Hijinks, Hilarity and Heart
Wow, I can hardly believe that the first book in the Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman was published ten years ago.
Maggie’s been through a lot since then. (We all have.)
I’m so grateful to all my readers that have loved Maggie and the gang. Can you believe book THIRTY in the series will be out next month? Can’t wait for you to read The Hitwoman’s Girls’ Night Out.
Hugs and murder,
Jen
Does anyone else feel like the last two weeks have felt like a year?
I’m exhausted by 2022 already. My last two weeks have been filled with quite a bit of stress, disappointment and frustration…and I’m TIRED.
My plans and routine were disrupted as I tried to buy a house. There was a lot of stress and frenetic activity in a short amount of time as I jumped through the “getting a mortgage hoops”. Then the deal went sideways which was disappointing and then I got ripped off (via North Carolina real estate laws….let’s just say I’m hoping the sellers get exactly what they deserve) which was frustrating.
And all of this coincided with something else that was so stressful that it’s impacted my dreams (in a bad way) every. single. night. for over a week. SIGH (I meant it when I said I’m tired. I’m not sleeping well.)
Needless to say, this funk has impacted my writing. Pretty much grinding it to a halt. It’s REALLY hard (at least for me) to be funny and creative when I’m in a funk.
So now I’m dealing with the stress of being behind and the guilt of feeling like I’m not doing enough. Ugggh!
BUT the year hasn’t been all bad. I HAVE made progress toward my smaller and non-writing goals.
I’m loving reading a Positive Quotation A Day as my new way to start every day. Much better than picking up my phone. Highly recommended.
I’ve read a poem every day. (Yay for the Poetry Foundation and their emailed Poem-a-Day.) I read them aloud. The dog listens with rapt attention, lol.
I’ve read two short stories. Didn’t particularly care for either.
I’ve almost finished reading my second book of the year, which I’m really loving. More about that soon.
I got The Hitwoman’s Girls’ Night Out up for preorder.
I tried two new-to-me soup recipes. (Didn’t love either so I’m not sharing them but yay me for eating so many veggies lol.)
In an attempt to improve my mood I went for a wonderful hike and a picnic lunch. (It was only 40 degrees so the lunch part was rather rushed, lol). This is where we sat for a couple of minutes.
It was chilly but beautiful.
Now I’m waiting for it to snow. I moved to a place that averages 4 inches of snow PER YEAR, but they’re saying that tomorrow we could get 8-12 inches. I’ve heard NC is not the best (understandably because they don’t have to deal with it on a regular basis) dealing with snow removal. I’m just hoping the power stays on, otherwise it’s going to get very cold.
Oh, and after looking at a bunch, I put an offer in on another house. I won’t hear about the seller’s decision about my offer until tomorrow night. Waiting is hard.
BUT I’m looking forward to seeing how Smudge, who’s never seen snow, reacts to the white stuff tomorrow.
Hopefully, when I do a goal check-in at the end of the month, I’ll be all caught up on my writing goals and will be able to share more about my current writing project (which was a ton of fun until my mood went south).
The year hasn’t gotten off to a “bad” start….it’s just provided room for improvement. 😉
How are you doing with YOUR resolutions/goals?
Coming soon!
What could possibly go wrong when a girls’ night out is arranged by Armani Vasquez?
Maggie Lee is about to find out.
When Maggie humors her quirky, psychic friend and agrees to a long-delayed night of “fun” she has to deal with the uniquely challenging dynamics of her female friends and family, a roomful of people who could potentially reveal her secret life, and a distraught, emotional support guinea pig.
Not to mention that her mom, who’s out on a temporary pass from the nut house, claims to have witnessed a murder.
It’s going to be a memorable night for Maggie and the girls, but will it prove deadly?
There’s soooo much I want to do in 2022!
I’ve got a couple of doozies like publishing 6 or 7 books and buying a house.
I also have some easier fun ones like, starting each day with a positive quotation, reading a poem-a-day (thanks to the Poetry Foundation for sending those), trying 22 new-to-me soup recipes, participating in a photo challenge, and creating a blackout poem daily.
Blackout poetry consists of taking a text (I use pages from a book that was falling apart) blacking out a bunch of it and what’s left is your “poem”. For me it’s a no-pressure way to jumpstart creativity. Here’s the first I did this year:
And the first soup I made this year was this carrot-ginger-coconut milk concoction. It was….okay (then again, I don’t love carrots).
The first quote I read this year was from Ralph Waldo Emerson: Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
I’ll try to remember to check in regularly with updates on the trail I’m blazing through 2022.
I ended the year with the release of book 29 in the Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series, The Hitwoman Plays Courier.
No good deed goes unpunished.
When Maggie Lee helps an old man who’s fallen, she ends up working as a courier for his well-to-do son.
Proud of herself for landing a legitimate job that doesn’t involve a windowless office, Maggie ignores red flags and the concerns of God that all may not be what it seems. She’s too busy traversing the landmines of literacy involving a certain mobster’s grandson and juggling the two men who both want more from their relationships with her.
Maggie’s already stressed out when things go wrong, really wrong, with a delivery. A man’s dead and the police know about her involvement with him.
With the help of her pets and the two men vying for her affections, Maggie must figure out what the heck is going on…or God may be lost forever.
And I’m starting the new year with the announcement that Tantor Media has purchased the audio rights for the Psychic Consignment Mystery series. One Woman’s Junk will be out later this month!
You can hear a sample here.
I can (and will) read almost anywhere. But if I had a dedicated space for it, this is what I’d include:
It’s sooo cool!
This Sherlock Holmes pillow from Storiarts.
Warm drinks taste better in handmade mugs, don’t you think? I don’t have one right now, so I’m putting finding one on my To Do list.
I’d also be sure to have hot coffee, a burning beeswax candle and a fuzzy blanket.
What would YOU put in YOUR reading nook?
To say I’m keeping busy is an understatement.
Today I’m starting on the first draft of book 30 in the Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series. I love my job!
Maggie, not so much.
Have you seen the trouble she got into in The Hitwoman Pays a Debt that came out last month?
She gets in even MORE trouble in next month’s release The Hitwoman Plays Courier.
No good deed goes unpunished.
When Maggie Lee helps an old man who’s fallen, she ends up working as a courier for his well-to-do son.
Proud of herself for landing a legitimate job that doesn’t involve a windowless office, Maggie ignores red flags and the concerns of God that all may not be what it seems. She’s too busy traversing the landmines of literacy involving a certain mobster’s grandson and juggling the two men who both want more from their relationships with her.
Maggie’s already stressed out when things go wrong, really wrong, with a delivery. A man’s dead and the police know about her involvement with him.
With the help of her pets and the two men vying for her affections, Maggie must figure out what the heck is going on…or God may be lost forever.
If you haven’t read the series yet, now’s your chance.
Be like these alpacas (and a llama) and run to read it! (Okay, the four-leggers were running for apples, not books, but you get the idea.)
What do you get when you combine a witch who doesn’t know her own power, a possessed cat and a dragon, all traveling in an RV caravan trying to break a curse?
Chaos and Adventure! Love and Laughter!
Follow Ravena and her friends as they try to right the world of wrongs, one magical moment at a time.
READ NOW in Kindle Unlimited.
The Hitwoman Pays a Debt is out!
The next time you read about Maggie doing something klutzy, remember this story and now that I find inspiration for her in my real life:
Yesterday I was working on the NEXT Hitwoman book. My laptop started to slip off my lap. I grabbed for it and managed to hit it with enough force and at just the right angle to have it go flying up.
I managed to not only give myself a bump on the head over my eyebrow, but a nice half-inch long cut over my lip that bled like crazy.
I have mad Maggie-like skills, lol.
If you’re feeling sorry for me and have read The Hitwoman Pays a Debt, please leave a review. It will help to soothe my self-respect which has been bruised by my klutziness, lol.
If you haven’t gotten your copy yet, please do!
Maggie Lee is a woman who pays her debts and now she’s running herself ragged.
When the mysterious Ms. Whitehat asks her to work at a dentist’s office to gain access to a safe, Maggie can’t say no.
She probably should have turned down her murder mentor, Patrick Mulligan, when he wants her to tail a suspicious cop, but she owes him.
And she also couldn’t refuse to help US Marshal Griswald when he requests her assistance to solve one last case before he retires.
Speaking of his retirement, Aunt Susan is planning the party of the century for him and she expects Maggie to bring a date.
But making it to the party on time may prove difficult since repaying her debts has resulted in Maggie doing a dangerous dance with a killer.