BONBONS AND PJS ~ THE LIFE OF AN AUTHOR

by Patricia Bradly

Good Friday morning! Can you believe that this time next week, Thanksgiving will be over and we'll be heading into Christmas and 2024?

Whew! When did 2023 whiz past us? 

But I digress... at least on the bonbons and pjs. The whizzing of time as it flies by--that is the life of an author. I will admit I stayed in pjs a lot more this year than I ever have--not the fancy silk ones like you see of women in commercials...the jersey type--I don't generally wear flannel--they stick to my sheets. 

And why did I stay in pjs more in 2023? One, I had two deadlines. Two, count them, two deadlines.

My year looked something like this: 

On January 1, I had a little over half of Fatal Witness, due February 1. 

February 1, I turned in Fatal Witness, not really satisfied with it, but on time.  

February 27, I received the edits and talk about Fatal...due to several factors, including the flu and a bad reaction to a cholesterol medicine, I did not have a clear head when I was writing Fatal Witness...

March 1- April 15 I totally rewrote Fatal Witness with a brand new opening and turned it in...

On April 21, my editor approved Fatal Witness, and sent it on to the final editor. 

I was very tired by this time--I'd worked twelve hours a day for six weeks on the story. 

In May, I started work on what would become Deadly Revenge. But I was having trouble seeing the story.

June was more of the same, but I plodded through.

July 11, I received the edits from my copy editor...she gave me until the 25th, but said I could have a little more time if I needed it...little did she know...Of course, that meant all work on Deadly Revenge stopped. How I wished I was one of those writers who can work on two or three books at the same time!! (I really wonder if they exist...)

Finally in August I started on Deadly Revenge in earnest. And September 28th realized the opening was totally not good. So I rewrote the first two chapters which was like toppling dominoes--everything about the story changed. Again, I rewrote the whole book in six weeks, and finally turned it in November 1...well, sort of. What I turned in was 80% of it...I still had to write the ending. Which I turned in this past Monday. 

WHEW!

And now you know why most authors when they hear that writers sit around and eat Bonbons and write only when they feel the muse strike usually fall down rolling on the floor laughing. Contracts do not wait for the muse to strike. But I would rather be writing than doing anything else!

Do you think it would be easy to write a book? Leave your comment and I'll enter you in a drawing for Fatal Witness when it releases in February!

A Writer's Life

 by Patricia Bradley

A while back I decided to try my hand at writing a shorter romantic suspense novel for Love Inspired Suspense. So I put together a proposal after reading a couple of LIS books and sent it off to my agent. 

Then I read more LIS book and thought Uh, Oh ...can I catch that proposal before it hits a LIS editor's desk? Nope. It was too late. The chapters I emailed in the proposal did not start off with the hero and heroine in jeopardy. That's a must for a Love Inspired Suspense book.

*Sigh* At least the editor was amenable to me reworking the proposal since I realized my mistake. All this to say, if you're a writer and you're targeting a particular publishing house, be sure to read a LOT of their books. 

What I discovered was, the hero and heroine must meet in the first chapter and be in jeopardy. No cute meet here. They are immediately thrown into danger and the reader is left on tenterhooks as they escape.

And the jeopardy is always there, hanging over the couple. Once they're on their journey to capture the bad guys, they encounter them about every chapter, until the end where they overcome the villain(s). Oh, and while they're battling the villain, they are also falling in love, and battling that as well. The writer needs a good reason why they can't be together, but not such a good reason that they can't overcome it.

If you're like me and targeting Harlequin's Loved Inspired Suspense,  or you're looking for a great suspenseful story, look no further for good examples than the Suspense Sisters! Here are some perfect examples of what LIS is looking for:

A dangerous reunion they may not survive

In this Mount Shasta Secrets novel

FBI agent Tori Peterson intends to find her sister’s murderer, even if someone’s willing to kill her to keep the truth hidden. But that means returning home and working with the lead detective—her ex-boyfriend, Ryan Bradley. Though sparks still fly between them, Tori and Ryan must stay focused on catching a killer…before they are silenced for good.

You can buy it here.

An Amish woman targeted by a serial killer

is the only living witness…

As the sole woman to escape the Dead of Night Killer, Catherine Fisher’s the key to catching him—if he doesn’t kill her first. Now it’s up to FBI agent Sutter Brenneman to protect her. But with her memory missing and all clues indicating the serial killer took her for very personal reasons, it’ll take everything Sutter has to keep her safe.

You can buy it here.

From a dangerous reunion at sea…


To undercover as husband and wife.

Forced to jump ship during her investigation, undercover DEA agent Grace Young’s rescued from criminals and raging waters by her ex-husband, Coast Guard swimmer Dakota Young. Now to save the mission, Grace and Dakota must pose as a married couple to take down a drug ring. But will facing danger together reunite two broken hearts—or place targets on both of their backs?

You can buy it here.

I hope you've enjoyed my journey into publishing. I'll let you know if Love Inspired Suspense likes my new proposal. 

Leave a comment telling me if you've ever ventured into a new area and had to learn a new way of doing something, and I'll enter you in a drawing for a digital copy of one of the LIS books listed. Be sure to leave your contact information.