2026.01 Part of a Science Fiction Mystery Story
Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman
Release Date: 01/02/2026
2026 04 More of the Carnival Short Story
Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman
The transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for January 30, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is more of that carnival short story. At five in the evening, the Carnival had just opened. As the throng of people streamed in, Sofia felt the jostling and warmth and the loudness of being so close to others. Was the entire population of New Bedford here? It certainly sounded like that. She heard English, a little French, a lot of Portuguese. But the special language was that New Bedford-specific mixture of Portuguese and...
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2026.03 Part of a Carnival Short Story
Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman
The transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for January 16, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of a carnival short story. With her invisible earpiece in her left ear, her dark curls pulled into a long tail down the back of her dark blue jacket, and her steel-toed black boots, Sofia strode into the Carnival, ready for almost anything. Her team had orders to spread out to each of the games. She was headed to the Ferris Wheel. When she had been a teenager, that was the first place all of her friends had wanted...
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2026.02 Part of a Summer Romance Short Story
Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for January 9, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of a summer romance short story. She was here, alone. Her teenagers were learning how to adult. She wouldn’t pull them away from that, not when she didn’t really need them. Maybe she wasn’t so much of an adult herself, not if she wanted some company to do the last few bits of wrapping up her Nana’s life. As she looked out to the ocean, she heard a low voice say, “Diana? Diana Tremblay?” She turned and...
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2026.01 Part of a Science Fiction Mystery Story
Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for January 2, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of a science fiction mystery story. The Space Bar wasn’t really a bar. It was this immense alcohol cloud in the middle of Milky Way. And now that the Explorer had come out of FTL, it was easy to see the various ethanol colors—mostly pinks, purples, and little pops of pale blues. Since she wasn’t a chemist, she had no idea why the Space Bar had all these colors, but she could see out of a monitor...
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2025.43 Part of a Science Fiction Mystery Story
Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for December 19, 2025, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of a science fiction mystery story. Sipping her hot water because the coffee replicators were on the fritz—again—Louisa Armstrong blinked as she saw the odor alarm go off for Cargo Bay Six. Cargo Bays Four, Five, and Six were just one hundred meters square. Large enough for many kinds of cargo. Small enough--mostly--to contain any problems. But Louisa’s alarm panel, mounted up on the wall to her left...
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2025.42 Summer Spy Story Excerpt
Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for December 5, 2025, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of a spy story set in the summer. Phoebe Dawson watched the Boston Harbor waves sparkle from her perch on the twenty-second floor of the Exclusive Hotel in downtown Boston. The July moon hung high, its light permeating even this function room on the top of the hotel. Turning her back on the windows, she saw all the Boston movers and shakers here. These oh, so, exclusive guests. They were here, so she was here. She...
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2025.41 Project Surprises and Actions
Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for November 28, 2025, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of what I hope will be one of my columns on projectmanagement.com. While I do not write anything like a requirements document, I do write a reader journey for every nonfiction book I write. That reader journey discusses the problems the reader has at this point in the book and what the reader will learn in this chapter. In that way, it’s just like user story mapping. That’s because I want readers to...
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2025.40 Romantic Suspense Story Excerpt
Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for November 14, 2025, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. I’m back from my travels, so I have time to both write and record! This is part of a romantic suspense story. Without looking as if she was rushing, Liz Daniels turned right, apparently to walk down the corridor to the Ladies’ Room in the Burlington Mall, just northwest of Boston, Massachusetts. She stopped just after she turned the corner and pulled off her black spring jacket. She turned it inside out. Now, the light...
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2025.39 Fantasy Short Story Excerpt
Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman
The transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for October 31, 2025, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of a fantasy short story. “What’s your offer?” Lisa asked. Then she coughed. “Tell me your offer. Celeste did a little fist-pump. Yes, her friend Lisa’s world and social mores had affected even how she, a celestial being, reacted. “You can ride on a comet.” “I can what?” Lisa asked. She shook her head. Maybe her hearing had left her. Celeste could not be offering what Lisa heard. “Ride on...
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2025.38 Spy Excerpt
Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for October 24 , 2025, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of an espionage short story. Susan Cabot, dripping in diamonds from her ears, neck, and wrists—and at least eighty—winked at Phoebe as Susan danced a waltz on the arm of a much younger man. Phoebe grinned, tapped the side of her nose once, and winked back. She had enlisted Susan’s help to snag an invitation to tonight’s party. And it was worth it—especially if she could catch her spy. Then, the music...
info_outlineThe Transcript:
This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for January 2, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress.
This is part of a science fiction mystery story.
The Space Bar wasn’t really a bar. It was this immense alcohol cloud in the middle of Milky Way. And now that the Explorer had come out of FTL, it was easy to see the various ethanol colors—mostly pinks, purples, and little pops of pale blues. Since she wasn’t a chemist, she had no idea why the Space Bar had all these colors, but she could see out of a monitor just fine, thank you very much.
The air filtration system kicked into a higher hum. She felt cooler somehow, even though her uniform was supposed to keep her body temperature comfortable. Maybe it was the lack of coffee. She really hoped the HVAC system here was not on the fritz, also.
That’s when she noticed the air smelled a little like metal crossed with rum. Sweet rum.
Not stale, burnt coffee. Something sweet and alcoholic. Like those umbrella drinks some people liked to drink at the pubs.