Why I Wrote A Woman’s Business

As a young girl – around 12 years old – my older sister, Lorraine Mungo, was an avid book reader. Whenever she was at home, she would have her face buried in a book. She had a bookcase in her bedroom that was full of books.

I wondered what about all those books would keep Lorraine so occupied . . . so invested and engaged. So, I started sneaking into her room and borrowing her books. I didn’t know if she had a filing system, so I would put a piece of paper in the spot where I took the book from so that I could put it back where it belonged.

The first book I read from her shelf was Donald Goines's Black Girl Lost. It’s a book that has primarily adult content, but I read it anyway. The book had so many twists and turns, I became completely hooked! In my mind, I took myself to the places the main character, Sandra, would go to in the book.  It helped that I had a very colorful family and neighborhood. I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Winslow Street in the Larimer community with my siblings, Lorraine, Bobby, Dennis, Kevin, and Dana. I felt like I personally knew each and every character in the books I read by Donald Goines because they reminded me of people in my own neighborhood and family. 

When I finished Black Girl Lost, one by one, I continued reading all the other Donald Goines books Lorraine had on her shelf. Next, I continued reading other books of various genres. These books took me to many places as well, some I felt I’d already been to in my own real-life experiences. That’s when I came to realize that writing a book was a possibility for me.

At the inkling that I, too, could perhaps someday be a published author, I started observing everything and everybody. That’s when I started to find and shape my literary creativity. I vowed to myself I would one day write a book.

Throughout my early adulthood is when I first started to actually put pen to paper. Time after time, though, I would lose my focus and my writing would come to a halt.  I would also misplace what I had previously written and have to start all over again. I believed God wanted me to live a little more of life in order to make my first book complete, authentic, genuine, and compelling. And from the feedback from early reviews of A Woman’s Business, I know that’s what God wanted.

I had a near-death health condition in 2022. I was told only six percent of people with my condition live. It took some time for me to recover to the point where I am now in life, and I am beyond blessed and extremely grateful. I am still living!

During recovery, I was off work. While I was not working, my brother Kevin said to me, “Now you have time to write your book.” And on that very day I started writing my debut novel,  A Woman’s Business . . . and I kept writing.  It was like the Holy Spirit spoke to me through Kevin that day.  I had been so engulfed with my health issues and trying to get back to my old self that writing a book was the last thing on my mind.

Just a few short months after I had my breakthrough that Kevin ushered in, my first literary project, A Woman’s Business, was complete.

I have a series of books that will be written as a follow-up and companion to A Woman’s Business. The main character, May Rose, and the supporting characters are all too lively and colorful to be contained in a single book. They have something more to say, and I intend on giving them a voice. I will also be pursuing a film and television series deal for my novels.

My ability to tell and write stories is astonishing; something I can boldly brag about because it’s a true gift from God. He is why I write. It’s part of my life assignment from Him and for Him. And I’ll never be too shy or ashamed to brag on Him.

Learn more about me by visiting my website Tracy@authortracymungo.com. And if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pre-order or grab a copy of A Woman’s Business (depending on when you are reading this). The characters are waiting to share their complicated, yet interesting, lives with you.