BEACH SEASON

This month, BEACH SEASON is available, actually in just a few days.  This is an anthology of four stories from four different authors.  My story, THE BRASS RING, is a complete novel that was published a few years back.  The other stories are brand new and written by some talented authors, Cathy Lamb, Rosalind Noonan and Holly Chamberlin. 

 
BEACH SEASON is a light, fun read, and as the title implies, just right for a day relaxing in the sand, under an umbrella, cooling drink in hand, toes tickled by the waves! Each novel is a about love lost and love found. It's a great book to get you in "summer mode," you'll be feeling the heat!

Lisa Jackson, Straight to the Heart of Your Town

If you’ve had a chance to check out the Lisa Jackson Facebook app, (and if you haven't you should!) you’ve seen the contest:  “BRING LISA TO YOUR TOWN.”  My publisher's idea, it’s a launch party for YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW, and I'll be celebrating with all of the fans from the winning city. Anyone in the U.S. is encourage to vote as many times as they'd like until the end of June. Oh, and make sure to share with friends in your area, so that on August 7^th, when the book is officially on sale, we can all celebrate together! I'll be in your town, signing books and handing out prizes, and mingling with everyone who voted me to your town. It should be lots of fun and I’m looking forward to the trip.  

Another fun fact that makes this celebration all the more special, and this is just a coincidence, but August 7^th was my mother’s birthday, as well as her mother’s  birthday.  In the book SHIVER, the heroine, Abby, was born on the same day as her mother, Faith Chastain, who is, to this day, one of my favorite characters.  That connection was inspired by my mom’s birthday with her mother.  So, I’m glad to celebrate their birthdays as well.  My mother would have been 88, this August 7^th and my grandmother 114!  I think we should all celebrate!

Secrets and Lies

Good news, SECRETS AND LIES, my latest 2-books-in-1-volume novel from Harlequin, is now available!  The novels, HE’S A BAD BOY and HE’S JUST A COWBOY are the first two stories that surround the fictitious community of Whitefire Lake, California.  Another volume, CONFESSIONS will be on the stands at the end of the year and it will contain the last two books of the series, HE’S A RICH BOY and HE’S MY SOLDIER BOY.

The four original books were one of my first forays into writing a series, which I now love.  They are actually  the precursors to series like the Montoya/Bentz series set in New Orleans or the “To Die” series with Detectives Alvarez and Pescoli.

Recently, my son (who works for me) and I were trying to shorten a scene to add it to the “about the book” and “excerpt” section of LisaJackson.com.   So as he’s reading from the book and we’re discussing what section will actually go up as the excerpt, he looks over the top of the novel and says, “Wait a minute, Mom!  This scene sounds a lot like something that happened when I was in grade school and these two boys who are riding bikes and wrestling and yelling at each other, they seem a lot like my brother and me.  And the mom who’s expecting a call from the principal cuz one of the kids got in a "scuffle" on the playground, that’s you . . . right?”  He looked at me in shock and, yeah, a little bit of horror.  “You mean to tell me what’s in these books actually happened?  You used parts of our lives?”
Uh oh!  Busted!
I had no option but to ‘fess up.
So, it looks like, after twenty-plus years, the jig is definitely up!

On the Domestic Side

I used to love to cook.  The trouble is, I also love to eat.  So, you
guessed it, over the years the pounds added up and I realized I had to figure something out.  So now, I've decided to give a new kind of cooking a whirl and I'm pulling out some of  my old fave recipes and making them leaner: lasagna, spaghetti, crepes, tuna casserole, meat loaf, apple pie, you name
it, I intend to make the old recipes, new again. I haven't worked out all the details yet, it might end up being more like a new take on apple pie rather than your traditional apple pie.

This weekend my family is coming over and I'm using them as guinea pigs as I try out a new twist on crepes for breakfast, and goulash for dinner!  I'll let you know how they turn out and if they were edible! (The back-up plan is ordering pizza!)  Yeah, I know.

Not Your Typical 9 to 5

People ask me how many hours a day I spend writing and I never can give them
a straight answer.  Some days I sit at the computer for hours on end, just
creating the story.  (Usually this is when a deadline is looming.)

However, the truth of the matter is, I really hate to sit still for long
periods of time and I can find just about any distraction for getting out of
my chair.  "Oh, I need to walk the dog." Or, "I should do this laundry."
Or, "I think I'm out of vanilla."  Whatever.  It's just an excuse.

In my defense, whenever I'm doing those odd chores, I'm usually working out
a knot in my plot.  Even while driving or showering.  (So watch out when you
see me heading your way in my car!)

Hmmm . . . maybe this is why some of my recipes have turned out so strangely
lately.

Stormy Seas

I’m so glad to be cozied up next to the fire enjoying some mindless TV after a crazy trip to the coast. I’m talking thunder, lightening, hail, high winds, and side-ways rain.

I have to say though, as far as writing goes, it doesn’t get any better! Especially since my sister, Nancy Bush, and I were in the middle of plotting out our next book in the WICKED series. We were near the fictitious Deception Bay and Siren Song! We got a lot accomplished but made some time for Bailey’s and coffee too.

This evening, I finished revisions for YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW. Now, onto the next project. But, I think I may wait until next week to start that. Take the end of the week and the weekend to catch up on a few things around the house, take Jackie O No on a few nice, long walks and maybe even catch a movie?? I don’t even know what’s in theaters right now, any suggestions?

Giving myself the creeps!

Okay, so I do a lot of research on line and most of it is pretty straight forward, nothing all that creepy or scary.  I learn a lot about an area, the weather, a particular law, or social mores of an era--pretty dry stuff. Occasionally, though, I do come across something that weirds me out.

For example:

One time I(at night, of course!)  was researching serial killers and was clicking through links.  The sites really bothered me as some of them were dedicated to the promotion and love of serial killers--talk about sick.  But the worst of it was that I eventually landed in a space that asked me if I wanted to email a known and imprisoned serial killer who I recognized and remembered his crimes.  My blood ran cold and I hope that the suggestion was a sick joke.  I'll never know.

Another time I was contacted by a murderer who had killed two women in his family via a letter.  He thought we had something in common--I didn't!   But I checked him on the Internet and actually saw his face and footage of him.  It gave me a serious case of the creeps!

I've learned my lesson.  No more research at night, for starters!