Paul Johnson, Murder/Mystery/Thriller/ Suspense Author
Paul Johnson is 29 and ¾ years old. He says that with the smiley face symbol. He could be considered as an author with all the rights of its definition, but the word creative artist might be more fitting. To describe him in those terms would require a further question. What kind of artist? The Canadian native, who was born and continues to live in Calgary, Alberta, has always dabbled with art in some form or another. From a songwriter to video editor, to urban photography, Johnson’s love for creativity has constantly guided his footsteps and eventually became a source of income. No matter the city, the time or place, he was drawn to creativity like a moth to a fire.
Johnson is a full-time freelance writer who tackles various assignments. His resume is quite far reached and doesn’t seem to be limited by a lack of confidence. He’s written product descriptions, mottos, top 10 lists, quizzes and at one time, he was hired to write a pilot for a web series that never reached production. He has song rights for sale and for the past year, he’s been a part of a writing staff that creates personalized novelty responses for a website where users can ask for motivational feedback on an assortment of topics. Wow, what a resume, but it continues. He’s also a video editor and his list of experience goes on.
Time is of the essence for this busy freelance writer and editor, who doesn’t appear to let the absence of time to write stress him out. He says he writes “as I feel like it” and “…when I feel like it.” He continues. “I can be very emphatic about the need to designate the time and obsessive about writing notes down all over the place.” With that said, Paul treasures the day when he can devote all of his working hours primarily to his own writing as a career.
In August of this year, Johnson published the first book of the Jayson Patrick Series. The introduction titled is called [Criminal?], and yes, the brackets and the question mark are a part of the title.
This suspenseful mystery volume was developed over a number of years, experiences, and different times in Johnson’s life and was created almost ‘unintentionally’.
In this book, Paul wanted readers to follow his character Jayson Patrick, who was marred by the normality of human changes: breakups, self-doubt, addiction and other challenges. Johnson was asked to give an insight into his character. He said this, “If anything makes Jayson Patrick extraordinary or special it is his resilience in the face of those circumstances that are extraordinary. His vulnerability and the fact that he is only qualified to be a part of these exploits by circumstance. He is a man facing many of the challenges that many of us do while having unbelievable circumstances thrown his way. This is a character you may not wish to emulate, but one that I hope readers grow to care about as they watch him develop as a person.”
Paul is nearly 10,000 words into the first draft of the [Criminal?] successor. He doesn’t use an outline for his stories, but keeps extensive notes to ensure that the details and the continuity remain at the level and quality that he desires. Unlike [Criminal?], which is a novella, the second installment of the series is set to be a full-length novel.
As creative as he is, Johnson says that the hardest thing about writing is the creation of a story. Taking it from the idea in your mind and sharing it with others, who must in turn, understand the thoughts that you once had in your head. To him, that is “…the single most important thing you have to do (as a writer).”
In addition to the Jayson Patrick series, Johnson is also quietly working on a sci-fi novel. However, he’s taking his time with that story and hopes to publish it somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd installment of the Jayson Patrick series.
Although his first book was published in August 2017, it is not the first of his work. He’s written short stories, free-form pieces, a dramatic blog (dismantled from the former Thoughts.com), other sporadic blogs, Intentions (a 2012 Podcast on Bean Pod and iTunes). And he’s also participated in comedy workshopping for Twitter content. As you see, he is a creative artist that has done so much more that authoring a book. He will do “...basically ANYTHING that allows me to write.”
When Johnson was asked what draws him to the Murder/Mystery/Thriller/Suspense genre, he says it was “The story!” He explained that he never intentionally set out with a particular genre in mind, the Jayson Patrick Series just turned out to be a murder/mysteries because “…that was the story I had to tell. I like to think that certain stories need to be told in a specific medium and books provide so many different variables for communicating with your audience that isn't available through other media.”
Interviewer: Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead character from your most recent book and why?
Johnson: Jared Leto, not even because I’m a lifelong fan or anything, it is largely about the look here...the look and the fact that he is known to go to great lengths to accurately portray characters who are anti-heroes, and would take time to know the character.
Some writers remember that frozen moment in time that changed their direction and made them visualize their first story in print, but that is not the experience Paul had. For him, that specific moment or time never came. Growing up as the child of music lovers, he never imagined a printed version of his book or standing at a book signing event. His mother, a writer, who left behind a manuscript of a novel and countless poems upon her passing was the closest source of novel inspiration. Little did he know that his mother’s talents and life would inspire him to become an author.
A vintage typewriter, computer, dictate or scribble? Most of us use a computer now-a-days and some still write their work on a paper tablet. Half of Johnson’s story [Criminal?] was pieced together on the “T9” keyboard, a Blackberry Pearl 8 cell phone, but that was years ago. Today, he works from a laptop and backup extensively on clouds. “I have been deeply affected by losing physical copies of things in the past and to this extent I utilize technology extensively in the writing process.”
Johnson does not work on a story until he completes it, he does what he would describe as binging. He says, “I binge heavily; writing intensely for a number of months, then very little for a while, and so on.”
When getting the background for his story, Johnson says he does a “fair bit” of research and tries not to overdue information that might take his readers out of the moment. “I personally feel that (some of) those are more capable of taking certain readers out of the moment, I also feel that procedural stuff can be a better application for an audience's suspended belief when kept in moderation.”
As skillful as he is, it is almost unbelievable that he would be spooked by the question, “Where do your ideas come from?” He says he’s not “exactly certain”. “I think writing is an opportunity to explore concepts. Meld life experiences with curiosities to create new situations. I strongly believe that as you write more and more about a character, that they begin to reveal more and more about themselves, from the standpoint that two unintentionally related traits may organically foster another by extension of themselves, in this way the characters are revealing parts of themselves to the author before the author reveals them to the reader.”
Johnson’s attitude of “writing when he feels like it” seems to be laid back. So his encouragement to writer’s block perfectly aligns with his writing views.
“Stop!” That one word says a lot, but he continues. “… Just stop writing. What??? Yes. Give your mind space...” He uses the downtime of writer’s block to make designs of character’s houses in CAD apps, “I find in some ways, it can help put you in that space and show you different paths. I also explore landscapes/scenes in my mind as I fall asleep at night...but it is possible that neither of these has ever proven to be as effective as simply stepping back.”
In November of this year, Johnson will be embarking on another adventure in the life-changing process. He is set to marry the love of his life and together, the two will continue in their business of homemade lotions and creation of videos for their YouTube channel, which is another project they will be launching together soon. Told you is creative. He is a gift that keeps on giving the world of art.
When others think of relaxing, the thought may include sitting by the lake, in front of a T.V. screen, playing with the dog, or even a candlelight setting. For Johnson, he finds creativity to be his best form of releasing stress. Generally, writing or working on something related, such as video editing. He says, “I actually have very few hobbies that don’t relate in some way to developing or creating something.”
Johnson’s journey has taken him down many avenues; some good, some he’s struggled to abandon, and others he learned to appreciate. But no matter where he was at any given time in his life, he held onto the motivational phrase of “This too shall pass” - Complex/Unknown origin.
So much is happening in our world that would make one wonder how to survive. Johnson says, “People need to be good to each other and the animals we share this planet with, devote your energy to things that bring you joy, skip the newspaper and have a treat that takes you back to your happiest memory instead, what’s the worst that could happen?”
With Johnson’s life experiences and style of writing, it’s no wonder that a good story with a criss-cross narrative like the writing of Jonathan Kellerman’s Billy Straight who alternates his narratives between 12-year-old Billy and Detective Petra Connor would be among his favorite reads. He also says he will always have an everlasting place in my heart for Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
As a songwriter, photographer, freelance writer, video editor, lotion creator, and now an author, it’s natural that Johnson would be stimulated by the quote, "Why sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." - Alice in Lewis Carroll’s, Through the Looking Glass.
Paul encourages other writers who's seeking to become a published author to, “Just try...I am so green to all this, but what I do know is that a great deal has changed in 7 years but this story stayed with me and every word I wrote down became this book. But what always made me think it was impossible was the times sitting with this story and not knowing how I could possibly carry it to publication. I just wrote a little day by day...tell the story first...then worry about the rest.”
With a popular name like, Paul Johnson, one would really have to scroll the internet pages to pick out this creative artist out of the flow of other individuals with the same name. But Paul is a unique artist, and to find him, your search engine must also be unique. Try typing, Criminal? Paul Johnson, and you will be led to his book on Amazon. Or you can click on his images or following any of the links below to follow him or purchase his book.
