I am thrilled to be hosting a spot
on the BLADESTAY by Jackie Johnson Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out
my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About The Book:
Title: BLADESTAY
Author: Jackie Johnson
Pub. Date: November 28, 2023
Publisher: CamCat Books
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook
Pages: 304
Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/BLADESTAY
Be Careful Who You Root For
When a violent, decades-long feud
between two powerful men comes to a head in the small settlement of Bladestay,
Colorado, cunning resident Theo Creed must use her wits to stay alive.
Disguising herself as a young boy, seventeen-year-old Theo bluffs her way into
the inner circle of August Gaines, the magnetic leader of the ruthless gang
that has descended on her town. But the deeper Theo gets into the con, the more
she starts to question her loyalties. Complicating her subterfuge is a
mysterious outlaw whose small moments of kindness contradict the blood he has
on his hands, making Theo wonder who, exactly, is conning who. To save her
town, Theo must parse façade from reality and choose between the barefaced
malevolence she’s infiltrated and an evil she didn’t know lurked at home.
Excerpt:
It was two in the morning when the
coyotes started hollering at each other, but by then Brody Boone had already
slipped into wool trousers, a matching vest, and a buckskin jacket with copper
rivets down the sleeve hems. The coyotes were a common nuisance; the crack of
gunfire was not.
Relying
on the silvery light of a fat moon, Brody strapped a ream of ammo over his hips
and shoved pistols into the holsters hanging at his thighs. He thumbed shells
into a wide-barreled shotgun as he quietly heeled the door shut on his way out.
Both
his parents were heavy sleepers, but his little brother, Billy, was not.
Brody’s feet had hardly left the porch when he heard padding footsteps behind
him. He wheeled around, shotgun snug in the hollow of his shoulder, finger off
the trigger.
He
dropped his aim to the ground as soon as he saw his little brother at the end
of the barrel.
Brody
smiled calmly as he reached out and tapped a finger against Billy’s narrow
chest, and when Billy looked down, Brody lightly flicked Billy’s nose. Billy
swatted at him, but Brody danced away from the slower reflexes, grinning.
“Cabron,”
Billy said.
“If
you’re gonna curse, do it in English.”
Billy
looked past Brody, hugging himself. “Adónde vas?”
“English, Bill.”
Billy
crossed his arms. “No estoy usando grocerias.”
“Just
you wait till your stubbornness costs your life.”
Billy
repeated the question in exaggerated aristocratic English.
“Burro,”
Brody said with a chuckle. “Hear the cows?”
They
were lowing mournfully, and Billy nodded. “Wolves?”
“Coyotes,”
Brody said. “I’m just gonna go give them a scare, okay?”
“Be
careful.”
“Careful
is for city folk and dandelions.” Brody winked. “Go back to bed.”
Billy
began to protest, but Brody said, “How does coyote stew sound for breakfast?”
Billy
wrinkled his nose. “Can’t be worse than the rattler Pa insisted would taste
like chicken.”
Brody
grinned again. “Go on now.”
Brody
made his way to the southern gate, ducked between the wood panels, and crossed
a large, vacant prairie. At the edge of the patch of grassland, the terrain
grew jagged with granite as the slope steeped to the west, a conglomerate of
ponderosa tightening together the higher he climbed. Rays of pearl seeped
through the branches, guiding Brody’s steps to the plateau, hillsides he could
likely hike blindfolded.
About Jackie Johnson:
Jackie
Johnson is a San Diego born poet and novelist. Her background as a journalist,
BA in history, and education in armed defense gives her a uniquely authentic
voice within the historical genre. She’s been riding horses for over twenty
years and had her own real-life cowboy love story when she fell in love with
and married a horse trainer. Together, they established a ranch in Southern
California where she spends her days writing, riding, and chasing after their
dreams, their two children, four horses, six cats, and two dogs. Bladestay is
her first novel.
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon
| BookBub
Giveaway Details:
1 winner
will receive a finished copy of BLADESTAY, US Only.
Ends December
19th, midnight EST.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
Week Two:
Week Three:
Week Four:
