J.R. Johansson is here on the blog today! I'm kind of a chicken when it comes to scary stories, so I asked her why she loves to write them. Here's what she has to say:
People always seem a little surprised when I tell them I
write scary books. I’m not exactly the wears-black-and-hangs-out-in-dark-alleys
type of girl. For a long time I didn’t think I could write thrillers or horrors
either, I resisted and didn’t think it was for me. But I’m so glad I write them
now. There is a certain justice and balance to horror. You can’t truly see the
light until you’ve seen the darkness. Laughter and joy coming through in dark
situations feels stronger, more powerful. Plus, there is a certain catharsis
that comes from experiencing fears and terrors of reading a good scary book and
coming out the other side. It’s a thrill in a safe place. I love providing that
and get the same excitement from writing it. That’s my favorite part about
writing scary stories.
"You can't truly see the light until you've seen the darkness." I love that! And it is so so true. Thanks for stopping by, J.R.!
"You can't truly see the light until you've seen the darkness." I love that! And it is so so true. Thanks for stopping by, J.R.!
Here are the details of her new release, INSOMNIA:
After four years of sleeplessness, high school junior Parker Chipp can’t take much more. Every night, instead of sleeping, he enters the dreams of the last person he’s made eye contact with. If he doesn’t sleep soon, Parker will die.
Then he meets Mia. Her dreams, calm and beautifully uncomplicated, allow him blissful rest that’s utterly addictive. But what starts out as a chance meeting turns into an obsession; Parker’s furious desire for what he needs pushes him to extremes he never thought he’d go. And when someone begins terrorizing Mia with twisted death threats, Parker’s memory blackouts leave him doubting his own innocence.
J.R. JOHANSSON is a young adult thriller author
published with Flux & FSG/Macmillan. Her debut, INSOMNIA is coming June
2013. 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.
You can find her here:
Order Insomnia here:
And don't forget to enter her critique giveaway:
30 comments:
My favourite part was reading about J.R. writing scary stories. It is true that when you write dark stories some people expect you to some creepy person or goth. The excitement of writing comes in all forms, glad she found it in scary stories.
The cover of this book is what caught my eye when I first saw it online. Then the story just reeled me in. A unique gem most definitely. And thanks for the giveaway. A chance for a critique should never be passed up.
I like the way she describes it as well. This world is both light and darkness and we need to recognize both.
Congratulations, JR!
I am, of course, a big chicken, so horror is not usually my thing. But this little snippet makes me want to jump in with both feet and read on!
I'm also usually too afraid to read horror, but I'm working on a ya novel that prominently features dreaming right now, so I think I will definitely have to check this one out.
I just never liked horror stories before. The premises for the stories never attracted me.
www.modernworld4.blogspot.com
Thanks so much for hosting me, Ilima! What Alex said about the world having both light and dark is so true. I try my best to represent both.
This sounds like it needs to be on my TBR list. =)
Hi there, what an amazing giveaway!
My favourite part was getting to know why Jenn writes horror, it's a good reason too!
I'm so excited for this book! :)
I didn't even realize you were talking about Jenn and Insomnia today. How cool we both posted about her book. I LOVE the quote she left on why she writes scary stories.
Go, INSOMNIA, go:D
Sounds dark and scary...I love those kinds of books, but they make me need to sleep with the lights on.
Congrats JR! Sounds creeeepy.
I've noticed that authors who write the scariest stories seem to be the most normal people around!
Congrats on your debut novel
Love the quote. I can tell this is goign to be an awesome book. Can't wait to read it!!
I agree with you and absolutely love the line, "You can't truly see the light until you've seen the darkness." I can't wait to read this. :)
"There is a certain justice and balance to horror. You can’t truly see the light until you’ve seen the darkness."
I LOVE that! :)
"A thrill in a safe place."
Well said! This book sounds great!
I actually got to read an ARC - it's one to look forward to :)
I'm so excited to read this book!
That's a great quote!!! Cool post!!
I love that quote: "You can't truly see the light until you've seen the darkness." Epic. Congrats for the release of Insomnia, Jenn!!
I love scary stories and would like to write them someday too. Just haven't had any ideas. I'll have to check out Insomnia.
Awesome thoughts by Jenn! Yes, when you meet her, you'd never guess she writes horror. I'm super excited (and terrified!) to read her book!
So looking forward to reading this book. I completely agree with Jenn. I write thrillers as well, and always try to have light peak through the dark. It's part of the fun of writing the story!
I think it's interesting how we might judge authors by what they write. Like Dan Wells. He's a nice, funny guy but he writes horror. Jenn is awesome. I love the quote about not truly seeing the light until you've seen the darkness.
Horror movies scare the crap out of me, but horror novels are exciting! I loved reading about your thoughts on the horror genre!
btw this is Molly Kawaguchi ^^; *points to above comment*
This sounds like a terrific book (and the sort that makes me want to leave the lights on all night!). I can't wait to check it out. :-)
I enjoyed reading why JR has to write scary books. The cover is quite creepy!
What a creepy cover! It sounds like a really exciting book too.
I love the quote about not truly being able to see light until you've seen the darkness. One of my favorite authors (who also writes thrillers) said something very similar, so I found that particularly interesting. Thanks for sharing!
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