Happy Launch Day: Uncontrollable

Yay! Uncontrollable is out today!

Uncontrollable is the second book in "The Nature of Grace" series by S.R. Johannes. Untraceable, the first book in the series, has won and been nominated for several awards including Winner of the 2012 IndieReader Discovery Award (YA), 2012 Georgia Author of the Year (YA Nominee), and a finalist in The Kindle Book Review's "Best Indie Book of 2012 (YA)".

Kirkus reviewed Untraceable as "A thrilling story is a dramatic entanglement of mystery, deception and teen romance.  The action flows like a brisk mountain stream interspersed with rapids, holding suspense to last page."

If you like a page turner, you will love this series!

Head over to Mundie Moms for a Big Uncontrollable Launch Party with tons of prizes and then over to SR Johannes blog for even more.

To continue on with the blog tour, check out the line up! Where SR talks about anything from marketing to writing to her books to personal interviews and giveaways.

Book Summary

As 16-year-old Grace recovers from tragedy, her science class is chosen by Agent Sweeney at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to help with research on the new "Red Wolf Reintroduction Program". 

While she’s excited about helping with the conservation of the endangered wolves, Grace knows this means being outdoors in the worst winter recorded, in a place she no longer feels comfortable. It also means working closely with Wyn (her ex) and his annoying girlfriend (Skyler), a girl whose idea of getting close to nature is picking silk plants and growing fake plants. 

After a couple of wolves show up dead, Grace almost quits. However, when a fellow project team member goes missing, Grace continues the assignment under a renewed suspicion that someone might be sabotaging the conservation program. She quietly begins to hunt for clues. 

Little does she know, she is being hunted too. 

On Sale Now! 

Uncontrollable is on sale in paperback and ebook at all major booksellers including Amazon, iBooks/Apple (coming soon),  Smashwords, and B&N. If you haven't read Untraceable, you can get it in paperback and ebook at all major booksellers including Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, and B&N.

Author Bio

S.R. Johannes is the author of award-winning and Amazon bestselling Untraceable (a teen wilderness thriller) and new tween paranormal, On The Bright Side. She has also published short novelettes as well as a teen romance anthology with 16 other authors titled, In His Eyes.  Uncontrollable, the sequel to Untraceable, is scheduled for September 2012.

S.R. Johannes is a winner of the 2012 IndieReader Discovery Awards (Young Adult) and was also recently nominated for 2012 Georgia Author of the Year (Young Adult). Untraceable was also recently named a Finalist in The Kindle Book Review's Indie Book of the Year (YA)

After earning an MBA and working in corporate America, S.R. Johannes traded in her expensive suits, high heels, and corporate lingo for a family, flip-flops, and her love of writing.  She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her dog, British-accented husband, and the huge imaginations of their little prince and princess, which she hopes- someday- will change the world. 


Connect!

Follow S.R. online on her website, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest

You can also sign up for her newsletter to keep up on author or book news.

Cover Reveal: Uncontrollable by SR Johannes

UNCONTROLLABLE, Book 2 in The Nature of Grace series by S.R. Johannes, is set for release on Sept 24th. I'm happy to be part of the cover reveal. So without further ado, here is the fab cover of UNCONTROLLABLE.

Isn't it gorgeous? I think it's eye-catching and ties in wonderfully with the cover of UNTRACEABLE, book one in the series. 


Here's a little more about this book:


As Grace recovers from tragedy, her science class is chosen by Agent Sweeney at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to help with research on the new "Red Wolf Reintroduction Program". 

While she’s excited about helping with the conservation of the endangered wolves, Grace knows this means being outdoors in the worst winter recorded, in a place she no longer feels comfortable. It also means working closely with Wyn (her ex) and his annoying girlfriend (Skyler), a girl whose idea of getting close to nature is picking silk plants and growing fake plants. 

After a couple of wolves show up dead, Grace almost quits. However, when a fellow project team member goes missing, Grace continues the assignment under a renewed suspicion that someone might be sabotaging the conservation program. She quietly begins to hunt for clues. 

Little does she know, she is being hunted too. 

And possibly, by more than one person.


Check out S.R. Johannes's blog here to keep up with her writing.

Getting to Know Shelli Johannes

Tomorrow is the release date of Shelli Johannes's debut novel UNTRACEABLE. I'm very excited for Shelli. She's a fabulous author and a great person to know. So let's get to know her and her book better!

Welcome, Shelli! And congratulations on your book launch. Tell us a bit about yourself.

I have am MBA in marketing and worked in corporate America for over 15 years doing marketing, communication, and training. I walked off the job in 2006 and have been doing freelance marketing ever since. I own my own marketing company and have worked with Spanx and Goody Hair. I have a hubby from England, 2 kids and a Goldendoodle.

How long have you been writing?

I started right after I had my daughter in 2004. I always say she sat on something. I think since I had 4 months off maternity leave – I started writing while she was napping and couldn’t stop. I hadn’t written much before that. But when I was little I used to write all the time.

Let's hear about UNTRACEABLE. What’s the story about?

It is a wilderness thriller (contemporary) with a missing forest ranger father, a mystery, a kick butt heroine, and 2 really hot boys.

Perfect combination! How did the idea of the story come to you?

I loved and read James Patterson when I was a teen. Since then I have always wanted to do a James Patterson for teens. A contemporary thriller in the midst of paranormal and dystopic books. It started out as a story about terrorism in our homeland (shakes head and blushes from total embarrassment). I read a story about a terrorism cell hiding in the wilderness. It has obviously evolved since then b/c it is no longer about terrorism – AT ALL! Thank goodness.

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

Well, first it is staying focused. I’m a stay at home mom but I do freelance on the side plus have 2 kids so getting a block of time.

But from a writing perspective – I’m good at plotting but voice comes hard for me. It takes me a while to flush out the voice and heart of a story.

Any tips you’ve learned about writing you’d like to share?

Learn the craft. Keep writing. Be persistent. And write the story in your heart. I’ve tried to follow the market before and it was a disaster.

So true; the market is constantly changing. Let’s get to know you on a deeper level. What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

Sweet tea or coffee – see a pattern?

Source:
Super Librarian
NJlibraries.org

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

To write a bestseller in a day!

That sounds like an awesome super power to me! Quick writing test -- Use the following words in a sentence: rubber band, trapeze, and clergy.

The clergy pulled the man off of his trapeze and pushed the man to his knees. One man stepped forward and popped him in the head with a rubber band. “Tell us where the bearded lady is and we will let you live.”

Man, I am sick.

That was a great image though, lol. Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs.

Oh gosh. Awwwwkwaaaard. This could take a while so I’ll shorten it (though my acknowledgments are 2 pages in my book. I am so grateful to all the bloggers, and indie authors, and my writing buddies for supporting me over the years. I’m so thankful to my hubby for believing in me when I was down and out – he never gave up on me.


But especially to Kimberly Derting http://kimberlyderting.com/
for loving this book enough to offer a blurb because she knew I would never ask. But most of all – she still insisted I use it even after I decided to indie publish. Kim stood by me when others didn’t and believed in my writing and Grace.

And finally, where can people find you and your book online?

It is on Amazon, B&N and Smashwords for other ebook formats. You can get it in ebook or paperback.

Shelli, thanks so much for letting us get to know you and your book. I wish you a wonderful book launch and lots of success with all your writing endeavors!

Blog Tour: Shelli Johannes

Fantabulistic author Shelli Johannes is having a blog tour to celebrate the release of her debut novel UNTRACEABLE. And yes, I'm a stop on the tour! Check out Shelli's awesome book cover, and be sure to stop by on the 28th to check out my interview with her.

Isn't it gorgeous?

Here's the blog tour line up:

Nov 14th - Lori Lee on (What makes a good book signing)
Nov 15th - Kelly Polark (The Beats of Writing - using music)
Nov 16th - Karly Kirkpatrick (Guest post on Author Journey)
Nov 17th - *Once Upon a Twilight (Book Review)
Nov 18th - DL Hammons (Talking about marketing over Cyber-Coffee), Unicorn Bell (Book Review)
Nov 21st - Ashley Christiano (An Interview with Characters)
Nov 22nd - Shannon O'Donnell (An Author's Journey from A to Z and back again)
Nov 23rd - Refracted Light Reviews/Dani (Changing the stigma of self publishing)
Nov 27th - Readinista (Dissecting Untraceable)
Nov 28th - SupaGurl/Heather (book review) and Dorothy Dreyer (Getting to know You & Your book)
Nov 29th - LAUNCH DAY! Total Bookaholic/Jessica (Character Interview with Grace)
Nov 30th - Super Natural Shark/Jenny (Everything But the Kitchen Sink) and Susan Dennard (How did you get here?), Kai Strand (Three Times a Charm interview)
Dec 1st - Authors Now/Jamie Mason and PaperCuts/Samantha (eBooks vs Books)
Dec 2nd - Meredeth (Building Your Platform) and Christine (Redefining yourself and taking charge of your career)
Dec 5th - Nazarea (The Author Process) and PJ Hoover (Top 10 ebook Release Tips)
Dec 6th - Margay (How to Self Pub the Write Way) and Ali Cross (How to be a Wilderness Survival Ninja) and Cindy/Books Complete Me (Interview/Book Review)
Dec 7th - Literary Rambles (Mystery Post) and Laura (What makes a good thriller?)
Dec 8th - Elana (All about epublishing) and Elle (book review)
Dec 9th - Tynga's Reviews/Jennifer (A Christmas with Grace)
Dec 12th - Jemi (The Writing Process and Just For Fun) and Katherine Hawkins (Girl Crush/Inspirational Women)
Dec 13th - Elizabeth (Tips to writing thrillers)
Dec 14th - SupaGurl Books (The Playlist for Untraceable) and Unicorn Bell (Marketing in publishing)
Dec 15th - Kathy Inspired (Get to know the author on a more personal level)
Dec 16th - Good Choice Reading/Maria (Interview/book review)
Dec 19th - The Reading Angel Angela (Interview)
Dec 20th - Brent/Naughty Book Kitties (Publicity tips for Untraceable)
Dec 21st - Michelle/Hooked To Books (Writing to Music/Playlist)
Dec 22nd - Mary/The Book Swarm (Book Journey)

Pay it Forward - Awards

Last week I received two awesome awards from a brilliant writer/marketing consultant/blogger extraordinaire. If you don't know Shelli Johannes, you really should check out her blog and get to know her. Not only is she a well-connected, agented author who writes MG and YA, but she always has great blog posts, author interviews, agent interviews, and book give-aways. Seriously, check her out.

The two awards Shelli passed on to me were:

The Circle of Friends Award

and

The From Me to You Award

Thank you so much, Shelli!

As is tradition, I'm passing these awards on to five wonderful people who are kind enough to constantly visit and comment on my blog. The general rules are that the recipients pass the awards on to five more bloggers, link back to the giver of the award, and let the awardees know you gave them the award.

So without further ado, here are my Pay it Forward recipients:

Gina at Insatiable Readers
Tahereh at My Literary Wonder/Grab A Pen
Medeia Sharif
Shelli Howells at A*Musings
and
Lacey Boldyrev

A big thanks to them! And now, since I've reached 100 followers, I'd like to give this award to all of you who visit my blog. I really appreciate all of you.