Ralph Josiah Bardsley

A little bit more about me – I was born in a small town outside of Boston. My dad was in the Coast Guard and so I grew up in a lot of different places – New Orleans, Cape Cod, North Carolina and Sitka, Alaska. When I wasn’t in school, I spent most of my time in Coast Guard hangers or reading.  Today I live in San Francisco where my hobbies include writing, running and wine tasting!  Like everyone else I wear a few hats.  I work in the high tech industry in marketing. I hold a bachelor’s degree from Greensboro College and a master’s in communication from Emerson College.

 

When I read a writer's bio, I usually want to know why they write - what makes them sit down at a keyboard and what do they hope to accomplish. When I ask myself those same questions, it's more difficult to answer. I've always loved writing - in any capacity.  For a long time I got enough fulfillment out of the writing assignments I did for work. I've written white papers on software, airlines, mobile technology and advertising practices. These were (and continue to be) great assignments and I absolutely love them - I get to learn about all sorts of cool new things all the time.  But eventually I wanted to do something more personal. So I started a blog called BrandFiller. I recruited several contributors and we had a lot of fun for a year or so writing short form articles and posts about everything from hockey to fashion.  Let me say - for me blogging was A LOT of work. It was rewarding, but I wanted to do something bigger - something that expressed bits and pieces of my own life and feelings in a work of fiction. So that's when I decided to retire the blog and try a novel.  

 

My writing comes from a combination of experience and imagination. My family - especially my husband Dana - is a big part of my inspiration. They're always pushing me to do more and I love them for it. I also love to travel, and I manage to work the details from the places I visit into the stories and the books I write. Someone once told me that the only true value you ever get for your money is travel - and I couldn't agree more.