Today, we’d like to introduce you to Tiffany Smith. Tiffany was introduced to us by the brilliant and talented Juanita Woodson.
Hi Tiffany , we’re so thrilled to have you sharing your story with us today. Maybe we can kick things off by having you introduce yourself to our readers? We’d love to have you go into your story and how you got to where you are today.
My name is Tiffany Smith. I am a mother and wife. I am an educator; I have been teaching middle school and high school math for 10 years. A turning point in my life is at the age of 38, I had two strokes. I didn’t have any health conditions prior to this so it was a complete shock. After 2 weeks off and on in the hospital, having seen 8 different specialty doctors, I was released and immediately begin physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. I spent months getting my balance back, getting my motor skills together to write and improving my speech. I say all that to say this, God is faithful. I experienced this journey of darkness that pushed me into true light and from knowing God is love and faithful to experiencing His love and His faithfulness.
In 2021, I decided my story was too powerful to keep to myself. In March of 2021, God helped me put my story on paper. On July 21, 2021, I published my first book, “Second Wind; Spiritual Respiration; I Can Breathe Again.”
Let’s talk about your work and career – what else should we know?
I have 10 years as a secondary math teacher. For 9 years, I taught 8th grade math but the past year I taught Geometry to 9th and 10th graders. I absolutely love teaching math but more importantly it’s a passion and apart of my purpose. Though I love math, I love the relationships I build with my students even more. What sets me apart is that I have a gift from God where I can genuinely love children I didn’t biologically birth. My students become my children/my family and I learn just as much from them as they learn from me.
Juanita Woodson and Grace 4 Purpose, Publishing Co. LLC have been great to us and I know you’ve got a great relationship with them as well. Maybe you can tell our audience a bit about Juanita Woodson and Grace 4 Purpose, Publishing Co. LLC and your experience with them.
I met Juanita well into the pandemic. She was offering opportunities for new authors to be interviewed on her podcast to gain exposure. We met on zoom for the first time, and we immediately clicked. Her warm personality is what made me comfortable. After we finished recording the podcast episode, we remained on zoom for another 30 minutes just getting to know each other. We realized we had so much in common. We had both been single parents and were recently married. She had vision and goals and were both super motivated to accomplish them; I could discern her genuine spirit after we continued talking. She had such a pleasant and humble demeanor, which made it easy for me to share my personal life.
After the podcast aired, we remained in contact. We begin to communicate weekly. She was a huge help to me with navigating the marketing scene as a newly published author. Any opportunity Juanita would see that could help me gain exposure, she would call or text me immediately. She listened to my ideas and began to be an awesome sounding board for me; she gave me great feedback on my ideas including next steps to bring them to fruition.
After one of our routine morning check-ins she suggested I write a devotional. She recognized I was constantly writing devotions on social media and stated I should put them together and publish a devotional. She was right. I had so much previously written material it took me no time put together a devotional. I had self-published my first book, but this time I wanted a one stop shop experience, so I requested Juanita Grace 4 Purpose to publish my second book.
This was the best experience I could have had going through a publishing company. Juanita continued to give me her best. She listened to my vision and turned it into my second book titled, “Deeper Than a Devotional.” I got everything I needed from Juanita’s publishing company, Grace 4 Purpose, Publishing Co. LLC. From my amazing book cover to editing my manuscript to perfection, Juanita didn’t miss a beat. Her personalized approach which includes her commitment to wholeheartedly serve her client, her endless patience and genuine desire to produce the best product is the reason her service is unmatched.
Juanita is now more than my thought partner; she has become family to me. I am so grateful we crossed paths.
Website: www.toughtalkwithtiffany.com
Instagram: @authortnsmith
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-smith-a0a08918b
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTNS2021
