Blogger ∙ Anne Bradshaw - Books

Anne Bradshaw is our blogger for the Books Block of yourLDSneighborhood. As an author, books hold a near and dear place to my heart, so I absolutely love Anne's section of the Neighborhood. You can find Anne's book reviews in the Newsstand on the Books Block.

Anne Bradshaw, born in Caernarvon, Wales, grew up in England. She is the author of three published novels Terracotta Summer, its sequel, Chamomile Winter, and Please, No Zits! & Other Short Stories for LDS Youth. A feature screenplay she co-authored with Jeanne McKinney (The Ardanea Pendant), recently won first place (fantasy/sci-fi genre) in the International Family Film Festival - Hollywood, CA. Anne also co-authored another feature screenplay, Season of Fire, and two non-fiction books, Writing Secrets, and Publishing Secrets. In addition, she has written countless magazine and internet articles.

Anne took a little time to answer a few questions for us so that you could get to know her better.

1. What brought you to the Blogging World and what is your favorite thing about blogging?

Tristi Pinkston got me started. She recommended blogging as a good marketing tool for my newly published book, Please, No Zits! & Other Short Stories for LDS Youth. I was hooked after a couple of weeks.

I love the way I can do what I want with my blog, and share with others some of the many things that interest me. I like to think that if something helps me, then it will also help others.

2. What intrigues you the most about blogging for yourLDSneighborhood?

Apart from the fact that I really like the people who work for LDSneighborhood, I have to be honest and admit that extra exposure for my writing is always a bonus. I'm particularly intrigued to discover how many extra visitors my blog gets when an article appears.

3. What is your favorite thing about yourLDSneighborhood?

I like the diverse subjects covered in the online magazine, and love peeking in all the little stores on the website and seeing what's new.

4. Tell us a little about yourself: What your likes, dislikes, hobbies, hopes, dreams, etc . . .

I was born and raised in England, married there, and reared our four children there. I'm one of three children, and have lived in more homes in England and Wales than I can remember. Life has never been boring. We now have friends all over the world.

I love to read, write, draw, take photographs, listen to soothing music, watch good movies, do genealogy, and grow herbs and vegetables. There's nothing quite like green beans cooked straight from the garden, and served with fresh mint leaves.

My hopes and dreams involve our children and grandchildren. It would be wonderful if they could all some day live in the same State. I would also love to see the screenplays I'm currently co-authoring being made into blockbuster movies, for the promotion of strong principles and spiritual power as opposed to witchcraft.

5. Tell us something unique about yourself.

I suppose the most unique thing about me is that I'm a transplant from England, living in Utah, and fulfilling my writing dreams.

6. What has been your greatest challenge to date?

Moving from England to America, and leaving behind extended family; so many good friends; AND quick access to the sea.

7. What books/projects/songs are you working on right now?

I'm currently co-authoring the sequel to the award-winning fantasy screenplay, The Ardanea Pendant (set in Dublin, Ireland). I'm also waiting to hear from a publisher regarding my YA Sci-Fi mystery, and about to begin writing a sequel to that.

8. What obstacles have you run into?

There are always obstacles to whatever good thing we want to achieve in life. Mine include arthritis; and many house moves, which disturb the creative flow, and cause disruptions of monster proportions. In addition, authors of books and screenplays are at the bottom of the heap when it comes to financial recognition. This must be the lowest paid job in the universe--as in zero wage most of the time.

Then there are publishers and producers who send polite rejections letters, book stores with too little shelf space, and time-consuming marketing, which detracts from writing time.

9. What advice do you have all the browsers in Blogland?

I would suggest they click on whatever Feed link a blogger has that will advise when a new post is ready on their favorite blog.

Also, set up a Toolbar if using Mozilla Firefox, which allows readers to drag their favorite blogs onto it, and makes them available all the time. Joining Google Reader also helps keep track of favorite pages.

Stick with blogs you know are safe, and determine never to stray into questionable areas.

10. If you had three minutes to give advice to someone headed into danger, what would it be?

If by accident you arrive at a site you didn't intend to visit, my advice would be to immediately click the site off, then come out of any running programs, and switch off the hard drive. When restarting the computer, do an immediate virus scan before recommencing work.

Anne, thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts with us. Everyone, please be sure to drop by the Books Block of the Neighborhood and read up on Anne's Reading Recommendations.