1) Describe Silence in the Dark in one sentence.
Praying to a God she has difficulty believing in, Bailey runs for her life.
2) Who has had the most influence on your work?
Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck have had the most influence on my writing. They actually changed my writing life by giving me the tools to write my romantic suspense stories in the writing retreats I attended every year in Florida.
3) Where do you hope to see your books in the future? Maybe the big screen, a stage production, translations into different languages, etc.?
From your blog to God’s ears! All of the above. A lot of readers have told me my books would make great movies. :-)
4) Trust/faith is a HUGE theme in Silence in the Dark, how has writing that theme effected you and your characters? It's gotta rub off a little bit, right...
Right. I live my life based on trusting God. Otherwise, I’d be a basket case. When I doubt, I just look at what He’s already done in my life, the blessings He’s given me, and the things He’s brought me through.
5) If you could spend one day with a character from Silence in the Dark, who would that character be and why?
It’d probably be Kate. Maybe she could give me some pottery tips. If I had time to work at the wheel!
6) Throughout your writing experience, you've created a lot of characters. Out of all the characters you've created, who has been your favorite, what book(s) is that character in, and why are they your favorite?
Now, that’s like asking which of my daughters is my favorite. So far, I actually don’t have a favorite book or character. Probably because there’s a little bit of me in all of them, even the villains. :-)
7) Why did you decide to become an author?
These people came to live in my head and they wouldn’t go away until I wrote their stories. Then they badgered me until I submitted them to publishers.
8) Do you have any advice to people who might find themselves in a situation similar to Bailey Adams' situation: running from their problems and relying on God to see them through?
I don’t want to give a pat answer, but I’ve discovered that giving my problems to God, and I mean really giving them to Him and not picking them back up, works. The circumstances may not change—actually probably won’t change—but a person can have peace in the midst of them.
I keep a journal that I’ve written in for the last five years. It’s structured so that I can
see what I’ve written for each day for those past five years. Recently I was writing for a day in March and saw that four years earlier I had a serious problem with someone. And I mean serious as in that person suing me. For several days I followed that problem in my journal—how that I would give to God and then take back. Finally, I released it to Him. And guess what? A year later I had written in one of those worrying days this: I can’t believe how I worried about this. All for nothing because God worked it out. And IT CAME TO PASS.
So just remember—everything comes to pass. You will get through it. And it’s much easier if you remember God is waiting to carry you through it. My favorite scripture verses for those times is Isaiah 43:1-3--“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God
9) What was your favorite scene to write in Silence in the Dark?
The scene with Danny and Bailey outside, looking at the stars. Oh…and the prologue. A variation of what happened to Bailey when she was ten happened to me when I was twelve. I was supposed to spend the weekend with a friend, but when she didn’t come to school on Friday, I didn’t go and that weekend, her father killed her and her mother. I wanted to remember her someway and thought putting what happened in this book would do that.
Patricia Bradley lives in North Mississippi and loves to write romance and suspense with a twist of romance. Her books include the Logan Point series--Shadows of the Past, A Promise to Protect, Gone Without a Trace and Silence in the Dark. She has also written two sweet romances for Harlequin Heartwarming, Matthew’s Choice and The Christmas Campaign, available at Amazon.
Her workshops on writing include two online courses with American Christian Fiction Writers and workshops at the Mid-South Christian Writer’s Conference in Collierville, TN. When she has time, she likes to throw mud on a wheel and see what happens.
Her workshops on writing include two online courses with American Christian Fiction Writers and workshops at the Mid-South Christian Writer’s Conference in Collierville, TN. When she has time, she likes to throw mud on a wheel and see what happens.