Friday Free-for-All: Random Edition

Posted on October 9, 2026 by Silver James

Yeah…I’m late. I normally set up the blog the day before so it will post at an actual scheduled time. If I waited to post on the day of, I might never get anything posted–or at least not posted until…oh…say…4 p.m. Anyway, I got busy yesterday for…reasons. I had to people. Then I had stuff to do. Then I had more stuff to do. And then I made the world go away and I actually did some writerly-type work. Like finish a chapter, set up the next chapter, and organize some of those random scenes floating out there on various sized pieces of paper on my desk. I should take a picture but I’m embarrassed. Anyway. Since I’m being random, here. These are some random thoughts I might or might not have actually had. TGIF. Have a great weekend.

  1. I’ve never opened the fridge after a rough day and thought, “This calls for celery.”
  2. Some days, you just need a hug, a forehead kiss and a grilled cheese sandwich cut diagonally.
  3. Day One of my diet: Cheat day.
  4. Never underestimate a woman with a Crockpot and a can of cream of something soup.
  5. Them: How many push ups can you do?
    Me: If they’re the orange flavor, 3.
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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Feelings

Posted on October 8, 2026 by Silver James

Sometimes, you meet someone and things just click. This used to happen face-to-face but with the introduction of the internet, horizons expanded and we met people that we might never actually see in person. That doesn’t stop connections from forming. Before I go further, I will caution folks. Verify. The scammers they are scamming. I have several close friends that I have never met in person but if they sent out an SOS, I’d be in my car headed their direction ASAP. Bear with me. I’ll try to keep this short. I’m friends with several best-selling authors. I’ve met most of them in person though we started out on the net through either blogs or social media. I was lucky enough to be in a position to later meet them and yes, we clicked in person just as we had on line. Without going into a lot of details because…reasons, I connected with another author. We bonded over health issues, the effect that had on our writing, and just…life. We texted. Almost daily. Then Real Life happened. Insecurity settled on my shoulder and whispered in my ear. And Real Life kept happening. After losing Jake, I needed a place to hide from the world and I found a place. Like I told her in my text on Tuesday, her books was like building a blanket fort, grabbing a hot mocha latte and a plate of chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven, and curling up with those characters. I wanted her to know that her books helped. That she helped. She texted me back. We’re still friends.

Then, yesterday, the Univere dropped this into my inbox.

Silver! It’s not real! Don’t go there!

The things and events of time and space are mere illusions.

What matters is what you feel in your heart and what you choose to imagine.

You’re here to create on your terms. To live at your own pace. To unravel the mysteries of your own divinity.

You are the door, the path, and the light.

You turn it all on,
  The Universe
©www.tut.com 

P.S. You are the projector, Silver, and the silver screen.

I’m not going to delve into this one. I believe writers will intuitively get the inference and relevance to what we do and how we work. And this is a message for everyone, no matter who or what they do. As for me, I’m taking the message as a sign that I need to shake off the things holding me back, open my eyes and my imagination, and start projecting the story onto the page, metaphorically speaking. Time to turn it on, folks!

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Wednesday Words: Time to Talk

Posted on October 7, 2026 by Silver James

This year just keeps slip-sliding away. It’s already Wednesday. And I do have some new words to share. I’m trying to be smart as I participate in the Thursday Threads flash fiction. I’m at least working to expand already written scenes, and using scenes close in the timeline to where I should be if I…you know…wrote linearly. As a result, my words aren’t always sharp and inspired but that’s okay. It’s progress and I’ve won a bunch of the challenges. I pretty much do it now because…new words! So, today’s prompt is: *“Maybe it was time.”* It’s definitely time that I get out of my weird headspace and write the dang book. Here’s today’s entry:

****
Caleb broke int the conversation. “You could always ask him.”

Sade blinked. “Point blank?”

The men exchanged looks.

“Fine. I’ll ask him.” 

“Ask me what?”

Three heads turned to the man who’d apparently materialized beside their table, since no one had seen him sneak up on them. 

Sade pushed out of her chair. “Let’s take a walk, Ariel.”

He didn’t move. Leaving the pub with Sade would only cause the other two to follow. Besides, they were in this too. Maybe it was time to explain the situation. Not that it would help. Sade would continue to interfere, which would drag Sinjen and Caleb into it. And there was still the Dragon to be dealt with. Tatania had given him this task but Oberon had given him the ultimatum.

Ariel pulled out the empty chair and sat, gesturing for Sade to return to her seat. He repeated his question. “Ask me what, Sade?”

“Why are you here?”

“Your time at the Summer Court, how much do you remember?”

Tilting her head, Sade stared, her brows knit in concentration. “Not sure where you’re going with this.”

“The rumor was that Oberon was your sire.”

Sade snorted. “Like Fae and Humans can procreate.” She blinked when Ariel didn’t immediately respond. “Wait. They actually can?”

“What do you know of changelings?”

“They’re myth. That whole spiel about Magicks stealing human children, leaving creatures that look human in their place is just a fairy tale.” 

“All fairy tales hold a thread of truth.”
****

True that. All fairy tales to hold a thread of truth, especially if you live in Sade’s world. Writers, I hope this inspires you to some new words or the prompt at least sparks some ideas. Readers, what’s your favorite fairy tale? I’ve always been a bit fond of Beauty and the Beast…

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Easy’s Fave Peanut Butter Pie

Posted on October 6, 2026 by Silver James

Sometimes, as Summer slips into Autumn, the weather doesn’t always cooperate. The calendar and our thoughts may be thinking Fall thoughts and we might be craving Fall flavors but when it’s still warm outside, what we really crave is something cool. Well, I have the answer to that delimma. This easy, no-bake pie has the yummy taste we want paired with staying cool.

Easy No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie

Yield: 10 servings
Prep time: 5 Minutes
Cook time: 15 Minutes
Total time: 20 min

Ingredients
1 8-inch chocolate cookie pie crust

For the Filling
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup powdered sugar sifted and divided into one 1/2 and 1/4 cup
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup creamy peanut butter
4 oz cream cheese softened

For the Topping
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chopped
1/4 cup roasted peanuts chopped; for garnish

Instructions

For the Filling
1. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream until soft peaks have formed. Add the ½ cup sifted powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Whip until stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to a separate bowl.
2. In the same mixer bowl (no need to wash it), with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, and remaining ¼ cup of confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
3. At a low speed, beat a ⅓ of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture just until combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the remaining whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture until incorporated.
4. Transfer the whipped peanut butter mixture into the prepared chocolate cookie pie shell. Gently smooth the mixture into an even layer with a spatula. Refrigerate the pie, uncovered, for 1 hour.

For the Topping
1. Place the chocolate pieces, or chocolate chips, into a small bowl.
2. In a small saucepan, bring the ½ cup of heavy whipping cream to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Once boiling, immediately remove the pan from the heat. Pour the boiling cream over the chopped chocolate. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for one minute. Remove the plastic wrap and whisk until a smooth chocolate ganache forms.
3. Pour the chocolate ganache over the chilled peanut butter pie. Using a spatula, gently smooth the ganache until all of the peanut butter filling has been covered.
4. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts along the outer rim of the pie. Chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours before slicing.
5. Store the pie in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days.

I admit, I love peanut butter and chocolate together. And this pie is pretty easy to make. It’s also easy for Easy to admit it’s one of his favorite desserts. Elijah “Easy” Cross is a bad boy with a heart of gold. This is not unusual for my outlaw riders. Of course, they’re all Wolves, too. Luckily, Samantha “Sam” Prescott likes to cook and enjoys keeping her Wolf happy. Their story, told in NIGHT SHIFT, is dark and little–okay, a lot–dirty but hey, we are talking about the members of an outlaw motorcycle club here. And, there’s a reason I’ve decided to feature the Nightriders. Someone bought the first four books in the series this month so yay! Maybe if I give the series a little push, more people will decide to grab a copy. Just click on a pic, the QR code, or the title. You’ll zip over to Books2Read for the Nightriders series page where you can discover all the books (so far, more to come in the future) and the various on-line retailers for you to chose from. Please and thank you. Also, surely I’m not the only one who likes to mix chocolate and peanut butter, right?

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First Monday in October

Posted on October 5, 2026 by Silver James

Isn’t there a movie by that title? About the Supreme Court. It’s been awhile. It’s October! It’s Autumn! It’s finally sort of cool! It’s about time. Considering the AC froze up on Thursday. Literally. The compressor and drain line were both coated in ice. But we had some rain. And cooler temps so it didn’t matter. Luckily, the AC tech could get here on Friday. He did have to make a parts run but the fix was fairly simple. Two contacts had welded in the open position so the unit couldn’t turn off. We’d thrown the breakers to cut the power. The electrictians came at about the same time. Their repair took a bit longer as the meter had to be reset, the lines rerun in a repaired pipe thingy (don’t ask me the names of this stuff–no clue!) Basically, the electric line from the pole ran to this pipe thing than went through the roof and eave to hook up to the meter that was attached to the brick wall of the house. When the massive tree limb came down, it landed smack on the pipe thingy, driving it through the roof/attic/eave. As I’ve mention before, we didn’t even get a blip in the power. That said, it was good they got there when the did because one of the wires was close to being no bueno with a chance of hot sauce. The power was off about 4 hours. All fixed now. And it’s been nice to not have the AC running–for the budget and the fresh air.

In other tech news, LG and I finally got around to setting up the DirecTV. We’ve had AT&T U-Verse since it first came out years ago. At some point, AT&T bought DirecTV and then about 2 years ago, they tried to get customers to all switch over to DTV. Now it’s to the point that they are no longer supporting UV equipment so yeah. We finally switched. Now I have to relearn channels that I’ve had memorized for literally years. I’m too old for this crap. I finally gave up and wrote my go-to channels down on a sticky note.

In reading/listening news, I’ve finally come to the ned of my Darynda Jones marathon. The new trilogy isn’t out yet. 🥺I’m really looking forward to them. It’s been a fun ride. I can’t believe anyone who reads paranormal/Urban Fantasy would not have read the Charley Davidson series but if you haven’t, you should look into it. The books have humor, snark, action, all the feels.

I did laundry. Does that count as being productive? I’ve sold 4 books so far this month. Someone bought the first 4 books of the Nightriders series. Once I get Ariel’s Damn Book finished and published, I’m thinking about maybe doing another Moonstruck book, but in this case, a historical–going back into the history of Blaidd’s Gap, WV and the Wolves there. There’s a character that’s had a room in my brain for some time now, inspired by the music video of Brantley Gilbert’s song, “Bottoms Up.” We’ll see. I’m due another Nightrider book too.

Anyway. Upward and onward, as one of my college professors used to say. A new week, a new month, a new list of things that need to get done. One more cup of coffee then I plan to get right on that. Have a good one, all!

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Friday Sinema: Southern Self-Checkout

Posted on October 2, 2026 by Silver James

For those of us in the South, this would be just a normal procedure. For the rest of you, you don’t know what you’re missing. 🤣🤣 Have a great weekend!

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Nudge

Posted on October 1, 2026 by Silver James

There’s a reason I write romance novels. There’s a reason even my bad boys have hearts of gold. There’s a reason the good guys win, the bad guys lose, and those who deserve it get their Happily Ever After. That said, it doesn’t mean that I don’t make them work for it. Without tension and conflict, the story would be mostly boring. That said, I think most of us would prefer mostly boring in our real lives. I don’t know about y’all, but I’d rather get my excitement from a book, movie, or TV show. And…wait for it…that said, I still put all my heart into every story. There’s a reason for the adage: Anyone can write; writers can’t do anything else. 

 Just a little nudge, Silver, reminding you to tune in with your heart at all times.

At all times,
  The Universe
©www.tut.com  
 P.S. Feeling your way, Silver, is the easiest way.

The Universe’s message is for everyone but writers should definitely take heed. I don’t care what genre you write, you should sink all your heart into the effort. In fact, everyone should do this. Enjoy your day. I’ve got some heart-felt words to write.

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Wednesday Words: Get Right On That

Posted on September 30, 2026 by Silver James

It’s Wednesday once again. And I have a new snippet to share, miracle of miracles. The plot continues to thicken and the fun thing is, writing this snippet gave me ideas. I was smart. I wrote those ideas down because yeah, sadly, those events don’t happen until waaaay late in the book. But that’s okay because a plot point that had been niggles at me can now actually happen in a fairly simple way. Well, not simple but… Oops. I’m getting ahead of myself. This is here and now and today’s Thursday Threads, while not a winner, did fit in nicely with the chapter I’m currently working on so, “SCORE!” The prompt is: *“We’ll get right on it.”* Taking that as my cue, I’ll get right on it. Here it is:

****
From the library’s roof, the Ravens, glamoured to appear as their namesake, watched the man and woman on the bridge below.

“Well,” Orin drawled. “An interesting development indeed.”

Bran ignored him. He bloody well wanted to throttle Ariel for being so blasted obvious.

“Have you told her yet?”

“Told her what?”

“That we’ve found the one.”

Shaking his head in denial, Bran focused on Orin. “She’s not. I don’t know what she is, but she is not who we are looking for.”

Orin burst out laughing. To the humans below, it sounded like raucous cawing. “If that’s the game you wish to play, I’ll go along with your lie for a time. I’m not the one the Queen will—” he paused to gloat then continued, eyes alight with wicked malice. “Bestow her most tender mercies upon.”

Bran said nothing. The other Raven was correct. If Queen Mab discovered…no. When the queen discovered he’d lied, he’d be lucky to escape her mercies with his life. He’d suffered her wrath before and had the scars to show for it. He also knew Orin held both ambition and grudge. It was just a matter of time before the other Fae betrayed him to Mab. Glancing at Orin, he asked, “What have you reported to her?”

“Our lack of progress.”

“And?”

“She’s not happy. She wants results and wants them now.”

“How did you reply?”

“That we’ll get right on it.”

Bran had been afraid of that. Time was running out.
****

So there it is. The story is moving forward. Slowly, laboriously but step by step the story is coming together. I just wish Real Life would bug off and stay out of my head. Anyway. Writers, I hope you find some inspiration. Readers, what game do you think Bran is playing? And our final question of the day: What are you going to get right on?

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Crash Dinner

Posted on September 29, 2026 by Silver James

I’m sure most of us have heard of smash burgers, right? And then there are crash potatoes. Well, what happens when you combine the two? You get a one-dish Crash Dinner. It has all the yummies served so conveniently all in one place. Besides being tasty, it’s a quick fix for those busy times.

Crash Dinner
Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
For the mashed potatoes:
6 medium red potatoes, cut into 1 1/2-inch-thick pieces
water, to taste
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

For the beef-mushroom mixture:
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, halved and sliced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (14.5-ounce) can beef broth
1/2 cup crispy fried onions

Directions
1 - In a large saucepan, add the potatoes and enough of the water to just cover them and then bring to a boil.

2 - Reduce the heat to medium and cook the potatoes until they are tender, about 10-15 minutes.

3 - While the potatoes are cooking, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the beef, the mushrooms, and the onion and cook, while crumbling the meat, until the beef is no longer pink, 6-8 minutes. Drain the excess grease.

4 - Stir the flour, 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt into the beef mixture until blended.

5 - Gradually stir the broth into the beef mixture and bring to a boil.

6 - Reduce the heat and simmer the beef mixture, stirring occasionally, until it thickens, about 5 minutes.

7 - Drain the potatoes then return them to the saucepan.

8 - Mash the potatoes to your desired consistency.

9 - Add the butter, the half-and-half, the remaining salt, and the remaining pepper to the potatoes and stir to combine.

10 - Serve the beef mixture over the mashed potatoes, topped with the crispy fried onions.

Shhh. Don't tell and this isn't an office tip but I've been known to use Idahoan Mashed Potato mix when I'm in a big hurry.

Now that the temps are getting more comfortable, I need to add this dish back into my dinner rotation. Someone who whips this up is Katherine “Kit” Carson. She laughs a little every time she makes it for her hunky Homeland Security investigator mate, Derek Alexander. See, she’s an ARFF–Airport Rescue Firefighter. She has a bumper sticker that says “My other vehicle is a crash truck.” That’s what those weird line green fire apparatus trucks are that you see on the news when there’s an incident at an airport. Their name is self-explanatory. Anyway, Kit would often whip up this meal when it was her turn for KP duty at the fire station. It’s meaty and filing and blends all the flavors so folks who “work” for a living appreciate the hearty meal. If you’d like to learn about how Kit and Derek met, grab CRASH & BURN. While it is book 2 in the Moonstruck Wolf “series,” all the books are stand-alone if somewhat interelated because I cross pollinate my Wolves. It’s a small world, after all. Anyway, click on pic or the title or use the QR code and you’ll crash on over to Books2Read where you can find this book and all the other stand-alones and the on-line stores where they are available.

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Monday Morning QBing

Posted on September 28, 2026 by Silver James

Today’s meme is not just about Monday. It pretty much illustrates my whole weekend. Don’t get me wrong. There were some good things but there were some doozies at the same time. Where to start? Good news or bad news? Okay. We’ll get the good news out of the way.

College football. Boy howdy. There were some serious ups and downs. My now-ranked #19 OSU Cowboys barnstormed into West Virginia and taught the Mountaineers a few things. (Sorry, Vero. Nothing against WVU–I like them in the Big 12). The Pokes were NOT supposed to win, and especially not so decisively. Even though they’d beaten a Top-10-ranked-at-the-time Oregon. I’m loving the new coach, the new QB…heck…the whole team is practically brand new. As for OU…? All I can say is “ouch.” To all y’all out there, I hope your team won. I always wish that unless your team is playing my Cowboys.

In other mostly good news but mostly oh-m’gawd-it-took-forever news, LG and I have new phones. It’s a long story but Only needed a new phone. It’s been a two-week process for reasons (she STILL doesn’t have her new phone but…maybe Thursday because…reasons…anyway…) She found a cool new “friend” at the AT&T store up in her neck of the woods and while trying to deal with her phone issues, he waded in to help us get better pricing, service, etc. We were there over 3 hours. But, LG and I left with new iPhone 17 AIRs. They are skinny but bigger screen and feel weird and have all sorts of new extras and OMGMUPPETFLAIL TECHNOLOGY!!!!! Hey, mine works *knocks wood* and I’ll figure it out eventually. We way upped our internet speed at less cost. And, we are also in the process of migrating from U-Verse TV to DirectTV streaming. AT&T is phasing out U-Verse so it’s just a matter of time. It was almost 10 o’clock last night by the time we got home, ate the Arby’s we picked up on the way back, and got our phones set up. Since we still have U-Verse, the other could wait. It’s still waiting for…reasons.

Oh, Toby went with us. It was still a struggle to get him in the car but he was a Very Good Boy™️at the store even with a tiny puppy that was there with his dogparents. He also played hero dog with LG today. That comes with the bad news.

Weather. Again, good and bad. Saturday we had enough rain to leave some puddles. Probably a tenth of an inch. Not much but some. Temps were still warm but not high 90s. Then, a round of storms came through around 3 a.m. Sunday morning. There was a HUGE crash and rumble. I thought it was a nearby lightning strike. It might have been but mostly, it was a HUGE tree-trunk sized part of a massive tree hitting our house. On the spot where the electrical and telephone lines connect to the house. Praise the Lord, we did NOT lose electricity or internet. LG was out there on a ladder trying to trim branches away and he fell a few feet. I was in the house and had no clue. Toby was outside. He immediately ran to LG, sniffed the arm he scraped and bloodied in the fall, then came to his other side where LG had landed on those ribs against a rock. LG said Toby stood right there, patiently, pressing against LG’s side with his arm over Toby’s back and the braced so LG could use him for leverage to stand up. Did the man bother to holler, text, or call me? Of course not! 🙄

Uncle Fix-It came over to help and is coming back tomorrow with a crew to remove the actual tree trunk and an electriction to deal with anything that might have gotten owied. So far, we still have electricity which means AC, refrigerator, coffee maker, TV, internet, and phone charging. Life is good. How the hell we’re gonna pay for the removal and repairs is another matter. I gotta sell more books. I’ve only sold 9 this month. I’m considering shelving Ariel’s story for a bit and pulling out some older manuscripts that just need a little polishing and covers in order to publish. 😮‍💨

Anyway, here’s a pick of what we found when we walked outside yesterday morning. That trunk ran almost the entire length of that side of our house which is in the neighborhood of 50-60 feet. Yowser! Hope y’all’s weekends were more fun, less stressful, and productive.

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