Featured Interview With KEITH BRADBURY
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Born and raised in Manchester, England, I studied Drama and english there before going into teaching. Eventually i escaped to Spain to write. I live in Madrid currently, I love cats and have had several over the years. I spend my time when not writing, playing guitar, walking the streets of Madrid or people watching from the terrace of my local bar. I am fascinated by Spanish history and architecture – especially the 800 years of the Moors. My current novel, published Feb 28th took me three years to research and write. I also drink a lot of red wine!
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I began reading at an early age, maybe 5 or so. My parents and my older brother read to me a lot when I was very young and they also made up great stories too. I fell in live with Winnie the Pooh and then moved on to Tolkien when I was 12. I began writing poems first when I was about 14 then song lyrics. I am always writing something – even if they’r just ideas or pictures in words.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I am a big fan of Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I like detective novels too for escapism – anything from Conan Doyle to Ann Cleeves or the Morse novels. I love Peter Ackroyd – for me the greatest living English author. Kate Mosse too, though I prefer her earlier books. Ackroyd and Zafon are big inspirations but my children also inspire me!
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Lucy E Hawksmoor, authority on all things Arabic, finds the present crashing in on the past as far-right groups try to stop her quest to find the final resting place of Boabdil, the last King of the Moors. She meets the mysterious and attractive Gloria whose family claim to have guarded the secret of its location for 600 years. Lucy, unaware of the dangerous world she is entering, receives death threats and then a Muslim student is murdered. She is plunged into a nightmare world, not knowing who she can trust. Is Gloria who she claims to be? How far will her enemies go to stop her? As riots sweep Granada, Lucy’s search for Boabdil’s tomb becomes a political timebomb – one that will endanger the lives of everyone involved.
I wrote it because I wanted to write a book that reflects all that is wonderful about the 800 years of the Moors in Spain, and to introduce a new kind of hero, Lucy Hawksmoor, whose life is turned upside down by events beyond her control. And through her I want the reader to experience all that is good about Spain, from the food to the architecture to the ordinary people, as well as showing how history does matter and we need to learn from the past to avoid making the same mistakes. It is a mystery, a thriller, a political commentary and at times a love story.
It took me three years of reading, travelling to different locations and writing. I learnt a great deal about not only Spanish history but also about the politics of Europe and how dangerous the rise of extreme right parties is and yet seems to go unnoticed.
Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles
KEITH BRADBURY’s Website
KEITH BRADBURY Twitter Account
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