Elana Johnson's new YA/NA EXCITING Fantasy Series is here!

About ELEMENTAL RUSH: Eighteen-year-old Adam Gillman has trained for twelve years to earn a coveted spot on the Supreme Elemental’s elite sentry squad. His brother, Felix, is the commander, but Adam is still thrilled when his official assignment to serve Alexander Pederson comes.

He moves into nicer quarters and can stop getting up at four a.m. to complete his mandated work out time. He still rises early though, because he needs the solitude of early morning to practice his airmaking Element—something that Adam has kept secret from everyone, even Felix, because he can’t be both an Airmaker and a sentry.

When Alex assigns him to kill a group of rogue Elementals, he balks at completing his mission for the first time. See, his only friend is Isaiah Hawking, and he’s the Earthmover on the accused Council. When faced with the prospect of killing him, Adam finds he can’t do it.

He’s well trained in assassination, but he thought he’d be murdering bad guys—not innocents.

When Alex buries the Elemental Academy—and kills over one thousand Elementals—in a fit of rage, Adam’s loyalty cracks. When he discovers that Alex is really a woman, and his brother’s lover, he defects. He hops from city to city, from Elemental school to Elemental school, always escaping only minutes before Felix can embed a knife in his heart or a tsunami can make a classroom his watery grave.

He tries to fight back, but he’s just one Airmaster with exceptional tracking skills. He does his best to warn those in danger, but as the last Elemental school goes up in flames, he knows he needs to get some real firepower on his side.

ELEMENTAL RUSH is a prequel novella to the full-length futuristic fantasy novel, ELEMENTAL HUNGER.

On Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22063929-elemental-rush

Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KFM3JJM
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/elemental-rush-elana-johnson/1119569676?ean=2940150184190
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/elemental-rush/id962939892?mt=11
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/elemental-rush-an-elemental-novella-volume-1
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=3SZtBgAAQBAJ

About ELEMENTAL HUNGER: The second installment in the Elemental series, a new futuristic fantasy for young adults and new adults from acclaimed author Elana Johnson, ELEMENTAL HUNGER is a full-length novel that continues the story that began in ELEMENTAL RUSH, an Elemental novella.

Sixteen-year-old Gabriella Kilpatrick can shoot fire from her hands, which would be great if she didn’t get blamed for a blazing inferno that kills 17 schoolmates. When Gabby is commanded to Manifest her Element, everyone knows what she is: a genetic abnormality. Not to mention guilty.

So she does two logical things to survive.
1. She runs.
2. She hacks off her hair to assume a new role—that of “Gabe”, because in her world, only boys are Firemakers.

Not only does she have to act like a guy, she has to pretend to know everything a Firemaker should know. When Gabby meets Airmaster Adam Gillman, he believes her act and pledges to serve on “Gabe’s” Council. But Adam has the mark of a sentry and spent years obeying Alex, the Supreme Elemental. And Alex wants Gabby-the-genetic-freak dead and gone before she can gather the magical protection of a full Council.

With Adam’s lies that sound like truths and rumors that Alex isn’t really a Firemaker—or a man—Gabby sets out to charter a Council of her own. In order to uncover the truth, Gabby will have to learn who she can trust, how to control her own power, and most of all, how to lead a Council of Elementals, most of whom have more control over their power than she does. If she can’t, she’ll find herself just like those 17 schoolmates: burned and six feet under.

On Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22063919-elemental-hunger

Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KWF9PLI
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/elemental-hunger-elana-johnson/1119673756?ean=2940149745685
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/elemental-hunger/id962939784?mt=11
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/elemental-hunger-an-elemental-novel-volume-2
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=HjBtBgAAQBAJ

About ELEMENTAL RELEASE: Two months after returning to the capital city of Tarpulin with a Council of his own, Airmaster Adam Gillman is ready to start repairing the relationships in his life. Up first: his Councilman and the girl he’d like to be more than friends with, Gabriella Kilpatrick.

But first, he has to figure out how to be the Airmaster his Firemaker needs. In order to do that, Adam attends Elemental training and discovers that to truly command the air, he must first be in control of his emotions. And in order to master those, he has to grieve for the loss of Hanai, make amends with his brother, and earn the trust of Gabby.

Amidst all that, Adam must also learn how to grapple with the jet stream, because a dangerous Airmaster is loose in Tarpulin. And Adam will need to find his emotional center in order to work with the atmosphere and defeat the threat. 

On Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22063941-elemental-release

Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L4HTBZS
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/elemental-release-elana-johnson/1121137547?ean=2940150154391
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/elemental-release/id962940235?mt=11
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/elemental-release-an-elemental-novella-volume-3
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=3zNtBgAAQBAJ


About Elana Johnson: Elana Johnson’s work, including Possession, Surrender, Abandon, and Regret, published by Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster), is available now everywhere books are sold. Her popular ebook, From the Query to the Call, is also available for download, as well as a Possession short story, Resist.

Her self-published novels include two YA contemporary novels-in-verse, Elevated and Something About Love, as well as a YA/NA futuristic fantasy series, which includes Elemental Rush, Elemental Hunger, and Elemental Release.

School teacher by day, Query Ninja by night, you can find her online at her personal blog or Twitter. She also co-founded the Query Tracker blog and WriteOnCon, and contributes to the League of Extraordinary Writers.


Social Media Links:
Website/blog: http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElanaJ
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorelanajohnson
Tumblr: http://elanajohnson.tumblr.com/
Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/elanajohnson
League of Extraordinary Writers: http://leaguewriters.blogspot.com/
WriteOnCon: http://writeoncon.com/
Elana on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4044383.Elana_Johnson

Rafflecopter Code: Win $10 for helping to spread the word about the new ELEMENTAL series covers! (Copy and paste this code into the HTML side of your website or blog. Be sure to enter too!)

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The Time of the Fireflies is zipping your way - and First Giveaway!!

This year has been filled with so much excitement and huge giveaways every single month for my Young Adult Trilogy debut, FORBIDDEN (Harpercollins, Nov) that I haven't hardly mentioned my newest Middle-Grade book with Scholastic launching in a few days!!

The illustrator of my last 3 books, Erin McGuire, outdid herself with the stunning cover art!

Saturday, August 2nd at 10:30 am at Bookworks bookstore in Albuquerque, New Mexico is my launch party - including the amazing MG writer, Nikki Loftin driving in from Austin, Texas to party with me and celebrate her newest MG, NIGHTINGALE'S NEST!

Brownies (from the book), creepy dolls, glow-in-the-dark firefly necklaces and Very Cool Presentations. And, of course, book signing! Please come!! If you can't make it or live far, far away you can order autographed copies by calling Bookworks: 505- 344-8139

To celebrate the release of THE TIME OF THE FIREFLIES I've got a wonderful giveaway for you! 

TWO Winners! One will receive an ARC and one will receive a Finished Copy and both will get a gorgeous set of Book Club Cards, a Book Club Guide to easily create your own party, other swag and goodies. Awesome, eh? 

Enter here and spread the word for more points!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enjoy, and catch a firefly this summer for me! 

~Kimberley

 

Photography by Vincent Brady (www.vincentbrady.com)

 

Fantasy Sub-Genres by Indie Bookstore Owner

November 5, 2012 NOVEMBER FEATURE ARTICLE - FANTASY  SUB-GENRES  by Carolee Dean This month's post is a continuation of my discussion with bookseller Elizabeth Anker. She's the owner of Alamosa books here in Albuquerque, NM. To read last month's post go to the OCTOBER FEATURE ARTICLE.      I asked Elizabeth about her definition of dystopian fantasy and she said she believes dystopian looks at the future as an examination of political structures. In utopia life is perfect. Dystopia turns everything on its head. Usually a totalitarian and authoritarian government is involved and the story is set in a future that is often post apocalyptic. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is the most popular example of dystopian fiction. Elizabeth said that as the genre continues to grow in popularity and people write more of it, there is far less explanation of why the future described in the book is happening and how the events affects our world at large. These weaker stories tend to focus on a few teens struggling to survive and often rely on super powers to explain things. In discussing other sub genres of fantasy, Elizabeth pointed out that just about any magical creature you can think of has its own series: vampires, werewolves, and even angels.  Scott Westerfeld, author of the Leviathan series, explores zombies, vampires, and classic fantasy creatures by explaining their biology and origin in scientific terms. He tends to fall in her science fiction shelves. For an interesting discussion of the difference between fantasy and science fiction, see our October 1 feature article. Seth Grahame-Smith, author of Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, combines zombies and vampires with  historical elements and extensive research.   In regard to urban fantasy, Elizabeth says it's just what it sounds like. These stories take classic elements of myth and place them in urban centers like New York and London. The author then weaves in the history of those places with the current story. There is a lot of romance and often humor and whimsy. Examples are Cassandra Clare and her Mortal Instruments Series, Kate Griffin's Matthew Swift Series and Cynthia Leitich Smith's Tantalize Series. A lot of these writers are aiming for a clever feel, working in modern trends and using word play. In Epic Fantasy like Tolkien authors create a world and send a hero a quest. Good and evil are usually clearly defined. George R. R. Martin, A Game of Thrones, is an example. These stories are not derived from classic myth but are largely based on Tolkien's work which is in turn based on Scandinavian and British isles myths. Tolkien blended those influences with his Catholic beliefs of good and evil and the idea that there is an ultimate morality we should all be supporting. I asked Elizabeth why she thought so many of the great fantasy writers are British. She believes it's because Brits have deeper history than we do and deeper roots to mythology. Americans are good at taking ideas and developing them. Perhaps that is why we have so many good science fiction writers. For a super handout exploring fantasy sub-genres visit Kimberley's website. She created the handout for our panel presentation at the International Reading Association last April. Join Our Mailing List! Meet the Spellbinders Carolee Dean has made numerous appearances as a guest poet/author at schools, libraries, poetry events, and teacher/library conferences. She holds a bachelor's degree in music therapy and a master's degree in communicative disorders, and she has spent over a decade working in the public schools as a speech-language pathologist. Her first novel, Comfort,was nominated as a Best Book for Young Adults, was named the Best YA Novel of 2002 by the Texas Institute of Letters, and was on the TAYSHAS (Texas Library Association) reading list. Take Me There is a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Her upcoming paranormal verse novel, Forget Me Not, will be published by Simon Pulse in October of 2012.   She conducts teacher trainings on inspiring reluctant writers including "The Secret Language of Stories" and "Random Act of Haiku."             Caroline Starr Rose spent her childhood in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and New Mexico, camping at the Red Sea in one and eating red chile in the other. She's taught English and social studies to upper elementary and middle-school students in New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, and Louisiana. Back in New Mexico, Caroline now writes middle-grade novels and picture books full time.    To find teacher's guides, writing activities, and information about author visits, go to my website.    Kimberley Griffiths Little is the recipient of the Southwest Book Award, The Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel of 2010, and the author of the highly acclaimed, The Healing Spell and Circle of Secrets, published by Scholastic Press. Look for her books at the Scholastic Book Fairs, as well as two more forthcoming novels in 2012 and 2013.    She lives on a dirt road in a small town by the Rio Grande with her husband, a robotics engineer and their three sons. Kimberley is a favorite speaker at schools around the country, presenting "The Creative Diary", a highly successful writing workshop and has been a speaker at many conferences. Please visit her website to download free Teacher's Guides and Book Club Guides.                           Upcoming Author Events November, 2012 YALSA Literature Symposium  "Author Research Panel" Carolee Dean and four other authors St. Louis, Missouri

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SPELLBINDERS for the 2012-2013 School Year is back today!!!

October 1, 2012 OCTOBER FEATURE - FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION AND EVERYTHING  IN BETWEEN - INTERVIEW WITH BOOKSELLER ELIZABETH ANKER by Carolee Dean Welcome back to Spellbinders with a warm greeting to those of you who signed up to join us at IRA in Chicago. I was recently preparing to give a writing workshop entitled, "What's Hot in Teen Fiction." As I sat down to write my definitions for topics such as Steampunk and Dystopian, I realized I wasn't altogether sure about how to describe these fantasy sub-genres myself. That's when I decided to interview Elizabeth Anker, the owner of Alamosa Books, our local independent children's books store. I figured teachers and librarians would also be interested in exploring these different categories and hearing what a book seller thinks of their appeal to young readers. A large part of being able to recommend a book to a young person is knowing what these different genres contain. Below are Elizabeth's thoughts on the subject.       She says Steampunk started with good writers, mainly in Britain, writing on the edge of science fiction. Then editors saw the trend and began looking for other books with similar themes. These stories tend to be more about a similar look and an idea rather than a similar story line. The look is basically Victorian with Victorian type costumes, gadgets, inventions, and creative weaponry. Goggles of some kind are almost always involved. Plots involve adventurers out to seek their fortunes or defeat bad guys in creative and technological ways. Although drawing on elements of Victorian England, these stories are not so much set in the past as they are set in parallel worlds with Victorianesque influences. Elizabeth says Sherlock Holmes stories, which actually take place in Victorian times, are a strong influence. Holmes's nemesis Moriarty is the perfect model for the archetypical steampunk bad guy is often based upon reliance on high tech (for the times) weaponry used by a villain who is trying to take over the world. Moriarty is not influenced by morality at all and many steam punk villains are equally as capitalistic. Steam is often the primary energy source of the times, but something magical is usually involved as well. There is a lot of true science and pseudo science woven through these stories. In the better cases it's real science with pseudo science on the edge, but based in a true science like physics. In books trying for the trend but not so concerned with research it's purely magical in many cases. Elizabeth says Philip Pullman is the godfather of combining fantasy and science. His Golden Compass series and Phillip Reeve's Hungry Cities Chronicles have inspired many other writers.  Paolo Bacigalupi has expanded on the steampunk trend by creating a world in the future where oil has dried up, forcing people to go back to steam and other power sources. His first novel, Shipbreaker, won the Printz Award and was also a National Book Award finalist. It did not take place in a parallel world, but rather in a world slightly in the future describing a world without oil. He heavily researched what a world without oil would be like and looks at not only the environmental, but also the social ramifications. Cherie Priest, author of Boneshaker and Hellbent, also writes about our current world in the future. She focuses more on the adventure than the science, but Elizabeth describes her books as a fun read. She gives you things to think about with a lot of android type creatures. Rod Rees wrote the Demi-Monde Series where the army has created a virtual training world with all of history's vilest dictators and tyrants as villains. Things go haywire when the virtual world starts to develop on its own. The story starts out in the real world but the virtual world is very much based on steampunk. Elizabeth says it's hard to figure out where to place steampunk. If a bookstore does not divide up fantasy and science fiction it would be easier but Elizabeth believes they are two different genres with two distinct audiences. Science fiction appeals more to male audience with roots in reality with guns, action, adventure, and not a lot of romance. Examples are the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz. Fantasy audiences tend to have more female readers. The males who read fantasy tend to be "gamer" type kids. Girls don't care so much about what makes the ship go as long as there is a hot guy (preferably immortal) on board. Fantasy favors swords and swashbuckling over guns. History is often a factor. Stories are not necessarily set in history but contain historical elements. Elizabeth says that for her, the main dividing line is that fantasy tends to look at culture, the roles of women, and all kinds of social institutions while science fiction is more concerned with science and the rational explanation of what is going on independent of human interference or influence. Of course many books contain elements of both fantasy and science fiction. Elizabeth tries to determine if a book leans more toward one or the other. On November 4 our feature article will explore additional fantasy sub-genres. In the meantime, Spellbinder's own Kimberley Griffiths Little gave a wonderful presentation exploring fantasy sub-genres at the International Reading Association last April. Check out her handout at her website. Join Our Mailing List! Meet the Spellbinders Carolee Dean has made numerous appearances as a guest poet/author at schools, libraries, poetry events, and teacher/library conferences. She holds a bachelor's degree in music therapy and a master's degree in communicative disorders, and she has spent over a decade working in the public schools as a speech-language pathologist. Her first novel, Comfort,was nominated as a Best Book for Young Adults, was named the Best YA Novel of 2002 by the Texas Institute of Letters, and was on the TAYSHAS (Texas Library Association) reading list. Take Me There is a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Her upcoming paranormal verse novel, Forget Me Not, will be published by Simon Pulse in October of 2012.   She conducts teacher trainings on inspiring reluctant writers including "The Secret Language of Stories" and "Random Act of Haiku."             Caroline Starr Rose spent her childhood in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and New Mexico, camping at the Red Sea in one and eating red chile in the other. She's taught English and social studies to upper elementary and middle-school students in New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, and Louisiana. Back in New Mexico, Caroline now writes middle-grade novels and picture books full time.    To find teacher's guides, writing activities, and information about author visits, go to my website.    Kimberley Griffiths Little is the recipient of the Southwest Book Award, The Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel of 2010, and the author of the highly acclaimed, The Healing Spell and Circle of Secrets, published by Scholastic Press. Look for her books at the Scholastic Book Fairs, as well as two more forthcoming novels in 2012 and 2013.    She lives on a dirt road in a small town by the Rio Grande with her husband, a robotics engineer and their three sons. Kimberley is a favorite speaker at schools around the country, presenting "The Creative Diary", a highly successful writing workshop and has been a speaker at many conferences. Please visit her website to download free Teacher's Guides and Book Club Guides.                           Upcoming Author Events  October 27, 2012 6-7 p.m. FORGET ME NOT BOOK LAUNCH Alamosa Books Albuquerque, NM November 3, 2012 YALSA Literature Symposium  "Author Research Panel" Carolee Dean and four other authors St. Louis, Missouri February 2, 2013 Montgomery Teen Book Festival Carolee Dean Kimberley Griffiths Little Houston, TX

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Fan Mail Friday - the Grown-Up Version

First, thank you all so much for your wonderful notes of support and comfort and strength in this time of great trial and suffering in my family.  I truly can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

A little bit of success: I got another chapter written (very short, but who's counting, right?!) I also finished reading a novel and a research book. And I got a massage!!! 

All I need now is a good night's sleep so I can stop yawning so much. Or falling asleep at my desk. 

Fan Mail Friday from an adult - which completely surprised me. Well, I've actually had several emails and messages in the past, but it's always such a delight and a great thrill. 

1. From a woman named Lila: "Wow, this book (CIRCLE OF SECRETS) is AWESOME! I wish it was around when I was eleven! Just had to give you a major compliment on this. Very cool! I'm about a hundred pages through and I hope to finish it today.  When I picked it up, I could not put it down. There is so much emotion to Shelby (MC). I was so much like that at that age. I look back and laugh now but your story brought it back so much. I have no idea how you got so much into your characters thoughts, but it just floored me. And I read a lot of books!"  

Wow, thank you, Lila!!! 

Here's some wild and interesting backstory: CIRCLE OF SECRETS is actually a book that I wrote twice over from start to finish - full 200+ page stories that are completely different from each other. 

Here's how it happened: I wrote a full draft of a manuscript based on a proposal (a two-page detailed synopsis), revised it for several months, turned it into my editor with excitement, but the manuscript that I was so proud of with some great twists and turns was NOT what she'd been hoping from me. She didn't think the character was very likable. My character was whiny and treated her mother (they've been estranged for a year) badly. She also had trouble with some of the plot, and thought it was too old for a middle-grade novel.

After an in-depth talk with both my editor and agent discussing many aspects of the manuscript I knew it wasn't salvageable in its present plot form. I knew I had to start over. The voice was all wrong. The plot was complicated and all the pieces too tightly interwoven so I decided to start completely over from Page One. SCARY!!!  

There was one piece of advice that I wrote down from my editor that kept resonating in my mind as I began all over again. She wanted Shelby Jayne to be more like a 10-11 year old. Scared, hurting and vulnerable. After much pondering and daydreaming and thinking about her, I was able to go to that place with her and I'm so glad I did. I wrote the next draft in less than 3 weeks and Shelby was there on the page. Her voice came pouring out. And my editor loved the new manuscript! But I knew that the only way I was able to get to that 11-year-old true voice was keeping my editor's words in my head all through the new draft as I wrote every day: "Scared, hurting, and vulnerable."

I revised once, added another 15,000 words (the first draft was a bit spare) and cleaning up, moving some scenes around, etc. Then my editor and I revised together, went through copy edits and were doing First Pass Pages 4 months later. It was a whirlwind! I was terrified the whole thing stunk. I was sure there were huge holes in the plot, things I'd missed. It was all too fast, but my editor kept assuring me it was a beautiful book, and that she'd cried.

CIRCLE OF SECRETS ended up with fabulous reviews in all the review journals, a starred review in School Library Journal, and so many wonderful blogger and online reviews. 

Sometimes writing can be magical - even with a ton of hard work! :-)  

*Sometimes our readers confirm that, too. This message is really meaningful to hear if the story takes adults back to their childhood and brings the growing up experience rushing back in a flood of remembrance.*

Which is exactly what writing does for me. 

xo, 

~Kimberley