Jody Hadlock‘s novel is inspired by a true story.
What is your favorite non-reading activity?
I practice yoga and Pilates. They keep me sane!
Is there another profession you would like to try?
After college I was a TV news reporter and anchor for more than a decade. As a general assignment reporter, I covered quite a bit of crime and got to know a lot of people in law enforcement. I think being a detective would be a fascinating career, though also very stressful.
Do you collect anything? If so, what, why, and for how long?
For my ninth birthday, my aunt gave me a printer’s tray. I started collecting small things to display and haven’t stopped. Everywhere I travel I buy something, like a thimble or lapel pin, that will fit in the small slots. I also display personal memorabilia that I’ve kept from my childhood. I have three printer trays hanging on my wall and need to buy more!
What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
Working with a freelance editor. At first I was hesitant to spend money on it, but I decided to try as I felt like I needed some professional input on my manuscript. I’m so glad I did. My editor, Bridget Boland, is phenomenal. She helped make my debut novel so much stronger. Bridget was so instrumental in the process, I dedicated The Lives of Diamond Bessie to her (along with my husband). We’ve also become great friends, which is an added bonus.
What brings you great joy as a writer?
When a reader tells me how much they enjoyed my novel. That’s what it’s all about for me: reader enjoyment. Diamond Bessie isn’t straight historical fiction. It’s also part mystery and part ghost story. Some readers don’t like paranormal fiction, but it’s the way some of the story, which is based on true events, needed to be told. When someone “gets” my novel, it’s the most satisfying feeling to me as a writer.
Jody Hadlock’s love of history goes all the way back to junior high, when she was a member of the Junior Historians of Texas, so it’s no surprise her first novel is historical. After graduating from Texas A&M University with a degree in journalism, Jody spent more than a decade as a television news reporter and anchor, in Bryan-College Station, Texas; Charleston, South Carolina; and San Antonio, Texas. Jody left journalism to serve as vice president of communications for a nonprofit public policy group in Washington, DC. She held that position for nearly a decade before returning to Texas.
Her debut novel, The Lives of Diamond Bessie, has won several awards, including first place in the American Fiction Awards, Firebird Book Awards, Global Book Awards, PenCraft Book Awards, and a bronze IPPY (Independent Publisher Book Awards). It’s also a finalist for the May Sarton Award, given annually by Story Circle Network in honor of the 20th-century poet and novelist. Jody also writes screenplays and won the 2020 Dallas International Film Festival’s screenplay contest.
*This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a commission. Thanks.
Award-winning author Rebecca D’Harlingue writes about seventeenth-century women forging a different path. Her debut novel, The Lines Between Us, won an Independent Press Award and a CIBA Chaucer Award. Her second novel, The Map Colorist, won a Literary Titan Award and a Firebird Book Award.
0 Comments