Today, we welcome back the always delightful Jodi Thomas! Jodi is the NY Times and USA Today bestselling author of 37 novels and 11 short story collections. She is a fifth generation Texan who chooses to set the majority of her books in her home state. And who doesn't love the great state of Texas as a setting?! Her latest, CAN'T STOP BELIEVING, is on shelves now and was reviewed here by the lovely Janga. Take it away, Jodi!
From the day I
started writing CAN’T STOP BELIEVING, I felt like I was surrounded by people I
could love. These characters walked off the pages and said hello. I
had to laugh when Martha Q, a widow seven times married, forms a writing group
and then decides to help folks out whether they want it or not. I cried
when Ronny first sees a love she thought she’d lost. And I fell in love
with Cord and Nevada as they fought their way through all the baggage they both
carried to find something worth keeping.
People often ask me
where my characters come from. In truth, I don’t feel like I make them
up. I feel more like they sit down across the desk and talk to me as I
write. They tell me the story and some nights I stay up longer to get it
all down.
Cord McMillan stopped
my heart when I first saw him. He was a man trying to stand tall even
after life had done its best to knock him down. He doesn’t think he has a
friend in the world and every time someone shows him a kindness, he pays it
back double. He can’t believe it when his rich, spoiled neighbor offers a
bargain he can’t turn down. He offers her the one thing she can’t buy,
honesty.
CAN’T STOP BELIEVING
will warm your heart. The people of Harmony will stay with you long after
you finish reading. Come along with me into a story that will make you
laugh and cry and fall in love for the first time, for the last time, forever.
Enjoy the book,
Jodi Thomas
www.twitter.com/jodithomas
Andrea here! Jodi mentioned that you will laugh and cry while reading Can't Stop Believing. Dear readers, what was the last book you read that made you both laugh and cry? Tell us and one lucky commenter will win a copy of Can't Stop Believing! (U.S. addresses only, please.)
I just started this book today...I love it so far I should say I love all Jodi's books... Kepp them coming!
ReplyDeleteDonna
Glad to hear it, Donna!
DeleteBlue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas is the last book I remember that had me in tears.
ReplyDeleteIt had me in tears, too, Maureen. Such a good book!
DeleteI am a Harmony devotee. I always enjoy my visits there. I loved Can't Stop Believing and eagerly await the next book.
ReplyDeleteRecent reads that moved me to laughter and tears were Once Upon a Tower by Eloisa James, Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare, and It Happened One Midnight by Julie Anne Long. Anne Gracie's books always have that effect.
I've yet to read Anne Gracie, Janga. It sounds like I need to read her books!
DeleteThat is a tough one - Home Again (Kristan Hannah) and Three Wishes by Barbara Delinsky had me balling my eyes out. Any of Shannon Stacey's Kowalski series had me laughing with the dialogue - same for The Pregnancy Test by Erin McCarthy.
ReplyDeleteI love this series and would be thrilled to win a copy.
Oh, thanks for the recs, Pat! And good luck!
DeleteElizabeth Lowell makes me cry. Her heroes are hard to like and sometimes extremely mean but when they fall in love tears fall.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Hoyt with her broken soldier heroes.
I totally agree with you about that Elizabeth Hoyt series, Laurie. What the heroes went through...whew.
DeleteNicholas Sparks always gets me crying and Shannon Stacey always gets me laughing
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about Nicholas Sparks, LS. I guess I need to read Shannon Stacey!
DeleteI have to admit, I don't cry often over books. But JoJo Moyes's Me Before You did make me cry and laugh. I love Jodi's Harmony series and am so looking forward to going back for a visit in Can't Stop Believing. Thanks for the post and giveaway.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to look that one up, LSUReader. Jo Goodman is a writer that has made me both laugh and cry.
DeleteThe First Time by Joy Fielding
ReplyDeleteThanks, jcp!
DeleteI am just horrible at remembering titles but laughing/crying from the same story are definitely my favorite type of reads. It means it totally got to me emotionally. I love it when it makes me lol or brings me to tears.
ReplyDeleteWhen it involves all your emotions, it is a good read!
DeleteI love a book that makes me laugh and cry. I can't remember any specific titles right now. I adore Jodi's books they are always great.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear it, Martha!
DeleteIt's odd, Andrea, that you should ask this particular question as it happened to me just the other day. I was re-re-reading Gone With the Wind (I wanted to compare it to some of the more recent historical romances I've been reading by authors mentioned in the other comments above). This particular story got me mad, too, as well as sad and happy. It's a shame Margaret Mitchell died so early or else we'd have some other wonderful stories written by her. I would like to read something by Jodi so that I can laugh and cry along with her characters. jdh2690@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteJanice, I read Gone with the Wind a long time ago, but you are absolutely right! It certainly engages ALL emotions.
DeleteThe Blue Ribbon Jalapino Society by Carolyn Brown. Some funny, quirky characters, but also some emotional moments.
ReplyDeleteThat one sounds like a lot of fun, Sharlene!
DeleteI am sorry to say I can't remember the last time a book made me laugh and cry. Its been a while and I can't remember the name of it. I know when I read one like that I think its just awesome.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Quilt Lady!
DeleteLaugh and cry? ONCE UPON A TOWER by Eloisa James. Such a good book!
ReplyDeleteMarcy Shuler
bmndshuler(at)hotmail(dot)com
Great choice, Marcy!
DeleteToughie - both laugh and cry - cannot think of one but Nicholas Spark ALWAYS makes me cry - The Notebook and Message in a Bottle - used a lot of tissues. Jill Shalvis' books always make me laugh.
ReplyDeleteThe last book I read that made me both laugh and cry was Blowing On Dandelions by Miralee Ferrell. It was an awesome book. I love books that can pull at all your emotions. This book sounds great too. I'd love to read it. Thank you for the chance!
ReplyDeleteWanda Barefoot
flghtlss1(at)yahoo(dot)com
hmmm ... I'm laughing as I read Susan Mallery's 'Under Her Skin' - I love some her quirky characters and their funny comments. I do tear up sometimes with sad aspects of stories, but can't remember a specific time recently. I love these series about small towns.
ReplyDeletesallans d at yahoo dot com
Definitely my kind of book. Life is never a smooth road and there are detours and potholes we never expect. I love it when an authors writes characters and stories that reflect this. There is not always a happy ending in real life, but that is what fiction is for, to provide us with the happy endings we need every once in a while.
ReplyDeleteI wish I hadn't gotten behind in keeping a log of all the books I read. I know I read a book last month that had me weeping while I read it (and trying not to let my husband notice). I am reorganizing my library, so my stack of recently read books isn't where it should be. It was not a forgettable book, I have just read too many since then to remember. I know it is in the pile somewhere and will end up on my keeper shelf.