Author Spotlight

Tracey Smith

Welcome Tracey, our first author spotlight!

 

 

Tracey Smith grew up in Southern California, but as a teenager moved with her family to a small town in Arkansas. It was in Arkansas that she met and fell in love with the man of her dreams, who had also recently moved to the state. Fate brought them both to that small town and into each other’s lives and that is where they continue to live today raising their two children and living out their happily ever after.

 

Author Goodreads Website

 

Love Trilogy

 

 

All 3 books in one!

 

~Love's Fate~

Connected by Tragedy… Consumed By Love
Do you believe in Fate? Do you believe in soul mates? What if there was just one man out there who was meant for you? Would you know him if you saw him? Would he know you?
Katherine didn’t believe in soul mates, she wasn’t even sure if she believed in love… until the night she saw him. There was something oddly familiar about his dark blue eyes, but she was sure she’d never seen him before. The only thing more confusing than the overwhelming attraction she felt toward this mysterious stranger, was the way he was staring right back at her with that same look of curious fascination. Then suddenly he leaves and she’s left with nothing but the haunting memory of his beautiful eyes and the strange connection they seem to have with her recurring nightmares.
The day Michael’s mother died was one of greatly mixed emotions. He would miss his mother, but her passing meant that he would finally be free of his oppressive father. He was leaving and nothing was going to stop him. But why couldn’t he stop thinking about the beautiful woman he had seen the night he got the call about his mother. Why had she seemed so familiar?
More than once their paths will cross, but will they ever find each other? Will Fate ultimately bring them together or keep them apart?

~Love's Destiny~

After the happily ever after, the story continues…
Destiny had always loved the story of how her parents met. How Fate had drawn them together time and again, until they finally found each other and fell madly in love. That was the way love was supposed to be. Someday she knew it would happen for her, someday a handsome mysterious stranger would come into her life and sweep her off her feet. She knew that the first time she saw him she would know he was the one.
Tyler had known Destiny his entire life. She had been his very best friend, but it had been years since he’d seen her. He wasn’t nervous about seeing her again, until he did. She wasn’t the skinny girl he remembered from childhood, and suddenly he found himself anxiously wondering if she would ever be able to see him as anything other than the boy she’d grown up with.
Is it possible to look at someone you’ve known your whole life, and see them for the very first time? Sometimes love doesn’t happen the way you thought it would.

 

 

~Love's Chance~

Chance Carter has never met a woman he couldn’t charm. Until now…
Caroline Tolleson had learned all too quickly that men could not be trusted. She had been young and naïve once, but not anymore. She knew how to spot them, she knew the type: charming, handsome and dangerous. Chance Carter was all of those things. Even if secretly deep down he made her pulse race, she would never let him see it. She would never let her heart be broken again.
Can Chance convince her to let go of the past and trust him with her heart?

 

 

 

Cedar Hollows

 

 

Cassidy St. Claire still wasn't sure what she'd been hoping to find when she began the search for her birth parents, but all she’d uncovered was a bunch of death certificates and one ailing great-uncle who’d finally kicked the bucket last week. Since Cassidy is the last surviving member of the family that means his estate, a small seaside bed and breakfast in New Hampshire, has been left to her. An odd stipulation in his Will requires that she appear in person to inherit the property. Cassidy isn't very hopeful that this weekend trip will lead to anything more than a momentary distraction from her busy life, and an excuse to take her convertible for a long drive up the coast.
She certainly isn't prepared for Mr. Tall Handsome and Brooding; Ben Riley has been running the bed and breakfast for the last several years, and he is definitely less than welcoming. His instant dislike for her is staggering, but his penetrating green eyes burn with a dangerous mixture of hostility and attraction.
Within days of her arrival an attempt is made on her life and then another. Suddenly Cassidy finds herself trying to unravel the mysteries of the past, while outrunning the dangers of the present and finally turning to the strong, protective arms of Ben Riley and a future she'd never imagined.

 

 

 

My Review

4 Stars

Cedar Hollows isn't normally the kind of book I would pick to read, but when Tracy contacted me to see if I would read it and give an honest review I thought why not, I need to expand my reading. I am so glad and grateful for this chance, I was totally engulfed into the story from the beginning. Cassidy, a successful business lady from Chicago, travel to Cedar Hollows to decide what she will do with a bed and breakfast her late great uncle as left her. Upon arrival the place is a complete lose a...more Cedar Hollows isn't normally the kind of book I would pick to read, but when Tracey contacted me to see if I would read it and give an honest review I thought why not, I need to expand my reading. I am so glad and grateful for this chance, I was totally engulfed into the story from the beginning. Cassidy, a successful business lady from Chicago, travels to Cedar Hollows to decide what she will do with a bed and breakfast her late great uncle as left her. Upon arrival the place is a complete lose and creepy. The only perk she sees is Ben, the tall, dark, and handsome groundskeeper. As the details of her great uncles will unfolds, her stay is extended and more mysteries of her biological family are exposed. As she finds herself in numerous dangerous situations Cassidy also finds herself drawn to the safety she feels with Ben. Being a romance/erotic fan I found Ben and Cassidy's love scenes completely top notch, hot, and steamy! Someone is trying to kill Cassidy and she starts to question everything and everyone! My mind was blown when it revealed who and why they were after her. I read this book in one night. I had to know what happened with Cassidy and if Ben was the person he seemed to be!

 

Q & A with Tracey

 

1. Where do you find your inspirations for writing?

My first romantic series was actually inspired by the format that it's written in. My first idea was how interesting it would be to read a story written from two different perspectives. That idea led way to three novels, all written in alternating first person perspective.

For my new release Cedar Hollow it was the genre, I wanted to write romantic suspense, something sexy but with a mystery and maybe a little danger.

My current work in progress was inspired by the setting. I live in the south, but had not yet wrote anything that took place in the south. Since I live here now, but was not raised here I'm enjoying drawing from personal experience to describe the south from an outsiders point of view.

It's always just some random idea like that. Once it pops into my head I just run with it and see where it leads.

2. What genre of book do prefer to write?

Romance. I'm a sucker for a good love story, and I love a book with some heat.

 

3. Who is your favorite writer and why?

It's hard to pick just one. When I find an author I really like I tend to try to read everything they've ever written. As a teenager it was VC Andrews, I think that is where I found my love for reading books in a series.

As a young adult I discovered romance novels and bought every Nora Roberts book that passed through my local used book store.

When the "vampire fad" took over I became hooked on Lynsay Sands Argeneau series and then branched out and read her other work as well.

I love to read a good series, and I think that has definitely translated into my writing since my first book became the first in a series :)

4. Name your favorite character you have created and tell what about them makes them so.

I think Katherine, from my first book Love's Fate, will always hold a special place in my heart. I love each of my characters, but Katherine was the first. It was her story that inspired me to write. And even once her story was told and she was living out her happily ever after I couldn't let her and Michael go, which is how my first book became my first series.

5. Where did you get the idea for Cedar Hollow and how long did it take you to write it?

 

I can't really pinpoint a time or place when the idea for Cedar Hollow developed. It's a progressive process. The opening scene with Cassidy driving up the coast in her convertible was one of the first things to come to me. Once I had that scene in my head I needed to decide who she was and where she was going. I don't outline my writing. When I start a new project I don't always know where it's going to go, I just start writing and let the story reveal itself to me. Sometimes I'll write several chapters in one night, and then I'll just sit on it for a week or so. Like a movie that's been paused, my characters remain in that final scene in my mind until I know what's going to happen next.

The basic nuts and bolts of the story were fully written start to finish in a couple of months. I then tweaked, read, re-read and revised for several more months. It took about a year to have the book finished and ready for publication.

6. Any books in the works you can tease us about?

I've just started a new project that is in the very early stages. So far my main character has left behind a shattered life to take refuge at a southern plantation home where she will be staying as the summer caretaker. Enter sexy gardener ;). I'm still vetting this one out. I think it will be more light hearted than Cedar Hollow. The dynamic between the characters is more playful, and so far there is no mystery, but it's so early in the process now I really have no idea where this one will go.

 

This or That

*Pepsi or Coke: Coke

*chocolate or vanilla: chocolate

*bad boy or good boy: bad boy!

*jock or rock star: rock star

*Beach or wilderness: beach

*baseball or football: Since my lead character in Love's Chance was a baseball player, I'm going to go with baseball

*roses or tulips: roses

*fresh or frozen: fresh

*cats or dogs: Both? OK if I have to pick I'll go with dogs, but my cat would be very mad at me if she knew I said that.

*ice cream or frozen yogurt: Ice cream

*bicycle or roller blades: bicycle

*neat outline or post-it notes: Post-its for sure!

 

Fun Facts

favorite holiday: Christmas

first memory: My cousin having a broken arm. I remember he had a cast. I was two.

first kiss: On the back of the school bus playing truth or dare.

favorite book boyfriend: Shane McKade was the first name to pop into my head, so I'll go with that.

last book you read: Charity Rising by DeAnna Kinney.

guilty pleasure: A bubble bath and a glass of wine. Throw in some chocolate truffles and I'm in heaven!

If you look to the left right now what do you see? The lilies my husband sent me for our anniversary last week :)

Blog Giveaway

 

Leave a comment below on which book you would like to read. Random.org will pick a winner for an eBook on Friday July 19!