JB Lynn

Hijinks, Hilarity and Heart

writing

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.

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.

Release Day – 2 Spells!

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It’s here!

2 Spells Too Many the second book of the Cursed Chicks Club series is out!

Sometimes you’ve got to kiss a frog….literally.
To rid herself of being haunted by her witchy mother-in-law for eternity, Ravena Valentina is on another magical quest.
Accompanied by Sol, a secretive, magically deficient (but hot) magician, Marco, a former wizard’s assistant, and Richie, a young boy coming into his powers, Ravena must figure out how to catch and kiss the cursed frog, free a talking goldfish, outsmart merciless treasure hunters, and save the kid’s dying mom.

 And, as if she didn’t already have enough problems, there’s a fire-breathing dragon lurking in the shadows.

Thankful Thursday

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The other day I was talking about how I’m “productively obsessed” but I couldn’t do it without the help of my story editor, virtual assistant and copy editor. I’m grateful they all put up with me!

Out tomorrow!

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So excited to be releasing 1 Flew Over the Raven’s Nest in book form tomorrow!

This is the first book in my new Cursed Chicks Club series. (Book 2 will be out next month and I’m currently working on Book 3!) I’m having so much fun with these characters and this world.

You may think your mother-in-law is a witch, but RV’s really was.

And now there’s a very real chance she’ll be haunted by Mildred Bloodworth for eternity.

The only way to free herself from the curse that binds them, is for RV to make amends for Millie’s misdeeds.

Accompanied by a possessed Siamese cat, RV embarks, in her mother-in-law’s pink camper van, on a journey to right wrongs. But plans, like spells, can backfire.

RV drives right into a crime scene and quickly becomes the chief suspect in a mysterious murder.

Determined to prove her innocence, RV investigates with the help of a lucky penny, a wise owl, a reclusive turtle, and a magician whose agenda is unknown.

New month!

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Happy September!

Can you believe we’re two-thirds of the way through 2020 already. As is my practice, I was just reviewing my accomplishments for last month and getting clear on my goals for this month.

Last month’s big work accomplishment was publishing The Hitwoman Plays Games.

My personal accomplishment was getting through a more difficult step workout. (Yes, I know that doing step workouts sounds like I’ve stepped back in time, but they’re the only cardio workout that doesn’t cause my terribly bad knees pain so I’m sticking with them.)

I tend to set very big goals for myself, so I rarely (if ever, lol) accomplish everything I set out to do, but I do tend to get a lot done.

Right now my big writing goals are to finish the second Cursed Chicks manuscript and to work on the third book in the series.

I’m also working on my passion project…though that’s a back-burner project that I’m hoping to finish by the end of the year.

Do you have any goals for September?

Release Day!

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Color me happy!

It’s release day for THE HITWOMAN PLAYS GAMES.

Part of my publication day ritual involves having a soufflé from Panera Bread because that’s where my friend Cyndi “gave me permission” to write the first Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series. I always pretend I’m sitting with her and celebrating.

I’m considering having rainbow sprinkles on my plain Greek yogurt tonight to finish out the day of celebration. I LIVE WILDLY!

Life’s not all fun and games…

Hitwoman Maggie Lee has faced off against some bad people in the past, but nothing she has ever faced before has prepared her for her new assignment. Nothing.

What could be worse than working at a kid’s game center? 

Flashing lights, beeping machines, screaming kids on a sugar high, and the world’s biggest claw machine may be the combination that finally pushes Maggie over the edge, as she tries to hold down a legit job as a cover for her first PI case.

Not that her downtime offers any respite. While she’s “off” she has to deal with family drama, dangerous dancers, a weird job assignment from the mob boss, and a VERY high stakes poker game.

Thankfully she’s got her animals to confide in, a bodyguard who’s looking out for her and a certain police detective on her side.

Maggie’s got to deal with the hand she’s been dealt…but there’s no guarantee she’ll come out the winner.

Get your copy now!

Stepping it up

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It’s a busy week for me as I gear up for the release of The Hitwoman Plays Games on August 31st.

I’m managing my stress by stepping. Yup, I’m channeling my inner 90s gal, lol. I’m doing it in my home, so it’s convenient and air conditioned (very important for summer exercise when one lives in Florida).

When you’re not reading to de-stress, what are you doing?