Guest Blog: Jodi Thomas (Just Down the Road) + Giveaway

Today I welcome back one of my favorite authors, Jodi Thomas.  I have been a reviewer for her Harmony, Texas series since book #1 and Just Down the Road which releases April 3, is the fourth book.  I love the feeling of home I get from reading from these novels.  Jodi is a master story-teller and I love the chance to read her books and having her on my blog.  So please enjoy her guest blog and be sure and enter the giveaway for a copy of Just Down the Road as well and be sure and check back later today for my review.

The question I always fear the most when I’m traveling on book tour is , “Where do your ideas come from?”  

In truth, I often want to say, “Where did yours go?” because for the most part I don’t know where ideas some from.  For the most part it’s not an idea, but a person who jumps into my mind first.  He, or she, walks in, sits down and begins to tell me a story I have to follow.

When that happens, as it did in JUST DOWN THE ROAD I grab my computer and start hoping I can hang on to wherever the story takes me.

Tinch Turner was one of those rare characters who came to me fully developed.  When I met him he was sitting outside the emergency room in Harmony, Texas, counting the roughnecks piling out of a pick-up and heading in for treatment.  He was hurt and bleeding, but he’d wait until they were treated before he went in.  After all, it was the least he could do, he was the one who sent them to the hospital.

As soon as I had Tinch down on paper I knew he’d have to meet a woman who could be his match.  For a while I looked for another fighter, but the doctor who stepped in his path was a frightened woman who’d been broken once and only thought of running when trouble came.  She’d have to give him a reason to live and he’d have to show her how to be strong.

Tinch and Addison were born, then in my mind, they took the story and made it their own.

I’m never sure what to say when people ask me what I do for a living.  I daydream.  I play.  I imagine.  I create.  I scrub the rough worlds clean.  I’m not a writer for a living, I’m simply a writer.

In JUST DOWN THE ROAD all my work, and skill and that spark of talent seemed to come together.  The people I created breathed.  I’m very proud of this book and I hope it makes you laugh, and cry and fall in love with the people who live in Harmony.

Enjoy the story, 

Jodi Thomas

jodithomas.com

facebook.com/JodiThomasAuthor

twitter.com/jodithomas



NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Jodi Thomas is pleased to present JUST DOWN THE ROAD, the fourth novel in her award-winning Harmony series.

When Tinch Turner lost his wife, he gave up on living. Now he spends his nights brooding, boozing and brawling. When one of his escapades lands him in the ER, he finds himself staring up at the beautiful new doctor in town. For the first time in years, he feels a spark, but Addison Spencer wants nothing to do with the unruly rancher—or any man for that matter. She’s only in Harmony four months, long enough for the trouble she left behind to be over. But then a vulnerable little boy barrels into both of their lives, forcing them out of the past —and into a future where love is just down the road…




JUST DOWN THE ROAD
Sell date: April 3, 2012
Publisher: Berkley
ISBN: 978-0425246924
Retail price: USA $ 7.99

“Extremely powerful and gripping writing...full of passionate moments, hidden secrets, and likable characters.
~ Roundtable Reviews

“ Even for readers new to the series, the intricate relationships between these affable men and ec-centric women are easy to follow and even easier to love. “
~Publishers Weekly




Jodi Thomas is the NY Times and USA Today bestselling author of 34 novels and 11 short story collections. In June 2011, WELCOME TO HARMONY won a RITA, the highest award for women’s fiction. Jodi currently serves as the Writer in Residence at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas.


Giveaway:
Thanks to Jodi and her publisher, I have one copy of Just Down the Road to giveaway to one lucky entrant in the US/Canada.  Simply enter using the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway