It's Autism Acceptance Month, and this week I just announced a 2nd book in my cozy mystery series following an autistic woman (like me) who has a passion for cheese (like me). The 1st book is Cheddar Luck Next Time, & the sequel is Brie My Valentine!
#SpoonieAuthChat #ShamelessPromo
Need to dive into a world where accessibility and accommodations are the norm? Where you can defy ableist pirates? Where #disability #hopepunk rules?
Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space won the 2023 Indie Ink Award for Disability Representation!
books2read.com/iatcS1 #SpoonieAuthChat
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Spoonie Author Chat (for creatives who manage spoons), April 3, 2026:
ARE YOU FEELING SHAMELESS? Because it's #ShamelessPromo Friday!
Share with us all the awesome things!
(Please quote-post and add #SpoonieAuthChat to your replies!)
I always wrote stories and poems and articles. It was harder to find a book publisher, though.
Small press came through.
Then educational publishers.
My books are in libraries across Canada and the USA.
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paulajohanson.blogspot.com my backlist
books2read.com/paulaj my new books
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Sort of.
When I was little, I decided I'd be an author. I also decided to be a cowboy, astronaut, actor, model, musician, and dancer. I managed all of these except for astronaut and cowboy, though I did work on a horse ranch for a bit.
My first publication was when I was 9.
I loved making up stories since childhood. I think I was in my teens when I dreamt of being an author.
I was 47 when my first book was published. And these last ten years have been such a learning experience.
It’s never too late to realize a dream! #SpoonieAuthChat
Nineteen is still very young! What an accomplishment! #SpoonieAuthChat
I was also a weirdo kid! Yay! #SpoonieAuthChat
We love it when dreams come true! #SpoonieAuthChat
I never imagined I'd get to call myself an author.
Short story sales here and there wouldn't support me. I had to devote my time to jobs that paid the bills.
Having the chance to only devote my time to writing (and art)? Absolutely a dream!
#SpoonieAuthChat
Absolutely not. I've been telling stories as long as I could talk, but I'm the son of an artist, so I was raised to know you always do the art, but it's not a career. It can't be.
Then I ended up permanently disabled, but it turns out that doesn't stop me from writing.
#SpoonieAuthChat
Have missed taking part of these lately, but this question... yeah. I wrote my first story at six. I told stories to the other unpopular, weirdo kids, until the decided I was too weird for them, even 😅
I wrote poems, and comics, and stories of all lengths. +
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kinda. when I was little, I did dream of being a published author, but that has dwindled the more I’ve learned about the publishing industry, I’ve embraced the thought dump as writing in itself, & writing has become more of a mental health lifeline for myself than just a hobby
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#SpoonieAuthChat Far back as I can remember, I knew I wanted to be a writer.
I think I've been bragging about how good an author I was going to be since Kindergarten.
Didn't think I'd publish my first novel at 19, though! (Kindergarten me was sure it would be earlier!!)
#SpoonieAuthChat OH yeah. I was dead convinced that I was gonna be a published author when I was a kid. And like, I got there, in a circuitous route. But jeezy creezy.
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Spoonie Author Chat (for creatives who manage spoons), April 2, 2026:
Was becoming an author a lifelong dream for you?
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My 9th grade English teacher told me I had the talent to be a writer.
I just stared at her.
It felt like an equally crushing and optimistic blow to my system.
Which is pretty much what it still feels like now.
#SpoonieAuthChat
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Spoonie Author Chat (for creatives who manage spoons), April 1, 2026:
How did it feel when someone else called you an author for the first time?
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"Awake", a terminally abstract short story about an HVAC system waking up to sentience, published in the fractopian anthology "Ubiquicity". Physically painful to get this finished. No spoons, only existential dread. Available here, docs.google.com/document/d/1...
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My first-ever completed novel never got published. I’m still not sure if I will ever rewrite it. But fun fact: it was supposed to be a therapy journal and turned into a space opera adventure! I wrote my feelings through the characters! It helped me in therapy too! #SpoonieAuthChat
The absolute first story I completed was under 100 words, written for my second grade "newspaper" we made on the computer.
Complete with unicorn clipart, of course.
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The Night of Fallen Gods, my #AmQuerying novel!
I have my Prologue and first chapter posted to my website and the pitch in my pinned post if you want to know more!
Prologue: nightoffallengods.com/2026/02/21/t...
Ch 1: nightoffallengods.com/2026/03/20/t...
#WriteSky
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Spoonie Author Chat (for creatives who manage spoons), March 31, 2026:
What was the first work you ever completed writing?
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That’s fascinating! #SpoonieAuthChat
Yay! That’s awesome. #SpoonieAuthChat
Oh yeah, the pandemic affected the way my brain brained as well. Writing helped me survive. I’m glad you had that too. #SpoonieAuthChat
Because I love the act of writing and I love telling stories. I've wanted to be a writer since middle school, and I just ... Did it. It's incredibly fulfilling and helps keep me mentally healthy #SpoonieAuthChat
That’s a good kind of nagging, no? #SpoonieAuthChat
I don’t think it was a decision, really. I just got possessed by the urge to write, people nagged me into doing writing contests, &next thing I knew, I was technically a published author. it’s still weird to me
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I love this! Maybe we are born writers! #SpoonieAuthChat
