Why the fae?

Hello, my name is Tracy Marie, and I love reading about faraway lands and colorful characters. My story began when I was daydreaming about what would happen if the fae were trapped on Earth and a teenage girl found her. I was so excited by the idea that I headed to my office, sat down at my computer and began clicking away on the keyboard. But soon the doubts crept in. The plot had holes (craters, actually) and the characters suddenly went quiet on me. They didn’t want to be stuck in a tree waiting for a human to come along and free them. That wasn’t their story, and they knew it.

Frustrated, I shut the laptop down and walked away.

But the fae would not leave me alone. 

Their story kept tugging at me, but was I the right person to tell it? 

Yes, I am. 

I spent several months pondering their backstory, exploring why they had no choice but to come to the human realm to save themselves from their shadow counterparts.

Little by little, the story began to take shape and took on a life of its own. I was the copilot while the characters took the lead and began writing their own story. And before I knew it, the story had grown into something entirely different.

All of this was happening while I was working a full-time job and taking care of my family. My writing time was limited, so I squeezed it into stolen hours, early mornings, late nights, and any quiet moments I could find. Progress was slow, but eventually, the very rough, very unpolished draft was finished.

I was thrilled. It wasn’t perfect and was far from publishable, but it was done. I got to write the words “The End,” and they were two of the most beautiful words I’d ever written.

Then the real work began. 

I quickly discovered something important: I love writing, but the editing process… not so much. I sent the manuscript to a few authors, some beta readers, and an editor. The feedback came back full of red ink and margin notes. But it was good feedback. It showed me where the story could be stronger, clearer, and more true to itself.

So I rolled up my sleeves, opened the document again, and got to work. The first thing I did was read the entire manuscript from start to finish, just to make sure the events were in the right order and the characters were still where I’d left them the last time I saw them.

They were waiting for me.

And this time, they were ready to talk.