Joan Schweighardt is the author of nine novels, two memoirs, two children’s books and various magazine articles, including work in Parabola Magazine. In addition to her own projects, she has worked as an editor and ghostwriter for private and corporate clients for more than 30 years. She also had her own independent publishing company from 1999 to 2005. Several of her titles won awards, including a Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers,” a ForeWord Magazine “Best Fiction of the Year,” and a Borders “Top Ten Read to Me.” And she has agented books for other writers, with sales to St. Martin’s, Red Hen, Wesleyan University Press and more.

Prior to Under the Blue Moon, Schweighardt’s recent fiction includes the Rivers Trilogy—Before We Died, Gifts for the Dead and River Aria—which moves back and forth between the New York metro area and the South American rainforests from the years 1908 through 1929. She has also created and co-edited an anthology on the subject of touch featuring contributions from 38 poets and writers, published by the University of Georgia Press (October, 2023).