We’re thrilled to introduce another member of the Type Eighteen Books family. Meet Tracy Wise, whose novella will be published in early 2025. Here’s some information about this talented writer.

After an international childhood lived throughout Asia because of her father’s aid work, Tracy has spent her career in theatre, opera, and then, higher education administration. She currently writes university presidential speeches, campus communications, and news stories in California’s Inland Empire. She has a BA in Theatre and Spanish from Washington University in St. Louis (which includes a year at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK) and an MA in Cultural Studies (a historiography degree) from the University of East London in the UK. A life-long passionate reader, she designs social media for the Friends of her local Redlands, California, public library in her free time.

Five Quick Questions for the Author

Who are some of your favorite authors, and why?

Currently, I will snap up the latest writing of Alice Winn, Sarah Winman, Tracy K. Smith, Rachel Cusk, Maggie O’Farrell, Claire Messud, and Honorée Fanonne Jeffers when it appears. But I am always interested in poking my nose into new writers and re-discovering “classics” and writers of the past. The writing has to grab me and make me confident enough to be able to relax and get absorbed in the story.

When did you know you were a writer?

Growing up, the greatest thing I thought one could be was to be a writer. I began getting positive feedback on my writing back in elementary school, and I knew it was something I would always aspire to do. I received further encouragement as an undergraduate and then as a graduate student. I kept pushing back my need to write, though, first to pursue performing dreams, and then to prioritize the intensive jobs I held so I could make a living. But I always knew, one day, it would be time.

Where were you born? Do you think the places of our lives inform our writing?

I was born in California’s beautiful Napa Valley, but I left it at two months old to follow my parents as they travelled and lived all over the Asian continent. As an adult, I have lived and worked both in Europe and across the U.S., though have finally returned home to California. My life is so deeply interwoven with the places I’ve lived that they can’t help but inform my writing. In addition, spending so much time within a British cultural and literary world and frame of reference from a young age has also deeply affected my writing.

Where would you vacation—city, country, beach, or mountains?

While I live in a small city now, and have learned to love the quiet, vacations for me mean visiting cities and urban spaces. So, “city” would be my answer.

What do you think is the most important part of storytelling?

For me, it always comes down to the quality of the writing itself. Well-crafted writing helps to create meaningful characters and absorbing plots. I read a lot of poetry, too. I’m a musician by training, and writing provides its own form of music. I am always listening to the sound of the words and the rhythms of the sentences as I read. And this applies both to fiction and non-fiction. I always read my own writing out loud as I edit.

We can’t wait to tell you about Tracy’s book. Watch this space for more announcements soon!