#SaturdaySpotlight is on Jodie Bailey & Tracing Killer Evidence

Good Morning and Welcome to the last Saturday Spotlight of August, 2025!

Can you believe we're heading into the last few months of the year already? 

Me either, but let me tell you it's been an amazing ride so far. 😊

When I started putting this week's guest information up, I wondered... 

"I've known Jodie for years! Why hasn't she been here before?! 

"Je ne sais pas," as the French would say. "I don't know," in English, but I'm sure glad she's here now.

Welcome, Jodie! Please tell us a little about yourself...

Thanks, Pam, I often wondered myself why I never got around to visiting your blog. Thank YOU for having me now!

I am a New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly Best-selling author who writes “soul-stirring suspense” filled with love, faith and intrigue. My novel, Crossfire, was an RT Reviewers' Choice Award winner that was commended for addressing "the stigma associated with mental health services and the military." 

Besides (and above) all that, I am -first and foremost- a mom and Army wife who believes dark chocolate cures all ills. I live in North Carolina with my husband and a lab-husky mix. 😊

Love it! Now tell us about your book, Tracing Killer Evidence and why you wrote it...

Tracing Killer Evidence was such a blessing to write, because it was part of a continuity with other Love Inspired authors. It's always fun to work together, to get to know one another's characters, and to work them into my own story. It's a challenge to look back at prior books in the series and forward to the books after mine in order to wave in the right threads and make sure that we don't wind up with inconsistencies or plot holes. (And yay for the editors at LIS, who are rock stars at keeping everything together and making sure it all flows!) 

This book is about forgiveness, which is something I think we all struggle with. I wanted to look at how God calls us to forgive and to show it at work in a very broken relationship. I always learn so much when I'm writing a "God story," and He is definitely still working on me on that one!

Isn't HE always working on all of us on that?! LOL! Can you give us a sneak peek into the book and where we can find it?

Sure... Here is the blurb...

A string of unsolved kidnappings…A K-9 team out for justice…

Forensic artist Isabella Whitmore narrowly escapes an abduction attempt in the Dakota Badlands, only to find herself targeted by a mysterious assailant. With the help of FBI special agent Liam Barringer and his K-9, Guthrie, Isabella must uncover the identity of her would-be murderer. Is the culprit the elusive kidnapper turned serial killer who’s targeting Isabella because she matches his victim profile? Or has her secret past finally caught up with her? As the attacks escalate, Isabella and Liam must find the truth and stop the danger before it’s too late.

And an excerpt...

A dark sedan had slammed on its brakes in front of them. It had no license plate and no bumper stickers or identifying marks. Other than the make and model, there was nothing distinct about it.

The car didn’t move as Liam backed farther away then slammed on the brakes again a safe distance up the highway.

Isabella slammed against the headrest. She swallowed hard and gulped air, begging God for mercy for her swirling stomach and her spinning head. Begging Him for safety from this relentless assault.

After long moments where the only sound in the vehicle was the three of them breathing, the sedan suddenly gunned the engine and roared away with tires spinning. When it had gone about a tenth of a mile, the headlights and taillights vanished.

“He shut them off.” Liam smacked the steering wheel, then eased the SUV to the side of the road.

“You’re not going to follow him?” Her motion sickness forgotten in her ire, Isabella disentangled her hand from Guthrie’s collar as she threw her right hand toward the fleeing vehicle. “He’s going to get away. We can catch him. We can—”

“And do what?” Liam snapped. “I have no backup. Say he slams on the brakes and opens fire. Say he has an accomplice and lures us into a trap before help gets here. As much as I want to put an end to this, I’m not going to charge into the unknown when I have you in the vehicle with me. You’ve been through enough, and we’ve had too many close calls. This guy is escalating, and I don’t like it. Clearly, he’s fixated on you, and this is more dangerous than we thought.”

Everything in her deflated as a chill wrapped around her. Her body, her mind, her heart…they all went numb.

Liam called Cheyenne and repeated their location and everything that had happened.

Ahead of them, in the opposite lane, several emergency vehicles appeared, lights flashing in the distance, racing closer.

She no longer cared. She no longer felt anything. All she wanted to do was sleep.

The same overwhelming emptiness had engulfed her on the night before her planned wedding, when she’d closed the door behind her father and brother and sank against it, sliding to the floor. That night, they’d demanded she convert her “FBI fiance’” into a patsy for their criminal organization. Refusal meant death for Liam. They couldn’t risk her being married to a federal agent if he wasn’t working for them as well. 

So to protect Liam, she’d left him behind. Where she should have been overwhelmed by anger and grief at her family’s vile demand, she’d felt nothing. The gulf that had opened in her heart was too expansive, and it seemed to swallow her whole.

It was the same now.

It had taken years for her to heal the last time, and part of her still felt like it lived in that abyss. The last thing she’d ever wanted was to feel so dead again, but she was overwhelmed and broken.

She’d lost herself, and the idea that this emptiness could be permanent terrified her more than any killer ever could.

You can find Tracing Killer Evidence at Amazon , at Harlequin.com, and of course your local book retailer that carries Love Inspired titles.

Wonderful, Jodie! Thank you for joining us today. We certainly wish you the BEST of luck and God's blessings for continued success with your writing and life in general. 

Hope you enjoyed Jodie's spotlight friends and that you'll come by weekly to find more great authors and their books. Check out her other titles HERE and find out more about her by visiting her Website.

Until next time, take care and keep reading.

PamT

PS: One of Jodie's backlisted titles is a Keuka Roots' Autumn Reads book! 

#WednesdayWordswithFriends welcomes Jen J Danna!

Good Morning from Troy, Alabama!

Well, we're off to the Dixie Majors World Series championship game again this year and again we play Arkansas! It's been a wild ride - and a busy one. Monday, I received notification that the audio files for My Heart Weeps had been uploaded to ACX and are awaiting my approval, so I've added proofing those to my list of things to get done this week.

Love my life!

But enough about me.

Jen J Danna has been in our spotlight before, but it has been a few years so please give her a huge, warm WELCOME as she shares with us some very interesting information....

Things We Could All Learn From Hostage Negotiation

EXIT STRATEGY’s Gemma Capello is a hostage negotiator with the NYPD. Hostage Negotiators are a special breed—men and women who are not only controlled and patient, but creative, quick witted, empathetic, and flexible. Above all, they are trained that the most important thing they can do is listen. In a world where we often spend too much time talking, we could all learn something from hostage negotiators.

One of the most important tools in a negotiator’s toolbox is something called “active listening”. To connect with a hostage taker or suspect, they use a number of techniques so the person they are negotiating with understands they are heard:

• Emotional labelling—a statement of the expressed emotions: “You sound…” You seem…”

• Paraphrasing—a rewording of the suspect’s expressed thoughts or feelings.

• Mirroring—repetition of the last few words spoken to encourage more information.

• Effective pauses—pausing after important information for emphasis; alternately pause because many suspects are uncomfortable with silence and will talk to fill it.

• Minimal encouragers—phrases like “Tell me more”, “Really?”, or “Okay” tell the suspects someone is listening with interest.

• “I” messages—a counter to verbal attacks or counterproductive behaviour to bring the discussion back onto even footing: “I feel…”, “When you…”

• Open-ended questions—questions that can’t be answered by a simple “Yes” or “No” (which could then stop the discussion) and require a more in-depth response to draw out information.
Additionally, as part of active listening, negotiators are trained to listen specifically for the emotion underlying the content because sometimes a suspect’s words may say one thing, but the emotion behind the message speaks to something entirely different.

In our own lives, we’re not going to be dealing with high-stress, life-and-death situations like a hostage standoff, but there are times when we’re negotiating for something we want or need, or are in important discussions with loved ones. In these cases, active listening skills can improve our dealings and, eventually, outcomes because sometimes, what’s really needed is for us to be quiet, to listen, and to let someone else speak. And that’s how compromises can be made so both sides can claim victory.

A scientist specializing in infectious diseases, Jen J. Danna works as part of a dynamic research group at a cutting-edge Canadian university. However, her true passion lies in indulging her love of the mysterious through her writing.

With Ann Vanderlaan, she writes two series. Under Danna and Vanderlaan, they craft suspenseful crime fiction with a realistic scientific edge. Their five Abbott and Lowell Forensic Mysteries include DEAD, WITHOUT A STONE TO TELL IT; NO ONE SEES ME ’TILL I FALL; A FLAME IN THE WIND OF DEATH; TWO PARTS BLOODY MURDER; and LAMENT THE COMMON BONES.

Under the joint pseudonym of Sara Driscoll, they write the FBI K-9s mysteries series, starring search-and-rescue team Meg Jennings and her black lab, Hawk. The series includes LONE WOLF and BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE, STORM RISING, and NO MAN’S LAND. The fifth book in the series, LEAVE NO TRACE, will release in January 2020.

Jen is also the author of the upcoming NYPD Negotiators thriller series, with the first book, EXIT STRATEGY, releasing in August 2020. The second book in the series, SHOT CALLER, will release in 2021, and the third book, LOCKDOWN, will release in 2022.

Jen lives near Toronto, Ontario with her husband, two daughters, and three rescued cats, and is a member of the Crime Writers of Canada. You can reach her through the contact page on her website or by email at jenjdanna@gmail.com.

Connect with Jen on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Instagram

Exit Strategy can be found at  Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Bookshop.org, Hudson Booksellers, IndieBound, Indigo, Target, and Walmart.

Check out Jen's previous spotlights HERE and HERE.

Thanks for sharing such intriguing information with us, Jen! We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with your new release.

Hope you enjoyed the post today, friends and that you'll check back weekly for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT