Q&A with Tracy Wise

 

 

 

 

Tracy Wise is the author of the new novel Manufacturing a Duchess. She also has written the novel Madame Sorel's Lodger. She lives in California. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Manufacturing a Duchess, and how did you create your character Aurora?

 

A: Many years ago, I thought I might try my hand at writing genre fiction and perhaps sell it and be able to quit my day job! I selected a genre I knew and loved, because of my mother, which was Regency fiction.

 

But I found, as I began to write the novel, that I got stuck because I was trying to fit my characters into a format that they just didn’t want to go into, and I got bored. My mother made me promise, though, that one day I would finish it.

 

Fast forward, and I shared the opening chapter with my writing critique group to see if it would work as a short story and they said, We like the little girl in this story. At which point I thought, what if I went back and wrote it the way the story wants to tell itself? And that is what I did.

 

So, Aurora’s “birth” initially came from the trope of the young, innocent woman arriving on the Marriage Mart to secure a title, etc. But as I re-wrote, her background as the daughter of an early industrialist began to shape her more strongly, along with her educational background. I also wanted her to grow and develop over the course of the story, as well as taking the other characters through their own journeys.

 

Q: Did you need to do much research to write the book, and if so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

A: I drew upon a lifetime of my reading in the Regency genre, along with Jane Austen and also the more Victorian Elizabeth Gaskell.

 

My research was more a case of doublechecking details, to try and ensure I did not insert any howlers (in terms of errors). I hope I caught them all, but any remaining errors are my own. (If my mother were still alive, she would have given the book a read with an eagle eye for any errors as to customs, etc.)

 

Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: The working title was A Mother for Marjorie, but, upon further discussion with my publisher (Type Eighteen Books), we looked for an alternative.

 

I like Manufacturing a Duchess because the book is literally about turning a non-member of Society into a member of the upper reaches of Society, while also referring to the fact that she comes from the industry of manufacturing.

 

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between Aurora and Alec?

 

A: At first, she is awestruck by him and develops a crush, and he considers her a nondescript teenager (though using that term is an anachronism).

 

But, as they interact, they begin to see each other as people and respond to one another that way. Each stretches and grows and finds new aspects to themselves that they did not have at the beginning of the novel. For me, the caring and the love that grow between them is an organic thing.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I would love to spend some more time in the world of Aurora, Alec, Marjorie, Finn, and Missie, so I am working on a sequel to Manufacturing a Duchess. I have lots of ideas buzzing in my brain about each of them.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: For me, writing is a combination of a learned and long-practiced skillset along with everything I have read and experienced.

 

I grew up living internationally because of my father’s work with a nonprofit aid organization, pursued theatre (acting) and then opera, worked in higher education administration at several universities, and now am finally getting the time to do my own creative writing. I also love bringing my acting and vocal skills into creating audiobooks of my writing.

 

My first novella, Madame Sorel's Lodger, came out in February 2025, also published by Type Eighteen Books. It is inspired by the life and work of Vincent Van Gogh and is also literary/historical fiction.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb