Laurie Johnson
@laurieinbavaria.bsky.social
Nature walks, reading, knitting.
Silliness. Birding.
Intersectionality.
Writing.
WIP: Literary fiction with elements of magical realism. Exploring dementia, anger, and reconciliation.
All photos are mine unless labeled otherwise.
Silliness. Birding.
Intersectionality.
Writing.
WIP: Literary fiction with elements of magical realism. Exploring dementia, anger, and reconciliation.
All photos are mine unless labeled otherwise.
While researching locations for my novel, I became obsessed with planned communities and seemingly utopian suburban neighborhoods. Some, like the Love Canal, were literally built on toxic waste. Others were poisoned by whites-only policies. I highly recommend the PBS documentary on redlining.
September 17, 2025 at 8:48 AM
While researching locations for my novel, I became obsessed with planned communities and seemingly utopian suburban neighborhoods. Some, like the Love Canal, were literally built on toxic waste. Others were poisoned by whites-only policies. I highly recommend the PBS documentary on redlining.
Walking around rivers, trees, and ponds is the best. It clears my head after work, when I'm writing, or when current events are getting me down. Such beauty!
May 27, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Walking around rivers, trees, and ponds is the best. It clears my head after work, when I'm writing, or when current events are getting me down. Such beauty!
When I came to Europe, I was thrilled to see #storks and hedgehogs in real life and not just fairy tales or picture books.
My #WIP is set in the US, so my characters have cardinals, pileated woodpeckers, and spotted owls, but no storks. Or should I send someone to Europe to see them?🤔
My #WIP is set in the US, so my characters have cardinals, pileated woodpeckers, and spotted owls, but no storks. Or should I send someone to Europe to see them?🤔
April 29, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Coltsfoot, is such a welcome sight every spring with its blossoms like little suns. Unlike many other plants, the flowers show up first and the leaves come later. I was so happy to find these large patches on a recent bike ride to Munich. 🌿 #Coltsfoot #Hufflattich #NativePlants
March 13, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Coltsfoot, is such a welcome sight every spring with its blossoms like little suns. Unlike many other plants, the flowers show up first and the leaves come later. I was so happy to find these large patches on a recent bike ride to Munich. 🌿 #Coltsfoot #Hufflattich #NativePlants
It's #WoodpeckerWednesday and I am here for it! No writing updates at the moment. I'm still trying to get in the rhythm of working on my second draft and getting stuck writing about work. I've been self-employed most of my adult life and therefore somewhat clueless about office life.
#Mittelspecht
#Mittelspecht
March 12, 2025 at 9:40 AM
It's #WoodpeckerWednesday and I am here for it! No writing updates at the moment. I'm still trying to get in the rhythm of working on my second draft and getting stuck writing about work. I've been self-employed most of my adult life and therefore somewhat clueless about office life.
#Mittelspecht
#Mittelspecht
Flora and fungi on a beautiful, early spring day. Walking and biking outside clears my mind and relaxes my being - so important these days!
March 10, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Flora and fungi on a beautiful, early spring day. Walking and biking outside clears my mind and relaxes my being - so important these days!
What's good these days? Work is good. Writing is good. Nature is good. Mushrooms are easier to photograph but birds are more fun.
February 17, 2025 at 7:58 PM
What's good these days? Work is good. Writing is good. Nature is good. Mushrooms are easier to photograph but birds are more fun.
I just read that there were 160,000 pro-democracy demonstrators in Berlin. We were "only" 5000 in my town. It feels weird to have to demonstrate for basic things like democracy, human decency, kindness, treating people like people, etc., but I'm glad we were so many despite the damp, creeping cold.
February 2, 2025 at 10:42 PM
I just read that there were 160,000 pro-democracy demonstrators in Berlin. We were "only" 5000 in my town. It feels weird to have to demonstrate for basic things like democracy, human decency, kindness, treating people like people, etc., but I'm glad we were so many despite the damp, creeping cold.
It was good to walk and bike outside. My face sometimes felt like it was going to fall off from the cold, even though the temperatures are nothing like the ones I grew up with in Idaho. I saw herons and egrets, odd ducks, chickadees, spotted woodpeckers, and a hunched over bird of prey.
January 15, 2025 at 5:58 PM
It was good to walk and bike outside. My face sometimes felt like it was going to fall off from the cold, even though the temperatures are nothing like the ones I grew up with in Idaho. I saw herons and egrets, odd ducks, chickadees, spotted woodpeckers, and a hunched over bird of prey.
I've declared my first draft done (all but the epilogue which might need to be a chapter). For the first time in this process I have title ideas. 😁 The pictures are from a walk along the Amper River and have nothing to do with the novel or any potential title.
December 19, 2024 at 8:22 AM
I've declared my first draft done (all but the epilogue which might need to be a chapter). For the first time in this process I have title ideas. 😁 The pictures are from a walk along the Amper River and have nothing to do with the novel or any potential title.
I'm drawing on my American Midwestern childhood for my novel. A town I lived in is now associated with xenophobic lies. In many ways it's easier to set my novel in a generic Ohio town instead.
I'm angry about the hate speech and the people who have suffered because of it.
#ThrowbackThursday
I'm angry about the hate speech and the people who have suffered because of it.
#ThrowbackThursday
December 5, 2024 at 12:27 PM
I'm drawing on my American Midwestern childhood for my novel. A town I lived in is now associated with xenophobic lies. In many ways it's easier to set my novel in a generic Ohio town instead.
I'm angry about the hate speech and the people who have suffered because of it.
#ThrowbackThursday
I'm angry about the hate speech and the people who have suffered because of it.
#ThrowbackThursday
Considering how much I talk about enjoying writing, I have to employ so many tricks to get myself to actually sit down and work on my novel.
My #WritingGroup and #WritingBuddies motivate me, and when all else fails, there are nice cafés where I can #FreeWrite
My #WritingGroup and #WritingBuddies motivate me, and when all else fails, there are nice cafés where I can #FreeWrite
November 22, 2024 at 12:49 PM
Considering how much I talk about enjoying writing, I have to employ so many tricks to get myself to actually sit down and work on my novel.
My #WritingGroup and #WritingBuddies motivate me, and when all else fails, there are nice cafés where I can #FreeWrite
My #WritingGroup and #WritingBuddies motivate me, and when all else fails, there are nice cafés where I can #FreeWrite
It's #WoodpeckerWednesday again.The green woodpecker is a favorite of mine. Their call sounds like laughter.
November 20, 2024 at 8:33 PM
It's #WoodpeckerWednesday again.The green woodpecker is a favorite of mine. Their call sounds like laughter.
#MushroomMonday
I found these cuties in a forest just outside of Munich, Germany.
I found these cuties in a forest just outside of Munich, Germany.
November 18, 2024 at 9:09 PM
#MushroomMonday
I found these cuties in a forest just outside of Munich, Germany.
I found these cuties in a forest just outside of Munich, Germany.
Blackthorn berries by the train tracks.
I'm saving and savoring moments of beauty in the mundane to deal with all the other stuff. And now I get to meet with one of my writing partners to do some good work.
Reposting to include pictures.
#WorkInProgress
#ArtIsResistance
I'm saving and savoring moments of beauty in the mundane to deal with all the other stuff. And now I get to meet with one of my writing partners to do some good work.
Reposting to include pictures.
#WorkInProgress
#ArtIsResistance
November 18, 2024 at 11:58 AM
Blackthorn berries by the train tracks.
I'm saving and savoring moments of beauty in the mundane to deal with all the other stuff. And now I get to meet with one of my writing partners to do some good work.
Reposting to include pictures.
#WorkInProgress
#ArtIsResistance
I'm saving and savoring moments of beauty in the mundane to deal with all the other stuff. And now I get to meet with one of my writing partners to do some good work.
Reposting to include pictures.
#WorkInProgress
#ArtIsResistance
The pictures didn't post. Oops.
November 18, 2024 at 10:19 AM
The pictures didn't post. Oops.
After years of looking for lost people in the patch, I finally ate my first pawpaw. It's not Turkish delight level disappointment, let alone morning after the US election level disappointment, but I can't say I'm pleased.
November 14, 2024 at 9:33 AM
After years of looking for lost people in the patch, I finally ate my first pawpaw. It's not Turkish delight level disappointment, let alone morning after the US election level disappointment, but I can't say I'm pleased.
Coot nest in the Amper River, Germany.
November 13, 2024 at 10:53 PM
Coot nest in the Amper River, Germany.
In early notes, I wrote that "it's hard to feel sorry for George considering the way he acts. I want to poke him and tell him to be kinder...but it doesn't work this way...He's sleeping now, dreaming of things to come."
#Writing about an angry man seems fitting these days.
#CharacterStudy
#Writing about an angry man seems fitting these days.
#CharacterStudy
November 13, 2024 at 11:55 AM
In early notes, I wrote that "it's hard to feel sorry for George considering the way he acts. I want to poke him and tell him to be kinder...but it doesn't work this way...He's sleeping now, dreaming of things to come."
#Writing about an angry man seems fitting these days.
#CharacterStudy
#Writing about an angry man seems fitting these days.
#CharacterStudy
My novel focuses on a Ronald Reagan worshipping Midwesterner, who copes with dementia from early onset #Alzheimers through anger. I set out to explore the relationship between memory, the brain, and the self, and George emerged on the page. His family members each have a voice and a story arc.
November 13, 2024 at 11:31 AM
My novel focuses on a Ronald Reagan worshipping Midwesterner, who copes with dementia from early onset #Alzheimers through anger. I set out to explore the relationship between memory, the brain, and the self, and George emerged on the page. His family members each have a voice and a story arc.
What better day than #WoodpeckerWednesday to introduce myself. Former Idahoan, also lived in Ohio and Iowa, so I don't correct people who mix up Oiowadaho. #AmericanInGermany
I work with #Hypnotherapy and #Massagetherapy
Finishing the first draft of my first novel. More on that soon. #writing
I work with #Hypnotherapy and #Massagetherapy
Finishing the first draft of my first novel. More on that soon. #writing
November 13, 2024 at 11:07 AM
What better day than #WoodpeckerWednesday to introduce myself. Former Idahoan, also lived in Ohio and Iowa, so I don't correct people who mix up Oiowadaho. #AmericanInGermany
I work with #Hypnotherapy and #Massagetherapy
Finishing the first draft of my first novel. More on that soon. #writing
I work with #Hypnotherapy and #Massagetherapy
Finishing the first draft of my first novel. More on that soon. #writing