Thursday Thoughts: Universal Fiction

Posted on March 11, 2021 by Silver James

I almost feel like I should post the photo I normally use for Wednsday Words since I fell asleep at the keyboard yesterday and posted my usual Universe pic for Wednesday Words. I corrected it after I was up, moving, and was semi-fully caffeinated. Ah well. Nothing like a little *headdesk* moment to start the day. But now it’s Thursday. And time for musing about what the Universe dropped into my inbox. As y’all know, I often correlate those messages with the craft of writing–or at least something to do with writing. Because that’s what I do. Write. Sometimes. This week, it’s been often so I can say that it is, indeed, what I do. Anyway. As many of you also know, I call my Muse Iffy. How her name came about is a long story. We’ll leave at her real name is Greek, her favorite game is “What if?” and she’s somewhat iffy when it comes to actually providing inspiration. Also, she lives on chocolate, coffee, and pictures of hot guys with bare chests. What can I say? So, this week, the Big U had this to say:

It’s not the “unseen” that’s fiction, Silver, but the seen.

And you know how fiction goes?

You get to make stuff up.

Tallyho,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

Which, incidentally, Silver, you do rather well…

What’s left to say after that? Fiction writers make stuff up. We take what is “seen” and translate it into words, using the unseen hiding in our heads to glue the story together. We see news stories or people, hear a song, overhear a conversation, and an idea forms. We’ve “seen” and like all good fiction writers, we make stuff up. That’s the best part. The “what if…” and the tale spinning itself out, characters taking on substance and depth, whispering hints of their backstories and how they came to be where they are. The “where are we..” for settings. That whole who, what, when, where, why, and how that nonfiction writers deal with are just as important to us. But luckily, we listen to the Univers so we just make it up as we go along.

Happy Thursday. Have good thoughts.

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Wednesday Words: Swirls

Posted on March 10, 2021 by Silver James

The second Wednesday of March. How can that be? Daylight Savings Time hits this weekend. St. Patrick’s Day is a week from today. Spring is in the air but I’m seeing swirls of dead leaves rather than new buds. Anyway. Another Wednesday, another #1lineWed theme. This week, it’s all about the swirls. I suppos you could add some twirls to the mix if you’d like. This is a snippet from the WIP. It’s not part of a chapter yet, though I have a vague idea of where it appears in the timeline. Still, I like this scene. I will only say, as background, that Sade’s life is in something of an upheaval at the moment and yes, it does have something to do with Sinjen. 😉
****
Sade stood on the bridge over the Seine leading to the island where Notre Dame Cathedral stood encased in a steel skeleton, it’s steeple lying where it’d crashed. The fire, while devastating, hadn’t been catastrophic—at least not to the gargoyles. Roman, gargoyle sentinel, stood on her right. Nikos, Drakon of the Kholikikos Dragons stood 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, 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.”

Excited shouting and laughter and what sounded like cannon fire captured their attention. A mob tumbled down the Qual de Conti and cascaded around the corner to dance along the Boulevard Saint-Michel toward the Eiffel Tower. 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.”
****
There it is, for better or worse. I have a few other swirls twirling through some scenes but this is the one that caught my eye. Maybe I’ll play true to my Puzzler claim by starting and finishing out the chapter this scene is a part of. or not. I’ve been writing rather linearly lately and it’s working. New words on the page. So, writers, any twirling swirls to share with us? Readers, what flavors would you swirl in your ice cream?

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Chocolate Chunk-Streusel Coffee Cake

Posted on March 9, 2021 by Silver James

So…Chocolate chunks. Streusel. Coffee. Cake. What’s not to love right? Add in a cup of coffee on the side, a good book, a fork, and a little alone time. Works for me. Oh, did I mention quick and easy? This beats anything you can grab on the way. Just sayin’…

Total Time: 45 Min.
Prep Time: 20 Min.
Cook Time: 25 Min.
24 servings

Try Chocolate-Streusel Coffee Cake with chocolate chunks, slivered almonds & freshly brewed coffee. Chocolate-Streusel Coffee Cake is a nice morning treat.

What You Need
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup chopped PLANTERS Slivered Almonds
1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
brewed strong MAXWELL HOUSE Coffee (any variety), cooled
1-1/2 pkg. (4 oz. each) BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate (6 oz.), chopped

Let’s Make It
1 – Heat oven to 350°F.
2 – Combine flour and sugar in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in nuts.
3 – Prepare cake batter as directed on package, substituting the brewed coffee for the water.
4 – Pour into 15x10x1-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray; sprinkle with half the chocolate. Top with nut mixture and remaining chocolate.
5 – Bake 20 to 25 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.

Kitchen Tips
Tip 1 – Special Extra: Melt 2 oz. additional BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate as directed on package. Drizzle over cooled coffee cake; let stand until chocolate is firm.

My Tip: You can use any semi-sweet chocolate chunks so you don’t have to chop. And in my house, coffee is coffee. Just sayin’.

Regular drill. CLICK HERE for all the nutritional details. As y’all know, some of my heroines don’t really (or can’t) cook. They have a variety of reasons/excuses. That said, my Tate Brothers ALL know their way around the kitchen and not just grilling out back. Katherine Barron Tate taught her sons to be self-sufficient. Which comes in really handy in TWICE THE TEMPTATION. It’s not that Britt can’t cook, it’s that she seldom has time. Good thing Cooper likes to spoil her and while their waiting for the blessed event–at least when she’s not mad and storming (or sneaking) away from him, Coop makes sure she has all the yummies in her tummy. This easy-peasy, whip-it-up-in-no-time recipe is a favorite of them both. Want to know more about them? Just click on the cover or the title and head on over to grab your copy of their story. We’re coming on up spring storm season so Britt is going to be busier than ever! 😉  Speaking of, how’s the weather in your neck of the woods?

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Monday Comin’ Down

Posted on March 8, 2021 by Silver James

This is only the second Monday in March. Why does it seem like we should be halfway to St. Patrick’s Day by now? Oh. Wait. We ARE almost halfway there. Yeah, I probably need more coffee. It’s Monday. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

At least I made a list of things to remember to include. Things like I have an appointment for the vaccine this coming Friday. The rest of the family got their first shots for various and sundry reasons and I’m glad! Me? I wasn’t too worried, knowing I’d get in line sooner or later. Since I’m older than dirt, I’ve been eligible since the stuff first came out but again, I’m such a hermit, I wasn’t worried. Now I’ll get mine and we’ll all be covered. Also, I used some of my Christmas money to order a new keyboard. I’ve been looking for one local but the one I want is out of stock so I got reacquainted with Tiger Direct. My new Microsoft Ergonomic should be here later in the week. My body chemistry is hell on keys. The letters disappear quickly. Also, this one has stopped some of the usual functions like Page Up, Page Down. Which I use. A lot. Plus, it’s like 7 or 8 years old. Anyway, it was time. I’m also in need of a new mouse but I want to go hands on (no pun intended) for that. I think I want an ergo there too, but I want to try them out to see how they fit.

Busy weekend centered around food. First Saturday Pancake Breakfast. Jake got a pancake. Shhh. Don’t tell. The Kids were there, food was good. LG was doing Post officer stuff so Jake and I went home instead of waiting for siren test. I finished writing a chapter before leaving for lunch. The whole gang gathered at Alvarado’s, our fave Mexican restaurant. Was good to see the BiL and SiL. She’s making great strides on her stroke recovery. It’s been a long, hard road to recovery but she’s getting so much closer now. Food was awesome, company great. We aren’t a huge family, but we’re close.

In sports news, I’m enjoying Spring Training. We’re watching baseball on TV. I’m also listening to my OSU Cowgirls play softball, thanks to a Stillwater radio station. I even got to watch the Cowboys play baseball yesterday, live streaming. One of the plays made it onto the MLB newsletter I get. It was an amazing matrix-esque slide at home to avoid the tag and score a run. Anyway, the Cowboys are #15 and undefeated. The Cowgirls are either #8 or #10, depending on the poll. OU softball is #1. MLB is spring training games. I’m not worried about scores and such. It’s just fun to watch them play.

In other TV news, MEN IN KILTS: A ROADTRIP WITH SAM AND GRAHAM. Starz. And it’s hysterical. Their riff on “hunting the haggis” had me spitting Diet Coke out of my nose. It’s Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish of “Outlander” fame. They’re traveling around Scotland in a camper van highlighting the wonders of Scotland and generally being two guys. Watching them trying to dance? Any sport (rugby, cabor toss, hammer throw)? The food and drink episode was pretty cool. Anyway, it’s on Starz and On Demand if you have cable/satalitte/Starz app. FYI, they are both easy to look at and I much prefer Graham, the silver fox that he is. 😉

Reading. I did some listening. Wasn’t a stellar week for…reasons. I’m currently listening to WILD FIRE, #6.5 in Kristen Ashley’s Chaos series. The next book, WILD WIND, releases around midnight tonight. These two books are “2nd gen” of the Chaos family. Once I’m done with them, not sure what’s on tap. I’ll see what grabs my attention later in the week.

Writing was a little less frustrating last week and I’m hoping it’ll be even better this week. I’m such a puzzler. I have all these scenes that I know are in the story but figuring out where they fit in the time line. I wrote some totally new chapters, added to some of those scenes, did a little rearranging, and I seem to be more or less on track. Yay.

And speaking of writing, in the “I need to make note of this because…plot/story line”: This case was called the State Fair Murders. Two sisters went to the state fair and never made it home. Their bodies were found in shallow graves a month later. Their mother died (on my birthday) 30 years after the murders. No one has ever been tried or convicted. Here’s the link to the story from KWTV. If I wrote straight crime novels, I’d totally use  this. Who knows, though. Maybe someday I’ll add another genre to my repetoire. Or figure out a way to use it in one of my series.

Time for more coffee and the rest of the day. Monday waits for no one, right? I have words to go before the sun sets, now that it’s up. How’s your world going?

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Friday Sinema: Dr. Doolittle Edition

Posted on March 5, 2021 by Silver James

Okay. This made me smile. Critters. An intrepid “reporter.” Six minutes of pure procrastination on a Friday. What’s not to enjoy? Tomorrow is “First Saturday.” That means pancakes at the Post, siren test, and family lunch at Alvarado’s with the whole family to celebrate me being older’n dirt. 😀 S’all gravy. Anybody got plans for the weekend? Also, TGIF!

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Angst

Posted on March 4, 2021 by Silver James

When plotting and writing a story–especially romance, there has to be conflict. External conflict. Internal conflict. Hopefully a mostly 50-50 split of the two. External conflict is easy. Those are things that happen mostly outside the Protaganists’ control, stuff that happens TO our hero/heroine or both. Internal conflicts are the emotions that create problems–things that happened in a character’s backstory or something they think or feel in regards to their life. We all carry it–girls who’ve been fat-shamed or tomboys, boys who weren’t “tough enough” according to the authority figure in their life, for example. We all carry baggage. As writers, we need to heap some of this baggage on our characters. The Universe chimed in with this:

There can only be a need for forgiveness, Silver, when first there is blame.

And there can only be blame, when first there is misunderstanding.

Kung fu,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

And often, Silver, misunderstandings arise for one of three reasons: not enough love, not enough sleep, or not enough chocolate.

And then there’s angst. “The Big Misunderstanding.” In most romances, this TBM could be rectified with a simple conversation held between two adults. This is the easy way out and editors and readers are on to writers who us it. I don’t have a problem with a TBM, so long as it gets resolved and there’s a lot of other internal conflict to counterbalance.

Take Sade Marguis, for instance. For those who aren’t familiar, Sade is a “special” FBI agent. She stars in my Penumbra Papers Urban Fantasy series, in which I’m currently writing a new addition. Her godfather is a master vampire and for awhile, her mother had convinced Oberon, king of the high Fae, that Sade was his. She has quite the backstory but her big deep-seated dark fear is that the people she cares about will abandon her. She has reasons for feeling–and worrying–about this and it rears it’s ugly head at the most inopportune times. She struggles with it. And yes, those misunderstandings might just come from not enough love, not enough sleep, or not enough chocolate. Also, in her case, not enough coffee. 😉

So that’s our craft lesson for today. Writers, make sure your characters are conflicted but make them work for it. And readers, how do you feel about The Big Misunderstanding? And how much is enough groveling when one or the other f*ck$ up big time? 😉

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Wednesday Words: Spring Thaw

Posted on March 3, 2021 by Silver James

So, another Hump Day, another snippet based on a #1lineWed theme. Thanks to that dang groundhog, today’s theme–**SPRING**–might be a little late in coming. And in light of the weather just past, I thought this totally random snippet would work quite nicely. I can tell you the POV is from a Nightrider Wolf. I can’t tell you which one because I don’t have a clue who he is. As for the heroine? What you see is what you get. I hope you enjoy it anyway. 😉
****
“Stop!” she shrieked. “I think you pushed too far.”

“Yeah?” What was her first clue?

She glowered and I barely concealed the twitch of my lips, wanting to grin. Hell, I wanted to bust out laughing. She made a humphf sound. Too freaking cute. Unlike her tiny car. I had no idea the thing was so light so yeah, I’d pushed hard. With my Wolf shifter strength that puppy squirted out of the snowbank and straight onto the frozen pond. The ice hadn’t cracked, a miracle in itself.

“So what are you going to do about it?” Hands on hips, chin jutting, eyes blazing and pink in her cheeks that had nothing to do with the cold.

What was I going to do about it? Kiss her, maybe. My wolf liked that idea. I shrugged. “Wait for the spring thaw?”

“That’s not funny.”

I thought it was, but managed not to crack up at her outraged expression.

“Are you laughing at me?”

“No.” Too bad the word came out strangled as I choked back my laughter. I have the worst poker face in the club.

“You are.” She gave me a squinty-eyed glare. The cute was gonna kill me. “This is all your fault.”

“Uh huh.” I pinched the bridge of my nose hoping to hide my lip twitches. “Babe, you’re the one driving a clown car after a blizzard. And in case you haven’t noticed, it’s cold out here. At least it’s not sinking.”

She opened her mouth and one word came out. “Kittens.”

“Kittens?”

“There’s a box of abandoned kittens in the back seat.”

“Guess I’m going ice skating.” Or swimming, if the ice didn’t hold.
****
Who knew a bad-ass biker would have a soft spot for a woman driving a clown car with a box of rescued kittens in the back seat? Well…y’all probably because you know my Wolves. 😆 Readers, are you ready for spring? Writers, have any spring words to share?

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Bacon Pancake Dippers

Posted on March 2, 2021 by Silver James
When I came across this recipe, I had no clue which heroine eats these when she’s stressed but decided I had to find one, write her book, and include this!!! That’s when Sade walked past, munching one. We had a conversation about it. She educated me. She also told me that if I’d get off my arse and start back on her book, readers wouldn’t have to wait so long to read about her eating this breakfast treat. Then she admitted to having some in the freezer that she throws in the toaster oven because it has all her favorite stress foods and since she’s getting ready to have it out with Sinjen, she plans on devouring quadruple the recipe amount. Well…alrighty then.
 
Total Time: 20 Min.
Prep and Cook Time: 20 Min.
6 Servings
 
Discover a little magic in the morning with Bacon Pancake Dippers with Chocolate-Peanut Butter Sauce. Top 4-inch pancake strips with a slice of bacon and dip them in a creamy peanut butter and chocolate sauce for a sweet-and savory treat. These bacon pancake dippers will fly off the plate.
 
1-1/2 cups complete pancake and waffle mix
1-1/2 cups water
6 slices OSCAR MAYER Fully Cooked Thick Cut Bacon, cut crosswise in half
3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
1 pkg. (4 oz.) BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, broken into small pieces
 
Let’s Make It
1 – Whisk pancake mix and water just until blended.
 
2 – Ladle batter onto hot griddle or into hot large skillet sprayed with cooking spray, using 1/4 cup batter for each 4-inch long pancake. Immediately top batter for each pancake with 1 bacon piece, pressing bacon gently into batter to secure. Cook until bubbles form on tops of pancakes, then turn to brown other sides.
 
3 – Meanwhile, microwave peanut butter and chocolate in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min. or until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring every 30 sec.
 
4 – Serve pancake dippers with the chocolate-peanut butter sauce.
 
Kitchen Tips
 
Tip 1 – Make Ahead: This fun breakfast recipe can be prepared ahead of time. Refrigerate up to 12 hours before reheating the pancakes and sauce (separately) in the microwave just before serving.
Tip 2 – Serving Suggestion: Serve with a colorful fruit salad.
 
As always, My Food and Family has all the nutritional details so CLICK ON OVER. You can grab any of the books in the Penumbra Papers to read about Sade’s exploits. If you click on the picture, it will take you to the Amazon series page. The books are available at a lot of different etailers so you can click on any of the listed titles to head over to Books2Read to find your favorite store. As for my conversation with Sade…
 
Me: Sade, it’s been well-established in all the books that you don’t cook.
Sade: Don’t and can’t aren’t the same thing.
Caleb: *stifles a laugh in the other room*
Sade: I heard that you…er…gawdblasted fuzzball!
Me: So you can cook?
Sade: I can effing make stuff.
Caleb: *wheezing from laughter*
Sade: That’s it you mangy mongrel. You are dogfood! *Sade runs from room but calls back* And I can too cook!
 
Yeah…okay. Whatever. Anyway, you can grab THAT OL’ BLACK MAGIC, SEASON OF THE WITCH, THE DEVIL’S CUT, and/or THE SOUND OF SILENCE if you’d like to catch up with Sade and the Scooby Gang. And I’m totally making these! I mean, seriously! Pancakes, bacon, peanuut butter and CHOCOLATE! What’s not to love?

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Monday’s Gettin’ Old

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Silver James

So. It’s Monday. It’s the first day of March. And I’m a year older. Sucks to be me. 🙄 I’m kidding. I’ve been older than dirt for as long as I can remember. What’s one more day or one more year? It all beats the alternative. We’ll do the family celebration this coming weekend–pancake breakfast, siren test, and Alvarado’s for Mexican! Yay! Something to look forward to. 😀

In other news, it’s a new day, a new week, and a new month. Time to shake off the procrastination frustration and get my arse in gear. I have books to write–more even than I anticipated at the start of the year because a pushy biker wants his story told. Shut up, Rook. I can’t hear you! Lalalalala

There was a week and a weekend. Stuff happened. LG, Only, and Baseball Boy all got their first innoculations. Stormy was exposed but his test came back negative. I’m on a list somewhere for mine. I’m not too worried. I don’t get out much, I’m careful, and other than bein’ older’n dirt, I don’t have any real underlying health issues, unlike others in the family. I’ll get mine eventually. Ugh.

In writing news, I’ve already mentioned Rook. He’s pushy, Sade is stubborn, and the words are dripping like a frozen pipe on a -14 degree day. Well, not quite that slow. I have managed some words. Not many, but some. Progress, right? I gotta get into the “Write or Die” mindset again.

My OSU Cowgirls had a good weekend at a tournament down in Louisiana. They swept LSU, won against the Univerity at Buffalo (NY), and finished by splitting against University of Louisiana Lafayette. The Cowgirls are ranked #8 nationally. ULL is #7. It was a good tournament for them. I didn’t check on OU softball. If they played, they probably won. In other sporting news…BASEBALL!!!! MLB is back. Watched the Cardinals/Nationals spring training game. Spring training is fun. LOTS of players get to play and while the score is sorta important, it’s not really. It’s more like playing baseball for fun. Of course, that’s one thing I’ve always liked about St. Louis. The players always play like they’re having fun. Oh, and the final score was 4-4. In my book, that’s a win for the opening day of Spring Training games.

In TV news, I finally got around to watching the finale of The Masked Dancer. I’m still not sure how I feel about that show. In fun news, one of my favorite professional dancers from Dancing With The Stars made it to the finals, placing 2nd. He was dressed as The Sloth (Google it–LOLOL) and I loved him. He was my favorite and I suspected who might be behind the costume. Turns out I was right–Maksim Chmerkovskiy. He was hysterically funny and so very talented. Olympian Gabby Douglas took home the trophy.

Did a bunch of reading and listening last week. I zoomed through the whole Tarpley VFD series, including a reread of my own FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE. It was fun to see the various mutual scenes through different lenses. Also listened to a couple of favorites in preparation for listening to two new releases in the series–Kristen Ashley’s Chaos MC. I didn’t do a marathon of all the previous Chaos books. I listened to the first, MOTORCYCLE MAN, then skipped ahead to WILD LIKE THE WIND (which always wrecks me! All the freaking feels!!!) to refresh my memory on Dutch and Jagger, Chaos legacies who join the club in their mom and stepdad’s book. I’m currently on FREE, which leads to the next generation moving into positions of power in the club. After FREE comes WILD FIRE, which is Dutch Black’s story, followed by WILD WIND, Jagger’s story, which releases tomorrow. I’m a happy fan girl for a few days at least.

That’s pretty much it for me. Oh! I have discovered that the crows like leftover beef stew that’s been strained of the soupy part. They sucked up that meat, potatoes, and veggies like it was caviar. Boy, will they be disappointed when they get leftover dog food and bread next time. On that note, time to do something. Not sure what, but something. That’s better than nothing, right? Right! How’s life in your corner of the world?

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Friday Sinema: Southern Weather Part 2

Posted on February 26, 2021 by Silver James

Ah, spring is almost in the air. Along with storm sirens. Winter might not be quite ready to let go but spring is in the wings waiting for us. That time of year is coming and my heroine, Britt Owens, from TWICE THE TEMPTATION is ready to hit the road. While she’s out storm chasing, the rest of us are doing all this stuff… Oh, by the way, have a great weekend!

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