Jackie Johnson
Author | Poet
"More dangerous than the man who has nothing left to lose,
is the man who believes he has nothing left to learn."
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Reviews for Bladestay
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“Deeply beautiful and tragic, Bladestay brings together dark family secrets, a love story, and one hell of a strong female lead searching for the truth at every cost. Utterly riveting from beginning to end.” —Demetra Brodsky, ITW and Black-Eyed Susan Award-nominated author of Last Girls
“From shootouts to romance, this breathtaking new Western will transport you back in time. An unforgettable adventure.” —Gwen Cole award-winning author of Cold Summer
“Riveting and transporting, Bladestay is a western frontier tale for a new age. With a tough, witty heroine against a villain like no other, this cast of characters is unforgettable from page one—eclipsed only by its breakneck pace.” —Lindsey Duga, author of Roaring
"If you were a fan of Elsa Dutton in the show 1883, then you'll love Theodora Creed in Bladestay...a love story within an action-packed Western." - Kathleen Hannon, author of Girl on Trial
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BLADESTAY
A cunning seventeen-year-old finds herself in a unique position to infiltrate a ruthless gang after they invade her town, but her efforts to sabotage their plan go awry when she begins to fall for an outlaw and sympathize with their cause, making her wonder who, exactly, is conning who.
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Somewhere between True Grit and The Departed, Bladestay upends tropes, toys with linear norms, and threads the Western genre with modern Americana themes and unrelenting tension.
Out 11.28.23
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ABOUT ME
Jackie Johnson is a poet and an author who loves to carefully smash the boundaries of genre and respectfully peel apart the status quo. To her, there's nothing better than discovering new worlds and meeting their heroes, their villains, and most of all, dissecting the ambiguity found in between. Her debut, a YA Western about a young woman who must protect her town from a violent feud, comes out fall 2023.
Jackie has a BA in history and a lifelong passion for horses. She's been riding for over twenty years and has 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.
