“Glory sat up sharply. A full minute passed before she
stopped gasping and coughing. She had made some progress in controlling the
duration of her illusions. Standing, she dusted herself off and picked up her
cellphone. From what she could tell, she was underground in a place that
resembled a dungeon carved from the rock that the mansion had been built on. It
was large and dark. There was no place for light to shine through, so even
during the daytime, the room would still be pitch black.”
--From Blessed:
The Prodigal Daughter by A.L. Bryant
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.
Book Description:
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.
Interview:
Welcome, A.L.! Your first installment of the Blessed
series sounds exciting! Can you tell us how you came up with the idea?
A.L.: Thank you! I wanted to play around with the notion of a spiritual being (or someone more in tune with spirituality) living in a natural world. A world that only acknowledges the natural. What struggles would someone like that face? How would they cope? COULD they cope when, according to the world they live in, their very existence is a lie?
Can you tell us a little about the main characters in Blessed:
The Prodigal Daughter?
A.L.: This is the first installment of a trilogy so it introduces a lot of Characters, but the main characters would have to be Glory and Detective Wilson. Glory is a Stoic character with a lot of layers beneath her deliberate nature. Her character starts out a bit dry. As the reader you get to see her slowly unravel as things happen to and around her that she doesn't fully understand.Detective Wilson is a cynical NYPD cop that's very good at his job but by his own admittance his proficiency has more to do with his obsessive nature than anything else. He can be a little rough around the edges but he actually has a good heart.
They say all books of fiction have at least one pivotal point where the
reader just can’t put the book down. What is one of the pivotal points in your
book?
A.L.: Well If I am to be honest, I would love it if readers of Blessed would not want to put the book down from the beginning. But for me the pivotal moment is when Glory decides to go out on her own. This is when tensions are building in every story arch and there is a noticeable change in tone.
Do you proofread and edit your work on your own or pay someone to do it
for you?
A.L.: Unless you are an editor yourself it is imperative that you hire someone. I've had three editors, and their catches and suggestions have been invaluable. It can get expensive, but typically it takes at least a year to write a full-on novel and usually more than that for your first novel, so... save your Pennies!
Do you believe a book cover plays an important role in the selling
process?
A.L.: As much as I love the sentiment and the good advice of "Never judge a book by its cover," I am realistic and believe we as consumers do just that. Let's be honest in this day and age we're all very busy; the world moves at an accelerated pace. Because time is limited and more importantly choices are vast, people are looking for a quick way to determine if something is worth their time and money.
What did you want to become when you were a kid?
A.L.:-A neurosurgeon - don't ask me why.-A secretary – when I was younger I began reading my grandmother’s Harlequin Presents novels (which I still love to this day) dated in the 70s and the 80s and all the secretaries in those books got the dashing men.-A business mogul - because someone told me they spend most of their lives travelling. For as long as I can remember my goal has been to visit every country in the world.
Do your novels carry a message?
A.L.: Yes. I believe most stories do, intentionally or unintentionally. It's very hard to write something and completely withhold yourself from the story; and every person is made up of opinions, alternative points of view, and life lessons. Some of that essence will make its way into your writing. I think it is more important to have that message, but allow every reader to take from your novel whatever speaks to them.
Is there anything you’d like to tell your readers and fans?
A.L.: Writing is truly a labor of love. I will never feel as though Blessed is done or can't be improved in some small way. For those who have taken the time to share in this Journey with me, I hope I entertained you and I appreciate each and every one of you!
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