Wednesday, May 23, 2012

5 Easy Questions with Elana Johnson!

Every Wednesday, I ask a writer the same five easy questions. In an effort to support and promote fellow wordsmiths, I feature authors who write a variety of genres, from sweet inspirational to mainstream thrillers. The writers themselves may be aspiring, published, or best-selling--all have made an impact on my life.

Thank you for joining me in welcoming…Elana Johnson!!

The first thing I thought when I started writing this introduction was doesn’t everyone know Elana Johnson? She’s such a generous, smart, and savvy writer. Along with her excellent blog, you may know Elana from her work with WriteOnCon, an online writer’s conference. She tirelessly shares her publishing knowledge in addition to writing dystopian YA novels. Last year, Elana’s debut novel, Possession, was released, and the sequel to it, Surrender, comes out on June 5!

Let’s get to it!

1. Beverage of choice?

Grape soda. I love the gas station Squirt mixed with the grape flavor blast.

2. Any pets?

Nope. I am terrified of all animals with more legs than I have, all snakes and fish, and most ducks and geese.

3. Dream vacation?

I love going to San Diego. I also want to travel to England and Australia.

4. What are you listening to right now?

Pandora, Maroon 5 station. Weezer is on right now.

5. What's for dinner?

We’re going out tonight! I don’t know where, but I don’t have to plan, cook, or clean, so I don’t care.

*** 

Ooo, grape soda. I used to live on grape Slurpees from 7-11, and I must say, bacon and Oreos are two of my fave foods also. Our family could survive quite well on bacon alone. I love your vacation choice of San Diego. What a fun place! I haven’t been there in years, and now I want to go. :)

I’m laughing at your terror of animals. I’m the opposite. I love animals, fish, and birds. Insects, however, terrify me! No thank you on any kind of creepy-crawly or slithery pet.

Don’t you love going out to eat? I’m with you. No planning, cooking, or cleaning rank high on my list. Thanks so much for being my guest, Elana!

 ***

SURRENDER: Forbidden love, intoxicating power, and the terror of control…


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….

***
Intrigued? Check out the trailer for Surrender!




About Elana:

In Elana Johnson's world, Oreos and bacon would be the only food groups. Everyone would drive 10 over the speed limit, and winter would be eliminated as a season. As it is, she lives with her husband and two kids along the Wasatch Front in Utah, gets cited when she drives too fast and eats Oreos only on special occasions.

She maintains a personal writing blog and contributes to a debut YA science fiction/dystopian blog, both of which can be found through her website at elanajohnson.com. For more information about Elana’s books, head to her blog, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.


What are you reading right now?

Have a fantastic day!

19 comments:

  1. Hey Elana and Jill...what a cool interview. I'm with you on bacon and no winter, Elana.
    LOve the trailer. Right now I'm reading The Spontaneous Healing of Belief by Gregg Braden (non-fiction)

    ReplyDelete
  2. No winter would rock, but then I would miss the snow.

    Looking forward to Surrender. I'm not saying what I'm reading reading. It's supposed to be thrilling. Well, compared to the book, so is cleaning my kitchen floor. :P

    ReplyDelete
  3. Em: The book you're reading sounds really, really good! I might have to check that one out!

    Stina: I get tired of winter, but I love sledding and wrapping up in cozy sweaters and blankets. I do enjoy the seasons! And the book you're reading sounds pretty bad. I hate cleaning!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Elana is such a tour de force! But grape soda, I just can't get behind that. We did, however, honeymoon in San Diego so I'm with you on that one. :D

    ~ Wendy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No grape soda? My kids don't like it either. I love the stuff! San Diego would be a fun place for a honeymoon!

      Delete
  5. I love Elana! I did not know she didn't like animals! :)
    I hadn't seen the trailer! Cool! Looking forward to reading this book! Loved the first one. Cool seeing the characters in the trailer. Who did the illustrations of her characters?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know! I just caught the trailer yesterday--isn't it fabulous?

      Delete
  6. I adore eating out for the same reasons as Elana! lol I'm still wanting to read her first one, just got to get online and order it. lol
    Congrats on your upcoming release, Elana! Thanks for the interview, ladies. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I get tired of planning, shopping, cooking, and cleaning--why do meals take so much work? :)

      Delete
  7. Love eating out! Friday night is date nite with my DH, and it's my favorite meal of the week!

    Nice to get to know you a bit here, Elana!

    ReplyDelete
  8. So fun to see Elana here! Fun interview and very cool trailer1

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love San Diego, and luckily, it's only a 6-hour drive away! I keep saying I need to take a "research trip" since my next novel is set there... :P

    Right now I'm reading "Words" by Ginny Yttrup. Powerful.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for the Intro, Jill!! It's always fun to learn these tidbits! I know Elana from WriteOnCon and saw the Rocker Girl in her immediately, even from afar!! (WriteOnCon=Tres Awesome!!) So glad the blue hair is on the trailer as I was missing it in the photo above. Loved that she drinks grape soda; it so goes with the blue hair. (As would the purple lips and tongue.) Thanks for introducing me to her books, loved the trailer and am now intrigued. Thanks for the hookups, too. Will track her blog down! (Hi Elana!! You really do rock!)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I totally agree with eating out. I don't care where as long as I don't have to do any of it.

    Saw the book trailer yesterday. I can't believe it comes out so soon.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ms. Elana -- are there any animals with less than four legs? I am now officially worried and confused. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Grape soda, huh? That's exciting stuff. When I was a child, I used to add a tiny amount of baking soda to grape juice, which gave me instant grape soda! It didn't really work w/ any of the other juice options (salty apple juice, ooh, gross). I'm currently reading a special edition Scientific American on the male vs female mind.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Erica: I love eating out too! So smart to have date night with the hubs--Friday is the perfect time! :)

    Katie: Thanks!!

    Lindsay: Only 6 hours! Get in the car and head up. :) I haven't heard of the book you're reading--thanks for sharing it!

    Patti M: Ha, ha! I match my hair to my soda too--brown for Coke! :)

    Patti: Can you get over how quickly this year's flown? Make it stop!!

    Caroline: Tee-hee! Good point! Although I've known a few 3-legged cats and dogs... :)

    Jill: I didn't know you could make your own soda! Cool!!

    Thanks so much for stopping by!

    ReplyDelete
  15. You're right, Jill - I think everyone knows Elana! Cool interview! And the mention of San Diego brought back fond memories of the Spreckels organ concert @ Balboa Park...Have a wonderful weekend ladies!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Elana is a riot! I can't wait to read Surrender. :)

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from you!