Local resident writes first novel

TEN SLEEP - Former Northern Wyoming News staff writer Tracie Mitchell switched her writing focus from reporting on the news to writing her first novel, published last month.

Mitchell said when she was in fifth grade her dream was to be the next Stephen King in the suspense thriller genre, but then she switched to considering a career with animals due to her desire to take care of animals.

While the animal caretaker dream never materialized, except for her own pets, the dream of writing a novel came to fruition in less than a year.

She said she told her husband that when he retired she would provide for them so he did not have to go back to work and that is why she began writing her initial novel.

In July she began writing a novel along the lines of Stephen King, about a girl who murders her grandmother with the coronavirus. The story was to be told through the eyes of the grandmother from the grave.

Mitchell said she was struggling writing the book and had only gotten a few paragraphs written before the concept of "Eve" hit her.

"I saw something on TV, something that AOC [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] and it ticked me off," Mitchell said. She said she dropped the first book and began writing, mostly 20 hours a day.

"The way things were going at the time, with all of the riots, people couldn't leave their homes (because of the riots and the COVID-19 pandemic), it sparked something," Mitchell said. She added that "Eve" centers around a "worst-case scenario" stemming from the riots and pandemic.

"According to the synopsis on the book jacket, "It's 2054, and all the cities in the country are ruled by the Democrats (DemonRats) and have been since 2020. People are not allowed to leave their homes or be murdered by the demonites, who are employed by the DemonRats. The people's every waking minute is controlled by the DemonRats-even the length of time used to take a shower-or face punishment or euthanization.

"Eve, sixteen years old, is about to be married off to a stranger and moved to their marriage home. Her parents, who remembered what life was like before DemonRat control, didn't want Eve to suffer the way everyone in the city does. So they hatch a plan to help her get out of a city and into the country, where the DemonRats have no control."

When the book was about half done she sent the book to two publishers, both of whom said they were interested. She selected Christian Faith Publishers.

"It only took about a month and a half to write. It just flowed out of me. I sat there 20 hours a day, typing, then I would read what I wrote and make changes," Mitchell said.

She had a few people read the book while it was in the process to offer feedback and "I read it probably 10,000 times. That is not an exaggeration."

While the writing took about 45 days, the publishing process was much longer. Mitchell said it took about six to seven months before the book was first sent to the publisher to the time it was launched in paperback and digitally on March 15.

With her first novel hitting the bookstores, Mitchell said, "Even when I finally got the physical book in my hand, it still wasn't real. It was when I saw my book for sale on Amazon that it became real. When I saw it listed on Amazon, I jumped up from my chair and ran over to my husband with tears streaking down my face and said, its already for sale on Amazon, I'm finally a real author, a real author and then I bawled my eyes out."

Mitchell is hard at work on the sequel to "Eve" where Eve works to save her parents and destroy their microchips, bring them to the country and "to live life the way God meant us to live life," Mitchell said.

She said the way the second book is going there may be the potential for a third book. "I'm just doing what I'm told. The characters tell you what is going to happen," Mitchell said, noting the characters lead her through the book. The third book would center around Eve's non-microchipped brother, she said.

"Eve" was published last month by Christian Faith Publishing and is available online at Amazon and many other online retail stores. Mitchell said she is hoping to have the book available at local stores in Ten Sleep and the surrounding area.

"It's a conservative book and I want them to look at it before they agree to sell it," she said.

Mitchell said there have been a few sales on Amazon but she sold three quickly in Ten Sleep last week, two of which were autographed by request.

She has ordered additional copies to be able to sale locally.