Bowing Down to the Queen (of Blogging) , Elana Johnson

I began blogging in September of 2009.  Elana Johnson was one of the first people I met.  In my eyes, she is the Queen of Blogland.  She never failed to help me when I had a question about writing or blogging.  I'm sure many of you have had the same sort of interaction with her.

Perhaps you know her from WriteOnCon?  She is one of the founders and organizers of this great event.  I attended it last year and learned so much.  This year is in on August 14th and 15th.

Maybe you know her from her books?  I loved POSSESSION!  I've downloaded REGRET  and SURRENDER, Elana's newest book that came out on June 5th.  Here's the blurb for SURRENDER:

Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father’s rules: He’s the Director. It’s because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a power so dangerous, no one else is allowed to know about it. Not even her roommate, Vi. 

All of that changes when Raine falls for Gunner. Raine’s got every reason in the world to stay away from Gunn, but she just can’t. Especially when she discovers his connection to Vi’s boyfriend, Zenn. Raine has never known anyone as heavily brainwashed as Vi. Raine’s father expects her to spy on Vi and report back to him. But Raine is beginning to wonder what Vi knows that her father is so anxious to keep hidden, and what might happen if she helps Vi remember it. She’s even starting to suspect Vi’s secrets might involve Freedom’s newest prisoner, the rebel Jag Barque.... 

• Read the first two chapters for free HERE.

You can also read more about all of Elana's books on her author website.

You can learn more about blogging HERE.
You can even download her book FROM THE QUERY TO THE CALL for free HERE.

If for some crazy reason you don't know Elana already please hop over to her blog and and say, "hi."

You can get SURRENDER on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble.

Congratulations on your success, Elana!

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I'm going to take a little blog break, as I need to spend some quality time in revisions.  I'll be checking in on everyone, you know I can't stay away for very long.  :)

Going Barefoot ...and a Winner

This is my neighbor, Rick.  I can't wait to tell you about what he's doing this summer.

He is going to hike the Appalachian Trail by himself...barefoot!  He is marking his 50th birthday by taking this monumental trip.

He has a great website, where you can follow his journey.  He has a (solar powered charger) ipad and iphone with him, so he can blog and tweet along the way.  His website even has a little map that shows where he is.  He also reviews some of the equipment he is carrying in his 35 pound pack.

I don't know about you, but I'm not brave enough to attempt such a journey on my own.  I'm super excited to read about Rick's adventure.  It kind of reminds me of one of my favorite adventure books...Hatchet.

Please check out Rick's site and follow his adventure with me..........You can even find him on Twitter!


And the winner of the signed copy of CLOSED HEARTS is

Theresa Milstein

(chosen by random.org)