| BLACK
COFFEE
Villard Strivers Row |
 |
NAME: TRACY PRICE-THOMPSON
Birthday:
April 16, 1963
Occupation:
Social Worker
City
of residence: Fort Dix, New Jersey
Favorite Book: Mama Day by Gloria Naylor
TRACY
PRICE-THOMPSON,
a former Army 88N (Transportation) and 21B (Engineer Corp) is also a highly
decorated Desert Storm veteran whose successful self-published novel, Black
Coffee, was purchased as part of an unprecedented three-book contract by
Random House imprint Villard/Strivers Row. A Brooklyn, New York native and
retired Army Engineer Officer, Tracy is an Alpha Delta Mu honor society graduate
from Rutgers University, as well as a Ralph Bunche graduate fellow who holds
degrees in Business Administration and Social Work. Tracy and her active-duty
soldier husband Greg, have six wonderfully brilliant children and live on a
military base in New Jersey.
How
did you begin your writing career?
I
began writing right around the time I started considering retiring from the
Army. It has only been a few years for me, but it feels as though writing is
something I should have been doing all along!
Have
you always wanted to be a writer?
No,
I am not one of those writers who had a lifelong ambition to write stories,
novels, or plays. Instead, I approached writing from a reader’s perspective,
one where I parlayed my love of reading into a notion that I had a story to
contribute, and thus began writing my first novel.
Did
you ever think that you would write a book?
Not
at all. As I stated, I was simply a voracious reader, one who devoured books
like crazy. I was raised in a home where books were a staple. Whereas other
families went to the movies or to the park for recreation, my whole family
hunkered down with a stack of books.
Tell
me about your journey to becoming a writer.
I
think my literary journey has been rather rewarding, although like most, I’ve
had my share of disappointments and setbacks. After deciding to write a novel, I
simply sat down at my computer and began banging out the words. It didn’t take
me long to discover that just because I was a great reader didn’t necessarily
mean I could be a great writer. Unlike some authors who I’ve heard claim to
have written a masterpiece with their first attempts, my first efforts at
fiction writing were amateurish and stilted, and upon realizing this, I headed
straight to the bookstore to purchase books that described and outlined the
skills and techniques of fiction writing. Although I have not taken a creative
writing class in more than twenty years, I was able to read my way through
several great books on the art of fiction writing, and then apply those
techniques I learned to themes in my own work.
How
did you come up with the idea for your first novel?
After
perusing the shelves of several bookstores, I discovered that there were nothing
written in contemporary African-American fiction that depicted people of color
who serve in our nation’s armed forces. After many years of military service,
I knew there were many stories that could be told about characters who had
similar experiences to mine, and I decided to pen a tale that would not only
showcase the strength and commitment of black love, but would also pay homage
and tribute to my boot-wearing sisters and brothers in uniform.
Tell
me about your new novel BLACK
COFFEE.
Black
Coffee is a love story set in a military backdrop. Told in alternating voices,
the story describes the parameters servicemen and women live within, and the
restrictions placed upon them in all areas of their lives, to include their love
relationships. The characters in BLACK
COFFEE fall in love under the least
optimal conditions possible, breaking the strictest rules in the Uniform Code of
Military Justice in order to be together. However, at the end of their journey
they must decide whether or not their love is strong enough to withstand the
repercussions of their actions.
What
would you like your readers to take away from your story?
Simply
the power of love, and the role of forgiveness. Forgiveness of one’s self, as
well as forgiveness of others. I’d also like to expose my readers to a small
part of life behind the camouflaged curtain of the armed forces, and remind them
that minorities are serving in the military in record numbers, and while they
face many challenges in uniform, they also triumph and excel, and are
progressing personally and professionally at astonishing rates. Those in uniform
are our nation’s unsung heroes; they sleep in harm’s way and defend the
freedoms and liberties that we all enjoy.
What’s
next for Tracy Price-Thompson the writer?
Next
is an anthology of contemporary African-American fiction I am co-editing with
TaRessa Stovall entitled, Proverbs for the People. This is the first anthology
of its kind since Terry McMillan’s Breaking Ice, and will showcase the
literary talent of notables like Pearl Cleage, Omar Tyree, Timmothy McCann,
Donna Hill, Parry Brown, and many others. Proverbs for the People will be
released by Kensington Publishing Corp in June 2003. As far as my individual
writing, my next novel, Chocolate Sangria depicts the trials of intra-racial
prejudice when love between a Latino man and an African-American woman spills
across racial and cultural lines. Chocolate Sangria will be released by Random
House/Villard in January 2003.
How
can readers contact you?
Readers
can contact me at tracythomp@aol.com and
I answer all emails very appreciatively!
What
is your tour schedule?
Next
on my tour schedule is Detroit, New York City, and Philadelphia. I encourage
readers to visit my website at www.tracypricethompson.com
to view specific locations and updates to the schedule.