Fleur Bradley writes everything from crime fiction to young adult novels. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Blue Lady, Versal, Crime and Suspense, Apollo’s Lyre, Myterical-E, S’Speaker, and Tales from the Moonlit Path. Visit her website.

You were born in Heerhugowaard, Netherlands, and have lived in the U.K., North Dakota, California, and now Colorado. What has living in all these different places, among so many different cultures, taught you?

Mostly, I learned that people are essentially the same, whether you’re in Amsterdam, Santa Barbara or North Dakota. On the flip side, I found that your environment decides a lot, too. A Saturday on the California Coast means visiting a few wineries and taking a stroll on the beach. In North Dakota, I’m digging my way out of the snow, and the best entertainment is karaoke night at the local bar. Location decides who you are in many ways, and I use that when I write.

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When I think of the Netherlands, I think of Amsterdam, marijuana, and windmills. Totally cliché, I know. So, tell us about the Netherlands.

We do have windmills, wooden shoes and pot– oh, and lots of other stuff, too. Actually, what I miss a lot about Holland is the museums, the food (french fries with mayo, yum), and the culture.

I’ve lived outside the country for ten years now though, so many things have changed. The Holland I remember isn’t the Holland I visit anymore (or maybe I’ve changed? there’s a book in there somewhere…). The fries and mayo, thankfully, are still as greasy and bad for you as ever.

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You’re currently working on a Y.A. (young adult) novel. What is it about, and where are you in the process?

The novel, entitled “Two-faced,” is about loner Rachel, whose father died in Iraq. Rachel feels like she lives in a bubble of grief until she befriends perfect girl Melody, after half of Melody’s body is burned in a fire.

Melody’s mother died in the fire and her little brother is in intensive care, leaving Melody alone with her uncommunicative father. When the fire is investigated by the police and Melody’s dad gets arrested, Rachel tries to help Melody dig up some family secrets while moving on from her grief.

“Two-faced” is about beauty, friendship and important teen issues like how to get bubblegum out of your hair.

I’m polishing “Two-faced” right now, and I’m expecting the novel to be done in April. It’s been a lot of fun to write, because I get to imagine I’m sixteen again.

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Do you have children of your own in this age group? What do they think of Mommy being a writer?

I have two girls, seven and four years old, so they’re too young to read YA. For now, they think it’s pretty neat that their mom is a writer, but we’ll see if that lasts.

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You’ve been published in several crime/mystery/suspense journals. What draws you to this genre?

I like crime fiction because it’s the ultimate character study. Just ask yourself: under what circumstances would I kill or commit some other crime?

What I like to write about most though is how the crime affects people, especially families. How different people respond when they’re pushed by their environment– and how they often respond in surprising ways.

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I know you’ve written a suspense novel titled “Roots Don’t Lie,” a “story of mothers and daughters, and the secrets we keep to protect the ones we love.” Would you mind talking about your experiences trying to get your book agented? I think a lot of people have been, or are going through, this tough process, myself included. What would you say to people who are just venturing into the agent search?

I started the process very focused on the marketing aspect of finding an agent– I figured that if I got the query letter right, wrote to the right agents, pitched the right way, that it would all work out.

But it’s a tough process, with lots of rejection that really has nothing to do with your writing, most of the time anyway. You just have to keep trying, even if you get form rejection after form rejection.

The funny thing is that in the end, it’s still about the novel. The query process actually encouraged me, because I learned it’s not about my marketing skills, but about how well I write.

I’ve learned to relax a little about the marketing thing, and not try so hard. I still query and work on finding an agent, but I focus on writing first. That’s the fun part anyway. I’ll find the right agent for my work eventually.

It sounds a lot like dating, huh?

My advice to people just starting the agent search would be to work on your novel until you think it’s the best it can be (hopefully this doesn’t involve 10 years or anything like that…). Remember how you feel about yourself and your work when it’s done.

Then query lots of agents, and don’t take the rejections personally. It’s business. Don’t pin your hopes on one Special Agent, because the odds are that you’ll be disappointed.

While you query, work on your next novel. It’ll make you feel far better than if you’re just waiting.

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Your story “Loser,” about a recently widowed man who can’t keep his life straight, is forthcoming in the print journal The Blue Lady, which publishes horror. I love this story, and the character, and though the ending is very, very sad, it is also poignant, and maybe, if you don’t mind me saying so, a little bit funny, too. I see a lot of literary qualities in this story, so I wonder, where do you think the horror genre comes into play?

I’m sneaky when it comes to genre, because I like to mix it up. This particular story has more literary qualities than horror ones, but because it has such a sad ending, I found horror markets more receptive than the literary ones. So it sold to a horror magazine in the end.

I’m amazed sometimes how people dismiss genre writing as if it can have no literary merit. One of my favorite short story collections is Everything’s Eventual by Stephen King– it really shows how diverse genre can be, and how strong on a literary level.

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Who are your favorite genre writers?

Elmore Leonard, Walter Mosley. I like Alice Hoffman, Anita Shreve, and I’ve been discovering YA ever since I started my own YA novel. In YA, I like Jordan Sonnenblick and Sarah Dessen.

I like writers who walk the line between genre and literary, which I do myself.

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You write so widely, I’m curious—what do you read? Take us on a tour of your bookshelves!

I own a lot of literary crime novels and books by Dutch writers like Renate Dorrestein. The Kite Runner was so beautiful (and it’s crime fiction, too, even if it’s not shelved that way), I’ll reread it again soon I’m sure.

I have lots of short story collections, “Best of,” mystery, etc. I started my writing in short fiction, so my heart will always be there, I think. Some of the sharpest writing is done in the short form. I can’t make it through Joyce Carol Oates’ and Stephen King’s novel-length work for instance (sorry Ms. Oates and Mr. King), but I love their short stories.

Short fiction leaves you nowhere to hide.

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In the accompanying photograph, I noticed the necklace you’re wearing. It’s interesting. Is there a story behind it?

People ask me about that necklace all the time, and there’s really no story. I liked it. Maybe I’ll make up a good story someday

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Your name means “flower” in French. What is your favorite flower?

Hmmm. A daisy, I think.

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Contact Fleur

Read:

Breathing Room
published by Apollo’s Lyre

Mall Crawling
published by Mysterical-E

Beautiful
published by Tales from the Moonlit Path




Filed Under: The Writer Profile Project |