of blades and thorns

the official blog of author grace a. johnson

Blog Tour: The Toymaker's Doll by E. G. Bella (Interview + Review)

Grace A. Johnson

Dec 23, 2021
11 min

Blog Tour: The Toymaker's Doll by E. G. Bella (Interview + Review)

Wow, have I got a jam-packed post for y'all today! In honor of the upcoming release of E. G. Bella's debut story, The Toymaker's Doll, I have not only a book spotlight but also a review of the story AND an interview with the author! This short story is SO SWEET and I know you're not gonna wanna miss the chance to read it, so without further ado... About the Book A limp. A scuff. A cowardly heart. Jane is a doll struggling with all these things. She and her friend Isabel, a bl

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Grace A. Johnson

Dec 18, 2021
5 min

Review: Cathedral by Maya Joelle

If I wasn’t into poetry before, I am now. I’ve read a few of Maya’s poems on her blog—“Borrowed Grief” is the one I remember the most—so I knew even before I began this anthology that she had talent. What I wasn’t prepared for was the depth of it. These poems...the prose...the emotions behind it all literally made my heart ache. I didn’t want to put it down for even a second (even though I did, because my sister wet the bed while I was reading last night); it just drew me in

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Coming Soon: Never Leave Me by Jody Hedlund

Grace A. Johnson

Dec 13, 2021
2 min

Coming Soon: Never Leave Me by Jody Hedlund

Here it is! The third January 4th release! Never Leave Me is the second book in the Waters of Time series, which is Jody Hedlund's first time-travel series and fourth medieval series. I've yet to write my review of the first book, Come Back to Me, but suffice it to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it and am super excited to start reading Never Leave Me! I absolutely loved the way Hedlund chose to depict time travel and the method she used to do it. It was the perfect blend of fa

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Coming Soon: To Treasure an Heiress by Roseanna M. White

Grace A. Johnson

Dec 7, 2021
3 min

Coming Soon: To Treasure an Heiress by Roseanna M. White

If this month's Christmas theme has cramped my style, it was with this post, because, y'all, red and white doesn't jive with the beautiful blues and greens in this cover! Yep, my favorite read from last month is making her way into this world, coming to Amazon, B&N, Christianbook, and more on January 4th, 2022! I know that seems like quite a wait (well, not according to how fast this year has gone by, but still), but never fear! You, my friend, have the chance to receive a fr

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Review: The House That Didn't End by E. K. Seaver

Grace A. Johnson

Oct 28, 2021
4 min

Review: The House That Didn't End by E. K. Seaver

Y’all are probably tired of me talking about this novella, since we’ve been through an author interview, cover reveal, and probably three other posts about it...but out of all of the jabber going around about The House That Didn’t End, I have yet to review it. Until today! I actually had the pleasure of unofficially beta-reading it (back when it was a serial on E. K. Seaver’s website), and later edited it not long before it was published. I finally got around to reading the f

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Review: The Secret of Emerald Cottage by Julie Lessman

Grace A. Johnson

Sep 27, 2021
7 min

Review: The Secret of Emerald Cottage by Julie Lessman

Welcome to the blog tour for The Secret of Emerald Cottage - my favorite author Julie Lessman's latest release! (Which I gushed about here a couple months back!) Today, I've got it all - a review, a giveaway, fun quotes (graphics designed by the author)! But let's not waste time, y'all! My Review *Warnings* #1 This is a long review, so pull up a chair and grab a bowl of popcorn. You’ll be here awhile. #2 When I read a review, I want substantial information. So I will not skim

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Grace A. Johnson

Sep 13, 2021
3 min

Tour and Giveaway Wrap-Up (Daylight Launch Tour)

*facepalm* Y'all know how I promised to wrap up the tour yesterday? Yeah, that obviously didn't happen. Why? Because I had a ridiculously busy day and was thiiiiiiis close to finishing up this post when my wifi shut off. So, you know. Here we are now. A day later. Oh, well. Anyway... The launch tour has officially ended, my lovelies, and as sad as that seems, it is truly a cause for celebration!!! All of you have made the launch a HUGE success, for which I am exceedingly grat

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Grace A. Johnson

Sep 11, 2021
6 min

Never Forget (Daylight Launch Tour)

Today marks exactly twenty years since the events of 9/11. I think that deserves a moment of silence. Today marks the day thousands of people lost their lives and thousands more lost loved ones. I think that deserves a moment of grief. Today marks the day our nation fell in the form of two crumbling towers. I think that deserves a moment of respect for all the men and women who sacrificed for this country, who built it up before and who built it up again so that, twenty years

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What Readers Have to Say! (Daylight Launch Tour)

Grace A. Johnson

Sep 9, 2021
3 min

What Readers Have to Say! (Daylight Launch Tour)

Reviews are pouring in, y'all, and I am pleased to say that Daylight is looking like a success, all thanks to my amazing reviewers!!! Y'all are the best! Now, because positive reviews - or reviews of any kind - make my like author heart want to jump for joy, I want to share a little bit of what readers are saying about Daylight! “Out of the ashes of 911 comes Daylight, a poignant short story about a tragic moment in American history, where glimmers of hope emerge from glimmer

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Book Club Kit + Character Q&A (Daylight Launch Tour)

Grace A. Johnson

Sep 5, 2021
3 min

Book Club Kit + Character Q&A (Daylight Launch Tour)

Welcome to Day 5 of the Daylight Launch Tour!!! Today, I have two fun things to share with y'all - an exclusive interview with the main character of the story, Sylvie; and a downloadable book club kit! A book club kit contains discussion questions, a note from moi, and a bit of backstory about Daylight, perfect for book clubs (of course) or an individual reader! To download the kit, just click the graphic below! Now, let's welcome Sylvie Harpe, the MC of Daylight, as she join

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Welcome to the Tour! (Daylight Launch Tour)

Grace A. Johnson

Sep 1, 2021
4 min

Welcome to the Tour! (Daylight Launch Tour)

And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for... The beginning... Of the blog tour... For the launch... Of... Daylight 9/11 short story. Coming September 11th, 2021. It was too late. The whole world knew it, the nations shaking their heads at the fallen United States, our beautiful country of hope and freedom covered in blood and ashes. Only the devil could’ve planned something so disastrous. Only God could save us now. Only God could save August. It was all my fau

103 views25 comments

Coming Soon: The Secret of Emerald Cottage by Julie Lessman

Grace A. Johnson

Jul 29, 2021
3 min

Coming Soon: The Secret of Emerald Cottage by Julie Lessman

Y'all may have heard me talk about Julie Lessman a few times before. Actually, you've probably heard me talk about her a LOT. She's one of my favorite authors, a good friend, and a huge influence in my writing! Anyway, she's releasing her FIRST EVER MYSTERY!!! *excessive cheering ensues* Technically, this is a romantic suspense - and, being a Lessman novel, it's 50% romance and 50% mystery/suspense instead of 20/80...which makes my romance-lovers heart very happy. For non-rom

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Cover Reveal: The House That Didn't End by E. K. Seaver

Grace A. Johnson

Jul 10, 2021
2 min

Cover Reveal: The House That Didn't End by E. K. Seaver

This post needs no introduction. I'm preeeety sure that cover right there is intro enough. Y'all remember E. K. Seaver? (Hopefully, you signed up for her launch team...) Anyway, she's my amazing friend who wrote this amazing book. Maybe you had a chance to read the early version she had on her blog. I did, and on top of that I got to help line edit it...so maybe I'm biased when I say that this is gonna be one of the best fantasy books you've ever read. *clears throat* But my

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Grace A. Johnson

Jun 28, 2021
3 min

Coming Soon: Daylight by Yours Truly

It is with great pleasure that I finally announce to you (like I've been promising to do for nearly three months now) the upcoming release of Daylight. I had plans to finish it up and send it on its way to the hands of readers everywhere (okay, just across America, Canada, England, Australia, Malaysia, Germany, and France - where most of my readers reside), but between being a really slow writer with horrible time management skills and deciding on a very significant release d

78 views14 comments

Grace A. Johnson

Apr 16, 2021
3 min

New and Upcoming Releases!

I have absolutely no idea how to introduce this post, so I'm just going to dive right in! I have several wonderful books that I'd like to share with you--but not only that, I have a boatload of awesome quote graphics (some of which I made)! One of the amazing things I have been learning more and more about these past few months is Heaven. Particularly through Kat Kerr's revelation and experiences, I have been able to not only vividly picture God's country in the sky, but I've

54 views3 comments

Grace A. Johnson

Apr 5, 2021
4 min

April Updates!

Well, I'm back! And I'm kicking off this month with a bang! Did you see my last post? I'm starting my first ever blog serial--and it's a continuation of my first ever fantasy story, The River! I'm super psyched about it, so let me know in the comments what you're looking forward to seeing in the next part! So...my main objective with this post is to update you on my progress from last month, during which I was on hiatus (ish...I never really stop working at all). I had a TON

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