We recently connected with Shannon Bradley and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Shannon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the story of how you went from this being just an idea to making it into something real.

I started writing at age 11. I wrote poems about birds. Writing came natural to me. I didn’t know where it came from or which parents i inherited the talent from. I would think of world wonders, grab a pen and start writing. Then one day, a new sitcom came on TV named, A Different World. I started pretending I was in college as the characters were. My bedroom was my dorm and the kitchen was the Pitt (student center). From that day, I wanted to write for TV or music for an artist. I was so different from the other kids at my school, so I never said anything because they would not understand. My English teacher, Ms. Lally was the only person that sae me as a writer. I took that talent to college and then became an English teacher. Many years later I published my first book. Two years later, I published my second book. Currently, I recently started writing short films. I’m in the process of meeting with producers and directors to start filming my first short. It has been difficult trying to work a 9 to 5 and write in the evenings, but my passion for writing keeps me going.

Shannon , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was a theater actress for The Henderson Davis Players in the early 2000’s. One day, it hit me that I don’t enjoy acting as much as writing. Many years forward, my daughter decided she wanted to be an actress. We moved to Miami, Florida and met people in the industry just by luck and my daughter’s extraordinary talent. I also started working in advertisement which led me to become more creative and starting in Instagram cooking blog. As I was doing more cooking, I started writing a cook book (coming 2025). I didn’t write film as much. Until one day ideas just started coming in my head as I was cooking……so I will say cooking put me back on the map. I wrote a 30 minute short, sent it to a producer and she loved it. She sent it to her director, he loved it. And there’s history.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I have always thought I was talented, but no one else thought so. It’s all my fault because I was always afraid to speak up in meetings and share my ideas. I guess it came from my upbringing. I’m from a small farm town and if you spoke of trying to get into Hollywood, people would just laugh and say, “go to college.” Therefore, I thought people that meant something to the industry would laugh at me or call me crazy……better yet, tell me to keep my day job. Even with cooking; no one recognized my cooking talents until a stranger said something on Facebook. I had to get over what my hometown family would say or think of me to even post my food photos on social media. I had to get over having likes on social media. I had to just write and put my work into the right hands. I had to be ok with rejection. Prayer, faith in myself and faith in God is my key.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I knew about advertising, digital media, art directors and copywriters growing up. I wish I knew there were schools for people like me and I didn’t need to waste time at a University. I wish I had gotten training in writing and film. I was too focused on becoming an attorney. I never had someone from schools like Miami Ad School or SCAD to speak at my high school. Moving away from the norm has the best decision. Sometimes doing what makes you uncomfortable, will assist you to your comfort.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @castcookqueen
• Facebook: Shannon Bradley
• Linkedin: Shannon Sanon
• Youtube: Toots N Boots Tuesday