A Conversation with Cozy Mystery Author Linda O. Johnston

with Linda O. Johnston

We are delighted to welcome back author Linda O. Johnston to Omnimystery News today.

Linda begins a new series this month with Lost Under a Ladder (Midnight Ink; October 2014 trade paperback and ebook formats), introducing amateur sleuth Rory Chasen.

We recently had the chance to catch up with the busy author to talk a little more about her new mystery.

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Omnimystery News: Introduce us to Rory Chasen. And what is it about her that appeals to you as an author?

Photo provided courtesy of
Linda O. Johnston; Photo credit Dan Irvin Photography

Linda O. Johnston: The protagonist in my new Superstition Mysteries is Rory Chasen. She is a sad lady at first, but very determined to achieve closure in the loss of her fiancé, who died a few minutes after walking under a ladder. Rory takes her black and white terrier-spaniel mix Pluckie to the fictional town of Destiny, California, that is all about superstitions. Rory wants to learn the reality of them.

Black and white dogs are lucky, and Pluckie winds up saving the life of Martha Jallopia, ower of the Lucky Dog Boutique. Martha recognizes how lucky Pluckie is and she asks Rory to stay and run her shop while she recuperates, and maybe longer. Rory was the assistant manager of a chain pet supply store and reluctantly agrees, particularly after Destiny's police chief Justin Halbertson also encourages her to stay to help Martha. Justin is a potential love interest, but Rory's not ready for romance after just having lost her fiancé.

I like Rory a lot. She's a skeptic about superstitions, as I think most people are, myself included. But she's willing to learn more about them and even try using them when it suits her. She cares about people, she cares about dogs, and she's willing to open her mind to possibilities beyond what's clearly real.

OMN: How do you see Rory developing over the course of several books?

LOJ: I anticipate that Rory will evolve a lot as she reaches some degree of closure over losing her fiancé and opens her heart to a potential relationship with Justin. She's probably going to start believing more in superstitions, too — or at least will make a living from them as most townsfolk of Destiny do.

OMN: You're the author of several mystery series. Into which mystery genre would you place your books?

LOJ: Mine are definitely cozy mysteries, each series focusing on an amateur sleuth who finds herself put into situations where she has to solve murders for the sake of herself, her friends, or her acquaintances whom she cares about. I have no problem labeling these stories cozies. Cozies are fun to write, and I believe there are a lot of readers out there who enjoy them.

OMN: Tell us about your writing process.

LOJ: My method of writing has evolved over time. I used to create detailed outlines. Now, I still plot first but make notes on the structure of the story. I then create a synopsis that's fairly detailed about the beginning and ending of the story but less so about the middle, which all seems to come to me as I dive in to write. I usually know something about secondary characters but sometimes someone I didn't anticipate will show up in my story, and I usually invite him or her in to help develop things further.

OMN: How do you go about researching the plot points of your stories?

LOJ: Part of the fun of the Superstition Mysteries is conducting the research — and I wouldn't exactly call it fact-checking. There are a lot of superstitions out there, and some of them conflict with one another. That means I can sometimes pick and choose the result of someone doing something like seeing a black cat or spilling wine.

OMN: Tell us more about the setting for the Supersition Mysteries?

LOJ: In appearance, my fictional town of Destiny, California, is loosely based on Old Sacramento, California, where the buildings mostly look as if they're from the days of the California Gold Rush. That was when Destiny was founded, thanks to some Forty-Niners who followed a rainbow to its end and found gold. But Destiny, where people flock to learn about superstitions, is otherwise unique.

OMN: What are some of your outside interests?

LOJ: I love dogs! That's why all of my cozy mysteries feature animals, particularly dogs. Even though the Superstition Mysteries' underlying theme is — what else? — superstitions, my protagonist Rory winds up managing a pet boutique that features items relating to superstitions such as dog toys; superstition-decorated collars, leashes and dog clothes; lucky foods and more.

OMN: Complete this sentence for us: "I am a mystery author, and thus I am also …".

LOJ: I am a mystery author, and thus I am also a killer as well as a crime solver. Odd combo, isn't it? Well, maybe not to an author!

OMN: What's next for you?

LOJ: Well, I'm a bit nuts. My next published novel will be the first in another new mystery series for Midnight Ink: Bite the Biscuit in my Barkery and Biscuits series about a veterinary technician who buys a bakery and turns half of it into a barkery where she creates baked treats for dogs. And of course she also winds up solving murders. Bite the Biscuit will be a May 2015 release.

There will be more Superstition Mysteries coming, too. Plus, I write romance for two Harlequin series. I've created Alpha Force, a covert military unit of shapeshifters, for Harlequin's paranormal line, Harlequin Nocturne, and have a couple of Nocturnes in the works. I also write for Harlequin Romantic Suspense and will also have one of those stories coming out in a while.

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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 has published more short stories and novellas, plus over 35 romance and mystery novels.

For more information about the author, please visit her website at LindaOJohnston.com and her author page on Goodreads, or find her on Facebook.

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Lost Under a Ladder
Linda O. Johnston
A Superstition Mystery

Is it Luck? Or is it Destiny?

Rory Chasen never thought superstitions were real — until her beloved fiancé is killed after walking under a ladder. To find closure and the truth about superstitions, Rory takes her dog Pluckie to a town called Destiny, where superstitious beliefs are a way of life.

Rory's visit to Destiny takes an unexpected turn when Pluckie saves Martha, the owner of the Lucky Dog Boutique. While Martha recovers, Rory reluctantly agrees to manage the pet shop for her. But when Martha becomes the prime suspect in the local bookshop owner's murder, Rory can't believe that the sweet old woman would do it. Convinced the real killer is still roaming Destiny's streets, Rory resolves to crack the case before Martha's luck runs out.