A "Hi, Y'all" and a Little Bit About What Shapes My Stories

 Hi, y'all!

I'm Jodie Bailey, and I'm so honored to be a new face here. This is such an amazing group of ladies, and being a part of this little family of "sisters" is a privilege.  I can't wait to get to know all of you better!

I thought I'd tell you a little bit about me so I won't be a stranger any longer. I write inspirational romantic suspense, and there is usually a soldier or two either in a starring role or passing through. Why? Because despite the fact that I swore in college that I would never date a soldier, God saw fit to have me marry one. And 27 years later, I'm very glad I was wrong about the kind of man I thought I wanted to marry. ;-) I wanted a guy who wrote me poetry.  My guy wound up being the dude who does stuff like this:

Yep. He's the lead jumper in that shot, leaping out of a plane from heights I don't even want to think about. He did this for work and for fun, so... Yeah. So not the quiet guy I thought I wanted. So very much the live-out-loud man I needed. 

At any rate, the first fifteen years of our marriage found us moving... a lot. And it found me doing a lot of volunteer work with soldiers and their families. It's a unique lifestyle that people don't fully understand if they haven't lived it. That's one of the reasons you'll find a touch of it in every book I write. It's fun to give a glimpse into that world, and it gives me joy to remember the people and places we've encountered.

Two other things you'll find in a lot of my books are big heaps of grace and triumph over fear. Here's me when I was 19:

That was the era of big hair... and of big fear. You can't see it in that photo, but I was in the throes of a ten-year battle with a panic disorder called agoraphobia. We'll talk more about that some other time, but it derailed my life plans. It held me prisoner. And now that I've been free of it for over twenty years, I can look back and see that it changed me for the better. I want to write stories that give hope to people like the girl in that photo. Stories that show readers they're not alone. Stories that communicate there is light on the other side and that beauty comes from ashes. I'd like to go back and tell that girl that she was amazing and strong, because she sure didn't think so. Instead, I'll tell my readers--including you--that they are amazing and strong.

That's a little bit about me. The tip of the iceberg. I'm looking forward to being a part of the family here and to watching us all take some small side journeys together in our books and posts. This is an awesome place to be. I'm glad we're all here!

Oh, and a PS... here's me today, with the dude who rides a Harley now instead of strapping on a parachute. We were at a music festival in Manteo, NC because, while that soldier of mine might not write me poetry, he does love him a bluegrass song. 

See you soon!

-Jodie