'(It's) a hard act to bring off'

 

“Once the world has been created, the fantasy author still has to bring the story's characters to life and unfold a gripping plot. That's why good fantasy is such a hard act to bring off.” – Tony Bradman

 

Born in a suburb of London in January of 1954, Bradman gravitated to reading fantasies while still in primary school; started writing when he was in college (at Queens’ College, Cambridge where he earned his Master of Arts degree); and became a fulltime writer of children’s lit. and fantasy books in the 1980s.  Today, he is the author of more than 50 books for children, led by his wildly popular Dilly the Dinosaur series (which has sold over 2 million copies worldwide), and of numerous fantasy books and books of poetry.  He also is a popular speaker on writing and reads to school groups on a regular basis.

 

Bradman, who was elected to the Royal Society of Literature in 2024, said books like the Thomas the Tank Engine series and then The Hobbit got him hooked into reading and gave him the impetus to one day become a successful writer.

 

“I loved words and language, but the key thing for me then – as it is now – was story,” Bradman said.   “I love the feeling of being drawn into a story, the delicious sense of tension that comes from wanting to know what is going to happen next and almost being afraid to find out. That happens when you read the best stories – and as I found out, it can happen when you write a story of your own, too.”