Cindy Bradford book signing

I have a book signing tonight at Paragraphs on Padre, here on the island. This will be my second at this location, but the first for Promises Kept. As always, I’m looking forward to it, but worried about how many will attend and how it will go.

The bookstore owners, Griff and Joni, who are so supportive and special, placed a great advertisement in the local newspaper and notified folks through the Chamber of Commerce list, but lots of locals are on vacation, and visitors are too busy putting aloe on their blistered skin and tossing back a Corona to come see me. They just don’t know what they’re missing. The sun will be down, and there’s plenty of beer on the island to last—believe me!

Nonetheless, I’m always excited and greet the event with anticipation and a positive attitude; as positive as a struggling writer can. I remind myself it’s not about how many books I sell; it’s about how the book is received by those who read it.

Of course, my perfect signing would be in New York City or Paris, with people lined up out the door, clamoring to get in, fighting over the last book. Quit snickering—we all have our dreams! I’m just willing to share mine.

If you’re in the area, drop by tonight. There will be wine and cheese, and lots of good conversation. If you are miles away, just think about me—that’s what friends are for.

If you have a relationship with a bookstore in your area, I would appreciate if you could make an introduction. I may be coming to a book signing near you. You can go to BookTour.com for my schedule or other book signings in your area.

Promises Kept on Kindle

If you are following me on FaceBook you may already know that Promises Kept is now available on Kindle, but I want to remind everyone here as well. Although I love my Kindle and use it when I travel, I still like to hold those pages in my hands when I am home.

Some things are hard to give up and traditional books are one of those for me. So I will continue to down load when I have long airplane flights and prop up on the couch with my book in hand otherwise. But for those of you who are totally committed to electronics, it’s just a click away.

I hope you have already found time to order and read Promises Kept, but if not, it is a great summer read for the lake or beach. When you have finished, please take an extra minute to write a review on Amazon. Although I received some outstanding reviews by professional reviewers on the virtual book tour, those that come from you are extra special and much appreciated!

Happy summer and enjoy your vacation, but don’t stay away too long. Blogs await you.

Traveling

Settings are the easiest for me to describe in my books because I try to weave in places I have actually visited and studied. Using them in my writing allows me to mentally visit them again and again and relive my experiences. Hopefully, you are traveling with me in both Keeping Faith and Promises Kept.

The most difficult part is deciding which places to incorporate into the chapters of my novels and how the characters will relate to going there or living in a particular setting. East Texas and New England were naturals because I lived in the former for all my formative years and have traveled many times to the latter.

The places in between cause me the most deliberation. Of course, who could argue with Italy? It is a gorgeous place with boundless history and intrigue. It was so easy to write about which, of course, made Carmella and Stefano easy as well. But so was Austria and Switzerland… and the list goes on.

I am so fortunate to be able to travel to so many wonderfully interesting and beautiful places. I admit to a bit of wanderlust. I have the book, 1,000 Places to See Before I Die sitting on my desk as inspiration, but I promise not to make you pack your bags for all those. I will, however, introduce a few new destinations in book three.

So, where is your favorite vacation spot, your dream trip or the best place you have ever visited? Take a minute to describe it in the comment section. After all, the readers like to hear from others besides just me. Maybe you can suggest a scene for my next book!!

I don’t ever remember not writing. When I was just a little kid I would write stories on the leftover typing paper around the house—when I wasn’t making cigarettes with the paper (I got caught early on lighting one so it was back to story writing). All during junior high and high school I wrote poetry and other miscellaneous stories, and then in college I worked for a nearby newspaper and college newspaper as well at the university public relations office.

As a journalism major, I preferred writing feature and human interest stories, and I remember one of my very liberal journalism professors telling me I didn’t have what it takes to be a journalist writing hard news. I looked him in the eye and told him “I didn’t want to have what it takes to cover hard news. I hate politics, car wrecks, and murder, besides I want to be proud of everything I write.”  I haven’t veered from that stance.

I’m proud of writing Keeping Faith and Promises Kept, but more than that I am proud of hanging in there until I had the finished product. A lot of people have told me they want to write a book and have great ideas. I believe them.  I say, just do it. It’s not just about talent; it’s about persistence, stamina, and the will to finish. It’s a manuscript in progress; it’s only a book when you finish.

Promises Kept by Cindy Bradford

Promises Kept is getting close, another couple of weeks. It is a little behind schedule because I made some last minute changes on the cover and title page, which slowed down the entire process. I guess I am a bit of a perfectionist, but I know what I want and I’m not willing to compromise. I must admit; however, I am getting excited. I hope you are as well.

If you haven’t read Keeping Faith you still have time to order and read before reading Promises Kept, and although it can stand alone, I think you will enjoy the second book much more if you have read the first.

I am excited because I have a month log virtual book tour beginning May 1. Now, if you are like me, I didn’t even know what that was until recently. Simply, a virtual tour is a cyber tour which is a super alternative to a “live” book signing tour, which can be expensive and time consuming. Although the blog tour does take time, both upfront and during the entire month, it is much easier to work from home and reach an even bigger audience.

The tour, which is being conducted by my blog tour manager, Nikki Leigh, includes blogs, websites, radio shows, newsletters, reviews and guests posts. There will be various websites that use themes from my books and host my comments. Additionally, various blog owners will feature me, “interview” me, and introduce me to their audience. This will be a great opportunity to get my name out there and be noticed, and hopefully get more people reading my books and communicating with me.

I will post the various websites and links to interviews as soon as the schedule is firm. As I said, this is new to me. I’m learning as I go, so I will keep you informed and up-to-date about the process. Wish me luck.

Devil in the Details of Editing

Novel writing to me is just like sitting down to tell a story—only on paper. I actually wrote Keeping Faith long hand, and it took just a little over a month, but editing took a year. The plot, settings, and the characters came to me as easy as grilling and then savoring a good steak, but oh, how I hate the details of editing, especially since I am a terrible speller. (I know I have spell check, but you have to get close enough so that the little guy in the computer knows what word it is!)

I wasn’t happy with the sequencing of the book, so I moved chapters around three or four times and took out one whole chapter. Honestly, I still don’t like the beginning, but I had to show Patrick as a kid, and that was the best way I knew how.

Promises Kept took about three months to write, but it flowed and gelled for me right from the beginning.  I never changed any chapters, just added some here and there in the final edit. It too was written in long hand. Now, I am much more comfortable using the computer, but it makes me nervous that I might lose something so I save continuously and back up at the end of each day. Again, I hate all that part. If I could just write and not worry about technology or details, I would be a much happier writer, but as they say, ‘the devil is in the details.” I believe it!

Faith was the catalyst for Keeping Faith

By now, you probably know that Faith is the main character in Promises Kept. (If you would like to download the excerpt, you can by subscribing to my newsletter). Faith was such an easy character to develop because I have known a hundred Faiths. She simply evolved from her East Texas setting, and was actually the catalyst for Keeping Faith.

It is almost impossible to separate the two books because everything is so interwoven. As you follow the blog for the next few months, you will see that I now discuss both books, almost interchangeably at times, because of the characters they share. But that is where the similarities end because each novel is an entirely different story.

Faith was the beginning and the end of Keeping Faith, but she was so much more. The title itself took its name from her character although it was somewhat a double entendre because the name of the book could also be interpreted as referring to Patrick’s faith. Whatever symbolism the reader chooses, Faith is part of the bigger picture. She is and was the glue that held Patrick, Sue, and Alice together over time and place.

So why was Faith easy to portray and others more difficult to develop? There was no single person in my background named or identified as Faith. Instead, she represents so many East Texas women who are strong and determined and even aggressive sometimes. So often, females from small, rural settings are seen as needy and weak. I wanted to change that image with Faith because many of the women I have known from that part of the world are anything but. They are perfect examples of steel magnolias. Perhaps, that characteristic was innate in Faith; maybe it was strengthened by her adversities; the reader can decide.

Send Me Your Picture With Keeping Faith

As we embark on the publishing of novel two, Promises Kept, I am going to change my blogging a bit, but never fear; it will better than before and a little more all encompassing. As you can see the web site is already undergoing some changes so that is a start to the new look and feel. I will continue to highlight some of my life experiences and travels on a regular basis, but beginning this week, the main focus will be on my books.

Some of you have asked why I write, how I develop my characters, where the settings will be and so forth. So, I will try to answers those questions, plus a whole lot more. Also, I plan to put more excerpts from both books as a “tease.” See, my goal is for you to really want to read everything I write!!!

I want you to be impatient and anxious to read the next book or blog. So, for the next several months I will weave information about the books and all things related into a couple of blogs a week. I will have three blogs a week, coming out Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, giving you Saturday and Sunday to catch up—and me too!!

The Monday blog will be book related; the Wednesday blog will generally be about something going on in my life and similar to what you have been used to reading, and the Friday blog will be devoted to an excerpt from Keeping Faith. Starting next Friday, the book will be serialized in snippets beginning at the Prologue. But, if you are planning to read the whole book that way, you better have loads of patience, because it may take up to a year to finish. See, once again, it is to get you interested or refresh your memory, not to replace buying the book. But, if you are cheap and in no hurry, enjoy!!!

Hopefully, these changes will help broaden my audience to include those curious about my plots, characters and process of writing. I promise to make the blogs interesting and light. You know by now that I have to have humor spread about in heavy doses. After all, if it isn’t fun for you or me, there isn’t much sense in having a blog.

As I make these changes, I would love to have your input, along with direct questions that you might have for me concerning the books. You can write your questions and/or suggestions in the comment section of the blog. I will either answer it there or in a subsequent blog.

The most important people in this process are those of you have been my loyal readers, and therefore, I want you to like what you read and continue to support this endeavor, which is so important to me. Also, I would love for you to email me pictures of you holding or reading my book or upload them to my Facebook Fan Page, and I will feature you in a blog. Don’t be bashful. Be the first!!

Promises Kept by Cindy Bradford

Thought you might like to know that the sequel has gone to press, and the waiting begins. No wonder my hair is falling out! Now it’s anybody’s guess when it will actually be released, but if it follows a similar timeframe as Keeping Faith, then hopefully it will be out by mid-April. Here’s another sneak preview…

PROMISES KEPT is Faith’s story—the story of an unforgettable young woman whose life’s journey has been filled with uncertainty, of searching for people and answers that others take for granted. Compassionate, courageous, strong-willed and persistent, she never gives up, showing strength, commitment and character beyond her years. It is also the story about the power of the human spirit, of family and friends and love.

Determination and grit are the two forces that propel Faith O’Brien. After finding the father she never knew and graduating law school, her only focus is bringing down the priest who abused her father as a child. She wants revenge for the demons he alone created. She wants him so far behind bars that no other young boy will ever have to fear his touch. And to do this, she, the neophyte attorney, is willing to take on a veteran, highly experienced and shrewd Boston lawyer who will go to any means to win a case. But, he underestimates her passion for justice, her fight for right against a wrong.

Because to her, there is nothing more crucial, more important, more pressing than this cause… until she meets and falls madly in love with Tyler England. Soon, her fighting instincts are called on like never before. Only this time her intelligence, perseverance and resolve may not be enough.

Promises Kept is the second book in a two-part series. It is written as a sequel, but can also stand alone.

New Year's Eve 2010

We’ve said good bye to one year and hello to another, and I have mixed emotions. 2009 was a good year, so it makes me nervous to give it up. Let’s just hope 2010 is even better. I used to hope the New Year would bring prosperity, and although that would be nice, at this stage I pray for good health. To me, good health is prosperity. Those of you under 40 will understand this sooner than you think. And just in case hoping and praying aren’t enough, I have my Black-eyed peas cooking. A couple of years ago I added cabbage because someone told me it was a food for good luck as well. Although I’m not usually the superstitious type, I’m not taking any chances.

I always feel sorry for my northern counterparts around this time because once when I mentioned eating Black-eyed peas, etc. to some of them, they looked at me as though I was crazier than they already believed me to be. What do these people do to ensure a lucky and prosperous year? I mean, they already aren’t too lucky because they aren’t southern, so why would they want to risk any other fate? Maybe they have some “lucky” food on the other side of the Mason-Dixon Line, but I haven’t heard of it.

And let’s not forget the champagne. I couldn’t have New Year’s Eve without a flute of the fizzy stuff to bring in 2010. Moderation is the operative word here because the last thing I wanted was a headache when I woke up this morning. Oh, have I gotten so much smarter in my old age?

So to you, my readers and friends, I wish you the very best year ever. I toast to your good fortune, and thank you for your support. 2010 will bring Promises Kept. I’m excited, and hope you share that with me.

And don’t forget to make those resolutions!!! Do as I say, not as I do. I mean, how many times can one person resolve to lose the same 10 pounds?