Tag Archives | Elana Johnson

Something About Love – a verse novel.

By on September 5, 2014 in book reviews

I’ve always enjoyed the simplicity and complexity of verse novels. Each scene is so focused and emotional. My favorite part about Something About Love, by Elana Johnson, is the relationship between Olivia and Trevor. How she slowly sees him and their relationship in a different light, partly through the lens of her camera. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this – you might too!

Celebrate with Elana as she launches her latest book. Keep reading and learn when Elevated (Elana’s first verse novel) will be – FREE! Also, enter the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post for a chance to win Paypal cash while sharing the news about this book!

 

SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE: High school senior Olivia Winging gave up her love of photography when she gave up her boyfriend, Trevor Youngblood, a year and a half ago. She broke things off with Trevor because her mom married his dad, and dating your step-brother? Creepy. 

Livvy hasn’t been on good terms with her mother since, and one of her stipulations for staying at the Youngblood’s every other weekend is that Trevor can’t be there. When she gets nominated for the Junior Photography in Excellence award, Trevor insists she enter. She agrees—only if every photo in the portfolio can be of him. Knowing that Livvy can capture a person’s deepest secrets through her lens, Trevor hesitates before accepting the deal. 

As Livvy gets behind the lens of her camera again, her love of photography is rekindled. Unfortunately, the time she spends with Trevor also re-ignites the old flame for him she’s kept smothered for so long. 

In order for Livvy to finish her portfolio, she’ll have to face her feelings for Trevor as well as deal with the animosity between her and her mother. Livvy’s always been able to capture a person’s soul from behind the camera—but she’s not sure she likes it when the lens is suddenly focused on her. If she can’t find a way to forgive her mother and admit how she feels about Trevor, Livvy may end up losing more than just the photography contest. She could lose her heart. 

Goodreads ~ Amazon

Special Promo: Elevated, Elana’s first verse novel, will be FREE for five days in September as SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE releases! So get your copy of Elevated for free from Monday, September, 15 – Friday, September 19. (Elevated buy link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IGINRFI)

Praise for Elana’s first verse novel, Elevated:

“The taut poetry keeps tension high. The plot is deftly paced, as past intrudes on present, like a photograph emerging in developing fluid.” ~San Francisco Book Review
“Every word Johnson writes carries an emotional heft that lifts readers up to the highest happiness and then sends them crashing down to the depths of despair. It is easy to flow from the first word to the last without ever putting down the book. Johnson shows outstanding talent in this form, and her words are beautiful, important and deeply felt.” ~The Deseret News

 

Elana Johnson’s work, including Possession, Surrender, Abandon, and Regret, published by Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster), is available now everywhere books are sold. Her popular ebook, From the Query to the Call, is also available for free download, as well as a Possession short story, Resist.

Her self-published novels include two YA contemporary novels-in-verse, Elevated and Something About Love, as well as a YA/NA futuristic fantasy series, which includes Elemental Rush, Elemental Hunger, and Elemental Release.

School teacher by day, Query Ninja by night, you can find her online at her personal blog or Twitter. She also co-founded the Query Tracker blog, and contributes to the League of Extraordinary Writers.

Social Media Links:

Website/blog: http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElanaJ
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorelanajohnson
Tumblr: http://elanajohnson.tumblr.com/
Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/elanajohnson
League of Extraordinary Writers: http://leaguewriters.blogspot.com/
WriteOnCon: http://writeoncon.com/
Elana on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4044383.Elana_Johnson

 
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A new series from Elana Johnson!

By on June 16, 2014 in book reviews

Here’s a brand new Indie series from Elana Johnson! I received a free arc of Elemental Hunger before the release in exchange for an honest review. You can read that here.

Not quite sure? You can read the prequel novella for free everywhere but Amazon using the links below. As I said in my review, I believe reading the novella first will add a lot when reading Elemental Hunger. So why not? It’s free! 🙂

 

About Elemental Rush: Eighteen-year-old Adam Gillman has trained for twelve years to earn a coveted spot on the Supreme Elemental’s elite sentry squad. His brother, Felix, is the commander, but Adam is still thrilled when his official assignment to serve Alexander Pederson comes. 

He moves into nicer quarters and can stop getting up at four a.m. to complete his mandated work out time. He still rises early though, because he needs the solitude of early morning to practice his airmaking Element—something that Adam has kept secret from everyone, even Felix, because he can’t be both an Airmaker and a sentry. 

When Alex assigns him to kill a group of rogue Elementals, he balks at completing his mission for the first time. See, his only friend is Isaiah Hawking, and he’s the Earthmover on the accused Council. When faced with the prospect of killing him, Adam finds he can’t do it. 

He’s well trained in assassination, but he thought he’d be murdering bad guys—not innocents.

When Alex buries the Elemental Academy—and kills over one thousand Elementals—in a fit of rage, Adam’s loyalty cracks. When he discovers that Alex is really a woman, and his brother’s lover, he defects. He hops from city to city, from Elemental school to Elemental school, always escaping only minutes before Felix can embed a knife in his heart or a tsunami can make a classroom his watery grave.

He tries to fight back, but he’s just one Airmaster with exceptional tracking skills. He does his best to warn those in danger, but as the last Elemental school goes up in flames, he knows he needs to get some real firepower on his side. 
ELEMENTAL RUSH is a prequel novella to the full-length futuristic fantasy novel, ELEMENTAL HUNGER, which is also available now.

Find this novella on Goodreads, Amazon, Smashwords, iTunes, Kobo, and Wattpad

About Elemental Hunger: The second installment in the Elemental series, a new futuristic fantasy for young adults and new adults, ELEMENTAL HUNGER is a full-length novel.
Sixteen-year-old Gabriella Kilpatrick can shoot fire from her hands, which would be great if she didn’t get blamed for a blazing inferno that kills 17 schoolmates. When Gabby is commanded to Manifest her Element, everyone knows what she is: a genetic abnormality. Not to mention guilty.

So she does two logical things to survive.
1. She runs.
2. She hacks off her hair to assume a new role—that of “Gabe”, because in her world, only boys are Firemakers.

Not only does she have to act like a guy, she has to pretend to know everything a Firemaker should know. When Gabby meets Airmaster Adam Gillman, he believes her act and pledges to serve on “Gabe’s” Council. But Adam has the mark of a sentry and spent years obeying Alex, the Supreme Elemental. And Alex wants Gabby-the-genetic-freak dead and gone before she can gather the magical protection of a full Council.

With Adam’s lies that sound like truths and rumors that Alex isn’t really a Firemaker—or a man—Gabby sets out to charter a Council of her own. In order to uncover the truth, Gabby will have to learn who she can trust, how to control her own power, and most of all, how to lead a Council of Elementals, most of whom have more control over their power than she does. If she can’t, she’ll find herself just like those 17 schoolmates: burned and six feet under.

Look for the third and final installment, ELEMENTAL RELEASE, an Elemental novella, coming on July 2, 2014.

Find this novel on Goodreads, Amazon, Smashwords, iTunes, B&N, and Kobo

 

About Elana: Elana Johnson is the author of the Possession series, which includes full-length novels POSSESSION, SURRENDER, and ABANDON, and short stories REGRET (ebook only) and RESIST (free). She is also the author of ELEVATED, a young adult contemporary romance novel-in-verse.

Her novella, ELEMENTAL RUSH, began a new futuristic fantasy series. ELEMENTAL HUNGER, a full-length novel, is the second part of the story. The series will conclude with ELEMENTAL RELEASE, the final novella, which will release on July 2, 2014.

Elana wishes she could experience her first kiss again, tell the mean girl where to shove it, and have cool superpowers like reading minds and controlling fire. To fulfill her desires, she writes young adult novels. She runs a personal blog on publishing and is a founding author of the QueryTracker blog, a regular contributor to The League of Extraordinary Writers, and a co-organizer of WriteOnCon.

Find her on Facebook, twitter, tumblr, Wattpad, or her blog.

 

 

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Cover reveal – ELEVATED by Elana Johnson!

By on January 24, 2014 in book reviews

I’ve always been a fan of Elana’s blog and her books. She’s so honest and vulnerable on her blog, which is why she’s attracted hundreds of readers. When I learned she had something new coming out and that she was Indie Publishing it – I was psyched!

I was also extremely willing to read an early copy in exchange for an honest review – and participate in the cover reveal! I’ll give you hint – I loved it!

No need to delay. If you haven’t already seen it – here it is! Click on the cover to add it to Goodreads!

About ELEVATED: The last person seventeen-year-old Eleanor Livingston wants to see on the elevator—let alone get stuck with—is her ex-boyfriend Travis, the guy she’s been avoiding for five months.


Plagued with the belief that when she speaks the truth, bad things happen, Elly hasn’t told Trav anything. Not why she broke up with him and cut off all contact. Not what happened the day her father returned from his deployment to Afghanistan. And certainly not that she misses him and still thinks about him everyday.


But with nowhere to hide and Travis so close it hurts, Elly’s worried she won’t be able to contain her secrets for long. She’s terrified of finally revealing the truth, because she can’t bear to watch a tragedy befall the boy she still loves.

You can even preorder it on Kobo!

Elana Johnson’s work, including Possession, Surrender, Abandon, and Regret, published by Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster), is available now everywhere books are sold. Her popular ebook, From the Query to the Call, is also available for download, as well as a Possession short story, Resist. School teacher by day, Query Ninja by night, you can find her online at her personal blog or Twitter. She also co-founded the Query Tracker blog, and contributes to the League of Extraordinary Writers.

Website/blog: http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElanaJ
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/possessionthebook
Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/elanajohnson

 

 

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!!!

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Surrender and Elana’s Johnson’s truth. (As always.)

By on June 29, 2012 in guest posts

Give a shout for Elana Johnson and SURRENDER!


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forbidden Love, intoxicating power, and the terror of control.

 

1. I’d love to know more about the how and the why behind your ending of POSSESSION, especially without a sequel. I happened to notice some disgruntled readers on reviews that weren’t happy with the ending. Personally, I think that endings like this are the spark of great conversations. And if anything, the fact that readers were upset about it shows how much they care. What was your decision process like behind writing the ending of POSSESSION? And do you think those reviews affected sales?

Ah, the ending of POSSESSION. I’ll tell you this: I did not realize people would hate the ending so strongly. Honestly, I didn’t. Because to me, it was perfection. I don’t outline or plan too far ahead, and when I wrote the end, I remember sitting back and going, “Is that how this just ended?” and feeling like it couldn’t be any other way, because it was exactly right.

But yeah. There are some who want their fiction to end up in a neat bow, and that’s definitely not POSSESSION. So yes, I think negative reviews about a book that doesn’t end happily affect sales for people who think that’s important.

Honestly, my sales aren’t in the best-seller status. My publisher has yet to commit to publish the third book in the series. I’ve blogged about being midlist before, so this isn’t a huge surprise to people, and I don’t feel like I’m throwing anyone under the bus. The truth is, I wrote a book my publisher expected to be a “commercial success” because of the upward swing in the dystopian trend, and it’s just turned out to be, well, midlist.

Because of the ending? Because of the reviews? Because the market is too saturated with dystopian? Because of a white cover that got dirty easily? Because of [insert whatever you want]? I don’t know.

I just keep trying to write better books.

2. I want to talk about marketing and social media a bit. You host a fantastic blog with tons of great followers all drawn to your honesty and vulnerability. In the long run, how much do you think social media helped in sales? I’ve seen you pulled back a little from blogging – as have a lot of people. Sometimes I think how well a book does comes down to what people are looking for and what clicks with them; and blogging just keeps us visible. What do you think?

Okay, going for transparency here again. Like anyone expects anything less, right? Ha! Anyway, I think social media helps. Some. There’s only so much an author can do with his or her own network. Then they have to rely on people in their network to spread the word to their networks. (I realize that sentence made no sense.) Maybe there’s someone in Laura’s network who isn’t in mine—yet. You know?

My personal opinion is that an individual author with a blog, twitter, and Facebook, who has a reasonably large family and a pretty wide group of real-life friends can influence about 200 sales.

No lie.

And here comes the truth: My publisher did very little for SURRENDER. It’s already on their “Oh, crap, should we continue this series?” list, and they certainly aren’t going to sink any more money into something like that. So it’s my personal opinion that a vast majority of the sales I’ve seen for SURRENDER so far have come from my marketing efforts.

And it’s higher than 200, but it’s not best-seller status, and it’s not even as much as POSSESSION—because the fact is, the buy-this-book!-influencing hoop from a big publisher is going to kick the trash out of anything I do. It just is.

3. If you could pull the heart/theme out of all your writing/novels: what would it be? If we pulled away the dystopian, the cool sci-fi gadgets, the romance – what is Surrender really about?

SURRENDER is really about two people finding the strength to do what they believe to be right. It’s a fight I think a lot of us fight every single day.

4. Through publishing two novels now, what is the biggest lesson/advice you’d pass on to other writers just publishing their first?

You get more than one chance at this. I think a lot of times we think that if our first book tanks, that’s it for us. That’s not true. Write another book. Make it better.

***

Wow, thanks Elana. Such hard, truthful answers. Another reason why everyone feels connected to and loves you. All I can say is that I absolutely loved SURRENDER. I loved the writing and turns of phrases and I completely fell in love with both Raine and Gunner.

If you haven’t read these books and you enjoy getting to the heart of a character’s struggle, then you’ll enjoy these books. Thanks Elana for opening a vein and sharing your soul.

If you haven’t read either of these books, now’s your chance! POSSESSION and SURRENDER

Ways to keep up with Elana!

Elana’s work including POSSESSION, REGRET, and SURRENDER is available from Simon & Schuster wherever books are sold. She is the author of From the Query to the Call, an ebook that every writer needs to read before they query, which can be downloaded for free on her website. She runs a personal blog on publishing and is a founding author of the QueryTracker blog. She blogs regularly at The League of Extraordinary Writers, co-organizes WriteOnCon, and is a member of SCBWI, ANWA and LDStorymakers.

She wishes she could experience her first kiss again, tell the mean girl where to shove it, and have cool superpowers like reading minds and controlling fire. To fulfill her desires, she writes young adult science fiction and fantasy.

I couldn’t get the Rafflecopter link to work but here’s a link to win an ebook of your choice!

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Never Surrender – the man who never gave up.

By on June 14, 2012 in book reviews

There is a man who lives somewhere in my neighborhood. I don’t know his name and I don’t know his complete story. But I’ve been watching him for years; and each year, as a little piece of my heart breaks, my admiration grows exponentially. Especially when I saw him a few weeks ago.

At first, I was amazed at how much this guy ran. I’d pass him every afternoon during my daily run, but then I’d pass him on the roads in the morning too – when I was in my car. And then, sometimes I’d see him out a third time. Or did he stop running? Maybe he’d been running the whole time?

I thought he ran a little funny, his body jerking back and forth, but we all have our own running style and I didn’t think too much about it. After a year or so, something changed. He was running just as much if not more but now he was carrying a stick about the size of a baseball with him when he ran as if it helped him to stay balanced.

That was the first time when it occurred to me that he must have some sort of debilitative illness. The thought of that made me extremely sad.

Years passed and he’d still run, day in and day out, seemingly as much as he could, every chance. Then I noticed he ran with a partner and tears pricked my eyes at the dedication and the support his family was showing him.

During this time my kids have grown and passed milestones, healthy and happy. A couple years ago, he wasn’t running anymore. He was walking. And now it wasn’t just his family but some of our neighbors walked with him. Every day. For miles. All year. Still I’d pass him every day. A couple times I’ve stopped to chat because my next-door neighbor was with him.

Then a couple weeks ago, I sobbed. In my car. He was walking; but this time, someone walked with him and he had a strap around his waist that the other person held onto.

I couldn’t believe his dedication, his fight, and the fact that he never surrendered even though he was only going to get worse.

I scan the roadsides for him every day, wondering if I’ll see him again. Even if he’s now homebound, I know he’s still fighting in every way he can.

When I think of never surrendering, I think of him. Yeah, sure, writing and publishing is hard but with the right perspective all I can be is thankful.

This blogfest is to celebrate Elana’s Johnson’s release of Surrender. I loved this story and the characters, Raine and Gunner. In their own ways, they never surrender. An excellent book and I highly recommend.

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