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.  :)

Kudos Elana....Possession is Awesome!

If you liked the Uglies Series, your going to LOVE Possession!  You might be wondering how I can say this, considering Elana Johnson's book Possession won't be released until June 7th... Well, I was one of the lucky people who won an ARC (Advanced Reviewer Copy) from Simon and Schuster.  I was beside myself with excitement when it arrived in the mail.  As I finished reading it another surprise arrived in the mail...6 bookmarks!  I'll be giving away four of them to four commenters on this post. (Sorry, I had to keep one and give one to my YA.)  I'll announce the winners on Sunday. 

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POSSESSION by Elana Johnson

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

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My Review...

Possession is a young adult dystopian novel.  Elana does an awesome job creating this new world!  I fell in love with the characters and desperately more of them when the book ends.  We'll have to pay attention to Elana's blog to see if and when we'll get a sneak peak at future books. 

The three main characters are Vi, Zenn and Jag.  Zenn is Vi's boyfriend and she's willing to break the rules to see him. 

Vi has a lot of baggage which causes her to not trust many people.  She's been hurt on more than one occasion. 

When Vi and Jag meet up there is some chemistry followed by a LOT of action.  Vi and Jag have special skills that draw them together in a battle against the thinkers who seem to decide what is best for everyone.  There are lots of twists and turns and surprises in this book. 

Elana has  a knack for world building and I can't wait for everyone to read Possession.  I'm giving it five stars on Goodreads!  I hope you'll put it on your TBR  (to be read) List.  My only complaint about the book was... it ended!  I could have read another 400 pages.

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For more information about Possession follow the links:
Add Possession to your Goodreads list.
Visit the official Possession website for ordering & ARC information.
Click here for giveaways and contests.

I know you have to be excited about one of us...Elana...publishing such an awesome book.  The Uglies and the Handmaid's Tale are the only dystopian novels I had read up until Possession.  I really like them. 

What about you?  What dytopian novels have you read? 

The ABC's of A Good Friend... "W"

(A good friend is like being wrapped in the warm blanket, snuggled up in your favorite chair.)

Today is day 23 of Arlee Bird's A-Z Challenge! Since I write for younger children and we're doing the ABC's, I thought I'd do The ABC's of A Good Friend (and throw in a few random pictures, because I have a bit of a camera habit).

-W-

Warmth...we all crave it.  We need to feel wanted inside.  We need to feel loved.  We want our hearts to feel full.  When our friends have success many of us have a warm feeling in our hearts.  No matter what the success.  It could be an upcoming book to be released.  (waves Elana)  It could be they signed with an agent. (waves Buffy)  It could be they are going to have a much wanted baby.  (waves Candace)  But no matter what the news, we feel waves of warmth fill our hearts because we know they are happy.  It's also nice to know is that one day they will have that same warm feeling when we have an exciting piece of news to share with them. 

 

Warmth...it's not a state of body temperature...it's a state of the heart.
 
Have any of your friends given you a reason to be full of warmth lately?  BTW, do any of you have any other "w" words for me?