Victoria M. Johnson

I’m excited to announce the debut of my first eBook, The Substitute Bride!  This eBook is a collection of three intertwined short stories.  The thing they all have in common is one very special wedding. The eBook contains the lead story, The Substitute Bride, as well as The Best Man’s Secret and The Wedding Planner’s Apprentice.

The Substitute Bride

I’m a romantic and I’ve always loved attending weddings; partly because of the festive atmosphere, the romance, and of course all the bling. And, like millions of people worldwide, I got caught up in the excitement of the royal wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton and I was inspired to write these stories. While royals aren’t the stars of The Substitute Bride, I think you’ll enjoy these everyday characters and their engaging stories. (The Bride on the cover kind of looks like Kate, don’t you think?) Another difference is that the royal wedding went off without a glitch, whereas in these stories, things don’t quite go as expected.

The eBook is available at Smashwords.com in several formats for most e-reader devices or just to download on your computer, and also at Amazon.

I am a huge fan of thrillers. I am particularly drawn to short thrillers of the Twilight Zone type. In fact, I believe that is where my love of thrillers began and I still watch the Twilight Zone TV series whenever I can. Today’s books and movies are lengthy, and while I enjoy them, I don’t have the free time to consume as many of them as I would like. And it has certainly taken me over a year to write and revise my own thriller novel. So what’s a writer to do to satisfy that need to tell scary, thrilling stories?

What I did was sign up for the 48 Hour Film competition.  As you may know, entrants have no idea what genre they may get, nor do they have control over rules of the “city” imposed elements regarding the required character, dialogue line, and prop item. And just as the name implies, you only have 48 hours to write, shoot, and edit a short film. From 7 pm on Friday to 7 pm on Sunday, to be exact.

A House To Herself

I signed up as a Team Leader. It was only one weekend and I could come away with a thriller.  There were a few things working against us—primarily the luck of the draw. Would I get a genre I could work with? I could make a drama/thriller, or an action/thriller, or most of the other genre combinations. Just about the only genres out of the possible 20 that wouldn’t work was comedy or musical. I didn’t want to draw either of those.  What about all the other important ingredients of a good thriller—casting, music, and setting? I got to work, doing the stuff that we are allowed to do in preparation of the 48 Hour kick-off. I assembled a team.

With the experience of my prior two short films and assisting on a feature horror film under my belt, I was all business recruiting the cast and crew, and about finding the perfect location. Flexibility is key in making a 48 Hour film. But the one thing I wanted set in stone was the location. That way I could spend my time and creativity on the important things.

Of all the things a director does to bring a script to life, and there are literally hundreds of things, I found the three key elements are: story—story—story. No surprise there. But I only had a few hours on Friday night to write the script. It certainly wasn’t going to win any Oscars.  On the other hand, I learned there are other important factors in making a film in a weekend: a phenomenal cast, a resourceful crew, and the ability to go without sleep.

Making a movie is much more collaborative than writing a book. Even though I was also the director, I couldn’t possibly have the final say in every detail (not in a 48-hour film).  I wanted my team to use their creativity, too, and I think the end product turned out pretty good.  We had a blast making ‘A House to Herself’ and I hope it gives you a shiver or two.

See the short film on my web site: Mi Casa Su Casa Productions and read the full three-part blog entries.

While attending the 2011 Thrillerfest last month I heard a famous author say he began his writing career by writing fake interviews for teen fan magazines. Two emotions overcame me with this revelation. First, was horror that all those magazines I’d read as a pre-teen, you know, the ones with interviews of David Cassidy, Bobby Sherman, and The Monkees, were not real interviews! At the time I believed I was getting intimate peeks into the celebrities’ lives. And I believed the photos were taken at the time of the interview. All that has been shattered. J The second emotion I felt was curiosity. Are today’s celebrity magazines interview’s real? Could a modern writer make a living writing fake interviews? If so, I want the job. How cool would that be—you take the information you already know—to invent a convincing ‘never told before’ interview. Below is my first ‘exclusive’ fake interview with Goosebumps author, R.L. Stine. Tell me if you think I have potential for a new career.

R.L. Stine

VMJ: It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Stine.

RLS: You can call me Bob.

VMJ: Thank you, Bob. I know your books are popular around the world and have been translated into 35 languages. But how many books have you written?

RLS: 330 that includes Goosebumps, Fear Street, and other book series.

VMJ: Wow! And how many copies of your books have been sold?

RLS: Over 400 million.

VMJ: Amazing. That’s just phenomenal.

RLS: (blushes) Thanks.

VMJ: Let’s back up for a minute. Where did you attend college?

RLS: Ohio State. I graduated with a B.A. in English then was a social studies teacher before I moved to New York to become a writer. Actually, I had a magazine background when I arrived in New York.

VMJ: So you moved and became an overnight success in New York?

RLS: It took me 20 years to become an overnight success. I wrote joke books, educational books and a humor magazine for Scholastic.

VMJ: What was your first novel?

RLS: My first novel was a Young Adult book in 1986 called Blind Date. We launched the Fear Street series in 1989. That was about the time my son was a teenager.

VMJ: Hmm… I see an interesting correlation there, Bob.

RLS: Uh-huh. You have teenagers?

VMJ: I do. When did Goosebumps come about?

RLS: 1992

VMJ: How many books do you write a year?

RLS: At this time, maybe seven books a year. I used to write 24 a year, so that’s a relaxing schedule.

VMJ: Holy moly. That’s scary. How was that possible?

RLS: I’m lucky never to have writers block. I create outlines and character sketches before I begin each book.

VMJ: Aha—the secret to your success revealed! Are you only writing Goosebumps books now?

RLS: Six Goosebumps and other projects.

VMJ: And you also write adult thrillers?

RLS: Three so far: Superstitious, The Sitter, and Eye Candy. The Sitter is currently being developed for a feature film and in July of 2012; I’ll have a new adult horror novel published.

VMJ: I’m still awed by the number of books you write year after year.

RLS: It’s discipline. Also, I love it.

VMJ: And that discipline is no doubt responsible for the impressive awards you’ve accumulated.  Let’s see, you’ve won the Nickelodeon Children’s Choice Award, the American Library Association Award, and the International Thriller Writers’ Thrillermaster Award.

RLS: Not bad for a kid who used to type out jokes on a typewriter and hand them out to classmates in elementary school, wouldn’t you say?

VMJ: Not bad at all, Bob. But can you set the record straight? I heard a rumor that you started out your writing career in New York by writing fake interviews for fan magazines. Is that true?

RLS: Uh, I hear my wife, Jane, calling me from the kitchen. You’ll have to leave now. Bye!

1) Los Gatos Poet Laureate Parthenia M. Hicks treats the crowd to an original poem she wrote especially for the event. 2) I’m holding the famous iPad that was buried (several items, maps, documents, and videos were uploaded into the iPad). 3) Kids reveal their art for the time capsule. 4) The plaque includes a quote from Thomas Jefferson: A morsel of genuine history is a thing so rare as to be always valuable.

The Time Capsule ceremony was far more exciting than I had anticipated. Parthenia M. Hicks, the Los Gatos Town Poet Laureate, read a beautiful poem, The Ground Breaks Open, that she’d written just for the ceremony. A group of children presented an art piece they created for the capsule. Town officials hope that these children will be part of the unearthing event in 76 years.

The artifacts selected for the capsule impressed me. Everything was “so” Los Gatos. For example, a bottle of wine donated by Fleming Jenkins Vineyard (Peggy Fleming’s Los Gatos vineyard); A red Netflix envelope, containing the DVD of The Social Network; An Apple iPad (Los Gatos is home to Apple’s co-founder Steve Wozniak and Netflix headquarters); Menus from local restaurants; and scrolls with personal notes from town residents along with messages from 50 selected community leaders—my message included.

I had a blast, as you can see from the above photos.

I am a bit different than the others who’ve been asked to contribute their observations of daily life to the time capsule. I am a writer and I naturally want to give the citizens of the future a taste of what life was like for a writer.

Do I talk about my upcoming debut novel being released in hardcover? Certainly hardcover books will be relics in 76 years. Readers will likely use some sort of reading device far more advanced than our e-book readers and they won’t understand what a huge deal it is for authors to see their words in print. Will they think I’m crazy if I say I spent 20 years learning the craft of writing so that a publisher will buy and publish my book and pay me a fraction of what the book earns? I’m sure future writers will simply self-publish when their works are complete. Do I talk about blogging and how I toiled to drive traffic to my website and pursued comments to my blog posts since that helps writers become ‘discoverable’? Would they ‘get it’ if I explain that writers strive to be at the top of the rankings when someone ‘Google’s’ their name? Will Google be around in 2087? What about the other social media tools we writers of today spin our wheels engaging in—hoping to gain followers, friends, fans, and of course readers? If I describe how writers eagerly anticipated booksignings in bookstores, could they visualize it? Surely these will all be foreign concepts in 76 years.

Even if the readers don’t understand what a book, blog, website, or Google is, I think they should know how we writers sought to connect with people, not just audiences for our book, but people in general. We made every effort to share our ideas, stories, and experiences. We didn’t want our words to languish on a shelf. I guess ultimately we just want our words to have relevance. All the above activities were not the end goal. The goal was to touch readers and make a difference in their lives. I imagine that writers will always seek to do the same regardless of the year. Whether informing, inspiring, or entertaining, we want our writings to have mattered.

Okay, now I think I know what I’ll say.

If you were given the opportunity to make history with your words—what would you write?

Time Capsule Ceremony

I’ve been invited to be a part of history.

The Town of Los Gatos is holding a Time Capsule Ceremony this week.  Construction of a new town library is underway and the time capsule will be buried in the garden terrace. Instructions will inform residents of the future to unearth the time capsule in 76 years, on the town’s bicentennial. I’ve been asked to submit a message about my life today, a message that will be read by people living in a completely different world.

A collection of photos, articles, and memorabilia will be placed in the capsule, along with an iPad loaded with interesting information that tells the story of daily life at this moment in time (and an iPad recharger of course). My personal note will be one among many others of those who were invited to submit. This is quite an honor and I’m stressing over what to write about. Several thoughts come to mind.

Signs of the economy worsening were everywhere. But being a busy wife, mother, business professional, and moonlighting writer kept my mind occupied and my calendar full. One afternoon, while I was putting away dry dishes from that morning’s champagne brunch with my writer girlfriends, my husband came home and dropped a bombshell. We were downsizing… to a trailer park.

Trailer Park Diva

AOL has published my story about how the bad economy has turned my world ‘upside-down’ and how a diva like me ended up in a trailer park. Located in the ‘It Happened To Me’ section, you can read the full story here: My Daily.

Can a woman still be a diva if she lives in a trailer park? Follow the continuing journey on my just launched blog at TrailerParkDiva.com

It’ll brighten your spirits and show you that just because there’s a recession doesn’t mean you can’t look good, feel good, and have fun.

If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant’s life, she will choose to save the infant’s life without even considering if there are men on base.

~Dave Barry

For me Memorial Day is a time to appreciate this fantastic country we live in. Sure, we’re experiencing a rough economy right now and millions of Americans are feeling the pinch, myself included. But we’ll get through this.

When I think of Memorial Day, I think of freedom. That’s one trait that makes this country special. Of course there are many amazing attributes to cite but for me, it’s freedom baby!

Freedom is the one thing I hope we, as citizens, never take for granted. As a writer I suppose the freedom I value most is having the ability to express my thoughts and ideas and stories; and likewise, the ability to read uncensored thoughts and ideas of others. But as a woman and mother I most value free will. That is, having the ability to make our own choices. In other words, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

I am grateful for the patriotism and sacrifice of the millions of soldiers, airmen, marines and sailors who fought to give us that freedom. If you’re serving in the military now, or ever have served, thank you!!! If you have loved ones serving, I wish for their safe return.

I’m thrilled to announce that I sold my first romance novel! After many years of writing, and many more years of reading, I finally sold a romance story, The Doctor’s Dilemma, to Avalon Books. I traveled to New York and met my remarkable editor, Lia Brown, and Avalon Books publisher, Ellen Mickelson, and all the staff at Avalon Books. They warmly welcomed me into the Avalon family and I toured the Avalon offices. It was a memorable day.

Editor Lia Brown & Victoria at Avalon Offices

The Doctor’s Dilemma is a contemporary romance set in a remote village in Mexico. Being a romance novel, we of course know that the dilemma the doctor faces has something to do with his nurse. You can safely assume that romance is the last thing either the hero or heroine want at this point in their lives and that they’ll do everything to resist their attraction to the other. And rest assured there are surprising twists and turns in the story to make it a satisfying read. The book is my fiction debut.

Pre-order the book today at Barnes and Noble. Don’t wait!

The most talked about hat at the royal wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton sold at a charity auction for $132,000! While the striking hat, designed by Phillip Treacy and worn by Princess Beatrice to the wedding of the century, received ridicule as well as rave reviews, who expected it to raise so much at auction?

As an ambassador for Children in Crisis, an organization her mother, Sarah Ferguson, helped found, Princess Beatrice auctioned the hat on EBay and watched as the bids continued to rise over the ten-day bidding period. The proceeds will be split between Unicef and Children in Crisis.

How did the princess respond to the winning bid? “I cannot believe the amazing response to the hat, it has its own personality, and I am so happy that we have raised the most incredible amount of money and can make an even bigger change for the lives of some of the most vulnerable children across the world. I am so lucky to be nearly finishing my university life and I know that this money will help make it possible for others to do the same,” Princess Beatrice said. You go, girl! The identity of the auction winner has not been revealed. Perhaps we’ll see him or her wearing it sometime.

I’ve been an avid royal watcher for many years. My interest truly deepened when Lady Diana Spencer entered the scene. Her mystique, her style, and her charm had me hooked. I’ll admit I awoke at 5 am Pacific Time to watch Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s wedding live. And I’ll certainly awake at 3 am to see the nuptials of Prince William to Kate Middleton.

Prince William and Kate Middleton (BBC America)

I love attending weddings anyway, but a royal wedding, I wouldn’t want to miss that. First of all, they don’t come along that often. Secondly, I like William and Kate. They make an adorable couple and I wish them the love and happiness that eluded William’s parents. As a confirmed romantic, I hope they live happily ever after. But at their wedding I want to see The DRESS, and lots of BLING, and all the PAGEANTRY. It’s been a long year after all and I’d like a little escape about now. By witnessing the wedding celebration it’s a pleasant reaffirmation that fairytales can come true. If you’d rather sleep in, don’t worry; there will be plenty of televised highlights and Web Sites that will cover all the fascinating details.

Stefan and Erika Svanstrom of Sweden planned a perfect honeymoon… but Mother Nature intervened.  The couple wed on November 27, 2010 and decided to celebrate their wedding on a four-month long honeymoon. With their infant daughter in tow they set off for a 16-country adventure. “Our plan was to get a lot of sun and beach-life early in the trip, and experience nature and culture later in the trip. Some of the destinations were chosen for the diving, as we are both keen to go scuba diving,” Stefan said, “leaving plenty of time to explore.”

Stefan and Erika Svanstrom

The Svanstroms left Stockholm a week after getting married and became stranded for a night in Munich, Germany due to a severe snowstorm, one of Europe’s worst snowstorms. The newlyweds enjoyed China and Thailand, but in Bali, Indonesia, a relentless monsoon kept them indoors for days. Another natural disaster awaited in Cairns, Australia where a catastrophic cyclone forced them to join a group shelter with thousands of people. “Trees were being knocked over and big branches were scattered across the streets,” Stefan said. Once the family arrived in Brisbane, massive flooding had put much of the city underwater. The Svanstroms then narrowly escaped bush fires in Perth.

Moving on, the family arrived in New Zealand, just after the 6.3 quake hit Christchurch on February 22. Their last ordeal was in Tokyo, where they experienced Japan’s largest quake ever recorded and the resulting calamitous tsunami. “The trembling was horrible… we saw roof tiles fly off buildings,” Stefan said. (He also survived the devastating tsunami that hit Southeast Asia in 2004).

The couple said the most emotionally upsetting experience during the trip had been the Japanese earthquake and its consequences. “Oh – we’re very grateful that nothing happened to the family and we think a lot about the people, particularly in Japan,” Erika said.

The Svanstroms returned to Stockholm on March 29, 2011 after an uneventful final stop in China. “Although we’ve had some bad luck, we still have our lives. Our thoughts are with those who couldn’t escape these disasters. In the end, we are very fortunate to be alive,” Stefan said. The family plans to continue their travels in the future. I’m hoping they don’t visit California. : )

My heart goes out to the people of Japan, and to all those who have loved ones who are still missing. I’ve been blogging about the unfolding disaster on the Fierce Planet web site. The devastating destruction of the 8.9 quake and tsunami has been catastrophic.  So many lives lost and so many still unaccounted for. With aftershocks, fires, and nuclear power plant malfunctions added to the chaos, Japan is in absolute turmoil. Officials are still assessing the damage and sadly the death toll continues to rise.

Japan 2011 Quake and Tsunami (AP) JAY ALABASTER and TODD PITMAN

The USGS reports that more than 124 aftershocks of magnitude 5 or higher have rattled Japan since the big one. Thousands have been evacuated and sent to temporary shelters. I’ve also blogged on my Grant Whisperer web site about Network for Good, the organization accepting online donations for those of you interested in making a contribution to one of the many emergency responders such as the American Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.

I’m excited to announce that my book, Grant Writing 101, has finally arrived! I wrote this book because so many of my friends who volunteer at, or work for, nonprofits would ask me for grant writing advice. While I could offer them a few tips, I realized they needed to know more if their organizations were to have long-term success. With this book I could give them more than advice, secret tips, and encouragement. I could share my guerilla tactics for grantwriting survival. And now any nonprofit or community group can have this knowledge for their organization, too! This guidebook covers all the basics of writing a grant proposal to help nonprofits raise much-needed funds. It takes you step by step and explains terms, gives real world examples, and talks in plain English.

While there’s plenty of advanced tips and techniques for veteran grantwriters, the book is also meant to simplify the grant process for first-timers. Want to know where to begin? Want to know what to do while you’re waiting to hear? I even include what to do if your proposal is rejected, and equally important, what to do if your proposal is approved. Click on the Grant Writing 101 book image to order your copy today. Or stop by your favorite bookstore in person. Pass it on to your favorite charity organization.

I had the honor of meeting a Maasai warrior during his recent visit to Silicon Valley. Sabore Ole Oyie, made an impression on me with his humor, storytelling ability, majestic qualities, and quiet strength.  Enjoying the conversation of our small gathering, I felt in the presence of royalty. He told us about growing up in his village in Kenya, and his mission to preserve the Maasai culture while advocating for the tribal villagers, particularly girls, to receive education.

Sabore, Victoria, and Hellen

As an ambassador, he helps promote tourism in Kenya and has traveled to Japan, Germany, Czech Republic, Sweden and the United States. However, Sabore continues to live in the traditional ways, including wearing the traditional Maasai clothing, carrying hand-made weapons for hunting and self-defense against lions and elephants, and living in a hut made from sticks and dung.

Sabore brought with him, Hellen, another ambassador of their tribe. They both talked about the importance of education and learning so that their community can be stronger and healthier. Hellen was in the Bay Area raising funds for her charity organization, Asante Africa.

I wanted to let readers of this blog know that I launched an Internet radio show! You can now find a weekly installment of the Grant Whisperer on Blog Talk Radio!

Who is the Grant Whisperer?

There’s a clue over to your right… under Victoria’s Other Sites.

It’s Me! It’s been fun and exciting to host my own show. You have the option of listening live on Wednesday mornings at 9:30 a.m. pacific standard time, or listening to the recorded program at any time. The Grant Whisperer radio show (and blog) helps community organizations and nonprofits get through these challenging economic times by offering grantwriting advice and tips. Visit the Blog Talk Radio web site to see the Grant Whisperer’s schedule. My debut program on December 1st covered The Three R’s of Grantwriting and this episode is available for you to hear now. Other episodes include:  If Walt Disney Were A Grant Writer. Pass the word on to your friends who work at any community organizations that needs to raise funds.

As we begin our holiday list making, it’s a good time to remember to add books. No matter the age and interests of those on your gift list, there are no doubt a wide variety of books to choose from. And don’t forget to add books on your own wish list.

The Romance Writers of America (RWA) has officially launched a “Shop Bookstores This Season” campaign, encouraging their members to support bookstores and purchase books this Christmas. According to the RWA web site, “During the excitement of the holiday season, bookstores offer shoppers the perfect opportunity to select some remarkably personal gifts for friends and family.”

I agree that books make a great gift. Each year there are at least a couple of books under my tree. Fiction, non-fiction, children’s, and poetry. This year will be no different for the Johnson household. How about you? Can you add a book or two to your shopping list?

A couple of years ago, CompassPoint.org took a poll of it’s visitors, asking them to identify what skills they learned in elementary school that they continue to use today, and what features of grade school they wished carried over to adult life. The results were nostalgic:

Of skills most often used in adult life, 50% of respondents said spelling and grammar skills, 28% said learning how to play nice with others, 11% said how to calculate percentages, 6% said how to dodge things coming at you, and 6% said how to stand up for yourself and what you believe in. On which feature of grade school respondents most wished carried over into work life, 59% want recess, 18% want field trips, 6% want bake sales, 6% want slumber parties, 6% liked knowing when your work was finished, and 6% liked the more structured exercises in personal affirmation that took place in school, but that don’t happen in real life.

Field trips and recess—I loved those days. Didn’t you? And I’m surprised only 6% identified ‘like knowing when your work was finished’ as a feature they missed. Today my work seems never to end. Projects just kind of blend into one another to seem like one long project. Only the grantwriting I do has a sense of completion. That is unless I have overlapping deadlines.

(I searched the CompassPoint site to find the poll, but it is no longer there).

Thanksgiving is that time of year when we pause for a moment to reflect on aspects of our lives that we are thankful for. It’s a shame we don’t find time to make reflection a part of our regular daily routines, but we’re busy people, right?

An author I met, Derek Rydall, recently sent an email message to those of us on his email list. I found it inspiring and wanted to share a portion of it with you. He titled his article, What You Appreciate… Appreciates. In it, Derek suggests that we try to become more aware of what we are grateful for and he makes a great case for us to count our blessings.  “This isn’t just a nice thing to do, it’s a powerful practice that can radically transform your life on every level. The reason is that what you appreciate…appreciates. What you give thanks for expands,” says Derek. He believes that focusing our attention on positive things will bring more positive energy and experiences into our lives. And focusing on negative aspects will bring us more negativity. “When you live in a state of gratitude, you create the fertile conditions for your greater potential to unfold, because you literally become the kind of person you would be if that potential came true.”

Among other things he encouraged his readers to make four lists. One list Derek titled: Successes/Achievements… and another, I’m capable of / I can… These two lists were great to bring about reflection, and more importantly they inspired action by affirming what we can ‘do’ in the direction of our goals and dreams. Give them a try. To see the other lists and read the complete article, visit his site at www.derekrydall.com