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Stafford coach also has thriving writing career
Stafford writer is big name in WestDate published: 11/7/2008 BY KIM BAER Traci Hunter Abramson is a grown woman with one thing in common with Hannah Montana. Like the secret pop star, Abramson also leads something of a double life. Out West, she's a best-selling Mormon suspense novelist who was No. 6 on the Mormon Times' recent list of top 10 reader favorites. In Stafford County, Abramson is known primarily as a mom of four and as a coach of North Stafford High School's swim team. "Here, a lot of people don't even know I write," Abramson said with a laugh. She is a bit surprised by the career turn, too. Abramson, 41, has never taken a creative writing class. She studied business at Brigham Young University in Utah. After graduating, she moved to Northern Virginia and was a finance officer with the CIA. It was only after she became a stay-at-home mom in 1995 that she decided to try writing. Her initial goal was to write romances for the Mormon book market. She started with an idea she'd first had in college about a competitive swimmer who's in the witness protection program. Abramson worked on the novel for 7 years. She'd write early in the morning, during her children's nap time and after they went to bed. Her sister-in-law, who also enjoys writing, helped edit. She sent her novel to Utah-based Covenant Communications, the largest independent publisher in the Mormon book market. The publisher rejected it, recommending that Abramson flesh out her characters. She spent about a year refining. "Undercurrents" was published in 2004. Since then, she has written six novels for Covenant. She describes her books as suspense with a touch of romance. Plots typically feature a regular person caught up in international intrigue, said her editor Kat Gille. "Royal Target," which was released this month, is a departure. The novel has some suspense, Gille said, but is primarily a modern-day fairy tale. "It's a rags-to-riches Cinderella story" Gille said, "about an everyday girl who ends up being a princess." Abramson sixth book, "Lockdown," is a more traditional suspense novel. It is scheduled to be released in February. Although Abramson's books are available on ama zon.com and at Borders Books Music & Cafe, most are sold in the Southwest at Mormon bookstore chains such as Seagull Book and Deseret Book.
Date published: 11/7/2008
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