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After a bad day in middle school — a fight with his mom combined with a little bit of “hanger” — Phoenixville’s Andy Bridgeman remembers wishing someone would just come to his doorstep to tell him he was switched at birth so he could go somewhere else. Today, Bridgeman laughs at the ridiculousness of the memory, although it’s within this thread that he found inspiration for Fortunate Son, his debut novel, which released this September 2024.
The Journey to Become an Author
Bridgeman describes his life as a “treasure hunt” filled with twists and turns. “You try some things, and sometimes they work out, and a lot of times they don’t,” he says.
After high school, Bridgeman attended Dickinson College and majored in creative writing. A skilled writer, even in college, he recalls how one of his professors encouraged him to get a graduate degree. At the time, however, Bridgeman equated “artist and starving as two things that went together.”
So, following graduation, he spent a few years selling carpets out of a white mini-van in Iowa before moving on to selling insurance to car dealerships, then opening an insurance agency with his wife.
It was never a real fit though, and Bridgeman decided to peel off and explore a different career option. Finally, in 2015, he received an MBA from Washington University.
“It would be a long time coming before I had the guts to express what needed to come out,” he shares.
Penning a Novel
Writing a book was the one life quest Bridgeman had left unfulfilled and, for a while, never truly thought the day would come. Yet after many years and with the support of his wife, Kathy, he left his job as a consultant and began writing his first novel.
As a full-time author, Bridgeman has developed a unique routine. Beginning at 4:30 a.m., he writes until around lunchtime, aiming for a minimum of 1,000 words per day. After lunch, he’ll break down his writing and read to his wife, then edit over the work he did that morning.
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After two years of experimenting with historical fiction, Bridgeman was unhappy with the results and ultimately canned his two drafts. It wasn’t until three years after he left his job that he struck gold with the brilliant idea for his debut novel. All it took was delving into an angsty middle school past to find the inspiration for Fortunate Son.
Bridgeman categorizes two types of writing processes: “the outliners” and “the seat of their pantsers.” He believes he falls in the middle as what he humorously names a “pantsy liner.” He takes an idea, finds a central theme, builds a timeline and from there leaves it open for the characters to build and tell their own stories as he writes.
Bridgeman acknowledges that “it’s not the prettiest process,” but it allows the story to evolve and change as he writes in ways that surprise even himself.
Writing Fortunate Son
In fact, Bridgeman’s favorite parts of writing Fortunate Son were the surprises. He often found himself laughing along to dialogue or confused by a character’s actions only to later realize that those moments were hints for which directions his characters wanted to go in the story. The novel is full of surprises, twists and turns, and the reason they work so well, Bridgeman says, “is because I am just as shocked as the reader when I realize what’s going to happen.”
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Having struggled through the writing process himself, Bridgeman offers some advice: “If you want to be a writer, you have to actually write. The best thing you can do is pick up a pen. And remember, it’s not always going to be good. When I started writing, the saying ‘All writing will be sh*t until it’s not’ [is] what helped me through.”
Be sure to stop by Phoenixville’s Reads & Company on October 24 to pick up a copy of Fortunate Son and chat with the area native about his debut novel. With rave reviews pouring in and twists and turns to keep you guessing for over 300 pages, don’t miss out on this opportunity to pick the brain of an outstanding hometown author.
Related: Pick up These Fall Reads From Main Line Area Authors
