Today's Special -- Jodi Thomas

We are thrilled to welcome back New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jodi Thomas to The Romance Dish! As a fifth generation Texan, Jodi chooses to set the majority of her books in her home state. Perhaps this is why she has enjoyed such a long and prolific writing career and is a fan favorite! Her books have won many awards, including the coveted RITA, and grace many readers' keeper shelves. Jodi's latest, Somewhere Along the Way, releases November 2nd and is her thirtieth novel and the second in her popular Harmony series. Check out Janga's review here. Please give Jodi a warm welcome!


Thanks for asking me to drop by and tell everyone about my thirtieth novel and what I think is the best one I’ve ever written. These characters came alive for me and I hope they will for you. So, let’s step into the second book about a small town in Texas, Harmony called SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY.

In this book I had a great time writing about love at different ages and how we all fall in love different ways. Sometime it comes softly after growing up with someone and until you realize there was never a time you didn’t love them and sometimes it slams into you all at once with a kiss.

Liz and Gabe’s story from SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY:

“I’ll take it in the living room,” she said. Liz walked across the hall, picked up the phone, and waited for the click from the kitchen before speaking.

“Elizabeth Matheson,” she said in her most professional voice.

“I need your help.”

He hadn’t said his name; he hadn’t needed to. She’d know Gabriel’s voice anywhere.

“Where are you?”

“County sheriff’s office,” he said. “They’re about to take me up to a holding cell. Ask for Gabe Leary, Elizabeth, not Smith, and get here as fast as you can.”

She’s already figured out that Smith probably wasn’t his real name. “What did you do?”

“Nothing,” he answered. “But they think I may have killed someone.”

Liz told herself she was a lawyer. Whether he did or didn’t commit the crime, he had a right to counsel. Only she wasn’t sure she could go through with it if he had. She wasn’t sure which bothered her most: that he might be lying, or that if he was, she’d kissed a murderer.

She gripped the phone for a minute, trying to think.

“Elizabeth,” he whispered again. “Are you still there? I’m no good around people. I seem to be causing more trouble for myself than helping.” He was quiet as if listening to her breathe, and then he added, “I need you.”

She straightened. “I’ll be right there.”

She hung up and walked back into the dining room, where everyone was having dessert. “I have to go. I’m needed over at the jail.”

“A client,” Claire said. “Oh, how exciting. Little sister has a real client.”

Liz grabbed her coat and purse. As she walked out the door, she yelled back, “No. A date.”

In SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY you’ll follow the people of Harmony as they go about their lives helping one another. When crisis comes they stand together. I think you’ll laugh as you get to know my people and care all the way to your heart about them when they are in trouble.

Come along with me on this journey back to Harmony.

~Jodi


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Jodi was gracious enough to answer a few questions from Janga and Andrea:


Janga: You said in another interview that you are "a storyteller, not a wordsmith." Do you see writers as one or the other?

Jodi: Not always. I love when I book pulls me in with the story and I end up rereading lines because the words flow so beautifully. But, for me when I write I’m usually trying to get the story down as fast as possible. Then after I’ve told the story, I go back and add color. I think if you tell a good story readers will forgive much, but no matter how beautifully the words flow, if they don’t tell a story readers will not finish the book.

Janga: You've written more than 30 books now. Do you ever feel burned out? What do you do to keep the creative well full?

Jodi: I’ve never had burn out. Sometimes I get tired and take a few days off. To ‘refill the well’ I like to travel----not to exciting places where there are tons of people, but to different places. I may drive through the country or stop at towns I’ve never been to, find a B&B or a lake house and spend some time. I’ll go to movies, or plays or rodeos. I’ll walk in the cemetery or visit museums. When we first started doing this my husband always wanted to take video of the places, but I never looked at it. I wanted to set it up in my memory and let it shift and change when a character visited the location, not remember every detail as it really was.

Andrea: A lot of your books grace the keeper shelves of many readers. Which authors' books grace your keeper shelves?

Jodi: I looked over in my study and saw hundreds of books running the wall. I keep favorites and books of friends and books I’ve helped beginning writers work on, but I rarely reread a book. Why? Because like a kid at Christmas, I can’t wait to open the next treasure. Writers are readers too. I love finding that story that takes me away for a few hours. Maybe that’s why I teach writing. People always ask me which of my books is my favorite---which is the best---I always answer, ‘the next one’.

Andrea: Do you plan your books out in advance or do you write by the seat of your pants?

Jodi: I plan my characters, learn them, see them in my mind right down to the stains of their clothes and in their hearts. Then, I sit down and let them tell me their story.

Janga: When can we look for the next Harmony book? Will it be the story of Tyler and Kate? Will Reagan have her own book, or is she slated to have pieces of her story revealed in each book?

Jodi: I will begin book 3 with Tyler and Kate. There will be new characters and characters you know well in the next one. Reagan’s story will run through every book.



Thanks so much, Jodi! So, dear readers, do you like small town stories? Why or why not? Comment for a chance to win one of two copies of Jodi's Somewhere Along the Way!

For more information about Jodi, please visit her website at http://www.jodithomas.com/.