The last year of restrictions has meant idle time for many people.

For Comox Valley resident Lisa Johnston, it meant an opportunity to revisit 鈥� and bring to fruition 鈥� a book that has sat idle on her computer for more than 20 years.

A writer and editor in the magazine and corporate publishing world for the past two decades, Johnston has long wanted to publish her first fiction novel but raising a family and work commitments always took precedence.

When projects slowed in March 2020, Johnston saw it as an opportunity to turn the COVID-19 situation into a positive and has been working diligently to prepare her book for publication and into the hands of readers.

In April, Johnston鈥檚 Wakeless 鈥� a 316-page dystopian novel written in journal format 鈥� hit the marketplace and cracked the top 30 in two categories (dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction). Johnston is thankful for all the local support and hopes to keep the momentum going.

The novel follows the life of Emma, a young woman who has somehow survived the wreckage of the 21st century and is discovered living in a basement hideout. Proclaimed clean, she is moved to Redemption City where she soon learns life is not better in the promised utopia 鈥� secrets about, no one is free and eyes are always watching.

鈥淚 love to read and believe books can be of great comfort in difficult times such as the current COVID situation,鈥� says Johnston. 鈥�Wakeless is geared towards adults who enjoy speculative fiction, novels such as The Handmaid鈥檚 Tale, allowing them to escape their own world and visit one vastly different from their own.鈥�

Following the launch of Wakeless, Johnston is hard at work writing a three-book series, The Castra Project, with plans for release in 2022.

For more information on Lisa Johnston, Wakeless and her upcoming books, visit