These are her confessions. Author Tracee Lydia Garner is sharing all the drama in her latest release, Smoking Confessions.
Tell me about your latest book.
Smoking Confessions is a novel that dives deep into love, trauma, addiction, and the lifelong process of healing and forgiveness. Like most of my romantic fiction, Washington, D.C., is the perfect backdrop for drama and scandal. [Smoking Confessions] follows a woman who is both resilient and raw as she navigates secrets, motherhood, relationships, and the legacy of generational pain. It’s a story about hard truths, redemption, and reconciling yourself from your past and past hurts. It’s also about misunderstandings between a mother and her child and what we omit when we share our stories thinking it’s best to conceal hard truths when in reality, those cautionary tales could help others avoid some of the same pitfalls.
How long did it take you to write it?
This book tested me and my resolve to keep at it. And the story started simply because a fan wrote in my Instagram comments, “could a certain character be redeemed.” In my head, I said hell to the nah. He could not. But of course my brain took the comment as a challenge, and it was on with some major word count spurts—upwards of 10K in one sitting—through screeching-brake types of stoppages to the finish line two long years later.
Which character could you relate to the most and why?
I actually relate to some of my male characters more. Likely because people call me a gentle giant. You actually never know what I’m going through, but there is pain with some of my chronic conditions. The same is true for Adrian, the last of five adoptive brothers in this final-for-now book in this series. He’s strong, silent, he made some major mistakes that cost him so much, and he’s trying not to be defined by his past and the errors he made following one of his older brothers. All my characters, however, have some piece of me, because they are born from me and my both painful experiences and my triumphs.
How are you celebrating the book’s release?
Due to illness, I have not been able to plan and promote like I used to, but I hope to have a cupcakes and conversations event in the near future to share more about the series. Promoting online is a godsend for folks like me who don’t always have the bandwidth for the hit-the-ground promotion, and I’ll be doing a number of blog and podcast interviews to share the behind-the-scenes of the book and my inspiration for my writing in general. I’m also giving myself space to breathe and be proud of the release, regardless of the other pound-the-pavement efforts I may or may not be able to do—which is something we don’t do enough as creators. After every book I write, I’m very rewards driven. I often give myself a gift of some sort. It can be a piece of new tech or a pretty piece of jewelry just to commemorate my achievement.
Who is your author best friend (either in your head or in real life)?
In real life, I’m grateful for sprinting friends like @laurelwanrow, a YA fantasy author, and really I love just watching my author friends period—anyone who chooses to make this a true passion that they stick with day in and day out to put the words forth and create over and over again. It’s not easy.
What is the most valuable piece of writing advice you’ve received?
Just write! People get bogged down, I feel, in planning and organizing when you could just got for it. Don’t get me wrong, I have rituals and some mindless activity of cleaning off my desk and arranging my pens, but I consider that a part of my creative process. At some point, however, it’s just me and the keyboard and that little worrisome blinking cursor, and we come to an understanding that we’re going to work for as long as we can together. I’ll take a break, and we’ll be on again. But little by little, I’m eventually arriving at 80K words, and every single time I get there, I’m like, Wow. How did that happen? But if I just write, I know, I’m gonna get there each time. The first draft doesn’t need to be perfect—it just needs to exist.
What books are you excited to read?
I’m excited about the third book release in the Crown and Heart series books by Nikki Davenport, and anything by Jacquelin Thomas, historical fiction by Cecelia Rene, and inspirational fiction authors Toni Shiloh and Irene Hannon.
What’s next for you?
I’m planning to tour locally and virtually to promote Smoking Confessions and connect with bookstores and new readers and fans. I’m also working on a nonfiction book about entertaining, something I’ve always loved was putting together events, and at all my events, I often hire a photographer knowing one day I’d put them to good use. With my 50th birthday next year 2026, I’ll be releasing Gather as part of my birthday party and to doubly celebrate the book and the milestone birthday. I also hope to do a kickstarter for a somewhat, loosely autobiographical play about a burned-out social worker who desires to write and whose characters visit her at work, each pleading with her to write their stories. For me, there are numerous stories in the queue waiting for me to visit with, finish and release them to share with the world.
Do you have anything you would like to add?
Yes—I think readers know that healing isn’t linear, and it doesn’t always look graceful and Smoking Confessions is something I’m so proud of because it’s messy and real for a reason. We all carry stories we haven’t told yet—and sometimes telling them is the only way through.
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To learn more about bestselling author, speaker, and disability advocate Tracee Lydia Garner, visit her website or connect with her on social media.
Website: www.traceegarner.com
Instagram: @traceelydiagarner
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TraceeLydiaGarner/
Email: hello@traceegarner.com