Tracy Lawson Author

[tracylawsonauthor]

As an author, I connect with my characters by collecting items that remind me of them and the times in which they lived.

[tracylawsonauthor]

Though the stories of our ancestors fascinate us, their cultural influence fades with each successive generation. So why does who we are and where we came from continue to be a subject of interest? In this post, I’ll discuss how to share family stories, journals, or letters from any era, and focus on ways to […]

[tracylawsonauthor]

Encouraging teenagers to dig into their family history helps strengthen family ties.

[tracylawsonauthor]

Coming January 27, 2021 from Fidelis Publishing War may be men’s business, but that doesn’t stop Anna Stone from getting involved in the fight for liberty. When her soldier husband and brothers face starvation at Valley Forge, Anna is not content to pray and worry. She gets on her horse and strikes out alone over […]

[tracylawsonauthor]

Unique Tokens Connect Me With My Characters

Unique Tokens Connect Me With My Characters

Whenever I embark on a new writing project, I look for ways to connect with my characters, and the location and the time in which the story is set. I collect things that I can keep on my desk while writing and later display at book events. Here are some of my favorite tokens:

Careen’s Vial Necklace

In Counteract, Careen purchased a vial necklace so she could keep the life-sustaining…

View On WordPress

[tracylawsonauthor]

Out of Darkness into Light: City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau and Anthem by Ayn Ran

Out of Darkness into Light: City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau and Anthem by Ayn Ran

Freedom is found in exile for those brave enough to seek it.

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau is a perfect stepping-stone to prepare middle grade readers to embrace and appreciate Ayn Rand’s 1938 novella Anthem.

The main characters in both books seek light, though in Ember the literal search for light is necessary for survival, and in Anthem, the light is not as much about the electricity…

View On WordPress

[tracylawsonauthor]

It's a Small Price to Pay for Your Safety

It’s a Small Price to Pay for Your Safety

In dystopian societies, those twisted versions of perfection, people are often treated as slaves or children. They are kept from reaching their full potential by the rules and regulations designed to curtail their freedoms in the name of safety.

We’ve seen it all unfold before us in 2020. Common sense seems to have gone out the window. Remember back just a few months?

We saw people…

View On WordPress

[tracylawsonauthor]

Glenbard is Lisa’s Galt’s Gulch: Review of The Girl Who Owned a City

Glenbard is Lisa’s Galt’s Gulch: Review of The Girl Who Owned a City

The desire for liberty prevails in this post-apocalyptic classic

At a recent talk, I cited The Giver by Lois Lowry (1993) as the first YA dystopian book, but at the time I hadn’t read The Girl Who Owned a Cityby O. T. Nelson. First published in 1975, it has been in the curricula in elementary and middle schools for years, and many adults of my generation cite this book as their first taste…

View On WordPress

[tracylawsonauthor]

Comparison of Lord of the Flies by William Golding and Gone by Michael Grant

Comparison of Lord of the Flies by William Golding and Gone by Michael Grant

Is the human impulse toward civilization less deeply rooted than the human impulse toward savagery?

Lord of the Flies (1954) and Gone (2008) share a common theme: that the human impulse toward civilization is not as deeply rooted as the human impulse toward savagery.  Both novels explore what happens when children are left without any adult supervision.

In Lord of the Flies,a planeload…

View On WordPress

[tracylawsonauthor]

For the Good of the Masses: Comparison of 1984 by George Orwell and Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

For the Good of the Masses: Comparison of 1984 by George Orwell and Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Freedom cannot exist in a world that has given in to the fear of terrorism.

(Originally published 2014. Exceedingly relevant in our present trying times…)

This was a difficult post to write. It’s been on the to-do list for months while I ruminated. And hedged. And procrastinated.

  1984is one of the big boys in the dystopian genre. I assume that most of you have read it or are at…

View On WordPress

[tracylawsonauthor]

Comparison of Fahrenheit-451 by Ray Bradbury and Matched by Allie Condie

Comparison of Fahrenheit-451 by Ray Bradbury and Matched by Allie Condie

Today I’m comparing two books that, at first glance, might appear to have nothing in common. And I’m going to try to do it without spoilers…we’ll see how it goes.

YA dystopian literature can serve as a bridge to the classics in the genre. Introducing young teen readers to books with social commentary in a YA setting better prepares them to accept and appreciate adult novels with similar…

View On WordPress

[tracylawsonauthor]

DYSTOPIAN FREEBIES

DYSTOPIAN FREEBIES! Special Limited Time Promo April 20-30!

Hey Friends!

Counteract is featured in this special promo, April 20-30, 2020. Click the graphic to head over to Book Funnel where you can check out the other participants–and get free books!

View On WordPress

[tracylawsonauthor]

That Could Never Happen: A Look at The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

We like to think we’d be strong enough to avoid going along with the herd…

When “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson first appeared in The New Yorker in June 1948, many people canceled their subscription to the magazine.

Jackson received hate mail. People wrote to ask if the short story was fiction—and if not, where did these outlandish rituals take place, anyway?

The New Yorker’s…

View On WordPress

[tracylawsonauthor]

Power and Procreation: Comparison of Bumped by Megan McCafferty and The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Power and Procreation: Comparison of Bumped by Megan McCafferty and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

What’s to be done when a country faces an infertility crisis? Women of childbearing age become the most precious commodity, the most sought-after natural resource. Will they be celebrated and pampered—or subjugated—to spur the creation of the children essential to the society’s survival?

That’s the question in both Bumped by Megan McCafferty and The Handmaid’s Taleby Margaret Atwood. The…

View On WordPress

[tracylawsonauthor]

The Harlem Renaissance Comes to Life for Columbus Elementary School Students

After a long career as a dance teacher and choreographer, last year I wrote my first script for a stage performance, commissioned for the dance outreach group Momentum in Columbus, Ohio.

It was great to conceptualize the program, entitled “The Harlem Renaissance: Teach Them to Dream” with my former coworker Janine Lawson, and even better to see the students perform the show!

Now it’s gone…

View On WordPress

[tracylawsonauthor]

Who Do You Think You Are? | Tracy Lawson Author

I got my first good look at the Declaration of Independence at a local McDonald's. I was nine years old, the US Bicentennial celebration was in full swing, and Colonial America and Revolutionary

[tracylawsonauthor]

Vinegar: Miracle Elixir?

The recent worldwide surge in cases of COVID-19 has led the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic. As of today, the death toll in the United States is at 31. National and state governments and private organizations are taking steps to prevent the spread of the virus.

My daughter’s university, like many others, will continue instruction after spring break in an online-only capacity,…

View On WordPress