Friday Sinema: Backup Plan

Posted on October 24, 2025 by Silver James

Happy Friday! It may or may not be raining here. (The forecast as of the time of my posting this was for rain. 🤞🏼Two things about today’s music–it is inspiration for a chapter in the book (which I am considering naming it DARK SHADOWS) and in lieu of yesterday’s Thursday Thoughts message, my new theme song. Gettin’ back up is all the backup plan you need. Have a great weekend!

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal No Limits

Posted on October 23, 2025 by Silver James

Sometimes, thinks are easy. Sometimes they aren’t. I joke about “The dang book ain’t gonna write itself.” In actuality, sometimes, it seems like the book writes itself. I wrote FAERIE FIRE in two weeks. Seriously. Well, I wrote the screen play that became FAERIE FIRE. I’ve written books in a month. And I’ve written books over several years. I get frustrated when a book’s progress stalls. And, as the Universe has now confirmed, it’s all in my head.

Your invisible limiting beliefs, Silver, are only invisible when you live within their limits; when you keep on doing what you’ve always been doing.

So push yourself, Silver. Dare yourself to think bigger, to reach, and to behave as if a dream or two of yours has already manifested. Then invisible limiting beliefs will pop out of the woodwork, as if painted florescent orange, loaded to the teeth with logic, imploring you to turn around and go back to safety!

Do something, do it today, something you wouldn’t normally do. Like maybe… take off early from work… or go for a walk in the rain … or write to an old friend.

Aha! Did you just see a couple of ’em?!
The Universe
©www.tut.com 

P.S. Silver, be warned: Sometimes, once exposed, they’ll try to snuggle up to you, looking so-o-o innocent and adorable. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, they’ll start with their “baby talk.”

At this point, I’m thinking it’s time to think outside the box. I need to think bigger, reach deeper, and behave as if this dang book is writing itself. I’mma gonna get right on that. After another cup of coffee. Or three. Okay, seriously. I need to readjust my thinking and my way of doing. FYI, this message works for both stalled/writer’s block suffering writers and just normal people going about their lives. Whichever one you are, do something. Do it today. Something you wouldn’t normally do. Let’s get right on this, okay?

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Wednesday Words: Adding It Up

Posted on October 22, 2025 by Silver James

Edit: The blog WOULD have been on time if I’d set the time right. 🤦🏼‍♀️Annnd I messed up the coding. Boy do I need coffee!!!

No AC! It’s Fall! And I have new words for Wednesday. And the blog is on time because I made sure to get it set up yesterday before I pooped out. Life is good. I hope the words are too. Psst Since I won Thursday Threads two weeks ago, last week’s prompt was picked from my snippet. Normally, I don’t do a follow on scene the following week. This time, I did. So… if you need a refresher, go back and read last week’s Wednesday Words and then jump into this week’s. Oh, by the way, the prompt is: *”Have you something to add?”*

****
Nikos turned his icy gaze on Sinjen. “Have you something to add?”

The vampire smiled, showing a hint of fang. “Rumor has it that there’s not a lock made that can defeat a dragon.”

“Fine.” Nikos inhaled. He exhaled a torrent of fire, melting the lock.

“Never seen it done that way before,” Ariel said.

Caleb had one word. “Cool.” Then he kicked the doors. They bounced open on groaning hinges. The four men leaned forward to peer through the opening. A tunnel filled with darkness stretched before them.

“I vote the werewolf goes first,” Ariel suggested. “Caleb has the best nose for trouble.”

Sniffing the air, Caleb shrugged. “Nothing but stale air and—” He sneezed. “Mildew. I don’t think Sade and Aisling were brought this way.

Ariel produced a globe of fae light in his hand and peered at the floor. “Whose footprints then?”

Sinjen’s head jerked and he took three steps beyond the doors. “She’s in there.” He glanced at Ariel. “And she won’t be alone.”

The Fae nodded. “I know. She’ll take care of Aisling.”

“Anybody got a clue about where this goes?” Caleb, ever practical, pointed down the passage. “Is this a portal or just another one of those weird tunnels that apparently bisect most of Rochester. The magic in this place is so wild, I can’t tell widdershins from a mudra.”

Sinjen strode into the darkness. “Does it matter? Sade is this way. I will find her, with or without the rest of you.”
****

Time for fun and games, boys and girls. The plot thickens and all that. Writers, you know the routine. Use the prompt to free write if it will help. Readers, what would you add to the story?

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Tuesday Tidbits, *Sigh* Edition

Posted on October 21, 2025 by Silver James

So. Yeah. I’m “late.” I normally set up the blog the day before because I don’t really want to get up at 5 a.m. and be coherent enough to craft sentences that make sense fron inchorent thoughts. I am NOT a morning person. But some guru once advised that 6 a.m. was a good time for bloggers in my time zone to release the new blog. That way, it appears or is already in the inboxes at a time when most readers check the intrawebz or their mail.

Anyway. Yesterday started out okay. Then stuff happened. By the time I realized that I’d forgotten to do a blog, it was time to fix dinner. By the time dinner is over, dogs fed, and clean-up done, I’m ready for bed. Ah, insomnia. I was only up four times last night and for once, none of them had to do with PITA Pup. I really should stop calling him that. He’s a sweet boy, just stubborn. But he is getting better about the overnight shennanigans.

In addition to the above, I’m trying to ease the critters back to standard time. I confess. I am a staunch supporter of and believer in STANDARD TIME. I can’t wait for November 2 when we get off Daylight Savings Time. I never switche4d the two wall clocks in the house. The one in my office proudly proclaims that it is 6:22. My phone says it’s 7:22. I want the boys to start “sleeping in” so they want out at 6 a.m. instead of 5 a.m. because I want to sleep until 6, instead of getting up a 5 because the clock says so. Anyway…

Okay, enought whining. I will sign off with some humor. Okay…honestly? Bad dad jokes.

Why did the poor dog chase his tail? He wanted to make both ends meet.

Two fish are swimming along and they both run into a concrete wall. One looks at the other and says, “Dam.”

What did Tennesee? The same thing Arkansas.

😆😆😆 Hope your Tuesday runs smoothly.

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A Fall Monday. Maybe.

Posted on October 20, 2025 by Silver James

Toby brought me a leaf. Okay, he actually brought me a bunch of leaves. They fell in the yard and he barked them to death. Then he rolled in them to show them a thing or two. Pleased with his guard prowess, he then brought them all into the house to show me he’d taken care of business. Jake just lay there in the kitchen looking wise and superior. “I only bark at real threats, Mom. Not like the kid there.” LG was sweet enough to sweep and vacume the Florida room.

We had a bit of rain on Saturday and by a bit, I mean there wasn’t enough to even tickle the drought conditions but the pavement got wet and the ground soaked it up like a drunk on the Saturday night after pay day. We hit the 40s overnight so I actually put on a hoodie Sunday morning.Yesterday was gorgeous. Bright blue skies, low humidity and we barely hit 70 for a hight. Perfect! Today? Back into the 80s. 😟But then it’s supposed to cool off again. I am sooo ready. Fall is my favorite season.

Once again, we won’t discuss sports. Well, a short mention. My Cowboys–sadly–suck. They lost. OU won. No soccer. Moving on.

It was cool enough yesterday I made chilli for dinner last night. MmmMmm good!

I finished off the omnibus/boxed set of werewolf stories. They kept me entertained for awhile. I’m back in that weird reading head space where I’m not sure what I want to read/listen to. I’ve got a couple of books in the queue–a Kristen Painter cozy paranormal mystery, a book from Peter S. Beagle (The Last Unicorn) about dragons, a Graphic Audio release of a werewolf book I read years ago and liked but it’s dark. Anybody reading/listening to something really good? I’m open to suggestions. I have 4 credits at Audibe so…yay.

I found some new songs for Ariel’s soundtrack. That’s a good thing. They also gave me some inspiration and I got a bit of writing done. I’m still far from being back on track but I’m slowly getting there. Too slowly for the pushy half of me. The other half is all, “whatever…” Ugh. Iff y and I need to have a come to Jesus meeting.

That about does it for me. I have no real plans for this week. Oh, maybe finally getting around to switching the bed linens. And fighting with the dang book. It would just be so simple if it would write itself. Don’t tell, but I’ve considered feeding what I’ve written into an AI thingy, along with an outline and seeing what gets spit out. Trust me, I won’t! I can just imagine how jumbled and crazy it would be. FYI, I did feed THAT OL’ BLACK MAGIC into the ‘Zon’s AI audio book thingy. Believe, that puppy will NEVER go live! I wish I had pockets deep enough to get all my books into audio but I’d truly have to win the lottery for that to happen. Anyway, I didn’t make it halfway through the first chapter of the audio version. *shudder* On that note, I’m headed for more cofee, a quick spin around the intrawebz and then to work. What’s your agenda?

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FRIDAY SINEMA: FALSE FALL

Posted on October 17, 2025 by Silver James

I’m still laughing over this because it’s soooooo true!!!! The weatherman has promised a hint of fall starting tomorrow night. We’ll see. I’m not holding my breath but I’m crossing my fingers. Who else is waiting for Fall? 🙋🏼‍♀️ Anybody got plans for the weekend? Fall break so no soccer. I’ll find something to occupy my time. 😉 Have a good one

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Creativity

Posted on October 16, 2025 by Silver James

I’ve been in the doldrums lately. I know I’m not the only writer fighting what seems like a futile battle. How do we get people to buy our books? How do we not get depressed when we don’t sell our books? What gives us the oomph to keep writing? It would be so easy to just…stop. All the inspiratonal quotes is the world, all the coffee, all the kicking my own arse…? Yeah. I got nuttin’ honey. Then the dang Universe drops this into my lap…

Life? I kind of see it like this, Silver:

Second after second, illusion after illusion, miracle after miracle… an unending parade of opportunities to catch yourself in the act of creating.

Gotcha!
The Univers
©www.tut.com 

P.S. Here comes one now, Silver…

And there one came. Actually two. Unable to get motivated yesterday, I spent waaay too much time on X. I got sucked back into a protracted conversation that invovled multiple people. It started with a thing sold by Skims, a Kardashian company. Don’t ask. Trust me. You do NOT want to know. Anyway, the discussion somehow devolved into romance novels and then picked back up today with Fabio. I don’t know why. While being an active participant, I’d totally missed the whole train. Anyway. One of the gals, bought one of my books. At least I think it was her. I mentioned THAT OL’ BLACK MAGIC to her and that’s the book I sold. So…I sold a book! The second thing occurred after I reposted an announcement of a soon to be released album of Celtic music from an musician I’ve followed since I joined the old tweetybird. And yes, he followed me too. He just released an album and I added it to my Spotify lists. One of his songs will be on Ariel’s playlist. But that’s only a side note. Another X person liked my repost and asked if I’d ever listened to Blackmoor’s Night. I hadn’t so I checked them out and ended up on a song titled “No Second Chance.” Yikes! Just like that, I had a scene. Not written yet, it’s settling into place but it has a place–an important one–in Ariel and Aisling’s relationship.

So, there it is. No matter how discouraged we get, we truly need to keep our senses open to inspiration winging in from unlikely places. I’m back to writing again. And y’all have permission to kick my arse or surprise me in…well…surprisng ways! Now get out there and create!

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Wednesday Words: Well Done

Posted on October 15, 2025 by Silver James

Happy Camel Day. I have words. I also managed to take first place in last week’s Thursday Threads. I had fun with this prompt: *“Never seen it done before.”* It also gave me ideas on how to tie some unrelated scenes together. Progress! All I will say is that the Four Mousketeers are on a mission and they’ve come to a roadblock. So to speak. It could start like this: A fae, a werewolf, a vampire, and a dragon walk into a crypt…

****
The four men stared at the massive doors. Made of impressive slabs of oak, edged and hinged with cold iron, and secured with a series of intricate locks.

Ariel stood well away from it. Cold iron was a nemesis to the Fae like silver was to a werewolf. “There’s no magic that I can discern, just the metal.” He glanced at Caleb.

“Yes,” the werewolf agreed. “No magic but both silver and iron. He held up his hands. “I’m out. Sinjen?”

The vampire gave the two of them a look. “I’m not a thief. I’ve not a clue how to pick a lock. Too bad Sade isn’t here.”

“True,” Caleb said. “She’s got the touch.” He bent and looked closer. “Even so, not sure she could conquer that beast.”

The three of them turned to the fourth. Nikos returned their expectant gazes with a raised brow. “Why are you looking at me?” His voice was tinged with both arrogance and amusement.

“Uhm…dragon,” Caleb said, his tone dry.

“What is that supposed to mean?” The arrogance edged over into disdain.

“Dragon.” All three spoke in unison.

“Hoard,” Ariel added.

“Lair.” That came from Caleb.

Nikos turned his icy gaze on Sinjen. “Have you something to add?”

The vampire smiled, showing a hint of fang. “Rumor has it that there’s not a lock made that

can defeat a dragon.”

“Fine.” Nikos inhaled. A torrent of fire melted the lock.

“Never seen it done before,” Ariel said.

Caleb had one word. “Cool.”
****

Since the challenge only allows for 250 words max, there will be some expansion of this scene but it works for now. Writers, use the prompt if it works for you. Readers, what’s something you’ve never seen done but would like to watch?

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Witchy Season

Posted on October 14, 2025 by Silver James


We are almost half-way through October. Already. How is that possible?!?! *flail* Yeah, yeah. I know. The sun rises, the sun sets, and days go by. Anyway. It’s October. That means Halloween! Sometimes we want cute treats. Sometimes we want cute treats that are really easy. Sometimes we want cut treats that are really easy but they look like we took forever. Boy, do I have the recipe for us!

WITCH’S HAT COOKIES

PREP TIME: 30 minutes
COOL TIME: 30 minutes

Cover homemade or stove-bought cookies in melted HERSHEY’S Chocolate Chips and top them with HERSHEY’S KISSES Milk Chocolates to make decorative witch hats. They’re the spooky snack that kids will love this Halloween.

INGREDIENTS
24 HERSHEY’S KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates
24 fudge bottomed striped cookies
1 cup HERSHEY’S Milk Chocolate Chips
Decorating icing or gel in tube (optional)
Chocolate sprinkles (optional)

EQUIPMENT NEEDED 
Wax Paper
Tray or Cookie Sheet
Microwave-Safe Bowl
Microwave
Measuring Cup

DIRECTIONS
1 – Remove wrappers from chocolates. Place cookies with chocolate-coated bottom facing up on wax paper covered tray or cookie sheet.

2 – Place milk chocolate chips in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at medium (50%) 1 minute; stir. If necessary, microwave at medium an additional 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until chips are melted and smooth when stirred. Dip bottom of chocolate kiss into melted chocolate and place in center of cookie. Repeat for all the cookies. Allow chocolate to firm before continuing.

3 – Pipe icing or gel around base of Hersey’s Kiss. Use chocolate sprinkles to make square buckle for hat, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tip
1 – Bottoms of homemade or store-bought cookies can be coated in melted chocolate if fudge bottomed cookies aren’t available.

I admit that I’ve featured this recipe before but when it popped up in my email newslettr straight from the chocolate folks themselves, I wanted to remind folks. Head over to HERSHEY’S to get all the details on this fun Halloween goodie. It’s hard to believe that SEASON OF THE WITCH will be 12 years old the end of the month.  *flail* Dang. I’ve been doing this whole writing gig thing a long time. Sade and Sinjen are still one of my favorite couples. Sade made her debut in THAT OL’ BLACK MAGIC, but she didn’t connect with her favorite vampire until this book. SEASON OF THE WITCH answers that age-old question: Can a dedicated FBI agent find true love with her undead suspect in a series of brutal murders? Just click on the pics or the title to grab your copy of either book AND the other books in the series from Books2Read, which hooks you up with your favorite on-line bookseller. Happy reading and Happy Halloween!

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Meh, Monday

Posted on October 13, 2025 by Silver James

This time of the year is rather like the summer doldrums. Days are getting shorter which is something. But I’m ready for Fall! Yes, leaves are falling but it’s more from lack of rain and hot days. I’m sorry but 88 degress is NOT all autumnal. It might be play-off season in the MLB. Football is in full swing. But if it doesn’t feel like Fall, how can it be…you know…FALL?!!?

I finished a book I’d been putting off reading. It’s by a favorite go-to author in a favorite and often reread/relistened to series but this book? Yeah. There were reasons. Both characters are favorites but I wasn’t ready to buy into the romance. Also, the wazy the books was structured occasionally threw me in and out.of the story. Still, the author is best-selling so who am I to question. I still have mixed feelings about the book but I’m glad I finally broke down and listened to it. I’ve moved on to an “omnibus” of six books in a series. Werewolves. Well-known author but new to me. We’ll see. So far, so good.

What little writing I did last week was good. Well, it made me life anyway. I can always count on the “four mouskeeters” to keep me entertained. That would be Caleb, Sinjen, Ariel, and Nikos. Sade was absent for this scene and the good news is, I’ve figured out why she missed out of the fun. You’ll get to read the snippet come Wednesday. I didn’t write copious amounts but I did write some and the bits and pieces of what is written is in better order and the story is starting to not only take real shape but to make sense as well. I’m still determined to get it out by Christmas.

I did a good thing Saturday. I used to give blood regularly but since the surgeries and the whole collapsed veins in both arms, I’ve been reluctant. That said, it’s been almost 2 years and the local blood bank is in desperate need of my blood type. So, Jake and I went to donate. The vampire was excellent and I got a cool Halloween T-shirt that glows in the dark and has a gargoyle on it. Anyway, I’ll get back in the habit of donating. I’m the only one in the family who can. Sadly, Only and LG are universal donors but both are on meds that preclude them from doing so.

I haven’t seen my hummingbird lately but she’s been around, according to the nectar level in the feeder. They normally start heading south around this time of year but see my above complaint about daily temperatures. I mean, seriously. By now, I’ve usually turned off the AC and opened windows. Due to ragweed–which won’t go away until we get a frost–and high temps, AC is still running. Blerg.

Let’s not talk about sports, um-kay?

And on that note, I’ve got nuthin’ left to report. Ah well. Not like I live an exciting life, right?

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