GLBT Week- Interview with Scott Tracey

1) Your debut book, Witch Eyes, will be published by Flux in fall 2011. Can you tell us a bit about it?

Sure. Witch Eyes is a modern Romeo and Juliet set amidst a world of witchcraft and magic. Braden Michaels grew up suffering from a curse of visions that force him to cover his eyes at all times. When the visions turn to warnings and his family is threatened, Braden runs away in hopes of finding the cause and stopping it. What he finds is Belle Dam, Washington - a town divided by an ancient, magical feud. Both sides want Braden desperately, and they'll resort to anything to control him.


2) What are your book plans for after Witch Eyes? Can you tell us about what you're working on?

Right now, I’m working on the sequel to Witch Eyes, which picks up where the first book leaves off. After that, my next project kind of got chosen for me. I wrote a short story on my blog called "The Dream Thief" and some of my friends decided to-very insistently-demand it be made into a longer novel. So that's my next project.


3) You're part of the YA Rebels vlogging group. How did you get involved with that? Do you enjoy doing vlogs every week?

My involvement started because I was already friends with some of the Rebels. Originally, I was going to be a fill-in who vlogged infrequently on Saturdays, or when someone needed a day off, but as we got closer to the date and talking about the topics we were going to discuss, I decided to become a full time member.

Vlogging is a lot of mental work, just like writing. Plus, you always want to be interesting and have something to say. After I'm done, I'm always glad I did my video, but some weeks it’s really hard to gear up and get something filmed. The response we've gotten so far has been great, and I'm looking forward to seeing where we're at a year from now.


4) What was it like growing up with so few GLBT books available to you? Nowadays, who/what are your favorite GLBT authors/books?

I didn’t actually read a lot of GLBT books until after I’d already started to come out. So I never really noticed the gap.

My favorites run the gamut – I love Christopher Rice’s books, and the way that sexuality is really important to his books, but at the same time his characters aren’t defined by it. Alex Sanchez, Malinda Lo, Nick Burd with The Vast Fields of Ordinary was one of my favorite books from last year. And then I love Cassie Clare and Holly Black for the way their supporting cast represents GLBT youth.


5) What was your coming out process like? Did you find it hard to accept yourself? What obstacles, if any, did you have to overcome?

I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic school for twelve years, so “accepting myself” was something that took a lot of time. Even after I stopped going to church and distanced myself from religion, it wasn’t easy. I stayed in denial for a long time.

Part of what changed for me was that I changed my environment. I started associating with people who were more supportive, I was living on my own, and there wasn't anyone telling me that I was bad or wrong in some way.


6) Do you have any advice for anyone thinking about coming out, or questioning their sexuality?

Decide for yourself. Don’t ever let anyone else influence you to come out, or not to come out, or tell you who you are. Everyone does things on their own timeframe, at their own pace. If you're not comfortable with coming out, or you're still questioning, then take the time to wrap your head around it. Those decisions, and those choices, will still be there tomorrow.