Ever since meeting Jodi, from WOW!, I have had the opportunity of hosting  many talented authors.  Today is no exception.  Jodi is stopping by to introduce us to Ms. Jadie Jones.  Welcome ladies!

JADIE JONES

Young-adult author. Equine professional. Southern gal. Especially fond of family, sunlight, and cookie dough.​​

I wrote my first book in seventh grade, filling one hundred and four pages of a black and white Mead notebook. Back then I lived for two things: horses and R.L. Stine books. Fast forward nearly twenty years, and I work with horses as a coach for the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) and hoard books like most women my age collect shoes. Its amazing how much changes… and how much stays the same.

​The dream of publishing a novel has hitch-hiked with me down every other path I’ve taken (and there have been many.) Waitress, farm manager, road manager, bank teller, speech writer, retail, and more. But that need – the call from within to bring pen to paper – refused to quiet. Finally, in 2009, I sat down, pulled out a brand new notebook, and once again let the pictures in my head become words on paper.

​Then I got married. Moved. Life sped up the way that it does, claiming each day faster than the last. I became a mother, and my manuscript reverted to something I would do one day. Thankfully, babies take naps, and there’s only so much daytime television a person can stomach. And Tanzy, that main character of mine, was shouting at me from my office: “Hellooo? We aren’t done yet, Jadie.” So I pulled her out. I read our story. I tore it to pieces. And then I put it back together again.

​As a child, my grandfather would sit me in his lap and weave tales about the Cherokee nation, and a girl who belonged with horses. His words painted a whole new world, and my mind would take flight. My hope – my dream – is that Tanzy’s journey does the same for you.

​Confession time: Jadie Jones is not my name. It’s a pen name I created to honor two fantastic women who didn’t get the chance to live out their professional dreams. First, my 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.
Connect with Jadie at these sites:

GUEST POST

I recently returned from a weekend event in New York, where I got to spend a lot of time speaking with Moonlit enthusiasts. Seeing someone’s eyes light up when they ask me about my book is one of my favorite things in the world. Several times, I was asked if any of the characters are based off of anyone I know. My answer always comes as a surprise: Tanzy’s horse Moonlit and the relationship they share was inspired by a horse I had in college named Luna.

Tanzy loses Moonlit to her mother’s grief: in a drunken rage, her mother sells Moonlit to a stranger for one dollar (fun fact: the sale of a horse is only official and legal if there is proof that at least $1 changed hands.) I didn’t lose Luna that way, but I did give her up when I really, really didn’t want to. She had a cancer virus that affects horses, and developed a large tumor (about the size of a grapefruit) above her knee. I spent every dime I had on surgeries, chemotherapy, and a treatment called cryonic freezing. But nothing worked. I was out of money and the vet was out of options. He said she had months to live. So I posted an ad online, seeking help. A couple of weeks later, I gave her away to a woman in Florida who promised she’d do everything she could to save her.

She did. An experimental treatment removed the tumor on Luna’s leg, which was the biggest threat because it had started warping the bone underneath, and a horse can’t live on three legs. She will always carry the virus, but many measures are in place to lessen the chance that new tumors will erupt. Since then, she’s given birth to many babies, most of which quickly earned national titles. Luna herself earned the title “Horse of the Year” several times over.

In retrospect, my journey with Luna, losing her, and the wonderful things that happened because of it had a hand in inspiring the plot of Moonlit in two ways. One, the ripple effect of a single action, and how often times our paths are circular. And two, for better and for worse, nothing comes without a cost.

ABOUT THE BOOK

From Amazon:  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 DETAILS:

Paperback: 310 pages
Publisher: WiDo Publishing (April 16, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1937178331
ISBN-13: 978-1937178338

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Crystal, from WOW!, sent me the information on today’s featured book and after reading the synopsis, I wanted to share it with you because I thought it would be something we would all enjoy reading.  And who better to tell of us about the book, but the author herself.  So I ask that you help me in giving a warm welcome to Ms. Judy Mandel !!

JUDY MANDEL

Judy Mandel was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, but her family moved to the more suburban Cranford when she was three. The town she lives in now in Connecticut is nearly a duplicate of her childhood hometown.

In college, she tried several different majors over the course of finding her way. Finally, she settled on English and Journalism. She worked her way through those last college years singing and playing guitar in coffee shops and clubs.  Judy’s writing life began as a reporter. She later worked in public relations and advertising and somehow found herself in corporate communications at various insurance companies, where she earned a living for 20 years. Judy now balances her business writing for clients with writing fiction, nonfiction and articles.
Connect with Ms. Mandel at these sites:

GUEST POST

The Evolution of Replacement Child

When my parents died, within seven months of one another, I knew it was time to write the book they had always told me I should write. I found myself digging out an old file folder of news clips, notes and letters they had left me about the plane crash that killed their older daughter, Donna, and gravely injured their two year old, Linda. My mother had saved the news stories from the accident and wrote me longhand notes on many sheets of yellow legal paper. My dad added his letters explaining what had happened that day from his perspective. Linda, my sister who was badly burned in the resulting fire, wrote to me about her experiences in and out of hospitals, and gave me a window into her inner turmoil.

The accident happened two years before I was born, so the story of the plane crash took on a mythic quality for me as I was growing up. It was the aftermath of a tragedy, in this case, my own family’s tragedy, that intrigued me enough to keep me writing for the four years it took to wade through it.

I know that the writing was also part of my grieving process, to keep my family with me. And, I clearly heard their voices while I wrote the book. Not in an eerie way; it was comforting to have them around a while longer. Somehow I felt they would help me fulfill the responsibility to tell the truth of their journey. The hard part for me was finding my own place in the story—which didn’t start to happen until about two years into the project.

When I started writing, I thought this was a book about my parents. How they managed to pick up the pieces of their lives after losing their daughter. How they rallied for my sister Linda, giving her the courage to go through countless surgeries as a child, and to face the world with significant scars from her burns; then, how they had the hope to bring another child into the world—me.

Then, I thought it was my sister Linda’s story. I didn’t really see her scars. She was just my sister. I wasn’t aware she was different until I saw others react to her, and, I wanted to protect her from further hurt. Her bravery was an inspiration to me, and to everyone who knew her. Not only for her ability to endure a great deal of physical pain from many operations, but to confront a not always accepting world with humor and a smile.  I hoped her story would be an inspiration to others who read about it.

But, ultimately it turned out to my own story. When I discovered there was a psychological term for a child born after the death of a sibling—“replacement child”—it changed the focus of my book and my personal journey. As I learned more, I identified with the term and the characteristics associated with the replacement child. It explained so much to me about my life’s trajectory.

The writing of such a personal memoir is a journey with twists and turns no one can predict. My path led to healing, understanding and forgiveness.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Replacement Child tells the true story of a horrifying accident: A plane crashes into a family’s home, leaving one daughter severely burned and another dead. The death of the child leaves a hole in the family that threatens to tear it apart. In an attempt to fill the painful gap, the parents give birth to a “replacement child.” But what is life like for a child that was born only be replacement and how does that unique position in the family affect them into their adulthood?

In this powerful story of love and lies, family and hope, Judy L. Mandel tells the story of being the child brought into the world to provide “a salve for the burns.” As a child, she unwittingly rides the deep and hidden currents of her family’s grief—until her discovery of this family secret, years later, changes her life forever, forcing her to confront the complex layers of her relationships with her father, mother, and sister.

This powerful memoir switches between the history of the family before the accident, the day of the accident and Judy’s memories of her own life in a fascinating way of connecting the “before” and “after” families.

BOOK DETAILS:

Title: Replacement Child
Author: Judy Mandel
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Seal Press
Publication Date: March 5, 2013
Paperback: 320 pages

PURCHASE LINKS:

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YOU ON A SCALE OF 1-10.  TEN BEING AMERICAN IDOL GOOD.*

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