Interview with mystery author Bradley Wright

Mystery author Bradley Wright is under the spotlight today as he talks to me a little bit about his debut novel, Old Gold Mountain.

During his virtual book tour, Bradley will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card to a lucky, randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too.

Welcome, Bradley. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am a writer and educational technology professional. I lived in San Francisco for the past fifteen years but recently moved to Los Angeles with my wife and five-year-old son. My first book Old Gold Mountain is out now. Buy it at Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Also available through Apple iBooks, Google Play, and Indigo.

***The book will be $0.99 during the tour.***

Please share a little bit about your debut novel.

It is a mystery/thriller that is centered around a stolen painting and the protagonist’s attempts to recover the painting. Justin, the protagonist, is an artist but he secretly supports himself by stealing art. He is a highly accomplished cat burglar. When a friend of his has a valuable painting stolen, Justin agrees to help track it down.

What inspired you to write this book?

I began writing when my son was born and I no longer had time to paint. I’ve always needed an artistic outlet in my life. Writing was something I could do whenever I had a few minutes free. I wrote a lot of this book on my phone. The idea for the book came to me when I was riding my bike to work one day in downtown San Francisco. That was several years before I actually began writing but the idea kept bouncing around in my head. Finally, I sat down and wrote a detailed outline.


Excerpt from Old Gold Mountain:

“What happened to that painting you used to have above the bed?” I asked.

“Above the bed? I didn’t—” Val turned, stopped speaking, breath caught.

A moment later, she whirled, flipped on the light switch, jumped onto the bed, and placed her hands on the wall above the headboard. In the light, I noticed there was a picture hanger still nailed into the wall and a square of slightly brighter paint where the painting had hung. She ran her hands over the bare wall then turned to look at me. Her eyes were manic, her body tense. “Tell me this is some kind of joke, Justin.”

“No joke,” I replied. “Was it there when you left for the gallery?”

“Yes, I think so.” She stepped down off the bed and started frantically pacing the room, looking everywhere. “I’m sure it was.”

“Did you have cleaners scheduled today?”

“No. They come on Wednesdays.”

“Did you leave your balcony door open?”

She looked at me, suddenly focusing. “No. I never leave it open.”

“It was open when we came in. Was it locked?”

“Maybe not. I don’t know. I was in a hurry.”

“Let’s see if anything else is missing,” I said, turning toward the door.

Valerie grabbed my arm, pulling me around to face her. “I don’t care if anything else is missing.” She was on the brink of tears, a tight, almost hysterical, edge to her voice. She raised her hands, placed them over her ears, shaking her head back and forth. “I don’t care. That painting is the only thing I own that I care about, Justin.”

What exciting story are you working on next?
I have completed a young adult science fiction novel that will be published in early 2019 and I recently started work on a sequel to Old Gold Mountain.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I don’t know if I really consider myself a writer. I’ve done a lot of things in my life. I used to be a professional ballet dancer. Since I stopped dancing I’ve always had a day job and pursued artistic hobbies. I painted for several years and was beginning to be mildly successful. So, I think I just consider myself an artist who finds various outlets for that energy.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I have a full-time day job as a technology director and I have a young kid so most of my time when I am not at work is spent playing with him and doing household stuff. I write in the evening after he goes to bed. I am able to devote about 5-10 hours per week to writing. This actually suits me pretty well. If I had more time to write I would just end up procrastinating. With very limited time, I focus more and manage to be highly productive.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I write whole scenes in my head. Sometimes if I’m in a boring meeting or driving in traffic I will plan an entire scene and then later when I have my laptop open I can just transcribe it.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I was a weird kid. I don’t think I had any idea about what I wanted to be. I remember taking one of those aptitude tests when I was in Middle School and it said I should be a forest ranger. I should have followed that advice.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I hope you like my book!

Links:

Website | Twitter | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Apple iBooks | Google Play | Indigo.

Thank you for being a guest on my blog!

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