Nook HD Winner! AMAZING NEWS & Insomnia Release Blog Tour Day 1

I know you guys want to know about winners...but I'm saving that for last. I'm cruel like that. ;)

Some of you may think that a week before my official release that I'm sitting around like this:

NOT TRUE...

In reality, it's a lot more like this:

But I got some news in the last couple of weeks that made me go like this:

I found out that

Insomnia is going to be published in 

Hungary AND Taiwan!

SQUEE!!! I am SO thrilled you guys! Fonix in Hungary and Sharp Point in Taiwan have bought rights to publish in their respective territories!

This brings the total number of languages to FIVE (English, German, Hungarian, Italian AND Chinese)! My book, something I created in my dark and twisty brain, is going to be printed out and available in FIVE different languages! I can't even...I'm just...

WOW!

I'm just so grateful and thrilled and a little bit FREAKING OUT! :)

So now, I am going to be riding high on that news as well as all the fun release stuff going on. I may never come back down.

Oh! And about fun release stuff...

Today is the first day of the Insomnia Release Blog Tour!

Every weekday for the next two weeks there will be fun guest posts and giveaways all over the place. 

The two main giveaways will be TEN signed copies of Insomnia and TEN 10-pg critiques! 

On top of this, I'll be doing giveaways sporadically on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook!! (Giveaways will be various things I find: bubble gum, signed books, swag items, perhaps Finnish candies...you'll have to pay attention to see what I come up with)

Here is my blog stop for today:

Ilima Todd
Lisbeth Avery

And the fun, guys...it will be immense. So stay tuned!

AND last but certainly not least...

the winner of the NookHD from the Insomnia Preorder Giveaway!

Cindy Irvine!

Huge congrats, Cindy! I'll be in touch to talk about how to get your prize to you! :)


Let's get this Week O' Giveaways going!!

Celebrate with me by leaving a comment below and you'll be entered to win one of my last Insomnia ARCs + a swag pack with bookmarks and surprises to go with it! :)

So Many Happy Things!

This is me lately. All I want to do is grin and flail. All day all the time.

It's not very functional.

My book has started shipping from all over and people are getting it...

and posting pics of it...

and reading it...

And it just makes me so very...

You know what I'm sayin'? I think you do.

If not, I think we're in trouble because I'm just not capable of better communication at the moment. We can always just sit and smile at each other.

There are worse things to do. :)

But if you get tired of that...

Don't forget to enter to win a Nook HD! Or Enter to win one of TEN signed copies of Insomnia that we're giving away on Goodreads!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Insomnia

by J.R. Johansson

Giveaway ends May 31, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

I'll just be sitting here...still smiling. :)

Debut Dabbles 3.5 Weeks Out

Before (and after) I got my book deal, I always wondered what it was like the last few weeks before a book came out. So, I thought I'd put it down here in vloggish form for posterity.

So here is the second report, recorded yesterday, 3.5 weeks before my book release and about a month before my book launch. Feel free to mock how badly I fail at this whole vlogging thing. :)

So there you have it. That's what I've been doing this week. What about you?

Stop by Elana Johnson's blog today! Read her review/interview about Insomnia and enter to win a NOOK HD in my Insomnia Pre-order Giveaway!

Craziness, Early Release & Final Copies!!

Today is twenty-seven days until the release of Insomnia and official madness has ensued.

We have the Insomnia Pre-Order Nook HD Giveaway going on. Also, I spent the weekend at Storymakers Conference which is always great.

So that's all awesome and amazing...

And then --

Amazon sent out an email to some of those that pre-ordered earliest, that they moved up their expected delivery date for Insomnia to THIS FRIDAY.

 

The cat is my fave, watch for him... :)

So, yeah...no big deal...just apparently that my book will be sent out to some of you as early as THIS WEEK! *cue sound of my head exploding here*

**Sidenote -- this will not alter the pre-order giveaway. Anyone ordering (with receipt dated) before the close of contest date on May 31st will be eligible to win whether the book is sent immediately or not.**

Oh, and if that wasn't enough, on Saturday, I came home from the conference to finished copies of Insomnia!!

Guys, I know this sounds weird knowing the creepy nature of the cover and all that, but these are gorgeous. They're done in matte with all the cracks out from the eye and the title glossy, it's incredible. Flux has really outdone themselves. I was blown away. This picture here is of the cover flat so you can see the whole thing, and even so, the pic doesn't do it justice, but you might be able to see a little bit of what I'm talking about here:

See how the lines kind of shine with the light? Plus, you can see his whole face better with the cover flat. It's so freaking cool!! :)

Anyway -- SO MUCH HAPPY FLAILING!!

Anything new with you? :)

Debut Dabbles 5 Weeks Out

Before (and after) I got my book deal, I always wondered what it was like the last few weeks before a book came out. So, I thought I'd put it down here in vloggish form for posterity.

So here is the first report, recorded almost 5 weeks before my book release and about 6 weeks before my book launch. Feel free to mock how badly I fail at this whole vlogging thing. :)

And don't forget to stop over and enter to

Win a NookHD in the Insomnia Pre-order Giveaway! 

INSOMNIA NookHD Giveaway!

It is just over one month until the release of Insomnia.

Yes...seriously...

I think it's high time we give something awesome away, don't you? Yeah...that's what I thought. :)

So, here is the deal. Insomnia is up for pre-order all over the place for between $7.15 and $9.99. You pre-order a copy from the retailer of your choice, because we all know you want to--and even if you don't, I'm going to pretend you do because I'm delusional and I like it that way--after you pre-order, you can...

Enter to win a NookHD 16GB tablet w/blue case! 

($250 value)

I know what you're thinking..."But Jenn! I already pre-ordered my copy of Insomnia!" Fear not...that still counts. And it's even better for you, because you don't have to spend any additional money and you can still win the Nook!

Huzzah!

I'm sure right about now you're feeling like this guy:

But try to remain calm, it keeps the mouse from slipping out of your hands and injuring innocent bystanders. I know this from experience...

Don't ask. 

This giveaway is going through the end of May and once you put in your pre-order entry, there are other cool ways to earn bonus entries (like tweeting). I also have some awesome authors who are helping me out by hosting giveaway stops, so stay tuned for those. Here is a little more info on what Insomnia is about in case you need a refresher.

Here are a few places you can pre-order:

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

And for those planning to attend my book launch on June 18th (I LOVE YOU!), you can pre-order Insomnia on The King's English site now, check the "pick up at the store" option and it will be there for you at the launch party! Or if you'd like your copy signed and sent to you, just specify in the special order comments section on TKE's site and we'll make it happen.

Thank you so much for your support. Seriously, every single book purchase helps and I'm humbled by my amazing family, friends and fans. You are the best!

Now go! Buy! Enter! Win! :) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Epic Insomnia Dare of 2013

In honor of the impending release (37 days) of my debut novel, Insomnia, *cue hyperventilating in 3--2--1--* I wanted to do something fun.

And in this case, fun = 3 things.

~ Friends
~ Prizes (up for grabs will be signed YA books!)
~ A Good Cause (donations to help find a cure for Diabetes!)

Yep, hanging out, giving stuff away, and curing bad diseases -- It's what I do best.

So...I have challenged Elsie Chapman (author of kick-butt YA Novel, DUALED) to an INSOMNIA-OFF! Or as I like to call it,

The Epic Insomnia Dare of 2013 

Details: Starting this Sunday night, May 5 at 11pm (Pacific), Elsie and I will be taking on the Insomnia Dare.

Rules: Um...we don't get to sleep...duh. The winner is the last one awake and they shall be dubbed Queen of the Insomniacs and everyone must refer to her as She Who Needs Not Sleep. The loser must lavish the winner with praise for a full 24 hours and refer to themselves as The Peon.

~IF~

we both make it past the 4am mark, then we're both declared winners and receive the title and everyone who doesn't join in shall be The Peons!

Muahahahahaa...ha...hmm...

Statistics: On top of the regular and much-anticipated trash-talk, there will be hourly check-ins where we report these stats for the last hour:

* number of yawns
* words written (oh yes, we'll be writing. Probably not well, but we'll be writing)
* number of caffeinated beverages consumed
* $ amount donated to The Swear Jar

Awesome Side Note: We and our fellow Friday the Thirteeners have each put $5 into said Swear Jar. At the end of the Insomnia Dare, the total amount in the jar will be donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, because finding cures = very cool.

Want To Play?
Follow our progress and chat with us on twitter!  We'll be using #InsomniaDare. You can donate your Swear Jar to the JDRF (If you do, tell us and we'll send you a shout out in our reporting post on Tuesday)!

Join in and stay up late with us! You too can compete for the title!

Tweet us your best "Exhausted Pic" for a chance to win a Signed ARC of INSOMNIA and a Signed copy of DUALED! 

And stop by our Friday the Thirteeners blog on Tuesday for a rundown of how the dare went. We'll announce the winner, post pics from our experience and giveaway the books!

Don't forget to use #InsomniaDare

So what do you think? Do you dare to play?

A Slice of Insomnia - Lucky 13's Book Blitz

A few weeks ago, my Lucky 13s group did a fun Book Blitz on twitter. It was a blast. Random people tweeted page numbers and we posted lines from our books on those pages. It ended up being a lot of fun.

Today, for a fun little totally random slice of the book. I thought I'd post all the lines from Insomnia that came up during the blitz.

Pg 93: "She'll never be interested if you don't stop acting like Ted-freaking-Bundy!" --Finn

Pg 100: The only chance I had to make up for what I'd done to Mia was to save her.

Pg 23: The sporting goods store always smelled like a gigantic rubber ball dipped in pine-scented cleaner.

Last page: "Make sure someone totally ripped plays me in the movie." --Finn

Pg 4: Her blood spilled from the triangle of wounds through her shirt and onto the floral sheets.

Pg 20: He was a twelve-year-old, dressed up as Superman, battling a giant bunch of broccoli.

Pg 77: Pure fear filled my body from toes to eyebrows and I regretted the single violent thought I'd had against her.

Pg 56: "Come to the dark side. We have cookies." --Finn's shirt

Pg 102: "Although a very strong argument could be made for a padded cell and a white jacket these days." --Parker

Pg 99: We were divided. I was separated from everyone else.

Pg 34: "I half-expected a stuntman from the way you were driving, but apparently you're a rocket scientist..." --Mia

1st page: I groaned under my breath, sexy mom dreams are *really* not my thing.

Pg 155: If that fire was a memory, especially a recent one, she would need all the therapy she could get.

Pg 220: 'My addiction is you?" Man, that phrase had 'Things a Serial Killer Would Say' written all over it. --Parker

Pg 300: "And I'm the one who has to live with not knowing if I killed him, Addie--me." --Parker

Pg 171: She cried on the swing, her tiny body trembling and one long curl tangled up in the chain as the sky exploded around her.

Pg 10: I was ready to handle her the way I always did--with distraction. 

This time I added the character that spoke the lines that are dialogue, just for a little more information. Which line most intrigues you? Why?

Happy Wednesday!

Insomnia Book Trailer Reveal & Giveaway!

Today is...awesome. Not just a little awesome, VERY awesome.

Why is that, you ask? 

Because over on Pub Crawl today, Leigh Bardugo author of the amazing, Shadow and Bone, is posting an interview with me, a swag pack giveaway, and the exclusive reveal of the

Book Trailer for Insomnia!

That's right, I know exactly how you feel about that...

Okay, maybe not like that...maybe more like this:

Or, just like this:

Either way, nothing Leigh Bardugo does is wrong. And everyone loves to win stuff...so you should go check it out. 

Calling All Interested Blog Tour Peoples!

It is about 6 weeks until Insomnia's release and I'm feeling pretty freaking excited. This is pretty much what I look like all the time lately...

And what's the best thing to do when you're really excited? Um...hang out with other excited people, of course...

So, if you're a reader-blogger-tumblr-writer-human and you've read Insomnia and you're excited about it ~OR~ if you haven't read it yet, but you're excited to do so---we should totally hang out...

On my Book Release/Giveaway Blog Tour! 

Drop me an email with your:

~ site address that you'd like to host a stop at

~ any cool ideas you have for the stop

~ why you'd like to participate

~ whether you like long walks on the beach

~ your favorite color

~ or whatever you'd like me to know 

and we'll see what we can set up.

Thank you for sharing my excitement and tune in next Monday when I'll be posting a link to the exclusive reveal of my Insomnia book trailer/interview/giveaway hosted by the ever-awesome Leigh Bardugo over on Pub Crawl

Kirkus Review for INSOMNIA + Giveaway

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty reviewness, I wanted to let you know that there is a signed Insomnia ARC giveaway going on over at the Nawanda Files starting today! Becca is even giving a sneak peek at her review that won't be posted in full until June. Stop by, check it out and enter to win--

after you read the rest of the post, of course...

So last week, I got my very first trade review and it was from Kirkus. On their site, they call themselves "The World’s Toughest Book Critics" -- so yeah, I was shaking in my proverbial boots. And I was driving somewhere in my car when it dinged across the screen of my phone and I proceeded to try very hard not to hyperventilate. To be honest, just like most debut authors, I was completely terrified to even open the email. And since I was driving, I couldn't safely open it anyway--but I knew that whatever it said, I'd have to face it sooner or later. So I had my son open it and read it to me...

And I'm SO glad I did. 

~~~

INSOMNIA
Author: J.R. Johansson

Review Issue Date: May 1, 2013
Online Publish Date: April 10, 2013
Publisher:Flux
Pages: 360
Price ( Paperback ): $9.99
Publication Date: June 8, 2013
ISBN ( Paperback ): 978-0-7387-3593-1
Category: Fiction
Series: Night Walkers
Volume: 1

Parker has been unable to sleep for three years, ever since he began to inhabit the dreams of other people.

At age 16, Parker believes that his lack of sleep will kill him soon, after it drives him into psychosis. Parker calls himself a “Watcher.” Every night he believes that he sees the dreams of the last person with whom he had eye contact that day. While trapped in these dreams, he cannot sleep. One night, he meets new-student Mia and finds that her dreams are so simple that he can lie down within them and get some real sleep while she’s dreaming. Desperate for more sleep, he begins stalking her. Meanwhile, Mia receives threatening emails that appear to come from Parker and grows terrified of him. Parker convinces his friends that his paranormal ability is real, and they agree to help him with Mia—but Parker begins to suspect that he may have entered the psychosis he has feared. Is the stalker real, or is he really Parker? Johansson, writing from Parker’s point of view, scatters clues and red herrings about. Parker’s plight will convince readers, although they will not know if he’s innocent or psychotic until the final pages. The ending sets up the sequel in what promises to be an interesting new series.

The premise combines with the tension resulting from Parker’s psychological quandary to keep pulses pounding. (Suspense. 12 & up)

~~~

WOW! I just want to read that last sentence over and over and over and over and...

you get the idea. Anyway, if you have a Kirkus subscription you can see the review on their site here. If not, then...just read the one above with me again. :) I mean, I wrote the book and it even makes ME want to read it! 

Happy Wednesday! How is your week going? Mine is pretty freaking splendiferous. And don't forget to go enter the new giveaway!

Two INSOMNIA ARC Giveaways!

Just wanted to pop in a central link post for the two awesome giveaways going on this week!

The first one I posted here on Monday to celebrate less than 100 days until the release of Insomnia. This one is a signed ARC with swag pack and you can enter until Sunday night.

The second is a new one that just posted yesterday over on the Books, Bones & Buffy blog! :) Tammy posted a review of Insomnia, an interview with me, and she's hosting a giveaway of a signed ARC! You can enter this one until March, 22nd.

Happy Thursday everyone! :)

INSOMNIA ARC Swag Pack Giveaway!

You guys! This last weekend we made it to double digits on the countdown to Insomnia's release! In honor of this freaking momentous-ness, I thought I'd do the first ARC Giveaway on my blog!

Yay! :) *confetti explosions all over the place*

But, then I thought, why give away an ARC when I can also giveaway other stuff with it?!





So that's what I'm doing because I like doing cool things. In this swag pack, you'll get:

~ A shiny new signed ARC of Insomnia
~ A dream dictionary
~ An Insomnia bookmark
~ An Insomnia pill bottle complete with TicTacs
~ And Finnish chocolates because they are what dreams are made of...

Dude...that's quite the haul. Go you. :)

So, let's get this giveaway started! Enter below and good luck! I'll announce the winner in the post next Monday!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

After you enter, stop by Renee Collins blog to find out about her book RELIC and it's cover reveal + ARC Giveaway! :)

INSOMNIA Countdown Widget + Giveaway!

Look over in the right hand column of my blog, but before you do...prepare yourself to be stunned by what can only be called sheer awesome. Fellow Friday the Thirteener, and the "Maker of All Things Amazing", a.k.a. Erin Bowman made me this gorgeous countdown widget!

*stares*

*pets*

We now have 3.5 months until INSOMNIA's release! And I'm trying very hard not to freak out! Let's all hold hands and sing Kumbaya...that won't be weird or awkward at all, right?

*crickets*

Fine. Instead of cuddling, I guess I'll tell you things. That's almost the same. :P

The INSOMNIA ARC giveaway over on A Good Addiction blog is still going until this Thursday, so go and enter if you haven't already. 

Also, the pre-order promotion price ($5.55) of INSOMNIA on Barnes & Noble and Amazon is still going, so buy a copy for yourself, your parents, your neighbors, your kids...but not your parents' neighbors' kids -- because come on, that's just strange.

Have a happy Monday!

Recovery & INSOMNIA Promotion!

I'm currently recovering from several days with friends, AND launches, AND a conference WHILE trying to manage drafting and line-edits...

My plate is full.

So, today I just wanted to pop in and tell you guys something AWESOME!

Barnes & Noble is doing a special pre-order promotion with INSOMNIA!!

It is available right now for almost half off!

Of course, Amazon has matched the promotion, so you can pre-order INSOMNIA  right now on either site for $5.55!

I don't know how long this promotion will last, so if you were planning on pre-ordering, now is a great time to do it! Here are the links if you're interested: Barnes & Noble or Amazon

Have a great week everyone!

Forging Fridays & LTUE!

So sorry guys, but Forging Fridays will be postponed this week as I am on panels/reading/signing at the Life, the Universe & Everything Conference this week. As a thank you for your patience and for sticking with me, I will make next week's Forging Friday post a double-header! :) Two queries for the price of one!

So stay tuned. :)

Also, there are TWO Insomnia ARC giveaways going on this week!

First is over on the A Good Addiction Blog, where you can also read an interview with Parker!

Second is only for LTUE attendees -- if you're attending send a tweet including #LTUE and #InsomniaARC and tell me about your most bizarre dream. I'll be picking one entry for the winner on Saturday!

Have a fantastic weekend and I'll report back all kinds of conference info next week!

Conference Love: LTUE!

I will be spending the second half of this week at a local conference known as LTUE (Life, the Universe, & Everything). It was the first conference I ever attended and it's one of my absolute favorites for several reasons:

First - it's VERY budget friendly (and who doesn't like that?)

Second - it's one of the absolute best places to people watch (I could tell you about some of the things I've seen, but to be honest, you wouldn't believe me).

Third - All my writer buddies come out to play and we always have SO much fun. 

This will be my second year as a panelist and I'll be on two panels.

On Thursday at 4:00p.m. -
Finding the Right Market for Your YA Book

Jenn "J.R." Johansson, Peggy Eddleman, Renee Collins, Kristen Landon, Tracy Hickman, Megan Whalen Turner

And on Friday at 1:00p.m. -
Scare ‘em While They’re Young

Jenn "J.R." Johansson, Patricia K. Castelli, Mikey Brooks, Steve Diamond, J. Scott Savage

These are some fantastic topics with some incredible authors! I'm thrilled to be among them! I'll also be doing a reading from INSOMNIA at some point, but I don't know the exact time on that yet.

One more thing: I'll be giving away an ARC of INSOMNIA over the weekend to one lucky LTUE attendee. I am coming up with a fun plan to figure out who will get it. It will most likely involve Twitter and dreams... Intrigued? So am I. :) Stay tuned!

Will you be attending LTUE this week? You can find more information on it here. If you're going to be in Utah, you should come. Otherwise I heard there is some kind of nightmarish plague to be placed on you...or something. But I could be making that up, guess we'll see...

*cue Twilight Zone music here*

Happy Monday!

INSOMNIA Has a New Blurb!

You know that feeling when you're so excited you could explode, but you can't tell anyone?

Yeah...that.

That was me last week when I received a new blurb for INSOMNIA from the amazing author of this book:

Jennifer Bosworth is freaking awesome, hilarious, and thoroughly charming. Her book, STRUCK, is incredible, and I'm so thrilled that she liked INSOMNIA. 

This is what she had to say about it:

"This book plunges you into the waking nightmare of one extraordinary insomniac's life. A riveting story of terror and despair that will keep you up long past your bedtime." 

-- JENNIFER BOSWORTH, Author of Struck

Dude. Is that awesome or what? :)

Back in America and ARCs at ALA-Midwinter!

This was the view from my balcony for the last week. It was stunning. There was so much fun to be had I clearly can't fit it all in one post. And as my brain hasn't returned from its vacation yet, we'll ease back into it. Plus, an ARC of INSOMNIA came with me! So I shall be sharing many pictures of that, too. It was a veritable (Caribbean) ARC tour...if you will. ;-)

Speaking of pictures that make me happy...

Check this one out!

Those are my books! Go ahead. Stare at the stunningly-shocking-creeptastic-shivermaking-loveliness! And So many of them! At the ALA - Midwinter Meeting! Right there where you could see them and people could pick them up and everything!

*Gasp*
*Flail*
*...Freak out*

Excuse my breathing into a paper bag for a moment here... Did any of you attend ALA-Midwinter? If so, did you pick up an ARC? If not, what have you been up to this week?

ARCs, Conferences & Blurbs--Oh My!

Some of you may have seen on Facebook or Twitter, but I received my ARCs! 

Squee! Look at the stunning creepiness of them! :) I know it's hard to believe, but these are even cooler in person. Staring at them is the most incredible experience ever! It's my story, my characters, my words! In an actual book. Wow...

And that is just the beginning of the exciting news in this post.

Yes, seriously...

Because I also found out recently that my publisher will be featuring Insomnia at the ALA Midwinter Meeting this upcoming weekend in Seattle! They will have ARCs available at the Flux booth. If you'll be there, make sure to stop by and pick one up. 

AND...in the last little while, I've received THREE incredible blurbs from some stellar YA authors! I can't even believe it. It's surreal.

"Cleverly written and dangerously dark, Insomnia will take you to the brink of insanity. A must read for thriller and romance fans alike." 
-- ELANA JOHNSON, author of Possession

"Completely unputdownable. I've decided to nickname Johansson 'Scary McScarypants,' because she spooked me in all the best ways. Who do I have to bribe to get book two now?!" 
-- CARRIE HARRIS, author of Bad Taste in Boys

"Insomnia is the perfect blend of everything I love in a story. Suspense, twists, characters with many levels that make me wonder just how good or just how bad they really are. I highly recommend this book to everyone and I hope a sequel comes soon!" 
-- JAMES DASHNER, author of the #1 New York Times Bestselling Maze Runner series.


Aaahhhh...you guys! How am I supposed to focus on anything? I'm just a big ball of messy excitement over here! :) Thanks for stopping by to celebrate with me. Anything exciting happening with you?