Discover May's Best New Reads: Stories to Ignite Your Spring Days.

Jodi Thomas

A fifth generation Texan who taught family living, Jodi Thomas chooses to set the majority of her novels in her home state, where her grandmother was born in a covered wagon. The stories Thomas has committed to paper have earned her an impressive list of distinguished awards. Her first book, BENEATH THE TEXAS SKY (1988), won the National Press Women’s Novel of the Year in its category. Book two, NORTHERN STAR (1990), was named best novel by the (Texas) Panhandle Professional Writers and the Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc., an organization of writers’ groups from several states. Book three, THE TENDER TEXAN (1991), was Thomas’s first national bestseller and won her the first of two Romance Writers of America RITA's, the $1.5 billion romance publishing industry’s equivalent of an "Oscar." Book twelve, TO KISS A TEXAN (1999) was her first novel to score on the USA TODAY Best-selling Books list. For THE TEXAN'S WAGER (2002), sixteen was the magic number. As Thomas’s sixteenth novel, the book scored number sixteen on the NEW YORK TIMES extended bestseller list. FINDING MARY BLAINE, (2004) received the National Readers' Choice Award in 2005. Thomas was inducted into the RWA Hall of Fame in 2006 for winning her third RITA for THE TEXAN'S REWARD (2005). With a degree in Family Studies, Thomas is a marriage and family counselor by education, a background that enables her to write about family dynamics. Honored in 2002 as a Distinguished Alumni by Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Thomas enjoys interacting with students on the West Texas A & M University campus, where she currently serves as Writer In Residence. "My door is usually open to students all morning," explains Thomas, who talks to the classes at the University and on other campuses during her many speaking engagements when not writing in her spacious office in WTAMU’s Cornette Library. "They come by to visit and ask questions about being a writer. When I was a child, being a writer wasn’t an option. All the people I knew had regular jobs. I’m hoping that students will see that being a writer is a possibility. This is particularly important in these days when programs in the arts are being cut in the public schools." Commenting on her contribution to the arts, Thomas said, "When I was teaching classes full time, I thought I was making the world a better place. Now I think of a teacher, or nurse, or mother settling back and relaxing with one of my books. I want to take her away on an adventure that will entertain her. Maybe, in a small way, I’m still making the world a better place." While the author toured the country speaking to Desk and Derrick clubs about her 2003 novel, THE WIDOWS OF WICHITA COUNTY, the members of various chapters formed a Jodi Thomas Fan Club. The group enthusiastically promotes her novels and public appearances and even volunteers to provide drivers for her out-of-town engagements. When not working on a novel or inspiring students to pursue a writing career, Thomas enjoys traveling with her husband, Tom, renovating a historic home they bought in Amarillo, and “checking up” on their two grown sons. TEXAS RAIN, the first book in her latest historical "Whispering Mountain" series, was released in November 2006. TEXAS PRINCESS, the second novel in the series, was released in November 2007. The third novel in the series, TALL, DARK, AND TEXAN, will be released in November 2008. An anthology of short stories in which she collaborated with three other authors, GIVE ME A TEXAN, was released in February 2008. Her newest mainstream novel, TWISTED CREEK, is garnering rave pre- release reviews and is set for release in April 2008.

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3 comments posted.

Re: Rewriting Monday (9:42pm April 7, 2009):

I'm watching the last of a sunset from my office window tonight. Despite all the dust today blowing across the Texas Panhandle, you should see the way the sun spreads out for what looks like a hundred miles across the land and turns dusty orange before it becomes night. Happy Trails to you all. Jodi

Re: Rewriting Monday (9:39pm April 7, 2009):

OH, sorry about the spelling. YOu'd think after 28 books I could spell, but it's been a long day. :) I promise the spelling is better in the book. Jodi

Re: Rewriting Monday (9:38pm April 7, 2009):

Thanks everyone for dripping by. In REWRITING MONDAY I wanted to make the very point that so many of you did, that there are times we'd rewrite if we could. We'd be braver, more adventurous and bolder. But there are also things that happened to us, some of them that looked like the wrong directions, but yet they made us who we are or led us to the right person and the end was worth the struggle.
I hope you enjoy reading REWRITING MONDAY as much as I loved writing it.
Thanks for reading. Jodi