THIRSTY - Tracey Bateman - Free Book

I was fortunate to catch my friend, Tracey Bateman, for a few minutes to answer five questions for us about her most recent release. This novel is a real departure from the other things you’ve written. Can you tell us why you wrote a Christian vampire novel?

I find the concept of the vampire to be intriguing and find it really difficult to pass up a good vampire book, movie (a GOOD one) or show like Buffy. If I had thought I could get by with writing a vampire book ten years ago when I started in the publishing industry I’d have written one back then. But the doors weren’t open yet. It’s not so much of a jump for me personally. Just for me in terms of genre. But I’m something of a genre jumper anyway. So it’s a natural leap. When the opportunity arose to write up a proposal, it seemed too fantastic to pass up. I spent a few weeks in prayer over it and when I felt like God said, not only was it okay, but an open door from Him, I went full throttle.

I know the vampire novels are all the rage among young people reading ABA books. Where do Christian vampire books fit in all that’s going on?

I think the latest, more conservative vampire series has opened up the opportunity for writers to tackle vampires for the Christian market. It shows there is a more conservative readership that would accept it, if done well. The main issue I am having is convincing people (my friends and family included) that “Christian vampire” doesn’t mean the vampire is a Christian. I’ve started calling it A Vampire novel for the Christian market, but that doesn’t really describe it either. I guess readers will have to draw their own conclusions. Which is what I prefer anyway. Most of my readers don’t want to be told what to think!

Many Christian young people are reading the Twilight series. Although there are a lot of good things in those books such as the purity, I’m disturbed by the lack of redemption in the books. Will readers find redemption in your novel?

I wonder why you would be disturbed by lack of redemption in a secular novel? It’s interesting from reader to reader what they’re actually looking for. That’s why as a writer I have to write what my heart is leading me to write and not consciously dwell on what I think the reader is going to want. I DO care about my readers a lot. But I’m aware that there is a very different audience for THIRSTY than for my chicklit or historicals.

To answer your question: What readers will find is entertainment and if they’re looking and want more than entertainment, they’ll find a message of hope and second chances. News reporters and freelance writers have gotten pretty free describing the book (before it was out or even had galleys available) so they’ve described some things that maybe aren’t necessarily there. My books are never written with sermons or even prayers built in unless it’s a natural event for a character. Again, I write from that place in my heart that belongs to Jesus and what comes out is a message of hope whether I mention Jesus by name or not.

Are there plans for a series?

No. There’s a second vampire book in the works that takes place in Abbey Hills, but it’s not a series. The books stand alone.

I hope you will let me feature that one, too. Where can readers find you on the Internet?

Facebook, Twitter, and we are working on a new website that will be traceybateman.com

Hope to have that done in a month or so.

Thanks for the great questions and the opportunity to share with readers my heart about this new book.

So glad to have you, Tracey. When I went to the Randomhouse.com website and read about the story, I was intrigued.

There's no place like home, they say.
"Hello, I'm Nina Parker…and I'm an alcoholic."
For Nina, it's not the weighty admission but the first steps toward recovery that prove most difficult. She must face her ex-husband, Hunt, with little hope of making amends, and try to rebuild a relationship with her angry teenage daughter, Meagan. Hardest of all, she is forced to return to Abbey Hills, Missouri, the hometown she abruptly abandoned nearly two decades earlier–and her unexpected arrival in the sleepy Ozark town catches the attention of someone–or something–igniting a two-hundred-fifty-year-old desire that rages like a wildfire.

Unaware of the darkness stalking her, Nina is confronted with a series of events that threaten to unhinge her sobriety. Her daughter wants to spend time with the parents Nina left behind. A terrifying event that has haunted Nina for almost twenty years begins to surface. And an alluring neighbor initiates an unusual friendship with Nina, but is Markus truly a kindred spirit or a man guarding dangerous secrets?

As everything she loves hangs in the balance, will Nina's feeble grasp on her demons be broken, leaving her powerless against the thirst? The battle between redemption and obsession unfold to its startling, unforgettable end.

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