I'm happy to welcome Linda O. Johnston back to Cozy Up With Kathy. As Lark O. Jensen she writes the Alaska Untamed Mystery series. BEAR WITNESS is the first book in the series and was published this week.
Kathy: Your latest series is set in Alaska and features a naturalist working as a tour boat guide. Why Alaska?
LOJ: I set the series in Alaska since I was inspired to write a mystery series involving a naturalist when I took a boat tour near Juneau while on an Alaskan cruise a few years ago and was impressed by guides who pointed out a lot of wonderful wildlife.
Kathy: Stacie Calder prefers working in the great outdoors. What about you? Do you love the great outdoors or would you prefer to stay inside?
LOJ: As a writer and former lawyer, I’m much more of an inside person. But given the opportunity, I love sightseeing where I can view animals in their own habitats, even talk to them there—not that they ever talk back.
Kathy: I love how your books include dogs and am happy to see one of my favorite breeds here in Sasha, a husky. While it seems natural to have a husky in a book set in Alaska, was there another reason to feature this breed?
LOJ: I wanted Stacie to have a very special dog who could help her in her adventures. I know that huskies are smart and caring—and Sasha’s name means “defender,” and she’s into defending Stacie when necessary.
LOJ: As indicated before, it was a boat tour where I got to see lots of wildlife. Not that there were any murders connected with it, but my mind always churns around how I can use a new experience in a story or series sometime.
Kathy: When it comes to writing I understand there are 2 general camps-plotters, who diligently plot their stories, and pansters, who fly by the seat of their pants. Are you a plotter, a panster, or do you fall somewhere in between?
LOJ: I tend to be a plotter. Once I get one of those ideas I want to run with, I have to figure out who my main characters will be and what happens to them, then start determining what will happen when by filling out a form I call my plot skeleton. I then will often stick it all in a synopsis, and voila! A new book will start materializing.
Kathy: Authors are required to do a lot of their own marketing, especially for a new release. What's your favorite part of marketing your work? What do you dislike about marketing?
LOJ: Hey, I love being here and part of the Great Escapes Blog Tour! I also enjoy meeting readers when I can, and joining other writers in talks or panels. I’ve done a lot less of all of that since the beginning of Covid but am glad group get-togethers are starting to return.
Kathy: Will there be additional books in your series? Will you share any other upcoming books?
LOJ: I’m currently working on the second book in the series. It’s too early to talk about it, though. You can be sure that Stacie and Sasha will have another murder to solve, for a good reason. And yes, there will be wildlife in it too.
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The First Alaska Untamed Mystery
Stacie Calder loves her job. As a naturalist, she's well suited to being a guide on an Alaskan tour boat, pointing out wildlife to enthusiastic tourists. One passenger is more than he seems, however. A former employee, he's now trying to create his own tour company starting by badmouthing Stacie's. When he disappears from the boat, Stacie wonders if it's a trick, another way to create trouble. But when he's found dead the next day, Stacie isn't so sure. With her trusty dog, Sasha, at her side Stacie will look to solve the murder, and if it gets her closer to the hunky state police officer also investigating...even better!
I love the concept of a mystery surrounded by Alaskan Wildlife. There are a few implausibles here, how law enforcement welcomes Stacie's assistance, being the big one. There's also the growing relationship between Stacie and Liam. With a small pool of suspects and limited avenues of investigation, it seemed that more time was spent on the romance than the mystery. But, if you can suspend your disbelief, you can enjoy the story.
While there were things I liked about Stacie, I didn't feel a great depth to her or any of the characters. Even the romance was hasty and not very romantic. I love animals and do love Sasha. Admittedly, I didn't need Stacie continually saying how great she was. Indeed I found a lot of repetition. The same basic things happening every cruise...and described every time. In fact, lots of details are included, specifically the minutia surrounding Stacie's day to day life. Details that didn't really add to the story.
With a great setting and an exciting conclusion BEAR WITNESS has lots of potential for a new series.
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Bear Witness (An Alaska Untamed Mystery) by Lark O. Jensen
About Bear Witness
Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Setting - Alaska
Crooked Lane Books (May 10, 2022)
Hardcover : 320 pages
Alaska tour boat guide Stacie Calder faces the deep freeze in this scenic cozy series debut perfect for fans of Paige Shelton.
No nine-to-five cubicle career will suit Stacie Calder—the naturalist much prefers working in the great outdoors. Specifically, the spacious and spectacular Alaskan wilderness, whose rugged charms she shares with sightseers on the top deck of the tour boat where she works. But one May afternoon, Stacie’s passengers see more than glittering glaciers, frolicking harbor seals, climbing bears and soaring seabirds…they also witness a man lying dead in the frigid Alaskan waters. And it seems likely that someone gave him a fatal push.
Stacie didn’t know the unfortunate victim, but he sure wanted to know a lot about her. He spent most of his final afternoon bombarding her with questions quite awkward to answer. And when he wasn’t in her hair, he was arguing incessantly with the boat’s beleaguered crew. Which makes for a suspect list about as long as the passenger manifest. Furthermore, as police helicopters relentlessly circle her boat in search of any clues, Stacie is shaken to find herself on that suspect list.
Before the tour boat reaches shore Stacie—accompanied by her beautiful blue-eyed husky, Sasha—must deduce just who sent the testy tourist tumbling into the turgid waters and have the authorities take custody. Because if she can’t, then the killer might aim a fatal ice-cold stare at Stacie.
About Lark O. Jensen
Lark O. Jensen is the pseudonym of Linda O. Johnston, a former lawyer who is now a full-time writer. Lark has written Bear Witness, the first Alaska Untamed mystery for Crooked Lane. Linda has written the Barkery & Biscuits Mystery series and the Superstition Mysteries for Midnight Ink and the Pet Rescue Mysteries and Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime. Linda also writes for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, and her stories often involve dogs.
Author Links:
Website: www.LindaOJohnston.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LindaOJohnston/
Purchase Links Amazon Barnes & Noble
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