Release Day for SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE!

My newest novel, a YA contemporary romance in verse, is available today! I hope you'll take a few minutes and just four bucks to support me and my new release.

SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE is my second YA contemporary romance novel-in-verse, and I hope you love it as much as you did my first (Elevated).

What people have said about SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE:
"Hooray for another fantastic YA contemporary verse novel from Elana Johnson!" ~Hazel @ Stay Bookish (see full review)

"Something about Love is an exceptional read." ~wrecked_life (see full review)

About SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE: High school senior Olivia Winging gave up her love of photography when she gave up her boyfriend, Trevor Youngblood, a year and a half ago. She broke things off with Trevor because her mom married his dad, and dating your step-brother? Creepy.

Livvy hasn’t been on good terms with her mother since, and one of her stipulations for staying at the Youngblood’s every other weekend is that Trevor can’t be there. When she gets nominated for the Junior Photography in Excellence award, Trevor insists she enter. She agrees—only if every photo in the portfolio can be of him. Knowing that Livvy can capture a person’s deepest secrets through her lens, Trevor hesitates before accepting the deal.

As Livvy gets behind the lens of her camera again, her love of photography is rekindled. Unfortunately, the time she spends with Trevor also re-ignites the old flame for him she’s kept smothered for so long.

In order for Livvy to finish her portfolio, she’ll have to face her feelings for Trevor as well as deal with the animosity between her and her mother. Livvy’s always been able to capture a person’s soul from behind the camera—but she’s not sure she likes it when the lens is suddenly focused on her. If she can’t find a way to forgive her mother and admit how she feels about Trevor, Livvy may end up losing more than just the photography contest. She could lose her heart. 

And ELEVATED, my first novel-in-verse that came out earlier this year is free this week! So be sure to get your copy of that too.

Pre-Order SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE!

Okay, so I am self-publishing another novel! The official release date is September 15, and you can pre-order the book now!

Cover by Erin Summeril Photography

This is my second novel-in-verse, and I loved writing this one as much as my first (Elevated). It's called SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE, and here's what it's about: High school senior Olivia Winging gave up her love of photography when she gave up her boyfriend, Trevor Youngblood, a year and a half ago. She broke things off with Trevor because her mom married his dad, and dating your step-brother? Creepy.

Livvy hasn’t been on good terms with her mother since, and one of her stipulations for staying at the Youngblood’s every other weekend is that Trevor can’t be there. When she gets nominated for the Junior Photography in Excellence award, Trevor insists she enter. She agrees—only if every photo in the portfolio can be of him. Knowing that Livvy can capture a person’s deepest secrets through her lens, Trevor hesitates before accepting the deal.

As Livvy gets behind the lens of her camera again, her love of photography is rekindled. Unfortunately, the time she spends with Trevor also re-ignites the old flame for him she’s kept smothered for so long.

In order for Livvy to finish her portfolio, she’ll have to face her feelings for Trevor as well as deal with the animosity between her and her mother. Livvy’s always been able to capture a person’s soul from behind the camera—but she’s not sure she likes it when the lens is suddenly focused on her. If she can’t find a way to forgive her mother and admit how she feels about Trevor, Livvy may end up losing more than just the photography contest. She could lose her heart.

I started writing this book way last year, when my husband started taking pictures professionally. I'd help him on his shoots, and listen to the language he used when he edited pictures, and watch a lot of YouTube videos with him on apertures, and light settings, and types of cameras, and exposures.

It was a fascinating thing. While I'm not into that line of creative work, I decided to take some of his life and put it into some of mine: a novel. I finished SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE last winter, and I had my husband read it for me to make sure all the photography stuff was accurate.

So yeah. You can pre-order SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE here and get it delivered to your device on Monday, September 15. 

Help spread the word! Enter to win $15 Paypal cash by doing any or all of the items in the Rafflecopter widget.

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If you're a writer, have you ever taken part of someone else's life and put it in a book?

THE SOUND OF LETTING GO by Stasia Ward Kehoe

Okay, so it's Thursday, and I've been spotlighting an amazing verse novel every week this month for National Poetry Month.

Today's title is THE SOUND OF LETTING GO by Stasia Ward Kehoe. This is Stasia's second verse novel, and the first, AUDITION, is just as compelling and beautiful.

I sort of stumbled onto Stasia's work through a group I used to be involved with, The Bookanistas. We formed several years ago as a support system, and one of the things we did was mail around ARCs for review. Sometimes they were just ARCs we got from publishers, but sometimes they were our own ARCs.

That's how I came upon AUDITION. I read it early in my genre exploration of verse novels, and I loved it. Since then, I've left The Bookanistas, but I didn't forget about Stasia's writing. So when THE SOUND OF LETTING GO came out earlier this year, I couldn't wait to read it.

About THE SOUND OF LETTING GO: For sixteen years, Daisy has been good. A good daughter, helping out with her autistic younger brother uncomplainingly. A good friend, even when her best friend makes her feel like a third wheel. When her parents announce they’re sending her brother to an institution—without consulting her—Daisy’s furious, and decides the best way to be a good sister is to start being bad. She quits jazz band and orchestra, slacks in school, and falls for bad-boy Dave.

But one person won’t let Daisy forget who she used to be: Irish exchange student and brilliant musician Cal. Does she want the bad boy or the prodigy? Should she side with her parents or protect her brother? How do you know when to hold on and when—and how—to let go?

I even blurbed the book. Here's what I said: “Achingly beautiful, The Sound of Letting Go takes readers down a dangerous path while touching the heart and encouraging hope.”

And that's how I feel about it. It is achingly beautiful. It is about hope, about Daisy learning how to stand up for what she believes while still being a sister and a daughter. I loved the struggles she goes through, because they felt real -- and they're struggles that don't stop just because we become adults. So the book felt real to me, even outside of being a YA novel. It felt true to life, true to having to make hard decisions in many different areas of life.

But it was also hopeful. I don't need a perfect ending. I just want to feel like the main character will find their way, whether I see it on the page or not. Because I want to feel hopeful about my own life. I don't know what's going to happen yet, but I want to believe that I can figure it out -- just like Daisy does. And THE SOUND OF LETTING GO does that.

What have you read that has provided you with hope?

I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME

Okay, so in celebration of National Poetry Month, I thought I'd share with you the very first novel in verse I'd ever read. It was I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME by Lisa Schroeder. I've since read a few more of Lisa's books, and they're all everything a verse novel should be: angsty, precise, vivid, and tense.

Since you have so little room in a verse novel, every word has to count. And Lisa knows how to choose the right words to make them worth their weight in gold.

So let's learn a little bit more about I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME.

Girl meets boy.


Girl loses boy.


Girl gets boy back...


...sort of.

Ava can't see him or touch him, unless she's dreaming. She can't hear his voice, except for the faint whispers in her mind. Most would think she's crazy, but she knows he's here.

Jackson. The boy Ava thought she'd spend the rest of her life with. He's back from the dead, as proof that love truly knows no bounds.

It's got a paranormal slant to it, which in my eyes, makes it that much better. If you're looking for a novel in verse to read as your first introduction to the style, I highly recommend I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME.

What book have you loved that introduced you to a new genre?

Celebrating National Poetry Month!

Okay, so it's April, which means it's National Poetry Month. I know, I know, some of you are madly blogging with the A-Z blogging challenge. My hat goes off to you! I can barely think of anything to blog about these days, though I do have something up my sleeve!

Anyway, since I wrote a novel in verse, I thought I'd spotlight a few books this month that are written in verse that are absolutely wonderful.

Up today is INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN by Thanhha La. It is a brilliant novel that you can read in about 45 minutes. It details the story of Ha as she leaves Saigon and comes to America.

Here's the official blurb: For all the ten years of her life, Ha has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by, and the beauty of her very own papaya tree. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Ha and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope.

This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.

I loved how the story came to life with just a few words. I loved the relationships between Ha and her brothers, as well as her mother. The sparseness of the words allows the emotion to flow freely. I think that's one of my favorite things about verse novels in general. INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN is no exception. It's a beautiful novel about a girl and her family surviving terrible things.

I hope if you're looking for a novel in verse to read this National Poetry Month that you'll try INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN. I don't think you're regret it.

Have you ever read a novel in verse? Which one did you like?