Uncontrollable: Guest Post and Review

Today, I'd like to welcome over Shelli Wells, author of Untraceable, and it's sequel, Uncontrollable, over for a guest post!

Writing Uncontrollable was mush easier than writing Untraceable.

I had a hard time with Untraceable’s plot. It changed several times over the course of 3 years. It started out as Grace finding a Jihad terrorist cell in the woods (yes I know pretty bad, right? It was only through critiques and many rejections that the book moved toward more of a conservation angle and ended up what it is today.

For Uncontrollable, ½ of it was done. I already had setting and voice down. I knew the characters. I just needed to focus on plot and Grace’s growth.

For plot – it was hard to find a way to come up with a story that was as exciting as the first. I needed just as many twists and turns, yet still find a way to weave in a conservation message because that is what the books are about underneath.

For character, I had to make sure I wrote Grace from a totally different mindset. She went through a lot in the first book so I had to put myself in her shoes and show how those events changed her. How would she be after the first book ended? How would she handle the losses and revelations? Would she be more scared or more reckless? Depressed or angry? Who would she still trust and would she trust less or more? How would her relationships with her family, friends, and nature change?

Once I got down the plot and character arc, writing the book was easy. It just poured out of me.

I hope everyone will find Uncontrollable just as good as Untraceable. Admittedly in my experience reading, the 2^nd books are never quite as good as the first one in a series because you know so much about the character and world. So it is not as new.

But I wanted it to be good, thrilling, and memorable. I think there are just as many twists and questions in the 2^nd as in the 1^st.

From Goodreads:

As Grace recovers from tragedy, her science class is chosen by Agent Sweeney at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to help with research on the new "Red Wolf Reintroduction Program". 

While she's excited about helping with the conservation of the endangered wolves, Grace knows this means being outdoors in the worst winter recorded, in a place she no longer feels comfortable. It also means working closely with Wyn (her ex) and his annoying girlfriend (Skyler), a girl whose idea of getting close to nature is picking silk plants and growing fake plants. 

After a couple of wolves show up dead, Grace almost quits. However, when a fellow project team member goes missing, Grace continues the assignment under a renewed suspicion that someone might be sabotaging the conservation program. She quietly begins to hunt for clues. 

Little does she know, she is being hunted too. 

My Review:
Fantastic book! It was great to see Grace again, and as S. R. Johannes said in her guest post, Grace is in a very different mindset, coping with the loss of her dad and Mo, all in 1 day. Then just as she's kinda starting to heal, to go back into the woods. And the wolves are dying. Which brings back her loss, and yeah,that's probably not the best thing for her, what with her need to protect the creatures of the woods. And yeah, just loved reading this book! 

Reading this book after Untraceable, well, it's different. Grace isn't determined to find her dad, she's crushed at his death after all that determination. And then there's no Mo...and I'm not going to say anything else because this is a tour post and I don't want to do spoilers. So this was a very different book from Untraceable, though I really enjoyed the survival tips!

The mystery in this book, was similar, but different. Instead of bears being found dead, it's wolves. And Al's still alive, so that means that he could still do things. But while he wasn't in this book, I'm hoping for a 3rd book so he can get put down like he deserves! We got a bit into his past through another character, which was a turn I didn't see until the hot chocolate and marshmallow scene. Yep

Uncontrollable was a really excellent book! Great writing, and a plot that just grasps at your mind and heart, and tames them into making this a favourite book of all! So read it!!!

Author: S. R. Johannes

Series: The Nature of Grace #2

Read: September 17th, 2012

Source: Author for Review on Tour

Reason Why: Because I loved Untraceable, so I had to read Uncontrollable!
Publisher: Coleman & Stott
Expected Publication: September 24th 2012 

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

4.5/5 Stars

Bio:
S.R. Johannes is the award-winning author of the Amazon bestselling Nature of Grace thriller series (Untraceable, Uncontrollable, and Unstoppable).

S.R. Johannes is a winner of the IndieReader Discovery Award in YA, an IPPY a Silver Medalist for YA Fiction, a Finalist in The Kindle Book Review's Best Young Adult Fiction, and a Finalist in US Book News Best YA Book.

Since leaving Corporate America, she has followed her passion for writing and conservation by working with The Dolphin Project, the Atlanta Zoo, other animal rescue organizations, and by weaving conservation themes into her books.


She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her dog, English-accented husband, and the huge imaginations of their little prince and princess, which she hopes- someday- will change the world.

Contact and Buy AKA Links:

Website/Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Stops on the Tour:

Week 1

Sept. 4 – whoopeeyoo – Creating Covers

Sept. 4 - Froze8’s Blog – Getting Creative with Marketing (giveaway query/chapter critique OR marketing consultation)

Sept. 5 – Just Jemi – Writing short stories/novelletes (e-book giveaway)

Sept. 5 - Wall-to-Wall Books - Uncontrollable Review (e-book giveaway)

Sept. 6 - GeekeryDo - Uncontrollable Review (e-book giveaway)

Sept. 6 - Read Now Sleep Later - My Journey to self pubbing (e-book giveaway)

Sept. 7 – Supa Gurl Books – Writing Untraceable/Unspeakable (e-book giveaway)

Sept. 7 – Hypable – Stigma of self publishing

Week 2

Sept. 10 - Refracted Light - Grace's Wilderness Fashion Guide

Sept. 10- Heather Sutherlin- Writing advice for young writers

Sept. 11- Froze8’s Blog – Digital publishing/ebooks (e-book giveaway of ANY book)

Sept. 11 - SA Larsen - Vlog on Essentials when preparing for a book release

Sept. 12 - whoopeeyoo - Uncontrollable Review

Sept. 12 - The Writerly Rejects – Indie vs self pubbing

Sept. 13 - Always YA at Heart – Uncontrollable Review (e-book giveaway)

Sept. 13 – Write Stuff – Create Fast Pacing in Stories

Sept. 14 - Second Bookshelf on the Right – Interview (e-book and swag giveaway)

Sept. 14 - Bookend Crossing - Uncontrollable review (ebook giveaway)

Week 3

Sept. 17 - the "I love books" club - Uncontrollable review (e-book giveaway Suffocate)

Sept. 17- Froze8's Blog - Characterization

Sept. 18 – Words I Write Crazy – Challenges in Writing Uncontrollable and Review

Sept. 19 - Literary Rambles - Self pubbing marketing using Twitter (e-book giveaway)

Sept. 19 – the “I love books” club – Author Interview

Sept. 20 - The Bookish Brunette - Uncontrollable review (e-book giveaway)

Sept. 20 - Step Into Fiction - Adding humor into your writing

Sept. 21 - Supa Gurl Books – Uncontrollable Review

Sept. 21 - Always YA at Heart – Character Interview

Sept. 21 – Letters Inside Out – Writing to Playlists (e-book giveaway)

Week 4

Sept 24 - Mundie Moms - Launch Date! Special giveaway

Sept. 25 - Once Upon a Twilight - Uncontrollable Review (e-book giveaway)

Sept. 25 - Holly's Narrative Dream - Branding and marketing yourself as a writer

Sept. 26 - Book Snatch - Author Interview 

Sept. 26 - YA-Aholic - Uncontrollable Review

Sept. 27- Basia's Bookshelf – Uncontrollable Review

Sept. 27- Confessions of a Bookaholic – Envisioning Setting (e-book giveaway)

Sept. 28- Living Fictitiously – Uncontrollable Review

Sept. 28 - We Do Write - Writing sequels (e-book giveaway)

Week 5

Oct. 1 – YA Book Queen – Uncontrollable Review

Oct. 1 – Words Escape Me – Essentials in plotting (giveaway of query or chapter critique)

Oct. 2 – Book Dreaming - Uncontrollable Review

Oct. 2 - YA Book Queen - Writing thrillers/suspense (e-book giveaway)

Oct. 3- Fantasy Book Chick - Touching on Conservation

Oct. 4 - Paper Cuts YA – Marketing Tips (e-book giveaway)

Oct. 4 – The Wormhole – Author Interview, Uncontrollable Review (e-book giveaway)

Oct. 5- Kristi Helvig – Uncontrollable Review (e-book giveaway)

Oct. 5- The Writer's Voice - Author Interview 

Week 6

Oct. 8 – Moonlight, Lace and Mayhem - Tying together Untraceable and Uncontrollable

Oct. 8 - The Housework Can Wait - Building community (e-book giveaway)

Oct. 9 - Magnet4Books - Self editing tips

Oct. 9 - Katya Czaja - Uncontrollable Review (e-book giveaway)

Oct. 10 - I'm a Reader, Not a Writer - Author Interview 

Oct. 10- Readinista - Changing industry of publishing

Oct. 11 - Girl Who Reads - Creating online platform

Oct. 11- Fictional Candy - Author Interview (swag and e-book giveaway of Untraceable)

Oct. 12 - Ren's Rambles - Nature of Grace Playlist Highlights

Oct. 12 - Reading Teen - Writing teen romance

Week 7

Oct. 15 - BiblioCrunch - "What is a blog tour?" Interview (Marketing giveaway)

Oct. 15 - Little Birdie Reviews - Untraceable Review (e-book giveaway)

Oct. 15 - reel life with jane - Strong female characters

Oct. 16 - Loves 2 Read - Uncontrollable Review (e-book giveaway)