The Journeys of John and Julia.
Could a thirteen-year-old's summer be any more of a nightmare?
THE JOURNEYS OF JOHN AND JULIA IN CHAPTER ONE: GENESIS is author Aurelia’s debut novel and Rigler Creative’s debut title as a publisher.
“A great read. Imaginative. Insightful. Heroic. The type of summer vacation that every kid should have.”–Duncan Rouleau, creator of Ben10
“I really loved the story…such a nice coming-of-age story about finding yourself and believing in yourself, and sticking true to how you really feel.”–Janel Parrish, star of Pretty Little Liars and narrator of the John and Julia audiobook.
The first in a series of novels about magic, friendship, and adventure.
It all starts when Julia’s parents totally mess with her summer. First Julia’s dad takes off to start a whole new family. Then Julia’s mom yanks Julia from cheerleader camp to spend the summer with her grandmother in the land of no signal, no mall, no best friend Kellie. Julia’s only hope for human contact is geeky John Freeman, who is six months younger than she and about a million years behind her idea of cool.
If only Julia knew that her mom plans to dump her at Grandma’s not just for the summer, but for a whole year. If only Julia knew that a collective of wondrous beings called The Twenty-Two are watching over her and trying to make contact. If only Julia knew that they could tell Julia every thought she never knew she had and bend her reality in any way they choose. And that she’d be with John Freeman when it happened. He’d think that was way cool.
And that is just the beginning. For this seemingly mismatched pair have cracked open the door to another reality. And their enemy-to-be, the beyond evil Niem Vidalgo Oten, is about to enter the picture.
E-Book, Print book, and Audiobook
In order to make sure that THE JOURNEYS OF JOHN AND JULIA: GENESIS would be available in readers’ preferred format, the Rigler Creative production team took painstaking care to produce the book in both ebook and print and to make both editions available on all platforms worldwide.
Next, Rigler Creative ventured into the studio to create an unabridged audiobook edition of THE JOURNEYS OF JOHN AND JULIA: GENESIS, teaming up with Pretty Little Liars star and Teen Choice Award winner Janel Parrish, who lends her considerable talents to a spirited reading of the story.
Having print and audiobook editions in addition to the ebook has also enabled us to expand our marketing reach by offering giveaways, contests, and promotions of the book in multiple formats.
A word from the author
Rites of passage have always fascinated me, and I think one of the greatest is moving from child to teenager. Our minds are so impressionable at this time, and what we experience shapes our adult life in ways we can’t even imagine when it happens. I am also deeply convinced that we live in a magical world and that help is only a prayer away. We all have the potential to be “superheroes” and do not have to be “extra special” to create an awesome destiny for ourselves. And I want young adults and kids to know that. And for everyone else to remember it.
That is why I wrote THE JOURNEYS OF JOHN AND JULIA, a sci-fi/fantasy series about a pair of teens who have to use their different perceptions of the world to make the best of all the challenging situations adolescence poses. On top of it, and unbeknownst to them, they have been chosen by a powerful consortium of magical beings called The Twenty-Two to save the world from corporate-superpower overlord Niem Vidalgo Oten, who plans to enslave every human being on the planet. The second book in the series, which is coming soon, brings John and Julia face to face with The Twenty-Two and their own destiny. Over the course of a seven-book arc, John and Julia will receive superhero training from The Twenty-Two and do battle with the enemy, while at the same time navigating their way through the very down-to-earth pressures of family, friends, their conflicted feelings for each other, and the bittersweet path to self-knowledge.
That line of thought brings me back to my fascination with rites of passage: Because no matter what our year-count says, whenever we initiate true change inside of us, we are initiated into something new. New skills, new outlook, new opportunities –- an honest-to-God upgrade in the game of life. We NEVER lose this potential! –Aurelia
Spreading the word
To build anticipation for this middle-grade series and continue growing readership after release, we launched a series of web initiatives:
THE JOURNEYS OF JOHN AND JULIA is the focus of the first set of episodes of Best Friends Book Club, our tween-hosted, unscripted book-club web series. Its short-form yet multi-episode approach is designed to enhance the reading experience, enable young readers to deep-dive into the story and characters, and spark discussion of what is important to them in their own lives.
Best Friends Book Club serves as a video readers’ guide for book groups and an educational tool for parents, teachers, and librarians. While accessible and entertaining for all, the show is geared toward tween readers and consists of 3-to-5-minute episodes, all of which can be seen on YouTube.
During the first batch of episodes, which are introduced by Pretty Little Liars star Janel Parrish, four extraordinarily talented hosts – Cam, Melissa, Kailey, and Carly – dig into THE JOURNEYS OF JOHN AND JULIA: GENESIS and relate the story to their personal, real-life experiences. Filmed in a girly, cool and eclectic clubhouse setting, the hosts fill the show with fun and vitality and let their personalities shine through. They guide the conversation with each installment and welcome viewers to contribute their own ideas through YouTube comments, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and Wattpad, where THE JOURNEYS OF JOHN AND JULIA: GENESIS is nearing half a million reads and continues to gain momentum.
In the run-up to the release of Book Two of the series, we began making weekly postings of Book One on teen social literary site Wattpad, one chapter at a time. With each chapter posting, we embedded mini-book trailers and complementary episodes of our Best Friends Book Club web series.
This strategy has garnered nearly half a million reads with enormous reader engagement in the form of comments and messages, beginning with the first posting and continuing to generate enthusiastic followers.
Rigler Creative worked closely with the Wattpad team to develop a promotional contest offering free signed print editions of the book and to feature the title on the site’s homepage. The Journeys of John and Julia: Genesis continues to be a Wattpad featured title.
A series of short book trailers take viewers into the magical world of the series.
The Book Site.
