Patricia Bradley is the author of fifteen Inspirational Romantic Suspense and two sweet romance books set in the South. The winner of a Selah award, and an Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award, she's been the keynote speaker at several conferences where she also teaches workshops on writing fiction.
She and her two rescue kitties call Corinth, Mississippi home, and when she's not writing, she likes to throw mud on a wheel to see what comes out.
Visit Patricia Bradley online
Fatal Witness
As a child, artist and potter Dani Bennett witnessed the brutal murder of her parents. With no memory of the incident or her true identity, she was forced to take on a new name and a new life, hidden away in Montana for the past twenty-five years. Mae Richmond has spent the same stretch of time searching for her granddaughter, who went missing the night her daughter and son-in-law were murdered. Convinced the woman she saw in a pottery magazine feature is the woman she's been searching for, she enlists the help of K-9 officer Mark Lassiter of Pearl Springs, Tennessee, who tracks Dani down. Skeptical but curious, Dani sets out on a journey to uncover the secrets of her past and reclaim her true identity. But someone close to her is determined to keep the truth of what happened all those years ago hidden.
- ISBN: 0800741633
- Publisher: Revell
An Interview with Patricia Bradley
Intro… It is such an honor to interview you, Patricia. I enjoyed meeting you and learning from you at a writer’s workshop in 2020. Unfortunately it was all on Zoom that year, but I enjoyed the “meeting” anyway. I’m excited about Fatal Witness to be released on February 6.
What led you to choose the genre in which you write?
Romantic suspense is my favorite thing to read—even as a kid. I remember reading The Black Stallion series, and anxiously waiting the next book as soon as I finished the current one. Then on to Phyllis Whitney, Mary Stuart, Victoria Holt…
Reflecting back, what do you see as most important to you getting published the first time?
I’d dreamed of being published for so long, and now I was living that dream.
I’m beginning the editing phase of a new manuscript. I would love to know how you approach the first edit of a new manuscript, especially when big changes need to be made that could affect threads throughout the story?
It’s not a matter of COULD but how. I’ve made changes more than once to the first chapter in a manuscript and it’s like dominoes falling…it changes everything. But the story has always been better for it. I think writers have a sense when something isn’t right about a story, so we take a deep breath and change it.
What do you usually add in (or change) during the editing phase? How many edits do you usually do before you send it off?
My process is to lay down the suspense thread first. Once I have that, I go back and add the romance thread. The spiritual thread is usually woven in during both passes. I read through it again, then have my computer read it to me and then I send it off. And of course, it will go through at least 2-4 more edits at Revell.
What advice would you give to new authors, or authors who are not new, but have struggled to keep at it in the face of obstacles?
Don’t get in a hurry and enjoy the process. Once I learned to enjoy the process, I didn’t mind the slowness so much. And don’t give up. I wrote for 32 years before I received a publishing contract. What if I had stopped at year 31?
How do your faith and spiritual life play into the picture and affect your storytelling?
I don’t think I prayed as much before I started writing. I know my inspiration comes from God. He called me to this writing gig, and He will see me through it—it’s one reason I don’t worry about writers block.
Where do your story and character ideas come from?
They usually just pop in my head when I’m listening to the news or reading about something…
What books are on your nightstand right now?
Double Take by Lynette Eason, Cold Threat by Nancy Mehl, and Shadows at Dusk by Elizabeth Goddard. And a couple of ms on my Kindle I’m reading in view of endorsing.
What literary character do you most relate to?
I never thought about that…let me think…Scarlett O’Hara, maybe?
If you could have coffee with an author, dead or alive, whose work you admire, who would that be? What would you ask him or her?
Herman Wouk, and I would ask him what it was like to be 100 and still writing…
What message do you hope readers take away from Fatal Witness? That your identity is in God and nowhere else. And hope and forgiveness.
Thank you so much, Patricia. And congratulations on the release of Fatal Witness.
__________________________________
Interviewer Terri Thompson is an author, foodie, nature lover and philanthropist. She loves walks along the beach at sunset, dancing in the living room with her grandchildren, the beauty of flavors expertly combined, and the joy of words creatively knit together to bring truth to life. She blogs about writing, life and inspiration at www.terrilynnthompson.com To learn about the non-profits supported by the H. G. Clay Foundation go to https://www.hgclayfoundation.org.
What led you to choose the genre in which you write?
Romantic suspense is my favorite thing to read—even as a kid. I remember reading The Black Stallion series, and anxiously waiting the next book as soon as I finished the current one. Then on to Phyllis Whitney, Mary Stuart, Victoria Holt…
Reflecting back, what do you see as most important to you getting published the first time?
I’d dreamed of being published for so long, and now I was living that dream.
I’m beginning the editing phase of a new manuscript. I would love to know how you approach the first edit of a new manuscript, especially when big changes need to be made that could affect threads throughout the story?
It’s not a matter of COULD but how. I’ve made changes more than once to the first chapter in a manuscript and it’s like dominoes falling…it changes everything. But the story has always been better for it. I think writers have a sense when something isn’t right about a story, so we take a deep breath and change it.
What do you usually add in (or change) during the editing phase? How many edits do you usually do before you send it off?
My process is to lay down the suspense thread first. Once I have that, I go back and add the romance thread. The spiritual thread is usually woven in during both passes. I read through it again, then have my computer read it to me and then I send it off. And of course, it will go through at least 2-4 more edits at Revell.
What advice would you give to new authors, or authors who are not new, but have struggled to keep at it in the face of obstacles?
Don’t get in a hurry and enjoy the process. Once I learned to enjoy the process, I didn’t mind the slowness so much. And don’t give up. I wrote for 32 years before I received a publishing contract. What if I had stopped at year 31?
How do your faith and spiritual life play into the picture and affect your storytelling?
I don’t think I prayed as much before I started writing.
Where do your story and character ideas come from?
They usually just pop in my head when I’m listening to the news or reading about something…
What books are on your nightstand right now?
Double Take by Lynette Eason, Cold Threat by Nancy Mehl, and Shadows at Dusk by Elizabeth Goddard. And a couple of ms on my Kindle I’m reading in view of endorsing.
What literary character do you most relate to?
I never thought about that…let me think…Scarlett O’Hara, maybe?
If you could have coffee with an author, dead or alive, whose work you admire, who would that be? What would you ask him or her?
Herman Wouk, and I would ask him what it was like to be 100 and still writing…
What message do you hope readers take away from Fatal Witness? That your identity is in God and nowhere else. And hope and forgiveness.
Thank you so much, Patricia. And congratulations on the release of Fatal Witness.
__________________________________
Interviewer Terri Thompson is an author, foodie, nature lover and philanthropist. She loves walks along the beach at sunset, dancing in the living room with her grandchildren, the beauty of flavors expertly combined, and the joy of words creatively knit together to bring truth to life. She blogs about writing, life and inspiration at www.terrilynnthompson.com To learn about the non-profits supported by the H. G. Clay Foundation go to https://www.hgclayfoundation.org.
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