I now have a YouTube channel! Check it out for videos about the science behind The Field and how the characters experience premonitions and synchronicities! I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Indian Summer Revisions – Mystical Trees
I’m working on revisions to Indian Summer, the prequel to The Field – adding more conflict and more mystical experiences. The story revolves around Eric’s younger sister, Marcie, trying to save an old growth forest from development, so I decided to give the trees a leading role. Here’s a short excerpt that I recently added.
The cool dimness beneath the canopy envelops me when I step into the woods. My footfalls are muffled by the carpet of leaves beneath my feet as I make my way between closely packed trunks and over fallen logs deeper into the filtered light. I’m not sure what I’m looking for or if I’m looking for anything at all, but I feel welcomed into this place by the trees. I place my palms on the trunks as I pass in a sort-of greeting or acknowledgement, I don’t know which.
When I’ve gone about fifty yards, I come to a massive maple tree. The one we call Grandmother tree. The kids use it for home base in our games of kick-the-can and sardines. Its branches extend far into the sky arching outward to create a protective shelter above me. I stand in front of it, or her, as I think of it, for a while and then feel compelled to walk up to her and place my palms on her rough bark. The whispering I heard in Jamison bay is strong here. Are the trees communicating with me?
I put my arms around Grandmother tree and place my cheek against her bark. These woods and this tree are like old friends. They’re a part of my childhood. I don’t hear any words, but I imagine that Grandmother tree knows how I feel.
Next Stops on the Tour – Ann Arbor, Chicago Area and Milwaukee
Here are my next stops on the Book Tour. Ann Arbor this Saturday and then Chicago and Milwaukee the last weekend in May. Having a great time meeting booksellers and readers. Barnes and Noble has been wonderful!
Looking to connect with Chicago area friends and family at Women and Children First on May 31st! Hope to see you, too!
Ann Arbor, MI
Saturday, May 25th 3:00pm
Women and Children First Bookstore
5233 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640
Wednesday, May 29th ~ 7pm
Readings and Book Signing
Racine, WI ~ Southland Center
Friday, May 31st ~ 7pm
Readings and Book Signing
Deerfield Square, Deerfield, IL
Saturday, June 1st ~ 12:00 to 2:00pm
Launch Party!
Had a wonderful time celebrating the Launch of The Field with friends and fans on Saturday, May 11th at The Garden Table! Thank you to Shirley and Stan Mullin with Kids Ink Bookstore for providing the books for sale.
Review of THE FIELD by Gina Rae Mitchell
Here’s a very nice review of The Field from blogger Gina Rae Mitchell. Link to her page here.
The Field is such an excellent book that I can honestly recommend it for readers of all ages. It’s not your typical YA fiction novel.
The Field by Tracy Richardson is a wonderful young-adult novel. However, I truly believe this story is not only for young adults. I found it highly entertaining, and I am far from young.
The storyline has a lot of soccer and science in it, and yet you don’t have to be knowledgeable in either to enjoy The Field. The author captures the feelings of high schoolers very well. I bet we can all remember those days of angst, indecision, joy, and every other emotion that encompasses the passage from youth to adult. Relationships are an important theme throughout the book. It’s interesting to see how the changing of family & friend dynamics have lasting effects on people.
“A Science Fiction Winner”
Richardson creates an entirely believable world. Whether you consider this book sci-fi, metaphysical, or fiction, I’m confident you will enjoy reading it. It is very well-written, and the characters come alive while you are reading. I would recommend this book to readers from teen on up. Lovers of soccer, science, physics, and all-around excellent science fiction will enjoy The Field by Tracy Richardson.
2019 Reading Challenge Update
I thought I was WAY behind on my reading goal of 60 books for the year, but now that I count up what I’ve read so far this year, it’s not as bad as I thought. Sixteen books read. And I’m not even including the romance novel I read…just saying. Check out what I’ve been reading here.
I don’t think I’ll get to 30 by July 1st – the halfway point – BUT I have a good excuse! The launch of The Field and the Book Tour is keeping me VERY busy not to mention trying to do revisions on Indian Summer and Catalyst.
What are you reading? I’m always looking for recommendations. My Book Group is reading Where The Crawdads Sing for June and I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve heard wonderful things about it!
TBR Pile
Return of the Thief by Meghan Whelan Turner – comes out in August. Conclusion to the series – can’t wait!
I’m in a scifi phase right now, so these are in the TBR pile:
The Forever War and Marsbound by Joe Haldeman
Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman – YA
Scenes from the Book Tour – Grand Rapids and Dayton
For the second segment of The Field Book Tour, I was at the Barnes and Noble in Grand Rapids, Michigan on April 26th for a local author event and then drove 5 hours to Dayton, OH for the Dayton Book Expo on the 27th. Can’t always control the timing of these events! Here are some pics!
This weekend I’m at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators writing conference in Chicago and the Launch Party is on May 11th! Check out the Events Page for more details.
World Book Day and Release Day!!
It’s so fitting that The Field release date is on World Book Day! Reading and books are so important to me! Some of my favorite people are characters in a book.
A number of years ago I would celebrate World Book Day by delivering books donated by publishers to organizations in need. Here I am picking up books from Kids Ink Bookstore to deliver to Coburn Place, a battered women’s residential center. It was a Nora Roberts book – those ladies deserve a good romance!!
Unfortunately, the book giving program seems to have gone by the wayside. Sad because it was so fun to share my love of reading!
What will you do to celebrate World Book Day? Buy a copy of The Field!
Happy Earth Day!
Being a responsible steward of the Earth and the environment is very important to me – and critical to the survival of the planet and plant and animal species. All of my novels have an environmental theme. It is my way of shedding light on the damage we are doing and how we can do better – how we must do better.
The Field focuses on the renewable energy sources of wind and solar and the potential energy source of The Universal Energy Field, and compares them to so called ‘clean coal.’ Indian Summer, Spring 2020, is about saving an old growth forest from development, and Catalyst, Spring 2021 is about fracking and it’s negative impact on the environment.
Scientists un-equivocally say that climate change is due to the actions of mankind. Today, on Earth Day, let’s take a look at what we as individuals can do to make small changes and what we as a global community can do to make big changes. Love Your Mother!
Midwest Book Review
Review of The Field from the Midwest Book Review!
“A deftly written and thoroughly entertaining read from first page to last, “The Field” by Tracy Richardson will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to both school and community library Contemporary General Fiction collections for young readers ages 12-18.”
~ Midwest Book Review
