Jody Wallace grew up in the South
in a very rural area. She went to school a long time because there was always
something new to learn and ended up with a Master's Degree in Creative Writing.
Her resume includes college English instructor, technical documents editor,
market analyst, web designer, and general all around pain in the butt. She
currently lives in Tennessee with her family: 1 husband, 2 kids, 2 cats. One of
her many alter egos is "The Grammar Wench", which should give you an
indication of her character. She is a terrible packrat and likes to amass vintage
clothing, books, Asian-inspired kitchenware, gnomes, and other items that
threaten to force her family out of the house. She also likes cats. A lot.
Ms. Wallace's approach to writing
is to tell as many outlandish lies as she can get her readers to swallow. Her
dream is to be moderately well-paid for this service. She is active in RWA and
occasionally conducts writing workshops. Among topics she's been known to cover
are training sessions for contest judges (she coordinated her local RWA chapter
contest for many years), point of view, dialogue punctuation and creativity
enhancement.
Her headshots were taken by Cindy
Sarlo Photography of Dixon, TN.
Herman Edward Heckley knows all about drywall, concrete, and nail guns. So what's he doing fighting off taffeta in a bridal salon? He’s maid of honor for his best friend, Caroline Oakenfeld, in her wedding to a pencil-necked geek. But the closer he gets to the ceremony, the more he wonders if he's been missing out all this time.
Caroline has been missing out, and she knows it. She’s been in love with Heck forever, but frittering her life away until Heck wises up isn’t part of her life plan. She’s agreed to marry her boyfriend so she can move on with her life. But the closer she gets to the ceremony, the more she realizes she has to resolve her feelings for Heck.
For better or for worse.
Q) What inspired you to write this story?
I grew up in the American South and really enjoy Southern-set fiction, both writing and reading. Since I love romance, too, the Tallwood setting took shape in my mind as being fertile grounds for many fun stories of love and laughter. I like trying my had at some down-to-earth characters in today’s market full of billionaires and vampires.
Q) How long did it take you to write?
This novella took about a month to write. I can’t say how long it took to edit because that particular process is different with every editor.
Q) What is your favorite thing about writing?
I like the fact my home office is a recliner and I can be productive without having to dress for the office.
Q) What is your least favorite thing about writing?
Figuring out which is my least favorite part of it? There’s so much to love...and tomorrow I may hate those very same things. Heh.
Q) If you could be any famous person for one day, who would you be and why?
I would be someone very wealthy, who wouldn’t miss the money, and I would pay for a really nice tornado shelter to be built at the Wallace household! Tornado season in the US’s tornado alley is getting worse every year.
Q) What is the oldest thing in your fridge and how old is it?
I don’t know what it is or how old it is, but I’ve been scared to touch it for about eighteen months. It’s in the bottom of the right produce drawer. So far it doesn’t seem to have achieved sentience, so I should be safe.
Q) What can readers expect from you in the future?I’ve got an SF Romance with Entangled coming out in 2014 via their Suspense line.
