Janet Sumner Johnson
About Author Visits Blog Books Events Contact Press Kit

Red Butterfly

26 Days of Facing the Chicken Exit: DAYS 15 – 17

Jul

22, 2022 |

Filed in:

Books,Inspiration,Publishing,Uncategorized

Today, we continue the countdown to the release of my upcoming picture book, BRAVER THAN BRAVE, illustrated by Eunji Jungand published by Capstone Editions, a Capstone Imprint. I present Days 15-17 of 26 Days of Facing the Chicken Exit!


On with the countdown to the release of my upcoming picture book, BRAVER THAN BRAVE, illustrated by Eunji Jungand published by Capstone Editions, a Capstone Imprint. I present Days 15-17 of 26 Days of Facing the Chicken Exit!

DAY 15: Girlie 

“My friends wanted to do a play and I decided to do it with them, but I don’t like being looked at by a lot of people, so more or less stage fright. So my friends hyped me up and I just didn’t look at anyone in the audience, and everything went well.”

A white teenaged girl with blond hair, wearing jeans and a t-shirt stands in a doorway with a rollercoaster in the background. Above the doorway is a sign that says "Chicken Exit."
.
DAY 16: My Mom, author of me!
 
“I have a couple of stories about facing a chicken exit. The first was one day when we all went to Lagoon, our local amusement park. I spent the first half going on rides with you (that’s me! Janet Sumner Johnson). Somehow, we ended up in the Colossus line—the ride with 2 upside-down loops—and we happened to be first to enter. I wasn’t excited to sit in the front seat, but you were, so I did it for your sake. I was scared to death, but I felt like it was what I had to do. I made the mistake of closing my eyes in the scariest parts and got the worst case of motion sickness I have ever had. You had to go around with someone else the rest of the day. I wish I had been brave enough to keep my eyes open. But I’m still glad I did it!
 
“The second story I thought about was when, as a youth leader, I took a large group to a waterslide park. You should know that I hate waterslides. I don’t really like slides of any kind. Everyone there encouraged me to go down the dark slide. I still remember that you all had a great laugh at the look on my face when I came out! There again, it was what I thought I had to do, BUT I’m really glad I did it. So I think that bravery is doing what you have to do even if you don’t really want to and it scares you.face when I came out. It was what I thought I had to do. So I think that bravery is doing what you have to do even if you don’t really want to and it scares you.”
 
Janet, a light-skinned woman with light brown hair in a red shirt stands in a doorway with a rollercoaster in the background. Above the door-frame is a yellow sign that reads "Chicken Exit."


DAY 17: A.L. Sonnichsen, Author of RED BUTTERFLY
 
“My husband had to get a cyst removed from his earlobe. I said I wanted to be in the room with him when the procedure happened, but I got so woozy watching the doctor dig into his flesh that I took my chicken exit and hightailed out of there, just in time before I passed out. I sat on the floor in the hallway with my head between my knees deep breathing. No more surgery observations for me!”
 
A white woman with dark hair in a blue patterened dress stands in a doorway with a rollercoaster in the background. Above the doorway is a sign that says "Chicken Exit."
.

Hope you enjoyed DAYS 15-17! In celebration of the upcoming release of BRAVER THAN BRAVE, I’ve got two giveaways going on right now. One on Twitter, which you can enter HERE. And one on Instagram, which you can enter HERE. They both open through July 23rd, and they are both open to wherever Book Depository delivers. Good luck!

Check out other days of Facing the Chicken Exit:

DAY 1: The Legend of the Chicken Exit

DAYS 2-4

DAYS 5-7

DAYS 8-10

DAYS 11-14

Speak up:

comment

| TAGS:

, , , ,

RED BUTTERFLY Winner!

Jun

30, 2014 |

Filed in:

Uncategorized

And the winner is . . .

Jessie Oliveros!

Congratulations!! You’ve won a pre-order of Amy Sonnichsen’s RED BUTTERFLY, which is set to release Feb. 3, 2015.

I have sent an email, and I’ll get you all set up as soon as I have your address.

Hope you all have a great Monday!

Speak up:

2 comments

| TAGS:

, , , ,

THE RED BUTTERFLY’s Cover Reveal!! + Win a Pre-order

Jun

06, 2014 |

Filed in:

Uncategorized

Not quite two years ago, my blogging friend and I exchanged manuscripts. I knew hers was a novel-in-verse, but I didn’t know quite what to expect. Well. Let’s just say, I was blown away. Blown!

That, of course was a draft of Amy Sonnichsen’s RED BUTTERFLY. It was touching and delicate. Beautiful and surprising! I still think about this story. And even though Amy didn’t have an agent at the time, I knew it wouldn’t be long.

Last Summer it was picked up by Simon & Schuster, Books for Young Readers, and is slated for publication in Winter 2015. And I’m THRILLED to be part of her cover reveal! Go Amy!! [And I’m sure she’d love it if you stopped by her blog, The Green Bathtub, to congratulate her!]

So first, the book blurb:


Kara never met her birth mother. Abandoned as an infant, she was taken in by an elderly American woman living in China. Now eleven, Kara spends most of her time in their apartment, wondering why she and Mama cannot leave the city of Tianjin and go live with Daddy in Montana. Mama tells Kara to be content with what she has … but what if Kara secretly wants more?

Told in lyrical, moving verse, Kara’s story is one of a girl learning to trust her own voice, discovering that love and family are limitless, and finding the wings she needs to reach new heights.
And if that doesn’t have you dying to read it, just look at this beautiful cover!
 

 

A.L. Sonnichsen grew up in Hong Kong and then spent eight years in China as adult. She now lives on the dry side of Washington State with her dashingly handsome sidekick, five talented children, and a luxury cat. Red Butterfly is her first novel. Learn more at alsonnichsen.blogspot.com. Twitter: @alsonnichsen

~~~

And because I love this book so much, I want to give away a pre-order of it! Just enter in the Rafflecopter below, and feel free to spread the word. This contest is open to US and Canada addresses, and will close June 27th at midnight EDT. Best of luck!

Congratulations, Amy! I’m so excited for you and your beautiful book.
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Speak up:

16 comments

| TAGS:

, , , , ,

In Which I Impatiently Await Amy’s Cover Reveal

Jun

02, 2014 |

Filed in:

Uncategorized

This is my normal posting day, but I’m kind of excited, because Amy Sonnichsen is having her cover reveal this week for RED BUTTERFLY, and I get to be part of it!

Sooooo, I need ya’ll to come back here on Friday, June 6 to see Amy’s beautiful cover. It’s beautiful guys. And perfectly perfect! I can’t wait for you to see it, and I even more can’t wait for you to read it. Will Winter of 2015 never come?!! 🙂

I’m so in love with this book, I just can’t even . . . yeah. I can’t.

See you on Friday! and P.S. if you aren’t following Amy on twitter, you seriously should be. She tweets here: @alsonnichsen

Speak up:

5 comments

| TAGS:

, , ,

HSC Congratulations: Amy’s Book Deal!!

Aug

27, 2013 |

Filed in:

Uncategorized

As you may know, Amy Sonnichsen, founding member of the Hacky Sack Club [HSC] recently signed a book deal!!!

We’ve been bouncing off the walls with excitement for her. BOUNCING.

So. This is the kind of thing that we at the HSC can’t just let go by without doing something crazy. So Melissa Sarno and I got together. I flew in to New YorkWe Skyped and emailed and Googled and came up with a fabulous way to express our congratulations to Amy while embarrassing ourselves in a HSC kind of way.

As it turns out, Melissa is a sound and video editing genius, so for your viewing pleasure, we present to you our video [And YES! That is Melissa and me singing TOGETHER even though I did not get to fly to New York. She’s brilliant, I tell you!]:

Congratulations, Amy! We’re On Top of the World right there with you. 😀

Speak up:

17 comments

| TAGS:

, , , , ,