Bob Johnston
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bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
Bob Johnston
@bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
7.1K followers 4.9K following 2.1K posts
'Our Big Day' LGBTQ+ award-winning picturebook published 2022. Currently subbing agents w/ a gay novel for adults. Husband, dog lover, cat misser, biscuit eater, previously @gutterbookshop ... he/him. linktr.ee/bobjohnstonbooks
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bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
I like big cats who like @irishbookawards.bsky.social tote bags & I cannot lie...
Photo of a large Maine coon cat rubbing up against an Irish Book Awards tote bag that bears the slogan 'i like big books and I cannot lie'
January 20, 2026 at 1:13 PM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
I may have found a cat café to work in. Needless to say, little work is being done... #Malaga
Photo of Bob's hand rubbing a tuxedo cat's tummy Photo of a white cat who has adopted Bob's jacket to sleep on Photo of Bob stroking the head of a black & white cat Photo of a large ginger & white cat looking regal on a wicker chair
January 20, 2026 at 12:52 PM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
"I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace."
Google image from Dougal and The Blue Cat (original Magic Roundabout stop motion film) Blue Cat is wearing a crown and standing on a red carpet flanked by blue soldiers
January 19, 2026 at 1:39 PM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
I missed the New Piccadilly café in London so much I wrote it into my first novel (set in 2000)... #OldLondon #Piccadilly
Text from Bob's novel where Paul meets his ex-girlfriend for a coffee in New Piccadilly Cafe Photo of exterior to New Piccadilly Cafe. It's lit up in the dark with a large white sign across the whole front of the building which features the name in 1950s font. There's a red neon EATS sign in the window and plants. Interior of New Piccadilly cafe showing empty formica tables and posters on the central pillars. It looks very dated from the 1950s but also charming Menu from New Piccadilly. It's a laminated folded A4 menu in orange with black print but prices are written in red pen and various additions have been made with stuck on white paper. 'Today's Special Chicken Curry & Rice £6.50' is an example.
January 19, 2026 at 11:29 AM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
Ok, Monday here we come! Hit my word target yesterday so let's go for the double... Here's this morning's photo from home - what a pair of cuties...
Photo of two dogs sitting on a rock in the bog meadow. Obie is a black shepherd & his ears are up & he looks like he's smiling. Jess is a black & tan lurcher and looks a bit like Dobby from Harry Potter
January 19, 2026 at 10:14 AM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
Loved Bomb Jack. Only way to get Daley Thompson to sprint fast enough too... Ah, teenage boys and their joysticks...
1980s magazine advert for the QuickShot joystick showing a hand grapsing a black computer joystick with red buttons and the headline text "how to beat and video-game single handed"
January 18, 2026 at 6:02 PM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
Little dog video from home - Obie being a GOOD BOY as always and responding to Leon's recall in the bog meadow, only to be ambushed by lurcher Jess who just wants to BITE HIS HEAD... Obie just ignores her and carries on regardless... #doglife
January 18, 2026 at 5:33 PM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
And off we go... Novel 2 begins...
Photo of a table in front of a window. There's a comfy chair, an open laptop, post-it notes & a notebook, a lamp, and coffee & 5 biscuits Selfie of Bob wearing blue headphones
January 18, 2026 at 10:05 AM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
Oh sunshine, how I've missed you! #Malaga #VitaminD #WritingWeek
Selfie of Bob in Málaga wearing a cap, purple jumper & headphones around his neck. Behind him you can see bright blue sky & palm trees
January 17, 2026 at 3:33 PM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
Early start: heading to Málaga for a writing week & (hopefully) some sunshine - Irish winters are not SADs friend.. Anyway, #DublinAirport is heaving but I have #Prince & Patrick Gale to keep me company. I'll be interviewing Patrick about new novel #LostLane in @gutterbookshop.bsky.social on 31/3..
Selfie of Bob sitting at airport. He's wearing a cap, headphones & drinking from a cup of coffee. He looks both tired & shocked (the coffee is not good). Photo of a proof copy of Love Lane by Patrick Gale. It's a blue paperback with orange gold title
January 17, 2026 at 8:36 AM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
Do you think he deserves my @blackwells.bsky.social 'Head Office Personality of the Year 2006' glass book? No, me neither... #Awards
Photo of a clear glass book-shaped award featuring the Blackwell's logo & name with Blackwell Head Office Personality of the Year 2006 at the bottom
January 16, 2026 at 11:40 PM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
"Walk the dog..."
Google image of a red & blue plastic yo-yo from the 1980s. When you spun it it lit-up.
January 16, 2026 at 10:41 PM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
Possibly my NatWest piggybank - a 'prize' for opening a savings account...
Photo of a piggybank shaped like a large pink piglet wearing a nappy
January 16, 2026 at 10:28 PM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
Ha, well that made me laugh this morning! Thought I'd try the '2026 is the new 2016' viral trend so went into Facebook to find a suitable 2016 photo & this popped up! Sometimes muscalid dreams do come true ... #2026isthenew2016 #NewYear #IrishWildlife #PineMartens
Screenshot from Facebook post 7th Feb 2016 with photo of a pinemarten and comment from Leon, Bob's husband, saying "Bob, can we get a pine marten as well for our growing animal collection?" Screenshot of Bob's Facebook post from late 2025 (he's pretending its 2026 but in fairness the pinemarten is till there...) of a pinemarten on Bob & Leon's Mayo land and words "well that's made my week! Checked our Mayo bog meadow wildlife camera today & discovered this inquisitive pine marten had come to say hello!"
January 16, 2026 at 11:39 AM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
Thanks #Hachetteireland @tinderpress.bsky.social for making this long-time #MaggieOFarrell fan v happy w/ a proof of new novel #Land . Off to Málaga on Sat for a writing week (new novel ahoy!) so delighted to be travelling w/ excellent reads by friends Maggie, #patrickgale & @liznugent.bsky.social
Photo of proof of new Maggie O'Farrell novel Land with bookmark & cover print. Maggie's name is in gold foil and cover design is a highly coloured rendition of ripped paper & reminds me of Georgia O'Keefe (sorry, no designer listed on proof) Pile of 3 books - Land by Maggie O'Farrell, Love Lane by Patrick Gale & The Truth About Ruby Cooper by Liz Nugent Photo of Maggie O'Farrell & Bob at a restaurant in Dublin. Bob is holding a copy of Maggie's This Must Be The Place novel
January 14, 2026 at 12:12 PM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
There's work to be done...
Meme of a woman holding a large wrapped plant with words "the proper amount of sage for 2026"
January 13, 2026 at 9:30 AM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
Love this song! Will always remind me of dancing sweaty nights at Blow Up! at the WAG club London in the late '90s... good times were had... #LondonLife
Google image of a flyer for Blow Up club night at WAG on Wardour St Soho. It's blue with a retro font and shows a 60s style woman with purdey bob hair & a blue jumpsuit and scarf dancing next to text advertising resident djs and type of music.
January 10, 2026 at 1:54 PM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
I feel his pain. It keeps happening to me and I can barely keep ctrl... (Sorry #BobsBadPuns) (NB this is my actual laptop & the ctrl keep does keep popping off & it's driving me mad. I might super glue it)
Photo of a laptop keyboard with loose ctrl key
January 10, 2026 at 12:23 PM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
Lighting the stove at 11am feels luxurious but also necessary... A sofa nap may be incoming...#Saturday
Photo of a lit fire stove with orange flames
January 10, 2026 at 12:13 PM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
I had plans but flicked on the telly and Jane Eyre with Orson Welles & Joan Fontaine has just started and I'm powerless to resist. Reader, I'm watching it... #JaneEyre
Vintage film poster for Jane Eyre with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine. They are embracing passionately as something burns behind them...
January 10, 2026 at 10:03 AM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
Thank you lovely. First novel sitting with a UK indie publisher, I still have hope... Today I embarked on breaking ground of Novel 2 with a session of post-it plotting! I don't need them all but I do need first 3 chapters pinned down to get me started... Hope you're doing well. Bxxx
Photo of an open laptop & post-it notes on the kitchen table alongside a mug of tea
January 8, 2026 at 6:40 PM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
Ok, so I've just discovered 'Evil' on Now/SkyMax & I'm highly addicted.. it's very silly & a bit X-file-y & really rather good. How has it never been on my radar before?! #EvilTVSeries
Screenshot of Evil TV series showing 3 main characters (a handsome black Catholic-priest-in-training, a white female skeptical psychologist & a middle-eastern male who is the IT/engineer specialist.
January 5, 2026 at 5:08 PM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
Sadly Obie is not so gentle and had to have pheasant removed whilst it still retained a head...
Photo of Obie, a black gsd, resting his head next to a pheasant doorstop which he claimed and is likely to destroy.
January 5, 2026 at 5:00 PM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
Husband sent me these photos from the morning walk in our Mayo bog meadow (we have 10 acres that we're slowly rewilding). I'm ready to jump straight back on a train from Dublin! #Mayo #Home
Photo of two dogs in a field with morning sunlight through a tree. There's a heavy frost on the ground. Photo of Obie dog on a frosty field path between hedges. The clouds are stunning whispy lines like curtains ahead of him Photo of Jessie lurcher on a frosty path in a field. Early sunlight is hitting clouds and turning them pink & orange Photo of the two dogs sitting on a small incline. The ground is covered in a thin layer of snow & they are bathed in morning golden light
January 5, 2026 at 11:27 AM
bobjohnstonbooks.bsky.social
Off to Dublin for a couple of days. Soaking up the afternoon golden Irish sunshine on the way. It's Therapy Monday tomorrow then hopefully some writing will be done before running back to Mayo...
Selfie of Bob on the train. He's wearing noise cancelling headphones & the afternoon sun is lighting up the left half of his face. Bob is 53, white, with a bald head & short ginger/grey beard. He looks a bit creased.
January 4, 2026 at 3:37 PM