Today I’m pleased to welcome Tracy Deebs to Ruby’s Reads. Tracy is the author of the Tempest Series, as well as the recently released YA Apocalyptic novel, Doomed. Her other authorly identities are Tessa Adams, author of the upcoming Soulbound and Tracy Wolff, who has many Romance novels to her name. To find out more about Tracy, please visit:
Blog/Website
Doomed Facebook Fan Page
Goodreads/Twitter
Welcome, Tracy!
How does the Internet impact the writing process for you?
by Tracy Deebs
That’s an interesting question, one I think that most people—self-employed and otherwise—struggle with today. To be honest, it’s impossible for me to imagine what it would be like to try to write and publicize a book without the Internet. I do everything on it. When I was writing my dragon trilogy, which revolved around one dragon clan and the virus that was wiping them out, I was constantly checking little things—what color is reptile blood (orange, btw). What are the different types of viruses and how do they reproduce? What do caves in New Mexico look like?
The same with my newest release, Doomed. This is a book that required more research than anything I’ve ever written. Yes, a lot of it came from engineers my husband know and professors I know, but a ton of it came off the internet as well. Hours upon hours upon hours of work went into watching documentaries and reading articles about everything from Stuxnet to society ending epidemics and everything in between. So on the front of being able to obtain information easily and learn a ton about whatever topic I want, the Internet is obviously an amazing tool for the writing process. I’m completely dependent on it. In fact, there’s a scene in Doomed where Pandora, Theo and Eli have to get to the first set of GPS coordinates—the only problem is the GPS’s stop working once the Pandora’s Box worm starts wreaking havoc. They end up having to steal an atlas from the library—and can barely figure out how to read it because they’re so used to the internet doing everything for them. In fact, when I was writing that scene, I brought an Atlas into my classroom and had my eighteen year olds try to figure it out and only three knew how to use it.
Now, if you’re talking about the Internet in terms of my writing productivity … that’s a different story altogether. I’m actually pretty good (unless it’s release week) about not getting online when I’m working. I try to limit things like Twitter and Facebook and blogging to 45 minutes or so of my work day and spend the rest of my time actually writing. But some days, like last week when Doomed released, this just isn’t possible. One because I have so much social networking going on and two because, like most authors, I’m dying to see how my book is being received so I spend waaaaaaaaay too much time reading reviews and checking out twitter for tweets about it.
When I created a world for Doomed where control systems and the Internet went down, I was astonished at just how much we would lose (nearly everything). The ability to use credit cards, access our money (even at the banks), GPS, traffic lights, the ability to pump gas, the ability to order supplies, to run airplanes or trains or boats … the list goes on and on, but I’ll stop there and just say that it is so ingrained in the actual functionality of our society that life without it would be highly uncomfortable after a while.
Thanks so much for having me!
And thank you for stopping by, Tracy! And readers–check back tomorrow for my review of Doomed!
Beat the game. Save the world.
Pandora’s just your average teen, glued to her cell phone and laptop, surfing Facebook and e-mailing with her friends, until the day her long-lost father sends her a link to a mysterious site featuring twelve photos of her as a child. Unable to contain her curiosity, Pandora enters the site, where she is prompted to play her favorite virtual-reality game, Zero Day. This unleashes a global computer virus that plunges the whole world into panic: suddenly, there is no Internet. No cell phones. No utilities, traffic lights, hospitals, law enforcement. Pandora teams up with handsome stepbrothers Eli and Theo to enter the virtual world of Zero Day. Simultaneously, she continues to follow the photographs from her childhood in an attempt to beat the game and track down her father, her one key to saving the world as we know it. Part The Matrix, part retelling of the Pandora myth, Doomed has something for gaming fans, dystopian fans, and romance fans alike.
Giveaway!
The lovely people at Walker Children’s have been kind enough to offer a giveaway for of Doomed for my readers. Want to win? Here are the rules:
- To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Can’t see it? Click here.
- US only.
- The contest ends January 31.
- The winner will be contacted via email and have 72 hours to respond before I pick a new winner.
- This isn’t a subscriber giveaway, but I’d love it if you’d subscribe via RSS feed anyway.
- The mandatory entry is to answer the following question:
In what way do you think the Internet influences you as a reader?
There are extra points for:
- Subscribing via email (see the sidebar).
- Tweeting about the giveaway.
- Following me on Twitter.
Leave a Comment | |
|
|
|
Well, I learn about what new books are out there due to blog posts such as these, so that is a major influence. Plus the more positive reviews I see the more interest I have in a particular book.
The book blogging community is now a huge part of my experience with books. The reviews I read influence how I experience a book to some extent, but for the most part , it is just a way to share my love of books and find out great books coming out soon. Before I blogged, I had very little idea what I’d read next, but now my TBR is miles long!
I use the Internet for book recommendations and just to see what others thought of a book that I am considering reading.
I find out about lots of new releases via the internet. I am able to find new authors, books and genres. If I find a new book by a new author, I will go to the author’s website and learn about the author. It has opened my tbr list to lots of new books LOL. Thanks for the giveaway
Well the internet leaves me less time to read books because I spend so much time reading blogs and learning about new books. But then it’s a great place to find out about new books and discover new authors, so that’s the trade off.
[...] Don’t just take my word for it! Check out Tracy Deebs’ guest post and the Doomed giveaway! [...]
Thanks for the great post and congrats to Tracy on the new release! Man… the internet has *greatly* influenced my book buying. I find out about sooo many new authors and books now. Before I used to just go into the bookstore and browse. Now I have want lists and wishlists and I know I’m definitely spending a lot more
The Internet helps me keep up with new books and old books and authors too! It’s also fun to look at the different blogs and its something I do besides reading. The Internet is useful and too fun! Ebooks were even made to publish because the Internet was this awesome! xD
The Internet helps me keep track of new releases, as well as already published books that I would want to read. Without the Internet, I wouldn’t be able to find out all these great books that easily. (:
I honestly wouldn’t know about ANY upcoming books ever. Before blogging I never really thought to use the computer for keeping up with new books. I’d always just go to the library and pick up some books off the shelves. Don’t get me wrong, I found some awesome books that way, but some of the even better ones were never on the shelves because everyone and their mother was reading them.
Also, I actually decide to just say no to some books because of blogger reviews.
[...] Check out Tracy Deebs’ guest post and the Doomed giveaway! [...]
I read book blogs and reviews so yes it does influence me to some extent. If I am on the fence about a book a review will sway me
Just about every book I read now I’ve chosen after reading about it on the internet. Usually it’s because of a review on a blog or a recommendation on Goodreads or Amazon.
[...] Check out Tracy Deebs’ guest post and the Doomed giveaway! [...]
[...] Check out Tracy Deebs’ guest post and the Doomed giveaway! [...]