Interview with Kristen Tracy

I am super excited to have Kristen Tracy by the blog for an interview today! Kristen Tracy is the author of Sharks and Boys, A Field Guide for Heartbreakers, Lost It and several other books. You can find her on the web at www.kristentracy.com.

What is your favorite kind of shark?

If you would have asked me this question ten days ago I would have said that my favorite sharks are edible ones, such as marzipan sharks or gummy sharks or cheddar cheese cracker sharks. But I just got back from Alaska, where I saw an amazing shark hanging on a wall in a museum. A salmon shark! So now that is my new favorite shark. Here is video of one flopping around in a boat. If seeing fish flop around makes you squeamish, then you shouldn't visit this site. Lots of flopping. Lots. http://bit.ly/pJv7AV

Could you tell us 5 random facts about you?

I just encountered my first bear while hiking in Alaska by myself! (I was wearing a huge jingle bell.)

I'm a volunteer gardener on Alcatraz.

I am allergic to leaf mold.

Last week I climbed a glacier.

I don't have fingerprints.

Have you had a favorite character to write between all your books?

Isn't this such a fun cover?

This is very, very, very hard to answer. But I like you, so I will do it. From my teen novels, my favorite character is Veronica Knox from A Field Guide for Heartbreakers. Lots of readers send me hate mail about her, but I love her to pieces. I mean, I really love her. As much as I love macaroons. And that's quite a bit. Favorite tween character. I really like Bessica Lefter from The Reinvention of Bessica Lefter. She's an aspiring grizzly bear mascot with a pixie haircut and terrible decision-making skills. Middle-grade character. Camille McPhee from Camille McPhee Fell Under the Bus. Because she fell under a school bus and has hypoglycemia and patterns her life choices after withdrawn dingoes.

Is there any difference in writing between your YA books and MG books?

When I am writing a story, I am very focused on developing a character and the world of that character. So the process of writing YA versus MG books isn't so different. But I do find myself researching age-appropriate courses and lunch menus and extra-curricular activities more for my middle-grade novels. I tend to rely on my memory of being a teenager much more for my YA books. So that's a big difference. I also think all the research helps my middle-grade novels feel more contemporary. Because they reflect the classroom culture as it exists right now: technology, academic curriculum, etcetera. But I try not to include any pop culture references in my YA or MG. They date books too quickly and I want to give my novels the chance to live as long as possible in the marketplace.


If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I was just talking about this with my friend while we were hiking in Alaska. She said, Is there anywhere in the world you want to travel? And I said, (while stepping over a huge pile of steaming black bear poop) Greece. And my friend said, Greece is good, but what about Hawaii? And I said, That sounds good too. And then my friend asked me if I wanted to go to a bikini boot camp with her in Hawaii and I said, Okay. But the instructors don't try to kill you, right? And she said, No. So now it looks like I will probably be going to bikini boot camp in Hawaii soon. Yay! (I think)


Now that sounds awesome! Hawaii! It looks like you've had so many great adventures. Now, you can find Kristen on the web at her website or twitter. You can check out Kristen's books on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.