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MEET TIMOTHY J. BRADLEY
by Bonnie O'Brian

What did you most like to do when you were a child?

Timothy J. Bradley

I would have to say that drawing was my favorite activity growing up. I was always on the lookout for blank paper that I could use to draw dinosaurs, or robots, or spacecraft. I was also a big reader growing up—I loved dinosaur books and science fiction (and still do!).

What books influenced you most when you were growing up?

My favorite books were THE CAVES OF STEEL by Isaac Asimov, RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY by Arthur C. Clarke, and Ray Bradbury’s MARTIAN CHRONICLES, FAHRENHEIT 451, R IS FOR ROCKET, and S IS FOR SPACE. They are still at the top of my list.

Did you write stories when you were growing up? at school? Or at home as a hobby? As a young child, or as a teenager, or both?

Occasionally at school, we would write and illustrate our own stories, and I always enjoyed that. I have a much easier time organizing and conveying my thoughts on paper than verbally. I really never thought I could work as an author/illustrator until just a few years ago.

When you were a child did you ever have moments when you decided that you were going to be a writer when you grew up?

When I was younger, I never thought I would be good enough to earn a living as an artist, and with the things I like to draw (dinos, spaceships, robots), I didn’t even think there would be any jobs for those kinds of things! As it turns out, I have worked on projects drawing dinosaurs, robots, and spacecraft, so you never know.

What audience did you have in mind for your career as a writer - adult or children?

I have always enjoyed writing for children—I remember how awesome it was when I discovered a new book that really made me think about things in a different way, and I hope to have that kind of an impact through my books.

If you didn’t write as a child, then when did you start writing and what inspired you to start?

I actually started writing about eight years ago, because I had wanted to be an illustrator for children’s books, but I wasn’t having any luck with it, so I decided that I would try to write and illustrate my own books, and maybe that would work. I have been really happy that it did!

Was your first book accepted immediately? or did you experience a number of rejections?

My first book was submitted to about 7 publishers, and was ultimately accepted by one of them. My second book took about 15 tries, and fortunately, the publisher of that book asked me to do a third, so I’ve been pretty lucky. As an artist, I couldn’t even guess how many times my work has been rejected. However, I am a very stubborn person when it comes to my work, and I don’t give up easily.

What are the topics are some of your books?

So far, I have been writing non-fiction books about natural history (dinosaurs and stuff like that), but I am also working on a science fiction novel that is a lot of fun to write and draw pictures for.

Do you do other types of writing - for example, educational, nonfiction, magazine work?

I work during the day at an educational publishing company as an illustrator, so I spend most days drawing, which is great.

Where do you get your ideas?

Usually, my ideas get sparked by something I’ve read that really interests me, and I want to find out more about it. One of the most enjoyable parts of working on a book for me is doing the research. That’s a blast.

What really triggers your imagination?

I like to have movies or music playing while I work—for some reason, it really helps me “get in the zone” to draw.

Do you enjoy researching or do you prefer working totally from your imagination?

I like to do both, and one of the really fun things about writing about and drawing prehistoric animals is that you have to have a little bit of imagination to help visualize what they might have looked like when they were alive.

Do you write every day and do you have set hours that you work?

So far, what I have done is that I will really think about what a book I want to write should include, and then I do a few sketches and send the concept and sketches to publishers. If a publisher is really interested in my idea, they might ask for a couple of chapters, or I may construct a quick book dummy to help them to see how I think the book might look. I think that’s a little different from most other writers, but it’s worked pretty well for me. When I feel that a publisher is ready to sign a contract for the book, I’ll start writing—I usually have the whole thing in my head by that point, so it’s just a matter of sitting down in my studio and typing the words and drawing the illustrations. Since I have a full-time job during the day, I do most of my writing at night and over the weekends, or anytime I have a few spare minutes that I can sit at the computer.