Meet author Jodie Wolfe
Jodie Wolfe creates novels where hope and quirky meet. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), Romance Writers of America (RWA), and COMPEL Training. She’s a contributor and co-founder of Stitches Thru Time blog. When not writing she enjoys spending time with her husband in Pennsylvania, reading, walking, and being a Grammie.
Tell us about your newest book.
In 1875, Kansas bachelor Drew Montgomery’s sole desire is to serve God, but his congregation’s ultimatum that he marry or leave, forces him to advertise for a wife by proxy. Jules Walker strides into Drew’s life wearing breeches and toting a gun and saddle–more cowboy than bride. After years on the trail, she’s not exactly wife material, but she longs for home and family, and will do anything to ensure Drew never discovers what she really is.
What inspired you to write Taming Julia?
I’ve always had a fascination with the whole mail-order bride era. How could a woman answer an advertisement, choosing to leave all she’d known in order to take a chance on love and find a new path in life? How did she choose to leave the familiar and step into the unknown with someone she’d never met?
The more I studied stories and clippings from the past, the more my mind kept spinning with ideas. What would happen if a pastor was dictated by his congregation that if he wanted to keep his job, he had to find a wife by a certain time? What if the wife he advertised for was completely different than what he expected? How would he handle it? That nugget of an idea is what spurred the inspiration for Taming Julia.
How would you describe this book to someone in a 30-second blurb?
A gun-toting, breeches-wearing wife wasn’t what the minister ordered.
What genre do you focus on and why?
Ever since I was a little girl and read my first Little House on the Prairie book, I had a fascination with the 19th Century. I don’t know if it was the fact that people lived more simply back then, or the whole idea of eking out a life on a prairie from scratch that drew me in.
Why do you write? What drives you?
I write because it’s part of the way God created me. I love to come up with characters and create a story world and then let my characters go so I can see what happens to them.
Who is your main character, and how did you choose that name?
My heroine’s name is Julia Montgomery (since they marry by proxy before the story begins), but she goes by Jules. I look at her as a diamond (jewel) in the rough. It will take a lot of chipping away to find the precious gem that she is.
What is your work schedule like when you’re writing a book?
It all depends. Taming Julia I actually wrote within two months, but that’s unusual. Most often it takes a few months to write and then a month or so to edit.
What is the hardest part of being an author?
Editing, marketing and promotion. Marketing and promotion are a stretch for me because they are way out of my comfort zone as an introvert. Editing is hard too because I’m so closely tied to the story that sometimes it’s difficult to see the errors.
What’s the best part of your author’s life?
It never gets old seeing something I wrote in print, but it means a lot to hear from readers that my story (stories) have touched them and drawn them closer to the Lord. That’s the ultimate reason why I write – to share His hope with others.
What’s one unusual fact about you?
I like to insert quirkiness in each of my characters. Let’s see… a quirk or two about me… I’ve been known to drink pickle juice (dill) and every winter you’ll find me and my husband praying for snow.
How have you changed or grown as a writer?
I actually wrote Taming Julia over eight years ago. I’ve changed a lot as a writer during that time. I think I’ve learned more tenacity to stick with things even though an end isn’t in sight – to trust God to work things out in His timing and in His way.
What is your favorite pastime?
Other than writing? Reading and spending time with my best friend, my husband.
Do you have other books? We’d love to know.
Taming Julia is actually my seventh book in print. I also have written Hearts Tightly Knit, Love in the Seams, Let Love Spring, The Hope of Christmas, To Claim Her Heart, and Mrs. Wigglesworth’s Essential Guide to Proper Etiquette and Manners of Refined Society.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on two books – a sequel to Taming Julia (part of the Burrton Springs Brides series) as well as a book set in the town where I live dealing with belonging entitled, Hannah’s Quest.
Website: https://www.jodiewolfe.com
Links to book:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/taming-julia-jodie-wolfe/1136004491?ean=9781522302711
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Jodie_Wolfe_Taming_Julia?id=FH7IDwAAQBAJ
Social media links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jodie-Wolfe-553400191384913
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JodieAWolfe
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/JodieAWolfe
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15220520.Jodie_Wolfe
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Jodie-Wolfe/e/B01EAWOHXO/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
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