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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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Dream vs. Reality

Posted on April 22, 2021 by Silver James

So, apparently the Universe is really big on dreaming these days. It seems a lot of the messages have to do with dreams, imagination, and stuffs like that there. Perfect advice for a writer. This particular note appeared a bit ago, but considering the chapter I wrote yesterday in the current WIP, it’s rather apropos. See, Sade had this dream and…anyway. The Universe has a point to make.

Ever have a dream at night, Silver, when you wondered in the middle of it whether or not you were dreaming?

Knowing that if you were just dreaming, you could rewrite the scary parts and expand the happy parts; run faster, jump higher, laugh your head off; summon guides, travel through time, read minds; levitate, manifest, do the impossible.

But then, you thought to yourself, “No, this just can’t be a dream, it’s way too real.”

Yeah, you’re having one right now.

Gosh you’re good –
The Universe

©www.tut.com
Yeah, Silver, you really are, and yes, you really can.

Not sure I’m actually having one righit this moment, but I am starting to dream more–or at least remember parts of what I dream. Sort of. Most of them are still pretty bizarre and way on the crazy side. Sort of like Sade’s. Her solution was to sing the Macarena song. Mine is to set here at the computer and dream up stuff like Sade singing the Macrena song. Who’s ready to do the Macarena with me? 😉

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Wednesday Words: Treat Yourself

Posted on April 21, 2021 by Silver James

It’s Wednesday. Already. Today’s #1lineWed THEME is a real **TREAT**. I almost used a snippet that starred Sade and Caleb back when they were kids and they’d been dared to do something. Instead, I decided to take the prompt and add it to a snippet I’d previously written using a flash fliction prompt in order to move the current WIP along. To set this up, Sade has returned from Paris. I think you can figure it out from there…
****
Find the wizard, find Sinjen. Concentrate on finding the little turd. It shouldn’t be this fucking hard. The wizard apparently sprang whole cloth into this world. No one knew who he was. Not Interpol. Not the FBI. CIA. DHS. ATF. US Marshals. Interpol. The national police in every European country she’d contacted. Mathias had gone to the Concilium Magicae. None of the human reps knew him. They’d have turned his ass over in a heartbeat because Sade and the vampires weren’t the only ones looking. Not even the dragons could find him.

She’d caught the train from Washington to New York. She had a slim lead that might point either to his identity or his location and planned to spend the day in the Big Apple pursuing it. After hitting a couple of magic shops and talking to the leaders of NYC’s most powerful coven of white witches, Sade was no closer to her prey.

Walking aimlessly, she stopped to grab a slice of pizza when the scents wafting from a tiny pizzeria almost brought her to her knees. New York style pizza. Tomato sauce, pepperoni, cheese. She folded the huge slice, grabbed napkins, and head toward her final destination of the. Considering how frustrating her day had been, she deserved a treat. She continued down 5th Street.

Chewing and swallowing the last bite, Sade gazed up at St. Patrick’s Cathedral from across the street. Gargoyles perched among the spires, soaking up the sun and watching her through unblinking eyes. She wondered how many of the pedestrians around her were aware they were under surveillance by the magicks. She dipped her chin in acknowledgment. The shadow of Atlas, struggling to hold up the heavens, fell across her. She knew how he felt and offered a two-fingered salute as she left the iconic statue. At the corner, she turned right and a block later put her smack dab in the teeming crowd at Rockefeller Center. Sade had never felt so alone. She kept walking, though slowly as she massaged the crick in her neck she developed from constantly scanning her surroundings.

She had decisions to make. Too bad she had no one to talk to. Caleb was back in Washington being all werewolfy with his mate, Adele. Roman and Verity returned to the States and he was busy with his duties as the Legate of New Orleans. Ariel was not the fae to discuss affairs of the heart with. Especially not her heart.

A shadow drifted across the sidewalk. She searched the skies but found nothing. With her luck, that damn dragon had cloaked himself invisible and was stalking her. Nikos was one of the decisions she had to make. Nikos and Sinjen.

Her heart hurt at the thought of the enigmatic vampire. “So I walk away,” she murmured. “As soon as I find him.”

“And then what?” the wind whispered.

Good question. Could she leave Sinjen behind? He’d left her and she didn’t give a tinker’s damn what Crevan and Mathias said about extenuating circumstances. He’d left her.

At the next corner, a busker strummed his guitar, watching her intently before launching into a Creedence Clearwater song. Sade listened to the whole song then dropped a twenty into his guitar case. Good advice in the lyrics.

The musician gave her a chin lift. “Stay proud, Mary.”

Mind made up, she strolled away, smiling. “The name’s Sade but close enough.”
****
Yes, readers, there’s trouble in Sade’s world. And it’s about to get crazier. Trust me on that. I hope you got a treat from reading this. 😉 Writers, will you treat us with some words? And readers, what’s your favorite treat to enjoy while reading?

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Coffee-Caramel Sauce

Posted on April 20, 2021 by Silver James

Sometimes, you just get a craving. Sometimes, you have the stuff on hand to mix up exactly what will satisfy that craving. This just might do it if you like the taste of caramel and coffee.

Total time, including Prep: 5 Min.
8 servings

Try something new with this Coffee-Caramel Sauce. Caramel topping and brewed coffee are heated together in this scrumptious Coffee-Caramel Sauce.

What You Need
1 cup caramel ice cream topping
1 Tbsp. freshly brewed strong MAXWELL HOUSE Coffee, any variety

Let’s Make It
1 – Cook ingredients in saucepan on low heat 5 min. or until heated through, stirring frequently.

Kitchen Tips
Tip 1 – Note: Serve as a dip for sliced apples or drizzled over scoops of ice cream.

My Tip – Serve over anything! Like pound cake. Angel food cake. Short cakes. Add whipped cream. Or ice cream. Also, any coffee will do, but the nice people over at MF&F like their namebrands. 😉

There’s video! Click over to My Food and Family to watch and get all the details. Speaking of cravings, Britt Owens had her share while she was carrying Cooper Tate’s twins. She didn’t know she loved this topping until Katherine Tate shared it over a piece of pound cake. Now Britt keeps a jar in the fridge for ice cream, cake, apples, toast…you name it! Want to discover how a prickly storm chaser and a determined oil executive find their happy ever after? Grab TWICE THE TEMPTATION, book #9 of the Red Dirt Royalty series. Just click on the cover or the title and head on over the Harlequin to grab your copy. The book’s page also lists all the other retailers if you want to snatch it from another retailer. What are you craving today?

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A Monday to Remember

Posted on April 19, 2021 by Silver James

Clary OKC Memorial pool

(c)Clary Carey 2013

Twenty-six years ago, it was a Wednesday. At 9:02 a.m., the very fabric of Oklahoma City changed. I didn’t arrive on scene until 9:35 a.m. and I was the only forensic fire photographer at the time. It was chaos. It was heartbreaking. But it was 26 years ago, even if I can’t forget. Not that I’d want to. No one should forget. The photo is from the Memorial. It’s a peaceful place, I’m told. I’ve only been there once, and that was to take a friend from New York through the grounds and the museum. Anyway…that was then. Life does go on.

And speaking of, last week and this weekend were a bit on the crazy side. I got my second vaccine. I had a few after-effects that lasted about 24 hours. All good after that. Even more exciting, I finally got my new kitchen faucet installed. Y’all have no idea what a huge deal this is to me. I walk past and want to stop and pet it. The old one leaked. Inside and out. I had a bowl under the sink. I had duct tape and sponges around the the base and the sink. We bought the replacement like…six months ago. Lawyer Guy had ever intention of installing it. He opened the box, read the instructions, and said, “Not today.” My awesome BiL got us in line with his awesome plumbers and the guy arrived Thursday. Took him about an hour. I may actually get around to doing the backsplash now, since I cleared off all the junk. See? I procrastinate too. 😉

Writing was a different story. It was totally off and on. Until Saturday. I wove a couple of short scenes (250 words) together and ended up with a chapter 4000 words long. And I realized as I was making notes of where to start Sunday morning that the chapter didn’t feel…right. All the stuff needed to happen but it just wasn’t…right. So yesterday, I actually printed it out and did some physical cutting and taping. The previous chapter got a scene added and two scenes in the long chapter got moved around and then the end got chopped and became the start of the following chapter. Did you follow that? Don’t worry. It’s all good. I’m back on track. The story is working, even if the characters are being total jerks. My goal was 70K words. I may hit 80K before I’m done because I’m at 67.5K as of this morning.

Reading was slow. Life, you know. And something of a slump. I’m into Kristen Ashley’s Colorado Mountain series. I’ve read/listened to most of the books multiple times. They’ll do until something new catches my attention.

Sports was yay and ugh. My OSU (the REAL OSU as in Oklahoma State) Cowgirls swept Baylor. I got to watch the last game in the series Sunday afternoon. Only and I should roadtrip up to Stillwater one of these weekends before the season is over and catch a game. Too bad we’re both busy. OU is still undefeated. They swept Texas, run ruling them all three games. I watched a rerun of Friday’s game at 2 a.m. on Saturday morning. Yay insomnia. Yesterday, their game followed the OSU game. That’s the yay! The Ugh was my Cards. The Phillies had their number though the Cardinals did win on Saturday. And Yadi is playing awesome.

TV is still mostly “real” if not reality. LOL Things like “To Catch a Smuggler,” “Strange Evidence,” “The Holzer Files,” and the like. I’m still DVRing “The Masked Singer.” Last week, the Orca was unmasked and revealed as singer-songwriter Mark McGrath, front man for the rock band Sugar Ray.

And that was my week and weekend. It’s the little things, right? Y’all excuse me now. I’ve gotta go pet my pretty faucet. What little thing that’s happened to you lately has put a smile on your face?

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Friday Sinema: Fox Tale

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Silver James

I love old British dudes. And this one reminds me of Dennis Mira, a character in the In Death series of books. Dennis is a college professor who doesn’t button his cardigans correctly and gets a little bumfuzzled but is full of wisdom. He’s married to Dr. Charlotte “Charlie” Mira, who is the top criminal profiler in like…the world. Eve Dallas, the MC, adores Mr. Mira. Anyway, I ❤ old British dudes who remind me of Mr. Mira and who rescue baby foxes. Have a smile for your Friday!

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Make Believe

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Silver James

The Universe has been keyed into my psyche of late. Well, my writer’s psyche, anyway. It seems that I’m getting a message every day or so with insignts into this whole gig. Writing is a process. Everyone who does this for as a career has their own. One friend writes, edits, edits, writes, rewrites, stews, starts over, an continues in this vein until she finally gets a first draft. Another is a “speed writer.” She sits down and in about six days spits out 50K words. She doesn’t stop. Need a character name? Leave a blank. Need a place? Leave a blank. Don’t know exactly what happens next? Leave a blank and go on to the next thing she knows is going to happen. She gets the main characters and the story out and then in the next round, she adds all the embellishments. Another friend writes in fits and starts and occasionally circles back to fix stuff. Me? I’m sort of all those things. I call myself a Puzzler. I write scenes I know are going to happen. Then I start at the beginning. Like a jigsaw puzzle, those early scenes are blocks of pieces put together before you get the frame done. Once I have those blocks done, I go back, find all the straight edges and put them together and then fill in the blanks. Needless to say, imagination is everything. Another writer friend said something in her blog yesterday that made a lot of sense. Basically, you need to block out the real world and move into the world you’re creating.

That said, the act of actual “creation” is a lot like this:

Silver, what if there was only you, and the rest of the world was “make believe,” imagination? If even the people in your life were drawn there, or faded away, based upon your thoughts.

Would it then be easier for you to grasp the true meaning of limitless? Would you then believe that you alone make your reality?

Silver, the rest of the world is “make believe,” imagination. And all the people in your life are there or fade away based upon your thoughts.

Wow… that was easy.

Tallyho limitless,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

The dream of here and now, dear Silver, is no different than the dreams you dream each night… you decide everything.

This is what the writer does. We dream up places and people. We “make believe” and write down what our imagination reels out for us. We write words that turns the dream into a reality. And yeah, it sounds easy. And it can be limitless. Mainly, though, it’s what we do.

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Wednesday Words: Good Egg

Posted on April 14, 2021 by Silver James

Welpers, apparently, I’ve violated Facebooks so-called “Community Standards.” I’m locked out of my personal page AND my author page. I’m so sick of social media. I’d just retreat to my writer’s cave but then how could I keep up with my friends and readers and them with me? Oh, and because of Covid and being short of staff FB may or may NOT REVIEW MY APPEAL but they’re sure sorry for any inconvenience. 🤬

Angry? Who me? Damn straight I am!!! Anyway. It’s Wednesday. That means Words. Today’s THEME is **EGG**. Here’s a snippet from the WIP. Sade has one nerve left and folks are about to step on it. Not gonna say where in the timeline. That way, it’s not a spoiler. Though it isn’t much of one anyway.
****
To say Interpol had egg on their face was an understatement. Jean-Louis was nowhere to be found and his bosses were staying mum on the situation. Sade didn’t want to bother the ancient vampire she’d grown up calling Aunt Polly. Dame Apolline was some high muckity muck in the Vampyre Conclave. Instead, she contacted Mathias. To say she wasn’t worried about the former Interpol agent rearing his handsome head again was an understatement. Too bad all her vampire problems weren’t so easily solved.

Nikos was back. He’d had no more luck tracking down the rogue dragon than she’d had finding Mr. Wizard. She wanted to go home. Not that there was anything waiting for her there. Not anymore. But it was familiar. And routine. Too bad this case was still a priority.

After a night of tossing and turning, therefore little sleep, she’d dragged out of bed to find the cat MIA, a note under her door from Caleb saying he’d be at Interpol at least until noon. She’d showered, dressed, and stopped in for coffee and croissants at the bakery on the corner.

Currently, she stood on the Pont au Double, one of bridges over the Seine leading to the island where Notre Dame Cathedral stood still encased in a steel skeleton. She noticed, for the first time, that the iconic steeple was lying where it had crashed. The fire, while devastating, hadn’t been catastrophic—at least not to the gargoyles. Roman stood on her right, Nikos, on her left. One gave off the chill of carved granite, the other the heat of a volcano.

“Magic is a fragile thing,” Roman said. “Like a human life.”

“But Magicks aren’t.” Bitterness shaded Sade’s voice.

Nikos glanced her way. “You are formed by the fires of your desires and longings, Sade.”

“Bullshit.”

“You aren’t exactly human.”

She opened her mouth to scald him, but Roman’s soft admonition stopped her, “He’s right, Lady Sade. Because you were marked by Fae and vampire both, you carry a touch of magic.” She scowled at him but he continued unfazed. “As to the rest, you are driven by your viewpoint, by perceived injustices. You ingest it, push it deep, and then, when nothing makes sense and you are going under, drowning in the swirling brew of emotions, you explode.”

“Do not,” she muttered, knowing damn good and well that Roman was right.

Excited shouting and laughter and what sounded like cannon fire captured their attention. A mob tumbled up the Qual de Montebello headed toward the Square René Viviani. They weren’t the first group to dance by headed ultimately to the Eiffel Tower. This was some sort of jubilant celebration or a crazy marathon. Sade didn’t know. As the crowd passed the green space of the squard, a cannon fired again, the shell exploding above the crowd, raining pink powder down on them.

“Yes.” Nikos pointed to the throng. “You look just like them when you detonate, all pretty in pink.”

“You take that back!”

Nikos never saw her fist. Through a busted lip, he said, “I rest my case.”
****
Don’t ever accuse Sade of being a girlie girl. 😉 Iffy and I keep creeping toward The End. I see a dim glow at the end of the tunnel and no sound of a train whistle. Writers, any egg words? Readers, how do you want your eggs cooked? I like mine sunny side up.

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Tuesday Treats: Chicken Cordon Bleu Crescent Rolls

Posted on April 13, 2021 by Silver James

Okay, I’ll admit, I’m not sure that gravy goes with this dish but some people might. Still, easy peasy and tasty. I just need to remember to add the ingredients to my grocery list. In fact, I’m going to do that right now because I’ll be in Wallyworld tomorrow so I’ll grab some groceries while I’m there.

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