Monday, June 3, 2013

Insomnia!

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.!

Here are the details of her new release, INSOMNIA:

 Her eyes saved his life. Her dreams released his darkness.

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:

Sheena-kay Graham said...

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.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I like the way she describes it as well. This world is both light and darkness and we need to recognize both.
Congratulations, JR!

jaybird said...

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!

Alison Doherty said...

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.

Gina Gao said...

I just never liked horror stories before. The premises for the stories never attracted me.

www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

J.R. Johansson said...

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.

Crystal Collier said...

This sounds like it needs to be on my TBR list. =)

Carly Jayne said...

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! :)

Robin said...

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

Johanna Garth said...

Sounds dark and scary...I love those kinds of books, but they make me need to sleep with the lights on.

Nicole said...

Congrats JR! Sounds creeeepy.

Jay Noel said...

I've noticed that authors who write the scariest stories seem to be the most normal people around!

Congrats on your debut novel

Ellie said...

Love the quote. I can tell this is goign to be an awesome book. Can't wait to read it!!

Jenilyn Collings said...

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. :)

Carrie Butler said...

"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! :)

Emily R. King said...

"A thrill in a safe place."

Well said! This book sounds great!

Ru said...

I actually got to read an ARC - it's one to look forward to :)

Donna K. Weaver said...

I'm so excited to read this book!

Fly to the Sky said...

That's a great quote!!! Cool post!!

CG @ Paper Fury said...

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!!

Suzi said...

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.

Kathryn Purdie said...

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!

Anonymous said...

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!

Taffy said...

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.

Anonymous said...

Horror movies scare the crap out of me, but horror novels are exciting! I loved reading about your thoughts on the horror genre!

Anonymous said...

btw this is Molly Kawaguchi ^^; *points to above comment*

Unknown said...

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. :-)

Hong said...

I enjoyed reading why JR has to write scary books. The cover is quite creepy!

Kate Larkindale said...

What a creepy cover! It sounds like a really exciting book too.

Gabe (Ava Jae) said...

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!