Skip to Main Content

The Moon Always Rising

A Novel

Published by She Writes Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

In 1998, fiery Eleanor “Els” Gordon thought the new century would find her married to her childhood soul mate, rejuvenating her family’s Scottish Highlands estate, and finally earning a managing director title at her investment bank. Maybe she’d even have the courage to discover why her estranged mother ran home to Italy thirty years earlier. But when 2000 dawns, Els is mourning her fiancé and her father, and she’s unemployed, broke, and sharing an antique plantation house on the Caribbean island of Nevis with the ghost—or “jumbie”—of Jack Griggs, the former owner. Jack’s jumbie wangles Els’s help in making amends for wrongs committed during his Casanova life, and in exchange he appoints himself Cupid on behalf of a charter captain who’s as skittish about vulnerability as Els. Meanwhile, Els lures her mother to Nevis in hopes of unraveling the family secrets—but will the shocking truth set her free, or pull her fragile new happiness apart? A moving and lyrical novel that transports readers from lush tropics to rugged highlands and back again, The Moon Always Rising explores how the power of forgiveness can help even the most damaged person fix whatever is broken.

About The Author

Alice C. Early’s career spans academia, commercial real estate, international executive recruiting, and career-transition coaching. Her college English/creative writing major and professional roles requiring listening and shaping stories eventually pointed her back to her first love—writing fiction. Within the Martha’s Vineyard community she cherishes, Alice sings in a local group and fosters sustainability and women’s rights and voices. An avid cook, she nurtures friends and neighbors with local bounty and her experiments in gluten-free baking. Alice and her husband have visited Nevis annually since 1996 and otherwise share a hand-built life in view of the sea.

Product Details

  • Publisher: She Writes Press (April 21, 2020)
  • Length: 384 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781631526848

Browse Related Books

Raves and Reviews

2022 Firebird Book Awards First Place Winner in Cross Genre
2022 Firebird Book Awards First Place Winner in Magical Realism
2022 Firebird Book Awards First Place Winner in New Fiction
2022 Firebird Book Awards First Place Winner in Women’s Fiction
Pulpwood Queens Book Group International Book of the Month for April
2021 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards: Silver Winner in Fiction: General
2021 NYC Big Book Awards: Distinguished Favorite in Women's Fiction
2020 American Fiction Awards: Winner in Cross-Genre Fiction
2020 14th Annual National Indie Excellence Award-Winner in Women’s Fiction
2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Paranormal
2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Chick Lit
2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in First Novel (Over 90k Words)


“Early’s prose is tight and lyrical, confidently capturing her characters and their emotional landscapes . . . The enchanting portraits of Nevis—and of . . . Scotland—help make this an unexpectedly memorable beach read.”
Kirkus Reviews

The Moon Always Rising takes your imagination on a trip to lush Caribbean Nevis and the Scottish Highlands in an engrossing story about how love and forgiveness help broken people mend. I especially loved the fabulous ghost (jumbie)—such a unique and intriguing character!”
—Martha Hall Kelly, author of international bestseller Lilac Girls and its prequel Lost Roses

“Alice Early gifts us with a smorgasbord of never-dull ex-patriots on the sunny, vibrant island of Nevis. There's a ghost, witty and concupiscent in his afterlife; a charter sailor who is trying to forget; and a Jamaican Rastafarian with a surprising secret up his sleeve. Best of all, there's Ms. Early's heroine, the comely and fractious Scot. Eleanor Gordon. Bad luck, betrayal, and numbing tragedy have pursued 'Els' to Nevis, where, maybe, she can dare to open her heart and let the world back in. A rich and intelligent novel written with grace and style.”
—John T. Hough, Jr., author of The Fiction Writer’s Guide to Dialogue and the award-winning novel Seen the Glory

“Early is a consummate writer who so stunningly draws us into the very texture of her story that we can feel the humid tropical air and interior lives of her characters . . . We are fortunate that [her] rich tapestry of both characters and narrative creates a much-needed refuge during these challenging times.”
—Martha’s Vineyard Times

“Early does a spectacular job of balancing magical realism while keeping the story from spinning into ludicrous territory . . . She flawlessly captures life in the Caribbean region . . . Early’s narration is always well-paced and vivid, the characters all coming to life convincingly — right down to the snarky jumbie . . . Readers will come to The Moon Always Rising for its pleasant narrative, for its realistic characters, for the intertwined stories of Els and her jumbie, Jack, but they will stay for the vivid descriptions of Nevis . . . The closest you will get to experience the island without actually stepping foot in it.”
—Paperback Paris

“…by intertwining the stories of [Els Gordon and Jack Griggs] these two resilient scrappers, Ms. Early turns The Moon Always Rising into a thoroughly enjoyable tale of personal renewal. It’s been a whopping 75 years since Josephine Leslie (writing under the pen name of R. A. Dick) gave the world The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Alice Early has given that beloved old story a sensual and knowing tropical update.”
—Vineyard Gazette

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images