Interview with A.L. Bryant, Author of Blessed: The Prodigal Daughter

A.L. Bryant was born and raised in St. Petersburg FL. She became interested in writing at an early age; an interest that depending on the circumstance brought punishment (detention for passing out the latest installment of her novella during class) and praise (being chosen for a youth writers conference at the Poynter Institute.)  A.L. Bryant gets her inspiration from both her mother and her Great Grandmother. Her mother recently published an inspirational children’s book under a pseudonym and her great grandmother is South Carolina’s first published African-American female author and playwright.

Until recently writing had simply been a pastime for A.L. Bryant who although she attended several writing courses, graduated with a B.A. in International Business. It was shortly after her second job as a Financial Office Manager at a Goodwill correctional facility that she realized she loved writing more than anything else. It would still be some years before she would convert the short story she wrote in college into a novel.

Besides writing, A.L. Bryant loves traveling the world. God has blessed her with the opportunity to visit a total of seven countries. She has studied abroad in Seoul and has traveled throughout Kenya; two locations she researched for her Blessed series. Her dream is to visit every country in the world.

Her latest book is the supernatural Christian thriller horror novel, Blessed: The Prodigal Daughter.

SOCIAL LINKS:                                                      

Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/ALBryantHSW

Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100029069148653

About the Book:

On New Year’s Eve 2021 the staff at St. Ann’s Hospital witness a medical miracle when a semi-conscious woman walks into the emergency room. The Jane Doe has been stabbed multiple times and as the staff struggle to keep the woman alive in the end all they can do is stand back and watch as

their mysterious patient revives herself.

Glory wakes up in St. Ann’s Hospital gravely injured from an attack she cannot remember. However, her memory loss is no ordinary amnesia and she is no ordinary patient. Much to the shock of the hospital staff Glory heals at three times the rate of an average person. Soon the administration hears of her unique case and waste no time convincing the recovering Glory to be a part of an experiment to discover the origins of her power.

Once outside the comforting walls of the hospital it becomes apparent that healing is just a small portion of Glory’s capabilities. Abilities that to Glory’s distress are becoming increasingly unstable. Deciding that the hospital’s experiments are in vain, Glory embarks on her own Journey to discover the source of her power, unaware that she is a major pawn in a war between two secret organizations.

The two syndicates continue to clash in their fight for control and their battles result in several casualties. The crimes of their warfare surface and draw the attention of Dennis Wilson, a NYPD Detective known for solving his cases in the first forty-eight hours. Dennis follows the trail of bodies out of curiosity. But when his curiosity causes the deaths of his loved ones Detective Dennis becomes obsessed with the case.

In his overzealous attempts to find the murderer Dennis becomes the syndicates’ next target. Now the Detective must run for his life and the only person capable of saving him is the very person he suspects.

Blessed: The Prodigal Daughter is a hybrid of government espionage and supernatural Thriller. This novel is intended for audiences 18+ that seek an edgier outlook on Christian fiction. Blessed: The Prodigal Daughter is the first installment of the Blessed trilogy.

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What’s inside the mind of a Supernatural/Paranormal Thriller author? 

Too many wacky things to unpack.

What is so great about being an author? 

Getting to be creative, really expanding your mind.

When do you hate it? 

When I confront the business side of things.

What is a regular writing day like for you? 

Wake up, grab a cup of coffee, brainstorm for several minutes without touching a keyboard or a pen and paper. Then I sit down and just write a bunch of words. The first couple of sentences or the first paragraph I can usually toss, it’s gibberish but the rest has substance. I always have music (with no words) blasting in the background to keep my brain engaged and there is also a lot of pacing involved.

How do you handle negative reviews? 

I have been blessed to not have any truly negative reviews yet. But I knew that was a possibility when I decided to publish. I have prepared myself. My strategy is to take the parts of the review that have merit and learn from it. Everything else I approach with the understanding that not everybody likes everything and you cannot please everyone.

How do you handle positive reviews? 

You mean after I stop being giddy and reading the review over and over? Same thing I do with negative critique, isolate what works and develop it.

What is the usual response when you tell a new acquaintance that you’re an author? 

I haven’t really been able to go out much since publishing. I have been working nonstop to advertise the novel. I haven’t had the pleasure yet of telling new acquaintances I am a published author.

What do you do on those days you don’t feel like writing? Do you force it or take a break? 

That all depends if I have been in a funk for a while, I’ll force it. If I’ve been productive but for whatever reason I just can’t get in a creative mood then I will take a break.

Any writing quirks? 

Yes. It ties in with the previous question. If I’ve been writing for a while and it’s just . . . not good. I will often switch to another method of writing. So, if I tried writing on my laptop and nothing is coming to me, I will switch to pen and paper and vice versa. Works every time.

What would you do if people around you didn’t take your writing seriously or see it as a hobby? 

I am very fortunate. I have the kind of family that if I say I’m gonna travel to another galaxy they would say, that’s great! Can we ride along?! However, if I did not have that support system, I believe that I would still be a writer. It would just take me A LOT longer to achieve that goal. Writing to me is an undeniable passion, but I would not be where I am today if not for my family and fiancée.

Some authors seem to have a love-hate relationship to writing. Can you relate? 

I love writing. I hate publishing.

Do you think success as an author must be linked to money? 

THAT, is an amazing question! The idealist in me wants to say no, but the pragmatist in me says; earning money allows you to devote yourself completely to your craft and I would argue that devoting yourself to writing will only make your writing stronger. So, in that sense . . . yes. However, if millions of people read and LOVE your book, without paying one cent, I could also argue that bringing enjoyment to millions of people is also a success.

What has writing taught you? 

That it’s ok to be me. It’s ok, nay it is WONDERFUL to be odd!

Leave us with some words of wisdom. 

Wisdom is a precious quality worth acquiring but not squandering