Local LGBT activist Liz Bradbury has taken her work for LGBT inclusion into the literary world — and was recently recognized for that effort. Bradbury, of Allentown, won the top award in lesbian mystery fiction in the mystery category at the Golden Crown Literary Society Conference June 29 for her book “Being the Steel Drummer: A Maggie Gale Mystery.” Bradbury’s passion for writing is a family trait; her father worked as an editor for publishing company DoubleDay, which sparked her interest in the literary world. “I was interested in mysteries and used to tell him that I would write a book,” she said. “I loved mysteries but the ones I read didn’t have any lesbian characters that spoke to me. I wanted to write mysteries that included sexy scenes and a recognizable character who was a strong out lesbian and that displayed a relationship between two women.” With “Steel Drummer,” the second in a series, Bradbury sought to develop strong lesbian characters that were relatable and realistic. “I wanted my characters to be lesbians and out lesbians, where the character was really celebrating their lesbian identity,” she said. “A lot of the characters in books I have read seemed unhappy with their lives; they couldn’t get a girlfriend, they were alcoholics and didn’t have good relationships, which is grim and unnecessary. I wanted to write about somebody who was really out and happy and successful in their relationship and had great friends.” In addition to writing, Bradbury is the executive director of the Pennsylvania Diversity Network and has been an LGBT activist for years. She has lived in Allentown for 25 years and said she has always felt welcomed in the city. “Allentown is a pretty progressive city. We have an antidiscrimination ordinance and have protections for gender identity. It is a very diverse city.” Not only does Bradbury draw some of her influence from LGBT-friendly Allentown, but also from other mystery authors such as Agatha Christie and Sue Grafton. “I like writers who write strong female characters. I was influenced by them and particularly like contemporary mysteries and wanted my character to be funny and have thrills and excitement.” Bradbury, who owns Boudica Publishing, which produced her series, said she was both surprised and honored to receive the award for “Steel Drummer,” which was published last year. “I was very excited and I didn’t think I was going to win because the field was very strong and I thought it would be hard for me to be successful because my book is self-published. I was very honored as a self-published author,” she said. Bradbury is currently working on the third and fourth installments in the series, which started with “Angel Food and Devil Dogs,” and will continue with several patterns. “It is an alphabetical series. The covers of my books are in rainbow colors as well, with the first in red and second in orange. I want it to be that when these books are placed on library shelves, it is a blatant rainbow.” For more information, visit www.lizbradbury.boudicapublishing.com.