Laurie Woodford
Author of laugh-out-loud stories from the heart
A bit about me
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After teaching college English in the U.S., China, and South Korea and earning an MFA in creative writing a bit later in life (frost on the pumpkin,y’all), I am now a full-time author, writing workshop facilitator, and lover of all furry creatures (my husband included).
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My hope for readers is that my books crack open their hearts and make them laugh so hard that their faces hurt (in a good way).
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I'm originally from upstate New York (Go, Rochester!), and now live in the outskirts of Austin, Texas (and I do love my truck) where I'm beyond lucky to spend loads of time with my awesome daughter, son-in-law, and grandbaby, my adorable agility dog, and my amazing husband, Bruce.
Available in paperback and e-book at Amazon, B&N, and more...
A down-on-her-luck substitute teacher living in an RV park goes on a road trip with the annoyingly hot doctor next door.
Professor Ramona Sadler lost her university job, luxury townhouse, and is now a substitute teacher living in a Texas RV park. To make matters worse, her annoying volunteer supervisor, Dr. Lonnie Acres, lives on the farm next door, a maddening coincidence because have you seen this guy? Shirtless? Holding a lamb?​
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Lonnie Acres may seem aloof and sometimes downright smug but, secretly, he’s dealing with heartache and a gentleman complex that he’s wanted to shake ever since he first looked into Ramona’s eyes.​
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When Ramona must travel to New York to assist her ailing mother and Lonnie helps tow her RV eighteen hundred miles to visit, secrets are revealed, souls are bared, and it just may be the road trip of their lifetime.
Buy Here and Now!
Kirkus Reviews
calls The Heart Hitch...
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“A cozy, layered second-chance romance that invites laughter and reflection...a straightforward road-trip romance, but also a thoughtful meditation on loss, growth, and the surprising ways that people can come into each other’s lives at just the right time."
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What reviewers are saying...
"I loved the journey that this book took me on and it truly touched my heart in so many ways. I balled my eyes out so many times, but then 2 pages later I was laughing with happy tears because there are some really hilarious scenes in this book. The characters are real, true and so well developed and it made me feel like I knew them personally. This story encompasses guilt, loss, friendship, grief, but also so many “feel good” moments too. I know it will stay with me for a while because I didn’t want to say goodbye to these characters. What a charming, lovely 5-star read."
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“a delightful, funny,
warm hug of a book
with lovable quirky characters”
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“a story that makes you laugh, tear up, and believe in love again”
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“I was not expecting this book to wreck me, but it did in the very best way.”
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Unsettled: a memoir
​At the age of forty-nine, Laurie Woodford rents out her house, packs two suitcases, and leaves her life in upstate New York to relocate to Seoul, South Korea. What begins as an opportunity to teach college English in Asia, evolves into a four-year nomadic adventure. Join Laurie as she works and volunteers across the globe spoon-feeding orphans in Ethiopia, walking shelter dogs in Peru, milking 350 goats in Fuerteventura, and getting lost in Mexico, all the while navigating dating at midlife.
Buy now!
"​Woodford’s account of her four-year-long adventure traveling the world is enthralling. Each undertaking is described with equal parts hilarity and the utmost honesty. For the author, this book is not so much a story of finding herself as it is a story of searching for home, something every reader will find fulfilling."
~ Janice, 5 stars
What readers are saying...
"Woodford's memoir is a funny, heartfelt, and punchy tromp through her mid-life adventures...Woodford delivers her accounts of each location with vivid, compelling detail, leaving the reader feeling as though we are right there beside her, laughing along with her moments of discomfort as she navigates language barriers and cultural differences."
~ Amy, 5 stars
"Uproarious, keenly observant and a reflective page-turner, Unsettled is essentially the chronicles of Laurie Woodford's adventurous journey through countries, cultures and life, in search of love, the true meaning of home and self.
It's her version of a hilariously decadent Eat, Pray, Love and if you are ever planning to write a memoir, you better have lived a life like Woodford. Because that's the new standard I will be judging biographies and memoirs by."
~ Aesthete Nerd, 5 stars