Have you ever wondered what your favorite authors are doing when they aren't writing those wonderful cozy mysteries that we love so much?

Do they have other jobs, hobbies, hidden talents?

Now you can find out!

 

They're going to be sharing all sorts of things that they do when they're not writing.

Today's special guest author is 

Laura Bradford

Laura is the national bestselling author of several mystery series, including the Emergency Dessert Squad Mysteries, the Amish Mysteries, the Jenkins & Burns Mysteries, and the brand new Tobi Tobias Mysteries. She is a former Agatha Award nominee, and the recipient of an RT Reviewer’s Choice Award in romance. When she’s not writing, Laura enjoys making memories with her family, baking, and being an advocate for those living with Multiple Sclerosis.

To learn more, visit her website: www.laurabradford.com, or hang out with her on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/laurabradfordauthor/?fref=ts. She can also be found occasionally tweeting at: @Bradfordauthor.  

When I’m Not Writing

By Laura Bradford

(Author of DEATH IN ADVERTISING—Tobi Tobias Mystery #1)

When Lisa invited me here to share something I do when I’m not writing, I wasn’t sure what I could say. I love to decorate cakes…but other than for one of my kids’ birthdays, I haven’t done much of that lately. I love to take pictures…but other than special moments with the kids I capture with my phone, I haven’t taken pictures just to take pictures in a long time. I love to work on family albums…but I’m eight years behind on that project and no opportunity to change that.

And then I remembered my plan—my plan to resurrect those parts of me that have been shoved to the side over the past eight plus years.

First, some background:

When I’m actively working on a new book (which has pretty much been the case for the past eight years), I tend to be singularly focused. Which, translated, means that’s my only creative outlet. Any reading-for-pleasure time I have happens while working out at the gym, and the rest of my time is filled up with regular life—ie, family time and chores.

Back in the fall, during a particularly difficult time, I had to find a way to get through my next two contractual deadlines. The carrot I gave myself (on the advice of a dear friend) to do what needed to be done was that I could step back when the second book was sent and look at what I want/need. So I got to work and wrote the next two books (as well as a want-to proposal for something else). And along the way, I had an epiphany of sorts—something that came to me when I opened my eyes one morning and hasn’t left my heart since that moment.

And now, the plan:

This summer, after eight years of writing between three and four books a year (sometimes five), I’m taking some time off. Two full months, as a matter of fact. And just like that first day of a new book, when I sit down in front of a completely blank screen, those two months are wide open, waiting for a story to be told.

Only this time, instead of another installment in one of my series, this story is going to be part of my own bigger story.  

I don’t know all the things I want to do yet. I’m still figuring that out. But I know I want to laugh, and smile, and smell the proverbial roses more than I have been. Life hasn’t been easy the past decade or so. Sure there have been amazing moments during that time that I wouldn’t trade for anything, but I’ve been so busy I’m not sure I enjoyed those special moments like I truly wanted to. So now I’m going to enjoy…and savor…and discover new things about myself.

A few things I’m toying with:

*Getting caught up on my photo albums.

*Perhaps taking an art class.

*Teaching myself some songs on my daughter’s keyboard.

*Hiking.

*Baking.

*Making memories with my family.

*Lots of walks.

*Time spent sitting on a quiet beach…looking out over the ocean and simply dreaming.

It’s not a finite list by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s a start. And it makes me smile just thinking about it.

Now it’s your turn. If you took some time to get in touch with yourself again, what are some things that might be on your list?

📕📖📘📚📙📖📗

***

Death in Advertising, book # 1, in the Tobi Tobias Mysteries is now available wherever you buy E-books (a trade paperback is also available).

When Tobi Tobias decided to open her own ad agency, having to moonlight in a pet shop wasn’t part of her vision . . . of course, neither was murder.

Sometimes when opportunity knocks, the door you open leads to a closet. That’s certainly the case for Tobi, whose weekends spent cleaning cages in her best friend’s pet shop may soon be over. She’s just landed her first big break—Zander Closet Company needs a catchy campaign slogan ASAP, and Tobi thinks she’s got the right hook to knock ’em dead: “When we’re done, even your skeletons will have a place.”

But when a real dead body topples out of a showcase closet, she’s about to discover there is such a thing as bad publicity. To save her fledgling business and not get killed by the competition, Tobi takes on a new pet project: solving the murder. But with a stressed-out parrot as the only witness to the crime, Tobi will really have to wing it to put the cagey killer behind bars.

I want to thank Laura for letting us take a peek into what she does when she's not writing. 

You can thank Laura too by reading and reviewing her books. You'll love all of her mysteries!

📙📖📗📚📘📖📕

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