When I was encouraged to become a writer, I thought, What am I going to write about? And then things just started exploding in my head. While I experimented, I read nearly thirty books on how to write. I Realized something odd: I was doing nearly all the things the experts said to do, and not doing what they said not to. In my youth, I never gave writing a thought as a profession because it always came naturally to me and I never believed anything easy was worthy.
I'm glad I had to quit my corporate job, because I can now do something I've always loved to do: tell stories. I can remember trying to get out of punishments for some (minor) infractions when I was a child, so I would tell a whopping tale, making it up as I went along. I always wondered why my father’s lips; I never realized he was trying to keep from laughing. Then he would say, “Is that the truth?” I learned quickly that if I ’fessed up and admitted it was just a story, I usually got off pretty lightly. I realized then that if you're entertaining, people are liable to forgive a lot of misdemeanors.
I see the world as one great, big plot line. I naturally pay attention to my surroundings; to what's happening, and what people are doing (or not doing). People intrigue me as I try to imagine what they're thinking, what just happened before I saw them, and where they're going.
Of course, I have to throw in paranormal activity in these musings. Most lives are mundane, but they become downright exciting when you toss in a cosmic oddity or an antagonist with special powers.
If I am so lucky, I can envision writing the rest of my life and never run out of material. Articles in financial magazines have hidden treasures bubbling just below the surface; a cookbook can become a subplot to a fascinating mystery; a pharmacy holds frightening poisons that just needs a genius sociopath to bring about mayhem.
So if you're looking to write a story, listen to sounds of life around you, to cars flying by on the highway, to malls with endless stores, and people who exhale the very life of a great novel.
CHOSEN BY Paula BRADLEY
July 5, 2011
Have you ever wished you had superhuman abilities - a six sense? An ability to fly? Superior strength? The shy and introverted Mariah Adele Carpenter sure doesn't! The talent of clairvoyance that plagued her since childhood has been carefully concealed by her mother to prevent marking her a paranormal freak.
In Paula Bradley's heart-pounding debut novel CHOSEN, Mariah's faith, perceptions, and sanity are put to the test. After a suicide attempt, her powers can no longer be concealed. Mariah thought the woes of her powers would be extinguished by taking her life, but somehow a mysterious being saves her and sets her on a journey.
The supernatural rescue enhances Mariah's extrasensory power so much that she becomes a person of interest to the FBI, another government agency, and the media. She can't escape the intensifying outer turmoil and she quickly finds herself tormented by nightmares and an obsession of trying to find the ambiguous character that haunts her dreams. This page-turning thriller is a trip for the reader as well as the gripping danger and unexplained happenings challenge their own beliefs on the nature of faith and the value of discovery.
Is Mariah's gift a blessing or a curse? You decide!
In Paula Bradley's heart-pounding debut novel CHOSEN, Mariah's faith, perceptions, and sanity are put to the test. After a suicide attempt, her powers can no longer be concealed. Mariah thought the woes of her powers would be extinguished by taking her life, but somehow a mysterious being saves her and sets her on a journey.
The supernatural rescue enhances Mariah's extrasensory power so much that she becomes a person of interest to the FBI, another government agency, and the media. She can't escape the intensifying outer turmoil and she quickly finds herself tormented by nightmares and an obsession of trying to find the ambiguous character that haunts her dreams. This page-turning thriller is a trip for the reader as well as the gripping danger and unexplained happenings challenge their own beliefs on the nature of faith and the value of discovery.
Is Mariah's gift a blessing or a curse? You decide!
Want to win a finished copy?
It's easy. Just leave a comment for Paula along with your email address.
Official Rules: Must be 13 years or older to enter. Contest is open to entrants with a valid U.S. Mailing address only. Ends 8/1
