Linda O. Johnston – The Writers in Residence

Topics

by Linda Johnston

Hey, I’m up again this week at The Writers in Residence. So what’s my blog topic? Blog Topics!

How do we decide on what topics to write about in our blogs? Well, we’re all writers, and we write about sometimes similar but always different things related to writing and reading. As I was trying to determine what to write about this week, I checked on my own most recent topics as well as those of my fellow Writers in Residence.

Some of my most recent involved how fast we write, and events around us that stimulate our writing. Some of my fellow WinR authors wrote about books (of course), book events, dream jobs, including writing, paper that we use to write, and otherwise, favorite phrases, favorite seasons to write…and more.

The common thread is, of course, our writing and that of others that we enjoy reading. How to decide on the topic to write about? Read, study, consider possibilities—then do it.

One of my favorite topics is dogs, but I can’t always write about them. I do so whenever I can, though. Like here. I just got to mention dogs!

So, what will be the topic of my next blog here? Something related to writing, but I still have to ponder what.

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?

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?

Writers & Time

by Linda O. Johnston

I’m a writer, and I’m a fan of time—but sometimes it stumps me. Kicks me in the butt. Gives me a hard… time.

For one thing, time in stories is a major factor. How long will the story go on? How old is the protagonist, and will they age much in it?

And what is the time when the story takes place: contemporary times? Historical? Sometime in the future?

And then there’s my own time. I’m good at fulfilling deadlines, but sometimes I really have to work at it.

In fact, one of the reasons I swapped the date for my post this month is because I was determined to finish a first draft of a novel I’m currently working in, with a deadline approaching, and I was focusing mainly on that.

But I’m generally used to dealing with time and finding ways to handle it. For example, years ago when my kids were young and I was practicing law, I got up an hour earlier than the others in my household and wrote then. And a while later, when I wound up having to commute for more than an hour each way every day for my law job, I’d already started getting published, so I’d head very early to my job and hide in my office for an hour before starting to work—and everyone knew I was writing then and left me alone.

And now? Hey, I’ll stop writing this soon and get into the edits of that manuscript I mentioned. I did finish a very rough first draft, but there’s lots more work to do.

How about you? How do you deal with time in your life and writing or other work?

Promotion

by Linda O. Johnston

It’s November. A special month for me. I have two new books being published this month. Yes, two. My sixtieth and sixty-first traditionally published novels.

I’m delighted, of course, but still want to do more.

Meantime, I am now in the middle of promoting those books. What are they?

One of them is CRY WOLF, the second Alaska Untamed Mystery that I’m writing for Crooked Lane Books under my first pseudonym, Lark O. Jensen. I’m going to let the world know about it in a variety of ways, including additional blogs and a chat at Writerspace. I’m being interviewed by some people online. And I’m doing a Great Escapes Blog Tour, also online.

The other is CSI COLTON AND THE WITNESS, a Harlequin Romantic Suspense book in their vast series about the large Colton family. Because it’s a series with a large following in itself, and this story is the eleventh in this year’s miniseries, The Coltons of New York, I’m mentioning it a lot but not doing as much promotion for it.

So what do writers do when they want the world to know about their stories? They get out there and tell people in whatever way makes sense!

I’ve been doing this for a long time and have tried many ways of blaring my books out to anyone who’ll listen, including being on panels at conferences, giving talks at chapters of local writers’ organizations, whatever I can find. I’m doing a blog tour and have done several before. I’m volunteering to write articles for various publications.

Do they help? Who knows? I do sell books, but I’ve not had a bestseller. Not yet. But I’m working on it—and the promotions surely don’t hurt.

So what do you do when you have a book published? How do you publicize it? I’d be delighted to hear new ways of doing it, and the other writers who read this would most likely enjoy hearing it too. What works best for you?

And even if you’re not a writer, what kind of publicity do you like to see best from writers?

Let’s get out there!