Icy Roads... Warm Hearts

Its been a wild week. Ice hit the area and I stayed home one day reading. I also put together an author on author interview with Robyn Carr. What a great lady and so much fun.

The wonderful thing about finishing a book, I have time to catch up on my reading. Sage and Drummond’s story is finished and I cried saying good-bye, but I’ll see them again in the next Whispering Mountain story. I’m calling it Duck and the girls. It will take place ten years after Sage’s story and Teagen’s girls are all grown up. I think it will be a very tender story.

Monday I’ll begin a new story set in today’s time, that I hope will be a series about a small town near Twisted Creek. I’ve been putting together characters for months. The pots been on the back burner and it’s finally time to bring it to center stage. Someone asked me today if I was looking forward to the weekend and I laughed. Writers don’t have weekends. The story follows us wherever we go.

Stay warm and think of spring!

A New Year... A New Story

Welcome to 2009. I’m back at work in my office at West Texas A&M where the sun is shining on the leafless tree outside my window.

I spent most of the month during the Christmas break working on Sage and Drummond’s story. After having them as secondary characters in the last three Whispering Mountain books, I really looked forward to telling their story. A character I hadn’t expected showed up as the story progressed and I think my fans will enjoy him. I love that when it happens. Its almost like writing and reading a story at the same time because I’m not sure where this character is going. When I wrote the last chapter this week, I felt sad saying good-bye to them. The hard part is, I have to keep the story all to myself for 9 months before the book hits the stands.

Whenever I get close to the end of a story, another plot always starts playing in my head, demanding I move on to it. So, I’ll take a weekend off and start all over again with a new group of imaginary friends who live in a place in my head.




I wish everyone the best for 09.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I’m on the road again, in Arlington and Tyler this next week. I feel like I’m hotel hopping across Texas. This time, while I’m not autographing or speaking, I’ll have my imaginary friends traveling with me. Sage’s story is going great. All I need is a few hundred hours to spend with the story.

Of course, I’ll take off on Thursday to have Thanksgiving. This is the first year all my family will not be together but that doesn’t mean I won’t be thinking of them.

On a side note...
Go Tech!!

This is my nephew Brian, his lovely wife Amy and their two precious daughters Kourtney and Macy showing their colors!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Travel and "The Boy King!"

I’ve had a busy week. I was in Dallas last weekend doing stock signings. Meet some great book people. Had a grand tea with readers who really know romance books. I had time to spare Sat. night, so I went to see King Tut. Here’s me with my Mummy.

This weekend I’m going to Lubbock to talk at Texas Tech on Friday and then on Saturday, I plan to have lunch with some beautiful Red Hat Ladies and then we’ll be off to a signing at Barnes and Noble from 5-7.

The next week I’m heading down to Dallas for a signing at in Arlington. Sometimes I think I should have a page on my blog that says, “Where in the world is Jodi?”

In all the free time when I’m not driving, signing, or sleeping, I’m working on Sage’s story and having a grand time.

Have a great week!

TALL, DARK, AND TEXAN is Here!

Tuesday my new book hit the stands. TALL, DARK, AND TEXAN. I’ve been waiting a year for everyone to see it. Kathy Baker at the Legacy Bookstore in Plano called to tell me she loved it and thought it was my best. That meant a great deal to me. Writers, no matter how many books always worry about each book.
Now, the frightening part, stepping out of my office and into the world to autograph. I love it when friends come by to visit with me during an autographing. I also love it when readers stop by to talk about my work.
What frightens me are people who just happen to come by, usually drinking a cup of coffee while their children or spouse shop, and look at my books. They ask questions like, ‘What’s going on here?’ or ‘What’s this book about?’ or ‘How’d you get this published.’ They are not buying, they are just passing time. After I tell them about the book, they put it down and say, ‘Let me tell you a real story…” This is about the time I feel trapped. But, I can’t run. It’s my party.

I had a great weekend at a Writers Retreat in Red River, New Mexico. This is what I saw as I drove home.