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:
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.
Top 5
favorite scenes and why:
1. The scene
where the truth of Theo’s identity is exposed. For a large part of the book, Theo is
disguised as a boy, shrouded in the identity of a drifter orphan, and up until
the moment she’s found out, not only has she infiltrated the gang that’s taken
over her town, but she’s bluffed her way into their trusted fold. She has an
immediate connection with the leader of the gang, which eventually turns into a
kinship, and just about the time that Theo is really starting to empathize with
him, her mask is stripped off. Watching Theo keep her cool through this
betrayal as she mentally scrambles to think her way out of her most precarious
situation—it’s a really emotionally taut, high-stakes, hold-your-breath kind of
scene, and you’ll find your heart breaking for the bad guy as much as anyone else
in that moment. I love it!
2. The
Bladestay jailhouse scene. It’s such a cool moment where the majority of the
cast is in the same place for the first time, and watching Theo slip into her
cutthroat persona from one breath to another is so much fun. There’s also a
townsperson present who knows her true identity, and he can expose her at any
point. The banter! The tension! Darkly delightful.
3. The
shootout on the mountainside and the moments following. It’s one of the few
times Theo is visibly disoriented and out of her element. She’s a strategist
and a thinker, and throwing her into a scenario she couldn’t outsmart led to
her discovering something really important about herself. It also leads to a
really tender moment between her and Brody.
4. The
twist. Bladestay is told in third person, mostly from Theo’s point of
view, but there are some important moments told from other perspectives, and
when we get [redacted]’s perspective on something that happened, it changes
everything. I’ll say no more!
5. Rose’s (Theo’s mother) POV scene. This is a chapter that was added late in my editing stages, thanks to a brilliant suggestion from a beta reader, and it ended up being one of the most impactful, emotional scenes for me to write. Rose takes some matters into her own hands, and the sacrifice she’s willing to make is something that all mothers can relate to. But what I love most is that we get to see where Theo gets her badassery.
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 giveawayTour Schedule:
Week One:
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11/20/2023 |
Spotlight Post/IG Post |
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11/21/2023 |
Guest Post |
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11/22/2023 |
Guest Post/IG Post |
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11/23/2023 |
Interview/IG Post |
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11/24/2023 |
Guest Post |
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11/25/2023 |
Excerpt |
Week Two:
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11/26/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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11/27/2023 |
Review |
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11/28/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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11/29/2023 |
IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post |
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11/30/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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12/1/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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12/2/2023 |
IG Review |
Week Three:
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12/3/2023 |
IG Review |
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12/4/2023 |
IG Review/TikTok Post |
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12/5/2023 |
IG Review |
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12/6/2023 |
IG Review |
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12/7/2023 |
Review |
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12/8/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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12/9/2023 |
IG Review |
Week Four:
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12/10/2023 |
Review |
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12/11/2023 |
IG Review |
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12/12/2023 |
Review/IG Post/LFL Drop Pic |
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12/13/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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12/14/2023 |
IG Review |
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12/15/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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