**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turnaround point came after I won the 2008 Unpublished Maggie in their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
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)
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:
