A Delightful Treat with Laurel Bradley!

I am so excited to be able to bring you all this interview with Laurel Bradley. Her latest book Creme Brulee Upset is a wonderful treasure.

Hopefully after reading this interview you will be inspired to pick up a copy for yourself.

I appreciate you taking the time to allow me to ask you some questions.
My pleasure.


First off I want to start by saying I loved Crème Brûlée Upset. This is one of the best books I have read so far this year. It was clever, wonderful and all around a great novel.

Thank you, Cheryl. I am delighted that you enjoyed Patrice and Mike’s story. I had a wonderful time writing it.

For readers, who this may be their first time hearing about you. Can you tell them a little bit about your self?

I’m the mother of five children who keep getting older while I don’t. I’m an eclectic reader and writer. I like to sing along with the radio until the kids ask me to stop. When I’m not writing, I enjoy reading, kayaking, and painting with watercolor. You can see one of my paintings on my website http://www.laurelbradley.com/.

If you could meet one person past or present who would that be. Why.

Jesus, because I’d really like to hear him speak, and I have a lot of questions organized religion cannot answer. Or, if I cannot meet with him because everyone else is, I’d like to be a much younger me talking to a mentally sharp senior citizen me. Think of the advice I could give myself. Buy Microsoft. Don’t cry over that schmuck, you’ll marry a great guy. Don’t get that perm, trust me.

What is your idea of a relaxing day?

It would start early. I’d go kayaking when the lake is still as glass and the sun is just peaking over the horizon. I’d come home in time to enjoy a steaming mug of coffee on the dock with my husband. After seeing him off to work and the kids to school, I’d spend the rest of the morning writing. I’d move outside in the afternoon to paint in the sunshine. We’d have an early dinner on the deck, and then I’d watch my husband and kids barefoot water ski until dusk. When the mosquitoes descended, I’d move inside and read while the rest of the family watches television. That would be the perfect relaxing day. You’ll notice it is warm in this fantasy. Presently, I’m looking out the window at a late season blizzard.


Where do you draw your inspirations from? Who are your inspirations?

Everything inspires me. I like to play with ideas. For example, the children’s book I just finished illustrating, The Loons on the Lake, juxtaposes the beautiful common loon with my loony family of barefoot water skiers. David, Doctor Delicious, of Crème Brûlée Upset was inspired by a several guys I worked with at a restaurant during college. A Wish in Time was inspired by a question: what makes a person uniquely his/herself?


Describe your books in one sentence.

Stories so good you’ll ask, “What else has she written?” At least, that my goal.

A Wish in Time –the quest for a child causes two women to unwittingly switch place in time.

Crème Brûlée Upset—Mike Tucker’s just-before-Christmas campaign to win Patrice Wilson’s love involves four nosey parents, three scoops of ice cream, two other suitors and a Don Quixote singing troubadour.


If you could be one of your characters – Who would you be? And why?

Everyone. That is my favorite thing about writing. I get to be all the characters. I get to be the princess, the dragon and the knight. I get to be both Magda and Maggie as they change places in time. I get to be Patrice when she realizes that Mike really loves her. I get to be Mike as he agonizes over his mistakes and struggles to win Patrice back. I get to be David, plotting for and against Mike. I get to be everyone.


Ok, so you have to tell me how you came up with the name Doctor Delicious?

I was eating ice cream, chocolate almond fudge to be exact, and it just came to me. Something like this: Chocolate…mmm…delicious. Ice cream is so therapeutic. Hmmm…ice cream as therapy. An ice cream guru who mixes pop psychology and gourmet ice cream like a doctor prescribing ice cream. Ice cream for what ails you…Doctor Delicious. It’s frightening how my mind works.


How would you compare your cooking with Patrice in your book?

She’s a professional, I’m an amateur. She’s educated by masters, I just like to cook and have a knack for it. When the kids were little, I baked bread and made homemade everything. Now, I time my cookie baking so I pull freshly baked cookies from the oven as the kids arrived home from school. Once, I made French onion using a recipe like Patrice uses. It was really good soup, but it took forever.


Mike gives Patrice an ornament for each day of the 12 days of Christmas. Has your husband every done anything romantic like that?

I am blessed with a very romantic husband. Once he planned a surprise trip for the two of us. He asked me to clear my schedule for a certain week, and then he booked the hotel, got theater tickets, and scheduled my parents as sitters. He told me what kind of clothes to pack, but I didn’t know where we were going until we were in the car. Fabulously romantic.


What book are you currently working on now?

I just finished writing and illustrating The Loons on the Lake—the picture book I mentioned earlier. It is illustrated with my watercolor paintings.
I’m editing Some Where / Some When, a time-travel romance that asks the question: What happens when a prophecy requires an abduction through time? And I’m writing the last hundred pages of a yet-to-be-titled suspense work-in-progress. Taylor Wilson’s husband Phil sends her into the back yard to pick pumpkins before he hops into their car and drives away. Five minutes later, the house explodes. I’m having a blast (pun intended) writing this one.



Thank you again for this wonderful opportunity. I can’t wait to check out your other book and look forward to more great stories from you.

Thank you for having me. I had a marvelous time. You ask great questions. I’d love to hear what you think of A Wish in Time. I post readers comments on my website http://www.laurelbradley.com/.