PARANOIA by J.R. Johansson, a Convention To Do List, and a Giveaway

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.

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 -

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JennJohansson

Blog: http://www.jennjohansson.blogspot.com/

Site: http://www.jrjohansson.com

Tumblr: http://jrjohansson.tumblr.com/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJRJohansson

J.R. Johansson on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5100095.J_R_Johansson

PARANOIA on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12260608-insomnia

                                       

Pre-order Links –

The Book Depository - http://www.bookdepository.com/Paranoia-Johansson/9780738740188

Indiebound - http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780738740188

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

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Paranoia-The-Night-Walkers-Johansson/dp/0738740187

Oh, and let's not forget the fun stuff! A giveaway! Here's where you enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Summer of Cray-Cray

Oh my gosh. Today, I looked at a calendar, and realized it’s September already. Not just barely September, either. The month is almost halfway over already. I keep looking again, staring at the calendar, wondering how in the heck this happened. How is summer already over?

*shakes head*

Mind boggled. Anyway, this summer has been every bit as eventful as last summer. And that’s saying something big—because last summer was CRAY-CRAY. So yeah. Here’s a short recap.

DESCENDANT was released.

I spent time in Utah conferencing and promoting and visiting. 

We moved. Again. (Still in Texas, different house.)

Did some promoting in Texas.

Due to my first agent’s phenomenal success as an author, I signed with a new agent—who I also love.

Celebrated holidays with the fam.

Spent more time in Utah, this time mostly visiting family and friends.

Got reacquainted with my boat, which still lives in Utah for now.

Also visited Jackson Hole (and Yellowstone) with my besties. Hey, it’s research!

 Attended WorldCON in San Antonio (which, by the way was PHENOMENAL for networking, and rocked a 15 on a scale of 1-10).

Finished drafting book 2 in the DESCENDANT series. Yaaayy!

My publisher announced they are closing. (BOOOOO!)

(Also, still no definite decisions made yet—but no worries, you’ll all be the first to know as soon as I do.)

And now school has started, and people are gearing up for fall. And I? I don’t know what I’m doing for sure, but I do know one thing. It’s time to write another book. (And hey, maybe someday I'll get one of these all my own!)

So yeah. That’s my plan. What about you? What’s your goal now that summer is over?  

Fun Stuff Coming Up!

Guys! I feel like I have so much to tell you. It’s not that I’ve been keeping secrets, or taken a break from posting, but suddenly I have a list of THINGS to share.

When I was writing my posts for the week, I looked at my calendar and realized that June is over and July is upon us. And HolyCrapSummersHalfwayOver, and there are some FreakishlyCoolBeyondAwesome things coming up fast.

Like a really fun Birthday Bash promotion, in honor of my birthday, and also DESCENDANT being published, and in which you can buy my book and get free stuff, be entered to win free stuff, and then get more free stuff for participating. It runs July 1-9^th, and there are lots and lots of ways to participate, and did I mention free stuff and prizes? Yeah.  Maybe keep that in mind and if you’re planning to buy or gift a copy of DESCENDANT, you may want to wait until July 1st, and check back here for the details on how to get your free stuff. (I mentioned free stuff, right?)

Party. Balloons. Party favors. YAHOO!

A few weeks after that, I will be doing a little traveling, some of which *might* involve research for a manuscript which *might* be a sequel to DESCENDANT. This trip will also involve a few days in Utah, during which time I may set up a signing if I have time. (I’ll let you know!)

Also, have you ever attended WorldCON? If you’re at all into science fiction / fantasy of any kind (Star wars anyone? No? Star Trek maybe? Game of Thrones?) it’s pretty much a week of unbridled awesome. And this year, it’s called LoneStarCON, because it’s in San Antonio, which is only two hours away from me, which means I WILL SO BE THERE! So far, I am not planning on being on any panels or participating at all because I hesitated too long, but I don’t even care. I have my reservations and have paid my fee and at the end of August, I AM GOING. (So if you’ve ever considered attending, you should come this year and find me and say hi.)

What else? Oh yes! My friend Tova (the one who made my awesome DESCENDANT lip balms and body sprays) at The Way of the Witch has recently launched an Ailment app, which will is geared toward helping people find holistic, natural remedies to whatever ails you, kind of like Abby in DESCENDANT. Cool, right? I recommend checking that out if you’re at all into natural healing.

Okay, last thing. I have some seriously big goals for the next few months, and lots of important tasks vying for my attention, so aside from a few extra promotional posts, I’m going to cut back to one post a week until September.  And because it seems like a good time to experiment, I’m going to try posting that once-a-week post on Tuesdays. (Obviously, I’m feeling rebellious.)  

Thanks so much for reading and for understanding and for just being awesome. That’s all for now!

*Don’t forget to check back on July 1^st for an opportunity to participate in the Birthday Bash Promotion and get lots of free stuff!

WorldCON: Loyal Fans and the BWB

Another thing that was different about WorldCON and other conferences / conventions I've attended were the parties.

There. Were. So. Many.

I lost count. On the first night, when things were really just getting started, my friends and I attended no fewer than seven. And that was the night we went to bed earliest.

During the course of the CON, we met up with a really fantastic group of fans, some of whom also write, and who took us under their wings as if we were already a part of them. Not only that, they treated us to some of the hands-down funnest experiences of the whole week. The Brotherhood Without Banners invited us in, watched out for us, and I have to tell ya. Those guys (and also ladies) were seriously some of the coolest people we met all week.

And when I say cool, I mean seriously defying the seventies-type stigma-of-sci-fi/fantasy-fan often thought of by those who just don’t know any better, strong-men, jerky-makers, contractors, other great professions, young, old, male, female, every-type-of-person from a hundred different countries C.O.O.L.

But what is the BWB? They’re fans of George R.R. Martin’s work, specifically the A Song of Ice and Fire series. And they’ve been hosting WorldCON parties since 2001. (For the record, I’d never even heard of this group before the CON, but I’m now a member, and intend to remain that way indefinitely.) And though we’d already met GRRM earlier, we had the opportunity to actually hang out with him. We even had dinner with him one night. *cue fan girl squee*

George’s fans are some of the most loyal and dedicated I’ve ever seen. And I've seen a lot of authors with dedicated and loyal fans. What does that say about GRRM as an author? A person? What lesson can I take from his example in order to gather a following of fans even half as dedicated as his?

Well. Being that this was my first WorldCON, and I only got to hang with them for a little while the last couple days, I have a lot of learning to do. But learning? That’s a certain specialty of mine. All I have to do is attend WorldCONs of the future, and I’m sure to figure it out.

WorldCON: Brilliant Creativity

Okay. I’ve been home almost a week and am starting to feel like I’m catching up on sleep. This is good news, people. I’ve been to a lot of conferences and conventions, and WorldCON was a whole different experience for a number of reasons.

For one thing, the variety of unique people was incredible and exhilarating. It was almost like this convention was the one place where people could be who they are, or who they want to be—including a Klingon or a Jedi or Harry Potter or any other number of fantastical characters—without worrying about being judged by others. Well, except the masquerade judges, but that’s totally voluntary.

The incredible creativity of the people in attendance was absolutely amazing. I loved it.

Not only that, the lets-dress-up-and-have fun mentality there is contagious. I offer exhibit A.

See those corsets? Courtesy of Damsel in this Dress. Can I just say that Michelle (the owner) is a fascinating, brilliant woman who creates her own designs and patterns and keeps her prices totally reasonable. If I ever need a specialized costume of this variety, I have her card. Will totally call her. Her work is A.Mazing.

With Halloween only a few weeks away, I’m looking forward to another opportunity to wear this awesome stuff again. You should check it out. I’m serious.

When’s the last time you had a great excuse to dress up? Do you do the Halloween thing?

10 Things I LOVED about WorldCON in Reno

I am still too exhausted to write an entire blog post detailing all my favorite moments from RENOvation. And since school started, like, hours after I returned home, I expect to be exhausted for—I dunno—another week? A month? Anyway, I don’t want to wait that long to tell ya, so I’m going to make a list and hope it gives you just a little taste of my favorite parts of last week. (In the order I come up with them, but not necessarily in order of what I loved most or least.)

1. Upon arrival at the conference center, my roomies and I immediately saw George R.R. Martin and stalked him until he agreed to come to the throne and pose in a picture with us.

2. Checking out the dealer room (and by dealer, I mean where they sell stuff that is legal, like corsets and books and jewelry—what were you thinking?) and finding treasures. Some of which were people.

3. Attending a private party hosted by TOR and hanging with more agents and editors than I’ve ever, ever seen in one single location. (Yes, we met, and yes, we pitched, and yes, requested. *squee*)

This is where they stored the drinks. Dr. Pepper, all around! (Why yes, that is a bathtub.)

4. Being escorted the half mile to our hotel (after missing the shuttle) by bestselling author Peter Brett and his agent friend Eddie Schneider (JABerwocky). They were quite chivalrous. And also lots of fun to hang out with. And now I have to read all of Peter’s books and catch up with the rest of the world because I have—apparently—been living under a rock for the last few years.


5. Becoming a lampshade sister with my roomies, wherein we swore an oath to always attend WorldCON together because it was SO BEYOND AWESOME. (*hugs to my sistahs* Especially Alaina, who is not in this pic, but was in one--somewhere.)

6. Chillin with lots of peeps I haven’t seen for a while, and making SO MANY new friends from around the world.

7. Attending the Hugos, even though none of my Utah friends won, and then actually being allowed to HOLD A HUGO later that evening.

8. Really amazing, creative, beautiful costumes being worn by some really amazing, creative, BRAVE, bold people. Also, my roomies and I dressed up for Masquerade night. It. Was. AWESOME.

9. Being invited to a private party by George Martin himself (and also by Lodey, and Wolfgang, and I think Stego, then later Frisco and Blackfyre—they all invited us) hosted by the Brotherhood Without Banners where we met some really awesome peeps, and joined, and then were invited back the next night so we could be sent on a quest after which we were knighted by GRRM. (That’s Ser Nichole, Awful Awful Lady Knight to you!) Funnest parties ever. I’m serious. Thanks BWB!


10. Hearing this EXCELLENT news about my Lampshade Sister, Jenn, and celebrating by eating Italian food at La Veccia. Twice. I am so happy for her I squealed. A few times. I’m actually hoarse now. Not joking.


So, there you have them—ten off-the-cuff highlights from RENOvation. There’s more. A lot more. But some stuff just has to be experienced.

What about you? What’s one of your most awesome conference/convention experiences? I’d love to hear it.

I'm Back!

Dudes. I just got back from WorldCON in Reno. Sorry about the lack of blogs for the last week and a half, but even though my friends warned me, I had NO IDEA how busy I’d be. I’m talking like, never turned on the hotel TV busy. Didn’t read a single page except while traveling busy. Never opened my computer busy. And I might as well admit that I was sleep-three-hours-a-night busy, too.

It. Was. So. FUN.

And I know you’re dying to hear all the highlights because it might help you decide if attending a WorldCON should be in your future. And I will give a rundown this week. Just not today. My brain is still fuzzy, and I have so much to catch up on that I’m a bit overwhelmed. But I will say this.

Pay the fee. Reserve the room. Buy the ticket.

You will NOT be sorry. I’m already making plans to attend next year. I have somewhere around 371 days to save up and prepare. That’s plenty of time.

ChiCON, here I come! (Translation for ChiCON=WorldCON in Chicago.)

Conferences, Projects, and Insanity!

Not to brag, but tomorrow morning, I will be heading out of town for World CON in Reno, otherwise known as RENOvation. I was going to schedule a bunch of blogs to post while I'm gone, but I'm not sure I'll have time so I think I may have to take the week off.

You can survive without me for a week, can't ya? 

In the meantime, if you're feeling sad about not being able to attend a conference yourself, you can! This week is the second annual WriteOnCon, a completely FREE online event which teaches all about writing and publishing for young adult audiences. I attended last year (will also try to catch some events this year if possible) and it was fantastic. So be sure to head on over and check it out.

While I'm gone I'll also be working on some editing projects for others, and one polishing one of my own. Cross your fingers that I'll be able to be productive and learn at the same time, cuz there are deadlines coming at me from all over the place.

And, holy moly, school starts for my kids the day I get back. Yikes! 

Summer is coming to a close with warp speed, people. I hope you're wearing seat belts, because it's time to slam on the brakes and go educational or something. 

See you on the flip side! Have a great week.