FEATURED AUTHOR: LINDA O. JOHNSTON

ABOUT THE BOOK

Veterinary technician Carrie Kennersly, owner of the Barkery & Biscuits bakery for dogs, is reluctant to sell her recipes to pet food manufacturer VimPets. Jack Loroco, a VimPets representative, assures Carrie that it would be a great opportunity to grow her business. His promising new relationship with Carrie’s friend, Billi Matlock, doesn’t hurt his cause. But the budding romance takes a bad turn when Wanda Addler, another VimPets employee, sets her sights on Jack.
After threatening to ruin Jack’s career if he doesn’t give her what she wants, Wanda is found dead. Jack and Billi are put at the top of the suspect list, and Carrie is doggone determined to rescue them from a life behind bars.

GUEST POST BY LINDA O. JOHNSTON

More Barkery, Please

Hard to believe it, but my Barkery & Biscuits Mystery Series is now in its third year.  The third book in the series, Bad to the Bone, is a May 2017 release.  

In the series, protagonist Carrie Kennersly is a veterinary technician who dreamed of becoming her own boss. At the beginning of Bite the Biscuit, the first book in the series, her friend Brenda Anesco had to sell her bakery, Icing on the Cake, and move away from Knobcone Heights, California, to care for her ailing mother. Carrie bought it and converted half of Icing into Barkery and Biscuits, a store that sells handmade dog treats made from healthy recipes Carrie developed for patients as a vet tech. She also maintained the other half, Icing on the Cake, to sell fresh baked goods for people.
   
I realized when I began the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries that I was combining two popular cozy mystery themes: pets and cooking. I even include recipes in the stories--one for a dog treat and one for a people treat. 
I first came up with the hint of an idea for this series quite a few years ago, when I recognized  the emerging industry of small shops that catered to home-cooked meals and treats for pets but it wasn't very popular--then.

By the time Bite the Biscuit was published, that was already a different story.  In my area of Los Angeles, for example, there are quite a few shops like that. Some are even small chain stores.  

Of course I have to visit them, and I buy samples most places I visit. I have to be a little careful about what I buy, since my older Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Mystie has tummy issues and is on a prescription food diet, although I'm able to give her some new treats if I'm careful. Our other Cavalier, Cari, is a six-month-old puppy so I need to be a bit cautious about what she gets, too--mainly because she likes to eat everything around her. But I'm sure they both consider it fun that I'm doing this kind of research for my Barkery series. 

The books in the Barkery series are cozy mysteries, which means there are murders in them.  In Bite the Biscuit, Carrie herself was a murder suspect. In the second book in the series, To Catch a Treat, a visitor to Knobcone Heights who becomes Carrie's assistant in her shops--and her brother's main squeeze--is the primary suspect. And in Bad to the Bone, another friend is the top suspect when a visitor to the town gets murdered. Somehow, the murder rate in that small town appears to be increasing. Poor town--and poor Carrie!

In the meantime, Carrie's dog, Biscuit, gets to hang out in the Barkery and sample all the wonderful dog treats.  They both also go to the Knobcone Veterinary Clinic, where Carrie has maintained her part-time job as a veterinary technician.  And, yes, Carrie does keep solving murders.

And it's certainly fun to write these stories.  I hope you enjoy reading them!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Linda O. Johnston’s first published fiction appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and won the Robert L. Fish Memorial Award for Best First Mystery Short Story of the year. Since then, Linda, a former lawyer who is now a full-time writer, has published more short stories, novellas, and 38 romance and mystery novels, including the Pet Rescue Mystery Series, a spinoff from her Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime, and Harlequin Romantic Suspense as well as the Alpha Force paranormal romance miniseries for Harlequin Nocturne. She additionally writes the Superstition Mysteries for Midnight Ink. Her latest cozy mystery series, the Barkery and Biscuits Mysteries are also from Midnight Ink.



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FEATURED AUTHOR: LINDA O. JOHNSTON

ABOUT THE BOOK

Rory Chasen, manager of the Lucky Dog Boutique in Destiny, California, hopes her new line of good-luck doggy toys will be a hit, especially the stuffed rabbits with extra-large feet. The timing of the line’s debut proves ill-fated, though, as several local shops―including Rory’s―are ransacked and vandalized with spilled salt and other unlucky charms. The most likely culprit is disgruntled real estate agent Flora Curtival, whose issues with the town give her a motive. But after Flora is murdered and one of Rory’s toy rabbits is found with the body, Rory needs all the luck she can get while trying to determine just who killed the superstitious vandal.

INTERVIEW WITH LINDA O. JOHNSTON

Linda, do you have a writing routine?
Yes, of sorts. I find myself getting other stuff out of the way first in the morning, like responding to interview questions. And then, usually in the afternoon, I face the computer and get to work, knowing I've accomplished everything else I have to that day.

Do you write every day?
Yes, unless I'm traveling or at a writing event. I've done that for years!

What’s one thing you never leave the house without?
My purse, of course, and its important contents, most especially all the bookmarks I carry for my most recent releases, to leave in bookstores, or introduce myself to new people when appropriate, or just look at now and then for fun!

Do you have any secret talents?
Of course, but if I told you what they were they wouldn't be secret anymore. But I can tell you that I think I attract dogs. Or at least I hope I do. Dogs are my friends, my loves, my writing themes . . . but that's no secret to anyone who reads my stuff.

What’s your favorite beverage? 
Flavored coffee, like hazelnut, not sweetened or drowned with any other flavor. Yes, I'm an addict. Caffeine and I are good friends.

What drives you crazy?
That's a literal question for me. Traffic literally drives me crazy, and it's gotten so much worse since I moved to L.A. a long time ago.

What is your superpower?
What—only one? Let's see . . . I can fly. I can read other people's minds. I can send zingers or otherwise punish people who harm dogs. I can fight off anyone without lifting a finger. I can see through walls and hear whispers and catch scents as well as any dog. I can turn into a shapeshifter. I can... well, heck, I can do anything, at least on the computer. That's part of the power of writing.

What is one of your happiest moments?
When I can share hugs with the right people: family, including grandkids and dogs, especially my Cavaliers.

What do you like to do when there’s nothing to do?
Do you mean there actually is a time when there's nothing to do? My mind doesn't think so. If I'm not actively working or moving, I'm always plotting.

Do you procrastinate?
Let me think about that for a while . . . Oh, yes. Do I procrastinate? I'm still pondering . . . Well,  yes, I suppose I do procrastinate sometimes—but never when one of my dogs gives me a command.

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

What would you do for a Klondike bar?

Go visit Isaly's in Pittsburgh. That's where they started, and I loved them there as a kid. I don't think many Isaly restaurants exist anymore although some of their products are still sold in other stores—including Klondike bars!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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 & 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, Covert Attraction, a Harlequin Romantic Suspense novel, and Unlucky Charms, the third Superstition Mystery, are her forty-third and forty-fourth published novels.

Connect with Linda:   
Website  |  Blog  | Facebook 

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Midnight Ink Books  |  Barnes & Noble 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FEATURED AUTHOR: LINDA O. JOHNSTON

INTERVIEW WITH LINDA O. JOHNSTON

Linda, how did you get started writing?
I've always written! Even as a child I would save essay topics for the next time I had to write something for English class. I started writing a sci-fi saga that never got finished as a teenager. And when I was an adult, I started writing mystery short stories and time travel romances, then mysteries, and just kept going!

What's your favorite thing about the writing process?
I get to let my subconscious mind take over and run!

Do you have a writing routine?
Sort of, although it changes. Mostly these days, I get other stuff out of the way in the morning, then write or edit during the afternoon.

Do you write every day?
Absolutely—although I'm saying this after returning from the Malice Domestic conference where I didn't get an opportunity to write or edit. Let's just say I write every day when I'm home.

How often do you read? 
I read every day, although the amount of time I get to spend varies. 

What books do you currently have published?

I don't think you want me to list all of them here. There are 42 of them.

How do you feel about Facebook?
I really like Facebook, although I keep telling myself it's time to start an author's page.

What do you love about where you live?
It's Hollywood! What's not to love about that?


What's the biggest lie you ever told?
Who me, an author, lie? Never!


What’s your favorite beverage? 
I admit to being a coffee addict.

What drives you crazy?
Lots of people do. That's one reason I love dogs.

What do you like to do when there’s nothing to do?
Hug my dogs.

Do you give your characters any of your bad traits?
Not exactly, although Kendra Ballantyne, the protagonist of my Pet-Sitter mysteries, was a lawyer who lived in the Hollywood Hills with her tricolor Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Lexie. At the time, I was a lawyer, I live in the Hollywood Hills, and my older Cavalier is a tricolor named Lexie. But fortunately I've never stumbled over dead bodies.

Do you procrastinate?
I didn't mean to, but I didn't start my responses to my current blog tour as quickly as I should have . . .

What’s one thing that drives you crazy?
Traffic! And I know it well. After all, I've lived in Los Angeles for a good many years.

What is the most daring thing you've done?
I'm not sure it was daring, except for the fact that I'm not much of a swimmer. But a number of years ago I was researching a book that never got published, but it had dolphins in it—and I made an opportunity for myself to swim with dolphins!

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


Where is your favorite library, and what do you love about it?
I haven't been there in many years, but I grew up in Pittsburgh and absolutely adored the Carnegie Library there. It was in a charming old building, and I learned a lot there about books and people who wrote them.

What is the wallpaper on your computer’s desktop?
It's just some standard stuff—a blue background with a rainbow kind of logo. But the wallpaper on my phone is my two wonderful dogs, Lexie and Mystie!


What would you do for a Klondike bar?
Ah, as I mentioned, I grew up in Pittsburgh, where there were Isaly's stores all through my childhood, and they were the ones who invented Klondike Bars. I've always loved them. Maybe I'd become a child again for a Klondike bar!

What are you working on now?
I'm working on my third Barkery & Biscuits Mystery—title to come. And more stories in this series to come. By the way, To Catch a Treat is my 42nd published novel. I also currently write the Superstition Mysteries for Midnight Ink, as well as for two Harlequin series. Nearly all my stories involve dogs, including the Superstition Mysteries, where my protagonist owns a lucky black and white dog and runs a pet boutique, and my Harlequin Nocturne paranormal romances, the Alpha Force miniseries, about a covert military unit of shapeshifters!

Connect with Linda: 

Website  |  Blog  |  Character blog  |   Midnight Writers blog 
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  
Goodreads  

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  | Midnight Ink   

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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