Good Morning Readers, Fans, and Friends,
I’m excited to visit for a while and tell you why I wrote my 62nd book. At least I think it’s 62. I’ve lost count. Someday I’ll slow down and read them again.
Lately, my car reads them while I drive. Sometimes I laugh at my own jokes in the story. Sometimes I write with a theme in mind. Twisted Creek was finding home. The Widows of Wichita was the friendship between women. Ransom Canyon was the love of land.
I guess that is why I love reading love stories. Not just romances, but love of the land, of your country, your family and on and on it goes.
That was on my mind when I started Strawberry Lane. I knew I would write about the power of love. Brotherly love, romantic love and family love. Real romance, real love.
I was at a signing last week and a woman about four people back in the line yelled, “You got romance in that book? You know that’s just fantasy, not real.”
Before I could answer, a sweet lady stepped up and said, “I’ve been married twice and can tell you that there is romance because I giggled through both of mine.” That made everyone around giggle too.
Since I always watch people and mold my characters into real people in my mind, I decided to tell the story of how opposites attract in Strawberry Lane.
Just a few weeks ago during the last cold front that passed over the Panhandle, my son’s little dog got out. It was freezing. He decided to go into the heated chicken coop to get warm. He didn’t come out for two days. Maybe opposites do get along.?
In a few months I’ll be listening to this book as I’m driving between Amarillo and Oklahoma. The land is so flat you can almost see the curve of the earth and the sky often puts on a show. That drive always settles my soul.
a writer living in a small town I’ve been blessed by watching people all their lives and I have no doubt that those who are happiest are those who love. And that’s why I love writing romance.
Tell me about a time you remember when opposites got along. Your story will be entered for a chance to win a signed copy of Strawberry Lane.
So, stay warm, tell someone you love them and try to get along with the chickens in your life.
Jodi Thomas
You can preorder your own copy of Strawberry Lane HERE.
My husband and I were opposites. He was laid back and didn’t let things bother him. I am exactly the opposite. I’m not rude or ugly about something, but I say what I think. When we would go to the store and start walking from the car, he would ask me if I was going to a fire since I walked a lot faster than him.
I bet y’all made a fun pair! Thanks for sharing.
My paternal grandparents. Both came from the same country but had totally different personalities;
Just like two kids from the same parents can be so different!
In many ways, my husband and I are opposites, but we get along.
My husband did the taxes while I wrote. Thank goodness!!
I guess my husband and me are opposites where he is all laid back all the time and I worry about everything. I fell and broke my hand this week and its worrying me because I am the one that has to get things done and he thinks its no big deal.
And it usually all works out, doesn’t it? Hope you’re healing ok!
My mother’s parents were complete opposites as far as family and religion was concerned, my nana was on only child, and was raised in the High Anglican church and my grandfather was one of 9 children in an Irish Catholic family. They were married almost 50 yrs. It was just not done in 1919 to marry outside your faith.
Thanks for sharing a great story of a long marriage!
My husband and I are opposites. I’m laid back and he can get stressed. We do have a lot in common though. Mainly our humor. He makes me laugh and I make him chuckle at times. It works, I guess. Close to 43 years together.
Welcome! Your stories sound wonderful with all the extras you need for a good one!
Congratulations on 43 years and glad laughter has kept it fun for you both!
My husband and I are opposites, but it works for us. We’ve been married since 1984.
I think a lot of couples are married a long time because they are opposites. Thanks for sharing!
Opposites get along as one of them keeps an even keel which is helpful and conducive to an amiable arrangement.
That’s a very wise statement! I totally agree. 🙂
My wife and I are opposites in that she is the emotional one and I am the calm one. We each have our strengths and together we are stronger.
I love that, Joe! And I think it really makes for a stronger marriage.
My brother and I are opposites-he is a thinker and I am a doer. He is adamant in his beliefs and I am reserved about mine. But we get along on most things.
That’s a great combination for you both!
My husband & I are pretty chill, but one of our children is not! Sometimes we get along because we have to, but we still love each other & always will! I don’t think that’s what you’re looking for, but that’s all I can think of.
That’s a great answer and pretty much sums up lots of families! Thanks for sharing.
Example – my best friend and I through school plus two years of rooming together at college. She was a drama major, and I was an accounting major. You get the picture! Always love your books! Ransom Canyon is one of my favorites I purchased for my keeper shelf. Enjoy the dark sky country of west Texas (hubby is hobby photographer)!
Thanks for your sweet comments. You can’t bet a west Texas sunrise or sunset, can you!
friends from school
So true!
My friends in elementary school were opposites of me–they were the “popular crowd” and I was a shy bookworm!
That sounds very familiar! 🙂
My best friend (we met at the end of 10th grade and are in our early 50s) are quite the opposite in many ways (our belief systems, for instance) but we don’t let that get in the way of our long friendship. Thanks for the chance to win a book. Your covers are pretty.
I have some close friends that sound like your description and we’re still friends too. Thanks for sharing about my covers.
My husband and I have been married for 22 years and we are opposites in many ways but it works for us because we can use it to balance our relationship and take advantage of our strengths and weaknesses.
That’s a great recipe for a good marriage, isn’t it?
My husband has been trying to get along with the chickens in our life, but Lavender, our large Lavender rooster, is quite aggressive. His spurs are quite long and sharp. He has punctured my husband’s leather boots and scratched the poor guys arms multiple times. There is no getting along with him.
As for opposites attracting, my husband and I had very different backgrounds and upbringings. I went into the Peace Corps and he went into the Air Force on B-52 bombers. We were both in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War but in very different capacities. I liked earthenware, woodenware, and natural “hippie” styles. He liked antiques and classic styles. We belonged to different political parties. We did have love of nature and outdoor activities in common and that was enough. We have both adopted appreciation and a like for things the other’s preferences. It would be boring to be married to someone exactly like yourself. It has obviously worked. We will celebrate our 51st wedding anniversary this June.
LOVED your story about Lavender and your comments about marriage partners! Congrats on your upcoming anniversary!!
My husband and I was opposites He was always laid back and was never use to being in crowds of people where I was always use to being around family and friends enjoying life! Have a Blessed weekend!
Sometimes marriages are better to have opposites to balance everything!
My sister-in-law and her husband are definitely opposite. She is very outgoing and involved in many organizations. He is very quiet and shy. It works for them. They have been married 37 years.
I know lots of couples that work like that! Makes for good marriages. 🙂
My parents are opposites but they get along, mostly. They have been married for 57 years.
Your folks are doing something right if they’ve been married 57 years. That’s awesome!
My husband and I are opposites. We have been married for 34 years. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
I love reading about couples who are opposites with long marriages. Congrats on 34 years!
My husband & I are opposites also. I am a perfectionist & he is laid back. Sometime we really go at it, but; then we have been married for 55 years now & he is still putting up with me. No knock down drag out only staying on one side of the house or he in the garage until we work it out. He is a blessing to forgive me so many times.
You two have definitely figured out that love is giving and taking and allowing space! 55 years is wonderful!
Good morning Jodi. 62 books, wow what an accomplishment. I have read them all and each one has touched my heart in one way or another. Yes, yes, yes, you do have romance in your books. I love how each one has its own theme that truly hits your readers in the heart with love.
Rob and I were opposites, he’s so quiet and I talk non stop.. when we were dating I’d ask him if he was mad at me, he’d look and say “No, why?” I’d say “because you’re so quiet!”
That sweet man would just reply.. “I love just hearing you talk!”
I day he’s a smart man with the “right” response.
Maybe one day soon LINDA, YOU, & I can meet up and visit.
Love & hugs, Tonya
So good to hear from you, Tonya. I can’t believe I’m working on #63 right now! Your hubby sounds like a quiet, smart man. Would love to see you too!
My husband and I are opposites. I am quiet, enjoy being by myself, reading, like watching my flowers grow, slow to get angry, don’t need or want the TV or radio on (unless it’s oldies music), and don’t like being in big groups. My husband needs the TV on the minute he walks in the door, he likes being outside with something to do all the time, he eats his meals twice as fast as I do, he don’t have much patience, he walks faster than I do, he gets upset at things he sees and hears on TV, then wants to tell me all about it, and he gets upset easily at other drivers on the road or has to wait a little too long for a stop light to change. Somehow we have made it through 51 years of marriage, got use to each others ways, and will continue on.
Thanks for sharing how you and your husband have made it 51 years. That’s awesome!