Okay, first, guys, last week's DESCENDANT / BIRTHRIGHT blast promotion was so much fun. I have a lot of new followers here and also on all my social networking sites, and more new readers than I ever dreamed. DESCENDANT spent the entire week in the #1 spot for Young Adult Paranormal and Urban Fantasy, as well as the #1 spot for Young Adult Paranormal Fantasy, and BIRTHRIGHT sales are climbing like crazy. I'm counting the week as a smashing success. Thank you so much to everyone who participated in any way. I adore you.
*blows kisses*
For those of you who are new here, you will soon learn that I have a thing for writer's conferences and conventions. I love them. They're exhausting, and expensive, so I do have to limit myself sometimes, but when I attend something, I tend to find all the partying-est parties. And meet the partying-est people. And make the most outrageous memories. Because I think if you're going to do something great, you might as well make it as great as possible.
One of my very favorite conventions is WorldCON, the world-wide science fiction and fantasy convention. I've been twice now. (I am currently not planning to attend this year as it's in London, but my WorldCON friends are all going, and miracles have been known to happen. *coughcough*) Both times, I spent my week rooming and hanging out with the lovely J.R. Johansson, author of INSOMNIA and this week's new release, PARANOIA.
Since all the other posts on this blog tour are all about PARANOIA, today, on the day of the PARANOIA launch party (which I can't attend because I'm far away in Texas), we thought we'd take a break from the book-ish posts and instead do one about authors and parties. The following advice is drawn from our experience attending WorldCon together, where we behaved...well, if not like total professionals...then at least like people that were having more fun than is considered legal in 12 states.
So here it is. J.R. Johansson's and my official Convention To-Do list (in no particular order):
1. Find the human outline on the floor in the Klingon party and act panicked, then hurry and lie down to see if it matches your body.
2. Throw cookies off a 19th floor balcony, and then rescue those cookies from the street an hour later.
3. Sit on George R.R. Martin's lap while wearing tiara, and claiming you have officially WON the Game of Thrones.
4. Hijack a freight elevator with 11 other people, because there's a line to get on the ones meant for "guests."
5. Go on a quest that results in you being knighted by a highly famous author waving a glowing sword.
6. Be serenaded by an opera-singer diva who is dying to let the world know it's someone's birthday.
7. Find the ONLY party with music and a disco ball and start a near-riot by bringing all your new friends from the elevator.
8. Dress up in corsets to attend the Masquerade, and pretend you're Nevada show-girls along the way.
9. Ride an elevator with lampshades on your heads (not the freight elevator).
10. Have impromptu dance parties in other people's hotel rooms. Start by doing the Macarena.
11. Experience late night Aussie renditions of Monty Python tunes.
12. Throw late night rooftop parties complete with ipod battles that involve bands like Imagine Dragons.
13. Become besties with Harry Potter, Westley from the Princess Bride, the Ghostbusters, and Daenerys Targaryen. Also, the Hound. Woof.
14. Steal a Hugo. (And, okay, then give it back.)
15. Take a ride in a Tardis, and learn how to work the controls.
16. Have a sword battle with a Jedi.
17. Sneak into a private publisher party through the back door and then pretend you belong there.
18. Rescue a gentle giant from nearly falling into a bathtub filled with pop cans and ice.
19. Visit Japan, Helsinki, Boston, Texas, New Zealand, and Orlando all within an hour.
20. Cram 8 people into a car built for four and go for a drive while all singing. Don't get pulled over by police.
Disclaimer: this list was created by professionals and some of these activities should not be attempted without adult supervision. Or something like that.
Okay, and now onto bookish stuff and PARANOIA:
With Every Night of Blissful Sleep Darkness Grows
Inside Him.
In
the aftermath of the events that nearly killed him, Parker Chipp is trying to
learn to cope better with life as a Watcher. And it seems to be working...until
he wakes up in jail with a hangover and 12 hours of missing time. Darkness has
somehow taken control and Parker doesn't have a clue how to stop him. He finds
an unlikely ally in Jack, the mysterious guy in the motorcycle jacket who
offers to help Parker master his abilities as a Watcher. But even as they
practice, the darkness inside Parker is getting more and more powerful, taking
over Parker’s body and doing everything he can to destroy Parker's life.
When Jack reveals that there is another kind of Night Walker, known as a Taker, Parker starts to wonder if the strange things happening in Oakville are more than just a coincidence. After all, people are more than just sleepwalking. They're emptying their savings accounts with no memory of doing so, wandering into strange parts of town and disappearing, they're even killing other people--all in their sleep. If Parker wants to find out what's happening or have any hope of seeing his father again, he’ll have to defy Jack and put his own life in danger...because the more he learns about these other Night Walkers, the more certain he becomes that his life isn't the only one that could be lost.
When Jack reveals that there is another kind of Night Walker, known as a Taker, Parker starts to wonder if the strange things happening in Oakville are more than just a coincidence. After all, people are more than just sleepwalking. They're emptying their savings accounts with no memory of doing so, wandering into strange parts of town and disappearing, they're even killing other people--all in their sleep. If Parker wants to find out what's happening or have any hope of seeing his father again, he’ll have to defy Jack and put his own life in danger...because the more he learns about these other Night Walkers, the more certain he becomes that his life isn't the only one that could be lost.
J.R.
JOHANSSON is a
young adult thriller author. Her books INSOMNIA, PARANOIA (June 2014), and a
third untitled book (June 2015) are with Flux Books. CUT ME FREE (Winter 2015)
and another untitled book (Winter 2016) will be coming out with
FSG/Macmillan. She has a
B.S. degree in public relations and a background in marketing. She credits her
abnormal psychology minor with inspiring many of her characters. When she's not
writing, she loves reading, playing board games, and sitting in her hot tub.
Her dream is that someday she can do all three at the same time. She has two
young sons and a wonderful husband. In fact, other than her cat, Cleo, she's
nearly drowning in testosterone.
Jenn’s Links -
Pre-order
Links –
Books A Million - http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Paranoia/J-R-Johansson/9780738740188?id=5529587671279
Barnes & Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/paranoia-j-r-johansson/1117011365?ean=9780738740188
Oh, and let's not forget the fun stuff! A giveaway! Here's where you enter.
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