Tracy Petry

About a year ago I came across this old photo, clipped from the pages of the Ridgefield Press, my old hometown newspaper.  I find interesting little things every time I pack and move.  Mostly I find memories. I grew up in Ridgefield, a small CT town on the NY state line.  I remember most of us kids complaining that there wasn't anything to DO in town.  At least that was our excuse when we got into trouble.  But for me there was always theatre.  When I was a pre-teen I was a member of a group called Spotlight and we met in a little building behind Ballard Park.  Once I hit high school I was able to "graduate" to the teen/adult group in town - Ridgefield Workshop for the Performing Arts. RWPA, for years, had been performing their summer shows on the stage at one of the local schools, and storing sets and props in an old barn on a dead-end street.  My first summer as a member was 1982, right after my freshman year of high school.  That y...

Life rarely seems to pause for anything. Unfortunately the lack of pause means a lack of writing, at least that's what it means for me. A year after the completion of my last book - Cast Down - and I still haven't finished the sequel that I genuinely thought I'd have finished within a month or two. We've moved yet again, in case I hadn't mentioned it. Four times in three years. In September of 2013 we moved from a long time residence in East Haven, CT to Blowing Rock, NC. The winter was just too much for us. Temperatures with wind chills of 30 degrees below zero were not what we were looking for when we moved South, so we came down off the mountain to the city of Gastonia, near Charlotte. We didn't realize when we signed the lease that we were living in the 'hood. The gunshots at night, the drug dealers, the crime... it was an interesting year and we rode out the lease but then we had to go. Our next stop was a pretty little mobile home park in King'...

My husband has been doing the Children's Story in our church these last few months. The story of Marty's transformation is nothing short of miraculous, really. But that's another story for another time. Today's story...is on video and it includes him getting heckled by a toddler.

There are countless beliefs concerning what happens to us after we die.  Some believe that we come back as little children and have to live life after life until we get things right.  Others believe we just wink out like a light being turned off.  One of the most popular is that Heaven or Hell awaits us right after death, depending on our deeds in this lifetime and that some can get lost on their way there - lingering here on earth until they can pass over.  This belief seems to go hand in hand with the theory that our loved ones in Heaven can visit us, or can be contacted by gifted individuals here.  One of the less popular theories is the Biblical theory that asserts that there are no ghosts, only demons who masquerade as the spirits of our deceased loved ones. I know I grew up believing in ghosts - good ones and bad ones.  I spent a large part of my adult life involved in the paranormal world, investigating the unseen world.  Later in life, afte...

A lot goes into having a successful marriage.  I'm sure any of my married readers will agree with that statement!   I was 43 years old before I got married for the first time.  Until then I wasn't particularly interested in getting married.  I wasn't even really interested in a long term relationship.  Frankly, I just couldn't be bothered.  I had a good job, friends, lots of hobbies and activities and the thought of a relationship just seemed like more of a hassle than anything else.  That was until God sent someone back into my life I hadn't seen since 1982.  His name was Martin Petry.  He and I attended the same high school in Ridgefield, Connecticut.  He graduated in 1982, and I was a few years behind him, graduating in 1985 so we were only in school together for a single year.  We were in two school plays together but never really even spoke.  I thought he was cute.  He didn't know I existed.  God told me, "Tha...

For a writer there's just no more special feeling than holding a copy of a brand new book :-) My copies of Cast Down - A New England Haunting arrived this morning and I have to say, even though I'm biased, this book is BEAUTIFUL. Thank you again to Pascal Lombardi for allowing me to use his original artwork as the cover, it's creepy and lovely and perfect! Click to purchase Cast Down at Amazon

Good morning! The following is a brief excerpt from the second novel in my detective series.  The book is called, "Fallen Angel". The morning was unseasonably warm for early spring. Too warm for this damn suit , the young man mused silently as he entered the air conditioned highrise downtown. Ahead of him walked his boss, Anthony Cappelli. The pair had been silent since meeting almost a half hour earlier. Theirs was not a business of words, but of action when required.  The cool air of the building was welcomed by the overdressed man, who would have been more comfortable in a t-shirt and jeans. Taking  deep, calming breaths on the elevator ride to the top floor, he relaxed and centered himself, focusing completely on the meeting he was heading into; on the future implications of what was about to happen. There was too much riding on his every action to let the jitters get the best of him. Pushing personal doubt aside, he followed his boss out of the elevator and down t...