Get Lost in Harmony, Texas!

Folks, please help me welcome Jodi Thomas to our blog! I have to tell you that Jodi is a new-to-me author, and WOW! I can't believe it's taken me this long to realize how awesome she is! I love her style, her complicated characters and...just everything about the town of Harmony. So naturally I was THRILLED when she offered to join us here.

But enough about me..... 

WHO IS JODI?

 Jodi Thomas is the NY Times and USA Today bestselling author of 36 novels and 11 short story collections. In June 2011, WELCOME TO HARMONY, the first book in the Harmony series, won a RITA, the highest award for women’s fiction. Jodi currently serves as the Writer in Residence at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas.

AND JUST IN CASE YOU'RE LIKE ME, CATCHING UP, HERE'S THE HARMONY BOOK LIST IN PUBLISHING ORDER:

WELCOME TO HARMONY

SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY

THE COMFORTS OF HOME

JUST DOWN THE ROAD

CHANCE OF A LIFETIME—December 2012

CAN’T STOP BELIEVING—June 2013

 

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS JODI?

Contact: jodi@jodithomas.com 

 

Website: www.jodithomas.com 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JodiThomasAuthor  

Twitter: www.twitter.com/jodithomas

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20273.Jodi_Thomas

THE STORY BLURB

Emily, the local librarian, has started a writing group, but as the group stumbles through both the fiction and reality of their lives, they’re learning much more than how to write. But Emily suddenly has other things on her mind when a friend from her past shows up in Hamony's library. Now she must deal with a secret she’s kept for fifteen years—a secret that changed her life and threatens to shatter her future.

 
Meanwhile, new lawyer Rick Matheson thinks he’s in charge of his world until accidents start happening all around him. Just when he realizes someone is trying to kill him, he meets a beautiful U.S. Marshal named Trace Adam. Now that the marshal has given him an even stronger reason to go on living, he must learn to take a chance on life to dream bigger—and love better—than he ever has before...


AND NOW FOR THE Q & A...

ALEXA: How often to you get lost in a story?

JODI: I’ve always gotten lost in my stories.  I usually climb the stairs to my little study about 8 pm.  I think of it as going to work.  I take a few minutes to build my nest—get diet Coke, turn on my little heater, get all my papers like time-line and character facts together, log in date and word count.  Then, I read what I wrote the day before so I can step back into the story and by the time I start writing I’m lost in another world.  It’s no longer work.  It’s pure fun and it’s midnight before I look up again.

 

ALEXA: Can you tell us about a real-life hero you've met?
JODI: I think my husband is a real-life hero.  When I had a dream to be a writer and was fighting for time to write, he said, “I’ll get the kids to bed.  I’ll do the dishes.  You go take an hour every night to write.”  In a very real way, he gave me my dream.  There were times I didn’t have anything to write, but I worked because I didn’t want to do the dishes.

Best side effect of his promise:  My sons think it’s a man’s job to do the dishes.

 ALEXA: What sound or noise do you love? 

JODI: I love to hear people giggle.  I’ve even been known to stand in the stores and push toys just to hear them giggle.

ALEXA: Is writing or story-telling easier for you?

JODI: Writing is easier, some nights I get so into the story that I keep writing just to see what will happen next.  I think of my characters as people and often I’ll be talking about them and a friend will think I’m talking about a real person.  I guess they are real to me.

 ALEXA: What’s something you'd like to tell your fans?
JODI: That sometimes I write longer because I know they are out there waiting for me to finish.  They are very special to me.  I feel like we’re friends who communicate between the pages of a book.

ALEXA: What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in? 

JODI: A love story.  I don’t like sex stories about couples who meet and five minutes later are going wild.  I like love stories between two people growing together.  It doesn’t matter if it’s YA or hot, if it is a love story, I’m a sucker for it.

ALEXA: If you couldn't be a writer anymore, what profession would you take up?

JODI: I think I’d be a teacher. 

ALEXA: I can tell you from experience teaching is a lot like writing. In both cases, there's ALWAYS something you could be doing! What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?

JODI: I usually take a few days off and watch all the movies I missed while finishing a book.  I love movies.  I also find it a great break to travel.  I can’t tell you how many times my husband has poured me on a plane all tired and brain dead and we’ve gone on an adventure.

 ALEXA: What do you do to unwind and relax? 
JODI: If it’s a cold day I’ll unwind with a movie and popcorn but if it’s nice, I like to walk in the cemetery.  We have a great old cemetery in Amarillo called Llano.  They have a pond with ducks and headstones with poems.  I found a statue there one day that said ‘Triumph comes there Perseverance.’  I had been walking around thinking I should stop writing because I could never sell.  Those words changed my life that day.

ALEXA: What's up next for you?
JODI: CAN’T STOP BELIEVING—release June 4, 2013

Thanks so much for joining us today, Jodi!

Folks, if you leave a comment you'll be in the running for a prize from Jodi! Be sure to leave your email address so I can get in touch with you. As for me, I'm going back to finish Jodi's book!

Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author  may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.