Linda O. Johnston – The Writers in Residence

Book Choices and Choice Books

by Linda O. Johnston

A couple of weeks ago, Hannah Dennison wrote a post here about “So Many Books! So Little Time!” I certainly agree with that concept. I’m always writing, of course, and I’m also always reading. Like many writers, and readers, I collect a lot of books.

How do I decide which to buy? Well, I’ve been pondering that, and the results don’t surprise me. And I suspect that’s true with a lot of others who love to read.

First, I write romantic suspense stories these days for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, as well as mysteries for Crooked Lane. Guess what. Among the books I read the most are Harlequin Romantic Suspense books, and mysteries. For one thing, I am writing books for the vast and long-lasting Colton stories for HRS. I have one being published in December that’s the eleventh in the year-long Coltons of New York mini-series. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that I’ve been reading the earlier ones in that series this year. And I’ve done the same thing with the other Colton series I’ve written for in previous years.

I also have my own HRS miniseries about a Shelter of Secrets, where a very special animal shelter also shelters people in trouble. I do read other HRS books, especially those that also contain dogs. And yes, I read other Harlequin books, too, many of which contain dogs.

And that’s something else. I’m a dog nut, so I’ll also pick up a lot of books that are stories including dogs, even if they’re not romantic suspense or mysteries.

My mystery series for Crooked Lane is the Alaska Untamed series, under my first pseudonym, Lark O. Jensen. It has wildlife, and dogs, in it. I like to read many kinds of mysteries, and those that take place in Alaska also intrigue me, especially if they have dogs. And other stories in Alaska also get my attention. Plus other mysteries…primarily with dogs.

Anyway, you get the idea. I’ve got some particular interests and love to read stories containing those subjects. Do I also read other books, including best sellers? Sure, especially if they’re recommended by friends. But I have to figure out my time first.

How about you? How do you select the kinds of stories you read?

Writers on the Road

by Linda O. Johnston

Well, not literally on the road necessarily, but traveling. On vacation.

Is there such a thing as a vacation for a writer? Yes… and no.

Wherever we are, whatever we’re doing, our minds are busy. Never mind whether we’re sitting at a computer churning out whatever story we are working on. That might not happen as much while we are out of our usual environment.

But yes, we’re writing when we’re not writing. Our minds are at work, observing what’s around us, the environment, the people including possibly our families but also those who are there on vacation too, or locals, or those who are taking care of us at whatever hotels or resorts we might be visiting or cruises we’re on.

It’s all inspiration! No matter what we might be writing at the moment or planning to write in the near future, we’re always open to new ideas that we might head for in the future.

Yes, last time I was here I wrote about a life of strange inspirations. But what about inspirations that aren’t strange, but fun?

So why am I addressing this? Well, last week I was on a family trip at a resort in Cancun. Oh, yes, it was fun. I loved being with family, and the environment was amazing. Extremely windy when we were there, but the brilliant blue water beyond the white sand beach at the place we were staying was beautiful. A lot of generous service from the resort staff. Multi-level swimming pools. Vast buildings around areas where outside entertainment was provided. Even fireworks!

I had mixed emotions about some of it. We’d been to that resort before, and they have a couple of large pools containing dolphins that appear to be well treated considering where they are, but having such smart animals that are originally from vast sea environments contained like that… Well, I’ve researched dolphins. They’re wonderful beings. As smart as humans in their environment. Am I inspired to write about them? I’ve always been inspired to write about them, but definitely not in situations like that—unless they can find a way out and get revenge!

See! My mind was at work while I was relaxing and enjoying my vacation.

How about you? Does traveling inspire you to develop new ideas, new stories, different kinds of things?

By the way, this subject is so vital to me that I’m incorporating it into the three blogs I’m posting on the same day this month. I’m addressing it somewhat differently, but it’s definitely on my mind. Along with my writing.

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Photo by Leon Overweel on Unsplash

Deciding What to Write

By Linda O. Johnston

If you’re a writer, how do you decide what to write?

Often, it’s the kind of story you love to read: romance, mystery, paranormal, historical fiction, whatever. That makes sense.

Or maybe something you believe others will want to read, so it’ll sell well. But that’s not something totally predicable. So I go with what I enjoy.

With me, my preferences have changed over the years. Oh, I’ve always enjoyed romances, romantic suspense and mysteries. I’m not as much into historical stories as I used to be. Same regarding paranormal stories.

But you could probably tell what my favorite stuff was at any time of my life in the past many years by seeing what I’ve written!

My first published fiction was a short story in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, and I won the Robert L. Fish Award for first published short story! Yes, it was a mystery of sorts, a humorous one: “Different Drummers.”

My first published novels consisted of time travel romance, and most revolved around places or things I particularly liked. For example, one of them, Point in Time, took place in Pittsburgh, where I grew up. Another took place in Alaska, in the Klondike, and I’ve always loved visiting there: The Ballad of Jack O’Dair. And of course there’s Once a Cavalier, featuring my babies, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.

I wrote other paranormal romances too, including Stranger on the Mountain, and the Alpha Force miniseries I created for Harlequin Nocturne, about a military unit of shapeshifters.

I loved paranormal romance! But notice that’s in the past tense. So is my focus on paranormal stories. I still read some, but I’m not writing any now.

I’d always enjoyed mysteries and romantic suspense. I still do—and that’s in the present tense!

That’s why I write them both: romantic suspense for Harlequin Romantic Suspense—and formerly for Harlequin Intrigue—and mysteries, over time, for multiple publishers including Berkley and Midnight Ink, and—upcoming!—Crooked Lane. Most of the mysteries, and as many romantic suspense as possible, include animals, especially dogs. I love to write about dogs. Why? Because I love dogs!.

So that’s how I decide what to write: again, what I love to read. But also what I most enjoy writing about.

How do other authors decide? Based on conversations with fellow writers, I gather they, too, mostly figure out something they enjoy, then pounce on it and pour out a story they love.

It’d be hard, after all, to write a story if you didn’t like its subject or genre.

Those writers who are reading this blog, I’d love to hear in comments where your ideas originate and how you decide to write about them. And how you enjoy writing about them!

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Busy Then and Now

By Linda O. Johnston

I’m busy. I’m always busy. But busy before the pandemic began is a lot different from busy now.

Is that true for you, too?

I’ve been writing forever, and I’m fortunate to be traditionally published a lot. That means I generally have faced a lot of upcoming deadlines. That hasn’t changed, although at the moment there seem to be more than usual.

But my busy-ness before was enhanced a lot by get-togethers with other writers at meetings of local chapters of Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, and sometimes more. Then there were all the conferences I attended, which often included the Romance Writers of America National Conference, held annually in different locations. Then there were Malice Domestic, Left Coast Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and other mystery-related conferences. I attended at least one a year. And in addition, there were annual conferences locally, such as the California Crime Writers Conference.

And now? Well, some get-togethers are available virtually. I’ve attended some chapter meetings that way, but not annual conferences. I know Malice Domestic will be virtual this year and I keep receiving emails about it—but so far I haven’t decided to go.

That’s all certainly different from before. But things seem to be improving now, as far as the ability of people to meet in person, though in smaller groups, and the necessity of being vaccinated, and wearing masks, although that seems to be changing at least to some extent and in some locations.

So will I go back to the old ways as things open up again? I don’t know yet. Tempting, yes, but I want to feel more secure that I won’t get sick or bring the virus home to others. And maybe I’m getting into bad, more solitary habits this way.

I’ve been delighted, though, to meet some of my fellow Writers in Residence for our usual—formerly—monthly lunch recently!

And you? Do you attend conferences now, virtually or in person? Writing events? Reading events?

Image by TaniaRose from Pixabay

Social Media and Me

by Linda O. Johnston

Leprokhan. klee-4163741_640

First off: Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone, and the best of luck to you!

Now, into my topic of today: social media and me. And I have to admit I’m far from being an expert. But does that keep me away from some of the sites? No!

I’m always on my computer, or nearly so. Yes, I spend most of that time writing and editing and pondering the fiction I’m writing.

But then there’s social media and me. I spend too much time on Facebook, though I admit I’m not good at it. I look at other people’s posts and comment on them. On my own home page I’m likely to post stuff about anything special about the day, especially if there’s something going on about animals, particularly dogs. Most recently it was National K9 Veterans Day. Why? Because I’m a full-time dog lover.

I belong to Facebook groups, too. Some involving writing, of course, but that’s not all. Can you guess the topic in which I’ve joined the most groups? Well, what if I told you there are lots of Facebook groups featuring Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, the dog breed I’m addicted to? Right!

I do have my own website: www.LindaOJohnston.com And one of these days I’ll add an author page to Facebook. I hope.

I also get on social media to help promote my published novels. Yes, I do that on Facebook, especially when there’s something new coming out. This year, I’ll have two new Harlequin Romantic Suspense books published, one in August and one in October. You can bet I’ll let the world know via Facebook then.

And then there’s Writerspace. I subscribe to the site, which calls itself Communities for Writers and Readers. They do a lot of promotion for me. There’s a monthly Author News newsletter that I always participate in. I can do blogs there, and have new books featured, and participate in their monthly contest.

You can figure out, since I’m here, that I like to blog. A couple of the sites where I used to blog regularly have shut down, such as Killer Characters. I still blog on Killer Hobbies each Wednesday, but now there are only two of us posting there. I also blogged on the InkSpot blog fairly regularly, but that was one helping to promote books published by Midnight Ink, one of my former mystery publishers–that now has gone out of business.

What about other social media sites? I haven’t really gotten into them. I have a Twitter account but never use it except to read others’ posts. I also have a Goodreads account but am seldom there. I don’t do Instagram–or really much of anything else.

I admire people who do more than me in social media. And I’m generally open to trying something different as long as I don’t have to spend much time learning to do it.

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So–What do you think of Social Media? What’s your favorite site and why? What do you like to post? How often? And do you think it helps your writing and selling?

Genres and Generalities

by Linda O. Johnston

LINDA scott-broome-BcVvVvqiCGA-unsplash I love to write. I love to write novels that contain romance. I love to write novels that contain mystery or suspense.

Any surprise, then, that I write in multiple genres?

I’ve mentioned some of that before while blogging here. At the moment, as with many people who do many things, my career seems to be changing a bit, yet staying the same.

And yours?

I’m currently writing romantic suspense novels for Harlequin Romantic Suspense. I have a couple stories I’ve turned in that are my own plotting, and I’m currently working on another of HRS’s many, multiple stories about members of the Colton family, who always seem to be finding wonderful relationships and also dealing with a lot of crimes.

LINDA adult-1850704_640 My kind of story, and I follow their bible and have my characters interact with the protagonists of other Colton stories in the various mini-series that are part of the Colton series. When I write stories that are all my own I fit a lot of dogs into them, and occasionally have been able to slip one in to a Colton story.

I’ve also written a lot of cozy mysteries over time. My most recent cozy publisher went out of business, so I don’t have any currently in progress–although I believe, and hope, that a publisher that’s new to me is going to buy one of my ideas.

So–yes. I write in different genres, and often read in different genres to keep my ideas flowing. Generalities–I guess I can say I love fiction, I love suspense and mystery, I love animals… and, as I said, I love to write. Even these days, when there’s a lot going on in the world nearby and elsewhere. My writing has slowed as a result, but it goes forward.

It’s always fascinating to me to see that some writers stick to their primary genres as long as they write. Others are like me and have more than one favorite genre that they also go back and forth among–or sometimes combine them, as I do. Of course my cozies contain a romantic interest, and all my romances also contain suspense or mystery.

So how about you?

What are your favorite genres?

If you’re a writer, which genre(s) do you prefer to write in?

Or read in?

What’s your general purpose for reading?

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Linda O. Johnston, a former lawyer who is now a full-time writer, has written two mystery series for Midnight Ink involving dogs: the Barkery and Biscuits Mysteries, and the Superstition Mysteries. She has also written the Pet Rescue Mystery Series, a spinoff from her Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime. Currently writes for Harlequin Romantic Suspense as well as the Alpha Force paranormal romance miniseries about shapeshifters for Harlequin Nocturne.

This article was posted for Linda O. Johnston by Jackie Houchin (Photojaq)

Writers in Residence

by Linda O. Johnston

Lock down Yes, this is The Writers in Residence blog. And what am I posting about here today? Writers in residence.

That’s pretty much all of us writers, I assume. Some writers can write anywhere, and I know of many who prefer taking their laptops to a Starbucks or a Panera or similar place and spending many days there, ignoring the crowds and discussions around them and getting a lot of their writing done.

Prefer it? Maybe so, but even though a lot of towns in this country appear to be “opening up” more than they’ve been recently during the Covad-19 virus pandemic, the most logical locations still require social distancing and, mostly, masks. Sitting at a table nursing cups of coffee as you write may be a beloved memory, and a beloved aspiration for the future, but I doubt that many people are engaging in it now.

Maybe some writers who also have outside jobs are able to write at their offices, at lunchtime or other off hours. At one time, years ago, I arrived at my in-house law office an hour earlier than our scheduled starting time and used that hour as my writing time. My coworkers knew that’s what I was up to, so for them, I wasn’t there during that hour.

But now–well, most offices currently also allow, or even insist on, their employees working from home.

kaitlyn-baker-vZJdYl5JVXY-unsplash So most often these days, I assume we’re writers in residence. We all have homes–houses, apartments, condos or whatever–although maybe there are some homeless people out there who write, too. In any case, we reside somewhere. And write.

Those of us who are members of The Writers in Residence all have homes, not necessarily near one another. And as far as I know, we also all have home offices, or at least places within our homes where we write. If I’m wrong with respect to anyone, please tell me!

Me? Yes, I’ve been a writer in residence for a long time, no longer working as a lawyer. I have a messy office where I write, sitting in front of my computer nearly all day–except when one of my dogs comes in and stares at me and I need to figure out what she wants, which usually isn’t hard to do. But yes, I write a lot in my residence. I did so even before. And now, while we’re mostly confined to our homes, it feels even more appropriate.

Oh, and by the way, I was very impressed by our last Writers in Residence blog, written by Rosemary Lord–focusing on independent bookstores near us in Southern California. It’s a great idea to buy books from them, probably online and either have them shipped or pick them up outside the store. And it’s not only the independents doing that now. I’ve picked up several books from outside my nearby Bookstar, which is part of Barnes & Noble. I want that store, and the entire company, to survive, and the indies, too!

So how about you? Are you a writer in residence? A reader in residence? Both?

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Linda O. Johnston, a former lawyer who is now a full-time writer, currently writes two mystery series for Midnight Ink involving dogs: the Barkery and Biscuits Mysteries, and the Superstition Mysteries. She has also written the Pet Rescue Mystery Series, a spinoff from her Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime and also currently writes for Harlequin Romantic Suspense as well as the Alpha Force paranormal romance miniseries about shapeshifters for Harlequin Nocturne.

This article was posted for Linda O. Johnston by Jackie Houchin (Photojaq)

Upside Down

By Linda O. Johnston

upside down natural-2728146_640 Apologies. I’m late with this blog. But… well, as I’m sure all of you reading this know, life is different now from what it’s been.

The pandemic. Potential danger to all of us. Lots to learn about how to protect ourselves. Staying home most of the time–and only going out to buy essentials or bring in take-home food… occasionally.

What’s good about it? Well, for writers, our lives may not have to change as much as other people’s. We’re often home a lot anyway, staring at our computers and hopefully being productive on them.

But… well, for me, some of the changes include not getting together with other people for exercise classes. Or attending writers’ group meetings–which now have been canceled. Or even considering attending writers’ conferences, which are also mostly canceled anyway.

And then there were a couple of trips with family that we’ve had to cancel.

I am walking our dogs more than before, which they enjoy–though of course staying more than six feet away from also-walking neighbors. Our pups also enjoy having my husband and me around nearly all the time, to give them even more attention and treats.

So yes, that part is good. But considering how things will progress, when this might end, the situation regarding nearly the entire world… we’re upside down.

And then there’s this blog. Being late didn’t help, but my mind obviously is on other things. And though yes, I’m editing some stories I’ve been working on and plotting more–and my mind is also roiling around possible scenarios in which I can include this horrible situation in a book–things are different enough that I’m clearly not planning or focusing as I should be.

I’d like to be focusing here on an aspect of writing. That’s what we often do on the Writers in Residence blog. And in a way, I am. I’m suggesting that writers can do their job no matter what’s going on around them. Focus on fiction, perhaps, to help your mind deal with the difficult facts.

I’m suggesting that writers can do their job no matter what’s going on around them. Focus on fiction, perhaps, to help your mind deal with the difficult facts.

Perhaps the hardest thing for me is not seeing family. We have a son in our area but not right next door, and for now I’ve told him not to visit, at least for a while.

What’s the hardest thing for you? What kind of fiction are you focusing on to help you through this?

How are you upside down?

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Changes

by Linda O. Johnston

Linda O Johnston

Everyone’s careers, everyone’s lives, can change. And does change.

Once upon a time I was a practicing real estate attorney. I loved what I did, working in-house for a major oil company… that eventually had to sell off its assets, so that job ultimately ended. My last work for that company consisted of doing project work for the law department’s remaining real estate group for a while, and I used that to continue my practice by doing real estate project work for other attorneys.

Till the economy tanked and I was unable to grab onto any other projects, or even full-time jobs.

I’d already been published by then, in paranormal romance, romantic suspense and cozy mysteries. Writing then became my main career, and it remains that way today–although which genre I’m writing in does… change. You guessed it. I’m currently concentrating on Harlequin Romantic Suspense, which I love, but I’d also love to do some cozy mysteries as well and still remain traditionally published.

Then there are other things that change, like how to connect with other authors and readers, and how to promote my work. Last year, I attended four conferences, two focusing on romance and two focusing on mystery: Romance Writers of America National Conference, California Dreamin’, Malice Domestic, and California Crime Writers. Loved them all. But two of them, California Dreamin’ and California Crime Writers, are held by local organizations, and they’re both held every other year, the same year. Therefore, this is the off year.

I won’t be attending Malice Domestic this year even though I enjoy it, but its focus is cozy mysteries and I don’t have any new ones currently pending.

rwalogo Then there’s Romance Writers of America. It’s in San Francisco this year, and I’d certainly planned to go there, only… Well, things have changed in the entire organization. It’s been rocked by a scandal involving discrimination issues. I haven’t entirely followed all the changes and nuances, but a lot of people in charge have been ousted from their positions or resigned, and even a lot of members have decided not to renew their membership, even though the discrimination issues will hopefully all be addressed–and eliminated.

I’ve been a member for a long time, and I’m hopeful it will survive–including the local chapters I belong to–so I did renew. I’d hoped also to still attend the national conference. But even if it’s held this year, a lot of major traditional publishers have said they won’t participate, and that includes my romance publisher, Harlequin.

Colton First Resp So, instead of four conferences this year, I doubt I’ll attend any.

But will I keep on writing, and possibly in different genres? Oh, yeah. That’s who I am.

And by the way, my next published book will be available in about a week. It’s COLTON FIRST RESPONDER, a Harlequin Romantic Suspense novel that’s a February release.

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Enjoyable Events

by Linda Johnston

Who knew?

When I started getting published, I still believed that writers just wrote. That was before I began joining fun organizations like Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and Romance Writers of America.

I learned otherwise fairly fast. I joined MWA after I accepted my Robert L. Fish Award for Best First Short Story of the year in New York. When I then began writing time travel romances, I joined RWA and also went to meetings.

Even so, I had to learn that a good part of promotion is agreeing to be on panels and at special writing events.

So why am I talking about this now? Well, last weekend was a lot of fun.

First, on Saturday, I was invited to attend Cozy Con, sponsored by Kensington at the Redondo Beach Library. I’ve not written for Kensington, but I was one of the authors there nonetheless. And it was fun, with lots of opportunities for readers and fans to stop at tables where authors sat and chat for a while. Plus, there were giveaways to readers. And they were able to buy books which we could sign.

tri Color Spaniel dog-634031__340 Then, on Sunday, I was on a panel for Sisters in Crime at the Thousand Oaks Library, where several published authors were on Dying Laughing, a mystery authors panel, where we were asked questions about our writing–how it starts, how it continues, and a lot more, including humorous aspects. And I, unsurprisingly and fortunately, was asked a lot about the dogs in my stories.

And although those were new events which I definitely enjoyed, they were among lots of others I’ve participated in, and will continue to participate in, as an author. Local events, not just the many conferences I attend.

So who believes writing is a solitary sport? Oh, there are aspects of it that are… like the writing, at least most of the time. But getting out there is part of the career, a fun part of it, although I had to learn how not to be shy when out there giving answers or speeches to people.

Now? Just ask me, and if the timing and location work for me, I’ll see you there!

How about the rest of you authors out there?

lindaphoto Linda O. Johnston, a former lawyer who is now a full-time writer, currently writes two mystery series for Midnight Ink involving dogs: the Barkery and Biscuits Mysteries, and the Superstition Mysteries. She has also written the Pet Rescue Mystery Series, a spinoff from her Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime and also currently writes for Harlequin Romantic Suspense as well as the Alpha Force paranormal romance miniseries about shapeshifters for Harlequin Nocturne. Her most recent release is her 44th published novel, with more to come.