Lisa Jackson's Blog, page 5
June 8, 2012
AFRAID TO DIE
Just in time for the hot summer sun, AFRAID TO DIE is about to hit book shelves (real and virtual) and it's sure to send a chill down your spine! It'll be out in less than a week, and is of course, available for pre-order now.
Detectives Pescoli and Alvarez are back and on the trail of a new serial killer. Interested? Read an excerpt here. These are two of my favorite characters, and I really had a blast writing this book. I also love to get back to Grizzly Falls, it feels a lot like home. I guess that's probably because I've (loosely) based it on the small town I grew up in.
AFRAID TO DIE is the fourth installment of the "To Die" Series and this one focuses on Selena Alvarez and the secrets of her past. The other books, in order are, LEFT TO DIE, CHOSEN TO DIE, BORN TO DIE and now AFRAID TO DIE. Next year (and already approved) will be READY TO DIE. I think these gals are here to stay!
Detectives Pescoli and Alvarez are back and on the trail of a new serial killer. Interested? Read an excerpt here. These are two of my favorite characters, and I really had a blast writing this book. I also love to get back to Grizzly Falls, it feels a lot like home. I guess that's probably because I've (loosely) based it on the small town I grew up in.
AFRAID TO DIE is the fourth installment of the "To Die" Series and this one focuses on Selena Alvarez and the secrets of her past. The other books, in order are, LEFT TO DIE, CHOSEN TO DIE, BORN TO DIE and now AFRAID TO DIE. Next year (and already approved) will be READY TO DIE. I think these gals are here to stay!
May 24, 2012
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!
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!
May 9, 2012
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 7th, 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 7th 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 7th and my grandmother 114! I think we should all celebrate!
Another fun fact that makes this celebration all the more special, and this is just a coincidence, but August 7th 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 7th and my grandmother 114! I think we should all celebrate!
May 2, 2012
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!
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!
April 18, 2012
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.
April 5, 2012
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.
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.
March 28, 2012
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?
March 14, 2012
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!
March 8, 2012
The same, just different
I took a walk today and was struck with how much that simple activity has changed since I was a kid.
Then, I threw on a pair of sneakers, flew out the door and took off. The dog (a stray who claimed us) usually followed me as we ran across the fields, forded streams, and cut through the woods. Often, shepherd at my heels, I walked along the country roads where I scared up pheasants, deer and grasshoppers. Cattle grazed, creeks babbled, and the smell of hay and scotch broom filled my nostrils. I noticed hawks soaring overhead and far off, trains clattered on distant tracks. I met no one.
Fast forward a few decades. (Ok, maybe more than a few)
Now, I throw on my rain jacket and hat, make sure I have my keys (a ring a janitor in a 50 story building would envy), a cell phone, my fitbit, some money (for coffee and a newspaper) and an iPod. Then gear up the dog with her harness, leash and clean-up bags. I walk on city streets between tall buildings and scare up squirrels in the park and rabbits in the hedgerows. Obeying street signs and avoiding traffic, I notice the jets flying overhead. Trains sound at nearby crossings. I meet dozens of people, none of whom I know.
How different. How the same.
Kinda weird. The good news? I still get to walk in the country when I want to and in the city when I can. Not so bad, eh?
Then, I threw on a pair of sneakers, flew out the door and took off. The dog (a stray who claimed us) usually followed me as we ran across the fields, forded streams, and cut through the woods. Often, shepherd at my heels, I walked along the country roads where I scared up pheasants, deer and grasshoppers. Cattle grazed, creeks babbled, and the smell of hay and scotch broom filled my nostrils. I noticed hawks soaring overhead and far off, trains clattered on distant tracks. I met no one. Fast forward a few decades. (Ok, maybe more than a few)
Now, I throw on my rain jacket and hat, make sure I have my keys (a ring a janitor in a 50 story building would envy), a cell phone, my fitbit, some money (for coffee and a newspaper) and an iPod. Then gear up the dog with her harness, leash and clean-up bags. I walk on city streets between tall buildings and scare up squirrels in the park and rabbits in the hedgerows. Obeying street signs and avoiding traffic, I notice the jets flying overhead. Trains sound at nearby crossings. I meet dozens of people, none of whom I know.How different. How the same.
Kinda weird. The good news? I still get to walk in the country when I want to and in the city when I can. Not so bad, eh?
February 27, 2012
Three-Zero!!??
My good friend, Debbie Macomber, emailed me the other day to congratulate the both of us. She said "Do you know it's been thirty years since we both sold our first books?"
Seriously? Thirty? OMG—I thought about one of the first book signings I attended in the early 80's when another young author, a man, upon learning I wrote romance novels, said, "Oh, you're like the new Violet Winspear." I about died . . . I thought that Violet and the others of her generation, who had successfully written tons of romance novels, were ancient and moldy and totally unhip.
So—that was then.
Flash forward thirty years and, Oops. Tuns out he was right. Another generation of writers has appeared on the scene. (For quite a while now.) Debbie and I along with the rest of our generation? Yep, you guessed it: We are the (not so new) Violet Winspears!
Seriously? Thirty? OMG—I thought about one of the first book signings I attended in the early 80's when another young author, a man, upon learning I wrote romance novels, said, "Oh, you're like the new Violet Winspear." I about died . . . I thought that Violet and the others of her generation, who had successfully written tons of romance novels, were ancient and moldy and totally unhip.
So—that was then.
Flash forward thirty years and, Oops. Tuns out he was right. Another generation of writers has appeared on the scene. (For quite a while now.) Debbie and I along with the rest of our generation? Yep, you guessed it: We are the (not so new) Violet Winspears!
