Linda O. Johnston is a successful American author, best known for her mystery and romance novels. Born in 1949 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Johnston's interest in writing began at a young age. She started having ideas for school assignments and attempted to write them later, with her first real attempt at writing coming at the age of eight, where she attempted to write an epic.
Johnston's fiction series include the Kendra Ballantyne, Alpha Force and Pet Rescue series, with a common theme of dogs woven throughout many of her novels. Her 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, she has had numerous short stories, novellas, and 50 romance and mystery novels published, including the Pet Rescue Mystery Series, a spinoff from her Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime.
Linda currently writes the Barkery and Biscuits Mysteries cozy mystery series for Midnight Ink, and also wrote the Superstition Mysteries for them, both featuring dogs. She has also written the Pet Rescue Mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime, which was a spinoff from her Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery series. Linda also writes for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, including a new miniseries about a K-9 ranch where dogs are trained. Additionally, she writes paranormal romance for Harlequin Nocturne including the Alpha Force miniseries about a covert military unit of shapeshifters, where all the werewolves also have cover dogs.
Now a full-time writer, Linda was previously a lawyer, and she enjoys hearing from her readers. She is a member of the Los Angeles chapters of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, as well as Romance Writers of America, including the Los Angeles, Orange County and Santa Clarita chapters.