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Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

April 6, 2014 by in category Events, Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as , , ,

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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RWA National 2012

July 6, 2012 by in category Events, Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as , , , ,

RWA National 2012

It’s July–and my first Harlequin Romantic Suspense novel, UNDERCOVER SOLDIER, is available this month.


Also, it’s almost time for the Romance Writers of America National Conference!

This year, OCC members, it’s in our backyard. I’d imagine that most of you plan to attend.
As I do every year, I’ve been keeping track of all my upcoming meetings and parties at National on my online calendar, since it can be updated easily. I’ve unfortunately started running into conflicts, but I’ll do all I can to squeeze everything in.

That includes the panel I’m on, on Friday, July 27, at 2 PM. It’s on Writing a Series You’re Passionate About, and among the participants are OCC member Pat Wright (writing as Patricia Thayer) and our agent Paige Wheeler of Folio Literary Management. Come hear us–and bring questions!

I’ll also be at the Literacy Signing on Wednesday evening, so if you’re there come and say hi. I believe I’ll additionally be at the Berkley signing on Friday morning.

I hope to see you all there!
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Reader Events Rock!

May 6, 2011 by in category Events, Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston, Reading tagged as , ,

by Linda O Johnston

I just returned home from a trip east to attend three wonderful events for readers and writers.

The first was Malice Domestic, for fans and writers of traditional, cozy mysteries. I did my first Malice Go Round, which is speed-dating for fans. Lots of authors in groups of two visit about 20 tables packed with fans and told them all about their respective series in two minutes or less each. Exhausting! But definitely fun.

I attended panels and meetings and dinners at Malice, and was also on a panel called Tales with Tails with other authors whose stories involve animals. It was all delightful!

Then it was time to head for Oakmont, Pennsylvania, outside Pittsburgh, for the Festival of Mystery presented annually by the Mystery Lovers Bookshop.

Before the actual Festival was the librarians’ tea. It was really enjoyable meeting librarians and book club members there–with lots of goodies to eat, too. My mouth was usually too busy chatting to eat much, though.

And the Festival? What an amazing event! About 50 authors were delightfully swarmed by lots of fans in book-buying mode. We got to introduce ourselves and chat with readers and sign a bunch of books, and all this in a town that’s out of the mainstream–which means that many people had to come a distance to attend.

Didn’t hurt that I still have family in Pittsburgh. I got to see my father and aunt while I was there.

So now I’m looking forward even more to RWA National. How about you?













Have you read the new Lauren Vancouver, Pet Rescuer series? The first book BEAGLEMANIA was released in March 2011. It’s a spin-off from the Kendra series, and Lauren was introduced in HOWL DEADLY.

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

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Book Festivals

October 6, 2009 by in category Events, Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston, Reading tagged as , ,

There’s nothing like a good book fair for fun!

On Sunday, I attended the West Hollywood Book Fair in–you guessed it!–West Hollywood, California. I was on a panel called Ghosts, Ghouls & Goblins: Exploring the Supernatural in Mystery Fiction. Several of us on the panel write both paranormal fiction and in other genres, so it was enjoyable to discuss our decisions about what paranormal elements to include, and which stories to include them in.

I also signed books at the Sisters in Crime/LA booth, and I helped to staff the Mystery Writers of America, Southern California Chapter, booth, to tell people what MWA is about. Yes, I belong to MWA and SinC as well as RWA. Each organization provides something different–and valuable.

At the times I wasn’t otherwise scheduled, I sat at the Arfriend booth with my Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Lexie and Mystie. Lexie stars in my Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries–or at least her counterpart, also named Lexie, does. It’s a natural thing to take her along to promotional events where dogs are permitted. Mystie goes along for the ride whenever possible, and she steals the scene as she chases sunbeams, real or imaginary.

Arfriend, BTW, is a wonderful organization that acts as a resource guide for human and animal friends. Check out its website: http://www.arfriend.org

And, yes, I brought my own dog-sitter along for when I couldn’t pay complete attention to my pups. Fortunately, my husband Fred is a good sport and excellent pooch minder.

So… what book events have you attended lately? Which have impressed you most?

Linda O. Johnston

http://www.lindaojohnston.com/

http://www.killerhobbies.blogspot.com/

Linda O. Johnston is the author of 16 romance novels and several novellas, including a Nocturne Bites that is also in a current print anthology AWAKENING THE BEAST, with more Nocturnes upcoming. She also writes the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime and will soon start working on the spin-off Pet Rescue series.

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New and Upcoming Books!

June 6, 2008 by in category Events, Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as , ,

by Linda O. Johnston
www.LindaOJohnston.com

 

 

I’m really fortunate: I’m multi-published and love it! Sometimes, I even have more than one book published a year. Not this year, though. DOUBLE DOG DARE, the sixth in the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery, is a June release, and it’s my only book of 2008. Which is fine with me.

Then there’s 2009, coming up way too fast! I will have three, maybe four, books published then. My first Silhouette Nocturne, now titled ALPHA WOLF, will be a January release, and I will have a Nocturne Bites available as an e-novella that same month, also based on the Wolf Force. My second Nocturne, working title MORTAL OPTIONS, has been scheduled for June. The seventh Kendra book, NEVER SAY STY, will be out in April. And there’s a small possibility that the eight Kendra book could come out by year-end, since they tend to be published around eight months apart.

As my last Slice of Orange blog indicated, I’m already going nuts running to various events to publicize my books, and that’s so even with just one out this year. Am I complaining? Absolutely not! I realize how lucky I am. But I mentioned cloning myself in my last post here, and that was before I was given publication dates for my Nocturnes. Now it seems like an even better idea.

Better yet, I’ll send Kendra! She is my alter ego, after all. She and I are both lawyers who live in the Hollywood Hills with our Cavalier King Charles Spaniels named Lexie. Unfortunately, though, the similarities end there. Or maybe not so unfortunately. My practice of law as a real estate attorney is a lot less exciting than hers as a litigator, specialist in Animal Dispute Resolution, and murder magnet. But she’s very busy practicing law, pet-sitting and solving crimes in her spare time. I suspect that she’d very nicely but firmly tell me to do it myself.

And I will!

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