About - Paul Bradley

I’m British but my heart, body, and soul lives in Spain.

I adore everything about this beautiful country, its friendly people and rich history. The wine and food are not too shabby either. My parents lived here for over forty years. I’ve been here for thirty and my sister and her tribe are all enjoying long and healthy lives not far from where I reside in Nerja.

I’ve made my living traveling the Iberian Peninsula, writing about what I saw and publishing my own guidebooks and lifestyle magazines in English and German. I still, when virus’s permit, escort groups of discerning North American alumni around her treasures.

There is far more depth to Spain than just weather and cheap gin and no it doesn’t rely solely on tourism for a living. As you drive around her interior, for as far as the eye can see, there is something growing, most of it exported. Solar energy is everywhere, hi-tech and engineering businesses abound, and they set the trend in fashion and bullet trains. The key for me though is not to measure their performance in GDP or commercial achievement but to take a deep lingering, look at the people.

They offer a lot from which we can all learn.

Why is Spain one of the safest countries in the world? Why do they accept foreigners happily into their midst? Why are they genuinely happy most of the time without having to resort to alcohol?

It has nothing to do with money or employment.

They have one priority above everything else.

The family.

And I don’t mean wonderful mums and dads. Here the extended family, normally loads of them love, cherish and support one another. Nobody is excluded. Even drug addicts are loved by someone. The disabled are treated like angels, children come before everything and they all keep a lookout for each other and what is going on around them.

To them, a Black Lives Matter campaign would be an insult to their society. To them, all lives matter and are treated equally.

That is why I prefer living here than anywhere. That is why I set my fictional books in the bosom of her towns and cities. She is indeed one of my main characters and I make no excuse if my mysteries often sound like a travelogue. If you’ve not been here, they will paint a picture for you. If you have, they will remind you of what you are missing.

Enjoy

Bio

Paul S Bradley blames his Andalusian Mystery Series on ironed squid. Otherwise, he’d still be stuck in London failing at this, that, and the other. As discerning diners know, calamares a la plancha should translate as grilled squid. Then he noticed bad translations everywhere. He quit the rat race, moved to Nerja, Spain and helped the owner of this gastronomic gaff prepare his menu so that foreigners understood he was offering food, not laundry services.

During the following thirty years, this tiny translation evolved into a lifestyle magazine for the Costa del Sol, along with guidebooks and travelogues in English, German and Spanish. He’s lectured about Living in Spain and bullfighting but is keen to emphasize that he never dressed in a tight, fancy suit or waved a pink cape at anyone; especially if they weighed 600 kilos and carried a sharp pair of horns. He has also appeared on local radio and TV, but extremely briefly.

Paul’s books blend his unique taste of Spain with intriguing fictional mysteries. There are more Andalusian Mysteries on the way. Sign up below to learn when the next is due.