Patricia Bradley Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.  

A.  I live in North Mississippi, known as the Hill Country (as opposed to the Delta). In 2001 I was busy writing my great novel when God tapped me to work in the abstinence program in Mississippi, where I co-wrote an abstinence curriculum and presented it to students all over Mississippi. During this time, I had not one fiction thought. Not one. Then one day in my quiet time, a character popped into my head. It was a woman, and someone was trying to kill her. That’s when I started working on Shadows of the Past.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

A. I remember it clearly. 1980. I was 35 years old and these people came to live in my head at night, which was very entertaining since I couldn’t sleep. But then they invaded my daytime hours, demanding that I write their story. I did, and the short-story that resulted was published in Woman’s’ World in 1981.

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break?  

A.  After years of writing in a vacuum, I finally had the opportunity to connect with other writers. In 1998, I attended the first of many writers’ conferences, and finally in 2010, I attended Susan May Warren’s Deep Thinker’s retreat. That was the turning point in my writing. Three years and two more DT retreats later I finaled in the Genesis Romantic Suspense category and signed with my fabulous agent, Mary Sue Seymour, and in October signed a three-book deal with Revell.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release Shadows of the Past?

A:   Psychology professor and criminal profiler Taylor Martin prides herself on being able to solve any crime, except the one she wants most desperately to solve—the disappearance of her father twenty years ago. When she finally has a lead on his whereabouts, Taylor returns home to Logan Point, Mississippi, to investigate. But as she is stalking the truth about the past, someone is stalking her.

Nick Sinclair pens mystery novels for a living, but the biggest mystery to him is how he can ever get over the death of his wife—a tragedy he believes he could have prevented. With his estranged brother the only family he has left, Nick sets out to find him. But when he crosses paths with Taylor, all he seems to find is trouble.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for Shadows of the Past?

A: Like I said earlier, the heroine of Shadows of the Past just popped into my head, and I had to know who was trying to kill her and why. The book went through umpteen revisions, even changing almost every character’s name.

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?

A: A couple of things. One, we don’t get our worth from others. It comes from God. The other is that God is trustworthy. And that He’s protecting us, and most of the time we aren’t aware of it.

Q: What is your favorite scene/chapter from the book?

A: My favorite scene is where Nick and Taylor walk the land he wants to buy for a camp for underprivileged boys. Taylor reveals some of her dark moments to him, and Nick rises to the occasion.

Q: What inspires you to write?  

A. Writing scratches an itch deep inside me. And I believe God put the itch there. J So I want to honor him by using the talent he gave me.

Q: How has being a published novelist differed from your expectations of the profession?  

A: It’s a lot of work! Lol Especially the marketing aspects. And working under a publisher’s deadline is much different from my self-imposed deadlines. I while I’ve always taken my seriously, getting published changed my view of writing. It is now my full-time job.

Q: What advice or tips do you have for writers who are just getting started?

A: Get into a good critique group and/or a community of writers. Read books on the craft like James Scott Bell’s Plot and Structure, Susan May Warren’s From the Inside Out and Donald Maas’  to name two. And study writers you admire.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?  

A. I’m working on the 3^rd book in the Logan Point Series. It takes Livy Reynolds, a character from Shadows of the Past, and tells her story.

I’m also working on revisions for the 2^nd book in the series, A Promise to Protect, that comes out in October. It’s Ben Logan’s story:

He hasn’t heard from Leigh Somerall in a very long time, but it doesn’t mean he can get her—or their whirlwind romance of ten years ago—out of his head. When she calls out of the blue it is with a strange request to protect her brother, Tony. But when Tony dies just days later, Ben is charged with a different task—protecting Leigh and her nine-year-old son, TJ, from the killers. But how does he protect someone who does everything she can to avoid him?

Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?  

A.  I like to throw mud on a wheel and see what comes out. J I have a couple of wheels and a kiln, and I like to mix my own glazes. I also like to knit. We have a group at church, and we knit things like chemo hats, scarves, prayer shawls, and we knit booties and baby blankets for our local crisis pregnancy center.

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet? 

A. www.patriciabradleyauthor.com, www.facebook.com/patriciabradleyauthor, https://twitter.com/PTBradley1

I also contribute on two other blogs:  http://mbtponderers.blogspot.com/ and http://stitchesthrutime.blogspot.com/

Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us?  

A. I want to thank you for having me on The Suspense Zone. This is an awesome blog!