Bliss

Lewisville, Texas provided the inspiration and setting for Bliss. Bliss is a hilarious look at what happens to a small town when it experiences a tremendous growth spurt and the inexperienced cast of characters that run city hall are called upon to deal with the boom.

Customer Reviews

Jeff Lyon’s BLISS is blissfully fun! By Arlene L. Koyle on November 16, 2005  This is a very funny, warm and insightful look at the trials and tribulations of keeping a small town running smoothly despite the usual civic blocks. Understaffed, and in a lot of cases, under informed local elected citizens are flying by the seat of their pants, but the Health Inspector cum Fire Marshall has his job pretty well nailed. I now think twice before I give in to the urge to eat in a Chinese restaurant – my suspicions of 50 years of Peking Duck dinners were confirmed – especially at New Years, which, as described in BLISS made me laugh out loud! Hilarious and wonderfully descriptive! I hope we can expect more from this witty and articulate author! See Review at amazon.com

Delightfully Entertaining! By Eddie Gresham on May 1, 2008  “Bliss” by Jeff Lyon is a wonderful look at small town bureaucracy that will keep you laughing from start to finish. Each chapter in the book tells an amusing anecdote from the life of `Ross Ryan’ as he works his way up the corporate ladder of the Health Department in the fictional town of Bliss, TX. Lyon’s storytelling is razor sharp, and there’s little doubt that the author lived through these experiences in his own career, which makes the book even more worthwhile. I highly recommend this book to anyone who thinks that their own job throws the funniest scenarios at them on a daily basis. See Review at amazon.com

Great entertainment! By Cynthia Clampitt on March 30, 2011 Jeff Lyon’s book, Bliss, is a romp. It claims to be pure fiction, but you couldn’t make up these stories. Recounting the adventures and misadventures of Ross Ryan, health inspector in the fictional town of Bliss, Texas, the book leads readers through roach-infested kitchens, rusting fishing shops, mountains of burning tires, hot weather, football season, hunting season, run-ins with angry citizens, burgeoning developments, and government red tape. Lyon deftly turns the litany of horrors into hilarity by highlighting the absurdity and by using every technique in the humorist’s book, including wonderfully playful consonance. That said, the humor most often arises naturally from the crazy situations and quirky citizenry. However, Lyon remains sympathetic to most of his characters (with a few nasty exceptions). These are people that, on the whole, he likes. By the end, you feel you could make your way around the town of Bliss and would recognize the characters if you met them. Bliss offers both great fun and great insight into how things go wrong when areas grow too fast. It’s a charming book that will make you smile. See Review at amazon.com