M.J. Jones is an American author. Black Star is her debut novel and the first book in The Black Star Trilogy. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, she is the second oldest and only girl in a family of boys! 

M.J. has written many works such as poems and short stories but never had the courage to publish her work until a push from her teenage daughter.

In her own words:

My inspiration for Black Star was my daughter and a recurring dream that I had about her for a week when I was on furlough from work. When I told her about the dream she said, “Mommy, that dream is better than some of the movies we’ve seen…” I wondered if she was right. Yet, my dream was so real; so intense and profound, that I could not stop thinking about it. She had no idea at the time, but I had secretly scribbled down what I could recall of the dream. As she went on and on about how I should make a comic book or a graphic novel, I sheepishly showed her my scribbles and she said, “Mom, are you crazy? No one can read your handwriting! Maybe you should type it up, and–here’s an idea–write a real book so everyone can actually read what you wrote,” while grabbing my crinkled papers and throwing them in jest! I was like, “No one is going to read or even care about my book…” But I was wrong.

For many years, I lost the passion and drive that I had for writing. I lost the spark. But the dream reignited the part of me that I thought had died just like a Black Star; a Supernova! No matter how much the light dimmed, it would return, brighter and brighter. This dream spawned the Black Star Trilogy: an imaginative, alternative reality that has one underlying theme: Hope and Love. It triumphs even over the darkest days. Becoming an Indie author has probably been one of the hardest things that I have done in my life, besides raising my child alone. She pushed me to follow my dream and to become what I was meant to be: a writer. She inspires me to never give up, even when I have wanted to quit. Art imitates life and she is truly my very own little “Ashe.”