Jennifer Lyon
Monday, August 1st, 2016
Weekend Roundup

It’s a brand new month! I’m so over July–the month was on crack or something. A few incredible highs and too many wicked lows. I’d kick it in the butt on the way out the door, but I’d probably break my toe.

Oh wait, I already did that, LOL! FYI, the toe is healing fine. Did I mention that Wizard has a herniated disc in his back? We got home from San Diego on Sunday, and Monday morning Wizard woke up in serious pain.

Um…possibly from dragging my suitcase up the stairs, but let’s not get crazy and blame me. It’s much more fun to blame July. His back problems led to a round of doctor visits, x-rays, MRIs and now we’re waiting for referrals for more specialists.

Did I mention I’m over July?

But now it’s August! I’m hoping we all have a great month.

So this weekend. On Saturday, Middle Son and his girlfriend came out to celebrate my birthday (my actual birthday is tomorrow). There were tough moments, of course as Bailey was Middle Son’s dog, and for the last three years, Middle son’s girlfriend has been Bailey’s mom (seriously, she took amazing and loving care of him when he needed it most). But to my surprise, they wanted to come anyway. And it turned out to be a good day, quiet with just the four of us, and I think we all needed that. We talked, swam and BBQed. They brought four flavors of mini cakes from a special bakery by their house: Chocolate, Lemon, Lemon Raspberry and Red Velvet. We split them up so we all got a slice of each.

birthday mini cakes from G & A 1

Wizard’s taking me out tomorrow night, I’m seeing Biker Witch on Wednesday, and CPA Boy is coming out next weekend–because apparently we’re going to drag my birthday out over a week, LOL! If it were up to me, I’d have cancelled my birthday this year, but no one listens to me and I love them all for it.

Sunday I wrote. Man this book is killer hard to revise. I can’t tell if I’m totally screwing it up, or maybe, just maybe making it better. But I’m in it to win it now :-) This is the time to have blind faith, keep working and believe.

How was your weekend?

Friday, July 29th, 2016
And It’s Friday

Happy Friday! Thank you all for the amazing comfort as we said goodbye to Bailey Dog this week. I appreciate every single message and kind thought. You guys helped make this week beatable and I’m truly grateful.

I’m running a little contest over on my Facebook page today (Friday). Because all of you have let me share Bailey with you over the years, I really want to see pictures of the animals you have loved. If you’d like to share them, please go over to my Facebook Page. The Giveaway Post is pinned to the top of the page, and you can post a picture in the comments. I really want to see all your beloved animals, and share in that with you :-)

This month has been filled with challenges that repeatedly interrupted my revision on Savaged Dreams, but I won’t let it stop me. I’m diving back in (for the billionth time) to revise this book. I believe in this story so much, and I won’t give up.

So what are you guys doing this weekend? Any big plans?

Wednesday, July 27th, 2016
R. I. P. Bailey Dog

We lost Bailey Dog yesterday. We are all heartbroken. There just aren’t enough words to convey our love for that little dog, or the profound ways in which Bailey changed us all with his selfless love. There is no love like that of our fur babies.

Bailey while I work 2

Bailey was fine over the weekend. Middle Son was sending me pics of him and chatting about Bailey, and all was well. Monday, Bailey began suffering sudden and serious neurological problems. They took him to the vet, he was admitted him and they ran tests. On Tuesday, it became clear it was bad and Bailey was suffering. Middle Son then made the toughest and most loving of decisions.

And friends, it cost him a huge chunk of his heart to do it. Middle Son adopted Bailey when he was four years old and unwanted. The two of them quickly formed a bond that was, and in some ways still is, unbreakable. A few months after Bailey came into our lives, Middle Son had to go on a business trip. He called me and said, “Mom, can you check in on Bailey? I left him with my brothers, but Mom, Bailey is my best friend. The best friend I’ve ever had. Will you check on him?”

And that friendship lasted until Bailey took his last breath, and beyond. It hurt Middle Son and his girlfriend so much, but they refused to allow the dog that loved and trusted them to suffer. And so yesterday, Bailey left us.

But the love he gave us lives on in ways we can’t even measure.

R.I.P Bailey. We love you and miss you. You will always be a very special part of our family.

Monday, July 25th, 2016

My weekend was pretty good. I cleaned, went to the mall with a friend and had a great lunch that included cake! And I wrote, trying very hard to stop doubting myself and the story. Now I have a Monday treat for you all. This is Corky, he’s one of CPA Boy and Special K’s three dogs, and the sweetest, most laid back boy ever. Here’s Corky is politely insisting that CPA Boy keep petting him.

Hope you’re all having a Happy Monday! How was your weekend?

Friday, July 22nd, 2016
Happy Friday!

Wednesday’s post vanished, I’m sorry about that! I worked for about 40 minutes on that post Tuesday night and set it to post as usual at 1am the next morning. But when I checked on Wednesday, the post was gone. It didn’t even show on my dashboard as a draft, like it never happened at all.

Maybe I dreamed writing and setting up that post???

I’ve been worried and stressed so it’s also possible I did something stupid like delete it when I thought I was scheduling it. Anything’s possible :-) And then yesterday I got some fairly steep revisions on the Savaged Surrender novella while I’m still working on the revision for the Savaged Dreams book. I’m annoyed at myself for flailing around instead of getting this first revision done. Let’s move onto something fun!

Since we skipped Wednesday Worthy, I’ll put up our candidate today.

Muscular Shirtless Hunk Man Outdoor in City Park. Showing Healthy Muscle Body

So what do you think, is he worthy?

Monday, July 18th, 2016
Weekend Roundup

Note: I’m writing this blog totally exhausted after getting home from the RWA Conference :-)

I missed you all!! The conference was super low key for me, I got to very few workshops, but caught up with a lot of old friends and met a whole slew of awesome new friends. And oh the location! Guys, San Diego on the Marina is gorgeous! I’ve always loved San Diego but I’m even more in love with it after spending five days there. Just beautiful and there were plenty of restaurants, either on the marina or the Gaslamp district that was pretty much across the street. We really enjoyed it.

And let’s just say that Wizard told everyone in the known universe I’m an author. I found that hilarious. He doesn’t usually do that in our normal lives. But at the conference, he was totally into it. It made me laugh and I’ve teased him about it mercilessly. “But Witch, I wanted everyone there to know who you are.”

Um…I’m pretty much just one of a couple thousand authors there, LOLOL!! Not that special, except to Wizard :-)

I also want to mention our own Silver James, who received a big Service Award for years and years of volunteering for the Romance Writers of America. What that means is that she worked damn hard, giving time, energy and true friendship to countless writers over many years and is known for her passion and generosity throughout the romance community. It was awesome to see her selfless dedication recognized! I’m very proud of Silver and thankful for her service and friendship. I took some pictures of her on the jumbo screen when she was onstage but I was in the back of the huge room–trust me there were probably well over a 1,000 writers in that room. I purposely stayed in back to help protect my bruised toe which meant I couldn’t get a great shot of Silver James graciously accepting the award with her usual brand of humble humor.

Silver James on jumbo screen

Afterward we grabbed some coffee to catch up and I think a dozen people stopped Silver to tell her congrats or to thank her for her work that helps all of us as authors.

My toe survived! The bruising made a few people cringe (sorry!) but I did much better than I expected, and I’m happy. I’m taking off the gym today and we’ll see if I can get an athletic shoe on Wednesday. After endless eating, I need to get back to the gym.

But right now, I’m going to write, write and write! I came home motivated to get Savaged Dreams revised and back to my editor in two weeks. And she’s working on editing the novella, Savaged Surrender this week so I need to work faster, harder and smarter to get all caught up.

How was your weekend?

Wednesday, July 13th, 2016
Cover Reveal

Happy Wednesday everyone! I’m off to conference today, although…last night while cooking dinner, I knocked a bread knife off the counter–right onto my toe. Ouch! I’m typing this from my laptop while icing the toe and debating going to emergency. It’s not cut, the handle end hit the fourth toe, and it’s swollen and getting a bit ugly. Thing is, there’s not much they can do, and I know how to take care of it, so I may just tape it up and go on. Although I’ll be wearing flats now :-)

In my defense, Wizard was standing right there when it happened and he couldn’t figure out how that knife slid off the counter. He got a close up view of the weird stuff that just happens around me, LOL! But I actually know how this happened, when I picked up the cutting board, I caught the edge of the knife and knocked it off. I jumped back, probably saving most of the foot from a bad cut, but not quite far enough to save the toe from getting hit be the end of the handle.

But enough of that! Now that the newsletter finally went out after a frustrating formatting glitch (huge thanks to my assistant Anna for solving that!!), I can share the cover for those who don’t get the newsletter! This is for SAVAGED SURRENDER, Ethan and Ana’s novella that I will release on October 10th, and that will also be included in the 1,001 Dark Nights bundle in December.

Savaged_Surrender_600x900

Mark to read on Goodreads

Being bad has never been so sexy…

Bad boy Ethan Hunt is sexy, hard and tainted by a past he can’t escape. To make matters worse, good girl Ana Kendall is a wicked temptation impossible to resist. She’s too innocent for him, so he leaves, joining the security team for the world tour of the internationally famous rock band, Savaged Illusions.

Being good has never satisfied…

Since moving in with her dad at fourteen, Ana’s been the perfect daughter, friend, student and employee. But perfection sucks. When her girlfriends cook up a ridiculous scheme to reunite her with the one man she can’t forget, Ana hijacks their plot. It’s time to shed her good girl persona and go after what she wants—Ethan.

Being bad together is deadly…

When Ana bursts back into his life at a concert, Ethan has to make a choice. Consumed by fiery passion, Ana and Ethan surrender to their sensual desires…and unknowingly ignite the rage of an insidious stalker. This time Ethan can’t walk away—Ana’s life, and his heart, are on the line.

I hope you guys have a great rest of the week! I’ll probably skip Friday’s post and hope to be back for Monday.

JenniferLyon.com