Love Madly by Tracey Hooker released in May 2022 in the Contemporary Women’s Fiction genre.

One afternoon Jamie is so bored she forms lips with her left hand and kisses it. She is missing passion in her life. Her husband, Joe, always ready with a snide remark, catches her in the act. This time he’s speechless when Jamie quips that she’s “having an affair.”

​The story is told in Jamie’s irreverent voice and blends two timelines–that of Jamie’s young years with her teenage soulmate, then her troubled marriage and ensuing Hollywood affair.

Meet the Author:

Tracey Hooker is a creative thinker, writer and doer. She has a master’s degree in health administration and spent 16 years educating state legislators across the United States on critical public health issues. Tracey practices yoga, hikes in the Rockies, dabbles in watercolors, writes rap songs and donates blood. She has lived in California, Spain and Arizona, and now lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband and her dog, Winnie.

Suggestions for Budding Writers

My suggestions for budding writers based on my experience writing a first novel:  Let your inner self run wild to explore truth and emotions.  This can be done when you are honest with yourself.  I found I did better storytelling when I stopped getting caught up with what my mother or neighbors would think.  

It took nine months to “birth my baby” (the first draft).  The first few months of writing, I had to get over my self-consciousness.  It then became a catharsis and an unleashing of my subconscious.  Don’t hold back when your imagination takes over.  I got help with this from a writing teacher during informal weekly gatherings.  We practiced writing quickly, without preparation and without thinking too much.  Also, a few great books spurred me on.  My three favorites were:  On Writing by Stephen King, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg.   I also suggest reading books on creativity.  

Let go of perfectionism.  I would recommend that a new writer when dealing with perfectionistic tendencies should try to avoid getting caught up in the spelling, punctuation and grammar when writing your first draft.  You want your creative process to be as fun as possible.  Obsessing about the mechanics just might hold you back.   

When you are on a roll, keep rolling.  Keep writing your story down wherever it goes because it may not be available for recall tomorrow.  

Get honest feedback.  On subsequent drafts, I found it useful to create a questionaire for about six test readers to give me as unbiased of feedback as possible. I wanted to know how eager my test readers were to turn to the next page or chapter.  I intended to write a book that was entertaining, readable, and echoed truth.  

connect with the author: website

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This post is part pf a tour. You can find the schedule here https://www.ireadbooktours.com/blog—current-tours/book-tour-love-madly-by-tracey-hooker

Giveaway:​

Win $25 STARBUCKS Gift Card, courtesy of author of LOVE MADLY (USA only)

https://gleam.io/mFKFV/love-madly-by-tracey-hooker-book-tour-giveaway