Author Jodi Thomas: Characters Come Alive And A Giveaway

It’s my pleasure to welcome another ‘new-to-me’ author here today as she prepares for the release of the third installment in her Harmony series. Please say hello to NY Times & USA Today bestselling author Jodi Thomas. 

Jodi’s newest book, THE COMFORTS OF HOME, is scheduled to be released on Nov. 1. The book will continue the story about a fascinating little Texas town and its numerous lovable characters. 

Thanks to Jodi, I have 1 copy of THE COMFORTS OF HOME to giveaway to a lucky visitor who comments on this post between now and 8 p.m. (EST) on Tuesday, Nov. 1. The giveaway is open to US residents only. Be sure to include your e-mail address with your comment if it’s not in your profile.

Jodi joins us to talk characters coming to life. 

I love traveling the world, but in my mind when I want to relax I always journey to a small town I call Harmony. To me it is as real a place as Rome or London. Sometimes when I’m driving through Duncan, Oklahoma, or Waco, Texas, or Red River, New Mexico, (all places I’ve been this month) I see the town and think ‘they have just that kind of store in Harmony.’ The first of November my third book about a Texas town called Harmony will be hitting the stands. I hope people will come along with me and meet the people in THE COMFORTS OF HOME.
 
Once in a while a character plays at the corner of a writer’s mind for a long time before their story begins to grow. Ronelle Logan was like that with me. She was in WELCOME TO HARMONY as a girl who worked in the post office and eats alone every day in the diner. I knew she’d have her own story one day even from the beginning. As she wakes up to the world around her she sees what her life is really like and wants more.
 
COMFORTS OF HOME is about the people in a small town who come together to celebrate life. They care about one another. Many nights when I sat down in my study to write I felt as if I was stepping into a world, a place that was as real to me as my life. I never think of my people as characters in a story, but always as people. They walk though my life and make it a richer place and I hope they’ll do the same for you as you read THE COMFORTS OF HOME. Enjoy! Jodi 

Jodi, thanks for guest blogging today. I always enjoy a book where they author makes the characters seem realistic, like the people you would know in everyday life.

Now let me share a bite about Jodi. A 5th generation Texan, Jodi chooses to set the majority of her novels in her home state. With a degree in Family Studies, she 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, Jodi enjoys interacting with students on the West Texas A & M University campus, where she currently serves as Writer In Residence. When not working on a novel or inspiring students to pursue a writing career, Jodi enjoys traveling with her husband, Tom, renovating a historic home they bought in Amarillo, and "checking up" on their two grown sons. 

WELCOME TO HARMONY, the first book in her series, won a RITA Award from the Romance Writers of America in June 2011. SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY, the second in the series, won the Reviewers Choice Award from www.twolipsreviews.com. 

For more on Jodi and her writing, visit her website at www.jodithomas.com or find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JodiThomasAuthor. You can pre-order THE COMFORTS OF HOME on Jodi’s website.

Do you enjoy stories that involve small towns? What about a series that follows the lives of several people over a period of time, does that appeal to you as a reader? Thanks for stopping by and be sure to enter the giveaway.