Lissa Matthews's Blog

Have You Tried A Gingerdoodle?

I’ve been baking this year. And y’all have my son to thank for it.

It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed baking at all, but this year that love has started to come back and I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed it and how happy it’s made me to get in the kitchen and make a mess again.

Earlier this year, my son came to me with a recipe he’d seen on X or YouTube for No-Bake Boston Cream Pie Bars and asked if we could make them. We not me. So, I said yes and the next day, we made them, devoured ...

10 Day MiniWriMo

Starting today…

There are 11 days left in October and it’s been a real shitty writing month for me. There have been some personal things going on and the mood just hasn’t been there. Mostly, I’d rather sleep or sit outside and stare out at the trees and mountains… However, if we count journaling, and I totally think we should, then I’ve written a more than enough to classify it as a novelette.

So, I decided that I needed a writing challenge. And… I was thinking of finding a NaNoWriMo-like challe...

Play music. Cook. Write. Focus.

The title of this post is a line from the movie Something’s Gotta Give. And it’s a line that even before I saw the movie, was part of me, was part of my make up, was part of how I get to that place of creativity, that state of just…flow.

Diane Keaton was one of my favorites. I didn’t know much more than her name before I saw her in Father of the Bride in 1991. There was something about her smile, her facial expressions, her laugh, her side-eye glances that caught and held me. From then on, I wa...

So, tell me about your book…

If anyone asks me this question, just out of the blue, my mind is going blank. I won’t be able to tell you the name of any characters or if there even are characters. I won’t be able to tell you the location the story takes place in. The basic plot? Nope, not that either. Nothing. I’m going to look at you like a deer in headlights and wonder what the hell a book is.

If, on the other hand, I’ve rehearsed it in my head a thousand times because I know I’m going to be in a situation where someone wi...

The Great Instagram Escape

And man, it’s true what they say… No one really cares.

The caveat is that for most of us, that is true. No one really cares if we’re posting or not. For some, yes. For most, no.

That’s not a pity party. It’s a truth. A realization. Possibly a freedom.

I have been off Instagram for 6 weeks. I haven’t posted. I haven’t scrolled. I haven’t shared a story or reposted anything.

The first few days, were like going through withdrawals. At least, what I imagine withdrawals from addiction of any kind fee...

Listening Party for 1

 

Since the album came out, I have been listening to THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL by Taylor Swift.

Pretty much nonstop.

On repeat.

With my pink headphones on and volume up as loud as it can go.

I LOVE this album.

I’ve danced around. I’ve caught feels. I’ve fallen in love.

It’s full of joy and fun and innuendo and snark and pettiness and happiness and love and spice and poignant moments and reflection and oh y’all… I love it so much.

This year has been a fuckin’ bitch and a half. Every day there’s shi...

Come on, Autumn! I’m ready…

It was a miserable Summer. In more ways than one and I’m very glad it’s officially over.

Today is the first day of Autumn. The temperatures might not reflect it, but the matcha latte in my pumpkin mug, the pumpkin chai wax melt making my office smell amazing, the little lights with the pumpkins and acorns and maple leaves and pine trees that wrap around the television, and You’ve Got Mail playing… In my little room here, it’s Autumn.

I’ve been working on new books for a few weeks and I’m not sur...

New Release – ALL THAT GLITTERS

I really do love this book. It’s been a labor of both love and hate, of so much fear and procrastination. And it turns out the fears have been well founded. But…It’s okay. I’m okay. I think… I’m not too sure.

This book, this series has been a few years in the making, from concept, to the first words written, to the multiple re-writes and revisions and editing passes, to the final product.

It’s my longest book at just over 65,000 words.

It’s the first in a series.

It ends on a cliffhanger.

And i...

Music Monday – Back From The Dead by Halestorm

I’ve been listening to a variety of music lately from different sides of the spectrum… Duran Duran to Miranda Lambert to Taylor Swift to Halestorm. Pop to country to head banging screaming music.

Music and my moods have always been connected. I have been angry, sad, happy, depressed, and pretty much every thing between.

Halestorm is one of my favorite head banging screaming bands. They write about misfits and freaks and feeling left out and feeling put upon and they write against fitting inside ...

Snippet Saturday – Cocoa

I have several books with hot cocoa in them and I spent some time going through all of them. I think this is my favorite scene with it… And I’d forgotten how much I love this story

“Seriously?”

“Yes. Why? You don’t like cocoa?”

“Of course, but I…” Tessa shook her head at the out of the blue request. “Yes, we do have a place. Prim’s Cafe. It’s a couple doors down.”

“Do you mind if we stop and get some?”

“Not at all.”

The couple of doors they passed were the County Courthouse and Linda’s Candles a...