JB Lynn

Hijinks, Hilarity and Heart

what I love

6 things people said to me today

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This is a random post, but all of these comments amused or touched me today.

Little girl studying my purple hair: “Red and blue make purple. Does that mean you’re mad and sad?”

Friend 1: “I’m nominating you for the Pain in the Ass of the Day Award.”

Hours later from Friend 2: “You are worth waiting and fighting for.”

Neighbor 1: “Your best kept secret is that you’re actually a really nice person.”

Hours later from Neighbor 2: “I heard you’re the enforcer.”

My amazing VA: “You’re such an outdoorsy person.”

Did anyone say anything interesting to YOU today?

What makes a good day?

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There’s a lot to like about living in Florida, but the brutal summer heat isn’t one of them.

The heat index was over 100 degrees multiple days this first official week of summer, so basically if you hear someone calling weakly, “I’m melting” there’s a good chance it’s me.

But it rained last night for hours and knocked the temperature down, which meant that this morning’s walk was comfortable and it’s still cool enough that I’m able to sit outside while I do some work.

Considering that spending time outside is a high priority for me, this makes today a good day.
It doesn’t take much to make a day a “good” day for me.

Yesterday was a good day too because I had a sense of accomplishment after spending a significant part of the day and most of the night (until bedtime) working on story edits for ONE WOMAN’S JUNK.  The edits aren’t anywhere near done, but I felt like I made significant progress and I’m no longer in the “I’ll never be able to fix this” mindset that I had been battling.
(It probably helped that I wore ridiculous pants….one can’t take oneself too seriously if you’re wearing something like this.)

I’ve earned a day off from the edits, so today my creative focus will just be on writing. I’m excited to dive back into the 21st Hitwoman book, which I’ve been working on pretty steadily (more progress!).

I’ll also spend some time on the screenplay which is my “pure fun” writing project.
So those are three things that make a day “good” for me: time spent outdoors, progress, and creative work.

What sort of things make a good day for YOU?

New month, new book, new series

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Last month I focused on telling you about my writing retreat. This month, I’m going to tell you about the new series I’m working on.
This new series has been in the works for a couple of years.
Yes, you read that right. YEARS.
I initially conceived of it in 2016, but it didn’t “feel right” at the time. It took me quite a while to figure out exactly what I wanted it to be about. Then it took a while to develop the characters. Finally I got to the point where I plotted out the arc of the three book series. (I’ve sketched out another three books, but there’s no guarantee I’ll ever write those.)
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So now I’m working on ONE WOMAN’S JUNK which is Book 1 in the Psychic Consignment Mystery series.
Stay tuned this month and I’ll tell you about the new method of writing I’m trying out as I write this book, how it’s coming along, and I may share a snippet or two of the manuscript.
And for those that are going to ask — Yes, I WILL continue to write more books in the Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series.   🙂
 

Art Break!

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I had three things I was intent on doing during my writing retreat.

  1. Writing all the words — On any given day I worked on at least two, sometimes four, different projects
  2. Meditating — I’ve talked about it before, but meditation is a big part of my daily routine.
  3. Spending time in nature — The hiking trails around Asheville are amazing.

 
BUT….I did take a break on a couple of days to refill my creative well but visiting the Asheville Arts District.  So much fun (and dog friendly too, so I exposed Smudge to some culture…not that I think she appreciated it, lol).
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My favorite shop there was the GREAT COSMIC HAPPY ASS CARD COMPANY.
I mean who wouldn’t love a store with a name like that and products like these?!?!
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The Hitwoman's Juggling Act

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So excited to share the cover and blurb of THE HITWOMAN’S JUGGLING ACT , the 20th story in the CONFESSIONS OF A SLIGHTLY NEUROTIC HITWOMAN series.
 
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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.

I walk alone

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One of the reasons I chose to go to North Carolina in mid-April was that I miss Spring.
There are some really great things about living in southwestern Florida, but one of the negatives is that we don’t really have a a change of seasons. I wanted that, so I went out and found it for myself.
I spent a good deal of time on my writing retreat on hiking trails.
I realize that could sound counter-intuitive to getting writing done, but it’s actually a huge help. Being out in nature always fuels my creativity and helps me come up with new ideas.
The act of walking tends to help me sort through the jumble of ideas I’ve got tangled up in my head.
When I was walking with Donna of Girl Who Reads we came across this:
 
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I must admit that I didn’t follow its advice. I hiked for miles alone. (Well, the dog was with me, but she’s no Lassie….if I fell and needed help, she wasn’t going to go find Timmy for me.)
Because I’d seen that sign, I did find myself humming Green Day’s “I walk alone” on a pretty continuous loop.
So if you see a character named Greenday in one of my future works, you’ll know where it came from….  😉

Lunch with a Book Blogger

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I stopped in Georgia on my way to my writing retreat for a very special reason.
I REALLY wanted to meet Donna, who runs the fabulous GIRL WHO READS book blog.
Donna was one of the first reviewers to write a review of my first book, THE FIRST VICTIM back in 2011 and she’s reviewed every one of my books since.
Thankfully, considering there was a storm, including a tornado watch (gulp!) Donna was super flexible about meeting with me. We met at a park, so that I could bring my dog, Smudge along, after the storm broke.
Donna made us a delicious picnic lunch and we just had the best time, talking and walking and laughing for hours. She’s smart, charming and so much fun! image1-43
 

W is for Writing — A-Z Challenge

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A reader recently asked how I became a writer so this is going to be my rambling attempt to answer that.
The short answer is: “I failed….a lot.”
And if anyone ever asked me advice on how to become a writer, that’s the advice I would give… “Fail….a lot.”
But that’s probably not the answer anyone wants to hear.
I wanted to be a writer from the time I was a young child. If the assignment in class was to draw a picture, I’d write a short story or poem instead. (Not surprisingly, this means I have no artistic talent. One of my goals for the year is to learn to draw. So far I’m failing. A lot.)
I kept on writing.
There were times when I thought my way “in” was through non-fiction, so I spent years writing magazine articles, essays and website content. Eventually I decided it was more fun to make things up. I tried my hand at short stories and flash fiction, but they weren’t the best fit for me.
(Do you see the line of failures I’d been racking up?)
I found a class at a local theater and tried my hand at screenwriting.  I really, really loved that because I could use my strengths of plotting and dialogue. I wrote a number of scripts.  I was part of a critique group. I placed well in some contests. I had an agent. I optioned a couple of screenplays. One of my works was workshopped.
But I wasn’t in the right place/situation in my life to break into Hollywood.
Another failure.
Eventually I turned to novel writing. While I was able to carry many lessons I’d learned forward, like everything else, it required learning a new skill set. I wrote books. I attended conferences. I had critique partners.
I sent more than one hundred queries before I landed my first agent.  Unfortunately she wasn’t able to sell that book.  (This failure REALLY hurt.)  So I pitched her, face-to-face, the idea for what would become CONFESSIONS OF A SLIGHTLY NEUROTIC HITWOMAN. To say that she looked appalled by my idea of a hitwoman with a heart of gold who can talk to animals, is an understatement.
Since I didn’t feel like she was invested in my vision, I left her. (And hey, because I’m stubborn and believed in myself, I eventually sold that first book on my own. So please know that failure isn’t fatal, sometimes it’s just a matter of timing and having the stars align. It also helps to have a flexible idea of what you consider “success” to be.)
It took another hundred queries or so to land my second agent, who sold both Confessions and Further Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman. (See the Q is for Query post.)
They basically failed too, in that they did not find an audience. (But see N is for Neurotic to see how THAT all panned out.)
So basically my advice for writers is to be willing to fail often. It’s painful, but it’s part of the process.
And don’t disregard the value of being stubborn and believing in your work. If I hadn’t been extremely passionate about Maggie and the gang, I wouldn’t have gone into self-publishing and I wouldn’t currently be working on the twentieth Confessions story.
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