FEATURED AUTHOR: LINDA O. JOHNSTON

ABOUT THE BOOK

Rory Chasen, now the manager of the Lucky Dog Boutique in Destiny, California, is delighted when her best friend Gemma arrives a day early for her visit. Gemma’s just broken up with her boyfriend in Los Angeles, so Rory is especially eager to cheer her up. But before they get a chance to talk, two of the town’s most eligible bachelors sidle in. Their amorous advances—and an unexpected job offer—seem to take Gemma’s mind off her ex . . . until he arrives in Destiny. As Gemma tries to sort out what to do, one of her suitors is murdered, leaving Rory to wonder if a black cat has crossed Gemma’s path. Is Rory’s friend guilty of murder—or is she just having a run of bad luck.

INTERVIEW WITH LINDA O. JOHNSTON

How did you get started writing and when did you become an “author?”
I started writing as a child and never stopped! I used to save topics for school essays and had lots of fun with them, got an undergraduate degree in journalism, became a lawyer and wrote contracts, then started publishing fiction with a mystery short story that won the Robert L. Fish Award for the best first mystery short story of the year. I've been publishing novels for 20 years.

What's your favorite thing about the writing process?
I love to think up new concepts, then flesh them out into a story or series – especially if they have dogs in them! It's a process, and I've come to trust my subconscious to come up with something I can get excited about. Like superstitions and, yes, dogs – which of course are both featured in the Superstition Mysteries.

What books do you currently have published? 
Knock on Wood is my 41st novel. I've been writing 4 cozy mystery series including the Superstition Mysteries, as well as romantic suspense and paranormal romance.

How do you feel about Facebook?
I enjoy Facebook. It's a way to make new friends and promotional contacts and stay in frequent touch with those I already have.

YouTube is ...
A treasury of dog commercials.

What five things would you never want to live without?
My family: my husband, sons, d-i-l and grandsons  (okay, that's actually 7 to start with)
My dogs
My computer
My imagination
My home

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
Depends on when you ask me. Since I'm just sitting at the computer today, I'm an introvert. But if I'm giving a talk or on a panel, I'm an extrovert.

What's your relationship with your TV remote?
We're good friends except when it decides to act slowly.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
"Reality is only for those who lack imagination."

What would your main character say about you?
Interesting question. Rory Chasen, the main character in my Superstition Mysteries, might ask me if I believe in superstitions. She's a superstition agnostic, but she has to find out of superstitions are real after her fiancé walked under a ladder and died soon thereafter. Now she lives in Destiny, California, with her lucky dog Pluckie, managing the Lucky Dog Boutique. And solving murders. And dealing with superstitions that tourists and townsfolk are always talking about.

So do I believe in superstitions? I'm not sure, but I do cross my fingers and knock on wood, like nearly everyone else. And if Rory asked me why I imposed this story idea on her, I might tell her I'm wishing good luck for her and everyone else who reads the Superstition Mysteries.

Whether she'd set a black cat to cross my path after that I'm not sure . . .

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?
I loved my Pet Rescue mystery series, but some of the stories were hard to write since they all involved a different aspect of pet rescue, such as puppy mills. On the other hand, I made it clear that all the animals would be saved and come out of the stories just fine.  People, on the other hand – well, they were cozy mysteries, so at least one person had to be murdered.


Where is your favorite library, and what do you love about it?
I love the Los Angeles Library system because it's huge and I can order nearly any book I want and have it show up locally.



What are you working on now?
Four novel series: the Superstition Mysteries, the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries, the Alpha Force paranormal romance series for Harlequin Nocturne about a covert military unit of shapeshifters, and the non-witness protection miniseries for Harlequin Romantic Suspense.

Lightning round:
Cake or frosting? Cake.
Laptop or desktop? Desktop – mine always seems to give me less backtalk than my laptops.
Chevy Chase or Bill Murray? Bill Murray.
Emailing or texting? Emailing – can make it longer with more attachments. On the other hand, I do text a lot with friends and family . . .
Indoors or outdoors? Indoors – easier to work there.
Tea: sweet or unsweet? Neither. Coffee.
Plane, train, or automobile? Depends on where I'm going.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Linda O. Johnston, a former lawyer who is now a full-time writer, currently writes two mystery series for Midnight Ink involving dogs: the Superstition Mysteries, where her protagonist runs a pet boutique, and the Barkery and Biscuits Mysteries where the protagonist, a veterinary technician, also owns a barkery and a bakery. She has also written the Pet Rescue Mystery Series, a spinoff from her Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime and also currently writes for Harlequin Romantic Suspense as well as the Alpha Force paranormal romance miniseries about shapeshifters for Harlequin Nocturne. Her latest releases, Canadian Wolf for Nocturne and the second Superstition Mystery, Knock on Wood, are her fortieth and forty-first published novels.

Connect with Linda:
Website  | Blog  |  Facebook  |  
Twitter  |  Goodreads