Last week, I got my cover! YAY! I am so excited. I’ll show it here soon.

But I get one comment about this new series a LOT.

Let’s start with my husband. I sent him the cover at work. He emails back, “Jen, love the cover, but they spelled your name wrong. It’s A-P-O-D-A-C-A not L-Y-O-N.”

I’m married to a comedian; an account-comedian. For example, my husband is not a paranormal fan. He just doesn’t get it. When I sent him the cover copy on the book, he emailed back, “I don’t quite understand the blurb because I read or speak ‘witch’.”

I laughed until I cried. (It’s only funny because my husband is hugely supportive of my writing.) Then I emailed back that it’s a shame he’s not bilingual like me. I read, speak and WRITE witch.

On the other hand, he and my oldest son speak an Account/Tax language that I frankly find terrifying.

Anyway, back to my point—my husband is thrilled for me because I am writing what I love. He gets that, he’s happy for me. But he’s not as happy about my using a pen name. And I’m getting similar questions or comments from other people. Not everyone gets why I took a pen name for this series, so I thought I’d list my top ten reasons to write under the name Jennifer Lyon:

10) I bought a new red formal dress for the RITA awards at the RWA Conference. The dress might be a tad…uh…risqué. When I get teased or bashed, I can blame Jen Lyon’s questionable taste.

9) If I have a wardrobe accident with that dress, like if I gain a pound and can’t zip it, it’s because Jen Lyon eats like a…well…lion.

If I have a drink or two at conference, I can blame that lush Jen Lyon.

7) If I’m late getting my book into my editor, well we all know it’s that lazy Jen Lyon’s fault.

6) If I do a book signing and it turns out to be a bust? It’s Jen Lyon’s fault!

5) If I forget to blog on MSW? It’s because Jen Lyon has a hangover! (Jen Apodaca knows better than to get a hangover.)

4) If some nasty reviewer calls Jen Lyon’s book “…trite dribble with no plot, stupid characters and gratuitous, bad sex,” Jen Apodaca can stick her nose up in the air and say, “I told Lyon it was bad!” Or she can say, “Who the hell is Jen Lyon? Glad it’s not MY book or I’d feel like shit right now!”

3) If I burn dinner…never mind, I won’t burn dinner because I have a new, awesome stove, and no one in their right mind would let Jen Lyon cook. Seriously, she thinks everything tastes better with a shot of gin. Gin and eggs is her specialty. She cracks a raw egg into the gin and calls it breakfast!

2) If I get caught talking to myself, and I talk to myself all the time, I can blame Jen Lyon!

And the number one reason for me to take the pen name Jennifer Lyon?

1) It’s fun! Blaming Jen Lyon is a blast!

Okay, guys, what do you want to blame on Jen Lyon? Go wild—she can take it!

Happy Fourth everyone! I love this holiday. I mean, it’s all about America! And I love my country. And to celebrate we’re heading over to my aunt’s for a little BBQ later on. With the tinderbox we live in there won’t be much in the way of fireworks. A couple of years ago the field behind our house caught. Not fun. I doubt we’ll drive to see the big firework display. We used to though. I remember when the kids were younger piling them all up in the truck with blankets and munchies and making it a big deal. They were always so excited, and the city we lived in at the time always did a fantastic display. We had a lot of fun. Now? We rarely drive to the fireworks. I like staying close to home. When I look back to when the kids were smaller and the things we did, and energy I had, I am amazed. Now, just the thought of bundling up four kids and all the trappings that go with them makes me tired. Sigh. I must be getting old!

So, what’s everyone doing today to celebrate our independence?

Oh, and the winner of the most lovely necklace is….Kendra!!!!! Congrats! Email me at Karin@karintabke.com with your snail mail addy and I’ll get it out to you next week. I have quite a few things to get out next week actually. My life will be sane once more after I turn in MASTER OF TORMENT.

Ciao for now!

Thanks to Natalie and everyone here at Murder She Writes for inviting me!

Have you ever come face to face with evil? I have.

I practiced pediatric emergency medicine and community pediatrics for seventeen years. During that time, I faced rapists, child abusers, gang-bangers who would kill over a pair of shoes, sociopaths, psychotics, narcissists, and even one killer who our prosecutor classified as a serial killer.

You know the scary thing about evil? It looks just like you and me.

When I left medicine to fulfill my life-long dream of becoming an author, I knew that I wanted to explore the various faces of evil. Because I’ve faced it in real-life, I knew how different it was from most of the “bad-guys” portrayed in fiction.

Evil doesn’t spend its days plotting dastardly deeds of cunning or intricate, diabolical plots involving red herrings and webs of intrigue.

Rather, the evil I’ve seen is driven by one simple desire: they know what they want, they want it now, and they don’t care what they have to do to get it.

The boy-friend baby-sitting while mom’s at work who brutally beat and raped a three year old because she wouldn’t go to bed when he told her the first time. He’s currently on death row.

The woman who shook her baby so hard the baby hemorrhaged into his brain….because the baby wouldn’t stop crying during her favorite TV show.

The gangbanger who shot a kid because he said “hi” to the wrong girl on the wrong street corner while wearing the wrong color of hat.

These are just a few of the faces of evil I’ve seen.

Is it any wonder that in my debut medical suspense novel, LIFELINES, I chose to focus on what makes evil so compelling to so many readers: the fact that it hides among us, so very hard to see, hiding in plain sight.

I also explored what we all have in common with evil. No matter who we are, we are all driven by the same universal needs and wants: love, security, recognition.

In real life, there was frustratingly little I could do when faced with evil. I could care for the victims, help the police and prosecutors to the best of my ability, but it always felt as if there should be a way to stop the senseless deaths and violence.

As rewarding as my medical career has been, I’m finding that my new career as an author has its own rewards. Especially when it gives me the chance to not only put a face to evil but to give its victims the justice they deserve.

The best way to fight evil is to bring it into the light where everyone can see it for what it truly is.

So you tell me—what war stories do you have to share? Have you come face to face with evil? I’ll bet you have.

The boyfriend who came close to stalking you, the sociopath next door who lies about everything—for no reason than the sheer joy of getting away with it, the school kid setting fires and torturing animals…..they’re all out there, closer than you think.

Thanks for reading!
CJ

About CJ:
Award-winning medical suspense author CJ Lyons is a physician trained in Pediatric Emergency Medicine. She has assisted police and prosecutors with cases involving child abuse, rape, homicide and Munchausen by Proxy and has worked in numerous trauma centers, as a crisis counselor, victim advocate, as well as a flight physician for Life Flight. Publisher’s Weekly proclaimed her debut medical suspense novel, LIFELINES (Berkley, March 2008), “a spot-on debut….a breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller” and RT made it a Top Pick. Contact her at http://www.cjlyons.net