Jodie Bailey Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.

A:  Can I just say this is the hardest question in the world to answer? Let’s see… How about some things you may not know? You know that old saying, “I’m Tarheel born and Tarheel bred, and when I die I’ll be Tarheel dead?” J Maybe not, but it’s a North Carolina thing. I’m a Carolina girl, heart and soul. I love the beach, am learning to love the mountains… My favorite time of day is early in the morning when the house is quiet and the light comes into the den just right and my coffee is still warm.  That’s God time.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

A:  I’m not sure I ever DIDN’T want to be a writer. There is literally not a time in my life when I wasn’t writing stories. It wasn’t until 2008 though, that I realized this wasn’t a fun little side thing… it’s a calling. God got very clear with me about the fact that He gives us talents for a REASON, and that reason was not to keep shoving stories in my desk drawer. At that point, to not pursue it would have been a sin.

Q: What do you write and why this genre?

A:  At heart, I’m a romance writer. I love a good love story. Back in 2010, I added suspense to the romance. Believe it or not, my agent at the time saw something in me that I didn’t and asked me to give it a shot.  Here we are, eight books later, and still enjoying the mystery and danger—on the page.  Let’s keep that out of real life.

Q: Do you base your characters on people you know or are they totally made up?

A: For the most part, they are totally made up.  For me, it would be really, really weird to write about someone I know.  There might be mannerisms or maybe even a small incident that happened to someone I know that makes it into a story, but never a full character.  Okay, once. I wrote a Southern romance, Quilted by Christmas.  The grandmothers in that book became an exaggeration of my grandmothers. I had recently lost my maternal grandmother, and –though I didn’t realize it at the time–I grieved her through the writing while celebrating that I still had my other grandmother with me.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release Calculated Vendetta?

A:  Staff Sergeant Casey Jordan, a Public Affairs Specialist for the US Army, loves the military life. She’s covered and spun all sorts of news.  She just never thought she’d BE the news.  When she’s nearly carjacked in a restaurant parking lot, all evidence points to a random crime, but when someone murders the soldier she’s scheduled to interview, the perpetrator’s motives grow darker.  Army Staff Sergeant Travis Heath, Casey’s former boyfriend, finds himself drawn back into her life when the dead soldier turns out to be one of the men on his former team… a team involved in the take-down of a drug cartel on the US-Mexican border.  As the danger grows closer and the body count grows higher, the killer’s motives grow murkier, until Travis is left wondering if the shadowy figure is stalking Casey… or him.

Q: Where did the idea for this story come from?

A:  It started with one small question. What if a guy thought he was protecting a girl from a stalker only to find out he’s the one being hunted? It seemed like something fun to play with, the idea of them not being really sure who the target is… or being totally wrong.

Q: Tell us a little about your main character and how you developed him/her.

A:  The story is more about Travis than Casey.  He’s the one that has to undergo the most growth and change.  In the past, he wasn’t a good guy.  He’s carried around the guilt of the death of one of his soldiers and let it color everything in his life, an issue that has gotten him into trouble before. When it comes to Casey, though, she spins everything he thinks he is and thinks he knows all around until his world is upside down. And that’s when Jesus teaches him some pretty big lessons.  I developed him from watching some of the soldiers we’ve known over the years carry very heavy loads, and wondering what was really going on deep inside and how it affected them in ways they refused to show.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?

A:  I’m currently plotting out two different series and deciding which one I want to focus on first. One takes place in a small mountain town in NC. The first book would be about a woman who customizes and restores old cars and has to face down a stalker with the help of her high school ex-boyfriend, a former soldier. The other series would revisit the cybersecurity team from Smokescreen/Compromised Identity/Breach of Trust.  We’ll see which one pans out.

Q: What are some ways that readers of your books can help you as an author?

A:  I love reader emails! They always seem to come just when I need them the most. It seems like, on those days when the writing is hardest, that’s when an email shows up. Also, follow me on Facebook, because I will sometimes ask what readers want to see in a suspense, and it’s fun to try to work those things into a book.  And, as everyone else probably says, reviews are solid gold to writers!

Q: What one thing about writing do you wish other non-writers would understand?

A:  It’s a real job. I think sometimes people—especially people close to you—that this is work. It’s earning a living. I may be home all day, but that’s work time. When you are home a lot, you get asked to volunteer for things or to go places, and sometimes it’s just not possible to “take time off” to do it.  And here is a kind of funny one… every fall, I host a beach retreat for writers. We go for a week and we literally write all day long.  I’m pretty sure my family can’t understand why I often come back from the beach even more tired than I was before I left.  For me, it can be a very intense, mentally exhausting week!

Q: Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.

1. As I learned the “hard way” on Twitter today, apparently the fact that I am from the South and don’t like pecans is grounds for having my Southern heritage revoked.
2. From the ages of 18 to 36, I drank no caffeine at all.   With all of the coffee in my house right now, that should probably shock you into a faint.
3. They moved the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in 1999, while I was living in Michigan. The first time I saw it after the move, I cried. I didn’t expect to, but I did.

Q: Milk or dark chocolate? Coffee or tea?

A:  Dark chocolate. No question about it. And coffee. Unless it’s iced tea.

Q: Favorite TV show or shows?

A:  Currently really liking Timeless, with its mix of history and conspiracy. My favorite TV show of all time is about 20 years old… The Pretender. If you’ve ever seen Leverage, they’re similar.  Which is why Leverage ranks up there too.

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet?

A:  If you head over to www.jodiebailey.com, you can find links to all of the places I’m roaming around out there.

Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us?

A:  Thanks so much for letting me come hang out! I love getting to visit!