Author Interview: Tracey H. Kitts

1. What are your favorite traits in a lead male character?
Charisma. Even if he’s not a prince, a man needs to be charming. I also like male characters who are kind. No matter how good he is or how bad he’s been, he needs to be capable of rescuing the heroine, even if she can rescue herself.

2. What inspires your female character to do what she does – and that attracts the male?
The women in my stories are strong, though certainly not perfect. In the case of Lilith Mercury, she is her own worst enemy. Lilith is motivated by a need to save everyone. She has what some might call a “hero complex.” Since she was attacked by werewolves at an early age, forever changing the course of her destiny, she seeks to prevent others from suffering her fate. Sometimes she puts herself at risk too much, but that’s her job. She is willing to sacrifice herself if it will save someone else.

The men in my stories are attracted to independent women. They look for an equal, a companion more than a “mate.” This is what attracts Marco to Lilith. It is also what attracts other men in my stories to the female lead.

3. What or who inspired you to start writing?
When my mother used to read me bedtime stories as a child I knew that I wanted to write. I thought it was so amazing to put all those wonderful elements on paper. I wanted to create my own universes and fantasy worlds. I couldn’t wait to share my ideas with others.

4. Do you base your lead characters on people that inspire you?
Sometimes. For the most part, Lilith Mercury is based on my personality. Needless to say, she isn’t perfect. But I think that’s what makes her human despite her genetics. Marco is a few different men I’ve known all pieced together and Alfred is actually based on a friend of mine named Alfred. He also gave me some pointers on speaking Italian.

5. What are your writing habits? Do you write daily?
I don’t always write daily. However, I do jot down ideas very frequently. I’m constantly planning my next book, whether in my head or on paper. When I’m working on a novel, then I write daily. I set a goal for myself each day, like writing 10 pages and I stick to it as much as possible.

6. If you’ve ever been struck by writer’s block, how did you get around it?
I have been very blessed in that I never run out of ideas. I may pause temporarily while trying to decide which idea to write next, but that’s about it.

7. What stories or novels are on your shelf at home? Or on your hard drive?
A complete collection of Edgar Allan Poe
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Inferno by Dante Alighieri
Interview with a vampire by Ann Rice
Shakespeare and the art of verbal seduction
Bullfinch’s Mythology

8. What’s the first book you can remember reading that inspired you to write what you do?
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

9. What is your favorite word? Why? (It’s ok, you don’t have to know why.)
At the moment, my favorite word is passion. It can be so many things. It can be sexual or it can be ambition. It is the force that drives us in more ways than one.

10. When is your next release?
I don’t have an exact release date, but The Dread Moon, book three in my werewolf hunter series will be out sometime this spring.

11. Are you currently working on any special projects you’d like to share?
At the moment, I’m making notes on five different books. Just as soon as I make up my mind which one to write I’ll get started. Ha ha ha.

12. Your site (http://www.traceyhkitts.com) says that you’ll donate 10% of ALL your royalties to St. Jude Children's Hospital. That’s incredibly generous and noble, what inspired you to do this?
I am drawn very much to help children. My husband and I have lost relatives to cancer and it is something that is very close to my heart. More than anything, I would want to keep a child from suffering needlessly if I could.

Tracey H. Kitts is the author of the Lilith Mercury: Werewolf Hunter Series with New Concepts Publishing.

For more information on Tracey and her books, you can find her at www.traceyhkitts.com or www.newconceptspublishing.com

To watch the book trailers or just have some fun you can also visit Tracey’s Blog: http://traceyhkitts.blogspot.com/

Be a friend: http://www.myspace.com/traceyhkitts

Join the pack: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/forbidden_fruitisalwayssweeter/