Thursday, May 6, 2010

Guest Author -- Jodi Thomas

Multi-published author Jodi Thomas is our special guest today and we couldn't be more thrilled! Jodi is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of 30 novels and 8 short story collections. As of July 2006, she was the 11th woman to be inducted into the RWA Hall of Fame. She is also currently serving as the Writer in Residence at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas. Her latest, The Lone Texan, is a 2010 RITA Finalist for Historical Romance, and her upcoming release, Welcome to Harmony, hits shelves on June 1st. Please welcome Jodi to The Romance Dish!

In a few weeks Harmony will hit the stands and I don’t know when I’ve been so excited about a book coming out. A writer writes a story, climbs into a world and lives there for months. Then, the writer has to send the story off and let go of the characters for a while. With this book it wasn’t easy.

I open with Reagan, a runaway, being dropped off after dark on the Main Street. Before the night is over, she’s stepped into a world she’s never known. A world where she can belong.

As I wrote it seemed like my characters came to me one at a time, sat down, and began to tell me their story. As the book moves through the weeks, you’ll meet a funeral director who cares about everyone he meets, a volunteer fire chief who loves what he does, a sheriff who fights every day to live up to her family, and a child who sees people for who they really are.

This story will touch your heart and make you laugh. By the time you finish, you’ll feel like Harmony is a real place.

Three love stories wind their way through the book. One is a story of first love between two teenagers. Another is a love story between two strong willed adults who have loved each other since childhood but are torn apart because of an accident. The third love story is between a middle aged kind man who had never found anyone he can talk too. He develops a relationship with a woman on line that he met one icy night when they were both forced of the road due to weather. Both are professionals dedicated to their work and not the kind of people used to sharing feelings.

I hope you enjoy the stories in WELCOME TO HARMONY as much as I enjoyed writing them.


I wish you many happy hours of reading,

Jodi Thomas

http://www.jodithomas.com/


So, tell us, Dear Readers: What are some of your favorite heartwarming stories? Which ones have gone straight to your heart and then immediately to your keeper shelf?

12 comments:

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  2. Jodi, your new book sounds wonderful. You are a new-to-me-author and I look forward to checking out your books.

    I read a book written by a prominent Iowan called Light From Lucas. It is a story about his special-needs son and the light and love he brought to their family.

    As for fiction, some of Debbie Macomber's stories are heart-warming as well as Gilbert Morris' books. Some of my favorite children's stories are Sarah, Plain and Tall, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and On My Honor.

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  3. Deb, "Light from Lucas" sounds like a wonderful book and what a lovely tribute to a much-loved son.

    Jodi has lots of wonderful books out there! I'm partial to her historical westerns but I love everything she writes.

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  4. Good morning, Jodi! Welcome to Harmony sounds like my kind of book--I love those stories that tug at the heartstrings!

    Debbie Macomber writes truly heart-warming stories. Robyn Carr's Virgin River series is one of my favorites. She paints such a vivid picture that I've come to think of Virgin River as a real place. If I ever made it back to Northern California, I'd probably go looking for VR and Jack's Bar!

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  5. Hello and welcome to The Romance Dish, Jodi! We're happy to have you join us today. Congratulations on your RITA nomination!

    Welcome to Harmony sounds like a wonderful book! I wish you much success when it releases. :)

    I recently finished Sarah MacLean's Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake and it is a beautifully written, heartwarming story that went straight to my keeper shelf. I loved it and can't wait for the next.

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  6. Deb said: I read a book written by a prominent Iowan called Light From Lucas. It is a story about his special-needs son and the light and love he brought to their family.

    Deb, as a parent of a special needs son, I would LOVE this! It sounds so good!

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  7. @Andrea---The author of LFL is Bob Van der Plaats. The book is published through Focus On The Family. You will be amazed at the story, Andrea, and, even though your son has different needs than Lucas, you will definitely be able to relate to the love story Bob tells. If you can't get the book, email me and I can send it to you to read. {{Hugs}}

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  8. Thanks, Deb! I will look online for it and let you know. :)

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  9. Hey Jodi! I'm looking forward to reading WELCOME TO HARMONY. I have enjoyed many of your books in the past.

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  10. OMG! I'm a total Jodi Thomas fan. I have Welcome to Harmony in my hot little hands and it's the very next book I'll be reading.

    Whether she writes westerns or contemporaries... I'm all in.

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  11. I'm with you, Maria. I love whatever Jodi writes. I really enjoyed Rewriting Monday and am looking forward to starting Welcome to Harmony.

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  12. Jodi, this sounds like it will be one of your best books ever. Three very different relationships and all valid love stories. You have been very popular at our library and I made sure your new books were ordered.
    One advantage being I got to read them first : )

    OCEANS APART by Karen Kingsbury is a very different type of love story. I didn't generally read christian fiction, but I try new books for the library and pulled this one. It is a touching story about love, loss, infidelity, and forgiveness. It is a tear jerker and very touching.

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