Meet Tracy Shawn
I grew up in a Southern California beach town. As a young child, I suffered from a speech impediment, which I (mostly) recovered from due to my speech therapist’s ingenious M&M’s reward system. (I still, to this day, mispronounce certain words and crave chocolate when I’m frustrated!) I believe my speech problem was part of the reason I became a writer. To be able to take the time to form words—whether they are nonfiction or fiction—and sculpt them onto paper remains one of the most gratifying arenas of my life.
Throughout the years, I’ve worn many work hats: busgirl, waitress, flower stand operator, traditional floral designer, sports shoe salesperson, behavioral counselor, receptionist, typist, secretarial assistant, vocational rehabilitation counselor, core counselor at a psychiatric center for schizophrenic adults, nutritional consultant, and over the past two decades, a freelance writer and novelist. Although my professional path has been less than straightforward, I feel my writing is richer for it.
About My Reading & Writing Life
I have always loved falling into a story. Reading and writing, both, serving as ongoing escape tools. Since grade school, I have scribbled notebooks full of short stories and poetry. In junior high, I discovered Ray Bradbury’s “Illustrated Man” and fell in love. From then until my late twenties, the bulk of my reading included science fiction and supernatural stories. After that my tastes shifted to historical fiction, and in the last thirty years, my nightstand supports a number of contemporary fiction books—one I am currently reading and others I can’t wait to get to.
After receiving my master’s in clinical psychology and working in the counseling field, I studied journalism. I have freelanced as a professional writer, publishing articles in parenting and women’s magazines, travel pieces for a local paper, and was the lead writer for sustainable living articles with Noozhawk.com. I also contributed a number of self-help articles to PsychCentral.com.
My greatest passion is writing fiction. My debut novel, The Grace of Crows, Second Edition, has been revised since its first publication and is now available on most online stores. My second novel, Floating Underwater, was released in September of 2021 by Turbulent Muse Publishing.
About My Favorite Authors
Readers often ask me who has influenced my work. To be honest, there have been many.
My favorite authors include Brunonia Barry, Elizabeth Berg, T.C. Boyle, Ray Bradbury, Alice Hoffman, Barbara Kingsolver, Gregory Maguire, Sue Monk Kidd, Joyce Carol Oates, Monte Schulz, Zadie Smith, Amy Tan, and Anne Tyler.
The Fun Stuff
I love the stuff of everyday life: morning coffee, stovetop popcorn, dishing with a friend, going to plays and movies with my adult children when they visit, walking my dog, listening to my cat’s purr, reading before bed, giving and receiving compliments, flourless chocolate cake, chatting with strangers, being by myself, blasting my favorite songs, napping in the sun, a late afternoon beach walk, the misunderstood pit bull, memories of New York City, stupid jokes, take-out food, big, storm clouds, and of course, sitting at my desk and getting words down on paper.
Please visit my author page on:
- Amazon at: www.amazon.com/author/tracyshawn,
- Tweet her @TracyShawn