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<\/a>Tracy Groot, a Michigan native, found out early she loved to write.\u00a0 <\/span>But it\u2019s the topics she\u2019s tackled that make her so intriguing:\u00a0 <\/span>faith and finding your moral center against the backdrop of history.<\/p>\n\u201cI am drawn to stories with a lot of darkness in them, because I want to find out where the light shows up,\u201d says Tracy.<\/p>\n
Her debut novel, The Brother\u2019s Keeper<\/i>, based on a play she penned, explores the story of James, brother of Jesus.\u00a0 <\/span>Later, she tackled another Biblical story in Madman, a story about the Gerasene demoniac.\u00a0 <\/span>After signing with Tyndale Publishers, she found her niche: writing stories set against historical events\u2014\u201cthe small hinges, Winston Churchill once said, upon which history turns,\u201d as she describes it in her author bio. In Flame of Resistance<\/i>, she weaves the Biblical story of the prostitute Rahab into a tale of a young French woman who survives the Nazi occupation of France.<\/p>\n Below, she talks about her journey to Andersonville and her own discovery of what it meant to be a southerner at that time. Tracy also offers her own view of the state of publishing and being a writer today. Reach Tracy on her website<\/a> or connect with her on Facebook<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n Q. What inspired you to write The Sentinels of Andersonville<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n I saw a movie when I was a kid called The Andersonville Trial, directed by George C Scott. I was horrified to learn that donated food had been turned away and I wanted to find out why.<\/p>\n Q. Do you have an interesting Civil War family history?<\/strong><\/p>\n No, but my husband does. Jack\u2019s cousin, Jim, has a grandfather who, believe it or not, fought in the Civil War. Jim is around 60 years old and his father had him when he was around 70 years old and his father had him when he was around 70 years old. So, if you add it up, Jim was born around 1950, his father was born around 1880 and his grandfather was born around 1795. So, his three generations actually span four centuries!<\/p>\n Q. What did you find most challenging about this story compared with your earlier books?<\/strong><\/p>\n To write accurately from a southern point of view, I needed to understand what independence meant to a southerner. Searching to understand that was critical to the story. I was also challenged to get the details right for Andersonville prison, because this is a piece of our American history.<\/p>\n Q. Which character do you most identify with? Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n I identified with so many, but in my heart I\u2019d have to say Dance. Why? Because he was judging others for what they were not doing and I sometimes do the same.<\/p>\n<\/a>In her latest book, The Sentinels of Andersonville<\/i><\/a>, to be released Feb. 1st, Tracy delves into the infamous Confederate prison where 13,000 Union soldiers perished in only fourteen months. In this riveting retelling of a tragic chapter in the Civil War, three young Confederates and an entire town come face-to-face with the prison\u2019s atrocities and learn the cost of compassion, when withheld and when given.\u00a0 <\/span>The book has already earned high praise from the likes of James M. McPherson, who calls it \u201ca poignant, heartwarming story of how human kindness and the willingness to take risks can make a difference.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>