Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Today's Special -- Jodi Thomas

We are so happy to welcome back one of the most beloved authors who "takes you to the heart of Texas", Jodi Thomas! Her novels have garnered many awards (including the coveted RITA) and continue to hit the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. Her latest gem is the fifth in her popular Whispering Mountain series and releases April 5, 2011. Please welcome Jodi back to The Romance Dish!



TEXAS BLUE, my 31st book, will be out in April and I had a great time with this adventure across Texas. First, I opened in 1875, with two friends parting ways one stormy night in Austin. Duncan, a Texas Ranger, is off to fight at the border and Lewt, a gambler, plans to find a wife while his friend is away.



Duncan, called Duck when he was a boy in earlier books, is wild and fearless. Lewt has never done anything brave and never plans to.

Lewt decides to join a group of men Duncan hand selected to travel to Whispering Mountain and meet his three female cousins. Though Lewt knows his friend would never introduce a gambler to his rich relatives, he wants a chance for more than just a life in saloons.

The reader steps into two stories running at once. Duncan fighting, being hurt in the fight, being held captive and Lewt learning how to act around women he doesn’t have to buy a drink to talk to. Both learn and grow as they discover what is important in life.

Ride along with me and I promise I’ll take you through Texas from a ranch big enough to be its own kingdom to a fight in Texas history that became a legend the Texas Rangers still repeat.



TEXAS BLUE is a story that has been in my head since I wrote TEXAS RAIN four years ago. I knew the little boy that Travis McMurray finds tied to a rope at an outlaw camp would have to grow up and become a great Texas Ranger. I also fell in love with a shy little girl who loved horses in TALL DARK AND TEXAN and wanted to see her as a woman strong enough to run the ranch.

So, writing TEXAS BLUE was like coming home to characters I already loved.


I know my readers are going to love this story as much as I loved writing it. For those of you who would like more about what was happening at the ranch before Lewt arrives, check my website http://www.jodithomas.com/ and read two chapters that had to be cut from early in the book. Remember, they haven’t been edited so jump over the misspellings.

Thanks for reading and I’d love to hear from you.

Jodi Thomas



Do you like revisiting characters from previous books? Is it like coming home for you? Who are some of your favorite characters that appeared in books before their own happily ever after was told? Two lucky commenters will each win a copy of Texas Blue!

36 comments:

  1. I often find that I'm happy to leave characters where they were. Yes, a revisit can be wonderful, but sometimes it feels forced.

    marypres@gmail.com

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  2. Good morning, Jodi! We're so happy you're back with us today. :) Congrats on another wonderful release!

    To answer the question... Yes, I like revisiting characters as long as it's important to the story. As for naming one, I'll go with Derek Craven (Lisa Kleypas) who first appeared in THEN CAME YOU before finding his own happily ever after in DREAMING OF YOU. Sigh.

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  3. Exactly, marybelle. As long as it's not forced, I'm good with it. :)

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  4. This is actually a tough question! I guess my answer is yes and no... I tend to prefer authors who write series, but not because the book will revisit characters, but because the writing is so good that I want to read whatever they write. I want a book that stands on its own.

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  5. Jodi I am a huge fan of all your books, both Western and comtemp. I just finished the McClain bros trilogy and I love revisiting characters. I have your new book pre ordered for my Kindle.

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  6. I love revisiting characters from older books, but agree that it must make sense and can't feel forced.

    Like Andrea, I was a big fan of Derek Craven, and was very happy he got his own book. Julie James introduced a great secondary character, Kyle, in her latest A Lot Like Love, and I can't wait for his book! And of course, we mustn't forget the Duke of Villiers from Eloisa's Desperate Duchesses series. We watched him grow as a character in the first five books of the series, and play Cupid/matchmaker who was instrumental in getting the previous couples together, before we got his story.

    With Judith McNaught's historicals, I liked couples from previous books (Jordan and Alex from Something Wonderful, Jason and Victoria from Once and Always, and Whitney and Clayton from Whitney My Love) making an appearance in Until You. I also loved Meredith and Matt from Paradise making cameos in Perfect and Every Breath You Take.

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  7. Hi Jodi, nice to see your here. I love your books. I will read everyone of yours I can get my hands on. Would love to read this on.

    I like to revisit characters in books if it hasn't been to long since I read the book, because sometimes I forget before I read the next book.

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  8. Characters really make the book for me. Yes, I like revisiting them and seeing what they've been up to. It's like seeing old friends.

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  9. I enjoyed the earlier Whispering Mountain books and am looking forward to the stories of a second generation of McMurrays.

    Some of the characters for whose stories I've waited longest and most eagerly are Jo Beverley's Rothgar (Devilish) and Dare (To Recue a Rogue), Eloisa James's Mayne (Pleasure for Pleasure), and, most recently, Loretta Chase's Olivia and Peregrine (Last Night's Scandal).

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  10. I like a series of books and characters such as The Virgin River Series by Robyn Carr. Some of the same people are in each book but new characters are added each time.

    o2oole (at) verizon.net

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  11. Janga, I also love the Mallorens. I just went back and reread Devilish, Rothgar and Dianna's story.

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  12. Hello Jodi and congratulations on your newest release! I remember you gave a great interiew a while ago on romance novel tv which I found very inspiring. I hope I remember things correctly without making a fool of myself.

    Like Andrea, I like revisiting characters if they are of some importance to the story, furthers the plot or allows the reader to learn something about the hero/heroine of the current book. I like reading short mentiones like "X and Y got married and had two children and now they're in Nepal," especially if their book didn't have an epilogue. It feels like I'm catching up with old friends.

    I don't like it when they make lengthy appearances without any purpose because it feels forced like: "Hey I'm John the brooding duke who got married two books ago. Buy my book! And buy the one written about my sister as well."

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  13. Hi, Jodi! We're happy you're with us again today.

    I love revisiting characters. Derek Craven has been mentioned, and he's a good one.

    And Lisa mentioned several couples in Judith McNaught's books---love her books! *sigh*

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  14. Dtchycat said: I tend to prefer authors who write series, but not because the book will revisit characters, but because the writing is so good that I want to read whatever they write.

    Very good point, Dtchycat. If the writing isn't up to par, I tend to be a bit let down, whether I was waiting for someone's story or not.

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  15. Hi, Connie! I hope you enjoy Jodi's latest! Thanks for stopping by.

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  16. Lisa said: Julie James introduced a great secondary character, Kyle, in her latest A Lot Like Love, and I can't wait for his book!

    Somehow I knew you would mention Kyle, Lisa! I am very much looking forward to his, too. ;-)

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  17. Virginia said: I like to revisit characters in books if it hasn't been to long since I read the book, because sometimes I forget before I read the next book.

    And this is exactly why back-to-back releases are so popular, Virginia!

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  18. LSUReader said: Yes, I like revisiting them and seeing what they've been up to. It's like seeing old friends.

    This is exactly how I feel, too, LSUReader. One such series that I particularly enjoyed was Julia Quinn's Bridgerton family. :)

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  19. Janga said: Eloisa James's Mayne (Pleasure for Pleasure)

    Yes, Janga! Eloisa did a fine job with Mayne's HEA. *g*

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  20. Joni, PJ has raved and raved about Robyn Carr's Virgin River series. One of these days, I need to read them!

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  21. LOL @ Antonia!! Excellent point!

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  22. Gannon, Derek is unforgettable, isn't he?? *g*

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  23. Hi Jodi,
    This books sounds great can't wait. 31st congrats!! Yes, I like revisiting characters, especially if there's a secondary character that I feel like needs a story of his/her own. :) I've loved the Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn, and the Wedding Quartet by Nora Roberts, Virgin River Series by Robyn Carr. Okay I'll stop. Thanks so much for the insight into this book!

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  24. Welcome back, Jodi!! Congrats on your latest release!

    I love revisiting characters from past books -- that is one of the reason I love series so much.

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  25. Oh yeah, I love to see characters from previous books again! But I don't like it when they take too much attention from the main couple away. I love The Wallflower series from Lisa Kleypas just for that alone.

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  26. Yes, I like revisiting characters from previous books, it is like a little reunion of sorts. My favorite recurring character that got their own HEA was the Duke of Villiars in Eloisa James' Desperate Duchesses series. He was a not so nice character that got nicer as the books went on, until I was rooting for him to have his HEA.

    Barbed1951 at aol dot com

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  27. I love to revisit characters throughout a series. I really was glad that a secondary character in Lauren Dane's Brown Siblings books finally got her own story in Inside Out. It is satisfying to see these characters grow in their own book.

    user1123 AT comcast DOT net

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  28. I like a series of books and characters such as The Virgin River Series by Robyn Carr.

    Joni, I love this series!!

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  29. Jodi - Your books sound wonderful! Coming from Rhode Island the smallest state I was amazed at the wide open spaces of Texas when I drove thru it on a trip to Arizona!I can't wait to read this book!

    It isn't important if a book is a series or a stand alone book, it's all about the characters and the relatation that developes between them.

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  30. I love reading series partly for the opportunity to see what is going on in the lives of characters I got to know and like in previous books. There have been many characters I have liked following over the years. Right now I am reading Jennifer Blake's MASTER OF ARMS series. It spans several years and the sword masters appear in all the books so far. They and their ladies play a part in the other masters reaching their own HEA. Families are started and children grow. I have been enjoying the history and details she has included.

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  31. Hi Jodi,
    I love your books and am looking forward to reading Texas Blue. I tend to read a lot of series books and have to say I do love to revisit past characters because not only is like visiting friends and family it's also great to read about them again.I agree that one of my most memorable stories was the Duke of Villiers from Eloisa's Desperate Duchesses series. I also enjoyed Mary Balogh's The Huxtable family books. I especially enjoy reading about siblings.And there's also Claudia Dain's Courtesean books. I absolutely loved reading about all those characters in each of the books i the series.
    Carol L
    Lucky4750@aol.com

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  32. Jessika, I love Nora's Bride Quartet!!!

    I enjoy a good series, too, Buffie. :)

    ClaudiGC, you've named another favorite series of mine! Actually, I love just about anything LK writes. ;-)

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  33. Barbara, I need to read that series by EJ. I'm so far behind on my reading!!

    I totally agree, Stacie!

    Jeanne, years ago we drove through part of Texas on our way to Oklahoma and it seemed that we were in it forever! LOL

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  34. Wow, librarypat, that series sounds really good. Thanks for the heads up!

    I hope you enjoy TEXAS BLUE, Carol!

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  35. Wyatt from A Summer of Two Wishes - Julia London.

    And yes I love series books and revisting characters.

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  36. I like to see the same characters especially if I really liked them. Its like I am part of the town or family to see what has happened to them... Good luck with your new book...


    Donna

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