Life and Writing
April 6, 2020 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as covid19, life, staying at home, walking dogs, writing
Life has changed. For everyone. At least for now.
Covid-19, the Corona virus, is out there. Hopefully none of you reading this has caught the virus, and neither have your family members or friends. But even so, it has affected you.
For one thing, I’m in California, where we’ve been directed to stay at home except for important outings such as buying food. Most states have given the same directive to their residents. As a writer, I’m used to staying home. But it still feels different when I don’t have an option, even for good reason.
So, no visits to exercise classes. My dogs are happy enough about that since my husband and I are taking them on more walks. Everyone else in my neighborhood seems to be doing the same thing, dogs or not, so we cross the street often to stay away from one another.
And writing? Well, I’m in the middle of an important edit, and that’s what I’m concentrating on. I’ve more writing to come, too. But I’m wondering how I’ll refer to the pandemic in future stories, when hopefully this is all behind us. Will I mention it? Will I ignore it? Will I take on writing a fiction story that is based on what is currently happening?
Not sure.
Even my reading now has been affected. When I read about a major gathering in a story, for example, my mind leaps out of the book and I scold all those people for getting together till I realize where I am and what I’m doing. Or even as I’m editing, I think about whether the people in my story need to be together at their workplaces, then slough that off as being today’s reality, not the fiction I’m writing.
So how long will this last? The experts vary in their estimates but in any case it’ll still be going on tomorrow and the next day and most likely several weeks, or months. It feels weird. It feels scary. And as a fiction writer having to deal with reality—it’s definitely difficult.
So… hang in there. I will.
Linda
0 0 Read moreFirst New Book of the Year! by Linda O. Johnston
February 6, 2020 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Linda O Johnston, new release, The Colton Family
My first new book of 2020 is a February release. It’s Colton First Responder, a Harlequin Romantic Suspense book.
Yes, it’s one book in the HRS long-lived series about the Colton family, which is large and has family members living in branches all over the country. A Colton is a hero or heroine in each of the books in that series, so it contains a lot of highly romantic members. And of course they’re romantic suspense books, so those Coltons keep getting involved in relationships… and suspense, including murders.
It’s my second Colton book, and I don’t have any more planned, although that could change. Meanwhile, I will have more HRS books coming out, though I don’t know if any will be published this year. So Colton First Responder may not only be my first book of the year, but also possibly the only one.
I mentioned last month that I wouldn’t be going to many, if any, conferences this year, although I attended four last year. The one I wasn’t sure about when I wrote my last blog post here was the Romance Writers of America National Conference. Since then, I’ve made up my mind—I’m not going. There has been a lot of controversy in RWA lately, and I’m hopeful things will eventually be worked out enough for the organization to survive. But because of the controversies, Harlequin will not be attending the conference, hence my decision not to, either.
Despite all the stuff that’s going on, I have renewed my membership in RWA and my local chapters. I’ve been a member for a long time, and hope to keep it all going.
How about you? How is your year going so far? Looking forward to anything in particular soon?
0 0 Read moreHappy New Year!
January 6, 2020 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as happy new year, Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Writing conferences
I know it’s the sixth of the month and you’re probably tired of hearing Happy New Year, but it is my first post here on A Slice of Orange for 2020. I could also say Happy New Decade, although I know that the new decade probably starts in 2021 instead, but I like the idea of 2020 being the new beginning.
So what’s up this year? For me, I’ll have at least one more Harlequin Romantic Suspense book, Colton First Responder, published in February. I’m working on two more HRS books but I don’t know when their publication dates will be. And so far, I don’t have any more cozy mysteries in the hopper, after the demise of my most recent publisher, Midnight Ink, but I do have some ideas I’m working on.
Last year, I attended four or five writing conferences. This year? I’m not sure how many I’ll attend–but the possibility exists of none. Sigh. I enjoy them but two of those I went to last year that are local are held every other year. Others? Well, I might jump in but there are reasons I may not–such as I may not attend Malice Domestic since I’m not currently writing a cozy mystery, nor do I have any recent ones to promote. Maybe the Romance Writers of America, though.
So how about you? What are you up to this year? More writing? More reading? More traveling or attending conferences? More enjoyable things?
Have fun no matter what you do!
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A New Month . . . and Missing the Old
December 6, 2019 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as December, Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Linda O Johnston, new release, romantic suspense
November is over. That’s notable in many ways, including that we’re now in the final month of this year.
And for me, one of the notable matters is that I’m no longer Author of the Month on A Slice of Orange!
I was so delighted to have had that honor last month. The blog website mentioned it with wonderful graphics showing quite a few of my books. I saw it posted several times on Facebook, and I posted it myself, as well.
It was a good month for it to happen. I had a new book released then: Colton 911: Caught in the Crossfire, a Harlequin Romantic Suspense book. As I mentioned here last month, it was my first book in the HRS long-lived series about the Colton family, which is large and has family members living in branches all over the country. A Colton is a hero or heroine in each of the books in that series, so it contains lot of highly romantic members.
And now? Well, my next Colton book will be a February 2020 release: Colton First Responder.
Anyway, thank you so much to A Slice of Orange, and to Marianne Donley, for the delightful recognition. I loved being Author of the Month!
Some of Linda’s Romantic Suspense Novels
New Harlequin Romantic Suspense Book! by Linda O. Johnston
November 6, 2019 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as Dogs!, Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Linda O Johnston, new releases
I’m excited to say that this November is the month for release of my latest Harlequin Romantic Suspense book. I love them all, of course, but this one has a special twist to it.
It’s my first in the long-running Colton series for HRS.
What’s that? Well, the Colton family has been around for many years as part of HRS. It’s large and has branches all over the country, and it seems that many of its members get involved as either heroes or heroines of romantic suspense stories, usually one a month.
My book is Colton 911: Caught in the Crossfire. In it, the hero, Casey Colton, is the family member. He’s also a Deputy Sheriff in Sur County, Arizona, the story’s setting. Casey is told to go help find some cattle rustlers who have stolen some very valuable black angus cows from the town selectman.
And who’s going to help him? The story’s heroine, Melody Hayworth, a ranch hand who works on the ranch from which the cattle were stolen.
You can guess how the two of them have to get along together during many days—and nights—alone on the cattle’s trail. And… well, it is a romance, after all, despite there being suspense in the story. They need to stay careful and professional and… well, help to take care of each other.
I’m also particularly excited this month to be the Author of the Month on A Slice of Orange.
Gee, this November is one fun month!
Linda’s Newest Harlequin Romantic Suspense Novel
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