Sm:)e Feel Good

Friday, January 4, 2013

My Blog has MOVED!

Hi, Sm:)e Feel Gooders!

I wanted to let you know MY BLOG is now posting to my website: WWW.JESSICALEMMON.COM!

So please PUT ME IN YOUR FAVORITES! Or add me to your READING LIST!

You'll find the same fun, smiley content over there as here, and I'll be posting with the same frequency (twice a week or so.)

Head on over and say "hello"!

*Note *
This site will stay up, so feel free to dig through archived posts. But for current content either click the "BOOKS" or "CONTACT ME" tabs above, the site address I've listed, or simply

>>>CLICK HERE<<<

For today,
Sm:)e, Feel Good, www.jessicalemmon.com!

Thursday, January 3, 2013

4 out of 5 Cookies!

What could be better than a four-star review from a very talented author?

How about 4 out of 5 cookies?

Patty Blount, author of SEND gave me such a sweet review for Tempting the Billionaire, I just have to share it here. To read the review at Patty's blog, click here or read below:

4 out of 5 Chocolate Chip Cookies to Tempting the Billionaire by Jessica Lemmon

At first glance, this sounds like your typical romance novel – hot not-so-rich girl manages to crack through the tough veneer of the hot, oh-so-rich guy. But a few pages in, you’ll find Jessica Lemmon’s debut novel, Tempting the Billioniare, isn’t typical at all. Hero Shane August is hot and rich, but he’s not the kind of tough, cold, aggressive alpha male that tends to define the genre. Instead, he’s a big ol’ softie who bakes his own cookies, leaves a month’s rent as a tip for a breakfast bill, and has strong ties to his relatives despite a pretty horrible family tragedy.

I was in love with Shane by the second chapter.

Crickitt Day, the hot, not-so-rich girl who snares Shane’s heart, is sexy without knowing it. She’s a sweet girl dumped by her ex-husband and trying to find her confidence again and Shane comes to the rescue by offering her a job.

There’s just one problem – his pesky uncontrollable attraction to her. And that’s really the only typical part of this story – it is a romance, after all, so has to fit the genre. What I loved most about Jessica’s characters is that Shane has a soft side he is totally not afraid to expose. Is there anything sexier? I wasn’t all that fond of Crickitt’s name but once I got sucked into the story, I found that it just sort of fits her. One of my favorite things is the liberal sprinkling of humor throughout the story, little one-liners that made me chuckle and let me catch my breath after so much sexual tension. “Moron, party of one” or “his hormones lined up to do the conga” and this one, so subtle but potent. “a smile… that had her thankful for the sturdiness of the door frame.”

The flirting is delicious and the conflicts that keep them apart are real and believable without being melodramatic. There’s also a compelling side plot that left me wanting more. Overall, I’d give this story 4 out of 5 chocolate chip cookies, especially if Shane bakes them himself.

*swoons*

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Thanks, Patty!

Patty received an advance copy for review. Tempting the Billionaire will be released for eReaders everywhere on Tuesday, January 8th!

For today,
Sm:)e, Feel Good, I love nice reviews!

Monday, December 31, 2012

New Year's Eve

We won't hold Monday against the fact that it's New Year's Eve, right?

Right! So at midnight, find someone ADORABLE and give him/her one of these:

Especially if he's cute and rumply and offers you champagne.

How was your year?

I have to admit 2012 has been pretty awesome-sauce for me. Even though I'm fighting a (minor, I hope) cold, I'm still eternally grateful to be able to do what I love.

Write. Edit. Repeat.

While you're waiting on the ball to drop, here's the cutest thing I've seen in a long time:

For today,
Sm:)e, Feel Good, My dogs would totally eat those.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Loot

So we all know Christmas isn't really about the gifts. It's about spending time with family, being grateful for what you already have, and sharing the peace and dawning of a new year with your friends.

It's also a time you get really cool gifts.

I'm pretty sure my gift-givers were all in cahoots.

First, I got this awesome stoneware coffee mug from my brother:

Then, I got these toasty warm slippers from my mom:

A Kindle Paperwhite from my husband:

AND

God sent me this belated Christmas gift last night/early this a.m.:

And if all that doesn't add up to Jessica sipping coffee in warm slippers, reading her Kindle and not going anywhere today, then I don't know what does!

How about you? Did you score any really sweet gifts for Christmas? Or maybe give a few that really rocked?

For today,
Sm:)e, Feel Good, AND for when that snow melts, I have a GIANT B&N gift card from Dad! SUPER SCORE!

Friday, December 14, 2012

First Drafts

First drafts can be challenging. Especially when you write one after finishing a finely (or should I say finally?) polished manuscript. Then here are you, expecting your new story to come out as cleanly as a sheet of perforated paper. But your paper was from the dollar store and doesn't tear cleanly at all. And now you're over-thinking every word, every idea. You're attempting to explain quantum physics when all you were asked to build a house out of blocks.

Keep it simple. If it falls over a few times, that's okay. They're just blocks.

What I find funny (and mildly dismaying) is rereading said first draft. Turns out I only thought I was weaving beautiful prose and conveying my character's deep and complex feelings.

Then I run across something like this:

"...," he said, his voice lined with a note of bemusement.

Um. What?

Probably would have been easier to say he was bemused.

But, messy as it is, I try and remember that a first draft is a playground. It's one of the only times it's okay to fingerpaint outside the lines. No one will see it (unless, say, I blog about it) so no one will judge me for it.

So go ahead, get out your box of 64 Crayolas and draw on the wall. First drafts may be messy, but messy is fun.

Just ask my dog, who is fond of running in the mud. She never looks happier than when she's got grass and clods of dirt under every toenail.

Any dreadful first draft lines to share? C'mon, let's hear 'em!

For today,
Sm:)e, Feel Good, Respect the process.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Lady Scribes

swak! So excited! Olivia Kelly of Lady Scribes is interviewing me about Tempting the Billionaire today. I even gave her an exclusive, super juicy tidbit about my hero, Shane August!