Thursday Thoughts: Universal Tip

Posted on May 6, 2021 by Silver James

I’m soooo close to typing The End with this book. Just an update and no promises, but the WIP might be ready for editing soon. Last week, I talked about quality and creating a story that I’d want to read, then hoping I find readers who want the same. In fact, that’s one of the reasons I started writing. I wanted stories that I wanted to read about characters that I wanted to know and/or be. While I may never be a legend, the Universe has some good advice, and the same applies to writing a book.

A tip on Legend Making:

Instead of waiting for something better, Silver, create it.

Keep the change,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

Don’t you love a good double entendre, Silver, Silver?

I write romance. Double entendres are my stock and trade. 😉 What will you create today? Me? I’m going to create a Happy Ever After.

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Wednesday Words: Flower Power

Posted on May 5, 2021 by Silver James

Another week, another Wednesday, and more WIP words. Today’s #1lineWed THEME is **FLOWERS** which goes with the month of May. You know that old chestnut, right? April showers bring May flowers. What to Mayflowers bring? …   …  *drum roll* PILGRIMS! Sorry. I couldn’t resist. Anyway, today’s snippet is short. It’s the beginning of a chapter, it ends on a little hook and anything more is a spoiler so…
****
Sade didn’t dream. Well, she probably did—all humans did. She just didn’t remember hers. Except this time. Because she had to be dreaming. She lived a crazy, fucked-up life and it had been crazier and more fucked up lately, but this? This was beyond the pale. Everywhere she turned, giant sunflowers blotted out a sky so blue it dazzled her eyes.

“Toto, we aren’t in Kansas anymore,” she muttered. She glanced around looking for her version of Dorothy’s intrepid canine companion. There was no sign of Caleb. She muttered some curses under her breath. This was a dream, right? Why in fucking hell would Caleb share her dreamscape?

“Think.” There had been a dream. Sinjen, in the armor of a Templar knight, standing on a beach in full sunshine. She woke up in the middle of an ancient stone circle. She’d walked…

She wriggled her toes, discovered she wore a favorite pair of serviceable leather boots. At least these boots were made for walking…

“Nope,” she decreed. “I’m not letting that particular earworm invade my head. There’s too much shit already fucking with me.”

She’d walked a mile or so and found a village with a train station. And now she was on a train. Fuck her. She had not had the best of luck with trains recently.

Turning in a circle, Sade picked a random direction and started walking. A playful breeze ruffled her hair and danced through the leaves and stalks of the colorful flowers. She caught a glimpse of black fur slinking along the next row. The cat was back.
****
Here, kitty-kitty-kitty. *bwa-ha-ha-ha* I am happy to note that I’ve complete 4 chapters since Sunday. Aaannddd, I’ve figured out where some orphan scenes belong (toward the end of the book) and am tooling along toward typing The End. All I have to figure out is how the bad guy actually gets his. In other news, I’m also laying groundwork for future books in the series. It’s a win-win. I will note that I still have no clue who the black cat is. And with that thought, back to work. Except I’m supposed to ask a question because all the social media gurus insist that doing so engages readers and gets them to interact. So, that’s my quesiton! If a blogger/poster asks a question, are more or less likely to comment.

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Margarita Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Posted on May 4, 2021 by Silver James

This recipe was mentioned in an article as a way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Me? I’m a big fan of margaritas AND ice cream sandwiches so I’m thinking this could be a yummy treat for the entire summer. Don’t freak over the total time. That’s so the cookie dough chills before you slice it. Depending on your fridge, could be less time but sticky dough NEEDS to be chilled. Trust me on this. 😉 Also, after you put the sandwiches together with the ice cream, they need to go into the freezer to firm up so…sorta plan on making one day and enjoying the next. But hey! Yummy ice cream sandwiches!

Recipe details
Yield: 16 servings
Total time: 7 Hrs. 37 Min.
Prep time: 27 Min.
Cook time: 10 Min.

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
5 teaspoons grated lime rind divided
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon turbinado sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

FOR ICE CREAM SANDWICHES
2 cups vanilla reduced-fat ice cream softened
2 cups lime sherbet softened

Instructions
1 – Place butter and sugar in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed for 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.

2 – Add egg, 1 tablespoon lime rind, and lime juice; beat 2 minutes or until well combined.

3 – Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.

4 – Combine flour, baking powder, and 1/8 teaspoon table salt; stir with a whisk.

5 – Add flour mixture to butter mixture, and beat just until combined.

6 – Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Shape each portion into a 6-inch log. Wrap logs individually in plastic wrap; chill 3 hours or until firm.

7 – Preheat oven to 350°.

8 – Cut each log into 16 (about 1/3-inch-thick) slices, and place 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

9 – Sprinkle the cookies evenly with remaining 2 teaspoons lime rind, turbinado sugar, and sea salt.

10 – Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

11 – Cool for 2 minutes on pans on a wire rack. Remove from baking sheets, and cool completely on wire rack.

TO MAKE ICE CREAM SANDWICHES:
1 – Place softened vanilla ice cream and sherbet in a medium bowl; lightly fold and swirl together.

2 – Scoop 1/4 cup ice cream mixture onto bottom of one cookie, and top with one cookie.
Cover each sandwich with plastic wrap; freeze 4 hours or until firm.

My Tips:
1 – Turnado sugar is basically light brown sugar so you can substitute that. Sugar in the Raw brand offers actual turnado sugar and it’s available at my local Target superstore. I haven’t checked Walmart or the local grocery but I’ll be adding it to my grocery list because I am totally making these!

Someone wants to know if we could actually add a dollop of tequila into the dough…or the ice cream. Hrm…I wonder who that might be?* 🤔 You can CLICK OVER to the recipe to get an illustrated (with pictures) explanation of the process. The heroine who jumped on the bandwagon first and offered to make a batch of these goodies was the ever-adventurous Sam Prescott Cross, mate of Nightrider Easy Cross. And she might just make two batches–one for the kids and one for the old ladies. I should add that she smacked Easy’s hand every time he wandered into the kitchen and tried to filch a cookie. I suspect that the same happened when she caught him digging through the freezer. In case you haven’t caught their story, Sam arrives to claim her nephew and neice, who are under the Nightriders’ protection. There are bad things in store, but she’s stubborn and when a Wolf and his mate are fated to be, not even hell or high water will stand between them. You can read their story in NIGHT SHIFT. Just click on the title or the cover to head over to Books2Read to find the link to your preferred on-line store. What do y’all think? Tequila or straight?

*The answer would be: Every last one of my heroines! What can I say? 🤦🏼‍♀️

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Rose-colored Monday

Posted on May 3, 2021 by Silver James

coffee's monday truthI looked out my office window yesterday and found two roses blooming. I hadn’t even noticed the buds. This particular rose bush is old. It was in the flowerbed when we moved in over 20 years ago. I’ve managed not to kill it. Pretty hardy little plant for sure. The blooms are a beautiful pink and ivory blend and the perfume is divine. If it weren’t for my sinuses and storms, I’d love Spring.

There was a week and a weekend. Stuff happened, some interesting, some a little boring. I’ll try to leave out the boring but this might be really short if I do. 😉

Writing was good. I’ve added several chapters to the whole. I start Chapter 30 this morning and it looks like I’ve finally hit The Black Moment™. That’s always fun! And it means that things really start happening hot and heavy and The End is almost in sight.

My OSU Cowgirls swept Texas. Yay! Not sure when the new rankings come out but they should move up. OU was off this weekend and remain at #1. It also looks like the Cowgirls are in line for a regional tournament. Yay! Also, my Cards swept the Pirates. They play the Mets tonight and I hope they can get a win for Adam Wainwright, the starting pitcher. As a writer, I ❤ his name. He sounds like a hero and it doesn’t hurt that he’s handsome and one of the good guys and is TOTALLY heroic.

Nothing to really note on TV or reading/listening. I haven’t caught up with the DVR because baseball’s on. The “Secrets of Skinwalker Ranch” returns this week so there’s that. I did start a book I hadn’t read in literally years. Long story. I’ll try to make it short. Smart Bitches is a romance book blog. Readers who are looking for romance novels they can’t remember the title or author so they ask if any of the “Bitchery” know what book it is because they want to reread it. It’s a thing to not only be the one to give the right answer but to get it in the very first comment. I NEVER know the answer. Heck, I read/reread 200 books a year (or more), and have since…like…forever. The reason I can reread a book is because I forget what happens. Mostly. Anyway. I. Got. One. RIGHT! And first! So, I grabbed the audio version from the library and started listening. I’ve sort of lost interest now, but I’m also writing a lot so there’s that too. Anyway, not sure if I’ll finish it because I’m remembering more about it as it goes along and it is full of this author’s particular brand of crazysauce.

Saturday was First Saturday so siren test and Mexican food with the family. Yum! Also got Stormy time last Thursday though we had an incident with Jake, who got sick. I hit every construction zone and redlight getting the dog home. I won’t gross you out. LG took over dog medic duties and I ferried Stormy to his Snapology class. BTW, Jake is fine and was that night. The softball-sized clumb of regurgitated grass I found in the family room was evidence.

Rumor has it I might have a new cover soon. Not holding my breath but I can’t wait. I suspect it’s going to be one of my favorites.

And that, my friends, pretty much sums up my world at the moment. How’re things in your world?

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Friday Sinema: Dancing Fool

Posted on April 30, 2021 by Silver James

I’m on a critter roll lately. This one is 2 minutes of sorta creepy but really cute and definitely for the birds. Enjoy your weekend!

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Hearts

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Silver James

Sometimes, I don’t even know the question until the Universe pops up and answers it for me. Today’s missive is totally on point. As a fiction author, there are things only I can see–or hear, or taste or feel–until I put the words down in a manuscript. And you know that in my books there’s always going to be a Happy Ever After. Because deep; down, isn’t that one of the things all of us are looking for?

The answer is:

Because there will be flowers, Silver, that only you can pick. Butterflies that only you will see. Laughter and tears that only you will know. And dreams that only you can dream.

The question was:

How does one know if they really are a prince or a princess?

Good question, your highness –
The Universe
©www.tut.com

Sometimes, Silver, you make my heart melt.

As a romance writer, this is what I want to do–make the reader’s heart melt and to make sure that my characters always find their prince or princess or soul mate or whatever you want to call their One. That takes dedication and skill and a willingness to be creative and provide readers with characters they want to know in Real Life, or maybe even be. That’s my goal with and every book and I have to admit that when I see authors who churn out formula books over and over and gain massive appeal, I have to wonder sometimes if it’s worth the effort. Then I step in to my reader shoes. I don’t read those books. I tried, looking for the appeal because hey. I’ll be honest here. I’d LOVE to hit one of the best-seller lists. That said, I read, I scratch my head, and discover that I have a hard time caring about the characters, get pissy because the facts are so wrong, and I put that book/series/writer on my DNF list.

So okay. I may never have thousands and thousands of fans. I may never hit a list. But when I put my name on a book and it goes out into the wild and into readers’ hands, I know it is the very best story I can tell. And that’s enough.

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Wednesday Words: Need a Hero

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Silver James

I am happy to report that I’m making steady progress on the ol’ WIP. Today’s #1lineWed THEME of **HERO** helped. I was at the start of a new chapter yesterday morning. As is my SOP, I left a couple of notes giving me an idea of where I should start since I ended the previous chapter without a firm plan for what comes next. Also, the only snippet I had incorporating the theme is a total spoiler so I’m not sharin’ it. Just sayin’… Anyway, I also knew I needed to look in on Sinjen. And the following is what transpired. I’m leaving the set-up to your imaginations because I’m a big ol’ tease like that. Yuppers. I am.
****
The sun beat down on him. Like a rabbit in a pot, he boiled inside his armor. He’d killed his horse, putting the poor beast out of its misery. The water skin he’d retrieved from his saddle was empty. And still the run stabbed his eyes with bright knives. Ahead, walls made of mudbrick shimmered, a mirage drawing him to his death. He was ready. He’d come to this forsaken land to sacrifice his life for the cause.

Dropping to his knees, he swayed. Voices washed over him. Then he was on his back looking up into that blinding sky as water trickled across his parched lips. If he never saw the sun again, it would be too soon.

“It appears we have a hero,” a deeply feminine voice said.

His body tensed in places it shouldn’t. Not if he was half-dead. Not if he remained true to his vows as a Templar.

“Yezzz, my queen,” a voice hissed. Nominally male, it was higher pitched than the queen’s.

“Prepare him.”

When he next opened his eyes, the room was blessedly dark, lit only by flickering torches. He lay naked upon a flat stone. He closed his eyes. He’d heard rumors of a witch, one who ruled a land with magic and terror. She was despised and revered. No one spoke her name aloud for fear of being discovered. Sahira. She who comes.

“Get up, boy, lest you die right there. And trust me, we don’t need another dead hero.”

He startled, the muscles in his abdomen curling until he was almost sitting. The commanding voice, speaking English with a slight accent, drifted from the shadows.

“Who’s there?”

“I am Mathias DeVrie.” A man only slightly shorter than him stepped into the uncertain torchlight. “And you are Kristian St. John.”

Sinjen. A woman’s voice. Throaty and ending on a breathy sigh. A voice filled with need. With desire. A woman not yet sated. A woman only he could—

Sinjen roared, railing against the darkness of his prison. He would not say her name. Not aloud, not where his captor could hear but in his heart, he shouted her name.

SADE!
****
I will add that this is something of a flashback for Sinjen, recalling events from his past life that were touched on in SEASON OF THE WITCH. Also, this is very literally a rough draft as I wrote it yesterday and then copy/pasted to the blog to set things up for today. Ignore the typos, ‘kay? So, inquireing minds want to know… who is your favorite fictional hero? TV, movie, play, literature, romance novels–not that romance novels aren’t literature but like Robin Hood and James Bond aren’t…well…you get my drift. Anyway, off to more heroic adventures for our star-crossed lovers today. Later, gators.

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Pancit Noodles with Chicken

Posted on April 27, 2021 by Silver James

Now that Mother Nature has decided to go home and sleep it off, I’ve been digging into the files for lighter, quicker fare for warm days. This one popped up.

Total Time: 30 Min.
Prep and Cook Time: 30 Min.
5 servings.

Healthy Living
Plate our Pancit Noodles with Chicken for a delicious entrée this evening. Tender rice noodles are the key ingredient in our Pancit Noodles with Chicken recipe, which includes chopped veggies and a tasty coleslaw blend.

What You Need
8 oz. thin rice noodles
1 cup boiling water
2 WYLER’S Instant Bouillon Chicken Flavored Cubes
1/4 cup KRAFT Zesty Lime Vinaigrette Dressing, divided
1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped carrots
2 cups coleslaw blend (cabbage slaw mix)

Let’s Make It
1 – Soak noodles as directed on package; drain.
2 – Pour boiling water over bouillon cubes in medium bowl; stir until cubes are dissolved. Stir in 2 Tbsp. dressing.
3 – Heat remaining dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken, onions and carrots; cook 6 to 8 min. or until chicken is done, stirring frequently.
4 – Add noodles, chicken broth and coleslaw blend; mix lightly. Cook on medium-high heat 3 min. or until ingredients heated through and most the broth is absorbed, stirring frequently.

Kitchen Tips
Tip 1 – Family Fun: Kids can help soak the noodles and measure the chopped vegetables and coleslaw blend.

Tip 2 – Special Extra: Top with sliced green onions before serving with lemon wedges.

Tip 3 – Substitute: If your kids don’t like cabbage, substitute 2 cups of their favorite cut-up steamed fresh vegetables for the coleslaw blend.

Tip 4 – Substitute: Substitute shredded cabbage for the coleslaw blend. Be sure to use green cabbage, not purple cabbage, since the purple cabbage will turn the noodles an unattractive purple color. (I don’t know. I’m halfway tempted to try purple cabbage just to see if purple noodles ARE unattractive. Cuz, you know, it might be a good way to get kids to eat it… 😉 )

Head to MY FOOD & FAMILY to get all the details. I have to admit, I haven’t actually made this recipe, though I saved it to try because it sounds yummy. I’m not sure that Zesty Lime dressing is readily available though I did find that Paul Newman’s dressing line has the flavor. Having not made it, not sure what subs could be made, though I also found a recipe on-line for make-from-scratch lime vinaigrette dressing. Anyway, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? And out of all my heroines, believe it or not, Adele turned out to be the one who thinks this is an awesome recipe. Caleb? Not so much, but then werewolves are carnivores. Adele will make a batch when he’s off on an investigation and has it for dinner and then takes leftovers to the FBI labs, where she works as a CSI, for lunch. Before meeting Caleb and fighting monsters, she was a CSI investigator for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. You can read their story in THE DEVIL’S CUT (Penumbra Papers #3). It’s available from lots of different retailers. Just click on the title or the cover to head over to Books2Read for a link to your favorite on-line store. What about y’all? Are you adventurous when it comes to trying recipes? Or hunting monsters? 😉

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Pink Monday Moon

Posted on April 26, 2021 by Silver James

Monday again coffee girlApril’s full moon is tonight and it’s called the Pink Moon because all the phlox are supposed to be blooming. Yeah…Mother Nature is still drunk. Anyway, it’s also a supermoon so go stand outside tonight and enjoy it. My Wolves will all be out howling. 😉

There was a week and a weekend. I did stuff. That is all.

Okay. Kidding. Y’all know I won’t let you off that easy. Besides, I have pictures! So, let’s gett the easy stuff over. TV was mostly a bust. I caught up on a couple of DVR’d shows but kept falling asleep. I haven’t even managed to watch The Masked Singer so no idea who got unmaked. Maybe tonight. If I don’t fall asleep.

Sports was mainly Cardinals. They swept the Reds. Yay. Not necessarily for beating the Reds but for sweeping and being above .500 on the season. Plus, they need to keep winning to close the gap on the NL Central. They’re 1.5 games out behind the Brewers. My OSU Cowgirls had an off weekend. They play again this coming weekend. OU lost a game last week in overtime but came back and run-ruled that team in the second game. Go teams!

Writing. I did some. I made myself laugh. I put Sade in a crazy situation. I gave her two dragon bodyguards that she soooo does not want. There’s a cat. Don’t ask. And a foot chase. I’m just over 70K words. I’m not upping my word goal just yet. I have some scenes that will probably be saved for a later book. Not sure how much I’ll lose there, but there’s still more to happen so I’m guessing around 80K final. We’ll see. 🤞 today is a good day.

Insomnia is back from spring break. It could have stayed in Cancun. Or Ft. Lauderdale. South Padre. Wherever. It sucks. If I nap, things get thrown off even worse, but so does falling asleep at 9 p.m. Sucks. Totally.

So, besides some really good words, I also got a project done that’s been hanging out there. I didn’t want to do anything to the backsplash behind the kitchen sink until the faucet got fixed. And since the faucet got fixed and I had both sides of the counter cleared, I dug out the room of peel-n-stick wallpaper I got for $7.00 on the clearance aisle at Walmart ages ago. The hard part was figuring out the pattern run so I could match, along with the weird lengths and cut-outs. I should explain that the other side of the kitchen–where the stove is–backs up to the fireplace so the backsplash over there is white brick. Keep that in mind as you peruse my after pics. I should have taken a before but basically, it’s Formica that we painted over using Rustoleum Hammered Silver paint. That was like…20 years ago. Seriously. Anyway, Ta-DA!

If you want a better look, click on the photos to get a bigger view in my media library.

The picture on the left is corner where the coffee maker goes. The picture on the right is the opposite side of the sink and simply a close-up of the pattern. I think it’s pretty darn cool looking despite that the fact that it took me a couple of hours to do a run of about 10 feet. And yes, my countertops ARE turquoise marble Fromica and yes, they ARE original to the house. I still love them because I’m retro-weird like that. Anyway, that was my Saturday, which WAS followed by a nap. Hard work, people. Hark work!

So that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Progress on house projects. Progress on the WIP.

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Friday Sinema: Brother Bear

Posted on April 23, 2021 by Silver James

Here’s another Feel Good Friday bit of video. I ❤ bears. There are days I think about writing a bear shifter series. Then I get real. Anyway, here’s something short and sweet to get you ready for the weekend. Have a good one!

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