By the Light of the Moon Blog Tour: Author Interview + Giveaway

 

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour & Giveaway for the By the Light of the Moon series by Jenny Knipfer, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Title: Ruby Moon
Series: By the Light of the Moon #1
Author: Jenny Knipfer
Release Date: December 2019
Genre: Inspirational Historical Romance

Ruby Moon embodies a tale of grief, guilt, and romance set on the shores of Lake Superior in Ontario during the mid 1890’s. Jenay, a young woman of mixed French and Ojibwe descent, must survive the trauma of causing a horrific accident. Her maturity accelerates as the challenges of grief, and romance enter the scene.

Amidst this drama, Jenay is caught in a web spun by Renault, a rich, charming man who once threatened ruination of her father’s shipping company but now seeks something even more valuable–Jenay. Renault, her past enemy, suddenly becomes her friend then something more . . . Will she leave the man she loves for this new found affection?

Jenay must find where her strength lies in order to face the challenges life brings her or be washed away like driftwood on the tumultuous shores of Lake Superior. Life’s richest dramas are played out under the banner of two ruby colored moons and become the hidden gems which forge her into a mature strong woman. Jenay realizes God is by her side, using even the harsh events of life to create something precious in her.

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon


Title: Blue Moon
Series: By the Light of the Moon #2
Author: Jenny Knipfer
Release Date: December 2019
Genre: Inspirational Historical Romance

The year is 1885 and unwed Vanessa Gulet must surrender her newborn son to her married twin sister, Valerie, to raise. A seed of bitterness grows in Vanessa. When the opportunity arises for her to have what she’s always wanted, Vanessa takes it despite the consequences to her family. Will Vanessa and Valerie remain at odds or will they allow the power of forgiveness to heal their strained relationship?

In a new town and reunited with her son, Vanessa finds more than she bargained for: love, friendship, and a home. Vanessa and Michael (the manager at her newly inherited business) feel the pull of attraction towards each other. Vanessa trusts him, but comes to question this trust when she finds he’s kept something from her.

Valerie, overcome with loss and grief, faces the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis just as her identity as a mother is threatened. Will she and her husband forge through these trials together or will these upsets cause them to drift apart?

Love seems to bloom in the most unlikely of places in Webaashi Bay for an old friend of Jenay’s and a woman who owns the local dress shop. A parallel tale of love, forgiveness, and reuniting lost things is spun by a local author adding another dimension to the tale of the Gulet twins and their saga

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon


Title: Silver Moon
Series: By the Light of the Moon #3
Author: Jenny Knipfer
Release Date: June 30, 2020
Genre: Inspirational Historical Romance

Silver Moon, the third book in the series: By the Light of the Moon, paints a stunning and poignant picture of life on the home front in Webaashi Bay, Ontario, and of three men who are a part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during WWI.

Shamed into joining the war, the tide turns for Luis Wilson when he is steered into the depths of espionage. Injured and presumed missing, will he lose his heart to the very woman who presented him with a white feather?

Oshki and Jimmy offer a grim perspective on life in the trenches. They despair of ever returning home to the women who hold their hearts.

Meanwhile, Lily fights for the cause in her own way and rallies the female troops at home as prejudices run high and the local cafe owner is accused of being a spy.

Will the women of Webaashi Bay receive their men back unscathed? Can the power of love win out over insurmountable odds? All this drama and more plays out under the light of a silver moon.

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon  

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Jenny Knipfer lives in Wisconsin with her husband, Ken and their pet Yorkie, Ruby. She is also a mom and loves being a grandma. She enjoys many creative pursuits but finds writing the most fulfilling. Her favorite place to relax is by the western shore of Lake Superior, where her novel series, By The Light of the Moon, is set.

CONNECT WITH JENNY: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram  

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Hi Jenny! Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and giving my readers the chance to get to know you and your book series- By The Light of the Moon a little bit better!  I always like to start these interviews the same way with something fun! Tell us 5 random facts about you we WON’T find in your bio.

My favorite book is Jane Eyre, because it has everything: drama, romance, mystery, and moral dilemmas.

I enjoy machine quilting and am working on a quilt to celebrate my son’s recent marriage.

My husband and I live in the country, and I used to enjoy taking long walks on our trails. Because of my MS, I can’t do that anymore. However, I have a golf cart that I get around on. I’ve learned that when you have challenges, you don’t have to give up what you enjoy doing, you simply have to find new ways to do them. J

My favorite color is green, any shade. Green reminds me of life and to continue to grow, becoming the best version of me that I can be.

Chewy oatmeal cookies with raisins are my favorite treat and one my mother used to make often. I guess I favor them because of the attached memories but also because they taste great!

Let’s talk writing! When did you first discover your love of writing?

Many years ago, I started writing to help me manage life and some difficult circumstances. Often my journal entries took the form of prayers. I loved to write poems and songs. Eventually, I started writing stories down that came to me, and my novels were born.

What inspired you to decide to explore that love professionally?

I had to retire from my work due to disability. Afterward I started seriously writing. When I finished my first novel, I thought I had nothing to lose in pursuing publication, and so I did.

You have education in psychology, music, and cultural missions and worked as a librarian and floral designer. How have all of these various roles aided in your writing?

I think I’ve used all of these, especially the psychology aspect. I tend to write about characters that have emotional issues to deal with. Music hasn’t played a big a role so far, but in the novel I’m writing now, it will. In Harvest Moon (yet to come) I tie in the mission aspect, setting part of the scene at a Jesuit mission school. Being a librarian taught me how to research and find the information that I need to write. My love of flowers works its way into most of my books. J

By The Light of the Moon is a historical fiction series… What drew you to this genre? What type of research went into creating these stories?

I enjoy history and have always been drawn to reading historical fiction. It was natural that I should want to write it as well.

I typically research while I write. I check facts throughout the writing process for a novel from anything like clothes fashions to medical practices. The internet, of course, has been a great tool. I tend to rely on established sites with legitimate accreditation in the field of study I am researching. I also check out books through the library on subjects I need information for. I toted home bags of books for my research for this series.

For Ruby Moon, I researched herbal plant medicine (some of which I already knew), the Ojibwe language and culture, mining ore and practices in the 1890’s, ships on the Great Lakes, inquests and trials of the time period, how fast a body would decay, and more.

With Blue Moon, I focused most of my research on the history of MS. A lot of the other bits I knew already based on my past research for Ruby Moon, with the exception of learning about wine making and Incan culture for a character who’s writing a story about that in the book.

Silver Moon amounted to my biggest research challenge. I knew very little about WWI, especially Canada’s role. I looked at images of real trench maps, read through pages of online war encyclopedias, learned about trench slang, the Canadian and German army divisions, German words, where key battles were, and how Canada played a pivotal role in the war.

Can you tell us a little bit about this series?

All of the books can be read independent of each other, but they tell a richer story when read together.

Ruby Moon tells the tale of Jenay, a young woman, grappling with her identity who must learn to recover after the trauma of accidentally killing someone. She inwardly travels to dark places and must rely on her faith, friends, and family to pull her through.

Blue Moon picks up a minor character from Ruby Moon and portrays the story of Vanessa Gulet, and her identical twin sister, Valerie. It’s a story of forgiveness and finding rare and true things like friendship and love.

Silver Moon takes place twenty years after Blue Moon. Although it has a large cast, the main characters are Jenay and Vanessa’s sons. It’s a wartime story of perseverance and courage in the darkest of times.

My last book to come in the series, Harvest Moon, works as a prequel to Ruby Moon and tells the story of my favorite character of all the books, Maang-ikwe, an Ojibwe woman. Her story starts it the 1850’s in the wilds of Ontario. It’s a story of finding a harvest of good things amidst the pain life can bring.

What do you hope readers will take away from the books?

I want my readers to be encouraged, inspired, and to ask questions about God and faith. I desire my stories to be the kind of stories that stick with readers.

Thank you again for taking the time to answer these questions. Before you go, are there any other projects you are currently working on that you can share?

I’m writing a second series, which I hope to publish traditionally, entitled: Sheltering Trees. I’m midway through the third book, On Bur Oak Ridge. The setting is the farm my husband and I live on, which was established in the 1890’s and highlights a woman who’s physically and emotionally scarred and how she learns to trust again.

Again, each book in the series can be a stand-alone book, but there are familial ties that link them together. Books in the series are: In a Grove of Maples, Under the Weeping Willow, and On Bur Oak Ridge.

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(1) winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card and a necklace made by the author!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway will begin at midnight August 3, 2020 and last through 11:59 PM EST on August 10, 2020. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

 

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