TWO Giveaways & InsomniaDare Report!

Elsie, Ellen and I did a super fun Insomnia-Dare promotion last week. We were joined by a few other awesome writers/readers/bloggers (Bridget, Gillian, Octavia, Kierra, etc - thank you!) We talked trash until our sentences were barely coherent... and we had so much fun!

We stayed up until at least 4am and reported in hourly on some basic details:

* number of yawns 

     steadily increased hourly across the board *gasp*

* words written (or other things accomplished)

     steadily decreased hourly across the board. The last hour was truly pathetic

* number of caffeinated beverages consumed

     another increase...although it was less effective than you might expect

* $ amount donated to The Swear Jar

     Also increased the more tired we got. Shocking, no? We ended up with a nice donation for the JDRF which is great. Some of the participants also donated (Thank you, Gillian!) so not sure how much the total raised was, but every cent helps. 

In case you missed it in my Friday post, you can click here to see the result of my sleep-deprived vlogging with no microphone.

Silent movies are totally coming back into style...you just wait. 

We planned to do a giveaway during the InsomniaDare, but we decided to wait and do it here instead.

Leave a comment below on anything Dare - Silent Movie - Insomnia related, and you'll be entered to:

Win a signed ARC of Insomnia and a signed copy of Dualed!

For those listed above that participated in the InsomniaDare with us, you each get a bonus 5 entries for your participation and general awesomeness. We'll select a random winner and announce it in our post on Friday!

And for the SECOND Giveaway: don't forget to pre-order Insomnia and enter my NookHD giveaway!

Pre-order from any of these sites:

B&N ~ Amazon ~ IndieBound ~ BAM ~ The Book Depository

**It is absolutely acceptable to enter one giveaway and not the other, we don't care, we just like to give our stuff to other people. It's a sickness...really. **

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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J.R. Johansson 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 is a YA thriller author published with Flux and FSG/Macmillan. She's represented by Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Her debut novel, INSOMNIA, is due to be released in June 10, 2013. You can find her on twitter, goodreads, her website, or her personal blog.

J.R. Johansson Takes A Dare!

Some of you may have heard about my InsomniaDare I did with Elsie and Ellen last week. We'll be posting about that on Tuesday, but as part of it, I recorded all these little video clips to put into fun vlogs later...then realized that my microphone was broken.

Yeah...

So, I did the only logical thing and made it into a Silent Movie. Because that's what any normal person would do...or not.

But hey, I'm okay with not being normal.

Anyway, here it is...




So yeah...I had fun. You can probably tell... ;-)

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J.R. Johansson 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 is a YA thriller author published with Flux and FSG/Macmillan. She's represented by Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Her debut novel, INSOMNIA, is due to be released in June 10, 2013. You can find her on twitter, goodreads, her website, or her personal blog.

J.R. Johansson Dares to Make Sweet Music

I've been playing around with different creative outlets lately and it's been really fun. So along those lines, for my post today, I dared myself to put together a special Friday the Thirteeners Playlist!

It features one song to represent each of our books. I've been lucky enough to read many of the awesome books on our sidebar and these songs are like a little slice of each! It's a great way to get a feel for our stories in music form.

Here are the reasons we picked the songs we did or you can just scroll down and start listening!

Track 1 - J.R. Johansson - Insomnia: "Letters from the Sky" by Civil Twilight - This song reminds me of Insomnia because it reflects this feeling of Parker's world falling apart around him and somehow finding a way to fight through it anyway. 

Track 2 - Ellen Oh - Prophecy: “Life in Mono” by Mono - This is one of my favorite songs and for some reason it was the tune that always came to me when I thought of my main character, Kira. When I was working on her scenes, trying to figure her out, I’d literally hear this song in my head. So I just started playing it all the time and Kira came to life. I find it perfect for her because it’s a melancholy piece—sad and lonely, but still filled with hope. Kind of like Kira.

Track 3 - Megan Shepherd - The Madman's Daughter: "Seven Devils" by Florence + The Machine - When I listen to this eerie, dramatic song, I think about how the greatest dangers come not always from outside, but often from something within each of us.

Track 4 - Elsie Chapman - Dualed: "Run" by Snow Patrol - I used to listen to this song on repeat when I wrote Dualed. It's sad but really charged, and it's one of my favorites.

Track 5 & 6 - Erin Bowman - Taken: "Love Like a Sunset Part I + II" by Phoenix - These two tracks have always felt like the book’s point of no return to me. Gray makes a choice. This is the moment nothing will ever be the same.

Track 7 - Mindy McGinnis - Not a Drop to Drink: "Rocks and Water" by Deb Talan - Because it's pretty much a perfect feel for my book.

Track 8 - Shannon Messenger - Let the Sky Fall: "Hurricane" by Something Corporate - It was the song that inspired Vane's sorta bratty, easy-going voice. And it has wind references!

Track 9 - Brandy Colbert - Pointe: "Give it Away" by Zero 7 - I don't listen to music while I write, but this is a song that I listened to a lot during the period I was working on my second rewrite.

Track 10 - Renee Collins - Relic: "The Kiss" from The Last of the Mohicans Soundtrack - This is the song that captures the sweeping, historical feel of Relic the most for me.

Track 11 - Natalie Whipple - Transparent: "I Just Wanna Run" by The Downtown Fiction - I picked this because Fiona is all about running—physically and emotionally. :)

Track 12 - Kasie West - Pivot Point: "Little Wonders" by Rob Thomas - I picked this because it captures the feel of Pivot Point for me so well. One line says: Our lives are made in these small hours, these little wonders, these twists and turns of fate. That line, along with the rest of the song, says it all for me.

Track 13 - Alexandra Duncan - Salvage: "A Widow's Toast" by Neko Case - It's a hard choice, but I think this just fits Salvage the best.

Track 14 - April Tucholke - Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: "Metamorphosis One" by Phillip Glass - Cab Calloway's Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea was the title inspiration for my book, but not really what I listened to while writing it (it's too cheerful). I also really love his Illusionist and The Hours soundtracks.


So, what do you think? Do you have a favorite song from our list? Any songs that remind you of our books or that you think should've made the cut?

Happy Friday!

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J.R. Johansson 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 is a YA thriller author represented by Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Her debut novel, INSOMNIA, is due to be released June 10, 2013 with Flux. You can find her on twitter, goodreads, her website, or her

Truth: It's 2013! What do we Dare to do next?

It is 2013 and we are SO excited. Pardon us while we scream/squeal/pass out at inappropriate times.

This is our debut year! Because of this, a couple of things will be changing around here. We'll still be doing truth or dares on Fridays, and we'll still have special guest posts here and there.

But that's not all.

Now we will be adding celebration launch posts because our books will be coming out! And the first of our books to debut, Prophecy by Ellen Oh, will be coming out tomorrow(and I hear it's already been seen out in the wild)!

IT IS HAPPENING!

Oh...apparently I've reached my exclamation point quota for the day. I'll try to rein it in.

Anyway, to start 2013 off on the right foot. We've all come up with a Truth or Dare based resolution for the new year. What are thirteen authors like us resolving to do during our debut year? Let us tell you. I'll start with mine:

Friday the Thirteener Resolutions for 2013

J.R. Johansson: I dare myself not to let the new responsibilities of the upcoming year--reviews, marketing, conferences & the insecurities/problems that come with them--interfere with me striving to always improve my skill. In other words, I won't let publication get in the way of my writing. :-)

Natalie Whipple: I want to be more confident in my writing, to have fun with it, and to stay true to the stories that speak to me. I've spent too much time in the past wishing my writing was more like someone else's--this year I want to be proud of how and what I write.

Brandy Colbert: I'd like to practice more patience and focus on the "now" instead of the future. It's true that publishing is a long process and full of unexpected bumps along the way, but I'll only be a debut author once and taking time to appreciate all the little steps along the way will make for a much more enjoyable process overall.

Mindy McGinnis: I dare myself to not respond to negative reviews at all - as in zero interaction. The truth is that it will only make me look bad in the end, no matter what I say or how I compose myself. So in other words, I dare myself to be non-confrontational. This should be interesting.

Erin Bowman: I dare myself to avoid reading reviews as much as possible in 2013. So far I've found that reviews (glowing, negative, luke-warm--it doesn't matter), all seem to mess with my writing mojo. I write best when I'm stress-free and my muse, inspired. And I want 2013 to be about the writing. ;)

Ellen Oh: I dare myself not to eat an entire box of Krispy Kreme donuts in one sitting. And I promise to tell the truth when my kids ask me who ate the last donut.

Kasie West: I hope to stay true to myself and who I am, to remember the people who helped me fulfill my dreams and supported me every step of the way, and not to get caught up in all the crazy that can come along with this publishing business. (Also, I want to eat Ellen's entire box of donuts so she has someone to blame. Yes, I would make this extreme sacrifice for her.)

Renee Collins: I dare myself not to compare my journey to anyone else's. I want to savor (yes, savor) every moment of this journey for exactly what it is, nothing more, nothing less.

Megan Shepherd: I dare myself to step away from the computer more; go outside, hang out with friends, work out, remember there's a world outside of Writing. I love what I do, and I love the online community, but I want to try for a little more balance in 2013.

Shannon Messenger: My goal for 2013 is to be true to myself when it comes to my writing schedule. I want to be honest with myself and take breaks when I need them, but I would also love to get in the habit of writing for at least one hour every day. And I dare myself to learn how to write from my plane or my hotel room when I'm traveling*. (*goals MIGHT be influenced by how very behind I am on my current deadline.)

Elsie Chapman: My goal for 2013 is to try to find more balance in my writing schedule. to truly believe it's okay to take nights off, and to not let the little things get to me. And to always remember how lucky I am to be doing this in the first place!

Alexandra Duncan: My resolution for 2013 is to stay professional and true to myself, even when I read negative reviews or stumble across internet trolls.

April Tucholke: I'm daring myself to stay in one place for more than a year. I'm going to stifle all my roamer tendencies and try to settle. I'm also daring myself to spend an hour outside each and every day, and to read for an hour each and every day. No excuses.


So, what about you? What are you resolving to do differently in 2013? Do you dare to tell us the truth? :)

And don't forget to check back tomorrow as we celebrate the release of Prophecy! (Sorry, had to go over the quota for that one. It was necessary.)

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J.R. Johansson 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 is a YA thriller author represented by Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Her debut novel, INSOMNIA, is due to be released June 8, 2013 with Flux. You can find her on twitter, goodreads, her website, or her

INSOMNIA cover reveal

We are thrilled to share our latest Thirteener cover, INSOMNIA by J. R. Johansson!

Is that cover just killer? It gives us goosebumps just looking at it. We Thirteeners love the shattered eye and the blood-red lettering. It captures the exact way we feel when we've been up three nights straight revising and haven't had coffee yet...okay, maybe not quite the same :)

Here's the book description:

It’s been four years since I slept, and I suspect it is killing me.

Instead of sleeping, Parker Chipp enters the dream of the last person he’s had eye contact with. He spends his nights crushed by other people’s fear and pain, by their disturbing secrets—and Parker can never have dreams of his own. The severe exhaustion is crippling him. If nothing changes, Parker could soon be facing psychosis and even death.

Then he meets Mia. Her dreams, calm and beautifully uncomplicated, allow him blissful rest that is utterly addictive. Parker starts going to bizarre lengths to catch Mia’s eye every day. Everyone at school thinks he’s gone over the edge, even his best friend. And when Mia is threatened by a true stalker, everyone thinks it’s Parker.

Suffering blackouts, Parker begins to wonder if he is turning into someone dangerous. What if the monster stalking Mia is him after all?

J.R. is doing a giveaway of an ARC & Prize Pack over on YA Books Central. Click here to go enter!


And a little more about J.R.:

J.R. JOHANSSON 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. J.R. lives in a valley between majestic mountains and a beautiful lake where the sun shines over 300 days per year. If you want to know more about J.R., you can follow her on Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook, or check out her website.

J.R. Johansson Takes the Truth!

Since you just saw me act out a scene using the contents of my pantry as the characters in a vlog from last week. I have officially reached my monthly vlog embarrassment ratio and thus... *drumroll please*

I am taking a truth!

The truth I chose was given by the awesome Robin Weeks. She asked me, "What was the most embarrassing newbie mistake you made (we all make them) back when you were first starting out and didn't know anything?"

Sadly, this was a hard question for me because the possible answers are many. After much debate, I settled on my very first query.

And when I say query, I use the term VERY loosely. I'll just post it here and you can see for yourself the numerous mistakes I made. I'll post my color commentary in red so you can see just how mortified I am about this now.

Dear Kristin Nelson, (<--undoubtedly the best part of the email, unless your name is Kristin Nelson)

Hello! (*sigh* at least I was enthusiastic) My name is Jenn and I'm considering writing a book. (Yep. You read that right -- considering) I've never done much writing, but I'm a fast learner and I have faith that I can figure it out. (OH! I have faith! Well, I should've led with that. It's a game changer) I'm sure you hear this kind of thing all the time because from your website, I see that you're a literary agent. (...apparently I just read her title and quickly closed the browser. Otherwise I would've learned that SENDING THIS WAS A BAD IDEA) You seem like you might be the perfect person to help me with this! (Please, kill me now)

Is there any particular place you'd recommend starting when learning to write? (*head desk*) How does the publishing industry work exactly? Do I hire an agent and then start writing? Or is that backward? (There's really nothing to do but shake my head and laugh at this point)

Anyway, as you can see, I have many questions! Let me know if you'd prefer talking on the phone and we can schedule a call. (Yes! And then we shall have tea with the Mad Hatter, but bring a jacket because HELL has frozen over!)

Thanks so much!

Jenn (<--second best part, unless your name is Jenn, in which case you may weep a little)

Seriously. Reading this now, I want to grab newbie-writer-me and shake some sense into her. Good thing more-experienced-writer-me has a sense of humor or there would be some kind of time-travel violence going on. 

Now that we've all had a good laugh at my expense, here is my point. Did I make mistakes here? I think we can all agree - YES! Did it ruin my chances in the future? No. In fact, I think writing queries and pitches has become a strength of mine. 

I think there's really only one thing left to say:

I'm so sorry, Kristin Nelson. :)

Edit per requests in comments: Kristin did actually respond. Recommended a few writing technique books and gave me the links on how (and when) to query from her blog. Seriously...the woman is a saint. 

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J.R. Johansson 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 is a YA thriller author represented by Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Her debut novel, INSOMNIA, is due to be released in Spring 2013 with Flux. You can find her on twitter, goodreads, her website, or her personal blog.  

Jenn R. Johansson Takes The Dare

When I played truth or dare as a teenager, I usually picked truths because I was afraid of what they'd make me do...

I should've remembered that before choosing this dare.

Anyway, I picked a dare from Tiana Smith (whom I still consider to be a sweetheart even if this vlog makes statements to the contrary). Her dare was: Record yourself reading an excerpt from your novel in a ridiculous accent.

Oh, yes... I did.

Thanks for the fun dare, Tiana! Since this is my first time playing, you get to choose a prize. A $13 giftcard or a young adult book from my secret stash! E-mail me at fridaythethirteeners[at]gmail[dot]com and let me know which you'd prefer.

Thanks again for joining in on the fun! Come back this Friday, June 15th for a post by the uber cool Erin Bowman!

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J.R. Johansson 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 is a YA thriller author represented by Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Her debut novel, INSOMNIA, is due to be released in Spring 2013 with Flux. You can find her on twitter, goodreads, her website, or her personal blog.  

Introducing our next mystery author!!

It is my extreme pleasure to introduce our fifth mystery author to the blog. She is a dear friend of mine and all around cool person. (I may be a bit biased but I don't think so.)

Jenn R Johansson!!!!! Yay!!

J.R. Johansson (Jenn) has two amazing sons and a wonderful husband who keep her busy and happy.  In fact, other than her cat, she is pretty much drowning in testosterone. They live in a valley between huge mountains and a beautiful lake where the sun shines more than 300 days per year. She loves writing, playing board games, and sitting in her hot tub. Her dream is that someday she can do all three at the same time.


Welcome, Jenn. We're so excited to have you. Not only because we think you're great, but because your book is amazing too! And I know, because I've read it. INSOMNIA will be published through Flux in the spring of 2013. It's creepy and twisty and awesome! Trust me, you're going to love it! Here's a blurb so you can get excited for it:

Sixteen-year-old Parker spends every night trapped in the dreams of 
the last person he made eye contact with, and it’s killing him. He 
misses soccer practice, falls asleep at the wheel, and his mom thinks 
he has a drug problem. His exhaustion from never reaching the deeper 
levels of sleep is getting worse every day, and he knows his time is 
running out. Until he meets Mia. 

Mia’s dreams are the first Parker’s encountered where he can finally 
get real sleep. A good night of rest after so long is addictive. He 
has to have it. But getting it means he must follow Mia and find a way 
to make eye contact every day. Mia is increasingly freaked out, even 
turning Parker’s best friends against him. To make matters worse, Mia 
starts to receive threatening e-mails, and her wonderful dreams become 
scenes of a horror movie—and Parker is cast as the villain. He must 
discover who is truly tormenting her, and clear his name, before she 
turns him in for a crime he hasn’t committed–or worse, the true 
stalker makes good on his threats to end her dreams forever. 

Doesn't that sound amazing? So now is the time where we torture the newest member. Leave your especially torturous dares here for Jenn. :) Because we want to see her squirm. And stay tuned, her completion of the selected truth/dare will be posted next Tuesday! But don't forget to check back this Friday because Elsie will be tackling a truth or dare.