Patricia Bradley Interview

Q: How long have you been writing and what other careers or jobs have you had?
A. I’ve been writing for 34 years, 32 of the years without publication. Although I did have success with short stories (I sold 3 SS to Woman’s World), when I switched to novels, it was rejection after rejection.

I’ve done a variety of things in my life: timber cruiser, worked with horses, co-owned a sawmill, worked for a senior center then went from that to working with kids in the abstinence program. You wouldn’t believe the stories I have.

Q: Do you write in only one genre and if so which one and why? If not, which ones and why?
A: I write in the romantic suspense and also the romance genres. And since my romantic suspense are about 60/40 suspense to romance, I never dreamed I’d ever write a romance. But I did, Matthew’s Choice, from Harlequin Heartwarming, and it released the first of September.

Q: How does your faith play into your writing?
A. God and I are partners in this writing business. I start every morning with Him, asking for inspiration and He delivers. When I get stuck, I remind Him that He called me to write this story. He’s not failed yet to get me past my sticking point.

Q: How do you choose your settings for your books?
A. I really don’t know. The first setting, the small town of Logan Point, Mississippi, chose me way back in 1990. It has since expanded to the nearby town of Memphis, Tennessee. Not only is Logan Point fictional, but I moved a lot of geography in Northeast Mississippi west.

Q: Do you base your characters on people you know or are they totally made up?
A: They are totally made up, although I do use gestures and mannerisms of people I know.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release A Promise to Protect?
A: I think the back blurb says it well:
Acting Sheriff Ben Logan 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 can Ben keep an eye on Leigh if she’s doing everything in her power to avoid him? And could the secret that Leigh is keeping change Ben’s life forever?
Q: Where did you get your inspiration for this story?
A: Ben was the hero of my very first book (that will never see the light of day). When I went to the work in the abstinence program, I didn’t write for about 5 years and I had always thought when I returned to fiction, my first book would be about Ben. Instead, he ended up being the 2nd book.
A: That forgiveness will free you.Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?

Q: Tell us what you like about the main characters of this book.
A: Ben Logan and Leigh Somerall are both strong people dealing with their own demons. I like that the macho sheriff has panic attacks.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. I just finished the 3rd book in the Logan Point Series, Gone Without a Trace and started the 4th one that I call No Place to Hide. Gone Without a Trace is about Detective Livy Reynolds and her search for her cousin, Robyn Martin. In the first book, it was discussed that Robyn had disappeared.

Q: If money were no object what vacation would you like to take and why?
A. I would love to spend a month in Hawaii. Ever since the first Hawaii 5-0 and Magnum PI, I’ve wanted to go there.

Q: What is the silliest thing you have ever done?
A. I don’t really do silly. Although there was this time I let my niece fix my hair in little ponytails—top, sides, back. Then she took my picture that she now uses for blackmail.

Q: What is the hardest thing you have ever done?
A. Without question, write a book.

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet?
A. I have a website, http://ptbradley.com/ where you will find my blog. I try to blog on Wednesdays. Every fourth Wednesday the blog is about growing up in the South. I also contribute to http://mbtponderers.blogspot.com/, and to http://stitchesthrutime.blogspot.com/ and to http://heartwarmingauthors.blogspot.com/. I have an Author page on Facebook and a Twitter account, @ptbradley1. Oh, and there’s Pinterest account– http://www.pinterest.com/ptbradley/

Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us?
A. I really appreciate being here. This is a super blog! I also want to encourage your readers to not give up when they are trying to reach a goal. For a lucky few, it doesn’t take long to reach that goal, but for others like me, it may take years. Lots of years. Whatever it is you want, do the hard stuff—learn all you can about what it takes to reach that goal and then do it, but also, wait for God’s timing. I thought my first book, Shadows of the Past was ready for publication in 2010. Thank goodness it wasn’t. Neither I nor the book was ready. If it had been published then, I would be so embarrassed now whenever I looked at it.