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The New Year

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

My New Year’s resolution this year is much as it is every year: I resolve not to make any New Years resolutions!

I’m happy to see the new year arrive. It’s a fresh start, of sorts. But I don’t plan to do things much differently this year from last.

I do have a lot to accomplish this year, though, with all the writing and promotion I aspire–no, intend!–to do in 2013.

I intend to meet all deadlines. I intend to learn and implement as many ways as possible to let people know about my published work–self promotion has become an integral part of my life! I intend to work on some creative directions that may not fit the mold of what I’ve already been writing. I also intend to flesh out lots of fun new ideas for some of the genres I’ve been writing in.

Hey–did I just contradict myself? Maybe intentions aren’t so different from resolutions.

One thing’s for sure. I’m resolved to attend as many OCC meetings as possible, since interacting with my friends there helps to inspire me to continue. Plus, it’s fun.

So, Happy New Year to you–and may you accomplish all your resolutions or intentions!

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Waiting, Planning, and Obsessing

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

by Linda O. Johnston

It’s February. I’m obsessed.

With what? Planning for the March release of BEAGLEMANIA, the first in my new Pet Rescue Mystery series, a spinoff from my Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mysteries. It’s all about Lauren Vancouver, who was introduced in HOWL DEADLY and also appeared in FELINE FATALE, both Kendra mysteries. She runs a no-kill animal shelter in the San Fernando Valley. Saving animals is her obsession. Poor thing will soon start tripping over dead bodies, too.

I believe that all of us write, in some ways, about our obsessions. Romance is certainly something we all obsess over at times. Mysteries and suspense? Less so, maybe, but those of us who write cozy mysteries often feature protagonists who engage in hobbies or other ventures that we love–while they’re solving murders, too.

I love it each time one of my books is released. This one, though, is in some ways more exciting. Why? Maybe it’s because, like Lauren, I’ve become a bit obsessed with pet rescue issues. I volunteer as a dog adoption counselor at Pet Orphans of Southern California. And I just became the LA Pet Rescue Examiner. Be sure to come and check out my Examiner.com articles!

Some of my excitement is because this will be the launch of a brand new series that addresses difficult issues in a way that, I hope, is both amusing and educational. For example, BEAGLEMANIA starts at a puppy mill rescue. The stories are cozy mysteries, so of course there are murders that get wrapped up at the end. In the Pet Rescue Mysteries, “no-kill” refers to pets, not people!

So far, no shapeshifters have appeared in my Pet Rescue Mystery manuscripts. I’m saving them for my upcoming Harlequin Nocturnes, which I’m also looking forward to. But you can see that all my obsessions seem to involve animals.

What are your obsessions, and do you write about them?

Be sure to watch for the new Lauren Vancouver, Pet Rescuer series! The first book BEAGLE MANIA will be out 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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Speaking at OCC by Linda O Johnston

July 6, 2010 by in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston, Writing: It's a Business tagged as , , , ,

I’ve been a member of OCC for quite a few years. During that time, I’ve given a lot of talks and classes, and been on many panels, but the only one I’ve been on for OCC was at the Autumn Affaire conference about ten years ago.

I used to be very nervous speaking in front of any group, but I’ve done it often enough now that I’m generally fine. However, I think one of the reasons I haven’t made a point to volunteer to speak at OCC is that the idea makes me nervous!

Why? I’m not sure. I always want to make a good impression, no matter who the group is. But maybe I figure it’ll stick with me more if I mess up in front of you!

So why am I mentioning this now? Well, in August, I’m going to be talking about what I learn at RWA National that I can share with the group in the afternoon session. And in the morning session in September, I’ll be sharing what I know about combining romance and suspense in a novel. Two months in a row? I’m a glutton for punishment!

Come and listen to me. Please clap politely and keep your snickers to yourself. And–well, forget that. Both will be learning experiences for me, as well as for you, I hope. Please join me at both of them!

     FELINE FATALE, Linda’s ninth Kendra Ballantyne mystery for Berkley Prime Crime will be out July 2010. 

     Be sure to watch for the new Lauren Vancouver, Pet Rescuer series! The first book BEAGLE MANIA will be out in March 2011. It’s a spin-off from the Kendra series, and Lauren is introduced in HOWL DEADLY.

     ALASKAN WOLF, another in the Alpha Force series from Harlequin Nocturne, will be published in December 2010.

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

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Blogging About What I Love by Linda O. Johnston

February 8, 2010 by in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as , , ,

Blog = web log. That’s elementary. And what’s a log? It can be a kind of journal. That’s how I look at it, anyway.

I always enjoy blogging on A Slice of Orange. As you may know, I also blog weekly at killerhobbies.blogspot.com. I was invited to join a long time ago because Killer Hobbies’ focus is on hobbies that are featured in mysteries. My Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery series features pets, and I’ve always maintained that pets are family, not hobbies. Even so, I usually try to mention pet-related things on my posts there. Of course I love writing about pets, so that works out well.

Other times, I focus largely on writing, its fun and frustrations. Since writing is so important to me, that’s fun, too. It’s often when I get the most comments. Same appears to go for my blog sisters, too.

This week, I blogged about writing short stories, and I was pleased at the number of comments that came up early in the day–faster than usual. Not a huge amount, as some other blog sites get, but a bunch just the same.

So… since A Slice of Orange is the blog of OCC, it’s natural for me to focus on writing here, at least more than pets. I love writing. I do it all the time, and I’m always looking for more! I can always talk about what I’m working on, and that’s a lot of what I’ve done here so far. But I’d still love to hear more about what YOU are interested in hearing. Feel free to ask me to reveal secrets. If I know the answers, I’ll have to gauge whether I want to make them public, but you’ll never know how much I’ll give up till you ask.

By the way, I’m going to be giving a class soon at the new online school, Story Stew University. It’ll be on Blending Romance and Suspense. Check it out, along with other classes at: storystewuniversity.com

Linda O. Johnston

Linda O. Johnston is the author of 15 romance novels and several novellas, including a current Nocturne Bites, with 2 more Nocturnes upcoming. She also writes the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime. HOWL DEADLY, the newest title in the series has just been released.

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Holiday Season by Linda O. Johnston

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

I recently returned home from a trip to Branson, Missouri. Talk about Christmas spirit! Most of the shows are at the ends of their season, but nearly every entertainer included a lot of Christmas carols.

I’d never been to Branson before and enjoyed it—including all the shopping! I still needed a lot of holiday presents and was able to check off a quite a few people from my list of those I still needed to shop for by the time I got home. Of course that ruined my ability to fly back home with only carry-on luggage.

I did see my latest Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery, HOWL DEADLY, on bookstore shelves for the first time in Branson, at a Books-A-Million. It’s a December release, and that, as always, was a kick!

My writing suffered some on this trip—too busy to get much done. But I did take an afternoon to do nothing but write, and also was able to edit on the plane home. I had a couple of appearances as soon as I returned—a talk on promotion at the East Valley Authors chapter of RWA at the Azusa Library, and a holiday party at the Mysterious Galaxy bookstore in San Diego. I’ve other parties I could be going to now… but it’s time to get down to work!

Happy holidays, everyone! And come see me at the OCC meeting next week. I hope to be signing HOWL DEADLY.

I’d love to hear what’s keeping you busy during this holiday season…

Linda O. Johnston
http://www.lindaojohnston.com/
http://www.killerhobbies.blogspot.com/
Linda O. Johnston is the author of 15 romance novels and several novellas, including a current Nocturne Bites, with 2 more Nocturnes upcoming. She also writes the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime. HOWL DEADLY, the newest title in the series has just been released.

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