Jodie Bailey – Tour My Office – Part 1 of 2

Shannon here: Romantic Suspense author, Jodie Bailey gives us a tour of her purple office plus a chance to win a copy of her latest title, Christmas Double Cross. Comment or answer the question at the end of any post dated Oct 31 – Nov 3 to enter the drawing. Deadline: Nov 11th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Jodie: 

Welcome to my office! This is my favorite room in the house, and it’s also the one that is packed with the most meaning.

See, I am blessed to be living in the house where I spent most of my time growing up. My maternal grandmother was more like my mother and, as I got older, my best friend. We spent so much time here in the country, where my grandfather raised bird dogs and my grandmother sewed any amazing thing you can imagine. She was a costume designer for our local theater and made my prom dress, my wedding dress…

I loved her sewing room. To this day, I can remember the scent of cloth and sewing machine. There was a day bed in the room, and I’d read while she sewed. She even kept a drawer filled with buttons, and I loved sinking my hands into that wealth of many colors. There was something soothing about it, and I kept the buttons when she passed away. On bad days, there’s nothing like playing with those buttons again.

But back to my office… When we bought my grandmother’s house from my uncle, I knew the sewing room would be my office. It’s the smallest bedroom, but it has two closets, one that is shelved and one that holds my bookcases. My favorite reading chair tucks into the space beside the door, and my smaller “research” bookcase is in reach.

I painted the walls in two different shades of purple, not because it’s my favorite color (lime green wouldn’t have worked…) but as a joke. Purple is the color of romance and royalty. (Get it? Romance writer? Royalties? Anyway…) There are pictures of my family above my reading chair, and I’ve lined the long wall with book covers, because sometimes I sit on the floor, look at them, and praise God for this life He has given me. (I quote David a lot, “Who am I, and who is my family, that you have brought me this far?”)

On the back of the door, there is a poster I had made of a prayer Allen Arnold wrote about creating with God, and a letter I wrote myself after a meeting with a friend I have referred to as “Obi Wan Kenobi” helped me see value in myself and in this job God has me do. Before every book, I close the door, get on my knees, read that letter, and pray that prayer. This is God’s journey, not mine. I want to stay focused on that.

Above my desk, there hang two pictures and a bumper sticker. One picture is of my very favorite spot in the world… The beach on Hatteras Island next to the Frisco Pier. God and I have had some amazing talks in that spot. 

Above it is the picture I refer to as “God’s love letter to me.” See, my first book—which isn’t yet published—was about a PR rep for a NASCAR team, a job which I knew nothing about. God orchestrated an amazing series of events that is too long to talk about here, and landed me a day at Atlanta Motor Speedway, shadowing a PR rep with Richard Childress Racing. One of their media people snapped a shot of the pits that night and I stumbled across it online. I’m top center of the photo, standing in a place I never could have gotten to myself. God got me there, granted me access, and gave me a reminder in that photo that He is in charge of this career—of this life—and He can take me places I never imagined. He can truly do the impossible. It ties in with the bumper sticker attached to the frame: “Rock Star.” When God first called me to write, I told no one. I felt like a little kid who says, “I want to be a rock star when I grow up.”  Sure you do, kid, but what’s your real job going to be? It seemed a foolish, impossible dream. When I give my testimony, I tell people God’s in the business of making rock stars, of making the dreams HE plants inside us come true.

But here’s my favorite part. I was sitting here one day, typing away, when I realized something that stopped me. My desk sits in the same spot as my grandmother’s sewing machine. I get to create in the same spot as one of my most beloved people in the world. I get to practice my God-given talent in the same place she practiced hers. That is my favorite thing about my office.

And I’m glad I got to share it with you.

About Jodie: Jodie Bailey writes novels about freedom and the heroes who fight for it.  Her romantic suspense, Crossfire, won a 2015 RT Reviewers Choice Award and her contemporary romance, Quilted by Christmas won a 2014 Selah. She is convinced a camping trip to the beach with her family, a good cup of coffee, and a great book can cure all ills. Jodie lives in North Carolina with her husband, her daughter, and two dogs.  Stop by and say hi at www.jodiebailey.com

About the book – Christmas Double Cross:

Undercover Texas Ranger Colter Blackthorn’s convinced Danielle Segovia is really a wanted criminal—until she’s nearly kidnapped right in front of him. Now Colter must keep her out of the clutches of the notorious drug cartel leader whose traitor sister is a dead ringer for Danielle. The drug czar wants the drugs he thinks the pretty shop owner stole from him. And with the younger brother Danielle is raising dragged into the crosshairs, Colt has to find a way to protect them both. But a showdown at Christmas—with Danielle as bait—may be the only way to make sure they all survive the holidays.

Learn more and connect: Everything from social media to where to purchase books can be found at Jodie’s Website.  I communicate most through Facebook at Jodie’s Facebook

Question for Readers:  What is your favorite spot in your house and why?

Come back Nov 3rd for Jodie’s romantic excerpt!