Jodi Thomas Guest Blog

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. Whenever I begin to plot I like to mix my stories together so that one plot forms out of the life of several people. In JUST DOWN THE ROAD I have the beginnings of young, first time, love and the sweet love of two people who thought they were destined to live their lives alone. In the opening I introduce two people who are running, one from life and the other toward it. One, because of fear, thinks she's never lived and the other feels his life is over. They are not a couple anyone would put together but as they grow to love each other. Tinch and Addison realize they're a perfect match. And, for a man just learning to live again, Tinch has to also realize that there are some things in life worth risking his life for. I'd like to welcome you to step into my town, Harmony, Texas, and get to know the people. The streets of Harmony, the ranches and farms around, the vast open land that molds a special kind of people, all form together in my head as real as a road map. My characters, spurs and all, step into my imagination, "have a set" and tell me their stories. They are as real to me as family and friends and they'll come alive to you also. Who knows, when you finish the book, you might just feel like you have another home town. Remember, always be kind to one another, and enjoy my newest story.