Instead of sleeping, Parker Chipp enters the dream of the last person he’s had eye contact with. He spends his nights crushed by other people’s fear and pain, by their disturbing secrets—and Parker can never have dreams of his own. The severe exhaustion is crippling him. If nothing changes, Parker could soon be facing psychosis and even death.
Then he meets Mia. Her dreams, calm and beautifully uncomplicated, allow him blissful rest that is utterly addictive. Parker starts going to bizarre lengths to catch Mia’s eye every day. Everyone at school thinks he’s gone over the edge, even his best friend. And when Mia is threatened by a true stalker, everyone thinks it’s Parker.
Suffering blackouts, Parker begins to wonder if he is turning into someone dangerous. What if the monster stalking Mia is him after all?
Tell us about yourself and how you got into writing.
It’s interesting, and wonderful, how once you started writing, you kept on doing so, all the way to the publication of your first novel. What inspired you to write about a person who enters other peoples’ dreams at night?
I love how the craziest things can come to us in our dreams. It would be so interesting to visit other peoples’ dreams. On your website, you mention that your minor in abnormal psychology inspired many of your characters. How has this background helped with writing your YA thriller Insomnia?
I like my sleep. I don’t want to think about going a night without sleep, much less four years like Parker! Parker’s a teenage boy whose unique abilities threaten to drive him crazy, and now he wonders if it’s turning him into something dangerous when all he wants is a good night’s sleep. How did you go about developing his character and balancing his vulnerabilities with the craziness he finds himself entangled in?
Parker has a lot going on in his life. It really makes me appreciate my peaceful, not-so-eventful days of classes and organization activities. Do you plan on writing more YA thrillers, or will you branch out into other genres?
That’s good to hear. We need more YA thrillers! If you could choose what you dreamed about, what would it be?
It would certainly make writing a lot easier (and yay for free dream “movies” starring hotties)! What question do you wish I asked you (and totally forgot to add)?
What are you working on right now?
Sounds exciting! Thanks for interviewing.
J.R. Johansson has a B.S. degree in public relations and a background in marketing. She currently lives with her two young sons, her husband, and her cat Cleo in a valley between majestic mountains and a beautiful lake where the sun shines nearly 300 days per year. When she’s not writing, she loves reading, playing board games, and sitting in her hot tub. Her dream is that someday she’ll find a way to do all three at the same time.
Author: Crystal
A story girl at heart, Crystal is a bibliophile who can easily spend the day immersed in a good read. She writes under the name Kristy Wang. You can follow her writing adventures on X and Instagram @_kristywang.
Lilian says
I definitely agree with MORE YA THRILLERS. I love the genre, but it seems there are so few in YA, and even fewer who do it well. I also found out that if I read too many thriller/horror books in a row, I'll start getting uncomfortable and be like, "Why is life so depressing??"
I have some pretty.crazy dreams…not scary, just funky. Like being on a tv beauty game show, where the hardest thing is figuring how to put on mascara while sipping strawberry margaritas. Not a bad dream to be in, except that nothing makes sense. I am so gullible with dreams, I keep having dreams where I have to study for exams–then I wake up remembering "WAIT. YOU ARE ON SUMMER BREAK!."
I'll definitely need to check out Insomnia when it comes out! Though I'd probably hold off on reading it until Halloween season.
Lilian @ A Novel Toybox
Kris Chen says
Yes! We need more YA thrillers. I too wouldn't want to read too many in a row, but I always appreciate a well-done YA thriller.
I once had to keep a dream journal for a poetry class. It was pretty bizarre to write down my dreams because the strangest things made perfect sense in my dream and none at all when I searched for an explanation for why I accepted certain things as fact.
I hope that you enjoy Insomnia! 🙂