Writing Series

by Linda O. Johnston

    Happy August, everyone.  Yikes, this year is going fast.  This is the first Monday of the month as well as the first day, so here I am.

    The creator of an online newsletter asked me to write an article on writing series, and I'm working on it.  But it also gave me the idea to write about it here, for my InkSpot post.

    I'm a seasoned writer.  My August release, not a Midnight Ink book so I won't go into detail here, is my 43rd published novel.  I started out writing quite a few stand-alone books, but really believe I found my niche when I started writing series.

    Most of my series books are cozy mysteries.  I wrote two series before I started here at Midnight Ink with my Superstition Mysteries and my Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries. 

    So what do I like about writing series?  I enjoy getting to know my characters, figuring out how they'll react in all the situations, good and bad, that I stick them into.  In my Midnight Ink books, since they're all cozy mysteries, my characters have to learn to deal with dead bodies and accusations against them or their friends as being major murder suspects.

    I get to know the story backgrounds, too.  My next mystery, UNLUCKY CHARMS--yes, my book number 44--will be released in October.  It's my third Superstition Mystery, and it has been a whole lot of fun researching superstitions and using them in my stories.  I have to admit that, as much as I also love my Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries, I'm not much of a cook, but I've tried out all the recipes friends provide for my books--sometimes with help--before making them available.  It's fun to include them, even if I don't create them.   TO CATCH A TREAT, the second in that series, was published in May.

    And over the course of time nearly all my stories have come to have one major underlying theme: dogs. 

    I'm including some of those basics in my article on series:  continuing and developing characters, underlying themes... and the murders in mysteries.  There's more, too, including how to figure out what hurdles to place in front of the protagonists that they can leap over, as well as making at least one of the continuing characters a love interest.  And, oh yes, how do I best fit dogs into the stories?

    Fortunately, readers seem to like series, too.  If they read one book in a series and enjoy it, they're likely to read the rest.  Even so, I try to make all of my stories somewhat standalone so readers don't have to start at the beginning to know what's going on.

    I think it's great that Midnight Ink publishes as many series as it does.  And if anyone has additional ideas about series and what you'd like to see in them, be sure to let me know so I can update this post--and include it in my other article.

Happy July Fourth!

by Linda O. Johnston

    It's the first Monday of the month, which is when I post my blog here at InkSpot.  It's also the Fourth of July.  Independence Day.  An important national holiday.  A day of freedom.

   So what am I going to do?  Write, of course!

   I'm delighted that I have the freedom to write.  I've retired from my career as a lawyer, and though I miss it I now can create even more stories that originate in my own mind.  I was a transactional attorney, which means I handled--what else?--transactions.  I didn't go to court, but I negotiated contracts.  And I've always said that contracts are just another form of fiction.

   And now I'm all about fiction.  And dogs.  In fact, most of my fiction contains dogs.

   Plus, as long as I've been at this, I'm still learning.

   What am I learning?  Well, for one thing, that I'm not the only one who loves dogs.  When I communicate with readers or other writers, they often let me know about their own dogs.  And it's certainly fun to write about those smart and sweet creatures.

   Then there's the fact that killing people is a good way of easing tensions--as long as it's done fictionally.  I often say I'm glad I've had books published, since if anyone hacked into my computer and saw what I research they might think I'm really a killer.

   And I'm always learning more as I delve into research for each series, and each book in the series.  For my Barkery & Biscuits stories, I'm learning about things that are healthy to feed dogs, and for my Superstition Mysteries I'm learning more about superstitions.  My most recent release from Midnight Ink was TO CATCH A TREAT, the second Barkery mystery, and my third Superstition Mystery, UNLUCKY CHARMS, will be published in October.

   Will I learn even more?  Of course!  Mysteries always require research.  And I also write romances and additionally research stuff involved in their backgrounds.

   In any event, I'm glad I have the freedom to write what I consider to be fun.  And that others have the freedom to read what I write!

   So, happy Fourth of July everyone!  Hope you enjoy the fireworks wherever you are.  And please make sure your pets are safe.

Malice Domestic

--by Linda O. Johnston

I know I'm a little late posting this.  That's because I purposely delayed writing it until I left Malice Domestic, a wonderful conference for cozy mystery readers and writers that took place this weekend.

It was wonderful!  I got to see old friends and make new ones.  I hung out with fellow Inkers, talked about our books and shared information about our respective series.

I got to chat with my delightful Midnight Ink editor Terri Bischoff.  At the buffet I sat at the table hosted by fellow Inker Tracy Weber, who was nominated for an Agatha for best first novel.  I'm so proud of her!  We also sat near another table of Inkers and were able to toast each other with delicious wine.

My Malice panel was: The "Paws" That Refresh: Four-Legged Detectives and Their Sidekicks, where my fellow panelists also write mysteries dealing with pets, mostly dogs and cats.  What a fun group!

I participated in Malice Go Round, which is the exhausting but enjoyable event where authors visit tables of readers two at a time to each give two-minute pitches of their work, then move on.  I'd been second on the waiting list of authors, and a few authors very sadly weren't able to make it to the conference or otherwise were not able to attend this event. 

I received a copy of the Midnight Ink magazine containing its fall lineup of mysteries.  It had the cover of my upcoming October release, the second Superstition Mystery, KNOCK ON WOOD in it!  It looks great.  Information and covers of my existing MI books were there, too, including the first Superstition novel LOST UNDER A LADDER as well as the first Barkery and Biscuits novel BITE THE BISCUIT.

And, yes, BITE THE BISCUIT is now officially available, or at least it will be in four days.  Copies were at the conference, and I was able to sign some to give away at the wonderful dessert bar hosted by MI to celebrate its tenth birthday.

So, yes, I had fun.

And I look forward to next year's Malice Domestic!

 

The Wait

--by Linda O. Johnston

It's early April now.  My next new series begins in May--the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries, starting with BITE THE BISCUIT.  And so I'm waiting.

Not that I'm sitting around twiddling my thumbs.  In fact, that would be quite difficult considering how much I use my computer.

First, I'm busily writing the second book in the series, since the manuscript is due soon.

Plus, I'm here on the Internet a lot, blogging here and elsewhere and using social media to get out there and promote not only the new series but my Superstition Mysteries, also with Midnight Ink, as well as other things I write.  I'll be doing a blog tour for BITE THE BISCUIT as well.

I'm also trying to learn more about promoting.  Even though I've been at this for a long time, I know there's a lot more I could be doing.  I even recently joined Twitter, then sat in on presentations about how to use it at the recent California Dreamin' Conference presented by the four Southern Californiachapters of the Romance Writers of America.  I did some traveling between then and now, though, so I haven't yet been able to attempt the stuff I learned.  So far, I'm mostly observing the Twitter feeds.

I'm active on Facebook, and like the way things are presented there.  Plus, I like to get out there in person and promote my writing that way.  For example, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books occurs later this month, and I'll be there signing my mysteries and representing various groups I belong to, such as the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

Then there's Malice Domestic, which I'm attending at the end of April and beginning of May.  If I don't get a blog posted here on time, on the first Monday of the month, you'll hopefully understand why!

In any event, BITE THE BISCUIT is on its way.  And I'm really looking forward to its launch.

Writers Write

--by Linda O. Johnston

I’m a writer, and I currently write two mystery series for Midnight Ink, as well as romances.

I’ve loved writing, and I’ve loved dogs, all my life.  Probably neither is surprising to anyone who knows me and/or reads my fiction, particularly my mysteries.  I’ve also written some about my love of writing here on InkSpot.

I have been owned by dogs nearly all the time since I was eight years old.

And my writing?  Well, I started saving ideas for school essays when I was in grade school.  In undergraduate school, my major was journalism with an advertising emphasis.  After I graduated, I worked for a small newspaper, then I joined my father’s advertising and public relations firm, where I wrote ads but had the most fun writing articles for some of the clients’ house organs.

Next I went to law school, where I volunteered for the school’s law review.   I also had a couple of articles published—and most students, if they had any published, were limited to one.

Then I clerked for law firms, finally joining one when I graduated and got my law license.  I became a transactional attorney, which meant I wrote contracts—which I considered to be a form of fiction.

During that time I also started writing actual fiction.  But I never gave up on nonfiction.  That includes now, when I’m a published fiction author and inactive lawyer.

Now—well, it won’t be a surprise to anyone that I blog a lot.  I’m now blogging on the first Monday of each month here, at InkSpot.  I blog each Wednesday at Killer Hobbies and on the 6^th of each month at A Slice of Orange, the blog of the Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers of America.  Plus, I blog on the 18^th of each month at Killer Characters.  Rather, my characters do.  In February, the protagonist of my new Barkery and Biscuits series for Midnight Ink, Carrie Kennersly, introduced herself. I’ll be doing a blog tour when the first Barkery and Biscuits story, BITE THE BISCUIT, is about to be released, in May.

Is that all?  Well, as I’ve mentioned in a prior post here I wrote a few blog posts for a political candidate I like.  I’ve written articles for American Pet Magazine and intend to write more soon.  And I was just recently requested to write some articles about the transformation of some of the residents at the wonderful private animal shelter where I volunteer. 

So… yes, I’m a writer.  I admit it.  I’m proud of it.

And writers write!

Focus on New Series

--by Linda O. Johnston

I've mentioned here before that I'm writing several novel series at the same time--four, to be exact.

Fortunately, right now, I'm able to focus on one of them, my Barkery and Biscuits series for Midnight Ink. 

That's because I'm just finishing up the edits on the first in the series, BITE THE BISCUIT, which will be a May release.  Plus, the next manuscript for which I'm under deadline will be number two in the same series, due on June 1.  I've been plotting it and have begun writing it.  So far, I don't have a working title, but I will.

It's unusual for me to be able to focus on one series like that.  The last manuscript I finished was for one of my Alpha Force paranormal romances for Harlequin Nocturne, plus I revised a proposal for a Harlequin Romantic Suspense.  And soon, I'll need to write my next Superstition Mystery for Midnight Ink.

Like most people, writers and readers alike, I multitask.  I've always done so, especially when I was formerly practicing law as a transactional real estate attorney.  Now that I'm not actively pursuing another profession, I'm a full-time writer.  But that doesn't mean that all I do is write.  For one thing, I still volunteer at an animal shelter.  And recently, I've become interested in a local political campaign and have done a bit of blog writing for a candidate I like. 

But plotting and writing is who I am.  I may go off on tangents, as most of us do, but I always get back to, and focus on, what's particularly important to me: creating and sharing stories I hope everyone will enjoy.

That's why I'm a writer.

Switching Minds... Er, Gears

--by Linda O. Johnston

November 1 was the deadline for my second Superstition Mystery manuscript.  I sent it in on time--on October 31, in fact.  Halloween seemed to be an appropriate day for a Superstition Mystery.

Midnight Ink has already held a meeting about it even though it's not likely to be published until around a year from now,.  It'll be called KNOCK ON WOOD, which is quite appropriate to the story.  I also received an initial representation of the cover--very cute.

Will I stop writing till I need to start the manuscript for number three?  Not hardly! 

First, Midnight Ink is already starting to promote the initial book in the next mystery series I'm writing that they will publish: BITE THE BISCUIT, in the Barkery and Biscuits series.  Its release date is May 8, and the next book I'll write for Midnight Ink will be the second in that series.  Fortunately, my deadline for that one isn't till June, because I also write romances for a couple of Harlequin lines and have a February 1 deadline for the next one.

How do I switch gears from one mystery series to another?  Or, even more challenging, from mystery to romance and back? 

I admit it's a challenge.

But, hey, I like challenges.  At least now I don't have to switch from creating characters and a world and a murder one minute, to creating or negotiating real estate contracts the next.  I did that for many years when I was actively practicing law, too.  And in case I haven't mentioned it on InkSpot before, I always say that writing contracts is just another form of fiction.  But I'm officially inactive from the law now, a full-time writer.

I may be a bit nuts taking on so many writing deadlines and in different genres, but nearly everyone who writes has another life, too, so we all have to get used to switching one part of our mind off and switching another on.

So, it's time, mind of mine.  Switch!  And get ready for me to switch you in another direction soon.

And since I write the Superstition Mysteries, be warned that my fingers are crossed that you obey me... fast and often and always.