The fourth annual Medina Ladies’ Christmas Tea drew a crowd of over 100 women to listen to USA Today and New York Times-bestselling author Jodi Thomas speak about her writing process.
Medina Community Library librarian Alison Harbour hosted the event in the Rodney Camp Pavilion. H-E-B provided the treats and snacks. Bandera local and master quilter Brenda John loaned several festive red quilts to decorate the room. The tables were beautifully decorated, and the buffet looked scrumptious.
The attendees were serenaded by Elise Harbour and Darlene Stevens with beautiful carols as they entered the room visiting with friends and neighbors. To begin the tea, Harbour and Stevens led the group in carol singing with whimsical tunes like Rudolph, the Rednosed Reindeer, and the beautiful Silent Night.
Jodi Thomas is the author of over 65 books and 20 short stories. One of her books, Ransom Canyon, is being produced by Netflix as a ten-episode series to be shown in Fall 2024.
Thomas rarely does speaking engagements but decided that the Ladies Tea in Medina would be the one she chose for this year. She found the audience of ladies eagerly took in every word.
Thomas talked about discovering her passion for writing. She grew up in Amarillo and focuses her writing on Texas stories. “I liked historical, and I wanted to write about Texans. I studied writing and I started writing.” She sets her stories in Texas because she believes Texans are independent, “ornery” and the culture of Texas is attractive to readers. “I’m a Texas girl, so I write about what I know,” remarked Thomas.
As both a teacher and a writer, Thomas has experienced all facets of the writing process, joking about getting so distracted by her writing that she sometimes works all night. To her the characters live and breathe to tell their tale.
Thomas relates that she was fascinated by writing and storytelling since she was a little girl. She credits her mother with encouraging her to “dream.” She began imagining stories early and by junior high she had created a place for her writing in her home. “It was a place where I could live and where I could write.”
She jokes that she is the only award-winning author who graduated in the bottom fourth of her high school class. Thomas is dyslexic and struggles with simple tasks such as directions for right and left. Thomas went on to become a writing teacher and ended up teaching writing in college.
“As a teacher and a writer, I still had the need to teach so I was offered a position of Writer in Residence at West Texas A & M University.”
In her home study, Thomas has two walls of bookshelves covered with the books that her students have written.
Whenever Thomas starts a book, she builds a “nest” for her characters and story. The characters seem to live in that nest until she is ready for them.
She does not consider them characters but people. Almost any circumstance experienced by Thomas can be turned into parts of her stories. Her imagination is a fertile field for her stories.
She readily admits that “sometimes I am living in another world.”
The five-time RITA winner and Texas Literary Hall of Fame inductee is a quiet, humble sort of person. Author D. Lynn Rawls accompanied Thomas.
Rawls quickly identifies Thomas as her inspiration and mentor. Rawls will have her first book published and credits Thomas for that accomplishment.
Success for Thomas did not come easy. After five years of writing, she had not been published. While attending a national writing conference she met up with a publisher who quickly connected with her and her enthusiasm for Texas.
“Finally, after five years of trying everything, now I have 65 books and 20 short stories,” she said.
Thomas states that she is entering the “winter of my writing.” She is justifiably proud of the Netflix adaptation of her Ransom Canyon series and says, “I wouldn’t trade this life of being a writer for anything.”
Linda Barton and Colleen Nicholas related local traditions with Christmas Story Time. Barton told an endearing story of her nativity set collection and “the wooden Jesus” that became her grandchildrens’ favorite figure. They then read a book, The Legend of Papa Noel, that explained how the Christmas Eve bonfires began in Cajun Country, stopping every so often to explain the Cajun patois used.
Dinah Keeley, local quilter, and leader of the quilting group drew for the quilt that the group made as a fundraiser. The country themed patriotic quilt went to Lauren Salinas. The quilt group will use the money raised to purchase quilt stands for their annual show in the fall.
As the tea ended, the participants stayed and chatted with friends around the room. Thomas spoke with budding writers and talked about her writing process. Participants felt pleasure in the holiday treat provided by Librarian Alison Harbour. It would be hard to imagine a better holiday tradition than the Medina Ladies’ Christmas Tea.
