Author Archives: Traci Hall

Traci Hall

About Traci Hall

With an impressive bibliography in an array of genres, USA Today bestselling author Traci Hall has garnered a notable fan base. She pens stories guaranteed to touch the heart while transporting the reader to another time and place. Her belief in happily ever after shines through, whether it's a romantic glimpse into history or a love affair for today.

Mrs. Morris and the Ghost–first book signing!

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Writing a story together is an intimate thing to do—it requires trust, lack of ego, and shared vulnerability. A similar writing style helps, and saved images of the world you’ve created along with actual pictures of the characters so that you each have them come to life in the same way in your head is important.

Differences also make the story richer. You might see things one way, but your co-author could see them another, and coming together in a compromise will be a middle ground that the reader may find more familiar as well. Each author is as unique as the reader. For example, I am not a big seafood person, but Patrice loves mussels. To my surprise, Charlene, our heroine, loved mussels too! Thank heaven that Patrice and I both love wine haha. I can’t imagine Charlene swilling gin.

Over fifteen years ago, Patrice and I started off unpublished but goal-oriented, meeting weekly at critique group, dedicated to being published, which in our minds, meant success. Six New York publishers dwindled to five. Self-publishing came on the scene. Patrice and I were published in various ways but until this joint effort, hadn’t made it to traditional publishing. Writing for Kensington has opened another door for us on our writing path and we couldn’t be more thrilled.

us at Murder on the Beach bookstore

Patrice and I were friends and critique partners long before writing this cozy series together. It is our differences, as well as our similarities, that make us a great team! (whatever you do, don’t get her started on track lighting…)

Success is not a straight road but you have to take steps, even small ones, toward your goal. It’s been said before but is worth saying again that life is all about the journey. Choose your fellow travelers well 🙂

Thank you to everyone who has helped promote/support Mrs. Morris and the Ghost—Mrs. Morris and the Witch will be available in April.

www.traciwilton.com

Don’t forget to enter the Authors’ Billboard August contest–good luck!

Rip tide

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Wikipedia: A rip tide is a strong, offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal flow of water within estuaries and other enclosed tidal areas.

I was recently in Costa Rica, and the moment we disembarked from our plane and entered customs, we were handed a pamphlet on rip tides. San Jose is almost two hours from the water.

How odd, I thought, especially since we are from Fort Lauderdale, where we recently witnessed a section of the beach lifeguards didn’t allow swimmers, due to rip tides.

Then, when we reached our AirBnB, the host had set out an array of books on the coffee table. Christopher started reading aloud, and I couldn’t believe it. He’d opened to a section on….rip tides!

What could this mean? I constantly am on the lookout for signals and meanings to ensure that I am on the right track in my life. I have chosen an unconventional lifestyle in that I work from home writing and editing. Money ebbs in, and flows out, lol, without a steady stream from a paycheck. The reason we were in Costa Rica was for dental work, which is much more affordable for implants than what I would have to pay, even with dental insurance, in the states.

Christopher, who thrives on metaphors and relating life to what is around us, continued reading—and we both burst out laughing at the sentence that read, “Experienced swimmers even find rip tides to be great fun.”


https://www.wikihow.com/Survive-a-Rip-Tide

I remember being caught in a rip tide on the Pacific Ocean as a kid and it was terrifying, but exhilarating. My cousin ended up panicking and I swam back to him, and pulled him to where he could touch, using my flip flop. Not what you are supposed to do, but we were kids in the seventies–without the warning or pamphlets.

What did all of this mean—what is the advice when you are caught in an out of control rip tide?  (me, still trying to figure out this message from the Universe) I ran through things that were stressful to me…accomplishing enough is always a worry. Deadlines and writing projects, balancing down time, it can be overwhelming.

The advice in this scary situation is to, wait for it, swim sideways.

Huh?

Yeah, instead of trying to fight the current and reach shore directly, earning a scary dunking and possible drowning, relax to the end of the current, which will stop on its own before you reach the big wide ocean, and then make your way back to shore by swimming parallel to the current.

I will share my take-away message with you all—relax, enjoy the ride, and go with the flow 🙂

Thank you for reading! On that note, I have a book releasing at the end of this month, co-written with my friend Patrice, and written as Traci Wilton. It is the first in a cozy mystery series titled Mrs. Morris and the Ghost. You can pre-order today, and check out our new website http://www.traciwilton.com/

Follow us on Facebook for games and giveaways closer to the release date. Don’t forget to play the July game on Author Billboard–good luck, and have a fun, safe, summer!

xoxo Traci

Travel Bug

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Packing for Greece—what do you need to know when you leave the country?

So, I am beyond excited as I type this blog. I have never been to Greece before and it looks beautiful.
If you know me, you know that I love the beach, and the ocean. I feel a pull toward the water that feeds my spirit. I love history, and Greece is full of ancient stories. I can’t wait to see the cave houses for myself, to see the blue, blue water, to taste the local food and hear the conversation.
To imagine what it was like back then—way, way, back—and compare that with the modern beauty of Santorini, and Athens.

What to pack, what to wear, what kind of money to bring? I am grateful to be going with Aleka Nakis (Insiderstours.com) for a writing retreat. She is taking care of all the coordination of where we are supposed to be, how to get there, and she even sent a suggested packing list—where has this woman been all my life??
Thank you very much for that!!

We will need to use the euro, which we can get from an ATM. The weather will be 70s in the day, 60 at night. Walking shoes and flip flops. Local food—feta cheese the size of your fist, lol, and ouzo. What is that? Greece’s specialty drink.
https://drizly.com/liquor/ouzo/c196889

I have always loved being able to travel, and this is the farthest I’ve gone…yet. Who knows what the future brings?

Do you have the travel bug? What is your favorite place in all of the world?

XO

Traci

Airboat ride through the Everglades—hard pass on the frog legs

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I am so excited to write this blog today and share with my fellow South Floridians the amazing wildlife and nature trails we have in our backyard. I can’t remember all that our driver said about fresh water and salt water and Lake Okeechobee, but to be honest, my attention was on the alligators we saw everywhere. And blue herons, which seem to be a thing in my life that I plan on delving into later. Yellow snapping turtles you don’t want to mess with either, or the saw grass that is smooth if you touch it the right way, but can cut you to the bone if you do it wrong. Lots of dangerous beauty. 

I can’t believe that I’ve lived in Florida since 2001 and this is the first time I’ve done this—sure, we did other gator tours with the kids, so I’m not sure how we missed the airboat. I highly recommend it if you have the chance! At no time did I feel unsafe as the guides were fun and informed, and told us to keep our hands inside the boat if we wanted to keep our fingers, lol

Air plants, willow leaves that cowboys  used to chew after a long day to relieve pain, and the bulb of the lily plant the Indians (I can’t remember the tribe) could eat for nourishment. Our driver (Sam) had us whipping around the two foot-deep water between twenty-five to thirty miles an hour at one point—a blast! He gave us cotton for our ears to help with the giant fan behind us. I would do it again in a flash, I had so much fun. We passed a grove of mangroves and we were allowed to get out of the boat, into the clear water. I sank into the soft spongy mud but what a thrill.

We used Coopertown Airboats: http://coopertownairboats.com/

 

Have a wonderful day!

<3

Traci

Visit http://www.tracihall.com to get your free copy of Sandy Kisses!