Jodi Thomas (born

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

) is the pen name of Jodi Koumalats, an American author of

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

romance novels A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Pre ...

, most of which are set in Texas. In 2006, she was inducted into the

Romance Writers of America Romance Writers of America (RWA) is an American non-profit writers' association founded in 1980. Its mission is to "advance the professional and common business interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy and by incr ...

Hall of Fame.

Biography

Jodi Thomas is a fifth-generation Texan, whose grandmother was born in Texas in a covered wagon. She grew up in

and moved to

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northwe ...

to attend

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

. She has a master's degree in Family Studies. hosted at Jodi Thomas official website Thomas married Tom Koumalats and spent several years travelling while he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. The couple then returned to Amarillo and had two sons. Both husband and wife became teachers, and for the next fifteen years Thomas taught family living at Amarillo High School. In 1984, worried that teacher salaries would be insufficient to save for her children's college education, Thomas began writing. Her first published work was an article for the ''

Oklahoma Daily ''OU Daily'', formally known as ''The Oklahoma Daily'', is the independent, student-produced newspaper at the University of Oklahoma, with a circulation of 6,000. Though it maintains a connection with OU's Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass C ...

'' about the Llano Cemetery in Amarillo. She also sold many short stories for children, most averaging about 244 words. hosted at Jodi Thomas official website By 1988, Thomas had begun writing in earnest after work. When she sold her first book, publishers suggested that her surname, Koumalats, was too ethnic. As a compromise, she took her husband's first name as her pen name. Thomas's first novel, ''Beneath the Texas Sky'', met with critical success. It won a ''Romantic Times'' Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Western Romance and was designated a National Press Women Novel of the Year. By 1991, Thomas was able to quit teaching to become a full-time writer. She has won three

RITA Awards,–the highest award given to romance novelists– in 1992, 1995, and 2006. Her third win, for ''The Texan's Reward'', led to her immediate induction into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. Thomas has been nominated for RITAs several other times. Her novels have been translated into at least six languages. Several of her novels have appeared on the

New York Times Bestseller List ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

or the ''USAToday'' Bestseller List. In 2003, Thomas became the writer-in-residence at

West Texas A&M University West Texas A&M University (WTAMU or WT) is a public university in Canyon, Texas. It is the northernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). It was established on Se ...

. She was only the second writer-in-residence to be appointed.

Books

Thomas began writing

historical romance Historical romance is a broad category of mass-market fiction focusing on romantic relationships in historical periods, which Walter Scott helped popularize in the early 19th century. Varieties Viking These books feature Vikings during the Da ...

s in the early 1980s because she was dissatisfied with the ones she had read. In many cases, the romances she picked up contained historical errors or relationships that she thought were implausible. Her own novels draw on family stories of living in Texas, as well as months of research for each. The majority of her novels are set in Texas, and many contain the word "Texas" or "Texan" in the title. Although most of her novels are historical or contemporary romances, with ''Widows of Wichita County'' Thomas branched into mainstream women's fiction.

Awards

*1988 - National Press Women's Novel of the Year, ''Beneath the Texas Sky'' *1990 - (Texas) Panhandle Professional Writers Best Novel, ''Northern Star'' *1990 - Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc. best novel, ''Northern Star'' *1991 - Romance Writers of America (RWA) RITA Award for Best Historical Romance, ''The Tender Texan'' *1994 - Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Historical Romance, ''To Tame a Texan's Heart'' *1998 - Romantic Time Magazine Career Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to women's fiction over the past ten years *1999 - Romantic Times Magazine Career Achievement Award for Outstanding Fiction *2002 - Named a Texas Tech University Distinguished Alumna *2005 - National Reader's Choice Award, ''Finding Mary Blaine'' *2006 - Romance Writers of America (RWA) RITA Award,''The Texan's Reward'' *2006 - Inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame

Bibliography

The Wife Lottery Series

*''The Texan's Wager'', 2002 *''When a Texan Gambles'', 2003 *''A Texan's Luck'', 2004 *''The Texan's Reward'', 2005

The McLain Series

*''The Texan's Touch'', 1998 *''To Kiss a Texan'', 1999 *''To Wed in Texas'', 2000 *''Twilight in Texas'', 2001 *''The Texan's Dream'', 2001

The Whispering Mountain Series

*''Texas Rain'', 2006 *''Texas Princess'', 2007 *''Tall, Dark, and Texan'', 2008 *''The Lone Texan'', 2009 *''Texas Blue'', 2011 *''Wild Texas Rose'', 2012 *''Promise Me Texas'', 2013

The Harmony Series

*''Welcome to Harmony, 2010'' - Book 1 - Harmony Series *''Somewhere Along the Way, 2010'' - Book 2 - Harmony Series *''The Comforts of Home, 2011'' - Book 3 - Harmony Series *''Just Down the Road, 2012'' - Book 4 - Harmony Series *''Chance of a Lifetime, 2013'' - Book 5 - Harmony Series *''Can't Stop Believing, 2013'' - Book 6 - Harmony Series *''Betting the Rainbow, 2014'' - Book 7 - Harmony Series *''A Place Called Harmony (Series Prequel), 2014'' - Book 8 - Harmony Series *''One True Heart, April 7, 2015'' - Book 9 - Harmony Series

The Ransom Canyon Series

*''Winter's Camp'', 2015 *''Ransom Canyon'', 2015 *''Rustler's Moon'', 2016 *''Lone Heart Pass'', 2016 *''Sunrise Crossing'', August 2016 *''Wild Horse Springs'', January 2017 *''Indigo Lake'', July 2017

The Historical Series

*''Beneath the Texas Sky'', 1988 *''Northern Star'', 1990 *''The Tender Texan'', 1991 *''Prairie Song'', 1992 *''Cherish the Dream'', 1993 *''The Texan and the Lady'', 1994 *''To Tame a Texan's Heart'', 1994 *''Forever in Texas'', 1995 *''Texas Love Song'', 1996 *''Two Texas Hearts'', 1997

The Contemporary Series

*''The Widows of Wichita County'', 2003 *''Finding Mary Blaine'', 2004 *''The Secrets of Rosa Lee'', 2005 *''Twisted Creek'', 2008 *''Rewriting Monday'', 2009

Anthologies

*''Sweet Hearts'', 1993 *''A Country Christmas'', 1993 *''How to Lasso a Cowboy'', 2004 *''Give Me a Texan'', 2008 *''Give Me a Cowboy'', 2009 *''Give Me a Texas Ranger'', 2010 *''Give Me a Texas Outlaw'', 2011 *''A Texas Christmas'', 2011 *''Be My Texas Valentine'', 2012 *''One Texas Night'', 2013 *''Boots Under Her Bed'', 2014

References

External links

Jodi Thomas Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Jodi 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American romantic fiction writers People from Amarillo, Texas RITA Award winners Texas Tech University alumni Novelists from Texas Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American women novelists Women romantic fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers