First of all, I would like to thank Mr. Jon Bradbury for taking the time to participate in this interview.  Now, on to the questions...

Your book COLORBLIND is available at eXtasy books, can you tell us about it?

COLORBLIND is a love story about two people who meet by accident, but at just the right time in their lives. It isn't meant to be heavy or to explore weighty social issues, but it does address how the people in each of the main character's lives react when they get into an interracial relationship.

What inspired you to write interracial stories?

What inspired me was that I suddenly realized how beautiful black women were -- not just black women, but also Spanish women. It sort of gave me freedom to branch out.

I noticed that you said that you've been writing since high school, what drew you to writing in the first place?

My English teacher sort of got me to realize I was good at writing. He even signed my yearbook, "Keep up your excellent writing!" Originally I wasn't particularly drawn to writing, but the feedback I got from teachers, friends, etc., made me realize.

How does a character come to life for you?

First I develop their personality and gender. It's very strange -- the personality seems to develop all on it's own all at once. Deciding what the character looks like can some times be difficult -- short and busty, tall and skinny, blonde, brunette, red head .... so many choices, so little time.

Do you have a special ritual to get you in a writing mode? 

I do try to keep a writing schedule, but sometimes an idea strikes me in the middle of doing some thing else LOL, and so I hold on to that idea until I can write it out. The idea for COLORBLIND took a while to fully develop.

Computer or pen and paper?

Computer, definitely computer. It makes things so much easier, like if I want to rename a primary character -- over and over again LOL.

Do you write to music?  Is there a specific type of music that you listen to for different stories or characters?

I do like to listen to music when I am writing, it helps me concentrate. I listen to R&B to write love scenes, Rock and Roll for action scenes.

What other media inspires you?

Excellent question! Movies in particular inspire me, and also to help me visualize a story. I also like to pick up magazines, for new women to visualize, although I find myself buying Maxim and Stuff less and less, and buying Smooth and Black Men more and more LOL. I also buy women's magazines from time to time, for research. Even reading other author's books inspire me, although I use my own ideas.

How do you come up with story ideas? Do you draw inspiration from your life? 

My story ideas are sometimes taken from either something that happened to me, or something that happened to someone else, although I tweak them a little for artistic purposes. Other times ideas just spring out of my head out of nowhere.

Do you have any other titles out or in progress? Can you tell us about them? 

Right now I have two titles in the Tarot series that will be coming out some time this year. The first is called DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, which is listed in the Coming Soon page. The second is called A FOOTBALL PLAYER’S WIFE, which is about a black woman who decides to have an affair with another man after she is snubbed by her husband.

I also have some new stories in progress. One is about a police officer who saves the life of a prominent politician and earns the "gratitude" of his wife. The other is about a man who literally bumps into a beauiful Latin woman one day. Both are being written in the COLORBLIND style.

 
Thank you again for taking the time to answer these questions.  Mr. Bradbury's book, COLORBLIND, can be found here.



Interviewed by: Serena