MEET THE MOM SQUAD, THE NEWEST MEMBERS OF THE SHADOW OPS TEAM

I first met author C.J. Lyons in 2004 when we were both finalists in Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart competition. The initial round of judging for Golden Heart back then was done anonymously. Judges had no way of knowing the names of the authors whose works they were reading. I had been judging Golden Heart for several years at that point and had never given a perfect score to any of the manuscripts I’d read—until I read what turned out to be C.J.’s submission.

C.J. and I became friends, and she went on to become a NY Times bestselling author with books she branded as "Thrillers with Heart." Two years ago C.J. published her Shadow Ops trilogy (Chasing Shadows, Lost in Shadows, and Edge of Shadows) about a group of covert operatives who risk both their lives and their hearts to protect our country. Her fans loved the stories and asked for more, but C.J. had moved on to writing other books. So she decided to partner with Amazon to add Shadow Ops to the Kindle Worlds program. I was one of the authors invited to contribute a story.

The wonderful thing about the Kindle Worlds program is that authors are asked to use the original world as a springboard but write their own stories in their own voices. I was told to write a “Lois Winston” book with my trademark sense of humor but tie it into C.J.’s Shadow Ops world.

The result of that challenge is Mom Squad, a romantic suspense Shadow Ops novella featuring Cassandra Davenport, a heroine whose outlook on life and Jersey girl attitude will remind readers of some of my other protagonists, such as Anastasia Pollack from my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series; Gracie Elliott from my Empty Nest Mystery series; Nori Stedworth from Talk Gertie to Me and Elementary, My Dear Gertie; Polly Faith Harmony from Four Uncles and a Wedding; and Dori Johnson from Someone to Watch Over Me.

Here's a blurb:

When Cassandra Davenport applies for a job at www.savingtheworld.us, she expects to find a ‘green’ charity. Instead, she becomes the newest member of a covert organization run by Rose Prospero, the former head of the Special Threats Response Team. Dubbed the Mom Squad, the organization is the brainchild of three former college roommates—attorney general Anthony Granville, ex-FBI agent Gavin Demarco, and tech billionaire Liam Hatch—all of whom have lost loved ones at the hands of terrorists. Financed by Hatch, they work without the congressional oversight that hampered STR, reporting directly to Granville.

Demarco heads up one of the six groups that comprise the new operation. He hires Cassandra as the newest member of his New Jersey based team. In the course of monitoring possible terrorism threats, the Mom Squad discovers a link to Cassandra’s ex-husband. Before she’s fully trained, Cassandra is thrust into a world where her ex may be involved with ISIS-radicalized terrorists bent on killing as many Americans as possible. 

And while they’re saving the world from an imminent attack, what in the world will Cassandra do about all that sexual tension simmering between her and her new boss?

To celebrate the release of Mom Squad, I'm giving away this framed, counted cross stitch design of the Pledge of Allegiance. The framed piece measures 10" x 12" and is one of the designs I created several years ago for The Cross Stitcher magazine. The contest is exclusively for subscribers to my newsletter. If you'd like a chance to win, you can sign up for the newsletter here.

Mom Squad is only $1.99 and like all the Kindle Worlds books, only available from Amazon as an ebook. If you don’t own a Kindle, you can download a free app for your computer, tablet, or phone.

Buy Link

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY -- GUEST AUTHOR CJ LYONS

Today we’re thrilled to have author CJ Lyons back for a visit. As a pediatric ER doctor, New York Times and USA Today Bestseller CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge Thrillers with Heart. CJ has been called a "master within the genre" (Pittsburgh Magazine) and her work has been praised as "breathtakingly fast-paced" and "riveting" (Publishers Weekly) with "characters with beating hearts and three dimensions" (Newsday). Learn more about CJ's Thrillers with Heart at www.cjlyons.net -- AP

A Day in the Life

Two of the  most common things I'm asked are: where do you get your ideas? and what's a typical day like?

The two are inextricably linked. I have no typical day, no schedule, no idea what I'll be writing when I sit down.

You may have seen the excerpt from Jonah Lehrer's new book, Imagine, in the Wall Street Journal. Imagine has also been featured on NPR, in Salon, and elsewhere. It's an exciting book because it not only celebrates creativity, it provides a path to foster creativity.

Lehrer identifies several types of creativity or "genius."

There is the epiphany, that sudden lightning strike where an answer presents itself in the most unlikeliest of places or times, usually when we've given up or taken a break from working on a problem. This type of creativity depends on first hard work, followed by hitting a mental brick wall, followed by removing ourselves from the problem.

We've all been there, done that--especially hitting the wall, or as we writers like to call it, "writers' block."

But the trick comes after you remove yourself. You can't just give up, instead you give in. To a need to relax, to laugh, or even to drink.

Lehrer reports that "exposing subjects to a short humorous video…boosts the success rate by  about 20%. Alcohol also works…Drunk students solved nearly 30% more word problems than their sober peers."

No wonder writers are often portrayed as decadent, drunk, dreamers…but that's only a small part of creativity. Those lightning strikes of epiphany can reveal a solution but not only do you need to put in the work BEFORE they'll happen (that's the boring, banging your head against your desk part of creativity that no one enjoys and no audience wants to hear about) but you also need to take that epiphany and return to work armed with new insight.

As Lehrer says: "Sometimes, we just need to keep on working, resisting the temptation of a beer-fueled nap. There is nothing fun about this kind of creativity, which consists mostly of sweat and failure."

He quotes Nietzsche, "All great artists and thinkers are great workers" and Milton Glaser who engraved the slogan "Art is Work" above his office door.

Lehrer also mentions a third key ingredient in his recipe for creativity. In addition to hard work, sparks of insight, there is a wide range of diverse experience and/or knowledge.

To me, this last, is the most important. It's the catalyst that allows me to take a story from familiar and satisfying to remarkable and compelling. It's the spark that makes a reader lean forward and turn the pages faster while also allowing the writer to have so much fun that they forget the pain and hard work that comes with embarking on a new story (remember all that sweat and banging your head against the desk time that's a compulsory part of creativity?) and allows us to keep writing.

As Lehrer says, "Because they (creatives) don't know where the answer will come from, they are willing to look for the answer everywhere."

This is why I spent my day reworking an opening, sweating over word choices, researching the cries a leopard in captivity makes (yes, this is a mainstream FBI thriller set in North Carolina), watching videos on counter-moves against chokeholds, imagining what kind of lonely life an undercover FBI agent would lead in a small town where he's pretending to be a bad guy, stripping wall paper, playing Sudoku, pounding out a few more words, scribbling notes, free-associating plot ideas, and finally relaxing in a hot bath before coming up with the idea that changed everything and going back to work until 1am.

So there you go, the answer to "where do you get your ideas?" and "what's a typical day like?"

Art is work. And sweat. And laughs. And all sorts of amazingly different things that you connect and weave together to form a tapestry that is greater than the parts its made of.

If we do our job right, the reader sees none of that. But they'll never forget the world we take them to or the people we introduce them to and they'll be eager to come back to more.

Excuse me, I think it's time for another soak in the tub….

Thanks for reading!

CJ

And thanks for joining us today, CJ! -- AP

THIS WEEK'S BOOK WINNER

Thanks to all who stopped by this week at Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers. We hope you'll come back often and also tell your friends about us. We have lots of exciting posts and guests planned for the months ahead. I’d also like to thank CJ Lyons for being our Book Club Friday guest and offering a copy of Critical Condition to one of our readers who posted a comment this week. The winner this week is Janet. Janet, please email your mailing addresses to me at anastasiapollack@gmail.com, I’ll forward the information to CJ, and she’ll mail the book to you. 

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY -- GUEST AUTHOR CJ LYONS

Today at Book Club Friday we’re happy to have back author CJ Lyons. As a pediatric ER doctor, CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about.  In addition to being an award-winning medical suspense author, CJ is a nationally known presenter and keynote speaker. 

Her first novel, LIFELINES (Berkley, March 2008), received praise as a "breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller" from Publishers Weekly, was reviewed favorably by the Baltimore Sun and Newsday, named a Top Pick by Romantic Times Book Review Magazine, and became a National Bestseller. 

Her award-winning, critically acclaimed Angels of Mercy series (LIFELINES, WARNING SIGNS, URGENT CARE and CRITICAL CONDITION) is available now.  Her newest project is as co-author of a new suspense series with Erin Brockovich.  You can learn more at CJ's blog and for free reads, "Like" her at http://www.facebook.com/CJLyonsBestsellingThrillerAuthor -- AP

PARTNERING WITH A STAR

CJ Lyons

Would you say no to Erin Brockovich?

I couldn't -- in fact, I could barely suppress a squee of fan-girl delight when I learned that Erin not only enjoyed my medical thrillers but that she'd chosen me as co-author of her new suspense series.

When we spoke -- well, she talked, I could barely string words together, I was so excited! -- she said that she enjoyed my strong female protagonists and how they let nothing stand in their way of doing what was right. Turns out we both feel the same way about our fiction -- heavy on the characters and their relationships, light on the plot devices, and as fast-paced as possible.  

During that first conversation we began to talk about our personal life-views and philosophies and I mentioned how the entire reason I write what I call "Thrillers with Heart" is because of my belief that we are each our own hero. And Erin finished my sentence for me--because she shares the same viewpoint!

Of course we gave our main character, AJ Palladino, that life philosophy as well. Only for AJ it gets her into a lot of trouble along the way!

It was easy to develop AJ Palladino (her name kinda says it all, doesn't it?) as a real "people's champion" like both Erin and myself (as a pediatric ER physician, I specialized in child advocacy). But what should our first novel be about?  

A few weeks earlier I'd traveled to teach a writing workshop and my flight had taken me over the Appalachian Mountains. Being from central Pennsylvania, I'm no stranger to strip mining, but this was my first time seeing the ravages of mountain top removal mining up close.  

I wept. Yes, tough, ER doc me, not bothered by blood, guts, or gore--and I actually was crying!

Staring out the plane's window, my stomach lurched, my very soul fought for balance as I looked down on the man-made travesty that had once been beautiful, life-sustaining mountains. It was so very wrong on so many levels that it made me physically ill.

I shared this with Erin. She had also seen the destruction first-hand and thought mountain top removal mining was a fight worthy of our protagonist. And so, ROCK BOTTOM was born.

But I think what became important about ROCK BOTTOM, even though it was inspired by the passion Erin and I felt about mountain top removal mining and the damage it does to the people of Appalachia, was that at its heart, it's really the story of an adult child returning home and learning the true meaning of family.

And haven't we all shared that experience? Coming home and realizing that it's not the "home" we've fantasized about while we were out in the "real" world?

Of course, AJ's homecoming also involved murder and mayhem!

What kind of homecoming surprises have you had?

Share your story in the comments and you'll be entered to win a copy of the finale of my Angels of Mercy series, CRITICAL CONDITION.

Thanks for reading,

CJ

Okay, readers, let’s hear from you. I can tell you from personal experience that CRITICAL CONDITION is a fabulous read, and I can’t wait to crack open my copy of ROCK BOTTOM. -- AP

THIS WEEK'S BOOK WINNER

Thanks to all who stopped by this week at Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers. We hope you'll come back often and also tell your friends about us. We have lots of exciting posts and guests planned for the months ahead. I’d also like to thank CJ Lyons for being our Book Club Friday guest and offering a copy of URGENT CARE to one of our readers who posted a comment this week. The winner this week is Nancy Adams. Nancy, please email your mailing address to me at anastasiapollack@gmail.com. I’ll forward the information to CJ, and she’ll mail your book to you. Happy reading! -- Anastasia

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY -- GUEST AUTHOR CJ LYONS

Our Book Club Friday guest today is medical suspense author CJ Lyons. As a pediatric ER doctor, CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about.  In addition to being an award-winning medical suspense author, CJ is a nationally known presenter and keynote speaker. 

Her first novel, LIFELINES (Berkley, March 2008), received praise as a "breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller" from Publishers Weekly, was reviewed favorably by the Baltimore Sun and Newsday, named a Top Pick by Romantic Times Book Review Magazine, and became a National Bestseller.  CRITICAL CONDITION, the final book in her award-winning, critically acclaimed Angels of Mercy series was just released.  CJ’s newest project is as co-author of a new suspense series with Erin Brockovich.  To learn more about CJ and her work, visit her website.

CJ has graciously offered a copy of URGENT CARE, the book that sets up CRITICAL CONDITION, to one of our readers who posts a comment to the blog this week. -- AP

STILETTO HEELS OR COMFY SLIPPERS?

The past  few years I've been privileged to judge several contests: the Ritas, Daphne published, the Golden Heart and the Thrillers. That adds up to almost 500 books I've read searching for excellence in fiction.

Did I find it?  Yes, but it was few and far between.

I don't think I'm an overly-harsh judge.  But maybe I've read too much?  So many of the books blend together—flat, cardboard characters following clichéd, over done plots to the point where I have to double check my score sheet.  Did I read this book already?

No, it's just like all the others is all…..

Many of these books are by multi-published best selling authors.  Some broke new ground with their early books but now continue to follow in their own footsteps. 

I can understand that—if you find what works for you and have a large following of fans wanting you to do the same old thing and paying you lots of money for it, who could resist?

And, many readers DO want the "same thing, just different". They demand it, complaining if "their" author tries a new direction. They like having expectations fulfilled, rather than being surprised.  Reading is a comfortable escape for them, not a challenge or adventure.

I confess, I'm more of a thrill-seeker when I choose my books.  Maybe because I now have so little time to read, every book I do finish must promise something new and exciting.  Many don't deliver on their initial promise and end up being unfinished, but that's fodder for another post! 

I think there's a time and place for both kinds of books.  And bravo to everyone who is reading instead of watching TV or living their lives on-line!!

But as a writer, it's scary to think about.  Your gut tells you to go one way, your brain tells you to stick to "what works", your heart wants to head in a totally other direction…what to do?

My last book in the Angels of Mercy series is out December 7^th.  With each book, I've upped the bar as far as intensity and giving the reader an adrenalin rush of a thrill ride.  Book #1, LIFELINES, was pretty much pure thriller with increasing stakes until the entire city of Pittsburgh was at risk.

Book #2, WARNING SIGNS,  was a different kind of challenge: combining a coming of age story about a medical student suffering from mysterious symptoms with the whodunnit mystery behind the deadly symptoms.

URGENT CARE, book #3, was a true book of my heart and the toughest to write--in it, I explore the psychological effects of surviving a trauma.  It's a dark, gritty suspense, very emotionally honest.

So for CRITICAL CONDITION, the finale of the Angels' quadrilogy, I wanted to go back to the intense pacing of the first book.  Only I set myself an even bigger challenge--instead of taking place over 4 days, this book takes place over four HOURS!

Yep, you got it--you'll pretty much read this book in real time--which means juggling not only four characters and their story arcs but down to the second timing between each scene.

Plus, after the dark intensity of URGENT CARE, I wanted to give readers a bit of a smile, so there are all sorts of unexpected happenings (unexpected even to me, lol!  Don't you love it when that happens; you're just writing along and you surprise even yourself?  Talk about chaos!) and fun twists and turns.

But….there's always a but, isn't there?...will CRITICAL CONDITION excite and satisfy my readers as much as it did me? It's fresh, different, pushing all the boundaries…but is that what readers want?

What do you want from a book?  A comfortable, familiar sweater that you know will fit perfectly? 

Or a snazzy, new dress that may itch at first but gives you that feeling of ohlala?

Thanks so much for stopping by, CJ! So readers, which are you? A comfortable sweater or a snazzy new dress? Don’t forget to post a comment to be entered in the drawing for URGENT CARE, and check back tomorrow to find out if you’re the lucky winner. -- AP