GONE WITHOUT A TRACE: AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR TELLS ABOUT HER CALLING TO WRITE

By Patricia Bradley

On May 9^th Ian Acheson wrote a blog for ACFW that you can read here. It was about whether or not a writer is called by God to write. Since that time, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about his blog and whether I was called to write or if I’m writing and offering it up to God as an act of service.

When I first started writing I was about as far away from God as a Christian could be. You know, one of those carnal Christians Paul talked about in his letter to the Corinthians. Why, I even lived in Corinth. Not the Biblical Corinth, of course. But in 1998, I realized just how far into the wilderness I had traveled and recommitted my life to Christ. I laid my writing on His altar and picked it up in His power rather than my own.

I imagined I would have a contract within the year.

It would be fourteen years before my writing would be where He wanted it. And part of that time was spent on a six-year side trip—teaching the abstinence curriculum I co-wrote with a friend.

Then, one day after the curriculum was finished, I was having my quiet time and a woman popped into my head and told me someone was trying to kill her. YES! (Imagine me sitting there pumping my fist.) God had given me my beloved suspense stories back. The character turned out to be Taylor Martin from Shadows of the Past, and five years later brings me to 2012.

In 2012 fourteen years after I thought it would happen, Revell offered me a contract, 32 years after I started writing. For twenty-seven of those years, writing was my main focus and five were spent teaching. I know I was called to co-write the abstinence curriculum, RISE to Your Dreams. God removed all distractions, including a desire to write fiction.

But did he call me to write fiction?  I believe He gifted me to write fiction, and I am being obedient to honor the gift He gave me by choosing to write day in and day out—an offering. And as I plan out my next series, cold cases set in Memphis, I feel compelled to write a certain story—a calling.

How do you view your writing?

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Gone without a Trace

A Novel

Patricia Bradley

BACK COVER

The past is repeating itself—and time is running out

It’s been more than two years since homicide detective Livy Reynolds’s cousin disappeared from Logan Point. Unlike most people in her hometown, Livy has never believed that Robyn left voluntarily. When Dallas private investigator Alex Jennings contacts her concerning a senator’s missing granddaughter who was last seen in Logan Point, Livy notices eerie similarities between the two disappearances. With self-doubt plaguing her after killing a teenager in the line of duty and an almost instant dislike of the self-assured PI, she’s finding this investigation an uphill battle. But with the prospect of finding her cousin on the horizon, she’ll have to find a way to work with Alex—before it’s too late.

Award-winning author Patricia Bradley keeps you on the edge of your seat with a case—and a relationship—that is anything but certain.

“Patricia Bradley has hit a home run. The suspense is high, the romance is sweet, and the villain is one you want to see caught and brought to justice. Gone without A Trace, a novel of forgiveness and finding one’s place in the world, brings home the point that while not everything in life may go the way you want, God is still in control. Can’t wait for the next book!”—Lynette Eason, bestselling, award-winning author of the Hidden Identity series

Patricia Bradley is the winner of a 2012 Daphne du Maurier Award and a 2012 Touched by Love

Award and was also a finalist for the 2012 Genesis Award. The author of Shadows of the Past and A Promise to Protect, she is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America. Bradley makes her home in Mississippi. Learn more at www.ptbradley.com.

Bio:

Patricia Bradley lives in North Mississippi and is a former abstinence educator and co-author of RISE To Your Dreams, an abstinence curriculum. But her heart is tuned to suspense. Patricia’s romantic suspense books include the Logan Point series—Shadows of the Past, A Promise to Protect, and Gone Without a Trace. Her workshops on writing include an online course with American Christian Fiction Writers and workshops at the Mid-South Christian Writer’s Conference in Collierville, TN. When she’s not writing, she likes to throw mud on a wheel and see what happens.

Connect with me at:

www.patriciabradleyauthor.com
www.facebook.com/patriciabradleyauthor
https://twitter.com/PTBradley1
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/ptbradley/

Links to books:

Shadows of the Past: CBD; Amazon; B&N; Books A Million

A Promise to Protect: B&N; CBD; Amazon; Books A Million

Gone Without a Trace: Amazon; CBD; B&N; Books A Million

Matthew’s Choice:  to buy a paperback—Harlequin: http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html?iid=53665

For an e-book: B&N, Kobo Amazon

Shadows of the Past, A Promise to Protect and Matthew’s Choice can be found at my Author Page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00FFR8T1U