Author Ann Brady, who writes historical fiction and also engaging children’s books, is my guest today on Last Word of the Week. Ann is a wonderful mentor of other writers and her caring and wise attitude can be seen in many of her books. She is adept at creating engaging characters and attractive worlds. Ann lives in Cardiff but has been known to visit antipodean shores…
LWOTW: Hello Ann, how nice to meet you. Can you tell us about when you first realised that you are a writer?
Ann: I’m not really sure when the idea of being a writer first came to me. I have always been able to write whether it be fiction or fact. Perhaps that’s down to my open mind and my wild imagination as well as my being pedantic in wanting to research things deeply and clearly. I do know I have always been able to write.
I love the combination of an open mind and a wild imagination! Do you rely more on imagination, dreams, or planning?
I take whatever life throws at me. Sounds silly but for me life delivers such wonderful scenarios that you only need to use your own imagination to create stories. For example, many of the Little Friends Children Picture Book Stories come from my having seen children’s reactions or behaviours. Children are wonderful sources for stories.
Endlessly inspiring, I agree. What’s the highlight of your writing career so far?
Everyday. I just love being part of the writing world. More so in recent years as I have learnt so much more in relation to publishing. Mentoring other writers, especially younger ones, has been a delight and there is nothing more satisfactory than seeing the look of delight on a youngster’s face when they see their work in print. Even someone as young as five.
That’s wonderful! What are you most looking forward to at the moment?
Developing my knowledge and passing this on through the new workshops that I am creating. Unlike a lot of people, I believe in sharing and am not jealous of their success. Perhaps that due to my age or just the fact that I have achieved so much I am happy in my own skin.
Great to hear. I’d love to hear more about those workshops. If you could say one thing to aspiring writers, what would it be?
Persevere, be patient and grow a thick skin. There are a lot of people out there who are very willing to be criticise thinking they know the answers and yet they haven’t got a clue. If they had they would be the ones I would be saying this to.
Oh, yes, a thick skin is very necessary! And finally: Who would you be if you were a fictional character?
Wow this was a hard one as I’m not sure who I would be. I think it would have to be a woman who is as strong as I am now. Who doesn’t put up with any nonsense and one who could be successful regardless of the time or era she lived in? If I were a factual character, I suppose the closest I could come might be Queen Elizabeth 1 or maybe Queen Victoria. Both were strong no nonsense women determined to be equal to men. Now that sounds a bit weird, even to me ha ha!!
It sounds like a very good choice to me! Thank you so much Ann for speaking with me today.
Ann’s important links:
Twitter: @AnnBradyWriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnBradyBooks