ABOUT TRACY
a Writer’s personal tidbits
I love LA!
This is my second time to live in Los Angeles — a city fueled by creativity. It’s the birthplace of my mom, husband, daughter, and three grandkids. I’m the one born outside of California, and I’m the only one who wants to join Daughters of the Golden West. But I can’t! I love it here anyway.
I’ve developed a diverse biography, earned over many years while following my husband’s career. While I didn’t always enjoy the act of packing up and starting over when we moved around the country, I loved finding out what made each place unique. Surprisingly, this resulted in some unusual opportunities that would not have crossed my path if we’d stayed in one location, like producing a radio show covering education. By jumping into them, I guess you could say I developed creative perseverance! My complete career resume is here.
Art, education, writing — love them all!
I earned my BFA at Otis College of Art in the early ’80s. I wanted to move back to Los Angeles in the second half century of my life to pursue screenwriting after a couple of decades away in other states. My teaching certification and M.Ed in education came in handy though, as every writer in town will tell you to keep a day job. Being a PK-8 art specialist, I’ve observed closely how a systematic program benefits a child’s overall development. Truly, fascinating work that touches the future (paraphrasing teacher/astronaut Christa McAuliffe). More on this and “Workshops for Moms” under the Preschool tab.
This website provides a one-stop spot for you to get writing services in my six fields of expertise. Those are located under the Directory tab. I love Art Education & Creativity; Books for Children and YA; Small Business content; Gardening; Travel; and Entertainment projects. Check out my blog here.
Shop locally – give love to your small businesses
It might seem that my page promoting content writing for small business is out of place among my genres of articles and books. But it highlights my life-long interest in supporting local brick and mortars. My dad was a JCPenney’s store manager in small town America, when every downtown had a Penneys, Woolworths, and Sears. I can recognize the early 1900 Penneys storefronts in small towns, since we practically lived in them when my dad worked for the company through the 1960s.
Because of that, I was taught to shop locally; we weren’t allowed to shop at those first malls. I still don’t go to malls for “fun.” Part booster/part touristy, my other website celebrates the San Fernando Valley where I live. Give the backyard of LA some respect at LoveSanFernandoValley.com!
I know gardening is one of America’s most loved hobbies, but…
Another aspect of my life is keeping up a yard as we moved from place to place as a kid, and in married life. The key lessons learned through way too many trials and errors of gardening in many different climates and soils are chronicled in my book “The Pitiful Gardener’s Handbook.” My latest trial is trying to keep a yard alive through water restrictions and the worst drought in 1200 years. I have plants adapted to a dry climate, but it’s still challenging! We’re saving every drop from the house to pour on plants. Get the paperback here.
I hope you and yours are well, happily pursuing your own learning adventures in this amazing world.
Trying out the pandemic look after I started “graying” in front of my students on Zoom. That was an embarrassing, hideous, and long process recorded on video! But kind of liking it for now.
One of my writer’s influences was this TV show, which was huge in my high school years. We all loved John-Boy; but it was his progess towards becoming a writer that inspired me. Ralph Waite served as my surrogate dad when I was growing up poor after my dad left — got to tell his own family that years later in LA. Enjoyed going to Will Geer’s theater. Was proud of Cami for becoming a school principal — wanted to teach for her. Still a fan of this “family” and writers who created the show!