Going in Circles by Jodie Bailey

Going in Circles: Sometimes you have to go where you've been to get where you're going. 

Public relations manager Samantha Dellinger spends her days making stock car drivers shine while keeping her own imperfections well hidden. If only good PR could fix what's wrong with her soul. After a scandal threatens the Dellinger racing team, Sam can't afford to take any more chances. But that's exactly what their new driver, Nate Thomas, wants her to do… take a chance on him. As the two grow closer, the idea seems ever more appealing, but Sam has a secret she can't risk exposing. Even if Nate could accept her past, Sam isn't sure she'll ever be free of it. And when that secret shows up at her door, eager to tempt her back into his arms, will she fall back into old ways, or will she finally confront the past and risk her future for the kind of love she never dreamed existed? 

Heidi here. Oh my, reading Going in Circles by Jodie Bailey was such a treat! Jodie has written a number of suspense novels with Love Inspired, but Going in Circles is all romance💓

The first book of the Dellinger Racing Series, Going in Circles gripped me from the very start. When I first met Samantha and Nate they were both so very broken, and that emotional baggage endeared me to them from page one. That brokenness and honesty from both characters kept me flipping pages wanting to know how their story ends. The author writes in first person, has an amazing sense of humor, and a marvelous storytelling voice.

The settings were amazing. I felt like I was sitting with Sam on her swing overlooking the lake. And in her basement apartment with her father living above her. And in the backseat of the car while Sam and Nate were together or when Sam and Ryan, her cousin, tooled around. The house Nate bought in the middle of the book, I want to live there! Oh, and last but not least, I want to eat at Mervin's because Shirley sounds like the funniest waitress😀

The plot involved car racing, which I am not very familiar with, but I found that world quite fascinating. Though I must say, car racing took a backseat to the romance Jodie Bailey built in this novel.

Suffice it to say, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Going in Circles and can't wait for the second in the series, Stalled Out, to release! 

Sit-Down with Jodie Bailey #Giveaway

Howdy y'all! Crystal here. Welcome to our first Sit-Down Saturday of September! Can you believe 2/3 of the year is gone? I sure can't. But as they say, time flies when you're having fun, so I'm sure the next few moments will zoom on by because I've got some great fun lined up for y'all today. Jodie Bailey is in the hot seat, and it's always such a treat to have her here. Some of you might not know this, but Jodie used to be a STT contributor. :) She is also a CBA bestseller author, Selah Award winner, 2014 RT Reviewers Choice Award winner, an RT Book Reviews Top Pick, a (retired) Army wife, mom, former schoolteacher...

And now that I've run out of breath, let's hear a bit from Jodie. :)

Congratulations on your newest release, ma'am! What is Breach of Trust about? 

Former soldier Meghan McGuire is about to step into her dream, running a home for troubled foster children. But when the partner she thought was dead steps out of the shadows, her life takes a sudden turn into a past he can never uncover. Tate Walker never thought he’d see Meghan again, and he certainly never thought she’d be the target of a hacker who is determined to undermine the U.S. military. Now, Tate has to protect Meghan from an enemy who can’t be seen while he searches for information she wants to keep hidden. As the seconds tick toward a hacker’s revenge, Tate and Meghan have to battle for their country… and for each other.

Where did you get the inspiration for your story? 

For every book, my cousin Ben gives me an "easter egg" I have to drop into the story. When I was working on Smokescreen, it was "someone mowing the lawn with a manual pushmower." I had to figure out a way to get two people--who were on the run in the cold months in upstate New York--in touch with someone pushing a mower. Well, I figured it out, and Tate Walker was born. He showed up in Compromised Identity and readers started asking for his story. I was pretty intrigued by this man who had been an undercover operative, was nearly killed in the line of duty, and who had lost everything in the aftermath. And the story was born!

Wow! I can't wait to hear more. :) Do you have a favorite scene in the book? If so, can you tell us a bit about it? 

Normally, I wouldn't go with this one, but... the kissing scene. Tate and Meghan were partners who knew each other for years and worked undercover together all over the world. Meghan left her job when she realized she was in love with him, and then she thought he died. That moment when they both come to realize they love each other and they both drop their guard enough to show one another a glimpse of their heart? I loved it. They were so real in my head in that moment to me.

Sounds like a great moment! I love it when things come together so perfectly. Tell us, what do you hope folks will take away from your story? 

That God's love is unconditional and that grace is a natural outgrowth of that love. We mess up. We mess up BAD. But God's not waiting to turn his back on us. He's waiting for us to turn to him so we can be restored to him.

A wonderful point! Folks, are you ready to go out and snatch the book yet? I know I'm intrigued. :)

Jodie, what do you plan to work on next? 

Right now, I'm working on a longer suspense series about a family who has just learned a dark secret about one of their own. Each book deals with some type of fear and how they overcome it. I'm also writing a book on the Texas Rangers for Love Inspired suspense and plotting out more books in the series Breach of Trust is a part of, about an elite military unit that battles cyber-terrorism.

They all sound like great reads! Can't wait! Where can readers connect with you? Where can readers buy your book(s)? 

I'm at www.jodiebailey.com. From there, you can find all of my Twitter and Facebook information. Links to buy the books are also on the book pages on my website.

Okay, last but not least, what is one of the weirdest/quirkiest thing you've ever done? 

Hmmm... That's a tough one. I used to teach middle school, so that list is probably longer than it should be. Weird is kind of normal in middle school, so it's hard to make that call. My husband says it's the fact I eat banana and mayonnaise sandwiches. 
I think it's, uhm, longer than it should have been in high school when that whole New Kids on the Block thing happened and, well...I kind of hung their Coca-Cola BILLBOARD on my wall. Joe McIntyre's teeth were twice the size of my fist...

LOL. I think we all had odd phases, but I have to admit, I think the banana and mayonnaise sandwich might top all the rest. :) Thanks so much for sharing with us today, Jodie, and thanks, everyone, for joining us. As a special treat and to keep the fun going, Jodie has offered to giveaway her whole trilogy--Smokescreen, Compromised Identity, and Breach of Trust!

If you want to be entered in the drawing, leave a comment below. The winner will be announced in the Monday Weekly Wind-up post. :)

So let's chat. Have you read any of Jodie's books? Do you enjoy romantic suspense? (I know I do.) What is a quirky thing that you eat? Anyone else enjoy banana and mayonnaise sandwiches?

Compromised Identity by Jodie Bailey

Staff sergeant Jessica Dylan confronts a female soldier in the act of stealing her laptop—and almost pays with her life. But a blue-eyed mystery man rushes to her aid just in time, and Jessica learns the handsome army staff sergeant has been investigating her. Sean Turner believes a ring of cyberterrorists who've been attacking military bases are now specifically targeting Jessica. And he's determined to figure out why they are tracking her every move. As the threats against Jessica escalate and attempts are made on her life, Sean vows to stop the hackers. Yet the heart-scarred soldier is set on keeping an emotional distance…especially when they discover what the terrorists are really after.

Heidi here. Compromised Identity, by Jodie Bailey, is a fast paced page turner! Even though this is a stand-alone novel, I was pleasantly surprised to see some characters from the first book in this series, Smokescreen, come back and play a part in this novel.

Jodie Bailey, a military wife, knows the ins and outs of a military base, and that knowledge shows in the intricate plot.The strong characters are well-developed and come alive on the page. But, the icing on the cake was the conflict, which didn't let up until the very end.

Grab your copy today!

Author Interview with Jodie Bailey

Heidi here. We've all met Jodie Bailey on this blog. But, today we are going to talk about a relevant issue in her latest book, Smokescreen, panic attacks. I'm hoping that Jodie's story may help one of you out there.

Jodie after she won the Selah award

Jodie Bailey writes novels about freedom and the heroes who fight for it. Her novels include 2014 RT Reviewers Choice Award winner Crossfire, from Love Inspired Suspense and the 2015 Selah in Contemporary Romance for Quilted by Christmas, from Abingdon Press. 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.  You can find her on the web at jodiebailey.com.

Jodie, thank you for visiting with us today! I’d like to do a different twist in this interview, let’s talk about the motivation behind Smokescreen, your latest novel. I know that the main character, Ashley, has panic attacks brought on by PTSD. You modeled much of her behavior after a portion of your personal life. Could you share your experiences with us?

Outer Banks (Jodie's favorite place)

Growing up, I had the tendency to stuff the bad things that happened in my life. I was the master of “being strong” by the time I was in middle school.  My dad tells the story of how, when I was ten, I took a HUGE swig of hot chocolate at church and just sat blinking back tears and saying nothing.  According to him, that’s when he “should have known something was wrong.”  People complemented me on how well I handled some very heavy duty things that happened in my childhood, so I thought it was a good thing to be so strong. 

The problem is, when you stuff something full, it explodes.  The week after I graduated high school, I completely derailed.  My best friend and I were at the beach and got food poisoning and were carted to the hospital by ambulance. (It’s actually a funny story now, but it’s better told in person with dramatic hand gestures and facial expressions.)  She got better.  I did not.  I started having panic attacks anywhere I felt like I was “trapped” with too many people.  At the mall.  At a good friend’s wedding.  (Who just happened to be my ex-boyfriend, so boy howdy, was THAT ever taken wrong by a few people…) By mid-summer, I refused to leave my house, even locking myself in a closet, leaving my dad terrified I was going to do something horrible.  I was scared to eat, to talk on the phone, to get the mail…  I couldn’t begin to tell you what I was afraid of, I only knew that I was afraid and being around a lot of people triggered it. 

Gosh, that sounds scary. How did God show Himself during that time?

At the time, I was so angry, scared, depressed…  I lost my scholarship to my dream college.  I watched my friends go off to school while I sat in my bedroom and wondered if I’d ever be normal again.  I saw a good counselor and was put on medication after a few months, and I was able to live a fairly normal life again for the next ten years.  But it was always there in the back of my mind.  I had a lot of angry words for God over those ten years about why He didn’t fix it immediately.  But I look back and all I see is Him, hovering over that whole time.  Right beside me.  He held me through it all, even in those times I couldn’t feel Him.  Even when I was mad at Him.  All I see when I look back now isn’t fear… it’s God and all of the people and places He put in my life, all of the work He did on me.  My life is so different than it would have been without that season, but in the very best of ways. 

That sounds like a painful season, but necessary to build you up to the awesome person you are today! How did that time mold you into the Jodie Bailey that we love today?

God waited ten years to heal me, and I honestly now say I wouldn’t trade that time. I don’t want to relive it, but I wouldn’t trade it.  It made me lean on Him so hard. I used to think I had my life in control and all planned out and I was doing fine on my own, but He taught me differently.  I trust Him in a way that I wouldn’t have otherwise.  I have so much sympathy for people who suffer.  It’s easy to be judgmental, but when you’ve been there... I’ve sat with students having panic attacks and known what to say, how to comfort them… and that right there makes it all worth it.  Because it’s so easy to think you’re the only one when there are literally millions of people who’ve had at least one—and usually more—in their lifetime.

I’m with you. I went through a hard time years ago but, like you said, I would not trade that hard time because it grew me. But, back to you. In the beginning of the story, Ashley experiences a panic attack and Ethan pulls into a gas station so that she can get out of the car. The scene was very vivid. How real were Ashley’s symptoms compared to your own?

Spot on.  That scene was so hard to write, because I had to draw on emotions that have been absent from my life for over a decade.  That’s a place I never want to go to again, but I had to force myself back into that feeling in order to make Ashley real.  The pounding heart, the crawling skin, the wanting to jump out of a moving vehicle.  Digging fingernails into anything trying to hold it together. For me, it literally felt like my insides were pounding their way out of my skin and if I didn’t get out of wherever I was RIGHT THAT SECOND, I’d blow into pieces.  It’s hard to describe that you literally can’t control yourself.  I used to say imagine you’re hiding in a closet from a man with a knife, and he’s turning the doorknob.  How would you feel?  Now imagine feeling that randomly… and for no reason at all.

Very scary. And in that same scene, Ashley revealed that she didn’t care if the bad guys found her. At least she wouldn’t be tormented by terror anymore. In the moment of a panic attack, does the victim feel that powerless?

Most definitely.  I was never suicidal, but I can easily see where someone might be.  There were moments where I’d think that dying would be better than suffering through an attack. 

Can you share how you were able to overcome your panic attacks and how you currently keep them at bay? 

I will say this unequivocally and truly…  God healed me.  After ten years of fear, on my birthday in 2001, after a long period of having me face some things from my past and letting them go, He healed me.  I grew up not believing in God’s healing in that way, so I know that’s a tough one for a lot of people to believe, but I stand here in the truth. I am nearly 14 years free and there is no explanation but God. He took a decade to heal me, but in that time I became a different person, one I’m grateful to be.  I’m also aware that, for some people, it doesn’t happen like that.  I was careful to make Ashley still have after effects, because I don’t want to act like it’s an easy fix or that everybody’s road will look like mine.  He had His reasons, and it all had to happen.

I found Ashley and her faith very believable. Before the incident that started the panic attacks, she believed in God, prayed to Him. But after that incident she felt God had left her. During the book, she is faced with difficult circumstances and out of a deep-seated habit, prays to God. Towards the end of the book, she realizes that God never left her. That scene was powerful!

Jodie, thank you for sharing such a personal matter with us and congratulations on the release of Smokescreen. I really enjoyed Smokescreen (I actually reviewed it yesterday on the blog!), especially the intense interplay between Ashley and Ethan.

Compromised Identity, another Love Inspired Suspense, releases in January 2016. Then, in 2016, Jodie steps away from suspense with The Dellinger Racing Series, the first title is Going in Circles.

Smokescreen by Jodie Bailey

Heidi here. I just finished Smokescreen by Jodie Bailey and can I say I. Loved. It. What a page turner!

When her life is on the line, Ashley Colson is rescued by the last person she ever expected to see again. Military officer Ethan Kincaid might have disappointed her once in the past, but now he's the only person who can keep her safe. They're under the gun to decode top secret files that can save the life of a friend who is in enemy hands. But the killers will pull out all the stops to get their hands on the files…and Ashley. With time running out, can they put aside their past and find the answers that could give them a future?

This suspense novel held intrigue & tension for the entire read! Ashley and Ethan had a great sparring relationship through the book. The romance was almost immediate on each end, except the reader was the only one to know ~ which made the novel even more interesting. Their intense interplay kept me reading and wondering. A must read!

Weekly Wind-Up: Comment to Win Land of My Dreams by Norma Gail!

Congratulations to Mary Preston who was the winner of last week's giveaway of Quilted By Christmas by Jodie Bailey.

Also announcing the winner of last Saturday's giveaway of Hope in My Heart: A Collection of Heartwarming Stories by Alexis Goring. Winner is: Marian Merritt!

If you are a winner, please contact us here with your address to claim your prize. 

 

This week's giveaway is:

Land of My Dreams by Norma Gail

 
Alone and betrayed, American professor, Bonny Bryant longs for a haven of peace. She accepts a position at a small Christian college in Fort William, Scotland, craving escape from her painful past. The passionate love which develops when she meets fellow professor and sheep farmer, Kieran MacDonell, is something she never anticipated.

Kieran harbors a deep anger toward God in the face of his own devastating grief. When Bonny’s former fiancé reenters her life, Kieran’s loneliness draws him to a former student.

How will Bonny decide between her rivals? Can they set aside the past to make way for a future, or will it drive them apart? 

Comment on any post this week to enter!

 

Coming up this week:

Musing Monday: The Captain and the Dancing Natives with Amber Schamel

Tidbit Tuesday: Medicinal Wisdom of the Ancients with Special Guest Elizabeth Kitchens

Woven Wednesday: Colonial American Craft by Susan Craft

Thoughtful Thursday: Laura Jackson shares a book review

Fun Friday: Poppies for Remembrance with Terri Wangard

Sit-Down Saturday: Norma Gail interviews the heroine of this week's giveaway book, Bonnie Bryant!

We look forward to hanging out with you this week!

    Winners will be announced in the Weekly Wind-up.

 Check out our Prizes Galore Page to see all our giveaways.

Weekly Wind-Up: Comment to Win Quilted by Christmas By Jodie Bailey!

Congratulations to Britney Adams who was the winner of last week's giveaway of A $10 Amazon Gift Card (Compliments of Patricia Bradley)

Also announcing the winner of last Saturday's giveaway of The Preacher’s Promise by Piper Huguley. Winner is: Melanie Backus!

If you are a winner, please contact us here with your address to claim your prize. 

 

This week's giveaway is:

Quilted By Christmas By Stitches Author Jodie Bailey

A grandmother’s last wish is to communicate God’s love through an Irish chain quilt. 
Taryn McKenna believes she’s easy to forget. Abandoned by her parents and left behind when her high school sweetheart joined the army, she vows to never love again and throws herself into her love for the outdoors and the pursuit of a college degree—something no one else in her family has ever accomplished. Her goal, as a young teacher in the hills of North Carolina, is to leave a legacy in the lives of the middle-schoolers she teaches. When Taryn’s grandmother Jemma, the only other person who ever held her close, has a heart attack that reveals a fatal medical condition, Taryn is corralled into helping Grandma work on a final project—an Irish chain quilt that tells the story of her history and the love Jemma knows is out there for Taryn. As the pieces of the quilt come together, Taryn begins to see her value. Can she learn to believe that God will never leave her behind even though others have?

Comment on any post this week to enter!

Coming up this week:

Musing Monday: Scorched but Satisfied with Guest Blogger Patty Wysong

Tidbit Tuesday: Michigan's Logging Era with Michelle Morris

Woven Wednesday: Colonial America Aromatherapy with Susan Craft

Thoughtful Thursday: Book Review by Josie Downey

Fun Friday: With Peggy Wirgau

Sit-Down Saturday: Surprise Author Interview

We look forward to hanging out with you this week!

    Winners will be announced in the Weekly Wind-up.

 Check out our Prizes Galore Page to see all our giveaways.

Spaghetti Sauce Is the Same Thing as Love

There's a saying in my house.  Okay.  So it's a saying I say, though I'm not sure anyone else does.  "Caramel cake is love."  That's because, every single year of my life, my grandmother--we called her Bopum--made me a caramel cake for my birthday.  When she missed my birthday in 2008 because I lived in Georgia, she made me one for Easter.  In fact, that was the one time she let me help, and it's one of the last things we did together before she died suddenly a few weeks later.  (That's her with my daughter in the picture.  She'd just flown in for what would be her final visit with us, though we didn't know it at the time. Can you tell they loved each other?)

Well, my grandmother-of-German-ancestry had one other favorite dish.  Spaghetti.  Yep.  She could rock a spaghetti sauce like no one else. I used to sneak into the kitchen while that pot was on an all-day simmer, eat a bowl full, then clean up like she had no idea what I was doing.  (She did. She always knew what I was doing.)

When I sat down to write my novel Quilted by Christmas, my Bopum showed up on the pages in the form of Jemma.  Yep.  Caramel cake, spaghetti, and all.  And today, I'm sharing her spaghetti recipe with you.  Simple as it is, I have never been able to get it to taste the same as she did. Wonder why?

Bopum's Not-so-secret Spaghetti Sauce

1/2 to 1 pound ground beef

1 package Lawry's spaghetti seasoning (there's the secret. It must be that brand!)

2 8-oz cans tomato sauce

1 16-oz can tomato paste

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 large can sliced mushrooms

small onion, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

3 tomato paste cans of water, pluse 2 sauce cans of water

dash of garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and oregano to taste

Brown beef and drain.  Saute' green pepper and onion 'til tender.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer on low for no less than two hours.  Longer is better.

And there you have it.  Now that I'm sitting here, I think I may need to make a pot.  Along with some caramel cake.

How about you?  Are there any favorite family recipes you're willing to share?

Jodie Bailey is the author of several Love Inspired novels, including a novella in Holiday Defenders, releasing in October. Her contemporary romance, Quilted by Christmas, also releases in October. She currently lives in North Carolina, in her grandmother's house, and her desk sits in the exact same place as her grandmother's sewing table. She has not yet mastered caramel cake... or spaghetti sauce.

What Are You Reading?

Know what I hardly ever get to talk about any more?

The books I'm reading.

Seems odd, doesn't it?  A writer who doesn't get to talk about books enough?

Yeah, something's wrong with that one.

This summer, I thought I'd get to do a whole lot of reading.  After all, God called me away from my teaching job, so the summer was free of yearly planning and summer meetings… except it wasn't.  I still had a couple of meetings.  And I wound up watching my precious nephews.  And we got a new niece. And my daughter's best friend spent a week with us.  And… Bible School.  Wait.  Free time?  Where did you go?

But I did get to dive into some books and thought I'd share some short impressions with you.  Ready?  And start thinking… because I want to hear what you're reading.  I need to refresh the "to be read" pile!

Love Inspired Suspense's "Witness Protection" Series:
I fell into this one by accident.  I tend to read a lot of LIS novels when I'm writing, because it keeps my head in the game. I'm weird. If I'm reading women's fiction and writing suspense, it scrambles my brain.  Anyway, I read the fourth book first, then I had to go back and read the rest to find out what was happening with the illegal baby smuggling/selling/adoption ring. I loved the way the characters flowed among the stories, so we got to see them more than once.  And the suspense… yep.  Caught myself tensing up quite a bit in some of the stories.

 Julie L. Cannon's Scarlett Says:
Julie and I were agent mates, though I did not know her well. It still tilted the world a little when she passed away suddenly before this book was published. Abingdon sent me a copy to read, and it was actually the first book I read this summer.  It took me some time to get into it, largely because I had the wrong mindset going in.  I was expecting it to be something different than it was.  Once I readjusted, I realized Julie had a real talent for making quirky characters come to life.  Joan is different… and real. And you've got to love her in spite of the fact she's not like you and me. Siggy practically stole the novel… I loved him.  And the fun tidbits about Gone with the Wind and Margaret Mitchell re-piqued my interest.

Sarah Sundin's In Perfect Time:

I just finished this one two days ago.  I read it in four days. (I guess I did find some reading time after all…) Of course, I was very low on sleep by the time I turned the last page… Sarah Sundin will do that to you. I have yet to read one of hers that I can't put down.  If you're a fan of WWII novels, go buy her books now.  In Perfect Time is the conclusion of her "Wings of the Nightingale" series about flight nurses during WWII.  This one follows "bad girl" Kay Jobson, who really isn't such a bad girl after all. It's about what happens when your dreams change… and when God gets a-hold of you and turns your whole life around.  It's about who you really are versus who you think you are.  And, of course, it's about Kay and Roger… two people with pasts that haunt their presents.  My favorite book of the summer.  (I say that about all of her books… and it's true about all of her books.)

Now… what were your summer reads?  Any memorable books on your list?

Stitches Thru Time is celebrating its birthday! Leave a comment on any post this month to win a prize pack. Every comment is an entry, so visit often!

Jodie Bailey may or may not need more time to read. She's the author of two Love Inspired Suspense novels and has a novel with Abingdon Press, Quilted by Christmas, releasing in October.  In the same month, she has a novella in the Love Inspired Suspense collection Holiday Defenders.  She's looking forward to the fall and sweatshirt time… and many more good books to read.

Tidbit Tuesday--Was She Anything Like Scarlett?

Jodie here.  I know, it's typical for me to talk about the Outer Banks, but I've been reading up on something (well, someone) else lately, so why not share about that?  I share an agent with the lovely Julie Cannon, who passed suddenly in October 2012, leaving many friends stunned and saddened.  The "book of her heart," Scarlett Says, released this past October and it's been on my TBR pile.  Now that school's out, I've been able to dig in.  And it has me wondering about Margaret Mitchell, who (as pretty much all of us know) wrote Gone with the Wind.

I always knew Mitchell was killed when she was struck by a car. She was writing the sequel when she died.  That always made me sad.  And believe you me, I was not a fan of the 1991 sequel.  I believe it's the only book I ever threw at a wall.  :-)

What I did not know was that Margaret Mitchell declared she was more like Melanie Wilkes than Scarlett O'Hara.  After reading up on her a bit though, I wonder how well she knew herself.  Apparently, she was quite the flirt--and proud of it--and was a woman who had no problem standing up for herself or the things she believed in.  I think I'd have liked to have known her… and I think she was more Scarlett than she realized.

But it's her childhood years that fascinate me.  When you read her biography, you see where the characters from Gone with the Wind were born.  The family plantation in Wilkes County.  Great-grandparents who immigrated from Ireland to settle on a plantation near Jonesboro, where they proceeded to have a multitude of daughters.  A paternal grandfather who made his fortune running a lumber mill near post-war Atlanta.  Fearful nights hiding during race riots near her family home. Sundays with her aunts, uncles, and grandparents, who told story after story about the Old South and the ravages of the Civil War.

It's that passion, that drive in her blood, that made Gone with the Wind resonate for so many.  It's not the story itself, it's the people who populate the pages, people woven together from Margaret Mitchell's life and the lives of those she loved.  I agree with Steven James, who said, "Don't write what you know.  Write what you feel." Wouldn't all of our books be incredible if we took that one to heart?

Comment on this post or any other post this week for a chance to win Susan F. Craft's The Chaomile! See our giveaways page for more details!

Jodie Bailey was in Atlanta, GA visiting Agnes Scott College the day Scarlett was released.  The bookstores were insane.  She was also there the night the Braves won the World Series.  All of Atlanta was insane.  Her latest novel, Crossfire, is set an hour away from Atlanta and has absolutely nothing to do with Scarlett O'Hara or the Atlanta Braves.

Of Shipwrecks and Surf -- with Jodie Bailey

Good morning!  (When I originally typed that, it came out "God morning," which honestly might be a better way to say it, huh?)

The last time I got to do a Tidbit Tuesday, there was a lot of information that landed on the "cutting room floor."  Once I got started writing about the Outer Banks, there was no stopping.  So… why not continue today?

The Banks are pretty much known for shipwrecks, one of the reasons there are so many gorgeous lighthouses down there.  What fewer people know is how many of those shipwrecks literally sit on the beach or in the surf.  It fascinates me that they're right there in plain view, and it's another one of my favorite things about the place.  History is literally everywhere you look.

I think my favorite--although it's not the most dramatic--is the Oriental.  Right after you come off of the Bonner Bridge onto the island, you're in the Pea Island Reserve.  If you stop at the little center and go to the beach access directly across the road, you'll spot this:

The Oriental sank during the Civil War, brought low by a sailor sleeping at his post.  As close as the ship was to shore, the men being transported simply waited out the night and, with the help of some rope and the sailors at Fort Hatteras, hauled smaller boats across the next day.  Though all of the passengers and most of the cargo was saved, the ship was left in the surf, still visible today.

It's not unusual to walk along the beach and come upon the abandoned hull of a ship, ribs and all.  This history buff finds it incredible that so much is still there and so easily accessible.  There are some pretty dramatic tourist photos out there of some of the wrecks and websites dedicated to helping you find them.  The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum even sits at the "end of the road" down by the ferry landing on the south side of Hatteras.  With over 2,000 shipwrecks off the coast, it's really no wonder the area is called "The Graveyard of the Atlantic."

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Jodie Bailey is the author of Freefall and Crossfire, both available from Love Inspired Suspense.  In October, be on the lookout for Quilted by Christmas, an Abingdon Quilts of Love novel as well as a novella in LIS's Holiday Defenders.  Right now, she's wrapping up another year of teaching but, really, she wishes her toes were in the sand of Frisco Beach.