Interview with Tracy Clark
*Where did you get the inspiration for the Light Key series?
The Light Key Trilogy was inspired by my fascination with energy—specifically how some people make us feel uplifted and awesome when we’re around them while others make us feel totally drained, craptastic, and low-energy. I wanted to create a mythology to explain this very real phenomenon.
*Any hints you can give us for what's in store next?
I’m excited to tell you that in DEVIATE, the second book in the series, I’ve introduced the point of view of Finn Doyle. I loved writing from his pov and sharing with the reader his tortured reality. It was great to explore the conflict of a being a good person who must kill in order to survive.
SCINTILLATE is very much the “origin story” of my mythology and from there it continues to get bigger and broader as the enormity of what Cora is facing is revealed in books 2 and 3.
*Could you tell us a little about the ups and downs you have experienced in publishing?
I was VERY lucky on the agent front. Michael Bourret with Dystel & Goderich is a rock star agent in YA and I feel so fortunate that he wanted to work with me. He actually signed me on a partial of a previous manuscript. That was a serious “up” moment in my publishing story. The downside is that the book he loved went about as far as you can go in the acquisition process before it was ultimately rejected and we set it aside. I was heartbroken to get so close and have my dream fall at my feet. I still have hopes for that book, but timing has to be right. Luckily, we went on to sell the Light Key Trilogy to Entangled Publishing and a forthcoming YA thriller, MIRAGE, to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
*What are some of your favorite books in the paranormal or dystopian genres?
I’m a huge fan of Cassie Clare’s, especially The Infernal Devices series. I also think Laini Taylor is one helluva writer. I loved Divergent and Hunger Games for dystopian.
*If you could tell readers one thing about yourself or your books, what would that be?
I hope that both my books and myself are always getting better. :)
*What is the craziest or at least most interesting thing you have ever done?
I used to skydive and tapped into that experience in my upcoming thriller, MIRAGE. I wasn’t a very good skydiver, mind you. But that summer, man…that summer. It was a buzz.
*Just for fun. If you were stranded somewhere but had electricity, what three things other than basic survival supplies, would you have to have?
My peeps. A girl can handle anything with the love of the people around her.
*Finish this statement: "You'll like the Light Key series if...
…you like the big questions, adventure, and like to be surprised by the direction a series takes.
Thanks Tracy!
Author Info:
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Tormented after a daring escape, Cora Sandoval must find a way to stop the Arrazi from murdering innocent people and from violating, using, and killing the Scintilla for their powers. She must also accept one bitter betrayal: Finn Doyle—the Irish boy who has both a piece of Cora's heart and soul—is Arrazi...
On the verge of extinction and sought by those who would either consume or destroy them, Cora and the remaining Scintilla survivors must solve the mystery of The Light Key. If they fail, the truth will stay buried forever and mankind will pay the ultimate price.
No longer will she hide.
No longer will her loved ones be hunted.
And she will have her vengeance...even if she shatters her heart in the process.
