Filling the Gap
- Oct 14
- 3 min read
By Traci Hunter Abramson
In the mid-nineties, before the phrase or genre “New Adult” had been created, I discovered a huge hole in the literary market. At the time, I was working with a group of young teenagers at my church who loved to read, but they were tired of the simplicity found in most young adult novels at the time. Unfortunately, the complex plots they craved were found in adult fiction and contained content they didn’t want to read.
This revelation came several years after I had started writing fiction as a hobby. I had a story in my head I wanted to read but no one had yet written. With my interest in writing and my new knowledge that clean adult fiction was practically nonexistent, I set about filling that gap.
Yes, this was a somewhat foolish and rather arrogant task I had given myself. I didn’t have any formal literary training. I was simply an avid reader who happened to love telling stories. But I did have one advantage. Or rather two. First, I had a wonderful sister-in-law who was willing to read my writing and give usable constructive feedback. Second, I had spent six years working for the Central Intelligence Agency, during which I gained a rich knowledge of the intelligence world as well as the military and the FBI. This background combined with my sister-in-law’s patient tutoring, allowed me to create the story that I had so wanted to read.
In my personal studies about how to write, I had come across the advice that authors should write what they know. That’s exactly what I did. The main character in Undercurrents was a promising swimmer with dreams of the Olympics. Besides my own experience as a competitive swimmer, I also coached several talented athletes on my local high school swim team. Additionally, I was able to utilize my knowledge of the witness protection program as I wrote this first book that ultimately became a trilogy. At the time, the public understanding of WITSEC was lacking, so I crafted my own version of reality that would be mostly accurate without having to explain the different roles the FBI and US Marshalls play in running the program.
Over the course of six years, I created, revised, edited, polished, revised and edited some more. The cycle repeated, as did my impatience with myself that it was taking so long to craft a book that had in essence been done for some time. But what I know now is that I needed to put that time in so that I could really learn the craft.
Writing a novel can seem so simple, and yet there are so many complexities. Dialogue, characterization, pacing, plot. Multiple elements combine to bring the characters to life, to allow them to become breathing entities who readers not only connect with but come to care about enough to walk beside them through their journey.
The day my first novel was accepted for publication still feels like a dream, even though I have gone through that process more than fifty times now. Yet with each time I sit down to write a new book, I wonder if I truly have a story to tell and if so, whether it will be good enough. Imposter syndrome is real for everyone at all stages of their career, but the one thing I have learned is that the best defense against it is to continue learning and growing as an author. Because if you do, readers will love your next book even more than your last.
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This blend of education, curiosity, and entertainment turns Foodle into more than a pastime—it’s an experience. Every solved puzzle feels like a small culinary discovery, linking words to real-world flavors.