Book Blitz for Sleeper (Toy Soilders #1) by S.M Johnston + GIveaway

Sleeper (Book I in the Toy Soldiers series)
by S.M. Johnston
Release Date: December 2nd, 2013 

Publishers: Entranced Publishing, Rush
Genre: Upper YA/NA speculative fiction

A new heart should mean new life, not a living nightmare.

Mishca Richardson’s life is at an all-time high after her heart transplant. With new boyfriend, Ryder, the two of them have the perfect summer romance. Even the nightmares that have been plaguing her sleep since her operation can’t dull the high she’s on. 

Things start to unravel as Mishca develops superhuman abilities. She does her best to hide them so as not to end up a science experiment in a lab. But she can’t ignore the instant attraction she experiences when she meets her university professor, Colin Reed. 

Torn between the blossoming love and the obsession, Mishca must decide if she wants Ryder or Colin. But the organization responsible for her changes and her connection to Colin, is moving to secure Mishca for himself so that she can be the weapon he always intended her to be. If Mishca can’t resist her programming she’ll have a lot more to worry about than romance.

Review Snippets:

“SLEEPER is a fast-paced adventure filled with mystery, romance, action, and humor. Mishca and Ryder rank up there with my favorite heroines and heroes ever! S.M. Johnston is an author to watch out for.” ~Wendy Higgins, author of Sweet Evil, Sweet Peril, and Sweet Reckoning.

Ten pieces of trivia about SLEEPER

1. SLEEPER was a top five pick on Inkpop under an old title called MISHCA. For those of you who don’t know, Inkpop was a site similar to Wattpad and Figment (Figment actually bought out Inkpop from HarperCollins). It was a crowd-sourcing publishing site where members voted for their favourite stories via a system called ‘picks’, and the top five picks for each month was read by a HarperCollins editor.

2. The twist in SLEEPER was described by a HarperCollins editor as a ‘gasp-out-loud-moment.’ Not only did the HarperCollins editor read your story, you got detailed feedback on how to improve it, which I was grateful for. I was also excited that the editor not only didn’t see the twist coming, but also felt it had such a big impact.

3. I wrote SLEEPER before New Adult was popular. This resulted in me being asked to turn it into a Young Adult storyline by an agent. It meant removing ‘the Colin’ part of the storyline (cause a high school student falling in love with a professor is creepy).

4. I was offered a contract on the YA version, but when the editor read the NA version they decided to go with it, as it was more inspired. Of course I was thrilled to have my original concept back in the story.

5. I wrote a lot of SLEEPER while at the beach. My husband was a lifeguard who did beach patrol (hmmm Baywatch hottie husband). I would take my laptop and write until there was no battery power left…if only I had my Mac Air then!

6. I wrote SLEEPER alpha-reader style. This means I had a friend who read the story as I wrote it and would nag me for chapters. I’ve used an alpha reader ever since. Best cure for writers block ever.

7. The dedication for SLEEPER is to my original alpha reader. She’s extremely shy so it reads “For She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named” (Can you tell we’re Harry Potter nerds?).

8. I drank absinthe as part of the research for SLEEPER. I’d never had it before, but decided that some characters would so thought I’d better try it. Yes, I’m that dedicated ;D

9. I got to sneak in Aussie slang, popular slang and an insider joke with my alpha reader. I was on the phone with my alpha reader when she said “ahhh crapspackle” and I laughed so hard I snorted. I had to have it in and my editor let me. She also let me get away with snavel, which is one of my favourite words, and squee.

10. The cover model for SLEEPER is almost exactly how I envisaged Mishca when I first came up with the concept.

AUTHOR BIO

Sharon is a writer from Mackay in Queensland, Australia who has short stories published in anthologies and was also runner-up in the Australian Literary Review's Young Adult short story contest with KARMA. 

Her debut novel SLEEPER is out in December 2013.

By day she is a public relations executive and by night she writes weird fiction and soulful contemporaries while her husband, two sons and cat are fast asleep.

Social Media Links:
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/authorsmjohnston
Twitter: https://twitter.com/S_M_Johnston
Website: www.smjohnston.com
Blog: www.downunderwonderings.blogspot.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4019418.S_M_Johnston

Goodreads Sleeper Page: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17837453-sleeper

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