How NY Times Bestselling Author Craig Johnson Writes

The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience

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The award-winning mystery writer and popular crime novelist, Craig Johnson, spoke with me about his long-running Longmire series, shotgun self-realization, and how to write good books.

"How am I ever gonna get seen? Write good books." — Craig Johnson

Craig is the New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire mysteries, the bedrock of the hit Netflix series of the same name.
His latest novel is the 16th Sheriff Walt Longmire murder mystery, Next to Last Stand, a story that centers around Custer’s Last Fight, one of the most viewed paintings in American history.

"Custer's Last Fight was copied and distributed by Anheuser-Busch at a rate of over two million copies a year and destroyed in a fire at the 7th Cavalry Headquarters in Fort Bliss, Texas, in 1946 . . . Or was it?"

In a starred review, Library Journal said of the book, "... Johnson lightens the atmosphere in this complex, thought-provoking mystery that highlights art and Western history, emphasizing the contrast between Native accounts and white history."
Craig is also the recipient of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for fiction, the Mountain & Plains Independent Booksellers Association's Reading the West Book Award for fiction, the Nouvel Observateur Prix du Roman Noir, and the Prix SNCF du Polar.

If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews. In this file Craig Johnson and I discussed:

• Why he chose to feature veterans in his latest book
• The wisdom behind "Choose a job you love..."
• How to host a virtual book tour event
• His special relationship with the cast and crew of the Longmire TV series
• And more!

Show Notes:

• CraigAllenJohnson.com
• Next to Last Stand: A Longmire Mystery by Craig Johnson [Amazon]
• Craig Johnson Amazon author page
• Tinderbox: Soldier of Indira by Lou Diamond Phillips [Amazon]
• Craig Johnson on FaceBook
• Craig Johnson on Instagram
• Craig Johnson on Twitter
• Kelton Reid on Twitter

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