JB Lynn

Hijinks, Hilarity and Heart

JB Lynn

Traveling alone a.k.a. I didn’t die

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I recently returned from a solo trip.

Often women say to me they could “never travel alone”. They don’t have to explain why, I immediately understand their unspoken fears.

When I gave my sister the address of the AirBnB in the mountains where I was staying for three weeks, I actually joked, “Here’s where to send the cadaver dogs”. It’s not that I don’t have concerns for my safety as a woman traveling alone…I just choose not to give into those fears. There’s too much I want to do!

But I will admit that after driving for almost twelve hours, I did wonder if I was delivering myself to the doorstep of a serial killer when I drove up this driveway as the sun was setting on a foggy evening. (It’s a driveway that takes a full 90 seconds to drive up so you FEEL like you’re in the middle of nowhere…the perfect den for said waiting serial killer.)

Maybe a solo trip to an isolated house in the mountains where you see a black bear more often than humans isn’t the right fit for you. (For the record, I’m wayyyyy more afraid of humans than bears.)

But is there something you can do to push yourself a smidge outside of your comfort zone?

Love mountains…hate heights

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This is how crazy I am…

I love the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. The views are spectacular. BUT…I’m terrified of heights. Therefore, I spend a good amount of time afraid I’m going to crash off the side of the road and plummet to my death.

I still spend hours driving the Blue Ridge Parkway, but I often wonder how much better the experience would be if I wasn’t white-knuckling the steering wheel and focusing on taking regular breaths.

Sigh.

It’s not just driving where my fear can get the better of me. See this bridge…this teeny tiny, barely off the ground, bridge?

Notice the tension in the dog’s leash as I try to prevent her from looking over the edge of the scary bridge?

It took me THREE attempts to make myself walk over it when I was on a hike. THREE. I could have just walked through the freaking creek. (Also, because it wasn’t a loop, I had to cross it again coming back.) Don’t even ask how long it takes me to crawl down a steep trail.

And yet I keep going back…because I really love the mountains and I’m a firm believer that you shouldn’t avoid doing something you could enjoy just because you’re afraid of it.

Best laid plans — Day 6 of 100 Days of Effort

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Anyone else start off with the best of intentions and then face-plant?

Do not adjust your screens, I failed to report in on days 4 and 5 of my effort. I’m still fighting a funk that’s made writing a challenge to say the least. I haven’t even looked at my word count for fear it will depress me.

But, I did take some cool photographs. (Yes, I know, nothing to do with writing but still a creative outlet.)

The moon at sunset
The moon 90 minutes after sunset
And I finally got a decent picture of the local blue heron

While I didn’t get much writing done, I DID complete the copy edits for 3 Times a Charm

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Family Reunions Can Be Magic…Or Murder

Ravena Valentina used to hate magic.

Not anymore. Now she uses it to protect Richie, a boy coming into his own magical powers. 

She does still hate the curse binding her to the spirit of her witchy former mother-in-law. Ravena’s searching for the perfect love song to break that, while navigating her complicated relationship with the hot magician, Sol.

But Richie’s enemies are relentless. 

Even with the help of a loyal wizard’s assistant, a sexy dragon, a wise Element and a talking goldfish, protecting the kid can be deadly. 

And things only get worse when his long-lost father shows up.

The Great Pie Debate

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Here in the U.S. it’s almost Thanksgiving.

That means turkey for many….and pie for a lot.

But what kind is YOUR pie? Pumpkin? Pecan? Apple?

Personally I’m a fan of cranberry apple pie.

I’ve made this one and like it.

Recipe

Some days I suck — Day 3 of 101 Days of Effort

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I didn’t write at all yesterday.

There’s a pink “W” marked on my calendar for yesterday, which means I was scheduled to Work. That means I should have focused on: Writing, editing, and administrative tasks. I did none of it. I failed.

I was a complete and total slug. Except for picking up groceries, I have no idea what I wasted the day doing besides playing a ridiculous amount of solitaire. I woke up in a lousy mood (in truth, my mood has not been great for days, but I managed to push past that until yesterday). Yesterday, I deviated from my schedule, let my mood take over, and accomplished nothing…except beating myself up all day long for not accomplishing anything. Sigh. It’s a vicious cycle.

I’m a big fan of Willpower Doesn’t Work by Benjamin Hardy and yesterday I totally disregarded all the lessons I’ve learned from it. (In a nutshell, your environment and your systems lend more to your success than relying on willpower.)

I went off the rails first thing. Here’s how my morning system is supposed to work:

Gratitude practice before I get out of bed

Drink 16 oz of water

Go for a walk

Write

***no internet before word count for the day has been met

What I actually did yesterday:

Gratitude

Water

Got on the internet (first misstep)

No walk (second misstep)

Then I was doomed….

Okay, not doomed, but I failed to get it together and the day was a waste. I didn’t relax…I just spent the whole day in conflict with myself.

Today there’s a blue “O” on my calendar. I’m supposed to have the day off. I’ve got a Zoom coffee date scheduled with a friend. Once that’s done, I need to write. I’m 2900 words behind on my word count goal…so that’s the goal for today, to catch up on that and to edit Friday’s words.

I’ll let you know how I do….

The Name Game — Day 2 of 101 Days of Effort

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Writing skill I do not possess: Remembering names

I’ve only written a few chapters of The Hitwoman Owes a Favor and I’ve already called a new character by three different names. (Pity my editors who have to put up with me.)

As an aside: I wrote ALL of One Woman’s Junk, the first in the Psychic Consignment Mystery series with TWO of the main characters having completely different names than in the published version.

Besides my issue with names, the manuscript is coming along. Today I added 3326 words.(goal for the day was 3200 so yay! win!)

I edited yesterday’s work today and here was my favorite line:

“Bickering is a kind of foreplay for us.”

Looking forward — Day 1 of 101 Days of Effort

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What does the future hold for Maggie Lee?

That’s a subject that dominates the beginning of THE HITWOMAN OWES A FAVOR (book number 25 in the Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series).

Yesterday I started my 101 Days of Effort project. I took it as a good omen that there was a pretty sunrise to start the day.

Hopefully it bodes well for the future of Hitwoman 25.

I got off to a good start by adding 3408 words to the manuscript. (The goal was to add 3200 words.) Only 100 more days to go…

This writer’s 101 Days of Effort

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Also Known As: Just how crazy of a writer am I?

I’ve debated about whether to share this. I was worried people might find it to be obnoxious. Heck, there are days when I find myself obnoxious. But there are also days when I’m searching for inspiration. Days when I’m wondering, “How do they do that?”

On the off chance I can inspire one person, or give someone a different perspective on how to approach something, I’ve decided to share.

Earlier this year, when I was in danger of succumbing to the pandemic blues, I decided to spend the 100 days before my trip to North Carolina making a concentrated effort to get a ton done. (The much needed change of scenery being my reward.)

I like big goals that I can get excited about!

Overall the endeavor was semi-successful. And in today’s world, that’s a win. It means I did way better than I would have if I’d gotten sucked into the pandemic blues, even though I got a bit burnt out. I didn’t accomplish everything I wanted to, but I still managed to do quite a bit of writing. (Though taking up stepping was a HUGE success. I’ve been told I need to have my knees replaced and I had NO PAIN despite doing a fair amount of hiking. Before stepping, my knees were bothering me just walking around.)

About three-quarters of the way through I swore I’d never take on anything so daunting again. But as soon as it was over, I realized I missed the challenge.

All the medical experts have made it clear that life is not going to get back to normal in the next 101 days, so I’ve decided to use this “downtime” as productively as I can.

This round I’ve spent more time planning what I hope to accomplish during this sustained period of effort. I also scheduled time off…something I failed to do the first time around. In fact I spent a good portion of my time away, just thinking about what I want to do based on what I did “wrong” last time.

How much planning? The bag contains all the clothes I packed for my three week retreat. In addition to bringing my computer, this is how many notebooks and ink refills I brought. (And yes, I used every notebook…my knees might not have bothered me, but there were nights when my hand hurt, lol.)

I’ll be sharing more specifics as I move forward, but my hopes for the next 101 days (through 2/28/21) are to be disciplined about my time (on work days…and to be disciplined about NOT working on non-work days) and write 210,000 words.

The 25th book in my Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series is the first project I’m writing. It’s all plotted out. I wrote the first scene. The blurb is written. I even have the cover already. Needless to say I’m excited.

I’m certainly not advocating that anyone should take on my insane kind of goals, but what could YOU do to move toward something YOU want?

Fall in the time of Covid

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Fall is my favorite season, but there really is no autumn in southwest Florida.

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I’m an advocate of doing what makes you happy (within reason…and laws…and physics). That’s why I took myself to Asheville, North Carolina for a few weeks. I really, REALLY wanted a fix of some Fall weather, complete with the kaleidoscope of changing leaves and the smell of the fallen ones as they crunch underfoot.

But how does one vacation responsibly during a pandemic?

For me, I made the long drive in one day to the AirBnB where I stayed, did curbside grocery pickup, and had only one face-to-face conversation (and that was sort of an emergency situation on a trail) for three weeks.

I spent my days driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway admiring the views

hiking on mostly empty trails

and dining al fresco on a feast of peanut butter sandwiches. (I’m fancy like that.)

For the most part, I read and worked at night…because if it’s dark at 5:30 and you don’t watch TV, there’s not that much else to do.

I’m pretty much now ready to embrace the quirky hermit writer lifestyle.