Cindy Bradford's Author Blog
This past weekend was the Redfish Rodeo, a fishing tournament here on the island that includes fisherwomen from all over the U.S. and even a team from Canada. Although we have numerous tournaments, only a few are for women only, which makes them sort of unique. [Read more…] about Redfish Rodeo Revisited
I hope you have enjoyed my first two books and are anxious to read Coyote Smart, which hopefully will be released in early December—just in time for Christmas. If you read Keeping Faith and Promises Kept, you’ll find out what Faith has been doing in the last several years since the second book ended. Plus, you’ll get to know new characters as they develop along the pages, especially the cruel and ruthless Maxwell Ridgeway III.
Like my other books, this is a work of fiction, and although it too deals with a delicate and a controversial topic like the first novel, it is meant to be a literary adaption of life at the border, not a manifesto about a political or social issue.
Clearly, illegal immigration is a multi-faceted and very complex matter to say the least, and, unfortunately, it has become a subject that divides folks across the nation. There are, however, far too many pieces in the immigration puzzle for me to try to solve it, even if I were smart enough, which I’m not. So, in this novel I don’t attempt to offer solutions to the problem except to indicate a need to secure the border and punish the human smugglers, known as coyotes in the states and polleros in Mexico.
Instead, I do try through words to portray a picture of lives touched by the complicated border dilemma. To do this I have created characters who reflect the best of the best, along with those who are truly flawed, all engaged in an intricate plot of survival.
This is a story that starts out about life and death along the U.S./Mexican border, but it is not confined to a 2,000 mile stretch of unforgiving land and broken dreams. Instead, it takes you on a long and winding journey where the weak and strong collide, good and bad meet, reason outlasts power, and love is stronger than the forces of evil.
Cindy Bradford
After the next two days in Innsbruck Patrick headed south to the walled city of Assisi, birthplace of St. Francis, and then on to southern Italy. He didn’t detrain in Rome, but rather continued on to Monte Cassino to view the monastery and abbey, perched high above the valley. Then it was on to Pompeii.
For the next two weeks, Patrick took in the sights of Capri and Sorrento, impressed with the rocky rose-tinted coastline of Capri and the charm of Sorrento, situated on a plateau high above the waters of the Bay of Naples. [Read more…] about Keeping Faith Chapter 10 Part II
Today marks the ninth anniversary of the collapse of the Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway, the bridge to South Padre Island from the mainland. I remember it well for a number of reasons, but primarily because it came so soon after 9/11 that at first we all thought terrorists might have started taking out bridges. [Read more…] about Remembering the Bridge Collapse
Although Coyote Smart is a novel, it was very important to me to deal with the subject of illegal immigration and human smuggling in a factual way. I wanted to be certain that I portrayed events correctly in order to create an accurate picture of the border and its current hazards. Granted, research is essential in writing any novel, but this particular subject seemed to require even further attention. [Read more…] about Researching Illegal Immigration & Human Smuggling
Cindy Bradford
It took Patrick only ten minutes to walk from the train to the Duomo. Stefano had suggested an inexpensive place to stay nearby and knowing the hotels fill quickly in peak season, he had called ahead for Patrick. Looking at the prices, Patrick thought it cost more than it should have, but the location was excellent. His room was small and clean though somewhat tired from the countless other tourists who had obviously selected this no-frills place for a number of years. Dropping off his two bags, he realized he was hungry. From his research, he had learned that Florence was the perfect city for walking, with the centro storico practically car-free. Finding a place to eat lunch took only minutes because small food stands were everywhere. He selected one that had a vacant place to stand and ordered Chianti and Panini, deciding a quick sandwich would be an easy and cheap lunch. Tonight he could splurge and sit down for a nice quiet meal. His plan was to see inside the Duomo. Noticing that an English speaking tour was about to begin, he rushed to join the group. [Read more…] about Keeping Faith Chapter 10 Part I
