Catching Stars in a Jar
Published on 14. April 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
334 pages
978-0-9987398-9-2 (ISBN)
Description
Catching Stars in a Jar
Books of the Kindling, Book One
She is hiding an inconceivable secret. He is facing certain death. Could her mountain sanctuary become their tomb?
Dr. Grace Woodruff has inherited an overwhelming and extraordinary ability. As she grapples with her beloved grandfather's legacy, she is plagued by ominous dreams about the "old magic" and their mountain. The last thing she needs underfoot is a handsome, enigmatic writer struggling with a devastating illness.
DEA agent Nick McKenzie knows his latest case will kill him. When he arrives undercover at an isolated herb farm on Woodruff Mountain, the intriguing owner works hard to scare him off. He's falling hard for the bewitching doctor, but all his clues point to her as the source of a deadly drug called Smoky Mountain Magic.
Unaware of Nick's suspicions, Grace struggles with the knowledge that using her gift to heal his lymphoma could expose her mountain's ancient secret. But when Nick stumbles over the truth and discovers the real culprits behind the drug, he faces a faster, more violent death.
Will the "old magic" intervene to save them when they are both trapped beneath the mountain by an old enemy?
Catching Stars in a Jar is the exciting first book in the Books of the Kindling contemporary romance series. If you like sensual small-town romance, a hero in need of healing, and a hint of something inconceivable, then you'll love Donna June Cooper's breathtaking tale.
Read Catching Stars in a Jar and fall under the spell of Woodruff Mountain today!
(Previously published as More Than Magic by Samhain. Republished here with significant changes.)
More details
Person
The granddaughter of a coal miner and the great-great-granddaughter of one of the Muscogee people, Donna was raised in the shadows of the Appalachian Mountains, in the beautiful hills of East Tennessee. She was lured away from her mountains by an admittedly gorgeous Italian guy, who married her and carried her off to very flat (they call hills mountains down here) and very hot (no seriously, people bake cookies in their cars) Texas. Donna has made her living doing a little bit of everything, including a stint as an IRS tax auditor, a few years managing bookstores, and a long career writing and managing writers in the corporate world.*** Besides writing, and all the wonderful things that go with it, Donna enjoys being walked by her Chihuahua, doing yoga, and reading - LOTS of reading. And you can certainly see the influence of the science fiction books on her keeper shelf - Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Anne McCaffrey, Lois McMaster Bujold, Ray Bradbury, and so many others - on her books. But the ancient and magical and beautiful mountains that surrounded her childhood are probably the biggest influence on the Books of the Kindling.