Andrea J. Johnson - Craft Killer Fiction - ajthenovelist

Killer Courthouse Cozies Guaranteed to Renew Your Faith in Justice

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COZY Up for the Holidays!

Want to learn about cozy mysteries from the best in the business?

Join me on December 2, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. Central (7:00 p.m. EST) for “Cozy Up for the Holidays” a virtual celebration of mystery writers sponsored by Once Upon a Crime Mystery Bookstore and hosted by renowned crime authors Jessica Laine and Shelley Kubitz.

I will kick off the event with valuable writer advice on “How to Craft a Killer Cozy Mystery,” but expect tons of information on how to draft a whodunit from Abby Collette, author of the Ice Cream Parlor Mysteries; V.M. Burns, author of the Mystery Bookshop series; Jennifer J. Chow, author of the Sassy Cat Mysteries; and M.V. Byrne, author of the Mitten State Mysteries. You can register for FREE and learn how to order advance copies for each book by following THIS LINK.

This is the perfect event to catch up on everything I’ve been doing this quarter if you missed me at the Maryland Writers Conference. Take a peek at these awesome tweets from publishing industry guru Jane Friedman to get a taste of my talk. If you love what you see, then join me and this fabulous crew of mystery writers this December to learn more. Sign up TODAY!

Free Seminar: “Three Steps to the Perfect Author Tagline”

Want to learn how to create the perfect author tagline? 

Join me for a FREE weekend intensive starting Friday, September 10, 2021, as part of Savvy Author’s 2021 WriterCon: Dreams to Reality. This session will help you use three simple techniques to write your tagline and build your brand.

Branding builds name recognition and helps readers understand the value behind what you offer so that they can make an informed buying decision. But if you only have a few seconds to make a lasting impression, the author tagline may be your best bet.

A tagline is a catchphrase, slogan, or subverted call to action that describes and/or defines your brand. An author tagline tells audiences what you have to offer in a manner that’s easily repeated and defines your expertise without having to explain every detail.

To be clear, a tagline is different from a logline or book blurb—both of which summarize a single work. A tagline is about defining what YOU offer as an author. Think of a great author tagline as a motto or a mission statement that flourishes as your bibliography grows.

This intensive will focus on why every writer needs tagline, what makes a great tagline, and how to create one even if you’re a freelancer or you’ve yet to pen your novel.

To register for my FREE class, “Three Steps to the Perfect Author Tagline,” go to SavvyAuthors and signup today! Don’t worry if you don’t have the whole weekend free. This is a text-based online session, which allows participants to work at their own pace.

See you there!

xoxo AJ

Poetic Justice – New Format

Poetic Justice will be coming out in a new format on February 1, 2022: Paperback! That’s right. Fans of the series will be able to add a soft cover copy of the first book in the Victoria Justice Mysteries to their collection. But don’t worry, we are still keeping the same vibrant colors for this new version. Pre-order your copy HERE.

And for those who are still wondering if this series will ever become available in audio, I have some great news. The publishers at Polis Books are in talks have the Poetic Justice audiobook release November 9, 2021. Stay tuned here for more details! And PREORDER your copy on Audible today.

Aug. 25 – Author Event

Join me online on August 25, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. for a FREE author meet-and-greet sponsored by Browesabout Books and the Lewes Public Library. Both organizations have tapped me to host a discussion on crime fiction with fellow Polis Books mystery writers Johnny Shaw (author of The Southland) and Zhanna Slor (author of At the End of the World, Turn Left).

Johnny Shaw has been nominated for the Anthony Award three times, winning for Best Paperback Original in 2013 for the comedic adventure novel Big Maria. He has also won the Spotted Owl Award twice for his Jimmy Veeder Fiasco border novels, which include Dove Season, Plaster City, and Imperial Valley. His most recent release is The Southland, an American crime story about the dangers that migrants face when being forced to live in the shadows.

At the End of the World, Turn Left, is Zhanna Slor’s debut novel about identity and how one defines “home.” Upon its release in April of this year, the novel was heralded as a must-read by CrimeReads and named by Booklist as one of the “Top Ten Crime Debuts of 2021.” Her work is a literary mystery set in Milwaukee’s eclectic Riverwest neighborhood during the 2008 recession and weaves together the tale of two immigrant sisters with vastly different definitions of home. Zhanna has also been published in several literary magazines, including Ninth Letter, Another Chicago Magazine, and Michigan Quarterly Review, and she is a frequent contributor to The Forward.

To learn more, visit Browesabout Books. To register for this event, visit the Lewes Public Library.

See you there!

xoxo AJ

I Just Published My First Writer Advice Book

Hey there, lovers of literature and all things cozy! I am proud to announce the release of my very first book on writer success and productivity: How to Craft a Killer Cozy Mystery. This book was inspired by the whodunit history research paper I had to write in the culminating course for my MFA. This work is also an expansion of the 2019 article I wrote for Litreactor, “Craft a Killer Cozy in Three Simple Steps.”

I first announced a commitment to write this book when I was asked to teach at the 9th Annual Savvy Authors Online Writing Conference on September 11, 2020—I’ll be back to teach again this year, so stay tuned for an upcoming blog about how you can sign up for the FREE event.

At that time, I had no idea what would become of our world’s health and subsequently had a hard time sticking to my original deadline of early 2021. But I think that readers will benefit from the extra time spent on getting the work just right because not only does the book cover the “13 key must-haves for every cozy,” I also go deep on a number of topics such as…

How to create compelling characters and vivid settings

How to create a twisty puzzle that will encourage your readers to play along

How to differentiate between cozies, thrillers, capers, detective stories, and police procedurals

How to brainstorm the perfect premise

How to tackle the classic four-act mystery structure

How to effectively hide clues and create plot twists

…and so much more!

Grab your copy today and get on the fast track to starting (and finishing!) your novel. Then join my mailing list since this is just the first of several writer success and productivity novels. Future books will cover legal thrillers, self-editing, comedy in fiction, writing action, and writing faster, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, buy your ebook or print copy (out 8/15/21) of How to Craft a Killer Cozy Mystery everywhere books are sold, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.

Happy hunting and keep reading!

xoxo AJ

“Murder by the Book” YouTube Event

Join me on Monday, May 17, at 7:00 p.m. CENTRAL for a virtual event sponsored by Murder by the Book, one of the nation’s oldest and largest indie bookstores specializing in mystery fiction. I’ll be talking with my editor, Chantelle Aimee Osman of the Agora Imprint at Polis Books, and fellow mystery writer, Sung J. Woo. His new novel, Skin Deep, is the first in the Siobhan O’Brien private detective series, which introduces a whip smart female sleuth in the tradition of classic female detectives like Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone.

I am also excited to talk about the crime genre and will answer any questions fans may have about my two books about a court stenographer turned sleuth, Poetic Justice and its upcoming sequel Deceptive Justice.

To learn out more about the virtual event click HERE. No special software is required to log onto the session as this event will occur LIVE on the Murder by the Book YouTube page. When it’s time for the event to begin (remember, CENTRAL time), refresh the page until the live video shows up as a new post. Channel subscribers will receive a notification as the event goes live. 

If you miss the part or all of the chat, the event will appear on Murder by the Book’s YouTube channel once the initial recording wraps.

Mark your calendar! I look forward to answering your questions and hope to see you there.