An Interview with Jessie E. Turner

Jessie E. Turner is a native of the beautiful mountains of Colorado. Her passion for world-building was born out of her experiences in this idyllic environment. In college, Jessie pursued her interest in the behavioral sciences, but it wasn’t until she started writing novels that she truly began to understand human behavior. By exploring characters in her own stories, Jessie was able to delve deeper into the complexities of human nature.

When not writing, Jessie loves to teach antique skills. She is an award-winning creator of miniature historical dolls and a state-wide first-place winner for her tatted lace.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

Originally, I would have titled my book Living Stone. I was taking a writing class for children’s literature. My first assignment was to come up with three story ideas. Living Stone was the first. My instructor felt that the second idea had more potential, so I developed the second story in class.

But my mind kept going back to Living Stone. After I finished the class, I returned to my first choice, but by then the title didn’t feel quite right. So, I took my title from a prophesy that appears in the preface, “When the moon is in the day sky in the Valley of Thunder she will rise up on wings of power and reclaim dominion.” The book became Moon in the Day Sky.

I finished the book and paid to have it published by a small local company. It did not sell. It “died on the vine,” so to speak. Years later when I decided to have it published by Atmosphere Press, I wondered what I should title it. Moon in the Day Sky “revised” or “edited”? Oh! Valley of Thunder! It was perfect!

As for Living Stone, I kept it and used it as a chapter title.

How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?

When I saw “the” cover, I was struck with awe. Not only did it capture the essence of the story, but it was aesthetically stunning.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

Sitting beside her desk that day in fifth grade, I wondered what rule I had broken or how I had managed to invoke her displeasure. I saw Mrs. Cardon as strict—almost austere. Being kept in from recess emphasized the seriousness of my situation.

She began the interview with a call to greater effort and diligence. I figured I was doing as well as could be expected considering that I was an average student. That’s what the achievement tests had always said. I hated being average, but had eventually resigned myself to it.

Mrs. Cardon rejected my history. She told me that I had the capacity to excel in school. In fact, she said, “You should be at the top of your class.”

Suddenly my eyes opened to the possibilities. I didn’t have to settle for being average. Mrs. Cardon’s vision became my own. It didn’t happen instantly, but by the time I graduated from high school, I had achieved two terms with all As. The quest for excellence she inspired lives in me today. It has influenced everything I have accomplished in my life.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I have a framed thank-you note from the Queen of England. It was written by her lady-in-waiting, Susan Hussey.

It all started with a strong feeling. I argued with the feeling. In the first place, it was presumptuous for an American Housewife to give a gift to gift to the Queen of England.

My sister, Abby Gooch, and I had just self-published an album of songs for which I had written the lyrics and Abby composed the music. Our songs could be described as lullabies for the wounded inner child.

So, I had a gift, but was it a hairbrained idea of my own, or a true inspiration to give it to such an important person? I decided to follow through with my feeling.

At the time my son, David, was serving a mission in England for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I sent the tape to David’s mission president along with a note to the queen letting her know that we prayed for her and her people and that I would like her to have a copy of the tape we had just made. I asked the mission president if he knew a way to get it to her.

He responded that there was someone in the office who had connections. I wasn’t expecting a thank you note from the queen, but it came and I treasure it.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

The 2006 version of Moon in the Day Sky was the best writing I could do at the time. There was a sense of accomplishment in bringing it into the world. And my mother was able to read and enjoy it as a published book before she died. That means a great deal to me.

In 2024 I published the revised edition titled Moon in the Day Sky: Valley of Thunder through Atmosphere Press. With the expertise of the Atmosphere team, I have refined what I began so long ago. Now I have published a polished book of quality that I feel confident to share with the world.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

In the words of one reader, “A powerful and inspiring novel that helped me to see the truth about my own personal power and ability to do great things.”

What new writing projects are you currently working on? Or, other projects that are not writing?

At present, I am in the revision process of a fantasy set in the same world as Moon in the Day Sky.

How was working with Atmosphere Press? What would you tell other writers who want to publish?

First—don’t skip the editing. That was one of the big mistakes I made with the first version of Moon in the Day Sky. I said, “It’s fine. There’s no need to spend more money on editing.” The truth was, there were enough exclamation marks to fuel a bonfire!

My friend gave me some excellent advice about exclamation points. I did a search and replaced 85% of them before I took it to Atmosphere.

That’s not the only editing problem I had. But I didn’t know it.

The team at Atmosphere Press gave me several layers of editing. First Jonathan Smith did a developmental edit. He did a masterful job of telling me what was working in the text. And then he pointed out problems he thought I might want to address. Based on his recommendations, he had me choose five things I wanted to work on. I could do that. I did that and then I made changes according to what I chose. I felt good about the changes. It really strengthened my story.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

A grammar program was recommended. I downloaded it. (This was not easy for my grandma brain to do, but I finally got it.) It made the old patterns evident that were not correct. Someone can tell you what the problem is and show you one example, but looking at the whole manuscript things just become muddy. But the grammar program showed me again and again so I could finally see the pattern.

Atmosphere wasn’t done with me yet.

The next level of editing was done by copy editors. I saw their comments in the sidebar and worked to fix the problems.

I wasn’t finished with Atmosphere.

Once I was finished with those edits, I opted to have a “cold read.” There was an additional charge, but well worth the investment.

I oversaw every step in the process. My input was honored.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.