Author Spotlight: Leigh Baker

I am thrilled to have debut author Leigh Baker on my blog today. Leigh’s humorous memoir Is My Crazy Showing? was released on April 22, 2015. She is the outrageous personality behind reluctant-marathoner Steady Betty and writes at the utterly addictive blog www.leighbones.com. 

Exaggeration is her specialty. Leigh’s philosophy is you can’t hide crazy, so you may as well embrace it. Leigh brings an honest, fresh and daring truth to the literary world. When she’s not writing, she spends her time pestering the FBI for a job.

Though she’s a California girl at heart, she now lives in North Carolina with her husband, who she likens to Richard Gere in Pretty Woman, along with her two amazing children.

JET: Can you tell us about your most recent book?

LEIGH: My new book is titled, “Is My Crazy Showing?” It is a humorous memoir that takes readers on a hilarious journey through childhood love and loss, which leads to a preposterous hospitalization and sobering diagnosis. This memoir is a sidesplitting, triumphant feel-good story about surviving adolescence and a mental breakdown to ultimately create a family home filled with love, laughter and just the right amount of crazy.

JET: What drew you to humor?
LEIGH: I’ve always had a natural desire to entertain people. I love comedy and laughter it was just a natural fit for me to write humor.

JET: What’s been your most challenging hurdle on the road to publication?
LEIGH: I am not a natural sales person so the sales and marketing elements have been the hardest part, by far, for me. I find self-promotion very difficult. People confuse that with being shy; I am not shy. I just find it hard to pimp my own stuff.

JET: What was your favorite moment in the journey?
LEIGH: The moment your real-live-published-hold-it-in-my-hands book arrives on your doorstep!

JET: Which authors had the most influence over you growing up?
LEIGH: I did not appreciate reading until I became an adult. As an adult, I most admire David Sedaris. His humor seems effortless!

JET: When did you know you wanted to take the plunge into the writing world?

LEIGH: In 2009, I registered for a full marathon, although at the time I couldn’t run one uninterrupted mile. I hired a professional running coach, trained for five months and began to document my journey. During my training I emailed my family and friends about the dreadful circumstances that I had fortuitously brought on myself – physical ailments like blisters, wedgies and bad sports bras compounded by the mental anguish of fear and self-doubt. I did it all with endless sarcasm, wit and humor. The emails, which were intended to be nothing more than an entertaining Saturday morning read, went viral and spread like wildfire. My running alias, Steady Betty, became famous! The overwhelming response I received once the weekly emails and marathon were over was heartwarming. Family, friends and strangers who’d read my weekly emails craved more humorous tales from me. I received countless notes of encouragement claiming, You should be a writer! You HAVE to write a book! You’re so funny! And it was then that I decided to take the plunge into writing to entertain people.

JET: What’s the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of book research? Most interesting fact you uncovered?
LEIGH: Shooting the cover of the book was pretty crazy. I stood in the middle of downtown Durham during lunch hour wearing a straightjacket!

JET: Of all the novels and stories you’ve written - which one is your favorite? Why?
LEIGH: My favorite chapter in my book is titled, “Why Won’t The FBI Hire Me?” I feel like that chapter is the best-written chapter in the book and completely showcases my personality and passion.

JET: Any advice (from a writer’s standpoint) for the novices out there?
LEIGH: Be true to you. Be authentic. Write for you. Each human person is unique and original, and nobody has lived what you have lived. Someone may be waiting for your story to resonate with them.

JET: All right - now that I’ve hammered you with the big questions, let’s tackle my favorite (and geeky) quick ten... starting with Steak or Tofu?

LEIGH: Steak

JET: Beach or Mountains?

LEIGH: Beach

JET: Country or Rock-n-Roll?

LEIGH: Rock-n-Roll

JET: Leather or Lace?

LEIGH: Damn…this one’s hard….leather.

JET: Angels or Demons?

LEIGH: Angels

JET: Paper or Digital?

LEIGH: Paper

JET: Boxers or Briefs?

LEIGH: Boxers

JET: Spring or Fall?

LEIGH: Spring

JET: Coffee or Tea?

LEIGH: Coffee

JET: Sword wielding ninja or Gun toting momma?

LEIGH: Gun toting FBI Momma!

JET: Thank you for indulging me. Before we wrap this up, can you tell us what you're working on now? What's next?
LEIGH: Nothing in the works, but I think I might want to try stand-up!

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat on my blog. Folks, you can find out more about Leigh Baker and her work at the following places: www.leighbones.com

Until next time,

Ciao

JET

Special Guest Spotlight: Dishing with J.A. Todd

Today, I have the pleasure of dishing it up with special guest J.A. Todd, author of The Boy in the Back Row, which was released yesterday. Jim is a native of California, and now calls Atlanta his home. A graduate of Duke University and former naval aviator, he now works with a Fortune 100 company as a Lean Six Sigma expert on two multi-billion dollar programs. Over the course of his lifetime, he has experienced several brushes with death. He imbues his stories with the thoughts and feelings we often ponder when the world is fast asleep and we’re alone in the dark with just our thoughts—all alone.


JET: Can you tell us about The Boy in the Back Row?

J. A. Todd: Thanks, Jane. In The Boy in the Back Row, eight year-old Danny Christopher awakens from a near death experience with the power to raise the dead. When he unknowingly resurrects one of Hell’s prized souls—a notorious contract killer—Hell unleashes the Dark One to reclaim its property and deal with the boy. But three unlikely heroes— a repentant hit man, a guilt-ridden school teacher and a meek businessman—risk their lives to protect the innocent boy whose destiny will ultimately change the world.

Meanwhile in the Negev Desert, an ancient ruin stirs with dark foreboding when a mysterious seal is unearthed and burns a timid businessman with its divine mark—powerful enough to shake the foundations of Hell but useless unless he confronts his own demons.

When Danny resurrects a politically connected attorney, a video of the extraordinary event is broadcast around the world. Her killers—members of a secret, global drug cartel—suffer intolerable embarrassment at the woman’s resurrection. Threatened by the young dead raiser, they draw him out of hiding when a high value target—the country’s beloved First Lady—is assassinated.

With brutal gunmen on their heels and Hell’s Dark One closing in, a deadly showdown climaxes between Good and Evil, but not without unexpected consequences. These events trigger the prophetic countdown toward the end of the world or perhaps a new beginning.

JET: What drew you to paranormal thrillers?

J. A. Todd: I’ve always been fascinated with the supernatural even as a child. I grew up in a haunted house, which is fertile ground for a young boy’s imagination. There’s a certain fascination about the paranormal and the possibility of something existing beyond the veil of death.

JET: What’s been your most challenging hurdle on the road to publication?

J. A. Todd: Okay… this one’s an easy answer. It’s the discipline of writing and having the internal fortitude to shut the door and stare at a blank computer screen until the words flow. Talk about self-doubt, I’m sure every writer experiences this countless times in their career.

JET: What was your favorite moment in the journey?

J. A. Todd: Another great question. For me, it’s when I feel “in the zone”. Every writer feels it, I’m sure. For me, it didn’t come for five or six weeks after I began writing my first manuscript. But when it happens, it’s magical. I feel I’m “one” with my story and the hours of writing literally fly by.

JET: Which authors had the most influence over you growing up?

J. A. Todd: At the top of my list are Dean Koontz and Stephen King.

JET: When did you know you wanted to take the plunge into the writing world?

J. A. Todd: About thirty years ago, I suppose. And now that I’m writing nearly every day, I’ve discovered one immutable fact that the closest we ever come to being like God is when we’re creating something. And isn’t that what we’re doing when we write? Aren’t we creating our own worlds?

JET: What’s the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of book research? Most interesting fact you uncovered?

J. A. Todd: There is one section in my book where my main characters take a dangerous road trip from Atlanta to DC to save the First Lady. On a lark, I decided to drive the same route from Atlanta to DC, retracing my characters’ steps through the District, all the way up to the Capitol steps. It was a bit eerie to be quite honest, because I felt at times that my characters were real. What a feeling!

JET: Of all the novels and stories you’ve written - which one is your favorite? Why?

J. A. Todd: The Boy in the Back Row is my first published novel so that limits the playing field, I would say.

JET: Any advice for the novices out there?

J. A. Todd: Yes. Have faith in the discipline of writing and never waiver from your passion to create new worlds through your words. It’s as close as we can come to being god-like.

JET: All right - now that I’ve hammered you with the big questions, let’s tackle my favorite (and geeky) quick ten…starting with…Paper or Plastic?

J. A. Todd: Paper.

JET: Steak or Tofu?

J. A. Todd: Steak. I’m a carnivore.

JET: Beach or Mountains?

J. A. Todd: My favorite would be mountains. I enjoy the serenity and the smell of freshly brewed coffee in the morning.

JET: Country or Rock-n-Roll?

J. A. Todd: Geeze…I really couldn’t say. I love both.

JET: Coffee or Tea?

J. A. Todd: Most definitely coffee.

JET: Zombies or Demons?

J. A. Todd: Zombies.

JET: Top 10 best seller or Unknown Back Shelf Find?

J. A. Todd: I am especially fond of Suzanne Collin’s trilogy on The Hunger Games. Her writing is simple but she’s a master at spinning a good yarn. I love her description—not too much and not too little—that draws me into her world and makes it believable.

JET: Sword wielding ninja or Gun toting momma?

J. A. Todd: Gun toting momma, especially if she has a vulnerable side.

JET: Silent Film Classics or Cheesy B Rated Horror?

J. A. Todd: This is a no brainer: Silent film classics. It was the beginning of a new art form.

JET: 2012 Mayan Prophecy Believer or Ain’t Gonna Happen?

J. A. Todd: Hmmm… I’ll give you my answer on the morning of December 22nd.

JET: Thank you for indulging me. Before we wrap this up, can you tell us what you're working on now? What's next?

J. A. Todd: I’m working on the second story in the trilogy of The Boy in the Back Row. I’m also beginning work on a third manuscript entitled Eddie and Esther. I might describe it as a cross between Cocoon and Night at the Museum.

JET: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat on my blog. Folks, you can find out more about J.A. Todd over at http://www.novelconceptpublishing.com/.

You can purchase The Boy in the Back Row in e-book form at the following places:
Amazon       Barnes & Noble       Smashwords       All Romance        

and in paperback here. 

Until Next time,

Ciao

JET