Patricia Bradley: An Interview With An Amazing Debut Author

Please welcome back to Everyone's Story a dear friend, blog viewer, past guest, and now… ta-da… published author in book length fiction, Patricia Bradley. I have looked forward to making this announcement and am so excited for Patricia! Patricia graciously has answered several interview questions and is offering her debut novel, SHADOWS OF THE PAST, Book 1 of the Logan Point Series. I know this is only the beginning of exciting things for Patricia and it's my honor to host her this week. Both of us are looking forward to seeing your comments and sharing the excitement!

**Also, I'm presently a guest on Patricia's blog if you'd like to visit: bit.ly/Mb2CrS 

Book Giveaway:
Patricia is offering one print copy of her novel SHADOWS OF THE PAST to one randomly chosen commenter. The winner will be announced here on Friday, February 7th, between 5-6 PM EST. For convenience, please leave your contact information within your comment. Thanks!

Questions for Patricia Bradley

You head your website with a passage from Psalm 37—Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. How does this fit into your daily life? Your writing life?

I’ve found that to delight myself in the Lord I have to have quiet time with Him early in the morning. I usually start off with the passage I’m reading in my Chronological Bible, then I spend time in my Jesus Calling Journal. I’ve been making daily entries in the journal since October 2009 and it’s really neat to have a record of what went on that day for the past four years. On the few days that something happens and I don’t get to spend time with Him, my day goes from bad to worse. I need that grounding and reminder that He is faithful. 

As for faith in my writing life, I couldn’t string ten words together without God’s input. I pray before I write and all the time I’m writing. When I’m stumped or can’t get the right words, I ask for God to help me. And He does. Not just once, but every time.

During your previous appearance on Everyone’s Story you’ve spoken about the unexpected years it took you to become a published author. Had you come close to surrendering your dream during this time? What was the turn around point that changed everything?

I don’t know that I ever seriously entertained the thought of giving up. It was as though I couldn’t not write, even when I received a rejection almost by return mail. God did take me away from writing fiction for a few years to co-write an abstinence curriculum and workbook and work in the abstinence program.

The turnaround point came after I won the 2008 Unpublished Maggie in their Inspirational Category, an RWA contest sponsored by the Georgia Romance Writers of America. It was Shadows of the Past and I just knew it would be published right away. Not. The next year at that same conference I asked a friend what I needed to do. I knew my writing lacked something, I just didn’t know what. She directed me to Susan May Warren. Susan was just starting My Book Therapy and teaching writing at the MBT Chat online. Her critique of Shadows, then the MBT classes and retreats helped me to hone my craft.

What didn’t you expect to discover on your journey to publication?

I never expected it would take so long. I mean, I’ve been writing for 33 years. Especially since the first short story I wrote was picked up by Woman’s World way back in 1981.

What kind of life lessons—if any—has writing and publishing taught you?

To enjoy the journey. And patience. Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the tagline on my emails is: I asked God to teach me patience, and He gave me a book to write.

Inspiration for Patricia: Norris Geyser Basin at Yellowstone
©Cheryl Meints

If you could look back at your pre-published self what kind of advice, as a published author, would you offer?

Learn the craft. Get into a good critique group and/or a community of writers. There are so many classes and so many good writing books out there, like Susan May Warren’s From the Inside Out and James Scott Bell’s Plot and Structure. I wrote for 17 years with only a few books and Writer’s Digest magazine, and I kept making the same mistakes. I didn’t have a critique group until 1997—where I lived made it difficult to get together with other writers, and I didn’t have the Internet. Then in 2009, I joined ACFW and got connected with a 4 great crit partners, met Susan May Warren and My Book Therapy, and my writing life change.

Was any one particular person during your childhood years instrumental in building up your strength to continue despite obstacles?

My parents always told me I could do anything I set my mind to do. That I was the only person who could hold me back.

Why suspense stories? Did you intend to create a series from the start?

I’ve always liked to read suspense, but for some reason when I first started writing, I tried to write a story for Woman’s World’s Complete Romance line. That’s when I discovered I couldn’t get them together. And I kept putting my characters in danger, so I realized I could do the suspense part and turned to their mini-mysteries. Since then I’ve learned how to get them together.

As for the series, when I submitted to Revell, it was for three books set in Logan Point. Now each book I write creates more characters and more stories.

What faith issues have your characters faced in your stories? Did you set out with these issues in mind when you started the series or did it evolve on a more natural basis?

I knew Taylor, the heroine of Shadows of the Past, would have trust problems, not just with people, but with God. Her father had walked away when she was a child and she felt God never answered her prayers for him to return. Nick, the hero, had a strong faith, but he feared losing someone as he had when his wife was killed in a mugging-gone-wrong. So he held people too close sometime. His journey was learning to trust God with everything.

And for fun: if a magical fairy came along and granted you one wish to either do something or go somewhere (other than becoming an overnight NYTBSL author or resolving world peace with the snap of fingers), what would it be?

I would travel. Go to Hawaii, Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, everywhere. And I would love to have that snap of the finger thingy to get there.

If by chance you do not win Patricia’s Giveaway novel on Everyone's Story, here’s another chance to win it: Revell is doing a giveaway on Goodreads from January 18-February 18: Goodreads 

You can see Patricia Bradley's first guest appearance on Everyone's Story here.

Patricia's Ah-hahs To Tweet:
Visit with romantic suspense author Patricia Bradley on Everyone’s Story #BookGiveaway. (Tweet This)

Patricia Bradley: An author who took 33 years to publish debut novel but who sold a 3-book series! (Tweet This)

Win Patricia Bradley’s SHADOWS OF THE PAST #BookGiveaway on Everyone’s Story. #ChristianFiction (Tweet This)

Author's Bio:

Patricia Bradley lives in North Mississippi and is a former abstinence educator and co-author of RISE To Your Dreams, an abstinence curriculum and workbook. But her heart is tuned to murder and suspense. Patricia’s mini-mysteries have been published in Woman’s World, and her debut novel, Shadows of the Past, is releasing February 1, 2014. When she’s not writing or speaking, she likes to make jewelry or throw mud on a wheel and create odd and unique pottery.

Places to connect with Patricia:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

MBTPonderers

Goodreads

Amazon