Aloha to Jodi Thomas and RUSTLER'S MOON (Ransom Canyon, Book 2)

From the desk of Jodi Thomas ...

When I began writing RUSTLER’S MOON, I wanted to tell a story of love and mystery, of trusting someone even when you don’t know all about them. Angela Harold was a woman running for her life after her father died. She wants to move to this small town in Texas and vanish from all who knew her, only she didn’t count of bumping into Wilkes Wagner. They might have nothing in common, but sparks fly from the first. Wilkes considered his life an open book while Angela is afraid to let anyone really know her.

In ranching a rustler’s moon is a sliver of moonlit night were rustlers can see to steal cattle, but it’s too dark to see the outlaws well enough to identify them. It’s also thought that a cowboy can still his sweetheart’s heart beneath a rustler’s moon. My story circles through the shadows between the lives of the characters as they learn who to trust, who to believe, and who to love. This one will keep you reading long into the night and who knows, you might finally fall asleep beneath a RUSTLER’S MOON.

One thing I love about writing a series is that characters can play small parts in one book and major parts in another. The reader gets to watch a character learn and grow. As the series continues, the people of Crossroads, Texas will seem like old friends dropping by to visit.

Maybe I like this so much because I’ve grown up in the same town I live in now. I love knowing the histories of whole families and knowing that there are people who care about me just because they knew my father or worked with my uncle, or went to school with my brother. I know there are great advantages of having lived all over the world, but there is a peace too in being in a small town.

A fifth-generation Texan, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author 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.

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, where she currently serves as Writer in Residence.

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.”

When not working on a novel or inspiring students to pursue a writing career, Thomas enjoys traveling with her husband, renovating a historic home they bought in Amarillo and “checking up” on their two grown sons.

For more information, please visit Jodi’s website at jodithomas.com.

I am giving away a print copy of RUSTLER'S MOON to one randomly selected commenter:

On a dirt road marked by haunting secrets, three strangers caught at life's crossroads must decide what to sacrifice to protect their own agendas…and what they're each willing to risk for love. 

If there's any place that can convince Angela Harold to stop running, it's Ransom Canyon. And if there's any man who can reveal desires more deeply hidden than her every fear, it's Wilkes Wagner. Beneath the rancher's honorable exterior is something that just might keep her safe…or unwittingly put her in danger's path.

With his dreams of leaving this small Texas town swallowed up by hard, dusty reality, all Wilkes has to show for his life is the Devil's Fork Ranch. Though not one to let false hope seduce him, he can't deny the quiet and cautious beauty who slips into his world and changes everything.

Lauren Brigman finally has freedom at her fingertips. All she needs is Lucas Reyes's attention—a look, a touch, some sign that she's more to him than a girl he rescued one dangerous night. But now it's her turn to rescue someone, and the life-altering decision may cost her more than a chance with Lucas.

To enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about the moon - did you see the full moon on Christmas night?  My family ventured outside to see it through the cloud cover.   Here's an article about the full moon from NASA.

2.  Comments are open through Saturday, January 30, 10 pm in Baltimore. 

3.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, January 31.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

More books in the series ...