A warm welcome to Jodie Griffin joining us today to talk about new release “Once in a Lifetime”.

Welcome Jodie 🙂

FIVE BIGGEST DISTRACTIONS FROM MY WRITING

Hi! I’m Jodie Griffin, and I write contemporary romance and kinky erotic romance. I’m here to talk about my sixth published book, TWICE IN A LIFETIME, a contemporary female/female story with mature characters—and my first story for Riptide!

Talk about distractions—this book took me about two years to write (and almost another year to get it submitted, accepted, to accept the contract, and to do edits…..)  I had actually discussed my story idea with Sarah Lyons at the Riptide Spotlight at RWA in San Antonio—which was in 2014. So why all the distractions…and what were they?

• Day job. I work a full-time technical job and it’s one where I work a normal 8am to 5pm and then also sometimes have to do night work, which usually starts at 9pm and can go anywhere from 2 hours to 8 hours. Hard to write—hard to FOCUS—at 4am if you’ve already worked a full day. If something has to give? It’s usually the writing….
• Social media. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 😉 I’m addicted to Twitter. Its’ my place to unwind, my authorial water cooler, the place where I often say “I have found my people.” I’ve learned to close the browser if I really need to get writing done, or else I am easily distracted…..
• Real life, part 1.  I wrote the bulk of this story while I caring for my terminally ill mother, who passed away at the beginning of 2017. She was diagnosed just after MATZOH AND MISTLETOE came out in December 2013, and it was a very long few years as her primary care-giver—time I don’t regret, but incredibly stressful. Luckily, my full-time job allows me to work from home and has some built-in flexibility, so I was able to do what I needed to do and not have to take time off work, but my writing? Oy. Some weeks, I didn’t write at all….and so it was the slowest story I’ve ever gotten down on paper.
• Real life, part 2. At the start of 2016, my husband, my daughter and I all had one medical emergency after another.  Needless to say, that’s a distraction…. Some people are able to write during those times, and some people find it a good way to channel all that emotional stress and strain. Me? Nope. I shut down.  No words show up…
• My newest distraction, WALKING. After all of the stresses of the last few years, I finally realized I needed to take care of Jodie, too—I’d like to be around a lot longer.  So I started walking every morning before work, which had been one of my writing times. I listen to audio books as I walk, which helps me write better—listening to the flow of other peoples’ dialogue and prose.  And then my doctor suggested adding some more distance to my walking, so I also started walking in the evenings—prime writing time.

Here’s the thing about some distractions, though…some of them can help me focus. Like walking, because when I get back after burning off restless energy? I’m ready to sit and write! And even time on social media—if I feed my need to socialize (er, in an introverted kind of way!) then I can turn it off and get to work.  Which is a good thing…..

I’d like to thank Love Bytes Reviews for letting me stop by, and I hope you take the chance to visit all of the other blog sites that are part of this tour. Leave a comment and you’ll be entered to win a $25 Riptide Publishing gift card.

About Twice in a Lifetime

When widow Talia Wasserman applies for a job with the local police department, she’s shocked to discover she’ll be working for Lieutenant Eve Poe, an officer she’d met—and been attracted to—during a long-ago citizen’s police academy workshop. Fifteen years later, the spark is still there, and no one’s currently in Talia’s life or in her bed. But there’s just one teeny, tiny problem. Eve is her boss, so she’s completely off-limits.

Eve feels a sizzling connection with Talia from the very first, but Talia works for her, and that’s just a bad idea. Besides, Eve needs to focus on the person sending disturbing emails to her office, and not on the woman who quickly makes herself invaluable to the department. It’s too bad her heart doesn’t agree with her.

Then Eve is badly injured in the line of duty, and Talia’s worst fears are realized. She may lose her chance at happiness with the woman she’s come to love, and she can’t survive that kind of loss twice in a lifetime.

Available now from Riptide Publishing!

Amazon

About Jodie Griffin

Jodie Griffin didn’t always want to be a writer. She spent hours reading, but school papers were written one painful word at a time. Then a story idea came, demanding to be put on paper. After years of practice, she took the leap, submitted her first manuscript, and hasn’t looked back.

Jodie is also an avid photographer, a chocoholic, and a lover of bad puns. When she’s not writing, she’s likely out stalking the moon for that perfect shot.

Jodie’s own happily ever after includes one incredibly supportive husband and one future heroine. Visit Jodie at www.jodiegriffin.com.

Connect with Jodie:

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/Jodie-Griffin-165472856805202/
• Twitter: twitter.com/Jodie_Griffin
• Tumblr: jodiegriffin.tumblr.com/
• Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/jodiegriffin/
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/authorjodiegriffin/

To celebrate the release of Twice In a Lifetime, one lucky winner will receive a $25 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on January 27, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!