of the king of Athens. He has been sent to be killed by the monster beneath the palace—or to kill him. And that “monster” is Ariadne’s brother. . . .


I'm also working on a novel about the Viking exploration of the Americas. It's slow going because I have to do a LOT of research (which I love, but which takes a long time). Stay tuned!