This is my quiet place. Where I go to be still. I first found it when out for a walk to get away from him. Ever since he retired he had taken over the house, each aspect of it and it really was doing my head in. I couldn’t go for a coffee with the girls anymore. They soon drifted away, stopped asking me to join them.
“It’s cheaper to have one at home. On the pension now, we are.”
If I heard it one more time, I would throw the tea pot at him. My book-club meetings were another nuisance for him.
“We can start our own little club, more intimate and share a pot of tea, just the two of us.”
When I protested to this, he said we needed to watch our petrol spend, could one of the other ladies pick me up and drop me off? I explained none of them lived close enough to do this. He nodded and asked, “What shall we read first to get us started?”
My days became lonely, the nights too. Now we were at retirement age, we could do without that side of marriage he winked.
So that’s why I came here. Peace. Tranquillity. Alone time.
Why let him away with being so controlling, my few friends left ask. He’s not that bad I laugh, maybe I’m exaggerating it a bit. I add.
But I am a patient woman. Patient and wise.
Amazing how the universe works, send it out and it shall be answered I was told and I did. Still his sudden heart attack surprised us all. Now when life is stressed for me I visit here and tell the universe my worries.
Family is important to Mary and her writing reflects the ups and downs of it all, and what people go through daily. She has been writing short stories for several years and enjoys success with her fiction in magazines, newspapers, and anthologies both in Ireland and abroad, namely Germany, India, and the US. Her stories have been both short/long listed in various competitions. It was because of this success, Mary took the plunge and self-published her first collection of stories titled, A Baker’s Dozen (2012).
When one of her stories kept growing she ended up with her first published novel, My Husband's Sin. This novel turned into a trilogy, with book 2, Don't Call Me Mum, and book 3, No More Secrets following it. Her latest novel, To Live With A Stranger, is based on her Grandmother's country cottage and is a firm favourite with readers.
Mary continues to write novels, novellas, and short stories, dabbling too in playwrighting.
In 2019, Mary attended the University of Limerick and studied for a MA in Creative Writing, receiving First Class Honours.
When taking a break from writing and reading Mary loves to crochet. Living in County Cork, Ireland, she is married and is a mother of four children. Having overcome open heart surgery in 2008, Mary made the decision to dedicate more time to her writing. With her children raised and starting to spread their wings, this became possible.
Now, Mary is also a Nana, a role that brings her happiness and lots of love.
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Mary T Bradford 