About the Book

Book: Under an Indigo Moon

Author: JL Crosswhite

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Release date: December 28, 2022

It was supposed to be a fresh start for her…

…He’d never expected to find love again.

Will they find a second chance or will small-town secrets spell disaster?

Former big-city architect and single mom, Carissa Carver, found just enough to hope to begin a new life with her boys in Holcomb Springs. She dropped all her savings into a vacant Victorian in an online auction, hoping to flip it and build a better life.

However, it didn’t take long to learn nothing was as promised, including a chocolate Lab that came with the house, who adopted her son with Asperger’s. Could her boys handle being uprooted one more time?

But when things go missing, her house is vandalized, and she finds human bones in the basement, she wonders what she’s really gotten them into. Is this one more bad decision or something truly dangerous?

Deputy Jonas McCann came to Holcomb Springs to heal after the death of his wife and daughter. The last thing he needs is matchmaking by the meddling librarian, even if Carissa and her boys stir something long dormant in his heart.

As more strange things happen, he is drawn further into his desire to protect her and the boys he’s come to have a heart for. Can he solve the mystery before they get hurt? Does it have anything to do with the missing teenager? Or are those just ghost stories and small-town rumors? Especially the ones about the indigo blue moon.

Author JL Crosswhite will have you on the edge of your seat, unable to turn pages fast enough.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

JL Crosswhite‘s favorite thing is discovering how much there is to love about America the Beautiful and the great outdoors. She’s an Amazon bestselling author, a mom to two navigating the young adult years while battling her daughter’s juvenile arthritis, exploring the delights of her son’s autism, and keeping gluten free. Learn more about her adventures and how she gets inspired for her books at JLCrosswhite.com

More from JL Crosswhite

It may surprise you, but I actually started writing Under an Indigo Moon about fourteen years ago (my books can germinate for a long time!). It started out as a women’s fiction book called Under the Blueberry Sky. It even finaled in the Frasier contest for first chapters in 2011.

But as I began planning the Holcomb Springs series, I knew I wanted to tell Carissa and Jonas’s story. While there are parts of me in all of my characters, Carissa has a unique place in my heart as the mom of a special needs kid. Her six-year-old son, Jayden, is based a lot on my experiences with my son who’s on the autism spectrum.

Because I had written much of the early part of the book a long time ago when I was closer to those long and difficult days, re-reading and writing those scenes took me back. My son is a young adult now, and I was amazed at how much I had forgotten about the day-to-day challenges of living with someone who sees the world so differently. And now I can look back and see how far he has come.

Jonas McCann was a bit of a mystery to me. Because my original envisioning of this book was as women’s fiction, there wasn’t a romance thread. So I had to create one. I’m fortunate to have law enforcement officers in my family to draw from. But as I got to know Jonas, he became as beloved to me as all of my characters (They feel like my children; I can’t pick a favorite!).

One of the highest compliments I received was from a book-coaching client (my day job) who read Beneath a Star-Lit Sky, the first book in the Holcomb Springs series. Her husband is a small-town sheriff, and she felt I really captured the role. That meant a lot to me. Even though I write fiction, I want my characters to feel like real people with real problems and challenges.

Under an Indigo Moon takes place in a fictional world—Holcomb Springs—that already has a lot of threads and tie ins. It’s book 2 in the Holcomb Springs Small Town Romantic Suspense series, but it ties in with the two previous series I’ve written—Hometown Heroes and In the Shadow. I don’t know about you, but I love seeing characters from previous books pop up again in later books.

You can certainly enjoy the book without knowing about all the “Easter eggs” hidden inside, but isn’t it more fun to be in on the jokes? So make sure you grab Claire and Alex’s story in Inn at Cherry Blossom Lane (grab it here for free) and the short story that introduces us to the Holcomb Springs group in “An Evening to Remember” (grab it here). There are clues in the story that play out in the book.

I hope you enjoy Jonas and Carissa’s journey as much as I enjoyed writing it—a story of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.

Interview with JL

Can you share with us something about the book that isn’t in the blurb?

I’ve had so much fun writing the Holcomb Springs series. It takes place in the San Bernardino Mountains, which I can see from my window and where I’ve spent a lot of time. Now, if you’re a local, you’ll scratch your head at the name Holcomb Springs. Because there’s a Holcomb Valley and a Holcomb Creek, but no town named Holcomb Springs.

However, there used to be a town called Belleville in Holcomb Valley back in the gold rush days. It was one of those boom-and-bust towns, but you can tour the ruins today, and there is still a lot of mining out there. Legend has it the motherlode hasn’t been found yet. So I thought about what it might be like if that town had endured and remade itself into a small resort town like others in the mountains. And that’s how Holcomb Springs was born.

Does one of the main characters hold a special place in your heart? If so, why?

Six-year-old Jayden has autism and draws heavily on my experiences with my own son with autism at that age. I had started the seeds of this story years ago when he was much younger and I was closer to those often challenging days. So it brought back a lot of memories and a lot of laughter.

What were the highlights or key challenges you faced when writing this book?

When you’re writing something that hits close to home, it’s hard to always get the proper distance and perspective. In this case, it helped that my son with autism is now twenty-one. And I do tend to put a lot of myself in my books. It makes the emotions real on the page for the reader. So there’s always a balance between my experiences and what needs to happen for the sake of the story.

What is the key theme and/or message in the book?

One of the things my early readers said they loved about the book was the message that the town of Holcomb Springs takes care of its own. I really wanted key people in the town to feel responsible for living out the life of the Church, to truly be Jesus’s hands and feet, and to love their neighbors as themselves. And I’m so glad that’s come across.

Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

You can find all my books, my current progress, and blog posts at my website, JLCrosswhite.com. If you sign up there to be part of my Insider Updates, you can get a free novella and special short stories and bonus epilogues only available to my Insiders group.

Thanks for having me!

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, April 6

By the Book, April 7

Vicky Sluiter, April 7

Texas Book-aholic, April 8

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, April 9

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 9

Locks, Hooks and Books, April 10

Daysong Reflections, April 11

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, April 11

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 12

Book Looks by Lisa, April 13

Lily’s Book Reviews, April 14

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, April 15

For Him and My Family, April 15

Blogging With Carol, April 16

The Sacred Line, April 17

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, April 18 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, April 18

Betti Mace, April 19

Where Crisis & Christ Collide, April 19

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, J.L. is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and a signed copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/25496/under-an-indigo-moon-celebration-tour-giveaway