by Linda O. Johnston
As I’ve said here, and elsewhere, many times before, I’ve been writing for a long time. My stories have varied from paranormal romance to mysteries to romantic suspense and more.
The backgrounds and themes in each series have been primarily different— but one theme appears a lot: dogs.
No, this isn’t the first time I’ve written about special themes here, but that’s a topic always on my mind as I write, and as I read what other writers write.
My first mystery series, the Kendra Ballantyne Pet-Sitter Mysteries, featured a woman named Kendra Ballantyne, of course. She was a lawyer who lived in the Hollywood Hills, and she had a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Lexie. I was a practicing lawyer then, I lived in the Hollywood Hills, and one of my Cavaliers at the time was named Lexie. My Lexie was definitely a good model for the one in my mysteries.
I’ve also written other mystery series and several series for Harlequin, including Harlequin Romantic Suspense, and they usually feature dogs. Plus, I also wrote paranormal romance for Harlequin Nocturne, which no longer exists, and they featured Alpha Force, a paranormal military unit of shapeshifters—mostly werewolves. Yes, canines.
Other writers use different themes, of course. How do we choose our themes? However we want to choose them!
How about you writers reading this? Do you focus on any particular themes? If so, how do you decide which to use?
I’m sure I’ll keep writing about dogs, and most likely other animals, for a long time!
