Bradford D. Smith

Q: Please introduce yourself! Share your name, pronouns, and something fun, interesting, curious, or important (take your pick) about yourself that you would like your audience to know.

A:  Hi!  My name is Bradford D. Smith II.  I go by the pronouns "He/Him".  I love Mega Man, oreos, donuts, and music.

Q: What genre or format do you write in? (for example: romance, fantasy, short stories, poetry, etc.)

A: I like to tell my stories through graphic novels.

Q: Who do you write for? Who is your audience, and are you seeking to reach a particular type of reader with your work? Why?

A: I don't necessarily have an audience that I write for.  I write for myself -- however, I do want to put something out there that showcases representation through the black community.

Q: When did you decide you wanted to write?

A: I think my curiosity came when I was in college.  I was working on a comic with a friend of mine who studied film while I majored in animation.  I saw the script he presented to me of our first comic issue and it was interesting to see how location and dialogue were presented in that format.

Q: What got you interested in the world of writing originally?

A:  I think when I saw a script for the first time.  Seeing the format of a script for the first time, for some weird reason, just stood out to me.  It made me want to try to describe a scene and convey emotion through words.

Q: There are so many possible avenues to take. Why write?

A:  Writing to me feels like a form of journaling, if that makes sense.  It's also a way for me to get my ideas out faster compared to animation. 

Q: Similarly, why pursue being an indie author? What is your goal?

A:  I've always been a fan of the format of comics/manga.  Being an indie author, I have a say in all things that I want to do without anyone telling me when or if my material will be released.  My main goal would be to just tell my stories.  Nothing more, nothing less.  

Q: What do you do to hone your craft?

A:  I watch a lot of anime and listen to a lot of music.  I look into tutorials that seem interesting.  I mainly watch and listen to interviews of my favorite artists -- mostly musicians.

Q: What tricks do you use to get out of writer’s block?

A:  Pretty much the same thing that I do to hone my craft.  Looking at professional photos of nature and playing video games helps a great deal too.  I just make sure to step away from the writing altogether until something clicks.

Q: Would you mind telling us about your writing process?

A:  Honestly, I feel like that part always changes.  From what I can remember -- anything that comes to mind, I make sure to write it down on a post-it or something similar.  Next, I like to add any other interesting ideas to it, create my outlines, and finally draft up to 3 versions of the script before diving into the illustration phase.  This process can take a few minutes to months.

Q: Do you have any other writing “hacks” that other writers might benefit from?

A: Not really. Just allow yourself time to piece it all together.

Q: Where do you get your inspiration?

A:  Through life and my personal experiences.  When I pair that with all of the music and animation that I consume -- I feel it starts a conversation within myself.

Q: Would you like to share anything about your current work in progress?

A:  I would, but I've learned my lesson about speaking prematurely of things that you are doing before they are finished, haha.

Q: Do you consider yourself a minority? If so, would you be willing to share the ways in which you are?

A:  Absolutely.  I'm a black, gay man. 

Q: Does this impact what you write about? If so, why and how?

A:  With my current series, it somewhat does.  It effects how I showcase the perspective of certain characters and how they process certain situations.   Considering the other titles before and after my current IP, Black Ice -- it doesn't so much.  I just feel that it's needed.

Q: What do you wish you found more of in books today? Why?

A:  I can't say, honestly.  There are so many books out in the world that I am pretty sure that whatever is missing is in a book somewhere.

Q: What does representation in literature mean to you? Is it important to you? How so?

A:  Everything.  At my age now -- not so much.  That's because I am making sure to create it in hopes to inspire others to create more.  Representation wasn't a thing when I was growing up, so, for the young people of today, I want to make something for them that I didn't have growing up.

Q: How do you think representation in literature affects culture? Does it?

A:  A great deal.  We all need someone or something to help channel confidence within ourselves because we can only do so much by ourselves.  Literature can help us to embrace who we are and what it means to be a part of our community.

Q: Does representation play a role in what or how you write? Please talk about why or why not.

A:  It does.  I want to create a pretty cool story/universe that has a gay black adult/kid at the forefront of the story.  That has a strong black woman at the forefront of the story.  That has a strong black family at the forefront of the story.  I want these and many other characters to be on the covers of my books.

Q: What advice would you give to new writers?

A:  Please, PLEASE write for you and you only.  Not everyone will enjoy your work and that is fine.  It just means that it was not meant for that reader.  There are people you can connect to out there and you will find them if you just stay true to who you are.

Q: What do you wish someone had told you when you were finding your path?

A: Don't compromise your style to fit into someone else's mold.

Q: Do you have any work already out there that you would like to talk about? If so, please tell us about the project, why you wrote it, and what you hope readers will take from it.

A:  I have a book called Blemish.  It's about how cortizone combats acne.  I also have my current graphic novel series called, Black Ice.  Right now it's telling a story from two perspectives about what it means to navigate the world and realizing that it's not all that normal.

Q: Where can readers find your work? Please share links and pertinent information.

A:  Readers can find my work at www.brsmithii.com . They can also follow me on social media under the handle "brsmithii".

Q: What would you like to share or say to the Underground Bookshelf audience that hasn’t already been brought up?

A:  Thank you for taking the time to check out this Q&A.

Q: Thank you for sharing your thoughts, today. Any final words?

A:  Remember to be kind to yourself.