Carys was born in Southport in 1975 and has lived in Utah, Exeter and Bournemouth. The daughter of devout Mormon parents, she developed an early love of fantastical stories and a fascination with angels, gold plates and lost civilisations. Carys has spent huge chunks of her life with her nose in a book. In fact, if it was at all possible, she’d probably insert her whole self between the pages like Woody Allen’s Sidney Kugelmass.

Carys always dreamed of being a writer but at some point during a sleep-deprived, toddler-filled decade she forgot, or she lost her nerve  ---  it’s all a bit of a fog. In 2009 she achieved a BA in Literature from The Open University and in 2010 she completed an MA in Creative Writing at Edge Hill University. She went on to win the MA category of the 2010 Edge Hill Prize and since then she has had stories published in a variety of literary magazines, in print and online. Her debut collection SWEET HOME won the Scott prize. A Song for Issy Bradley is her first novel. Carys lives in Southport with her husband and four children.

Books by Carys Bray

A Song for Issy Bradley

by Carys Bray - Fiction

The six members of the Bradley family have always been close. But in the wake of a tragedy that leaves a hole in the very center of their lives, they suddenly find themselves coming apart. Claire, a convert to the Mormon faith, is so shattered by what's happened that she can't even bring herself to get out of bed. Meanwhile, her husband, Ian, is utterly consumed with ministering to his congregation, even as his family falls to pieces all around him.