WRITERS STILL WRITE by Linda O. Johnston
June 6, 2018 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as #amwriting, adversity, career, writing
Exactly a year ago my blog post here at A Slice of Orange was called “Writers Write. Oh, Yeah!” It was about my efforts to get my mind back on track for writing after I broke my knee–and I was becoming at least somewhat successful.
So why is this post titled “Writers Still Write”? Because I’m at a different stage of my career, yet I’m once more concerned about my writing and what’s next.
You see, I just finished a manuscript that is currently in the hands of my beta reader. I believe it’s the first manuscript for which I ever had to ask for a deadline extension—mostly because of several edits coming in quickly from another publisher as well as travel and family plans. I intend to jump right in and get it ready to send off as soon as I receive comments.
The other strange thing? Recently, I’ve had a lot of deadlines to meet . . . but this is the last story I’m currently under contract for. That’s become unusual—particularly since I have four books being published this year!
And so I’m wondering what’s next.
I haven’t had a lot of time to work on new proposals lately, though I do have some ideas I’m submitting. Plus, just for the fun if it, I’m working on an idea for a story, possibly a series, that’s outside my current realm of cozy mysteries and romantic suspense.
Will it work out? Who knows? But . . . yes, this writer is still writing and giving it a try. And though I’m pretty much only traditionally published, I’ll also consider self-publishing.
I’d love to know how many of you who are reading this also have stepped outside their usual, established genre(s) and tried something else—and what’s happened.
Meanwhile, I’m giving my subconscious some new orders–or at least the kind of order I haven’t focused on much lately . . . like do something different and do it well!
Linda
2 0 Read moreLinda O. Johnston: June Featured Author
June 1, 2018 by Linda O. Johnston in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as dogs, Featured Author of the Month, Linda O Johnston, mysteries, Pets, Suspense
Linda O. Johnston
Linda O Johnston started publishing fiction with a series of short stories for Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. The fist story, “Different Drummers” won the Robert L. Fish Memorial Award for best first mystery short story in 1988.
Her first novel published in 1995, A Glimpse of Forever was a time travel romance for Love Spell. Since then she has written over 40 novels . . . mysteries, paranormal romance, romantic suspense and more.
Pets and especially dogs frequently show up in Linda’s novels. She has written for Berkley Prime Crime, The Kendra Ballantyne Pet-Sitter Mysteries, which was a spin-off of the Pet Rescue Mysteries and for Midnight Ink The Superstition Mysteries.
She is currently writing three different series. Her most current releases are Pick and Chews, the fourth Barkery & Biscuits Mystery from Midnight Ink, Second Chance Soldier, in the K-9 Ranch Rescue series for Harlequin Romantic Suspense and Protector Wolf, a paranormal romance for Harlequin Nocturne.
In addition to blogging for A Slice of Orange on the 6th of every month, Linda blogs at Killer Hobbies, Killer Characters, the Midnight Ink authors blog, and Writerspace.
Linda enjoys hearing from readers. Visit her website at www.LindaOJohnston.com or friend her on Facebook.
A New Mystery by Linda O. Johnston
May 6, 2018 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as Cozy mystery, dogs, mysteries, series
A New Mystery
The official availability of my new May release is in 2 days–May 8.
What is it? It’s, PICK AND CHEWS, the fourth in my Barkery & Biscuits Mystery Series for Midnight Ink.
As I’ve mentioned before, I have four books being published this year, one mystery and three romances.
PICK AND CHEWS is about Carrie Kennersly, a veterinary technician, who buys a friend’s bakery and turns half into a barkery, where she sells healthy dog treats that she’s developed.
Does she have a romantic interest? Of course! Everything I write contains a romance, as well as elements of mystery or suspense or both. In this case, Carrie’s guy is a veterinarian at the vet clinic where she still works part-time, Dr. Reed Storme. Reed has been telling her to back off from helping to solve murders because it’s too dangerous for her. But… well, in PICK AND CHEWS he backs off from that position a bit because he’s the one who’s the main murder suspect.
So, what’s next this year? Well, as I mentioned before, the first in my K-9 Ranch Rescue miniseries for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, SECOND CHANCE SOLDIER, was published in March. Its sequel TRAINED TO PROTECT will be an October release.
And then, in November, my last Harlequin Nocturne, VISIONARY WOLF, will be published. It’s the ninth in my Alpha Force series about a covert military unit of shapeshifters—and the last, since the Nocturne line is ending this year.
So—yes. Three romances, plus one mystery, in 2018. I celebrate them all!
Linda
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Publicity by Linda O. Johnston
April 6, 2018 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as blogging, Marketing. Social Media, publicity
I mentioned my first book of 2018 last month when it was published. There will be three more published this year, and the second will be a May release.
It’s PICK AND CHEWS, the fourth in my Barkery & Biscuits Mystery Series for Midnight Ink., and the only one this year that isn’t a romance.
I’ve started publicizing it already, which is always necessary when you have a book published, whether traditionally as mind mostly are, or self-published. This week, I appeared on a panel of other mystery writers at the Altadena Main Library, where several of us talked about the mystery subgenres we write in.
And what else is pending? Well, I’ll be at the L.A. Times Festival of Books later this month. There, I’ll spend some time at the Romance Writers of America booth, where I’ll get to publicize my romances, including the book published last month: the first in my K-9 Ranch Rescue miniseries for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, SECOND CHANCE SOLDIER. I also have times scheduled at a couple of booths for mystery writers, sponsored by local chapters of the Mystery Writers of America.
Next? Malice Domestic, a conference in Bethesda, Maryland, that features cozy mysteries, as mine are. And after that my next conference is RWA National in Denver this year–where of course my focus of publicizing my work will be on my romances.
Then there are my ongoing blogs, here at A Slice of Orange, plus Killer Characters, Killer Hobbies, Under Cover of Midnight, and The Writers in Residence, plus more at Writerspace.
Then there’s social media. I’m on Facebook a lot.
Is that all? I certainly hope it isn’t. Publicity is something that continues. And, fortunately, it’s mostly fun!
What about for you? Do you do a lot of publicity? What are your favorite resources?
Linda
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The Fun of a New Series by Linda O. Johnston
March 6, 2018 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as Harlequin Romantic Suspense, K-9 Ranch Rescue, series, writing
A New Series
It’s March! That means my first new book of the year, SECOND CHANCE SOLDIER, is officially available. It became available in its e-format on March 1, and today, March 6, it is also officially available in print format. I’m delighted to say, though, that I’ve seen, and signed, a copy in a store already.
As I mentioned before, SECOND CHANCE SOLDIER is the first in my new K-9 Ranch Rescue miniseries for Harlequin Romantic Suspense. I’ve had several other HRS books published and enjoyed them all, but this one is special in a couple of ways. First, of course, is that it has dogs featured in it, along with the romance–and the suspense. And second, it’s also the first in a miniseries for HRS. The second book in the series, TRAINED TO PROTECT will be an October 2018 release. Will there be more? Too early to tell, but I hope so.
I always enjoy when a new book comes out, and it’s particularly fun when it’s the first in a new series. But I have fun with later books in a series, too.
Some authors plan out all the books in a series from the first. Not me. I never know for sure how many books there will be in a series, so I simply wait and see as the series goes forward. But while doing so, I get to know the characters and their backgrounds well, so it’s never a problem to keep the series going.
My last Harlequin Nocturne paranormal romance will be published later this year. It’s the last because the whole Harlequin series is being ended, and therefore so will my miniseries for the line, the Alpha Force stories about a covert military unit of shapeshifters. I hadn’t even considered the initial story to be the first in a series at all, let alone nine books. I’d had another Nocturne published and thought it might be the first of a series, but my Harlequin editors told me to go with Alpha Force—and I have, and definitely enjoyed it.
Anyway, right now I’m excited about my K-9 Ranch Rescue story and its upcoming sequel. SECOND CHANCE SOLDIER has a handsome and damaged hero, a strong heroine… and yes, dogs!
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