On Friday, April 20, the writing students of Janet Brueggeman’s Brookwood High School Creative Writing class will have an opportunity to meet and speak with a published author and get some first-hand tips on writing and the publishing business.  Author Laurel Bradley will spend the first hour talking with students about writing, publishing, and following their dreams.  The rest of the day, Bradley will be talking one-to-one with budding authors about their specific writing projects.  She will critique their work and offer advice on taking their writing to the next level.

What brings Bradley to Brueggeman’s class?  The two have been close friends for twenty-five years, and Brueggeman edited Bradley’s newly released A Wish in Time. The book is a romantic time-travel about how the quest for a child causes two women to magically switch places in time. 

Bradley has not only writing but also teaching experience.  She taught English at the Eau Claire Academy before turning her attention to getting published.  “Writing is a long process—from concept to publication it may take years before an author sees her book in print,” says Bradley.  It took her ten years to get her first book on the market.  And it wasn’t the first book she’d written, either.  A Wish in Time is the sixth book she’d completed.  “I couldn’t have done it without Janet’s help,” Bradley says of Brueggeman to whom the book is dedicated.  

Brueggeman relates that it has been “an exciting process to watch the stories grow from conception to publication.  I’m so proud of her.”

“Don’t give up.  Dreams require work,” Bradley tells students.  “Keep taking that next step.”  Bradley hopes to give students a leg up in the industry.  “If I can help them strengthen their writing skills and show them how to avoid some of the rookie mistakes, I’ll be happy,” she says.

Her career has accelerated since publication.  A Wish in Time won both i-Universe’s Editor’s Choice and Publishers Choice Awards.  “I’ve been getting very positive feedback,” Bradley says of the reviews in Antigo Daily Journal and several independent on-line review sites like Heartstring Review where Cheryl Jeffries writes, “A Wish in Time is a must-read for fans of twisting, turning, wish-fulfilling romances.  Laurel Bradley is an author of intriguing invention and has a definite talent for investing deep emotion into her writing and characters.”

In the last month, one of Bradley’s manuscripts became a finalist in Valley Forge Romance Writer’s of America’s Shelia Contest, and two of her other novels have been requested by other publishers.  Her website www.laurelbradley.com contains links to reviews, excerpts and a contest to win a free book. 

Bradley expressed excitement about her visit:  “I’m looking forward to sharing what I’ve learned and helping these young authors pursue their dreams.”  A Wish in Time is available at local public libraries in the Norwalk-Ontario-Wilton area.