What’s that? My online class for OCC, with the alternate name of Writing Cozy Mysteries 101 for Romance Writers. This will be my second time to present it.
The class will run from June 15 through July 12, and my intention is to have fun teaching my students how to have their characters solve murders while falling in love!
Here’s the class description:
All romances contain some suspense: will the hero and heroine resolve conflicts by the end and live happily ever after?
All cozy mysteries contain suspense, too, but do they always involve romance? Not necessarily, but the best ones do! Those romances seldom reach HEA by the end of the book, though. Cozies are usually parts of a series, and the suspense of romance can continue through subsequent books–even though the mysteries in each book must get resolved by the end.
What other similarities and differences are there between romances and cozies? They’ll be addressed in Kiss Me Or Kill Me: Writing Cozy Mysteries 101 for Romance Writers.
The class will also address the basics of writing cozies: choosing a protagonist and deciding how she’ll get involved solving mysteries; choosing a theme for the series; introducing and following through with a love interest—or not; throwing in a corpse or two, plus hiding clues for solving the murders; planning a series; and much more!
There will be online class discussions and writing exercises, too. Kiss Me or Kill Me will also contain enough basics on writing cozies that non-romance writers will learn a lot as well.
So… are you a romance writer who likes mysteries? A mystery writer who likes romance? I’ll be delighted to help you learn how to combine them.
I hope to see you in my class.
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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.
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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.
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What does a writer do between drafts of a story? Well, that depends.
I finished a first draft of my upcoming fourth story in my Shelter of Secrets series for Harlequin Romantic Suspense. It still needs some work, but it’s currently in the hands of my excellent beta reader.
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I’ve had a fun few weeks–including my usual writing. Plus, I heard that the Dog Writers Association of America, of which I’m a member, was looking for humorous articles for their upcoming issue of RUFF DRAFTS, their publication, so I of course had to submit a short article about how my puppy keeps me from concentrating on my writing by insisting that I play fetch with her while I’m sitting at the computer. Humorous?
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I recently got word that my next Alaska Untamed Mystery, CRY WOLF, number two in the series, is now scheduled for publication on November 7. I love the cover! And the series is the first in which I’ve taken a pseudonym: Lark O. Jensen.
It’s not my only remaining book this year. I was already aware that my Coltons of New York book for Harlequin Romantic Suspense is also a November release. CSI COLTON AND THE WITNESS is officially out on November 27.
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