Jodie Bailey Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.
A. I’m a mom, an Army wife, a part-time teacher, and a most-of-the time writer. If I had my way, I’d live at the beach, but I’ll let you in on a little secret and say that the mountains are starting to call me. There are fewer hurricanes there. ? I’m a fan of bluegrass and beach music, so right there you have your mountains and your coast!

Q: What started you on your writing journey?
A. I have been writing for as long as I can remember. As for my professional journey, I was in a Bible study watching Beth Moore on video and thinking, “Man! She has the coolest job, writing and talking about Jesus!” I like to say God hit me on the head with a Bible and said, “Duh.” I started trying to write a Bible study, and it was a couple of months before I figured out He had planted the fiction dream in my heart. Even though I wrote constantly, until that moment, I never considered that it could be a career. I thought saying, “I want to be a writer” was the equivalent of saying, “I want to be a rock star.” Fun dream, but who really gets to do that? God showed me different. And now, hanging above my computer, is a bumper sticker that says, “Rock Star.” It’s my reminder that, if God’s calling, He will get you there!

Q: What distracts you from writing the easiest?
A. Right now, my family is at home thanks to Covid having us all do work and school from home. Writing, for me, takes a certain amount of sinking into the story that doesn’t happen so easily when I want to go out in the den and hang out with my family.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release Fatal Identity?
A. Fatal Identity pairs up Dana Santiago, the WitSec tech genius from Hidden Twin, with Rich Richardson, who appeared in Hidden Twin, Mistaken Twin, and Fatal Response. When Dana is attacked at a friend’s wedding, she learns that her family is not what it seems and that someone from her past wants her dead. Rich, who is still battling the fallout from his fiancee’s murder in Fatal Response, is tasked with protecting Dana. When the two of them wind up in hiding together, they both learn that their identities and their futures are in God’s hands… and that their futures might just be with one another.

Q: Where did the idea for this story come from?
A. I am so excited about this book! When I wrote Fatal Response a couple of years ago, one of the minor characters captured my heart. He popped up in Mistaken Twin and Hidden Twin, but I really wanted him to have his own story. I wanted to explore how grief had affected him and to give him the happy ending he deserved.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. I’m currently working on what I like to term a “mini-series.” It’s not a full-fledged series, but the characters cross over into different books. It’s about a top secret Army investigative unit known as Eagle Overwatch. The first book, Under Surveillance, will be available in February. I’m working on book two now, which is about a single father soldier whose battalion has been targeted by a thief… but the danger doesn’t begin until they have the bad guy in custody.

Q: What kind of books do you enjoy reading?
A. I read just about anything except horror. I have never been a scary book person. My imagination is too vivid. I love a good romance. That’s probably my favorite thing to read.

Q: What is your favorite food?
A. This literally changes every day. If you force me to pick one, I’ll say chips and salsa. I almost never turn that down. Or M&Ms. We can’t keep them in the house or I’ll eat an entire family-sized bag.

Q: What makes you smile and/or laugh out loud?
A. My daughter is the funniest kid in the world. She has this incredible sense of humor and can find a way to laugh at anything… even herself. I’m always awed by her quick wit. She gets it from me, you know. 😉

Q: If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?
A. My dog has it so good. He gets all of the attention and the love and the sleep that he wants. He loves a good sunbeam, and I think I can get behind naps in sunbeams.