lindaojohnston

Retirement?

by Linda O Johnston

Do writers ever retire?

Oh, I know what retirement is. I used to be an attorney and practiced law for quite a few years. Most of that time, I was an in-house real estate attorney for Union Oil Company of California, but eventually Unocal wound down, selling off its assets. When I left, I continued to practice real estate law, primarily assisting other attorneys, but I never took on another actual job. And eventually, I allowed my law license to become officially inactive. Retirement of sorts.

I was writing all that time, and even before that. I started my first story as a kid and kept on going. Now, I’m no longer a kid, and I’m a retired attorney. But will I ever retire from writing?

Oh, I’ve slowed down some, but I still have a couple of deadlines to meet. And when I think about stopping, I remind myself that I’ve already been researching a new idea for quite a while and that keeps going. I kind of know where I’m going with it. And yes, it will require—what else?—more writing.

So, retirement? I doubt that will ever be on my schedule. I might get even slower, perhaps. Spend more time researching than writing. But there’s always a computer around, as well as my ideas.

How about you, other writers reading this? Are you slowing down? Will you ever retire?

PLOT, PLOT, PLOT

by Linda O. Johnston

We’re all novelists here at Writers in Residence. That means we all tell stories that may have some origin in fact, or not. But what we finish up with is fiction.

Whether I’m writing romantic suspense or mystery these days, the genres I’m into most, there always needs to be a plot. I’m not sure what the best definition of “plot” is, but in my estimation it’s how a story starts and continues and develops, with one thing that happens leading to the next until the grand finale, and then the wrap-up.

Where do my plots come from? My mind! I ponder them a lot as I plan a story and then write it, with things sometimes changing from what I originally intended. I make it somewhat easier on myself by plotting in advance, and I’ve even developed my own plot skeleton, pages with blanks to be filled in with people and how they interact and what they’re up to, whether it’s romance or murder, or a combination!

So, you other writers here. How do you plot? Do you enjoy it? Are you usually happy with the result when you finish a draft or manuscript?

I’m usually happy. But any issues may be the key to my figuring out my next plot.

LIFE IS RESEARCH

by Linda O. Johnston

At the moment, I’m continuing to write enjoyable stories in my new series for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, about K-9s and PIs. Have I had to do research? Of course, even more than I’ve done before about K-9s and their commands.

But my entire life tends to be research. I love to read and write about animals, especially dogs, so whenever I can, I investigate pets and wildlife in different areas, and how they act, interact, and do their means of communication. I read books, newspaper articles, and more.

And then I look out my front and back doors and windows. I see murders of crows, individual mockingbirds and other birds, lots of squirrels getting into trouble with my husband since they like to eat the fruit he grows, people and dogs going by on walks, vehicles that turn or park in the wrong places…all could be fodder for stories. Yes, even the people who drive those vehicles. I’d never get near them or hurt them in person…but my characters in a mystery just might approach and commit murder or whatever.

Yes, my mind is always at work. Researching…and plotting. That happens when I go shopping. When I see events at the nearby Hollywood Bowl or other fun locations in my area—and when I travel too. Flying, riding Ubers and Lyfts and otherwise. What’s around—buildings? Waterways? My mind keeps watching and waiting and plotting. Lots of photos and notes! And my dogs also keep telling me what to do and when and what to write.

And you, if you’re a writer? Where do you get your ideas? How do you research them? What do you look for moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day, or more?

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!

by Linda O. Johnston

Location, location, location. I Googled that phrase when I thought about that as my blog theme today, thinking there was a movie with that name. No, there’s apparently no movie about it, but the phrase originated many years ago, referencing real estate sales. There’s also evidently a British reality show with that name. I’m always interested in real estate. Yes, I used to be a real estate attorney.

But I’m a writer now, and the locations in which I set my story are important. Sometimes, they’re real, as in my most recent mystery series, Alaska Untamed. And my first mystery series, the Kendra Ballantyne Pet-Sitter Mysteries, was set in Los Angeles. Kendra was a lawyer who lived in L.A. with her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Lexie. I was practicing law at the time, I live in L.A., and one of my Cavaliers at the time was Lexie.

Then there were my Alpha Force books for Harlequin Nocturne, where the setting was mainly a remote, fictional military base where the shapeshifters could change without being too much in the public’s eye. The stories are currently being republished as eBooks.

Currently, I’m mostly writing for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, and my settings are fictional. For example, my Shelter of Secrets series, which is ending, is set in a fictional remote area of Southern California where a special shelter that cares for animals—and people in trouble—is located.

So how do other writers decide where to set their stories? If you’re a writer, how do you decide? How do you determine whether to use a real or a fictional location? In any event, location is an important part of the story, since the characters have to live their lives in the area and deal with whatever is going on in their fictional lives there, or in other locations to which they travel.

What’s your favorite location to read about—and maybe to visit, for research purposes or just for fun?

Getting Word Out There

by Linda O. Johnston

Promotion. Writers need to do it, especially when they have a book coming out.

As I do. The fifth in my Shelter of Secrets series for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, CANINE REFUGE, will be an April release. It’ll be the last in that series, which I’ve enjoyed writing. And I want to make sure the world knows about it.

And so I’m mentioning it here. And on my weekly blog for Killer Hobbies. Plus, I’m speaking today at the Union Oil Company Alumni Association lunch, and guess what I’ll be mentioning along with a lot more. In addition, I subscribe to a promotional organization called Writerspace, which also maintains my website. I do more promotions there, including sending out a newsletter—which I haven’t done for a while.

So, what do other writers do? Most published writers understand the importance of getting the word out when they have a new book coming out, whether it’s from a traditional publisher, as mine are, or if they self-publish, which is becoming much more popular these days.

My first career was in advertising and public relations many years ago, but things have changed. A lot of promo then could be in publications like newspapers and magazines, but there was no internet then. Now, it’s much easier to get word out all over the country, all over the world, by finding sources online and utilizing them.

But is it okay to bombard prospective readers with info about new books? Well, why not? It’s good to let them know about them, whether it’s via social media or otherwise. The more they know, the more likely they are to buy and read a new book. And they certainly don’t have to buy it if it’s not their kind of thing—if they prefer mysteries or regular romance to romantic suspense, for example.

So all you other writers out there, how do you promote your new releases? Do you promote them? And readers, whether writers or not, how do you prefer to learn about new releases?

An Interesting Year Already

by Linda O. Johnston

Hey, it’s only the third week of January 2025, and a lot has happened that we writers in Los Angeles could use as subjects or backgrounds in our writing for the rest of the year.

What’s happened?

Well, those terrible fires that apparently made the news everywhere. Rosemary did a wonderful job of describing them last week. And I certainly identified with a lot she was saying. But with all that happened, I just found myself focusing on it when I started to do my post for this week. So here we are again.

I was one of the fortunate people who had fires start not too far away but not come very close. The winds were strong, and the air quality became terrible. But I didn’t even see any of the fires anywhere nearby.

Writers often take things that happen around us and make them subjects of our writing. Will I do that?

Maybe, and maybe not. I’m currently working on a new mini-series for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, and although I do have the stories set in the Los Angeles area, I’m not sure about working the fires into them.

I hope that all of you reading this remain safe, from fires and every other disaster that might occur wherever you are.

And I hope you all have a wonderful 2025.

Choosing a Genre

by Linda O. Johnston

Or does the genre choose us?

I’ve written here before about choosing a theme in the fiction we’re writing, but now I’m going to discuss selecting a genre.

Me? I’ve written in many genres, starting with mystery short stories way back when, then moving into time travel romances, mysteries, paranormal romances and romantic suspense. And often writing in more than one of those genres at the same time.

How did I choose the genre each time?

Well, it was partly what popped into my head and hung on there. And that was most often because whatever genre I decided to write in was also one I was currently reading a lot in.

Therefore, in that respect, the genre I’m reading most at the moment does often choose me, insisting that I write my own story or several in that genre.

So… mysteries? For me, always. Well, almost always. Though I’m still reading mysteries, my own mystery writing has slowed down. Not that I don’t include mysteries in what I’m writing, though, since my current focus is romantic suspense.

Yes, you might have noticed that a common tie between many of those genres I’ve written in is romance. I love love stories! Even when I’ve written a strictly mystery story, my protagonist almost always has a romantic relationship.

For example, in my first published mystery series, the Kendra Ballantyne Pet-Sitter mysteries, Kendra is a lawyer on hiatus because of some nasty things that happened in her life, so she’s making a living now as a pet-sitter. Her wonderful Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Lexie is often with her. One way or another, she keeps tripping over murdered bodies. And, of course, sexy PI Jeff Hubbard comes into her life to help her solve all those mysteries.

Oh, yes, that other sort of genre—well, theme—that is almost always include in my stories, especially these days, is animals, mostly dogs, whether or not it’s a romance or mystery or something else. And Kendra’s stories were in some ways about me since I was a practicing lawyer at the time and one of my Cavaliers then was Lexie. But I’ve said all that here before.

Now? Well, I always have dogs around me, and so do the protagonists in my current Harlequin Romantic Suspense stories. The last in my current series, the Shelter of Secrets, is finishing up next year, and I’m already working on the first in the next series.

And you? What’s your favorite genre to read? And if you’re writing, what genre(s) are you writing in?

Choosing a Theme

by Linda O Johnston

Every writer writes what they know and what they love—at least, hopefully. Sometimes, it’s also a specific genre or genres.

Of course we can go all sorts of directions in our writing as well as in our lives.

But me? It’ll come as no surprise to those of you who know me or read my stuff that I love dogs. And they’re not only important in my life. They’re important in my writing. And they’re the general theme of my writing.

I have had sixty-two novels published so far, with the sixty-second, my fourth Shelter of Secrets story for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, available starting now. It’s CANINE PROTECTION. Yes, canine. And number sixty-three, the fifth in my Shelter of Secrets series, CANINE REFUGE, will be published next year. I can’t tell you offhand how many of my books have featured dogs, but the great majority of them have.

Why? Well, they always say to write what you know, and I know dogs, and yes, I love them. My first mystery series, the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mysteries, featured a tricolor Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Lexie—the same name as one of the Cavaliers I owned when I wrote those stories. And Kendra was a lawyer who lived in the Hollywood Hills with Lexie. Yes, I was a practicing lawyer then, living in the Hollywood Hills, writing what I knew, kind of.

And right now, my first ruby Cavalier, Roxie, is staring at me as I write this. Her tricolor sister Cari is sleeping somewhere else, but she very often snoozes under my computer desk as I write.

Yes, I’m hooked on Cavaliers, but I don’t write much about them since I don’t want to overdo it with my readers. But other dogs, including service dogs, K-9s, and even pets—yes!

And including shelter dogs, like those in my Shelter of Secrets series which is ending next year. I’ve started writing the first book in a new series. And surprise, it also features dogs!

I’m always fascinated to learn why other writers write what they do—and if they also have ongoing themes in what they write.

So please comment here, you writers who are reading this. Do your stories contain any ongoing themes, and if so, what—and how did you decide to feature them?

Image by Ermir Kolonja from Pixabay

Why write?

by Linda O Johnston

As I’ve said before, writers write. But why?

I’m sure we each have our own reasons for wanting to write and to get our work out there in various ways for others to read.

Sometimes it’s because we have things to say that we want the world to know about, right, you writers out there? That’s one reason I write. Anything good about dogs is best for me.

But why else do I write?

Well, it’s who I am. I started writing as a child. I even had a story about a couple of kids who got together to travel to see the world. My mother saved what I wrote, and I think I have a copy—although I’d have to hunt around to find it.

And after? For one thing, I loved my English classes, learning spelling and grammar and how to write. I still have an affection for grammar, although it’s changed over the years. Who would have thought that?

In high school, I got into advanced English. And then, when I went to undergraduate school at Penn State, I majored in journalism with an advertising option. That helped since I also did some writing and editing for my dad, who had an advertising and public relations agency, and I eventually became his employee. Before I became full-time there, I wrote articles for a small newspaper, making use of my undergraduate degree in journalism. But while I worked for my dad, I met the guy who became my husband and he got me interested in law school. And yes, although that involved a lot of reading and studying of law cases, there was writing involved there too.

When I eventually started practicing law, I did write some legal briefs, then became a transactional attorney. And I’ve always said that contracts are just another form of fiction!

As I practiced law and before, I also started writing actual fiction, and started getting it published–including winning the Robert L. Fish Memorial Award for the best first short story of the year for my first published story—and so it continued.

Why? Because I loved it. Still do. I like trying different forms of fiction, though now I’m concentrating on romantic suspense and mystery.

How about you? How and why did you start writing? Did you always like it? Do you like it now?

Write on!

Getting Out There

by Linda O. Johnston

Writers write. But to help sell what we write, we need to do promotion not only online, but also in person. So, we have to get out there.

Okay, I admit I’m doing it less than I used to before the pandemic. Not that I’m terrified about getting sick, but I kind of got used to not going to as many conferences as I used to. I previously attended Malice Domestic, Left Coast Crime and Bouchercon and the Romance Writers of America conferences often, as well as local meetings.

Now—well, I did go to Bouchercon and an RWA conference last year. This year, I’ve mostly just gone to meetings of local chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America and Orange County Romance Writers, sometimes on Zoom.

Oh, and coming up will be the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, and I’ll be signing at the local SinC and MWA booths there on Sunday, April 21.

Enjoyable? Yes. It’s always fun to see other writers in person, and to sell as many books as possible and get to autograph them for the buyers.

And I have to admit I miss the frequent lunches I used to attend with other Writers in Residence members. But some have moved away and it’s become more difficult to get together with any of them.

More conferences in the future? I hope to.

So—well, how do you get together with other writers these days? With readers? Only online, or do you see them in person too?