Aloha to Jodi Thomas and CHANCE OF THE LIFETIME

The Hawaiian word of the day is:

Kalaka Kaulana

Kalaka is person; kaulana is famous.

Together it is celebrity.

On Wednesday, my family spotted President Obama and friends playing golf on the Marine Corps Base.  On Thursday, we sat next to Jessica Simpson and family at the Turtle Bay's beachside restaurant - she was glowing beautifully with her pregnancy!  Today I host a celebrity in romance -  Jodi Thomas!  I sat at Jodi's table during the 2011 RITA Ceremony when she won the award for Novel with Strong Romantic Elements with WELCOME TO HARMONY, Book 1 in her series set in Harmony, Texas.  Jodi prepared a special a blog for CHANCE OF A LIFETIME, Book 5, now available as print and ebook book at this link.

Jodi (fourth from left) with her RITA!

Welcome to my town, Harmony, Texas. I thought readers might like to start the new year with a book set in a small town called CHANCE OF A LIFETIME. Once in a while everything comes together in a story that makes it fun to write. I think you’ll love the visit where secrets whisper of old love affairs and kindness to others warms your heart.

I wanted to write a deep love story about two people who had been friends in childhood and lost each other one night because of an attack. She was hurt and he felt guilty for not being there to help. When Emily Tomlinson sees Tannon Parker ten years later, they don’t know how to mend the fences to find one another again. I wanted to write a very tender love story about an attraction far deeper than physical, a love that went all the way to their hearts.

While they are getting to know one another, they’re also dealing with problems in the library that she runs. The place is suddenly infested with want-to-be writers meeting upstairs. With Emily forming a writing club to draw people into the library and a kid named Beau Yates about to hit it big as a singer, you’ll feel like you’ve lived in Harmony forever and love all the folks.

So, come along with me to Harmony.

Jodi Thomas
www.jodithomas.com
www.facebook.com/JodiThomasAuthor
www.twitter.com/jodithomas

Jodi in harmony with Sarah Wendell at RT/2012

NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Jodi Thomas takes us back to Harmony, Texas, in CHANCE OF A LIFETIME. The fifth book in her popular Harmony series presents a story where big dreams are brewing—and anything and everything is possible…

Emily, the local librarian, has started a writing group, but as the group stumbles through both the fiction and 
reality of their lives, they’re learning much more than how to write. But Emily suddenly has other things on her mind when a friend from her past shows up in Harmony's library. Now she must deal with a secret she’s kept for fifteen years—a secret that changed her life and threatens to shatter her future. 

Meanwhile, new lawyer Rick Matheson thinks he’s in charge of his world until accidents start happening all around him. Just when he realizes someone is trying to kill him, he meets a beautiful U.S. Marshal named Trace Adam. Now that the marshal has given him an even stronger reason to go on living, he must learn to take a chance on life to dream bigger—and love better—than he ever has before...

 “Another winner...Fans will be delighted.”  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

CHANCE OF A LIFETIME
Release date: December 31, 2012
Publisher: Berkley
ISBN: 978-0425250525
Retail price: USA $ 7.99

I posted my four star review of CHANCE OF A LIFETIME on Amazon (at this link) and Goodreads (at this link).   I am giving away a print copy of CHANCE OF A LIFETIME to one randomly selected commenter.  To enter the giveaway,

1.   Have you spotted a celebrity - entertainer, athlete, politician, author?

2.   This giveaway is open to all readers.

3.   Comments are open through Saturday, January 5, 10 pm in Hawaii.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, January 6.

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii