Linda O. Johnston Featured Author
September 21, 2023 by Linda O. Johnston in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as cozy mysteries, Dogs!, Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Linda O Johnston, mysteries, romance'
Linda O. Johnston enjoys writing, romance, puzzles, and dogs.
A former lawyer, Linda is now a full-time writer and has published 57 books so far, including mysteries and romantic novels. She has written several cozy mystery series including the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries and Superstition Mysteries for Midnight Ink, and the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mysteries and Pet Rescue Mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime. She also writes romances for Harlequin, including Harlequin Romantic Suspense. Writing as Lark O. Jensen, her latest release is Bear Witness from Crooked Lane Books. No matter what name she uses, nearly all Linda’s current stories involve dogs!
In addition to blogging for A Slice of Orange on the 6th of every month, Linda blogs at Killer Hobbies, Killer Characters, and Writerspace. Linda was interviewed by Jann Ryan, you can read all about it in Linda O. Johnston—Mysteries, Romantic Suspense and So Much More!
Linda enjoys hearing from readers. Visit her website at www.LindaOJohnston.com or friend her on Facebook.
A Few of Linda’s Many Books
Spotlight on A. J. Scudiere
September 20, 2023 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Spotlight tagged as AJ Scudiere, Bad Name, First Book in Series, Pre-order, The Hangman's Shadow Series, thriller
A born nerd, AJ was excited that her birthday fell on the first day of school many years. As an adult, she continued on this geeky path, still loving school. She now holds Psychobiology, Neuroscience, and Forensic degrees.
AJ was that kid, the one librarians held books for and waived the parental approval to check out books from the adult library. By the age of seven, AJ had read and loved Christine, Cujo, Carrie, the Amityville Horror and a ton of other things she should never have gotten her hands on. It explains a lot.
The author of 30+ books and a USA Today Bestseller, AJ has won 15 Best Suspense/Best Fiction of the year awards. Her work is gritty and always walks the edge of reality.
Pre-order The First Book in AJ’s The Hangman’s Shadow Series
BAD NAME
Jesse Nash just lost her daughter.
Georgia Dunham desperately needs to find her mother.
Jesse is on her couch with a bottle of whiskey…she’s supposed to be on the trail of a killer. Can Georgia convince her to take on yet another case when she can’t even handle what she has? Jesse may be the only one who can find the elusive Sin.
Cindy Baker might be able to help. But Cindy has seen more lives than she’s lived and isn’t even willing to open the door.
Troubled pasts come back to haunt them. Twisted cases lead to uncertain futures.
Book Two in The Hangman’s Shadow series IN THE TEMPLE
IN THE TEMPLE will be out sometime in 2024. Cover reveal coming soon!
How to Design and Teach an Online Workshop
September 18, 2023 by marianne h donley in category Ages 2 Perfection Online Class, Online Classes tagged as Age 2 Perfection Online Class, Catherine Chant, Developing an Online Class, Online Class
Presented by: Catherine Chant
Date: October 16 – 27, 2023 (two weeks)
Registration Closes: February 24, 2023
Pricing: A2P Member fee: $15
Non-A2P Member fee: $25
About the Workshop:
This two-week workshop begins with an overview of why you would want to create and teach an online workshop, and covers these topics:
1. Developing a workshop topic
2. Identifying your audience
3. Designing a lesson plan
4. Interacting with your students
5. Designing exercises for your students
6. Your workshop proposal
7. Technical aspects of online teaching
At the end of this workshop you will have a basic outline of your course and the first draft of a proposal ready to polish and send out to workshop coordinators.
About the Presenter:
Catherine Chant is a Romance Writers of America (RWA) Golden Heart® finalist. She writes rock ‘n’ roll romantic fiction and stories with paranormal twists for young adults. Her young adult rock ‘n’ roll time travel series is available now at your favorite online bookseller, and her popular workshops “Grow a Book: Turning Your Story Idea Into a Workable Plot” and “Character Journaling: Developing Stronger Characters from the Inside Out” are now available as e-books. She teaches several online workshops for writers throughout the year. You can learn more at her website: http://www.catherinechant.com
Digging Deep: Researching Your Novel
September 17, 2023 by marianne h donley in category Ages 2 Perfection Online Class, Online Classes
Presented by: Cynthia Owens
Date: October 1 – 31, 2023 (one month)
Registration Closes: October 16, 2023
Pricing: A2P Member fee: $20
Non-A2P Member fee: $30
About the Workshop:
Digging Deep: Researching Your Novel, will introduce you to various research methods, as well as different options for organizing your research.
We will cover:
• The Foundation—Examines various methods for organizing your research.
• The Inverted Triangle—A Writing Right Academy exclusive! Narrowing the focus of your research.
• The Written Word—Using books, magazine and newspaper articles, libraries, archives and the Internet to find what you’re looking for.
• The Media—Examines the various media that can help you research your novel.
• In Real Life—Explains the art of interviewing experts on your subjects.
• Bon Voyage—What you need to know before you take that research trip.
• Author’s Notes—Examines the types of author’s notes.
• All Together Now—Pulling your research together.
Included in the class is a workbook with resources, worksheets, checklists, and more.
About the Presenter:
I believe I was destined to be interested in history. One of my distant ancestors, Thomas Aubert, reportedly sailed up the St. Lawrence River to discover Canada some 26 years before Jacques Cartier’s 1534 voyage. Another relative was a 17thCentury “King’s Girl,” one of a group of young unmarried girls sent to New France (now the province of Quebec) as brides for the habitants (settlers) there.
My passion for reading made me long to write books like the ones I enjoyed, and I tried penning sequels to my favorite Nancy Drew mysteries. Later, fancying myself a female version of Andrew Lloyd Weber, I drafted a musical set in Paris during WWII.
A former journalist and lifelong Celtophile, I enjoyed a previous career as a reporter/editor for a small chain of community newspapers before returning to my first love, romantic fiction. My stories usually include an Irish setting, hero or heroine, and sometimes all three.
Places of Everyday Inspiration
September 15, 2023 by Renae Wrich in category Writing tagged as #writingIt’s fall!!! Well, kind of. My husband’s birthday is this weekend and he likes to remind me that technically his birthday is still in summer. But, it’s almost fall and it feels like fall – that counts, right? The leaves in Minnesota are starting to change, there’s pumpkin spice favoring everywhere you turn, kids are back in school, the stores are out of chili beans, and the temperatures are dropping.
One of my absolute favorite parts about fall is taking outdoor walks. I do this year-round, but let’s be honest, fall is definitely the most optimal time of the year. No need to wear extra bundles of clothing and worry about your face freezing off, or shed clothes like crazy and have sweat pour down your back.
I started walking outside during the pandemic as a way to escape the four walls of my house and keep my mental health in check. It’s since grown into one of my favorite pastimes. I queue up an audio book, grab the dog, and take a walk during my lunch. Sometimes my husband joins me and it has become a way for us to have meaningful, adult conversations without tiny voices interrupting us. I also find that this time has been a great source of inspiration to me as a writer. Very frequently an idea will come to me during my walk that requires me to stop and make a note in my phone.
Unfortunately, my “day job” company recently decided to adjust our hybrid work policy in a way that now requires us return to the office more often than not. This means that I need to say goodbye to my lunchtime walks. Side note – My office is not located in a place that is conducive to outdoor walking.
I find myself now mourning my midday outdoor walks and the everyday inspiration they’d bring me as a writer. I’m now leaning heavily on the other places that bring me inspiration. They are as follows:
1. The shower. It’s weird, but it works.
2. The car. Not so great for taking notes, but usually pretty effective for generating ideas.
3. Vacations. Doesn’t happen as often as I wish they would, but usually great writing time for me.
What are you favorite places and/or activities to spark creative thinking?
Featured Books
THE LAST MILE
A novel of taut suspense and danger from New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin.
More info →
THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL
To prove her father’s innocence, she’ll have to turn a killer's sights on herself.
More info →
DESERT ICE
Sin City in 1955, where the women are beautiful and almost everything is legal-
More info →
SILENT WITNESS
A mentally challenged child is dead; his father will stop at nothing to see the killer punished.
More info → 
