Member Q&A: Judy Baker
Author: Jody Wallace
Original Publication Date in Love Notes: June 2008

Judy Baker is our most long-distance member circa 2008. Let’s get to know her!

Q. We’re so glad to have you as a member of MCRW.  Are you a native of Nashville or somewhere else? If somewhere else, where, and how did you end up here?

A. Though I’m not a native of Nashville, I was born and raised in Clarksville. After college, I moved to Nevada to teach school, met and married a cowboy and eventually moved to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Q. What made you decide to try your hand at writing romance novels? 

A. Right after moving to SLC, I stayed home for a while with a newborn. During that time, I started reading romances. After several hundred, I decided to try writing. In no time, I finished a 400-page manuscript. I was so proud of myself, but I hid it away in a draw for fifteen years and went back to reading. It wasn’t until I became bored with my day job, that I started writing again and decided to learn more about writing.

Q. Tell us about your "WIP" or work-in-progress?  What in specific do you write?

A. My work in progress is a romance suspense that takes place in Tennessee. I’ve titled it “Tommy Gun at Yellow Creek.” It is completed and I’m editing mode. I’m also editing two Christmas short stories.

Q: How do you balance your writing with your other responsibilities? (Yes, as always, I'm looking for tips...)

A. Balancing my writing with other responsibilities is a day-by-day job in itself. I have daily goals that I jot down each morning. I’m flexible. I write everything on my computer calendar. At the end of the day, I check to see what has to go to the next day. I never sit still (unless I’m watching a great movie), even when in the doctor’s waiting room, my fingers are moving across my Alpha Smart.

Q. What do you do when you're not writing?  Do you have a "day" job, hobbies, obsessions?

A. Day job. Sad to say, yes. My day job keeps me traveling between Utah and Idaho. Of course, when I am in Idaho, I always have my Alpha Smart and laptop. I take advantage of those nights alone in a hotel room and write. My hobbies are stargazing (four telescopes) and gardening in the summer. My husband will tell you that I live in the universe and not just on the planet.

Q. Do you have children, pets, plants, a spouse, dust bunnies, a thimble collection or anything like that?

A. I have a wonderful husband and three grown children, and three granddaughters. So, now, we’re empty nesters, well maybe not - our eighty-pound Airedale is spoiled worse than all our children. His name is Teal’c (you guessed it – from Stargate SG-1). We also have 2 cats, Mr. T and Bruce.

Q. What are some of your favorite books, romance and other?

A. I love romances and suspense of all kinds. I’ve read so many, I’m not sure if I have a favorite book. Most recently, I’ve been reading authors from URWA. Just finished a book by RaeAnne Thayne and my first Nicole Jordan.  Now I’m looking at MCRW members and planning to read some of their books – looking forward to that.

Q. If you could go on a dream vacation anywhere in the world on someone else's perfectly legitimate dime, where would you go, who would you take, and what would you do? 

A. My dream vacation is one that my husband thinks is crazy. It would be to the Antarctic. But I’m a star lover and Antarctica is one of the driest of deserts (okay, okay, winter temperatures plummet to -70 °C and below), but astronomers call this least populated continent, the perfect 'seeing' conditions for stargazing.

Q: Tell us a secret!

A. Hmm, a secret.  Can’t think of one. Unless of course it’s that tiny lab in my brain that’s building a clone of me so that can work my day job, clean house, do laundry, go shopping, and all those other little details that take up writing time. I’ll let you know when she’s here. (Probably more than you needed to know).

You can find out more about Judy at www.judybakerauthor.com 

Love Notes, the official monthly newsletter of Music City Romance Writers, is provided to paying members free of charge. If you are an MCRW member and would like to submit an article to Love Notes, visit the main newsletter page for more information. If you would like to reprint one of these articles in your RWA chapter newsletter, please give proper credit to both the author and the original source. For any other uses, please contact the president.