from author’s website

In her own words:

I love to write, to create stories that entertain, that provide an escape, that touch readers and possibly make them think or reassess or rediscover. I love to create characters that become friends, to whom readers can relate, characters that make you care about what happens to them and who linger with you long after you put the book down. 

My last two novels, What Remains True and All That’s Left of Me are stories of domestic suspense. I’m honored that What Remains True was chosen for the Kindle First program  has gone on to become an international best-seller.

I also have three humorous women’s fiction novels available; Something New and Sweet Nothings which were published by Penguin USA, and Say Never, which was chosen by Chick Lit Central as one of the best books of the year. The first book in my Musical Murder Mystery series, Murder in A-Minor, received honors from Readers’ Favorite Book Awards and was featured on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The Miami Herald, The Boston Globe and the LA Daily News. 

I am a workshop leader at the Southern California Writers Conference, the conference which truly set the path for my career and has since become my second home and family. I’ve also taught at the Writers Digest Novel Writing Conference, and  the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. I have spoken at SCWA, RWA, OC Sisters in Crime, and was the keynote speaker at SCWC. My partner in crime, Ara Grigorian, and I helm the Official Novel Intensive, a powerful and comprehensive one-day seminar for aspiring novelists, and we are proud to have helped scores of writers with their work, many of whom have gone on to book deals. Nothing in my career gives me greater satisfaction than to provide valuable information and support to new authors. 

I have written over fifty songs, which I performed with my sister and our band she said when I lived in New York. I also wrote two children’s books with my dad, Lenerd, about a two-headed dragon named Puff-Puffer. 

When I’m not writing or fulfilling my PTA duties, I like to play tennis, which is something I did as a kid and which I’ve taken up again these past few years. I like to think I’m sixteen when I’m on the court, but my aging joints often protest. I love to sing with my sister Sharilyn–we have something we call a genetic blend that’s pretty cool. I’m a foodie and my husband is a former chef, so we often throw lavish dinner parties with outrageous menus for friends and loved ones. Some of our more exciting courses include uni (sea urchin) pasta, oyster shooters and filet mignon tartare with seared fois gras. 

I’m blessed with two insanely bright and all-around awesome kids who constantly challenge and inspire me, make me laugh and compel me to be the best mom I can be, although I occasionally question my parenting skills! I have an amazing husband who is my perfect co-captain for this crazy journey called life. He is funny, supportive, understands my morning need for ‘coffee-before-conversation.’ Plus he can cook like the dickens! I am honored to have incredible friends who love me and are always, always there for me no matter what, and help me to laugh at myself when I need to. 

I lost my mom and dad a couple of years ago. Mom was an extraordinary woman, anyone who knew her will tell you. She was my first phone call in the morning and my last phone call at night, with twelve calls in between, even if we saw each other that day, which we did most of the time. She was my greatest champion, and continues to champion me, I feel her love and support every day. My dad was another great champion of me and my work. He was one of the most creative people I know–a true Renaissance Man, who painted, sculpted, and wrote scripts. I was blessed to have both of my parents for as long as I did, but I miss them both terribly. 

I am fortunate to live near to my sisters, brothers, aunts, nieces, nephews, cousins and close friends. I also have two crazy, wonderful dogs who teach me about unconditional love on a daily basis. 

ABOUT ALL THAT’S LEFT OF ME:

From the author of What Remains True comes an emotionally captivating novel about a woman who wishes away her troubles but doesn’t anticipate the cost.

I wish…

It starts with a simple wish, and Emma Davies hardly notices when it comes true. She’s too preoccupied with a life she isn’t happy in—the spark in her marriage has fizzled, her career is headed nowhere and her boss is a misogynist. Her teenage daughter has grown distant, and her heart breaks daily for her teenage son with cerebral palsy. But soon Emma discovers her wishes are coming true, and she realizes that she has been given the power to change her life. Either that, or she’s going insane.

Emma begins testing her newfound gift, making calculated wishes and learning one important rule—once granted, they cannot be undone. Over time, she grows bolder as she builds up to the one wish she both fears and desperately longs to make. But when Emma finally gets everything she’s asked for, will it be worth the price?

Purchase your copy.

PRAISE FOR ALL THAT’S LEFT OF ME:

“‘Be careful what you wish for’ has never rang truer than in Janis Thomas’s latest. Shocking, disturbing, and heart-wrenching, All That’s Left of Me is as real as it is magical. Thomas deftly weaves a tale of one woman desperate for a better life that made me laugh, and made me cry. It made me think: What would I wish for? All That’s Left of Me will captivate readers from page one and keep them guessing until the end.” —Kerry Lonsdale, Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author

All That’s Left of Me draws the reader in via the author’s hypnotic prose, and when ‘what-if’ becomes ‘I wish,’ the reader is left stunned and breathless by the consequences. This is a novel about love, regret, heartache, and appreciation for a perfectly imperfect life.” —Grace Greene, bestselling author of The Memory of Butterflies

“A compelling and poignant family drama, All That’s Left of Me is the story of a woman who feels trapped by circumstance in what she views as an unhappy life. And then one day, she makes a wish. No one could be more shocked than she when it comes true. And then—she makes several more wishes, until, magically, she has altered the very fabric of her existence beyond recognition. But there is a price that must be paid—and consequences she could never have anticipated. You know what they say…be careful what you wish for. All That’s Left of Me is a cautionary tale, one that will make you think and keep you guessing to the final page.” —Barbara Taylor Sissel, bestselling author of The Truth We Bury

AUTHOR VISITS:

Author visits with Janis Thomas are available via NovelNetwork.com.