Fall 2000 - A short twelve years ago, a local school teacher decided to begin a new career. After 15 years of teaching, she worried that her salary would not be enough to put her two boys through college. In 1988, Jodi Thomas sat down in her closet like office and started writing, and writing, and writing. This year, with 13 novels and four short story collections to her credit, Jodi reigns as the undisputed Queen of Texas Historical Romance.

Her latest book, To Wed in Texas , made the USA Today and the New York Times best seller lists. She has received numerous national awards for her writing, including two national R.I.T.A. Awards (the top award in romance writing.) We sat down and talked to Jodi recently about her career.

Your books are Historical Romances written about Texas and Texans. Why did you choose to write about Texas specifically?

"My grandparents told stories of traveling west in a covered wagon, and living in a dugout as early settlers of the Texas Panhandle. After five generations of family living in this area, it just seemed natural to write about it."

One thing that sets your books apart is the well developed relationships within you novels. Why do you devote so much time to this part of each book?

"I used to read Zane Grey, and Louis L'Amour books as a child and I absolutely loved them, with the western setting and the action. One thing that I felt was missing from these stories was the romantic relationships. When characters never really get involved with one another emotionally, it makes them seem less real. There are four great motivators of people--hate, greed, fear, and love. Many writers will spend entire novels involving their characters in hate, greed or fear and leave the love out. Humans are not that shallow. Love is a huge motivating factor in our everyday lives as well as the lives of my characters. To write a story and leave romance out makes the story seem empty."

You have a master's degree in family studies which I understand would help you to create realistic reactions for your characters. I have to ask though, what does your family say about the steamy romantic scenes?

"There's an old saying in romance writing, 'Write like your Mama's dead.' It' s really true . You have to write what is right for the characters and circumstances, instead of worrying about what someone might think. My husband and sons are very supportive of my work."

The business side of writing is largely misunderstood by the general public. How does it work, exactly?

"There are a number of common misconceptions about writing books. One is that if you get a book published, you can retire wealthy. That is just not so. A book takes about nine months to write. Then it takes another year or so to be published. Right now I am working on a book that won't be published until 2001 - - so there is a lot of hurry up and wait. The return to the writer is only around 8% of the cover price. Even if you sell thousands of books, that' s not much money for nine months of work. The hard part is, the first few books don't sell that many copies so you basically starve. After you become more well known, your income increases with each book as sales increase, but it is a long hard road."

What advice do you have for would be writers?

"Start by taking a few creative writing courses. Most of all, just write. In the classes I teach on occasion, I have my students hang a stop watch around their necks to measure the time they actually spend writing. For most of them this is really an eye opener. If you want to be a professional writer, but find hat you only actively write 8-10 hours per week then that's not enough. You have to be writing 20-30 hours a week if you want to do this full time." What does the future hold for Jodi?

"In July, my first novel Beneath the Texas Sky will be re-released. It was originally released in 1988. I didn't sell very many of them, as I was a total unknown at the time, and it has been out of print for ten years. Now that I have a great base of loyal fans, the publisher thought timing was good for a re-release. In March of next year,(2001), my new novel Twilight in Texas will hit the market. As time goes on, my novels are moving into the realm of Historical Fiction. I have a devoted following of men as well as women who read my books, so it is natural that my books are becoming more mainstream. A movie deal would be great at some point."

-- an interview by Dee Burks, editor Saddle Baron Magazine