Mini-view with Tiffany Odekirk

About the Author

Tiffany Odekirk believes cooking should take less than thirty minutes, frosting is better than ice cream, and all books should end with happily ever after. After graduating from Brigham Young University with a degree in Marriage, Family, and Human Development, Tiffany completed an internship with LDS Family Services in adoption and then went on to work with homeless women and children in the non-profit sector. Married to a Broadway star, Tiffany’s days are filled with music, and her nights are spent writing the types of characters she hopes her children will one day marry.

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Interview

​1. What inspired the idea for Love Sidelined? How does this story tie into Love on Pointe and Love Unscripted?  
You’re probably going to laugh, but it was a combination of my own experiences as a cheerleader and a song I heard while running on the treadmill at the gym—“Beneath Your Beautiful”. As I listened to this song, Allie and Jason came to life in my mind. Their story was so clear that I couldn’t stop thinking about it all day. I was so moved that I had to write the story down. Allie was the first character I ever wrote. In fact, I only intended to write her point of view, but then Jason Jennings had a lot to say . . . and then so did all his siblings.
 
All three of the books that I have written are part of what I like to call a “stand-alone series.” This means that each book can stand alone, or rather be read and enjoyed on its own. This series follows the Jennings family siblings, so while each book has recurring characters in the background every book highlights a new characters’ love story. I recommend readers begin by reading Love on Pointe, but this is not required to enjoy each book.

2. What did you as an author take away from writing Love Sidelined?  
Writing Love Sidelined was an incredible experience for SO many reasons, and I took away so many life lessons. The first has to do with patience. When I first submitted my manuscript (fun fact: it was originally titled Catching 22) to Covenant for evaluation, it was “not rejected, but not accepted.” Unfortunately, they had something too similar that was about to be published and my book needed to wait for the right time. The good news is, Covenant asked me if I would be willing to submit something else to them for consideration, and luckily, I was almost ready to submit Love on Pointe, which ended up being my first novel published.
 
The second takeaway has more to do with the content of the book. Readers may or may not know this, but I love to explore deep themes (in addition to love and romance, of course) in my novels. Both Jason and Allie have been through some incredibly traumatic experiences and both are healing. Walking through the steps of that healing process with Allie was so hard, and it gave me so much compassion for survivors of abuse. My hope is that readers will develop greater empathy and understanding by walking in both Jason and Allie’s shoes.

3. What writing tips do you have for an aspiring author?  
Just do it! No seriously, jump right in and get those words down. My mentor, Melanie Jacobson, gave me the most perfect advice when I first began writing and I’m going to pass it on to your readers now, it was this: The best way to learn how to write a novel is to write a novel. My second bit of advice is to read. Read everything you can get your hands on and take note of what does and does not work for you as reader.

4. What is your favorite fall activity?  
Fall is my absolute favorite season! Unfortunately, we don’t get too much fall weather here in Southern California, but we sure like to pretend. One of my favorite activities is to rake all the pretty, fall-colored leaves into piles and jump and play in them with me kids. I also enjoy decorating with fall colors and scenting the house with pumpkin candles. I wish I could say that I enjoy baking, but unfortunately, I’m not a very good baker. I blame my oven, but it’s probably just me being impatient and not following directions very well. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I love writing so much—it’s okay to break the rules. ;)
 

5. What top books are currently on your TBR pile?  
I have so many great books in my TBR pile, but these five books are at the top:
1) Secrets and Suitors by Joanna Barker (I received an eBook ARC of this sweet regency romance from the publisher, and I am loving this one so far! It releases in October.)
2) E is for Engineer by Brenna Jacobs (it’s not out yet, but I’m getting excited!)
3) Roxy’s Song by Raneé Clark
4) Hope and Other Punch Lines by Julie Buxbaum