GH night at 2007 RWA Dallas

Two birds of a feather....two peas in a pod...two...okay, so you get the idea. This is me with my dear friend Kimmi who can make me smile no matter what's going on in my life. She's pretty special that way.

My pals Kimmi & Angi--two of my writer playmates. Oh yeah, we have fun. :)
Two of my favorite people in the whole wide world--Keith & Anna
Two more totally fabulous folks that I adore--Marlene & Carla

Marlene & ICarla, Anna, Beth, Sheila, & LindseyThat fabulous Golden Heart WINNER and new Super auther Beth Burgoon & the fabulous Tammy.Captain America & his hot date (aka Terri Garey of the fabulous Dead Girls are Easy). :)

More 2007 RWA pictures...

Ever wondered what the Harlequin party at Nationals is like? I also did prior to selling to them. I'd heard rumors on how fab they were. Let me just say that the rumors are right!!! Harlequin throws an awesome party.The limo that took us to the Harlequin party.
Beth (a new Super's author!!), James, & Tawny getting into the limo.

Stacey Kayne & I inside the limo taking a shot of ourselves .The Harlequin party in full swing. Lots of fun!!! We stayed until the very end.

RWA Nationals 2007 Dallas

I'm way behind, but I've been promising Dallas RWA pictures for a while...More to come soon...

Copy edits & White water rafting

Sounds exciting, eh? Well, first the white water rafting. I went this past weekend with hubby and our two oldest boys. Very fun. I've been quite a few times in the past, but I brought a friend with me who'd never been--that's her below after our trip down river--see, she survived!! Actually, she's hooked now and ready to go back. Me, too. The water was icy and felt so good. It's been 100+ every day this week. Tonight at 7 PM it was still 102 degrees according to my vehicle's thermometer and 105 according to the bank's. Oh my. And we've not had a drop of rain for the entire month of August and had very little during July. Can you say drought? Rain, rain, come here please.

My oldest son was in charge of his raft and they named themselves The Black Squirrel. While in the gift shop, I ran across this doggie kerchief and couldn't resist. We all thought it too funny. :)

Copy edits. I got the copy of The Doctor's Meant-To-Be Marriage and went through it over the past several days. Last night I turned in my copy edits. Nothing major, just a few typos here and there. I'm always so paranoid I'll miss something, though, and it'll end up in every book and be one of those typos that makes everybody snicker or roll their eyes, ya know?

Meet Lilly!

As I mentioned previously, my dog was recently killed. Very sad and something I've shed many a tear over. My family will always miss and love our Trouble dog. Because he was such a special part of our lives we wanted another dog and have added an adorable puppy named Lilly to our family. My daughter was teasing her last night with a blade of grass which Lilly would tug at and play with. We're enjoying her sweet, playful personality. :)

3 Book Deal!!!!

I recently sold to Harlequin Mills & Boon again in a 3 book deal!! Woo hoo!!! The first book of the contract is done and turned in and is titled The Doctor's Meant to be Marriage and will be a May 2008 release. Happy dancing in Tennessee!!!

So, this is my release line up as of right now...

The Doctor's Pregnancy Bombshell Hardback 9/07 Paperback 11/07
The Heart Surgeon's Secret Son Hardback 12/07 Paperback 2/08
The Doctor's Meant to be Marriage Hardback 3/08 Paperback 5/08

And...I've also sold two single title books to a different publisher, but until the contract is signed, I'm leery to say anything...still....WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! :)

Now, if I can ever get the boxes that are EVERYWHERE unpacked so that I can have time to write....

The Doctor's Pregnancy Bombshell!!!

I have a cover!!!!!!!! On Friday I got mail for the very first time at the new house and guess what came???? Hardcover copies of my first Harlequin Mills & Boon Medical!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited & have to share. Okay, so yes, it's been a week, but I've not had internet (Moving is the pits for any of you who aren't aware of this!!) so I'm just now getting back online. Check this out!!

And just so that you know why I'm so missing in action, here's a few pictures of the new house. I'll post more and pictures of RWA National conference in Dallas when I can grab a few minutes to upload them. I'm on satellite internet now instead of DSL and I'm not a happy internet user. It's no where near as fast and I'm paying lots more for the premium package in hopes it would speed things up. Unfortunately, it's still way to reminiscent of dial-up days. :(

Amazon UK!

My dear British pal, Anna, sent me this link...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctors-Pregnancy-Bombshell-Romance/dp/0263196992/ref=sr_1_11/202-5556910-7143052?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1183242181&sr=8-11


WOW! It won't be too long before I have my first Harlequin cover! How cool is that?????

I know I've said it before, but dream big & work hard, because DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE!!!!!

Moving...

So, life is a bit busy. Bet you hadn't noticed, eh? :) We bought a house. Well, us and the bank are buying our dream house next week. I'm excited and a bit scared, too. Going in debt does that to a person. I'll post pictures after we sign the papers.

I'm working on revisions for my third medical romance. Have I mentioned how much I adore my editor at Mills & Boon? She's so great and really focuses in on ways to make the story better. I should finish the revisions this weekend and have them turned in by Monday morning. Before the moving starts--yea!

On July 10th, I go to Dallas for a week. Yes, this is when my family is moving. Going to be very interesting to come home and it be a different home. We've been in our current house for fifteen years and my children haven't known anywhere else. Lots of happy and sad emotions go into leaving our current home. Anyway, Dallas. :) It's time for the RWA National conference which means I'll get to hang out with lots of really cool romance authors and industry professionals. AND I GET TO SEE MY FRIENDS. Most of my bestest friends in the world are romance authors. Unfortunately most of us live in different states and only see each other in person a few times a year. On the 10th I get to see my buds and I'm soooo looking forward to seeing them.

I've sold my fifth book since my last post. :) I'm not sure of release dates and such, but I'm really excited at the prospect of having another book come out during the next year . The Doctor's Pregnancy Bombshell comes out in November and I'll likely have a cover within the next month or so. Waiting for a cover is like wondering what your kids are going to look like because each and every story an author writes is a 'baby'.

It's late and I'm rambling on, but I wanted to try to ketch-up a little and to let my pals who read my blog in on what's going on in my life, basically, the moving bug. :)

Britain's Got Talent

I'd never heard of this show until a friend of mine sent these links through via email. I had to share because I was so moved by this man's emotion, his sincerity, his heart. Wow.

I think as someone who aspires to achieve my dreams (hey, NY Times bestseller list, here I come!), to watch someone so REAL step up to his dream so amazingly is...humbling. I'll admit I'm a total sap & cried during his performance. I didn't mean to. It just happened as he's that moving.

If you've ever had a dream and wondered if it could come true...


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(http://www.flixxy.com/voice-talent-opera-singer.htm)

Here's his final performance after winning.

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Truly amazing.

Kelley St. John chat!!!

Be sure to join Kelley St. John's chat tomorrow night at 8 PM Central time. You can join the chat by going to www.fthrw.com and clicking on the chat feature that will be available tomorrow night. I can't wait to talk with Kelley about her sexy ghost stories she writes for Harlequin Blaze. And it'll be great to see what she has coming up next from Grand Central Publishing. Mark your calendars!!

Kelley St. John's previous experience as a senior writer at NASA fueled her interest in writing action-packed suspense, although she also enjoys penning steamy romances and quirky women's fiction. Since 2000, St. John has obtained over fifty writing awards, including the National Readers' Choice Award, and was elected to the Board of Directors for Romance Writers of America. She currently writes for Grand Central Publishing (formerly Warner Forever) and Harlequin Blaze.

This is a blurb from Kelley's next Harlequin Blaze:

He’s never touched her but he’s made love to her.
He doesn’t know her, but he has to find her…
Before a killer does.

Gage Vicknair has been dreaming—incredible erotic visions—about a mysterious brown-eyed beauty.

Makayla Sparks has been dreaming about a strong, sexy man who keeps her safe-- and very, very satisfied.

When a spirit from beyond tells Gage he needs to rescue a stranger named Makayla, he never expects that stranger to be the same sensuous woman he’s enjoyed so thoroughly in his nightly fantasies. But Makayla is very real—and she’s living a nightmare. A vengeful murderer is determined to get her. And Gage is equally determined to save her.

Because the only way he and Makayla can have the love they’ve dreamed of is if they’re still around to live it…

Ketching-Up

Well, not really, but you know what I mean.

I'm really psyched. I bought my formal gown for the RWA National convention. It's a really, really gorgeous dress and I'll post pictures of it after the convention in July. :) Got to find some really cool shoes to go with it still though.

And, drum roll please, I bought my first Prada purse. Yes, I paid way too much for it and probably should have spent my money on better things, but I decided just this once to splurge on myself and now I'm all giggles. :() ) I'll post a picture of it soon. Okay, so maybe I'll post a picture of me carrying my purse.

We've got lots of Memorial day stuff going on this weekend, with multiple cook-outs. Which probably means blowing our diet, but hey, I'm 11-12 pounds down, so I might splurge a little and not feel too guilty. Of course, I might find those lost pounds in the process.

GOT to finish up my article that I sold to the RWR magazine. My deadline's still over a month away, but I don't like rushing things so I plan to have it done within the next week. Wish me luck.

Jessie went to his first television show audition this week. He's really excited. Although the liklihood of landing a show on the first audition is next to nil, auditioning was really good experience for him. And you have to start somewhere, right? Anyway, the show is on the Discovery Channel, which he thinks is the coolest anyway. Guess we'll know within a couple of weeks if he's made it to the next round--or however that works. I'm still learning.

We'd planned to go to see PotC tonight, but plans changed and we're relaxing at home, instead, and looking at houses on the internet. Unfortunately the house we put a bid in on didn't go through. :( We really like it, but it's just out of our price range so we're back to looking.

Well, I suppose I have procrastinated from writing about as long as I can justify for one night. Off to write, write, write. Y'all have a great weekend. Oh, and yes, that is yummy Matthew McConaughey below. (Thank you, Tawny--what would I ever do without my friends sending me distracting eye candy???? Oh baby!)

Busy Thursday night?

Well, even if you are, drop everything and make time to join the first ever, FTHRW Author Chat!

Where?
http://www.fthrw.com/chat/

On the night of the chat, no password will be required. Just put in the name you want to be known as, and you're in. :)

When?
May 17 from 9PM EST

Who?
Featuring, Harlequin Blaze author, TAWNY WEBER!

The chat is being moderated by...guess who?--okay, so it's me. :) Janice Lynn --and will last
approximately one hour.

There will be really cool prizes given away during the chat so be sure to be
there!

A bit about Tawny:

Tawny Weber has always loved romance - all the way back to when she
was checking out couple stories in the grade school library. Despite
her family's warnings, all that romance stuff didn't warp her (too
much). What's more rewarding than reading about the crazy twists
and turns to happy ever after, and even better... steamy hot love
scenes? Nothing - those are the good things in life. Add to that a
lifelong wish to write and a nudge from her husband to pursue her
dreams. She took the leap. The result? Three Golden Heart
nominations and a Harlequin Blaze contest win on the way to her
coveted first sale to Blaze.

Tawny's usually found dreaming up stories in her Northern California
home, surrounded by dogs, cats and kids. When she's not writing hot,
spicy stories, she's testing her latest margarita recipe, shopping
for the perfect pair of boots or drooling over Johnny Depp pictures
(when her husband isn't looking, of course). Her alter ego, MOM,
also spends a lot of time scrapbooking and playing in the garden.
Please visit Tawny at her home on the web www.TawnyWeber.com . She'd
love to hear from readers.



So, like I said, drop everything and be there! It's going to be a blast!

Happy Mother's Day

To me. Okay, so really it was more like just mother's day. Sigh. I spent over 5 hours helping my middle son with his science project. The same science project that was assigned 4 weeks ago and is due tomorrow. The same science project that my hubby & I have both asked him repeatedly over the past week if he had done to which he replied he was finished. Unfortunately he'd only finished in his own little world and when I asked to see his project this morning he said he couldn't show it to me until he put it on a poster board. Poster board? Oh yeah, and he had to
have the pictures, too. Picture? What pictures? And did he mention he needed to enter the data in my computer to make graphs???? Imagine this mother banging her head against the wall, the floor, anything close. At least I asked him first thing this morning rather than tonight. Thank goodness as getting it all together really did take over 5 hours. NOT how I intended to spend my mother's day. But everyone is healthy and that's what's important.

Moving?

So, my hubby & I have been looking at houses for the past few weeks. We've found 3 that we really really like and that are within our ballpark price range. All of them have little things that make it more appealing than the others or have deterants that make it less appealing than the others. One is located perfectly. I mean 10 acres located perfectly for our needs. But we like that house the least of the 3. The house is gorgeous but really needs one more room for my family. The second house is gorgeous, has a fishing pond, 11 acres, and the house has a 2500 sq foot basement in addition to the generously sized house. Oh, and did I mention the fabulous garage that comes with its own full bath? But the location sucks. It's only 3 miles out of town, but it's off a GRAVEL road and the closest neighbors have a bazillion HOUND DOGS & BEAGLE DOGS. Not appealing even though there is a good distance between the houses. The third house has no pond. :( No large garage, but it's located decently. Not ideally like house #1, but still not bad. The house itself is the nicest of the 3 houses. No basement. :( But all the kids would have their own room and I'd still have a room for an office, too. hey, when you have 4 kids, their having their own room is a big deal. ;) I think my husband likes house #3 best. Well, I know he does. I'm torn between house #2 & house #3, but keep thinking about how convenient house #1 is. I mean, whatever we decide is where we're likely to spend the rest of our lives, so this is a very big deal for us. On prices, house #2 is probably the one we can get for the best price. House #3 is 20K higher than the other 2 to begin with. House #3 just went on the market a month ago so probably not so much wiggle room on price. Decisions. Decisions. Who knows if we'll end up with any of the three, but looking is exciting and fun...and a bit scary, too.

Writing wise...well, I've been playing with pen names. I think if I ever write under a pen name I should use JANICE McCONAUGHEY. Several of my friends have vetoed this emphatically as they say no one can spell Matthew's last name. So, I thought maybe I'd go with JANICE MATTHEWS. ;) Unfortunately that was shot down too. Such picky friends I have. vbg.

Oh! And if you haven't picked up a copy of Tawny Weber's DOUBLE DARE--do so now! It's currently in stores. :) It was such a cool thing to walk into Wal-mart and see her book on the shelf!!! And her cover is really fab, too! If you like fun, sassy, sexy reads, this book is for you!!!

Brenda Novak's Diabetes Auction

Fabulous romance author Brenda Novak holds a fundraiser auction online each year to raise money for diabetes. Brenda's son has diabetes. There's something for everyone available at the auction--from gift baskets from authors, to original oil paintings, to lunches with editors & agents, to trips. Be sure you go check out her auction at www.brendanovak.com If this link works correctly (which would amaze me), here's a direct link to my basket. :) 810748 Harlequin Medical Romance Basket by Janice Lynn: Health Aids to Keep the Doctor Away!

Happy bidding! for a great cause.

You Are a Bad Girl

You are 30% Good and 70% Bad You're a total bad girl, from your wild hair to tattooed toes. But you're too badass to even care if you're labeled "bad"!

Are You a Good Girl or a Bad Girl?



My friend Tawny is always getting me into trouble. She sent this link to test to see if you're a bad girl or not. I'm thinking I'm not quite as bad as what the above says because I'm cringing at the thought of having a curse word on my blog and there isn't a tatoo anywhere on my body. Too funny that it rated me as 70% bad though. And I did answer the questions completely honestly--although it's been quite a while on some of my responses.

Westwood Freshman Formal

Jessie & Tyler showing off the corsages for their ladies.
The party gets started...
Put the phones away, boys!I think this is their mafia pose...
Line Dancing...
That's Jessie in the middle back. :) And here's a picture of him and his friend Tiffany...

South Beach Diet

So, y'all have listened to me whine over the past year about my weight. I'm still within the uppermost range of normal weight for my height, but that's only because I was blessed with heighth. Thank goodness. I've walked and walked with little to no results. I've given up cokes (my vice, I admit) for a month and watched my caloric intake with little to no results. I've had several good friends to do extremely well on the South Beach diet and they've convince me to try it with them. So 3 of us started it within the last week or so (they actually started a few days ahead of me). My LUCKY husband got to go on the diet with me by virtue of being my husband and my knowing I couldn't stick with the diet unless he and I were on the same page. I admit I've never been on a diet diet. Not one where I had a plan I had to stick with other than no sodas--the horror! ((yes, I very frequently tell patients to avoid these like the plague and I even limit myself and do not have sodas every day, but I'd sure like to. :) )) I'm almost done with day 3 on this diet and so far have stuck with the plan. The first two weeks are not easy. Not by a long stretch of the imagination. No breads, no pastas, no potatoes, no starches at all. Are you getting the picture here? Basically no carbs.

Honestly, the hardest part has been the no soda. I'm not a diet soda drinker and would rather have water than diet soda, so that's what I have. But I crave, crave, crave a Coca-cola. Yes, I really did give them up for an entire month (jan 2007) & gave them up completely with each pregnancy, also. But with giving up all carbs, I'm finding not having soda that much more difficult. Of course, I'm only on day 3 and suspect it'll get a bit easier around day 6 or 7...I hope. :)

I'm walking again. Not 20 miles a day. But I'm walking. So far my knee is holding out well. Yea! However, I'm thinking if someone would hire Matthew McConaughey as my personal trainer that I'd want to work out all the time and these extra pounds would just melt away, ya know? Hey, it's a thought & my motivation factor would certainly go WAY up. ;)

Missed me?

With a week in Washington DC with my oldest 2 boys & then 5 days in Gatlinburg, (8 days of which were with no internet!), & hubby gone to Edwards AFB for a month, I haven't blogged in a while. Bad me. :)

However, I did turn the third medical in on Friday night. :) Yea! I'm really excited to have that one done. And of course, I've started the 4th one already. Also, I'm plotting a YA just because I had so much fun spending the week in DC with 12 teenagers. Was interesting. Made me feel older than the hills, but interesting. :)

Tonight, I'm finishing up taxes. Such a procrastinator. :)

Oh! And this past week there was an article on moi & friends who've donated books & character names for my local Literacy chapter's fundraiser. I'll have more on this soon, plus a list of all the fabulous authors who've donated. :)