Q&A with Benjamin Bradley
Please welcome Benjamin Bradley to our Featured Author Q&A series at Writer’s Fun Zone. Enjoy!
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If you’d like to be considered for an interview, check out our guidelines here.
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About Benjamin Bradley
Benjamin Bradley is a member of both Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. He’s the author of the Shepard & Kelly Mystery series through Indies United Publishing House and his short fiction has appeared in literary magazines including Reckon Review and Flash Fiction Magazine. He works in public health and homelessness and lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with his wife, their cat Fox, and their dog Harper.
On to Our Interview!
Q. Tell us who you are and what inspires you to write!
A. I’m a mystery writer and author who is passionate about the human experience and finding ways to make an impact on the world.
When I’m not writing or working, I love to be outdoors, particularly running ultramarathons or hiking with my wife and dog.
I’m really lucky to call Raleigh, NC home which has tons of great parks and trails to explore (and think of new plot twists!)
Q. How did you get to this place in your life? Share your story!
A. I’ve been an avid reader my whole life, especially in the mystery and thriller genre, but only in the past decade started to consider that I might be able to craft stories of my own.
As I thought about that, my mom handed me a booklet I wrote as a kid — which is now officially my first manuscript.
Beyond all of that, I’ve been super privileged to have a ton of unique experiences traveling across the US and internationally which help inspire new tales!
Q. What are you most passionate about?
A. I’m really passionate about finding ways to make an impact on the world — and I try to channel that both in my day job and in my writing.
In my day job, I work with people experiencing homelessness to help connect them to healthcare and public health programs.
There’s always work to be done and it’s equal parts challenging and rewarding.
In my writing, I think stories hold such great power to help us think differently and escape our worlds — but most importantly they help deepen empathy for other people.
Q. Can you tell us a little bit about your writing process, routine, and/or rituals around your writing?
A. I work full time, so it’s always been important to carve out time to write whenever I can.
A hectic schedule can really put your routines and rituals to the test, but I cherished any block of time when I had dedicated headspace to think and write.
Sometimes that was at 5AM.
Sometimes that was late at night.
Sometimes it was hopping into my manuscript for edits during my lunch break.
Through all of this, my biggest reflection has been a universal one. Writing is a muscle. The more you work it, the stronger it gets. BUT there are days you flat out won’t have the juice. Muscles get tired. They can’t work forever.
Just as important as flexing it often is resting it and letting your head settle.
Q. What are a few challenges you faced in creating, marketing, or publishing your creative work? And your solutions to them.
A. As with most writers, the challenges here were aplenty. The one that I struggled (and struggle) with the most though, is imposter syndrome.
Writing is an incredibly isolating practice at times and it can be really easy to create an echo chamber in your head. It’s up to you whether the shouts you hear are positive or negative.
For me, I held myself to an incredibly high standard. Even with the final product, I lamented small things I should’ve done differently or changed. I think most writers end up feeling this way.
One of the biggest pieces of advice that helped with this was: nobody picks up a book looking to hate it.
In a really tense world, I had worries that I’d embarass myself or get ridiculed online. The truth of the matter is, that’s out of my control.
I’m still a work in progress around this — even with my next manuscripts, I spend so much time putting myself through the wringer — but I love the writing community as a place to learn from one another about things like this!
Q. What do you wish you had known before you started writing fiction?
A. The drafting process can really stretch on forever if you let it!
From start to finish, I counted 18 drafts of WHAT HE LEFT BEHIND. Some were just my own revisions, others were from editors and proofreaders via CamCat.
Every draft was important and worth it, but I did not expect to have that many iterations of the story!
When I received the final Advanced Reader Copy last year, I had to read through and take notes to help me remember the final character names and plot twists because I had so many versions running around in my head.
Q. What’s next for you in your creative work?
A. Right now, I’m fully focused on spreading the word about WHAT HE LEFT BEHIND to help it reach as many readers as possible. I’ve got a few manuscripts drafted that I’ll work to get into the hands of agents and publishers soon, so stay posted for more!
What He Left Behind by Benjamin Bradley
In a sleepy town, a detective must partner with a big city detective who broke her heart and fled the town years prior, to uncover the explosive truth behind the murder of a stranger.
Connect with Benjamin Bradley
Site Link www.benjaminbradleywrites.com
