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Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

April 6, 2014 by Linda O. Johnston in category Events, Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as A Superstition Mystery, Harlequin Nocturne. Linda O. Johnston, Midnight Ink, Pet Rescue Mysteries

by Linda O. Johnston

I’m sorry to say I won’t be at the OCC meeting this month. But I’m happy to say that the reason is an event I really enjoy: the L.A. Times Festival of Books.

The LATFOB is a two-day event. This year, those two days are Saturday, April 12, and Sunday, April 13. I’ll be there both days, which means no OCC meeting, and, as it turns out, no Los Angeles Romance Authors meeting either, since it was changed to the second Sunday of the month rather than its usual third Sunday, which this month happens to be Easter.

I often try to schedule everything I want to do at the LATFOB on the same day, but that didn’t work out this year. I’ll be signing at two mystery booths and helping to staff the Mystery Writers of America booth, and the schedule worked best for me to do some on Saturday and some on Sunday.

Fortunately, I live not far from a Metro stop, so I can take the subway and train to the USC campus, where the festival is now held. It was at the UCLA campus for many years but that changed a few years ago.

I keep hoping for more of a romance presence there, too, but sponsoring booths is expensive. Harlequin had a presence last year but I don’t see them on the list of exhibitors this year. I know there was some talk of a bunch of us contributing to sponsor a booth, but I don’t think that materialized, at least not this year.

Even if you’ll be at OCC this month, come to the USC campus on Sunday and say hi and check out the many wonderful booths. There are also speakers, although you generally have to sign up in advance for those programs. But why not plan ahead? And, yes, there is a romance panel on Saturday that includes some OCC members!

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Happy New Year!

January 6, 2014 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Linda O. Johnston, Pet Rescue Mysteries, Shapeshifters

Can you believe it’s 2014 already? I can’t–and yet I can. Time passes quickly, especially with lots going on.

I’m looking forward to the first OCC meeting of the year. Will you be there? I will! The topics all sound great–including the afternoon one about writing military heroes. I do that–although mine are shapeshifters.

The PAW topic will be a discussion of blog tours, and I’m in the middle of one right now to promote my new Pet Rescue Mystery, TEACUP TURBULENCE, just released this month. I may be signing it, as well as my December Harlequin Romantic Suspense novel COVERT ATTRACTION, at the meeting.
Meantime, I’m planning for another three books to be published this year–two Harlequin Nocturnes, both part of my Alpha Force miniseries about a covert military unit of shapeshifters, as well as my first Superstition Mystery later in the year.

And of course in addition to promoting, I’m working on proposals for additional ideas that I hope to be able to write… and will soon be starting another book under deadline.

How about you? Are you doing a lot connected with your writing career this new year? My fingers are crossed that we all have a happy, productive, and utterly fun year!

I’m still active on Facebook. Please come friend me there!

Happy reading,

Linda O! Johnston

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Leaving PAW

December 6, 2013 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as Harlequin, Karen Fulbright, Linda O. Johnston, Oodles of Poodles, PAW, Tailored Book Trailers

COVERT ATTRACTION

Okay, I’m not really leaving PAW. In fact, I hope to remain a proud member for a long time to come. But I’ve been helping to run PAW for several years now, starting when our dearly missed Charlotte Lobb was in charge and now being Debra Holland’s backup.

Soon Tara Lain and Skylar Kade will be taking over. I’m delighted! Debra’s done a great job despite my limited backup, and I’m sure our new PAW people will do it well, too.

This month, Karen Fulbright of Tailored Book Trailers will be our guest for part of the PAW meeting. She did a book trailer for me–the one I won from her at RWA National, for my Pet Rescue Mystery OODLES OF POODLES, and it’s really fun!

Hope to see you there or at the regular OCC meeting.

Linda O. Johnston
http://www.lindaojohnston.com/
http://www.killerhobbies.blogspot.com/

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RWA National 2014?

November 6, 2013 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston, Writing Conferences tagged as 2014 RWA National Conference, Linda O. Johnston, Rita Finalist

It’s been about a week now since I submitted a proposal for a panel for RWA National’s 2014 Conference in San Antonio, Texas. Will it be accepted? I certainly hope so.

The proposed topic? It involves writing concurrently in multiple genres or subgenres.

The fellow panelists I proposed include a delightful and successful agent (my agent!) plus a RITA finalist and a bestselling author. Their credentials exceed mine–but then again, I’ve had a lot of books published so far, with more to come. And recently I have found myself juggling them a lot among multiple genres.

So, my fingers are crossed that our panel is accepted. Will I attend the 2014 conference if our panel isn’t accepted? I hope to!

I realize I’m posting this when it’s now too late for you to come up with an idea and propose it. Sorry! The deadline was November 1, five days ago–and that’s why this is still on my mind.

How about you–are you attending the RWA National 2014 Conference? Did you submit a panel proposal?

Linda O. Johnston
http://www.lindaojohnston.com/
http://www.killerhobbies.blogspot.com/

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OCC’s Birthday Bash

October 6, 2013 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as Birthday Bash 2013, Linda O. Johnston

Next weekend is OCC’s Birthday Bash!

I’ll be there, although only on Saturday. Because of other time commitments, I can’t attend the pajama party or stay overnight. But I’m really looking forward to it.

The speakers and guests this year sound absolutely great! You can see some of the info on the post below this one. Plus, getting together with OCC members is always fun.

Hope to see you there!

Linda O. Johnston
http://www.lindaojohnston.com/
http://www.killerhobbies.blogspot.com/

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