Each day leading up to the 30th annual Minnesota Book Awards Ceremony, we’ll be featuring an exclusive interview with one of our 36 finalists. Learn more about these incredible local writers and gear up to see the winners announced live in person April 21.
Interview with Traci Lambrecht (PJ Tracy), author of Nothing Stays Buried
Category: Genre Fiction, sponsored by Macalester College
It feels wonderful! It’s an honor to have been selected from such a deep field of strong, talented authors. It’s also bittersweet – Nothing Stays Buried is the last novel PJ and I worked on together before her passing and it’s the first time we haven’t been able to babble excitedly about receiving an accolade like this.
What does writing mean to you?
It means everything to me. It’s my career, my hobby, my passion, and my joy. I can’t imagine life without it, nor would I want to. I’m so fortunate this gig worked out for me because I am otherwise unemployable.
Why are stories important for our communities?
Stories have always been the backbone of community, long before the written word. They can pass along history and tradition, educate, inspire, entertain, or all of the above. Whether oral or written, storytelling is about forming a connection with listeners or readers and it brings people together in the most amazing ways.
Tell us something people might not know about you.
I guess now is the time to confess that I am a crazy cat lady.
What do you love about libraries?
Everything. The intoxicating smell of books, the contented silence of people discovering new worlds or getting lost in old ones, and the fanciful notion that answers to all of life’s mysteries are somewhere in the stacks, I just have to find them. A library is the greatest treasure hunt ever and the devoted people who lovingly tend them and keep them vital hubs are my heroes.
More about Traci Lambrecht:
PJ Tracy is the pseudonym of mother-daughter writing duo P.J. and Traci Lambrecht, winners of the Anthony, Barry, Gumshoe, and Minnesota Book Awards. Their eight novels, Monkeewrench, Live Bait, Dead Run, Snow Blind, Shoot to Thrill, Off the Grid, The Sixth Idea, And Nothing Stays Buried have become national and international bestsellers. P.J. was a long-time resident of Minnesota until her death in December 2016. Traci remains in rural Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis, and continues writing as PJ Tracy.
See the winners announced live at the 30th annual Minnesota Book Awards Ceremony!
