Aloha to Jodi Thomas and LONE HEART PASS (Ransom Canyon Book 3)

The incomparable Jodi Thomas is celebrating the release of LONE HEART PASS, Book 3 in her Ransom Canyon series.  She offers a guest post ... 

Someone asked me once what I would be if I didn’t write. My answer was I’d be a teacher. Teachers change the landscape of your life. Mrs. Dickerson in the fourth grade saw that I couldn’t read. She took the time to learn why and send me to a school for two summers. She opened the world of fiction for me. Without her, I would have been fine. With her, I’ve lived a much richer life.

As a writer I meet many interesting people and some of them are in my mind.

When I began LONE HEART PASS two people stepped into my mind. One, Jubilee Hamilton, who has just had all her dreams crash and the other, Charley Collins, who feels like he’s never had the chance to follow even one dream. Both are fighting to simply survive. Together they learn to start believing in love and form a dream, not of riches or fame, but of family.

Jubilee and Charley came to me fully developed. I saw them sit down in front of my desk (in my mind) and begin to tell me their story. Charley’s love for his daughter. Jubilee’s need to put down roots. His knowledge of ranching. Her fascination with keeping records and charts. Them learning to trust one another when no one believed in either of them.

I’m now the writer in residence at West Texas A&M University and the best part of my job is setting down with students in my office and beginning our journey with, “So, you want to be a writer?”

So now you can step into Texas with me. I promise you’ll love Charley and Jubilee. 

Image by Billy Hathorne (link)

About LONE HEART PASS ... 

With a career and a relationship in ruins, Jubalee Hamilton is left reeling from a fast fall to the bottom. The run-down Texas farm she inherited is a far cry from the second chance she hoped for, but it and its abrasive foreman are all she’s got.

Every time Charley Collins has let a woman get close, he’s been burned. So Lone Heart ranch and the contrary woman who owns it are merely a means to an end, until Jubalee tempts him to take another risk—to stop resisting the attraction drawing them together despite all his hard-learned logic.

Desperation is all young Thatcher Jones knows. When he leads an injured Steeldust horse to a ramshackle ranch, he needs help. A horse-stealing ring is on his trail and the sheriff suspects him…and his only protection is the shelter of a man and woman who—just like him—need someone to trust.

LONE HEART PASS is available wherever books are sold and at HQNBooks.com.

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.

Robert Bruno's Steel House overlooking Ransom Canyon

Image by Leaflet (link)

I am giving away a print copy of LONE HEART PASS to one randomly selected commenter. To enter the giveaway,

1. Let chat about that steel house - here's a link.  What do you think of the "sculpture"?  Have you seen an unusual house in your travels?

A La Ronde in Devon, England, is a "quirky 18th-century, 16 sided house with fascinating interior decoration and collections", maintained by the National Trust (link).

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

3. I'll post the winner on Sunday, May 1.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City