
Jodi Thomas
http://www.jodithomas.com
Books: Twisted Creek, April 2008
Texas Princess, November 2007
Texas Rain, November 2006
Easy On the Heart, September 2006
The Texan's Reward, November 2005
A Texan's Luck, November 2004
How to Lasso A Cowboy, June 2004
When a Texan Gambles, November 2003
The Texan's Wager, November 2002
The Texan's Dream, November 2001
Twilight In Texas, February 2001
To Wed In Texas, January 2000
To Kiss A Texan, May 1999
The Texan's Touch, July 1998
Two Texas Hearts, July 1997
The Texan and the Lady, December 1994
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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. 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, the
members of various chapters of Desk and Derrick Clubs
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, www.jodithomas.com.
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. Jodi’s website, www.jodithomas.com is where readers
can learn more about her books. There is also information
on signing up for her e-mail newsletter. For more
questions about Jodi or her novels, she can be contacted
though her e-mail address jodi@jodithomas.com.
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