The Story of Paula Judith Johnson

The Story of Paula Judith Johnson

Years ago, in 1948, to be exact, Phil and Joan Johnson were expecting their first baby, and Joan wanted a girl child and decided to name her Paula Judith. Instead, they had a son and named him Steven Walter.

Eighteen months later, expecting their second infant, Mrs. Johnson was sure she would have her girl child. Again, the name Paula Judith was chosen. But again, she bore a son, Paul Philip.

After three years, Joan was pregnant again but refused to tempt fate. All the children from her husband’s siblings were boys, and she was resigned to bearing a house full of male children.

But, amazingly, a daughter was born. However, the Johnsons thought it would be confusing to have a son named Paul and, immediately after, a daughter named Paula. So the baby was named Teresa Marie. My parents considered their family complete.

However, back in those days, birth control was somewhat precarious. When my mother was expecting a fourth baby, she fell into her old pattern.

Paula Judith Johnson

She decided she’d name a daughter Paula Judith. Instead, my brother, Martin Perry, arrived.

And finally, fifteen years after this long saga began, another birth was anticipated. Mom said she had no doubt that the child she carried was a girl this time. She could tell by how she carried the baby in her womb.

The favored name, Paula Judith, was resurrected. Male names weren’t even considered because Joan knew it wasn’t necessary. After my youngest brother was born, it took days for Mom and Dad to decide on the name Kenneth Raymond.

So, in using the pen name of Paula Judith Johnson, I’ve given my mother the daughter she’s always wanted.

About The Author

Authenticity is essential to Romance author, Paula Judith Johnson, especially in the historical romance genre.

“I’m an avid history buff! My late husband, Wayne, and I were involved with many mountain man-era black powder clubs for over 20 years. I’ve carried that excitement and passion with me ever since and often use those experiences when writing about the early 1800s.”

Likewise, she brought her experience of owning and operating an investment and insurance services firm, to her contemporary writing. What she doesn’t know first-hand, she researches online and through personal contacts.

Paula Judith Johnson is the author of esteemed romance novels, such as her historical Sweetbriar: A Love Triangle Romance (a 2020 Book Excellence Awards Finalist) and Brewer’s Betrothal: A Love Triangle Romance (a 2021 Book Excellence Awards Finalist).

Her two contemporary romances are Starting Over: A Second Chance Romance, Book 1,

and Second Time Around: A Second Chance Romance, Book 2.

Fun Facts About Paula Judith Johnson:

While involved in mountain man-era black powder clubs, Paula Judith Johnson regularly participated in shooting reproduction muzzleloading rifles, pistols, and shotguns.

She also enjoyed activities that included throwing bowie knives, tomahawks, and spears.

She boasts many competition prizes and is especially proud of placing 1st in woman’s rifle and 1st Overall (rifle, pistol, knife & tomahawk) at a Fort Clatsop Muzzleloaders rendezvous.

Interview with Paula Judith Johnson

Paula Judith Johnson is the author of esteemed romance novels such as Sweetbriar: A Love Triangle Romance (2020 Book Excellence Award Historical Romance Finalist), Brewer’s Betrothal: A Love Triangle Romance (2021 Book Excellence Award Historical Romance Finalist), Starting Over: A Second Chance Romance (Book 1), and Second Time Around: A Second Chance Romance ( Book 2).

How did you end up in the romance genre?

It took a while for me to get serious about writing, and I wasn’t sure I had more than one story to tell. Yet, here we are, with four novels under my belt and a fifth work-in-progress.

The novel Sweetbriar: A Love Triangle Romance is a story that rattled around inside my head for 25 years. I knew that I wanted to write a story about love and love lost, misplaced expectations, and redemption. Sweetbriar was the vehicle for that. I started writing it early every morning, and eventually, the characters took on lives of their own. And the rest is, well, history!

I never thought I’d write contemporary romance, but my next two novels are just that. Starting Over, A Second Chance Romance (Book 1), and Second Time Around, A Second Chance Romance ( Book 2) are set in the small towns of Seaside and Astoria on the North Oregon Coast.

What does your writing process look like?

I like to write first thing in the morning, usually around 5 a.m. Some days are productive and promising, while on other days I feel like I’m scraping the bottom of the tidepool to pull some words out. Regardless, I find early morning my most productive time. I start with about 10 minutes of free-flow writing using a writing prompt. 

In fact, that is how I started writing, Starting Over: A Second Chance Romance.

How do your complex, multi-layered characters come to life in your stories?

The novel I just mentioned is a good example. One morning, I woke up from the tail end of a dream and used that as a writing prompt to get the writing juices flowing. I had imagined a man and woman sitting on a bench near a swimming pool. I wrote for 10 minutes by the clock and then put the piece away.

A few months later, I was reviewing a stack of miscellaneous snippets when I came across the swimming pool piece. The piece ended in the middle of a sentence, and my first thought was, “What happens next?” Then it dawned on me that I had to write the story to find out! Go to page 84 of Starting Over: A Second Chance Romance, and you’ll find the scene.

How did your next novel, Second Time Around, come to be? Did you originally plan

a sequel to Starting Over?

Not originally. In fact, I thought I would move on to another historical romance. But after the success of Starting Over: A Second Chance Romance, readers wanted to read more about the secondary characters, Mandy Kearney and Nate Peters. I had intended them to have important supporting roles but never envisioned they’d have their own tales to tell.

I went back and re-read Starting Over: A Second Chance Romance. Lo and behold, there was enough material for me to expand Mandy and Nate’s stories. So, I wrote Second Time Around: A Second Chance Romance. I’m thrilled with how that novel turned out.

In Starting Over, you accurately describe Britney’s fashion and finance jobs. Did you

spend a ton of time researching and getting into those worlds to write about them?

I’m glad people picked up on that! Authenticity is crucial in all my writing, and I don’t want to write something that might not hold up to experts’ or even professionals’ views. I didn’t need extensive research into these fields because I’ve previously held similar roles.

Since I was 12 years old, I’ve sewn clothes and studied fashion. It was one of my younger dreams, and all the work I put into that came in handy when writing Starting Over: A Second Chance Romance.

As far as finance goes, before retiring, I owned my own firm, TMB Financial. We specialized in investments and insurance, so familiarity with the terms, topics, and everyday office culture helped me craft Britney Thompson’s new career once moving to Seaside, Oregon.

And the same question about the office life of Mandy Kearney and Nate Peters?

I spent many years in offices, so much of the atmosphere and inner workings of corporate culture came naturally. That being said, I wanted to make sure I had all the minor details down.

I knew the County Clerk at Clatsop County in Oregon and asked if she could recommend two lateral positions that would work for my novel. She graciously introduced me to the department managers in Budget and Finance, and Assessment and Taxation. They kindly shared with me enough information to fill in all of the details of the inside workings. I dedicated that novel to the three of them.

What’s something about you that might surprise people?

After my husband passed away, I sold nearly everything I owned, bought a 29′ fifth-wheel RV, and hit the road with my Golden Retriever, Maizie. We’ve circumnavigated the USA together and continue to travel most of the time.

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Years ago, in 1948, to be exact, Phil and Joan Johnson were expecting their first baby, and Joan wanted a girl child and decided to name her Paula Judith. Instead, they had a son and named him Steven Walter.

Eighteen months later, expecting their second infant, Mrs. Johnson was sure she would have her girl child. Again, the name Paula Judith was chosen. But again, she bore a son, Paul Philip.

After three years, Joan was pregnant again but refused to tempt fate. All the children from her husband’s siblings were boys, and she was resigned to bearing a house full of male children.

But, amazingly, a daughter was born. However, the Johnsons thought it would be confusing to have a son named Paul and, immediately after, a daughter named Paula. So the baby was named Teresa Marie. My parents considered their family complete.

However, back in those days, birth control was somewhat precarious. When my mother was expecting a fourth baby, she fell into her old pattern.

Paula Judith Johnson

She decided she’d name a daughter Paula Judith. Instead, my brother, Martin Perry, arrived.

And finally, fifteen years after this long saga began, another birth was anticipated. Mom said she had no doubt that the child she carried was a girl this time. She could tell by how she carried the baby in her womb.

The favored name, Paula Judith, was resurrected. Male names weren’t even considered because Joan knew it wasn’t necessary. After my youngest brother was born, it took days for Mom and Dad to decide on the name Kenneth Raymond.

So, in using the pen name of Paula Judith Johnson, I’ve given my mother the daughter she’s always wanted.

About The Author

Authenticity is essential to Romance author, Paula Judith Johnson, especially in the historical romance genre.

“I’m an avid history buff! My late husband, Wayne, and I were involved with many mountain man-era black powder clubs for over 20 years. I’ve carried that excitement and passion with me ever since and often use those experiences when writing about the early 1800s.”

Likewise, she brought her experience of owning and operating an investment and insurance services firm, to her contemporary writing. What she doesn’t know first-hand, she researches online and through personal contacts.

Paula Judith Johnson is the author of esteemed romance novels, such as her historical Sweetbriar: A Love Triangle Romance (a 2020 Book Excellence Awards Finalist) and Brewer’s Betrothal: A Love Triangle Romance (a 2021 Book Excellence Awards Finalist).

Her two contemporary romances are Starting Over: A Second Chance Romance, Book 1,

and Second Time Around: A Second Chance Romance, Book 2.

Fun Facts About Paula Judith Johnson:

While involved in mountain man-era black powder clubs, Paula Judith Johnson regularly participated in shooting reproduction muzzleloading rifles, pistols, and shotguns.

She also enjoyed activities that included throwing bowie knives, tomahawks, and spears.

She boasts many competition prizes and is especially proud of placing 1st in woman’s rifle and 1st Overall (rifle, pistol, knife & tomahawk) at a Fort Clatsop Muzzleloaders rendezvous.

Interview with Paula Judith Johnson

Paula Judith Johnson is the author of esteemed romance novels such as Sweetbriar:

A Love Triangle Romance (2020 Book Excellence Award Historical Romance Finalist), Brewer’s Betrothal: A Love Triangle Romance (2021 Book Excellence Award Historical Romance Finalist), Starting Over: A Second Chance Romance (Book 1), and Second Time Around: A Second Chance Romance ( Book 2).

How did you end up in the romance genre?

It took a while for me to get serious about writing, and I wasn’t sure I had more than one story to tell. Yet, here we are, with four novels under my belt and a fifth work-in-progress.

The novel Sweetbriar: A Love Triangle Romance is a story that rattled around inside my head for 25 years. I knew that I wanted to write a story about love and love lost, misplaced expectations, and redemption. Sweetbriar was the vehicle for that. I started writing it early every morning, and eventually, the characters took on lives of their own. And the rest is, well, history!

I never thought I’d write contemporary romance, but my next two novels are just that. Starting Over, A Second Chance Romance (Book 1), and Second Time Around, A Second Chance Romance ( Book 2) are set in the small towns of Seaside and Astoria on the North Oregon Coast.

What does your writing process look like?

I like to write first thing in the morning, usually around 5 a.m. Some days are productive and promising, while on other days I feel like I’m scraping the bottom of the tidepool to pull some words out. Regardless, I find early morning my most productive time. I start with about 10 minutes of free-flow writing using a writing prompt. 

In fact, that is how I started writing, Starting Over: A Second Chance Romance.

How do your complex, multi-layered characters come to life in your stories?

The novel I just mentioned is a good example. One morning, I woke up from the tail end of a dream and used that as a writing prompt to get the writing juices flowing. I had imagined a man and woman sitting on a bench near a swimming pool. I wrote for 10 minutes by the clock and then put the piece away.

A few months later, I was reviewing a stack of miscellaneous snippets when I came across the swimming pool piece. The piece ended in the middle of a sentence, and my first thought was, “What happens next?” Then it dawned on me that I had to write the story to find out! Go to page 84 of Starting Over: A Second Chance Romance, and you’ll find the scene.

How did your next novel, Second Time Around, come to be? Did you originally plan

a sequel to Starting Over?

Not originally. In fact, I thought I would move on to another historical romance. But after the success of Starting Over: A Second Chance Romance, readers wanted to read more about the secondary characters, Mandy Kearney and Nate Peters. I had intended them to have important supporting roles but never envisioned they’d have their own tales to tell.

I went back and re-read Starting Over: A Second Chance Romance. Lo and behold, there was enough material for me to expand Mandy and Nate’s stories. So, I wrote Second Time Around: A Second Chance Romance. I’m thrilled with how that novel turned out.

In Starting Over, you accurately describe Britney’s fashion and finance jobs. Did you

spend a ton of time researching and getting into those worlds to write about them?

I’m glad people picked up on that! Authenticity is crucial in all my writing, and I don’t want to write something that might not hold up to experts’ or even professionals’ views. I didn’t need extensive research into these fields because I’ve previously held similar roles.

Since I was 12 years old, I’ve sewn clothes and studied fashion. It was one of my younger dreams, and all the work I put into that came in handy when writing Starting Over: A Second Chance Romance.

As far as finance goes, before retiring, I owned my own firm, TMB Financial. We specialized in investments and insurance, so familiarity with the terms, topics, and everyday office culture helped me craft Britney Thompson’s new career once moving to Seaside, Oregon.

And the same question about the office life of Mandy Kearney and Nate Peters?

I spent many years in offices, so much of the atmosphere and inner workings of corporate culture came naturally. That being said, I wanted to make sure I had all the minor details down.

I knew the County Clerk at Clatsop County in Oregon and asked if she could recommend two lateral positions that would work for my novel. She graciously introduced me to the department managers in Budget and Finance, and Assessment and Taxation. They kindly shared with me enough information to fill in all of the details of the inside workings. I dedicated that novel to the three of them.

What’s something about you that might surprise people?

After my husband passed away, I sold nearly everything I owned, bought a 29′ fifth-wheel RV, and hit the road with my Golden Retriever, Maizie. We’ve circumnavigated the USA together and continue to travel most of the time.

Stay Updated!


Sign up to receive updates on blog posts, Newsletters, and free short stories!

Copyright © 2024 Paula Judith Johnson