Moonlit Blog Tour: excerpt, Tens list & giveaway

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Moonlit 
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?

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Praise 
"Virginia's trees look like they're burning. Most of them blaze crimson or gold, but some still have a chokehold on their green. I wish they'd give it up already. Leaves are more beautiful when they're dying." And so Moonlit begins. From here the story rolls from one twist to another with many vivid characters whose motives are hard to predict. I found myself being suspicious of everyone, wanting to tell Tanzy to be very careful. The deeper I fell into the plot, the more questions kept rising to the surface. But not to worry, all of my questions were answered. Appropriate for all ages, if you love paranormal fantasy mixed with suspense, mystery and other-worldly romance, you'll love this novel! ~Author Julie Ford

Excerpt:

(from chapter 8)
“Are you coming?” Lucas asks. “There’s something you need to see.”

He guides me the short distance to a dirty black rock that is taller than I am. It’s caked in red sand. I wipe at the jagged surface. The images I knew would be there become clearer as the rusty grit falls away.

Six stick figures ringed in red spirals. Even though they are identical I focus on the last one. I trace her with my finger. A sharp pain sizzles through my hand and I instinctively draw it away. Black-red blood seeps from my torn finger. A drop of blood falls to the beach.

The ground beneath me begins to tremble. The sea churns violently as the ocean floor quakes, and the waves that crash ashore grow more powerful. All at once the wild surface charges forward and thousands of white horses race onto the beach like a tidal wave.

They gallop in tight formation and make an impenetrable circle around Lucas and me. I hold my breath as the horses halt in perfect synchronization and turn to face us. They stand still and ready like a silent army.

“They’ve been waiting for you. We all have,” Lucas says.

Tanzy’s top 10 things she loves about horses

10. An empty barn: Tanzy Hightower works on Wildwood Farm. Her home-life is complicated, so spending time at the barn when no one else is there is a sanctuary for Tanzy.

9. Horses are the only connection she has left to her father, who passed away in a riding “accident” three years ago.

8. Grooming a horse: Tanzy is goal-oriented. Cleaning the grime for a horse’s coat gives her a sense of satisfaction, and helps her sort out whatever is going on in her heart and head.

7. What it feels like to gallop a horse wide open.  Tanzy’s days are routine to a fault. Letting a horse have its head gives Tanzy a few moments of true freedom.

6. At the same time, I think horses give Tanzy the only sense of control she has in her life. Reading a horse’s body language comes naturally for Tanzy, and she finds their actions and reactions comforting and predictable.

5. Tanzy likes to watch horses graze in the pasture. Their social dynamics and interactions fascinate her. They have a hierarchy all their own, but often allow that hierarchy to shift when humans enter the picture, particularly Tanzy.

4. She respects their instincts, the flight or fight reaction that takes affect the moment they sense a threat. Tanzy exists in the gray, where a horse’s natural tendencies are very black and white.

3. The way horses smell. They have an earthy, warm, salty scent that makes Tanzy feel at home.

2. Tanzy likes who she is when she’s around a horse. She knows who she is and what she’s capable of. They make her stop second-guessing herself.

1. Have you ever looked a horse dead in the eye? If they look back at you – REALLY look back at you – it can take your breath away. That’s probably Tanzy’s favorite thing of all. It’s certainly mine.

About the author:

Jadie Jones 

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Author Georgia native Jadie Jones first began working for a horse farm at twelve years old, her love of horses matched only by her love of books. She went on to acquire a B.A. in equine business management, and worked for competitive horse farms along the east coast. The need to write followed wherever she went. She currently coaches a hunt seat equitation team that competes in the Interscholastic Equestrian Association, and lives with her family in the foothills of north Georgia. When she's not working on the next installment of the Moonlit series, she is either in the saddle or exploring the great outdoors with her daughter. Moonlit is her first book.

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