Yeah…I’ve been MIA. Stuff happens. Nothing terrible just a combination of issues and situations–computer, health, real life. So I’m taking some time away. No worries. Just getting stuff cleaned up, fixed, etc. However, it’s Monday. There was a week. Nothing exciting or extra good happened so y’all just hang out and I’ll be back soon. That’s a promise!
Wednesday, like Monday, just keeps happening each week. This week’s #1lineWed prompt left a lot of room to work. With the multiple choice THEME of *DAZE, DAZZLE, or DOZE**, I decided to be bold and see if I could incorporate all three words. I started out in sort of a “free write” exercise with no idea of which characters, and only a setting. Poor Shannon, but maybe this is the wake-up call Mick needs to get off his arse and claim the girl!
****
Sunlight glinted off the pond in the Boston Gardens and she blinked away the sparkles. An old man sat on a park bench, a bag of nuts in one hand. He dozed beneath the warm sun while two squirrels wrestled up the nerve to steal from the bag. She’d been walking for what felt like hours, lost in a daze of memories and emotions she couldn’t quite sort out. Up ahead, a sharply-dressed man approached and Shannon regretted she hadn’t grabbed her sunglasses when she’d run out of the bar. Of course, it had been dark then and now she had to squint. She would not shade her eyes to get a good look. Tall, broad-shouldered, close-cropped light hair. It’d couldn’t be…
She held her breath as the man neared and then he passed by her without a glance. The breath she exhaled could have been a sigh of regret or one of relief. A rustling sound caught her attention. The old man was awake and he shook his bag of nuts at her.
“Come sit beside me and feed these miscreants,” he invited, waving the bag at the chattering squirrels now perching on one arm of the bench.
She eyes him narrowly and he laughed. “I promise I’m harmless but you look like you’ve lost your last friend, girl. Come and sit. If these mischief makers can’t tease a smile back onto your face, then you can tell me why you’re in such a tizzy.”
“I’m not in a tizzy,” she groused but sat beside him.
“Man troubles?” he asked, looking at the squirrels instead of her.
“Not any more.”
“Ah.” That’s all he said before offering a peanut on the palm of his hand. One squirrel, bolder than the other, grabbed it and skittered off.
They sat in silence for several minutes. “It’s stupid,” she huffed out, as angry with herself as she was with Mick. “It’s not like we were together or anything.”
The man still didn’t speak or look at her, offering a second peanut to the shyer squirrel. He eventually set it down on the bench and withdrew his hand. After a moment of stare-down, the squirrel snatched it up and ran off.
“He made me no promises. I’m just mad that I was such an idiot. What would a man like him want someone like me anyway. I’m a waitress in his bar.” Shannon leaned her head back against the top of the bench, eyes closed, soaking up the sunlight. “But did he have to flaunt that bi—” She snapped her mouth shut. “Sorry,” she muttered. She sighed again. “Me and my girls, we got out of the neighborhood. Went someplace new. It was fun. Good music. New men to dance with. And then he walks in like he owns this place too. And that…that…” She sputtered, trying to come up with an appropriate word.
“Floozy?” the old man supplied.
She burst out laughing. “Yes. Floozy. She was all over him. I’ll bet he had to throw his shirt away because there’s no way to get that lipstick off.” She banged her head against the wooden slat a few times. “The nerve of him. He looked right at me and…and…”
“And what?”
Those two words in that deep, sexy voice sent liquid fire through her veins while at the same time she felt like someone doused her with a bucket of icer water. She opened her eyes and glared at the man who haunted both her dreams and her every waking moment. “And you didn’t didn’t do a damn thing.”
“Are you jealous?”
“No,” she lied. “And I suppose that now you’re going to dazzle me with your razzle.” She lowered her voice to mimic his. “Oh, sweetheart, she’s a nobody. Just a bit of fluff on me arm for the night. I was just out for a night with the boys and she latched onto me.”
Mick crouched in front of her, ignoring the old man. “She was business, Shannon.”
“You freaking paid her?” Her hand darted out and she slapped him before she could stop herself.
****
There’s more but this scene just kept rolling and I figured you didn’t really want almost a chapter worth of snippet. Still, it was good to get some words down. There’s hope for Iffy yet. 😉 Writers, any dazed, dazzled, or dozed words to share? Readers, any books left you dazed, dazzled, or dozed lately?
Fall is in the air and that’s a big ol’ “YAY” from me. There are two things I love this time of year. Okay, there’s way more but this treat gives me two faves at one time–chocolate chip cookies and brownies.
Total Time: 1 Hr. 5 Min.
Prep Time: 25 Min.
Cook Time: 40 Min.
36 servings
Whip up a batch of these BAKER’S Cookie Brownies for your family. These fudgy BAKER’S Cookie Brownies are topped with a layer of chewy chocolate chips.
What You Need
1 pkg. (4 oz.) BAKER’S Unsweetened Chocolate
1-1/2 cups butter or margarine, divided
2-1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
4 eggs, divided
2 tsp. vanilla, divided
2-3/4 cups flour, divided
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 pkg. (4 oz.) BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped
Let’s Make It
1 – Heat oven to 350°F.
2 – Line 13×9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides; spray with cooking spray.
3 – Microwave unsweetened chocolate and 3/4 cup butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended. Stir in 2 cups granulated sugar. Blend in 3 eggs and 1 tsp. vanilla. Add 1 cup flour; mix well. Pour into prepared pan.
4 – Combine remaining flour, baking soda and salt. Beat brown sugar, remaining butter and remaining granulated sugar in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Add remaining eggs and vanilla; mix well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well after each addition. Stir in semi-sweet chocolate. Drop large spoonfuls of cookie dough over brownie batter in pan.
5 – Bake 35 to 40 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Cool completely. Use foil handles to remove brownies from pan before cutting to serve.
Kitchen Tips
Tip 1 – Size Wise: These homemade brownies are perfect for sharing since this easy-to-make recipe makes enough to feed a crowd.
Tip 2 – How to Bake as Individual Brownies: Prepare brownie and cookie batters as directed. Spoon brownie batter into 24 muffin pan cups sprayed with cooking spray. Top with cookie dough, adding about 2 Tbsp. to batter in each cup. Bake in 350ºF oven 24 to 26 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. (Do not overbake.) Makes 24 servings.
My Tip – I’m a nut. Well, I love nuts, especially pecans. So…I had 1/2 – 1 cup of chopped pecans to the cookie dough. Or I sprinkle them on the brownie batter before topping with the cookie dough. Or, if I’m feeling generous, I add them both places because…nuts! Feel free to substitute walnuts if that’s your jam. 😉
Want all the nutritional details? CLICK HERE to check out the recipe on My Food and Family. While quick and easy, this IS a “from scratch” recipe so I turned to Gemma West, one of my Oklahoma-grown heroines. She thinks these are the bomb and often whips them up, no matter the time of year. Good thing her mate, Lucas “Lucky” Malone is willing to share. You can read about how these two get a second chance at love in REMEMBER THE NIGHT (Nightriders MC 1.5) for only $1.99 and it’s available from lots of etailers. Just click on any pic with the cover or the title to head over to Books2Read to find your fave link. What about y’all? Are you fans of mixing flavors and textures like this? 🙋🏼♀️ if you are!
We’re a bit over halfway through October. October is a favorite month. Usually. Why? Because the weather changes. Days get shorter, nights get cooler, the World Serious (and I can watch all the play-off games because I don’t really care who wins, well…except for one team…), the sky seems bluer and I’m normally invigorated due to cooler temps.I’m not sure why I’m not feeling it this year. I have some ideas but…whatever.
Last week was largely unproductive. My head seemed to explode from the idiocy of the world and once that happened, I just never seemed to get back on track, despite my good intentions every day. I hit a snag in the revisions, bot bummed, and set it aside. I scribbled out less than 1K words on the WIP but they were mostly uninspired so I set it aside. When I do a writing prompt, I know I’m on to something when I hit the word count but I have more–either before the scene or after, or in the middle that I can expand. Last week? Not so much.
I took long naps. Not that I meant to, just that I’d lay down under the covers because I had a headache (see head exploding) or my feet got really cold. And I’d fall asleep for a couple of hours. That’s not good. That’s an avoidance technique that my brain uses. The only thing of even slight interest was the Close Encounter of the Skunk Kind the dogs and I had early one morning. Thank goodness the critter was on the back side of a large tree trunk, Jake recognized the danger and disengaged, but poor Boone had fallen and couldn’t get up. He’s almost 14 now and that’s ancient for a large breed dog. His back hips are both weak and if he sits or if he falls because he’s trying to move too fast, he can’t get back up. He caught a bit of the spray, though the skunk was fairly polite. He sprayed just enough to make us all wary and then he escaped under the fence. I still have two spots in the house (including my office–ugh!) where the scent is lingering. Fun times. Not!
Anyway…
OSU beat Texas. This gives me a big happy. My Pokes are not ranked 8th and 10th, depending on the poll. Talking heads that normally blow them off and now talking about how people need to show them respect. 🙄 OU also won after switching to a new quarterback. They moved back into the top five. Giants lost. I have several friends who are Giants fans. Sorry, folks. I’d say I was rooting for them but that would mean my jinx was active (which is why I sometimes can’t watch my Cards and/or Cowboys play). Yankees got beat. REALLY sorry about that because…Red Sox won. :p Now it’s Sox vs. Astros and Dodgers vs. Atlanta. Three out of four isn’t bac and I can watch the games with peace of mind re: my jinx. Good baseball, that’s all I’m asking for.
I’m relistening to a Dannika Dark series set in her Mageri/Breed world. I much prefer her books about the shifter Breeds. I just never got invested in the Mageri. Anway, I’m spending time with the Weston pack in the Seven series. It’s a good place to be–there’s angst, interesting characters, action, magic, and lots of finding the right one and winning them over.
Off to Wallyworld this morning. That can either get me back on track or derail me completely. 😆 Hopefully, I get on track. How about y’all? Are you on track?
I figure we all need a little laughter to end the week, right? Some of these made me laugh. Some made me snort. Some made me think. Some are punny. Some are groaners. Which one did you you like the best? Have a happy weekend!
Writing is hard. I don’t care how fast you write, how much prep you do, there will always be roadblocks. Real life intervenes. Ideas dry up. Characters act up. The plot goes off the rails. You write yourself into a corner and have no way to get out until the paint dries…
It’s a pain. Trust me. As y’all know, I got the rights to a book back but to republish it, I have to delete all mention of another author’s characters. This isn’t necessarily a big deal and I’m totally on board with this requirement. I’ve done this before with two other books but for some reason, I keep hitting roadblocks. Some things–like the unlikely local outbreak of October tornadows–I can’t change. Others, I just have to find a detour to follow. Currently, I’m stuck at a crossroads. I have a heroine that no one is aware of–besides a very select few. She needs to be guarded and our lone wolf hero no longer has anyone to turn to since originally, he turned to the now deleted characters. What to do, what to do, what to do?
Silver, there’s always another way.
Always.
Tallyho,
The Universe
©www.tut.comYeah, Silver, my way. HA! Just kidding.
I’ve come to a Y in the road. I can call in a “new” secondary character who can be briefed–at least partially–on the situation. I can call in a “new” character but I’m not sure what part he’s to play in the upcoming action. My solution? Keep reading. Make big DETOUR roadsigns in the MS, but keep reading. Once I figure out how the action is going to change up, I can make the right decision. See? I’m find a new direction. A new roadmap to follow. When it happens to you, writers, you just need to find the way that works for you. Readers, how do feel when a writer throws a big curve into the plot? Are you pleasantly surprised or all WTF?!?! 😉
Another seven days have passed and it’s time for more words based up the #1LineWed theme. This week, it’s all about the **NUMBERS.** In this case, it’s who you call in an emergency. Declan, the hot-shot attorney for the Boston Wolves and he’s being trying to figure out how to get Maggie O’Brien’s number. Not quite sure this is what he had in mind…
****
Declan gazed around. This wasn’t his house. Where was he? The door behind him opened and light spilled out across him. A feminine gasp and a familiar scent washed over him. He had watched her for weeks—from the moment the cab dropped her and her suitcases off on the sidewalk. Her comings and goings. Visitors—of whom there were very few. Lying on her stoop bleedin’ like a stuck pig didn’t go far toward makin’ a good impression on his new neighbor.
“You’re bleeding.”
“Ya think?” He’d been shot at least twice, beat to shite, and stabbed once and this damn sure wasn’t the way he’d planned on introducing himself to his new neighbor. The old lady who owned the row house next to his died but before any of the lads could snap it up, she showed up, lock, stock, and suitcases and moved right in. Ronan lived down the street. His brother, Mick, lived across the street. The others in the inner circle had apartments nearby but Ronan had a plan. He wanted everyone in houses spread up and down the block for tactical reasons. Declan’d been trying to get to his own place but obviously miscounted and here the pretty, little interloper was, squatted beside him smellin’ of honey and sweet clover with concern in those big blue eyes of hers.
“I’m calling nine-one-one.”
“The hell y’are.”
“Look you. I’m an ER nurse and I know gunshot wounds when I see—” He snatched the phone out of her hand and tucked it in the front pocket of his trousers.
“Don’t need the ER,” he insisted. Deck fished out his own phone because he wouldn’t stay conscious much longer. There was no way he’d end up in a human hospital. He stabbed out a number and heard a mumbled, “Fuck, Declan, you’d better be dyin’, boyo.”
Deck managed to grunt out, “I think I might be, Mick.” He caught the sound of a woman’s voice on Mick’s end but couldn’t make out her words. Yeah, he was fading fast. “I didn’t quite make it home but I’m close. Can ya give a mate a hand?”
The phone slipped from his fingers and clattered on the steps below him. Damn. He’d have to buy a new one, providing he survived. A door slammed across the street and then another. Before he slipped completely away, Mick and Sean were there.
Angry voices floated just on the edge of his hearing but the words made no sense. The only things he was sure of was the press of a cool hand on his fevered brow—and didn’t that just sound all poetic—and the scent of honey and sweet clover filling his nose and calming his wolf.
****
At least he got her attention, right? Writers, do you have any numberbs to share? Readers, I need to win the lottery. What are your lucky numbers? 😉
Sorry, y’all, but pumpkin spice lattes are not my thing. Pumpkin is for pie. Maybe muffins. But not drinking. On the other hand, apple cider is for drinking. And while I haven’t actually concocted this–it’s just now getting cool enough–I’m probably going to give it a try once autumn weather settles in. I admit. I’m intrigued and with coffee and whippy stuff on top? That’s TWICE THE TEMPTATION. 
Total time: 10 Min.
Prep and Cook Time: 10 Min.
4 servings
Warm up this autumn with a delicious Apple Cider Latte! In fact, sip on an Apple Cider Latte any time of the year because they’re just so delihttps://silverjames.wordpress.com/wp-admin/index.phpcious.
What You Need
1 cup brewed strong MAXWELL HOUSE Italian Espresso Roast Coffee
1 cup apple cider
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 cups hot milk
1/2 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
1/4 tsp. apple pie spice
Let’s Make It
1 – Cook coffee, cider and sugar in saucepan on medium heat 5 min. or until sugar is dissolved and mixture is heated through, stirring frequently. Pour into 4 mugs.
2 – Add milk to 1-qt. jar; cover with lid. Shake until frothy; pour over coffee.
3 – Combine COOL WHIP and apple pie spice; spoon over lattes.
Kitchen Tips
Tip 1 – Variation: Prepare using fat-free milk and COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping.
Tip 2 – Substitute: If you don’t have apple pie spice, mix a dash each of ground cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice until blended before mixing with the COOL WHIP and using as directed.
I found this recipe at my usual place–My Food and Family so CLICK OVER to get all the nutritional details. Since we had a round of severe weather Sunday night and the forecast is for another round tonight, I thought immediately of my favorite storm chaster, Britt Owens. She’s not much of a cook (though her mother-in-law, Katherine Tate, is attempting to teach her 😉 ) but she’s all about the drink mixes, especially if coffee is involved. She likes this odd mix of coffee and apple flavors and is a big fan of the whippy stuffs. If you haven’t already and feel inclined to go storm chasing with Britt as she leads Cooper Tate on quite a chase of his own in TWICE THE TEMPTATION, you can grab the book from Harlequin by clicking on the title or either pic that contains the cover. The book page at HQN also has links to your favorite etailer, I’m sure. What about y’all? What’s your favorite flavor of drink as the weather cools off?
Coffee. There’s never enough come Monday. And it is Monday. Isn’t it? *checks calendar* Yes. It’s Monday. Which should have been obvious because I’m planning a Wallyworld trip. So. Monday. That means a follow up on last week and the weeked. Of which there was both.
Last week was lots of truck angst. Long story, I won’t make it short. I’ll simply say that you should ALWAYS get a second opinion when someone says you need a new engine. LG and Uncle Fix-It worked on the truck Saturday and there’s one more thing to fix (new sparkplugs) and that put the truck back in perfect running order. No new engine involved.
Speaking of LG, he has jury duty starting today. I suspect, as a retired attorney, that he’ll be as “attractive” to the case attorney’s as I was when I got called. Good news is, the truck runs so I have Drover back and can run my usual errands.
Stormy had 3 baseball games last week. They won some, lost some, and have two games left to play–tonight and then late next week. Its been fun being at the ball park again, even though the kids are pretty much playing Keystone Cop ball. In other sports news, my Cards lost to the Dodgers in the Wild Card game. Ah, well. Waino and Yadi will be back next season so there’s that to look forward to. We don’t really have a dog in this series now so we’re just hoping two teams we can either root for or against end up in the world series. In college football news, my OSU Cowboys had a bye week. OU had to hustle in a huge comeback to beat Texas. And ‘Bama got beat. Wow.
In TV news, I DVR’d the CBS show “Ghosts.” I’d seen the trailers and it looked amusing. I actually enjoyed it and will continue to record it to watch so I can skim through the commercials. Anymore, the commercials pretty much air the same amount of time as the actually show. The show’s premise is that a yuppie couple from NYC inherit a mansion in the Hudson Valley, which is inhabited by ghosts. The ghosts are mostly funny and the cast is big. We’ll see if it holds up. Not much else on the tube that’s caught my attention.
Hopefully, we have power this morning. (I’m actually typing this yesterday afternoon. Confusing, right?!?!) Weather forecast is for a big, honkin’ cold front to come crashing through yesterday afternoon and evening with a chance for big hail, high winds, and possible tornadoes. Fun times. We need rain but not the other stuff. I’ll check in on the comments.
For my reading/listening pleasure, I moved on from the Dark-Hunter/Were-Hunter books.after reading 7 of them. They were nostalgic fun. I’m currently defaulting to Dannika Dark’s Seven series. I finished SEVEN YEARS and currently listening to SIX MONTHS. I just did a listen to the series last December but there’s a new release, THE ALPHA, in her spin-off Black Arrow series. I figured I might was enjoy the full experience, right?
I have made progress with the revisions on MONTANA MOON. I got bogged down because there’s more involved than just pluggin in new names for characters. I hit a fairly big stretch of “Oh, $h!+, there’s a lot here that has to be changed.” That sounds easier to do than it really is. Still, I’m about 2/3’s the way through then I have to update front and back matter, recheck for typos, name changes, etc. and hopefully, my cover will be ready. Still anticipating reuploading it later this week. Amazon is showing it as “out of print” so that’s a good thing.
So, that’s what’s up in my world. What’s going on in yours?
I totally loved this clip and I will not apologize. My love for Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in “Dirty Dancing” knows no bounds and dang if these newlyweds didn’t totally nail it! Keep on dancin’ this weekend!
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Silver James 