Authors To Watch: Becky Johnson, author of 'Touching Death'

Books are Becky Johnson's passion and always have been. She used to get in trouble in school for reading during class!

Becky has Master's degrees in social work and history, and for her day job she is a social worker. In her writing she tries to answer a question that is important to both social work and history: Why? She always wants to know why people do the things they do or feel the way they feel.

When not reading or writing she enjoys yoga, photography, cooking, and makes a pretty mean chili!

Her latest book is the mystery/suspense, Touching Death.

For More Information

• Visit Becky Johnson’s blog.
• Connect with Becky on Facebook and Goodreads.

Title: Touching Death
Author: Becky Johnson
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 209
Genre: Mystery/Suspense

Rachel Angeletti knows things. She always has. With one touch she sees secrets, emotions, lies. Her gift helps her to be the best museum curator in Chicago. It also makes her personal relationships difficult.
Her life is complicated enough when a run in with her ex and an unanticipated vision sends her reeling. One touch and she sees death. One touch and she is thrown into the midst of killer’s dark fantasy. Now Rachel is in a fight for her life against a killer she knows too little about.

With danger stalking her around every turn Rachel is in a thrilling race against the clock. Can she catch a killer before he catches her?

Touching Death will take you on a riveting, page-turning, journey into the mind of a killer and the heart of a survivor.

For More Information

• Touching Death is available at Amazon.
• Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

Welcome to My Bookish Pleasures! Tell us a little about yourself. 

I’m 35 years old and I live in New Jersey with my cat Sam. Touching Death is my fourth book and the first in a new series. For my day job I’m a social worker in a hospital. I’ve been writing since I was a kid and I always have stories to tell!

When did you begin writing? 

My first story I wrote in first grade. It was a story about a dog. My mom tells me it was a pretty good story, but very hard to read. I wrote the whole thing backwards!

Describe your writing process. Do you plot or write by the seat of your pants? When and where do you write? 

My stories usually start in my head with a sentence or a scene. From there I do a very rough plot and then I let the characters go wild! I make myself write every night. At least 500 words every day. Sometimes I hate every word I wrote, but I find if I just keep writing that it will eventually come together.

Can you tell us about your most recent release?

Touching Death is the first in a new series. Rachel Angeletti has a gift. She can see things. One touch and she sees the past. One touch and she sees life and death. Her job at the museum lets her use her gift to tell the stories of the past. But when she touches a knife being prepared for display she sees a murder and not one from history. Now she’s the only one who can find a killer.

How did you get the idea for the book? 

One day several years ago I was walking through the Philadelphia Museum of Art. As I walked through one of the rooms I touched a carved pillar. I started thinking about all the people that might have touched that pillar in the past. Then I started thinking about being able to see what they saw or feel what they felt. In that moment Rachel Angeletti was born.

Of all your characters, which one is your favorite? Why? 

All of my characters are special to me, after all they all come from me in some way! If I really had to pick I would say my absolute favorite is Skeet from my first series Charlotte Marshall Mysteries. He is just such a contradiction. I feel like I have so many more stories to tell with him!

What projects are you currently working on? 

I’m currently working on a standalone novel called The Taking. It will be a little more horror than my previous works. I’m also working on the second Rachel Angeletti novel tentatively titled Just a Touch.

What advice would you offer to new or aspiring authors? 

Just keep writing. The more you write and the more you read the better your storytelling will be.