JB Lynn

Hijinks, Hilarity and Heart

reading

Endings, Beginnings & News

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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.

What I’d include in my reading nook

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I can (and will) read almost anywhere. But if I had a dedicated space for it, this is what I’d include:

This book lamp from MOMA.

It’s sooo cool!

This Sherlock Holmes pillow from Storiarts.

A handmade mug like this one.

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?

New book, new preorder, new release

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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.

Available for preorder

The Cursed Chicks experiment

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Yesterday I posted Chapter 26 of 1 Flew Over the Raven’s Nest.

This is proving to be an interesting experiment. To give something back to readers during the isolation of the pandemic, I began posting chapters (as I write them) of the first book in my new Cursed Chicks series. It’s fun…but it’s also frightening. It’s strange to try know I won’t have the opportunity to go back and fix things and that’s led to me working fairly slowly on it. (That and the fact I’m trying to fix the next book in my Hitwoman series.)

But it’s been cool to get all the positive feedback from readers as I write.

And for those that aren’t reading along, YES, it will be released in book form when it’s done. (But no, I don’t know when that will be yet.)

If you haven’t started it yet, here’s what the story is about:

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.

A new release means it’s time for a….

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Writers can be a superstitious lot and I’m no different.

Tomorrow morning I’ll be running out to the nearest Panera Bread to pick up a spinach and artichoke soufflé.

Why? Because that’s my release day ritual for the Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series and book 21 THE HITWOMAN AND THE FALLEN ANGEL will be out.

I eat a soufflé from Panera because years ago I was eating one when my dear friend, Cyndi said, “You should write with that voice” because I’d said something snarky. Now it’s my equivalent of a baseball player wearing lucky socks.

I’ve enjoyed writing each and every adventure. There are moments when I laugh, others when I cry, and I’m constantly surprised by the twists and turns Maggie’s life has taken.

Most of all, I’m grateful to the readers who’ve gone on this wild ride with me. Thank you!!

 

!Cover of The Hitwoman and the Fallen Angel by JB Lynn

 

Even a good man makes mistakes…

In Maggie Lee’s topsy-turvy world, Angel Delveccio is one of the good guys, but now it seems he’s gotten himself into some trouble. Can she get him out of it?

It’s not like she doesn’t have enough problems of her own. She’s struggling to pacify both the people and pets of her household — all of whom aren’t shy about voicing their litany of complaints and demands about their new home.

Stretched thin, Maggie attempts to broker familial peace while simultaneously contending with an external threat that revolves around a human skull.

And let’s not forget that a certain mobster has tasked her with keeping his nephew out of hot water.

Can Maggie protect Angel while keeping her family safe and together, or will someone be lost?

 

On this writer’s desk, October 2, 2019

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This is how the desk, where I do the bulk of my creative work, looks today.

(Natural light only, which is why the picture is so dark.).

Today my focus is on the first draft of the second Psychic Consignment Shop Mystery. It’s about a third done and housed in the purple “in progress” notebook.

And there’s my trusty recorder for dictation!

And these are the tiny notebooks I use to track my current projects. Right now in addition to the Consignment Mystery, I’m working on the 21st and 22nd books in the CONFESSIONS OF A SLIGHTLY NEUROTIC HITWOMAN series.

 

I took this picture in the lull between my morning and afternoon pots of coffee. Hence, no coffee mug, lol.

Tweaking my writing process

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“Writing is like reinventing the wheel — over and over and over and over again, because each story you tell is different.” JB Lynn

This year, I’ve been using dictation/transcription to get the first draft of my books done. I plot out a book in broad strokes, do a slightly more detailed chapter-by-chapter outline and then dictate it, one chapter at a time.

Some days I swear it’s better than my “old” method, some days the “old” method seems better. For the record, my “old” method was constantly changing too. I’ve handwritten entire books, utilized speech recognition software (MOST frustrating method) used an Alphasmart word processor (still one of my preferred methods if I’m stuck) and of course, written on my computer.

When I get the transcribed chapters back, I edit them. When the book is “complete” I edit them again.

That’s where I am in the process today. I’ve just finished editing the “completed” version of the 21st (!!!) book in the CONFESSIONS OF A SLIGHTLY NEUROTIC HITWOMAN SERIES.  

Now it will go to my story editor. Once I get it back, I’ll edit the story content yet again.

In the meantime, I’m scheduled to work on the second book in the Psychic Consignment Mystery series.

BUT I’m dying to work on Hitwoman 22.

What to do?

If I dictate one and type the other, would it be possible to write some of both each day?

Or is that taking the tweaking a bit too far?  I’m going to experiment and see!

Perfection? Pffffttt!!!!

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I recently completed a month-long challenge to try to learn to draw.
I knew I wasn’t going to be good at it, but I figured I’d give it a try since I thought that thinking differently would be good for my brain.
I felt compelled to share my efforts daily on Instagram — like the universe was pretty much screaming, “Put it out there!” kind of compelled.
 
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I don’t know about you, but I find it difficult to “put it out there” when I know I’m going to fail. It’s uncomfortable. It’s embarrassing.
But one of the things I dislike about social media is the way people only show the best sides of themselves, so I followed the calling and put 30 days worth of sketches out there.
I’d love to tell you that I became a great artist. That didn’t happen and I don’t know that any amount of practice could help me become one. My brain just doesn’t work that way.
What did happen though, was that I became a less judgmental of myself. I found it easier to focus on the process, rather than the end result.
I’ve really used that lesson as I developed my new Psychic Consignment Mystery series. I did what “felt fun” rather than worrying about what the “shoulds” were.
I can’t wait for you to read it!  Make sure to sign up for my newsletter to find out when it comes out.
In the meantime, if you need a good laugh feel free to check out my sketches on Instagram.
 

The Hitwoman's Juggling Act is here!

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THE HITWOMAN’S JUGGLING ACT is available for download and I’m so excited that everyone gets to check out Maggie’s latest adventure!
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You know things are out of hand in Maggie Lee’s world when the least of her problems is tripping over a body.
Her family has lost their home.
Her friend, Armani, has lost her psychic mojo.
And Maggie’s in danger of losing custody of her niece.

Making matters even worse is she can’t refuse the latest job from her mobster boss. Not to mention she must team up with her murder mentor, Patrick Mulligan, and that’s….complicated.
Innocents are at risk, lives are in danger, and a family secret could change everything.
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