Let me introduce myself. I’m Terry Sykes-Bradshaw and I’m a writer.

The first thing you probably want to know is that, no, I’m not related in any way to that “other” Terry Bradshaw. I acquired the name, quite honestly, by marrying the love of my life who just happened to be named Bill Bradshaw. Little did I know that when I said “I do” to Bill, I was saying “I do” to a whole bunch of confusion. Over the years, though, I’ve come to believe that I have just as much right to the name as he does. However, I’ve had to endure endless comments about it...all terribly witty. From “you don’t look a bit like Terry Bradshaw. You have teeth.” to “your shoulder pads have slipped.” It seemed only logical for me to become a Steelers fan which presents more than a few problems since I live in Ohio....Cleveland Browns territory. Enough said. In order to put an end to this nonsense...at least when I write...I decided to hyphenate. Therefore...Terry Sykes-Bradshaw.

Next question...what exactly do I write? And why haven’t I seen it anywhere? Good questions. And I have answers. I began my writing career in third grade when I was voted most likely to win a Pulitzer Prize. And, no, I haven’t actually won the Pulitzer. Yet. I have worked on newspapers writing both hard news and features. I also wrote an Erma Bombeckian column in which I humiliated and embarrassed my children as often as humanly possible. According to them.

When we moved to Ohio from Michigan, (Those Michigan roots are another thing frowned upon in these parts.) I decided to take a sabbatical from writing. So much tennis to play and Jazzercise to dance. So much coffee to drink and sloth to be embraced. Finally in order to silence those who kept asking when I was going to get a job (that would be my husband, Bill) I decided to write a book. I’m not sure I ever actually intended to finish it. But the more I pretended to be writing a book, the more I got sucked in. Finally, after attending a number of writers’ conferences, my competitive nature took over and I figured if all those other writers could complete a book, so could I.

And here it is hot off the presses....The Awful Truth About Dead Men.

You in the back row, you have another question? What comes next? Well, I’m halfway through book number two. Sibling Revelry is about twin sisters who celebrate a huge birthday ... one that ends in a zero... by taking a trip to the continent. (I could say Europe, but the continent sounds so much more la te da.) Anyway, I could finish it sooner if I didn’t feel an obligation to travel to Europe to research Paris, Nice and Barcelona. When the economy improves, I’ll be on my way.

Okay, class, that’s about it for today. Your homework is to read the first three chapters of The Awful Truth and recommend it to all your friends. I’ll see you back here tomorrow at the same time.

Thanks for dropping by.