& giveaway contest!Things are rarely what they seem. And nowhere more than in the Moonlit Trilogy. Just when you’re convinced you understand the emotions, motives, strengths and relationships of the characters populating this YA fantasy trilogy, they will face a new obstacle that makes you question everything you thought you already knew. The fluidity of life is brought to life as the line between friend and enemy, love and hate, even good and evil seems to be constantly shifting.
Moonlit is the story of eighteen-year-old Tanzy Hightower knows horses, has grown up with them on Wildwood Farm. She also knows not to venture beyond the trees that line the pasture. Things happen out there that can't be explained. Or undone. Worse, no one but she and the horses can see what lurks in the shadows of the woods. When a moonlit ride turns into a terrifying chase, Tanzy is left to question everything, from the freak accident that killed her father to the very blood in her veins. Broken and confused, she turns to Lucas, a scarred, beautiful stranger, and to Vanessa, a charming new friend who has everything Tanzy doesn't. But why do they seem to know more about her than she knows herself?
Book One: Moonlit
Paperback: 310 pages
Publisher: WiDo Publishing (April 16, 2013)
ISBN-10: 1937178331
ISBN-13: 978-1937178338
Book Two: Windswept
Paperback: 289 pages
Publisher: WiDo Publishing (July 8, 2014)
ISBN-10: 1937178536
ISBN-13: 978-1937178536
Book Three: Wildwood
Paperback: 312 pages
Publisher: WiDo Publishing (September 22, 2015)
ISBN-10: 1937178706
ISBN-13: 978-1937178703
This Moonlit trilogy: Moonlit, Windswept and Wildwood is available as print and e-books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, as well as at your local independent bookstore.
Book Giveaway Contest:
To win copies of all three books in the Moonlit Trilogy, please enter using the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of this post. The giveaway contest closes this Friday, October 2 at 12:00 AM EST. We will announce the winner the same day in the Rafflecopter widget. Good luck!
About the Author:
Jadie Jones wrote her first book in seventh grade, filling one hundred and four pages of a black and white Mead notebook. Back then she lived for two things: horses and R.L. Stine books. Fast forward nearly twenty years, and she still work with horses. It’s amazing how much changes... and how much stays the same.The dream of publishing a novel has hitchhiked with Jadie down every other path she‘s taken (and there have been many). Waitress, farm manager, road manager, bank teller, speech writer, retail, and more. But that need to bring pen to paper refused to quiet. Finally, in 2009, she sat down, pulled out a brand new notebook, and once again let the pictures in my head become words on paper.
Confession time: Jadie Jones is a pen name created to honor two fantastic women who didn't get the chance to live out their professional dreams. First, Jadie’s grandmother - a mother of four during post World War II America, who wanted to be a journalist so bad that even now when she talks about it, her blue eyes mist and she lifts her chin in silent speculation. And second, a dear friend's mother who left this world entirely too soon. To Judy Dawn and Shirley Jones, Jadie Jones is for you. It's been a pleasure getting to know her.
Find out more about the author by visiting her online:
Website: http://www.jadiejones.com
Blog: http://www.jadiejones.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jadiejones1
Twitter: @jadiejones1
----- Interview by Jodi Webb
WOW: The publishing world is fond of putting books on their proper shelf: romance, YA, coming of age, fantasy, paranormal. All of these genres could be used to describe the Moonlit Trilogy. Do you feel your trilogy can be described with one word?
JADIE: I would choose: Adventure. Love is an adventure, as is coming of age, and certainly exploring a fantastical, new world. A protagonist must face their flaws and learn to overcome them or accept them when they venture into unchartered territory, regardless of what kind.
WOW: Is it difficult having a book that crosses so many genres? Or do you see it as an advantage, allowing you to reach more readers?
JADIE: Definitely both! Some people look at the covers and think: oh, it’s a horse story. I don’t do horses. When really, horses are a small piece of the puzzle, and it’s not a girl-who-loves-a-horse story. On the flipside, some people see the covers and think: OOH! A horse story! Then they expect the girl-who-loves-a-horse story, and are disappointed Tanzy isn’t in a barn 24/7. These books involve reincarnation, blood magic, a parallel dimension, fate-vs-freewill, nature, romance, and more. I wrote a book I would like to read. I love when people are surprised to like a story they didn’t think they would.
WOW: Tell us about the tightrope writers of series balance on--wanting to have a definitive ending to a book yet leave readers wanting to read the next installment. I think JK Rowling had a great idea building each book around a school year. But you didn't have that definitive structure with the Moonlit trilogy. Did you find it difficult to determine when to end a book?
JADIE: YES. One-thousand-percent yes. I am a fan of cliffhangers, as long as I have the next book handy. I knew some people would be really upset with how I ended Moonlit (book one), especially back in 2013 with no sequel in pre-order sight. Almost every bad review I have comes from Moonlit ending in a cliffhanger. And it totally is a merciless cliffhanger. I pull the pin of the proverbial grenade and walk away. Would I change it now if I could go back….? Maybe.
When I finished Moonlit, I had no idea what was coming plot-wise in Windswept (book 2). Literally, not a single clue. I had a few scenes in my head (none of which made it to the final version, actually.) But I knew re-introducing Hope (Tanzy’s mom) was the best place to stop Moonlit and start Windswept, because it was the smoothest, most organic way to reintroduce everything Tanzy experienced in Moonlit when moving into Windswept. If I could go back, I might add more to the end of Moonlit during Tanzy and Jayce’s conversation about the coming war, but at the time, a war was not in my mind as far as the plot. I didn’t realize how wide the picture was about to become, or how many new characters it would encompass.
With Windswept, I tried to have the plot stand more alone. The end does conclude in a major decision and consequence for Tanzy, and shoves her into an entirely different world–literally–but it served as a perfect springboard to beginning Wildwood (book 3): building the Unseen World. There was definitely a method to my madness, however maddening it was.
WOW: With Moonlit, you told us that the completed book was not what you originally envisioned. That Tanzy changed as you wrote it. But did things change during the writing process as they did with Book 1?
JADIE: I actually didn’t know it was a trilogy until I started drafting the second book and realized I had a long, long way to go and more characters to meet before the final scene, which I did have glimpses of in my head. The original story started out as a supernatural Thelma and Louise tale. As the characters developed and the fantastical element became more central to the plot, the whole shebang moved quickly away from the original idea.
WOW: You've released three books in less than three years. How did you accomplish that? I'm sure at some point you must have been writing one book while editing or promoting another?
JADIE: “Releasing” is the operative word. Moonlit took me four years and 30+ drafts to finish. Once it released, I hit the promotional pavement hard. I said yes to every opportunity, and wound up flying all over the country. I also felt a lot of pressure to turn out books 2 and 3 because of the cliffhanger ending of Moonlit, so I went to task on book 2 and tried to force it out, which was a total mistake. I wound up cutting 75% of the “final” draft of the sequel and starting over. I didn’t sleep much, and I took a summer off from one of two other jobs I had at the time.
WOW: How did you keep your sanity?
JADIE: When drafting Wildwood (book 3), I knew I had to organize beforehand. I am a panster-writer by nature, but Wildwood is told from 4 POVs, and weaves together two completely separate worlds, and I was pregnant. Organization was key. I learned the value in outlining a few scenes ahead before drafting it. The draft I submitted had only been revised three times total, and only required one revision once it was in official edits with my publisher, which was crazy to me. With Moonlit and Windswept, my editor and I would bat it back and forth 7 or 8 times. I have to give credit for my great Beta readers, and your very own Margo Dill, who I hired to help me tune up Wildwood before I submitted it in hopes it would shorten the editing time with my publisher, since I would have a newborn at home, and it obviously did.
As far as my sanity…I can’t say I kept it! There were days when my patience was thin, or when I did not give my best self to those who need me most. Balance is something I’m actively working on, and most days I think I’m improving in this respect.
WOW: What is the greatest lesson you've learned about writing since you last visited the Muffin after the release of the first book in your trilogy?
JADIE: I have become more of a story-teller and less of a “pretty” writer. Stringing together a captivating sentence comes fairly naturally to me, to the point of dependence. Then I read this: how captivating would your story be if it were translated? Would the value of the story stay the same? This advice hit home for me. Who cares how I bend and twist the words if the story isn’t strong enough to stand up without all the manipulation? I didn’t have a lot of faith in my story-telling or plotting ability with Moonlit. By Wildwood, I felt like a story-teller.
WOW: Now that the Moonlit trilogy is completed what's next?
JADIE: There’s been some interest in taking the Moonlit trilogy to film! So we are gearing up to see if we can make it happen, which would be absolutely amazing. I’m also going to play with my daughters, ride some horses, eat some chocolate, and catch my breath until my baby is old enough for mother’s-morning-out programs (about seven months to go but who’s counting?) Then I have several ideas I’d like to tackle once I have time and energy to do them justice. Two of my favorite contenders are an atypical crime drama and a love story with a supernatural, time-traveling twist (of course!)
----------Blog Tour Dates
Monday, September 28(today!) @ The Muffin
Stop by for an interview with Jadie Jones and a chance to win a copy of each book in the Moonlit Trilogy: Moonlit, Windswept, and Wildwood!
http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/
Wednesday, September 30 @ Renee’s Pages
Love can be tricky--especially in YA. Learn more about navigating relationships from author Jadie Jones. Enter to win Book One on the Moonlit trilogy: Moonlit.
http://reneespages.blogspot.com/
Monday, October 5 @ Thoughts in Progress
Stop by to learn more about Jadie Jones, author of the Moonlit trilogy and win Book Two in the trilogy: Windswept.
http://www.masoncanyon.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, October 7 @ All Things Audry
Don't miss a guest post from Jadie Jones, author of Moonlit, the YA fantasy trilogy about a horse loving teen balanced between two worlds.
http://allthingsaudry.blogspot.com
Friday, October 9 @ A Writer’s Life
have fun with an interview with author Jadie Jones and a chance to win Book Three in her Moonlit trilogy: Wildwood.
http://carolineclemmons.blogspot.com
Monday, October 12 @ Words by Webb
Today we have a surprise guest post from fantasy author Jadie Jones.
http://jodiwebb.com/
Wednesday, October 14 @ Building Bookshelves
Learn more about the Moonlit trilogy by Jadie Jones and enter to win a copy of Book One: Moonlit.
http://blogs.republicanherald.com/bookshelves/
Friday, October 16 @ Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
Learn more about Jadie Jones in today's author interview.
http://lisahaseltonsreviewsandinterviews.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, October 21 @ JR Broner Book Reviews
JR is reviewing not one, not two, but all THREE books in the Moonlit Trilogy by Jadie Jones.
http://jbronderbookreviews.com/
Friday, October 23 @ Teatime and Books
Learn what makes Jadie Jones, author of the Moonlit series, tick in today's interview.
http://ladyofbooks76.wordpress.com/
Monday, October 26 @ Around the World in Books
Stop by for a guest post from Jadie Jones, author of the Moonlit series.
http://www.aroundtheworldinbooks.ca
Friday, October 30 @ The Road to a Dream
Don't miss your last chance to hear from Jadie Jones, author of the Moonlit series, on her WOW tour.
http://avalouiseauthor.blogspot.com/
Keep up with blog stops and giveaways in real time by following us on Twitter @WOWBlogTour.
Get Involved!
If you have a website or blog and would like to host one of our touring authors or schedule a tour of your own, please email us at blogtour@wow-womenonwriting.com.
*****Book Giveaway Contest*****
Enter to win three books: Moonlit, Windswept and Wildwood! Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. We will announce the winner in the Rafflecopter widget this Friday, October 2.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck!
6 comments:
Great interview, ladies! Jadie, I loved hearing about your writing process in this series. Congratulations on all your hard work! I had no idea that Margo helped you tune up Wildwood. My favorite part of this interview is the tip you gave: "How captivating would your story be if it were translated? Would the value of the story stay the same?" I think if writers asked themselves this question often we'd have stronger stories. Thanks for the wonderful advice! You are definitely a excellent storyteller. =)
This is a GREAT series! I love it. If you love YA and fantasy, you will love this. :)
Thank you so much for having me!! WOW has been a big part of my author experience, from the very beginning! And I feel so fortunate to have crossed paths with Margo during the first WOW tour two years ago :)
Great interview, ladies! Jadie, that's so exciting that Margo helped you with Wildwood! I look forward to hosting you on my blog on Wednesday :-)
I think my grandchildren (and I!) will enjoy these books!
Wow, what an awesome giveaway. would really love to read these!
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