Jodi Thomas
http://www.jodithomas.com/
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. A former teacher, Thomas traces the beginning of
her storytelling career to the days when her twin sisters
were young and impressionable. "I'd tell them stories at night that made them too scared
to get up and go to the bathroom. I got in trouble for
that," Thomas claims. "I told them wild stories of school
until they cried not to go. I got in trouble for that too.
Mother said she's not sure, but she thinks I was 10 before
I ever told the truth about anything. And all my life
stories have always been in my head." 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 RITAs, 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. 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, which houses the Panhandle Plains
Historical Museum, the state's largest historical museum. "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 last year, 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. More
information is available at the author's website. When not working on a novel or inspiring students to pursue
a writing career, Thomas enjoys traveling with her husband
and renovating an historical home they bought in Amarillo.
Her next contemporary novel for MIRA Books, to be published
in 2005, will be DUST COVERED DREAMS. She is currently
working on this sequel to THE WIDOWS OF WICHITA COUNTY, in
response to enthusiastic readers' requests.
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Books
Rewriting Monday
April 7, 2009
Reporter Pepper Malone moved to Bailey, Texas, after a news
story nearly got her killed. Now she wants to be left alone
to do her job in relative peace and quiet. But Read more...
Tall, Dark, and Texan
(A Whispering Mountain Novel #3)
October 28, 2008
Teagen McMurray would ride to hell and back to protect his
land. He'd certainly never felt that way about a woman. Not
at least until Jessie Barton showed up with her three Read more...
Twisted Creek
April 1, 2008
Bad luck has been biting at Allie Daniel's heels all her
life, so when she inherits a cafe in a small Texas lake
community she's sure there's a catch. But Allie decides Read more...
Texas Princess
(A Whispering Mountain Novel #2)
November 6, 2007
Hiding out from her financé in her father's barn,
Liberty Mayfield can't deny that she made the biggest
mistake of her life when she agreed to marry ruthless
Captain Samuel Buchanan. If Read more...
Texas Rain
(A Whispering Mountain Novel #1)
November 7, 2006
The first time Rainey Adams meets Texas Ranger Travis
McMurray, she steals a kiss—and then his horse. Now
Travis is determined to track down this intriguing woman and
bring her back to the Read more...
Easy On the Heart
August 29, 2006
The Texan's Reward
November 1, 2005
Jodi Thomas's novels about a lottery in which love is the
prize have won rave reviews from readers and critics alike.
Now the New York Times bestselling author gives us a
surprise treat Read more...
Secrets of Rosa Lee
August 1, 2005
A Texan's Luck
November 1, 2004
Captain Walker Larson received the shock of his life when
a beautiful stranger boldly walked into his
office—claiming to be his wife. His father may have
bought Lacy Larson for Read more...
Finding Mary Blaine
August 1, 2004
How to Lasso a Cowboy
May 25, 2004
They are a symbol of the Old West, from the tops of their
ten-gallon hats to the tips of their spurs, and an image
that sets women's hearts to quivering. Read more...
When a Texan Gambles
November 1, 2003
It all started when she got thrown off the wagon train.
Now, a crook is dead and Sarah Andrews has been raffled
off in a "Wife Lottery." That Read more...
The Widows of Wichita County
August 1, 2003
The Texan's Wager
November 9, 2002
Thrown off a wagon train with two other women and trying
to avoid jail for a murder they committed, Bailee Moore
agrees to enter a "Wife Lottery" — a ploy Read more...
The Texan's Dream
October 31, 2001
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