Okay, I’ll admit it. I have been getting a bit lonesome as the pandemic continues, even though it may be easing up a bit—depending on where you live.
I still see relatives and neighbors and a few friends—and my dogs, of course—but I miss going to writers’ meetings and seeing more friends in person.
Oh, I do attend some meetings on Zoom and get to literally see some of those people, but it’s not quite the same as getting together with them as I did in the old days. I belong to several writers’ organizations and their local chapters, including Romance Writers of America, and the Orange County and Los Angeles chapters, Sisters in Crime and the Sisters in Crime Los Angeles chapter, and Mystery Writers of America and the Los Angeles chapter.
In the old days, I attended a lot of monthly meetings and got to chat with members before and after, and to some extent during, those meetings. I learned what they were up to and told them what I was doing and just felt caught up. I sometimes attended even when I wasn’t too excited about the speakers or their topics, mostly just to get together with, and be supportive of, friends.
I also tended to attend a lot of writing conferences, like the RWA National Conference, Left Coast Crime, Malice Domestic and more, often several in a year. I was often a speaker, or a panel member, too.
Things are a bit different these days. And I wonder if they’ll ever return to anything like the past. Guess we’ll just have to see.
Meanwhile, I’m hanging out at home, but imagine me waving at you, saying hi, chatting about writing and the rest of life.
I enjoyed it before and hope to enjoy it again—but I never imagined it would disappear even for a while.
~ Linda
Some of Linda O. Johnston’s Books
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And March? It’s a good month for me. The third Shelter of Secrets story for Harlequin Romantic Suspense was just published: UNDERCOVER COWBOY DEFENDER. Two more books coming this year too.
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It’s now the second month of 2023. Do things keep recurring to you, as they do with me—kind of an ongoing Groundhog Day, even though that was four days ago this year.
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Happy 2023, everyone! Should it be happy for a writer? Well, that depends on what you’re writing and what you want to accomplish in the new year.
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It’s December. The year is coming to a close. But it appears that book promotion is ramping up even more!
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I think it is! At least, I’ve attended more in-person events recently than I had in ages, and more to come.
Featured Books
BEAGLEMANIA
Lauren Vancouver is the head of HotRescues, a no-kill animal shelter north of Los Angeles, but it's often human nature that puts her in the path of danger.
More info →
SEVERED RELATIONS
Detective Finn O'Brien catches the call: two kids and their nanny are dead behind the gates of Freemont Place.
More info → 
We miss you too Linda.