Welcome kind readers.  We are honored to be talking with Tracy Cooper-Posey author of SILENT KNIGHT.  First of all I would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy writing schedule to answer a few questions.  I just finished reading SILENT KNIGHT and thought it was a wonderful book.  Where did you come up with the idea for this story line?

This novel started many, many years ago — originally the air crash and the days on the ledge were one chapter, a prelude, before launching into the novel proper.  And four chapters of the novel sat collecting dust for many years.  Romantic Suspense wasn’t popular back then, and I couldn’t see a way to move the story forward after killing the heroic Jack.  I often skim read through my uncompleted partials, to see how they read cold, and if there’s any spark left in them.  For many of them, the answer is a firm “no”, but this one kept simmering in the back of my mind.  Again, I couldn’t get past “what happens after Jack dies?”Then the profoundly simple idea “Don’t kill him,” popped into my head.  That was it.  I re-plotted in a frenzy, and wrote the book at mach speed, fired up by the idea that Jack lives afterall.

When you are writing your books, where does most of your inspiration come from?

Everywhere.  That probably sounds very trite, but it’s perfectly true.  Watching how other people react to each other, a perfect sunset, the crisp silence of a snowfall, a quick snatch of music…it’s all grist to the mill.  And once I’m actually writing the book, wanting to reach the meaty scenes will drive me through the pages, plus the idea of finishing it so I can read it, and then send it off also pushes me along.

What kind of research did you do before beginning work on SILENT KNIGHT?

Tons!  Although I have an affinity for mountains, the only mountains I know are the Canadian portion of the Rockies, and I knew I couldn’t set the book there.  So that meant learning everything I needed to know about Montana, and also about mountain rescue work in Colorado, hospital procedures there, and a lot of extraneous details that you probably don’t even notice in the book, but that I had to look up.  For instance:  I had to find out what the “local” paper would be for people in Serenity Falls, if Kalispell was the closest city.   (Answer:  Kalispell Interlake)

How can your readers contact you?

By email is easiest:  tracy@sashaproductions.com.  Or you can get the email address from my website:  www.sashaproductions.com

Did you have the characters already plotted out or did they come to you as you were writing the book?

I’m a “plot-first” writer, so I knew all about my characters before I start writing.  However, that doesn’t mean they don’t still sometimes surprise me.  Dwayne, for instance, is a fairly minor character that I didn’t pay too much attention to as I started the book, but when I got to his key scene, I found out a lot more about him than I’d suspected was there.  It makes the book better, so I left it in.  It’s great when these little things surprise you as you’re writing.  It means the book is taking on life.

How long did it take you to write SILENT KNIGHT?

Difficult to answer straightforwardly.  If you count from first inception to final as-it-was- published copy, then you’re counting in years.  I first got the idea when I was still living in Australia, and that was over eight years ago, now.  But once I had the final story figured out, it went very quickly — perhaps 8-12 weeks, working part time.

Do you have a strict wirting schedule?

Yes, but I don’t always follow it!  I once heard another writer describe the way I write as “writing in the cracks and margins of your day,” and that’s a perfect description of it — a half hour in the morning, my 30 minute lunch break (sometimes, if I can get the door shut and keep it shut) and an hour or so in the evenings.  If I’m on deadline, I’ll sometimes take a whole day on the weekends and shut the door to my office and let my husband deal with the kids.  Plus, too, I’ll write whenever I’m left alone for a few minutes;  I always have the current manuscript loaded up on my Palm Pilot, and I can dash off a few words or a sentence or two — it helps keep my mind in the story.

How did you get started writing books?

I grew up in a town that didn’t have a cinema and only had one drive-in.  I fell in love with Star Wars, and in order to live with the story longer, I wrote the sequel.  That was when I was 14.  I’ve been writing ever since.

Since your book SILENT KNIGHT, are you working on any projects right now?   Can you give us any brief peaks of them?

I have two books being released (so far) in 2005;  DANGEROUS BEAUTY, the sequel to FORBIDDEN, from Ellora’s Cave; a sensual historical romance set in very early Victorian England.  And LUCIFER’S LOVER, which comes out in hardcover in July from ARCHEBOOKS.  LUCIFER’S LOVER is Lindsay Eden, who is obsessed with achievement, determined to outshine the memory of her mother’s illustrious career. Despite an alarming lack of people skills, she has managed to make it to the head of the marketing and public relations department of the exclusive Freeman Hotel, high up in the rarified mountain air of northern Washington. She might have got further faster, if it were not for her closest rival — the charming newcomer, Lucifer.  Luke spends most of his time talking about his wonderful New York, and a bewildering parade of eccentric relatives — when he’s not watching the clock and waiting for 5.00pm to shoot out the door, that is. Yet he’s still one of the best marketing men Lindsay has ever seen. No one knows much about him except he could turn a murder into a side-splitting comedy routine. He also has an eye for women, including an inexplicable attraction for the prickly, definitely not-interested Lindsay. Their rivalry erupts into a competition to win a highly elusive account. The stakes are high. If Lindsay wins, Luke leaves town forever, and if Luke wins, he gets a date with Lindsay.  

What are some of your hobbies?

Hobbies????  When I’m using all my spare time between work and housework to write novels, there isn’t a lot of time for hobbies.  If I had all the spare time in the world, I’d spend some of it dressmaking, and more of it reading all the books I’d like to read.  But that’s a luxury for “one day”!

On a more personal level, do you do something special when you complete a book as a celebration?

Not really.  I’ll spend time with the family.  And sometimes we’ll go out for a meal after I’ve emerged, blinking, into the normal world.  But usually we save the celebrations for when a publisher choses to buy the book, because that means other readers get to share the enthusiasm I have for my characters.

How long have you been writing?

Since I was 14.

Who is YOUR favorite male in your stories?

I’m not sure I can answer that accurately.  They’re all special to me, and none of them stand so far above the crowd that I can point and say “him!”.  I have an especial and enduring weakness for Jack (SILENT KNIGHT), Nick and Duardo (RED LEOPARD), but often, the hero of the book I’m writing NOW is the one I’m most fond of because he’s freshest and most interesting.

Cheers, Tracy

Thank you Tracy for such a wonderful interview.  I really enjoyed your book and
look forward to reading more in the future.