Jeannie Moon Discusses Her New Romance Novel: 'Then Came You'

Long Island novelist Jeannie Moon, an international bestselling author, promises “love stories that don’t play by the rules.” In her latest work of contemporary romance from Tule Publishing Group, Then Came You, some rules may be broken but not all is righted in the end. Or is it? Then Came You is the first in Moon’s Compass Cove series. Moon notes that “Compass Cove is an imaginary small town on Long Island’s North Shore, right around Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor,” where everybody knows everybody’s business and second chances abound.

Moon says this about Long Island’s small towns: “I grew up in one, and I wanted to share what’s unique and wonderful.” Born and raised in Huntington, Moon is the president of Long Island Romance Writers (LIRW) and by day she works as a librarian in the Smithtown School District. So she certainly knows of what she writes. As a character in this book points out, “You tend to know everyone.” Yes, there is even a Black Labrador named Bubba.

Moon continues, “So many of my books are set here [Long Island]! All my Forever Love Stories are Long Island based. My local readers love finding the names of towns they know, as well as clues about local places or businesses.”

You may well think that you recognize Compass Cove’s playing fields by the water, the local college, Rinaldi’s Café, Visions Day Spa, North Harbor, Gull’s Point, McGinty’s Pub, DiRaimo’s pizza place, Sal’s restaurant, the watchmaker’s shop.

Moon points out, “Two books from Tule Publishing are set in the fictitious town of Holly Point, which is located where you would find Westhampton Beach. Sure there are challenges, but Long Island is a wonderful place to live…and love. There’s no way I could leave my home out of my stories.”

The main character of Then Came You is Mia DeAngelis, a college research librarian. Life with her adopted son in their new hometown is enriched by NFL player-turned coach Adam Miller. The on-again, off-again adult relationship at the heart of this work begs to be read about. The drama spiraling around this coupling includes a drunk driving accident, suicide, debt, tears, break-ups, reunions, an FBI agent, a Marine, broken hearts and a broken leg, and loads of family dysfunction.

For example, page 293 reads, in part:

Adam: “You have roots here, what kept your family away?”

Mia: “Oh, my mother hates it here. Anything east of the Midtown Tunnel, except for maybe the Hamptons, was off her radar. Said Compass Cove was stifling, boring, limiting. Pick an adjective. Once she left for college, she rarely came home. When I told her I’d made the decision to move here, she said it was just one more thing she could add to the list of why I’m her—” Mia sucked in a breath, and her eyes started to burn as she thought about what she was about to say. God, this hurt.

Adam: “What?”

Mia: “—why I’m her greatest disappointment.”

Moon says, “Tule Publishing has been wonderful in allowing authors to take risks they normally wouldn’t be able to take with a big, traditional publisher. I’ve written three continuity series with Tule, and two were set in the fictional town of Marietta, Montana. A continuity series partners a group of authors, gives them a premise and lets them develop individual, but connected, stories. It requires collaborative plotting, cross-pollination with characters, and good timing. It’s a tremendous amount of fun, because you get to work with amazing people and build out an idea together, but it’s a lot of work.”

“In so many ways I would say I am living my dream. I’m very lucky I’m able to do this. LIRW is part of a national organization. Romance Writers of America, the largest professional writers group in the world, is 10,000 members strong and promotes the business interests of career focused romance authors. With $1.3 billion in sales every year, romance has the largest share of the book market.”

Read more about this Long Island author on jeanniemoon.com.