Hello everyone! Today I am so excited to welcome one of my favorite writing duos, Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock. They are here to talk about their new release, When All the World Sleeps, which I reviewed earlier this week and loved intensely. They are chatting about the book and giveaway some goodies! So please join me in giving Lisa and J.A. a big welcome!
Hi! We’re Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock, authors of When All the World Sleeps. We’re touring the web talking about our influences, our crazy ideas, this new book, and even giving you a sneak peek or two! And of course there’s a giveaway involved! Leave a comment to win!
Thanks so much to Joyfully Jay for having us, and to everyone following the tour. Today, Lisa talks about sleepwalking:
Once, when I was a kid, I walked into my parents’ room in the middle of the night and proceeded to tell them a story about the tiger that was following me. I was six, and it took a fair while to live this down. That was my one and only documented sleepwalking episode, but even at that age I can remember being quite frightened by the idea that I could be walking, talking, and interacting with people while I was asleep, and have absolutely no memory of it.
I think that the idea that we are not in charge of our own actions taps into a very deep primal fear, and it’s one that Daniel in When All The World Sleeps deals with every day.
The sleepwalkers who kill:
While it sounds like the best excuse in the world, there are a few cases where a killer has been found not guilty due to sleepwalking. One of the most fascinating, and earliest documented cases is that of Robert Ledru, a French detective who, in the 1880s, investigated a homicide on a beach and realised, to his horror, that he was the killer.
The sleepwalkers who have sex:
Sleep sex has also been used as a defence against sexual assaults in court, sometimes successfully. There was also the case of the Australian woman claimed to have no memory of leaving her home in the middle of the night and having sex with strangers.
The sleepwalkers who are artists:
Lee Hadwin draws in his sleep, a talent that remains inaccessible to him during his waking hours.
The human mind is an incredible, unknowable thing.
As Daniel tells Bel, “I wander around like I’m tweaked out. I go to Harnee’s. I cook. I fuck. And one time I did something a whole lot worse than any of that.”
About When All the World Sleeps
Daniel Whitlock is terrified of going to sleep. And rightly so: he sleepwalks, with no awareness or memory of his actions. Including burning down Kenny Cooper’s house—with Kenny inside it—after Kenny brutally beat him for being gay. Back in the tiny town of Logan after serving his prison sentence, Daniel isolates himself in a cabin in the woods and chains himself to his bed at night.
Like the rest of Logan, local cop Joe Belman doesn’t believe Daniel’s absurd defense. But when Bel saves Daniel from a retaliatory fire, he discovers that Daniel might not be what everyone thinks: killer, liar, tweaker, freak. Bel agrees to control Daniel at night—for the sake of the other townsfolk. Daniel’s fascinating, but Bel’s not going there.
Yet as he’s drawn further into Daniel’s dark world, Bel finds that he likes being in charge. And submitting to Bel gives Daniel the only peace he’s ever known. But Daniel’s demons won’t leave him alone, and he’ll need Bel’s help to slay them once and for all—assuming Bel is willing to risk everything to stand by him.
You can read an excerpt and purchase When All the World Sleeps here.
About the Authors
Lisa Henry lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn’t know why, because she hates the heat, but suspects she’s too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.
She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly.
She shares her house with too many cats, a dog, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.
You can visit Lisa her website, at Goodreads, or on Facebook or Twitter.
J.A. Rock has worked as a dog groomer, knife seller, haunted house zombie, standardized patient, cashier, census taker, state fair quilt hanger, and, for one less-than-magical evening, a server—and would much rather be writing about those jobs than doing them. J.A. lives mostly in West Virginia, and always with a beloved dog, Professor Anne.
You can visit J.A. at her website, her blog, or on Twitter or Facebook.
Giveaway
Thanks for following our tour! To celebrate our release, we’re giving away a great pair of prizes! Up for grabs is an ebook of our last co-release, Mark Cooper versus America, and a $20 gift voucher from Riptide. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with a way for us to contact you, be it your email, your Twitter, or a link to your Facebook or Goodreads account. Please put your email in the body of the comment, not just in email section of the comment form, because we won’t be able to see it otherwise! On APRIL 2, we’ll draw a winner from all eligible comments! Be sure to follow the whole tour, because the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win this awesome prize!
My son, now 14, has for years walked in his sleep – tends to happen when he overheats (so he always has a light duvet in winter and complains of the cold!) but he also used to have night terrors at the same time – it was like he could see something truly horrible happening and would scream and struggle to get away. He wasn’t awake but eyes open and he would respond eventually to commands and then wake up. but he cant remember anything and even now if he wakes up in our bed he always asks why he’s there (as do I!!). I do worry that this may causes problems in his future but hope that by regulating temperature we can control it.
Anyway, have the book, looks really good!
Your book sounds fabulous! My father used to sleepwalk; as a child, I used to fear that I would as well. Thanks for the giveaway.
jczlapin (at) gmail (dot) com
I am excited about reading this one. Thanks for the giveaway! 🙂
val_massimo at yahoo dot com
I finished this book last weekend and really liked it.
kimandpete(at)me(dot)com
This book sounds great. Thanks for the giveaway!
amaquilante(at)gmail(dot)com
I’m looking forward to reading this. Great giveaway!
rockybatt@gmail.com
I’ve never experienced sleep-walking personally, or known someone who has. But it is such a fascinating phenomenon! When All the World sleeps sounds terrific.
ashley.vanburen[at]gmail[dot]com
I have only sleep walked once in my life and I ended up in my parent’s bedroom confusing the heck out of them. I used to talk in my sleep all the time and in college it was something my friends would try to get me to do because I would say the most bizarre and hilarious (to them) things. I like the concept of this book for those reasons alone. aahickmanathotmaildotcom
My kids would talk in their sleep to each other. It got pretty funny to listen to. And this book sounds so intriguing!
Please count me in.
goaliemom0049(at)gmail(dot)com
I’d so love to win. Thank you for the chance.
peachescon@gmail.com
Two of my favourite authors so I’m looking forward to reading this. Please include me in the draw. Thanks
diannakayATgmailDOTcom
That is fascinating. As a child, I did my fair share of sleepwalking, but almost falling down the stairs was probably the worst. When my mom was a kid, she would go to the front door and try to get outside, but luckily the chain on the door stopped her.
lckarge92(at)gmail(dot)com
I’m almost done with the book and I’m enjoying it so much. Love Daniel and Bel’s story, my heart keeps breaking for Daniel.
rbuoy20@gmail.com
What an interesting post! Thank you for all the links, didn’t know that there were several documented cases of sleepwalkers committing murder. I have a friend who sleeptalks, or eats in her sleep if something eatable is within her reach. The stories her boyfriend tells are pretty funny 🙂
stormymonday @ gmx . net
I didn’t know some of those sleepwalking instances like the artist drawing and paintig in his sleep, pretty interesting. I used to sleepwalk a bit but thankfully don’t anymore :0
Thank you for the giveaway!
eveningreen AT gmail DOT com
really interesting post… your books are all amazing and this sounds good too… I’ve never read about this theme…. definetely on my TBR
thanks for the giveaway
cvale1@virgilio.it
I can’t wait to read this one! Sounds very intriguing. I haven’t had a chance to read Mark Cooper yet so would love a chance at winning a copy. lgrant1@san.rr.com
I cannot think of a thing I do in my sleep that is useful. I would love to read the book. It looks like a wonderful book to read.
debby236 at gmail dot com
Please count me in. Thanks.
Karl
slats5663(at)shaw(dot)ca
Thanks for your comments, everyone! You’re all entered in the drawing. I’ve never done anything of note in my sleep except fail to hear the alarm time and time again. But it was fascinating researching sleep disorders for this book.
I’m looking forward to reading this!
blackasphodel(at)yahoo(dot)com
A very interesting post. I knew about the sleepwalkers who killed but I wasn’t aware of sleepwalkers who had sex. My friend did a thesis on sleepwalkers who killed and the things she told me were a bit disturbing but interesting at the same time. Thanks for sharing what you discovered/know.
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
This sounds SUPER interesting! Please count me in.
aunt_cori(at)yahoo(dot) com
Please count me in , thank you.
Interesting post
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
Looks like a great read, very different. Please add me too.
corieltauviqueen at yahoo dot co dot uk
Count me in please, thank you !!! mevalem258ATgmail D O T com