Octomonday

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Silver James

So it’s Monday again. And WordPress has decided to be a pain in my ass. Y’all? If ain’t broke don’t freakin’ fix it!!! I’ve used the plain ol’ WordPress HTML editor for freakin’ years!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn’t have to learn massive amounts of code. I learned what I needed to produce the “finished product” I wanted to show to my readers. And now? Not enough coffee or four letter words in the Universe to express my utter dislike of this so-called special-snowflake new and simplified method. It SUCKS! And doesn’t do what I need or want it to do. Sadly, Blogger doesn’t work for me either. GRRRRRRRRRRRR. Freaking Monday. In-line image my ass. Oh, and previewing? Yeah, that doesn’t happen UNTIL you save the freaking post. Moving on before my blood pressure explodes.

Sadly, my Cards are done for the year. They lost this weekend to the Padres, on the saqme day that Cardinal great Lou Brock lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. Mr. Brock was a hellava man and ballplayer. He is mourned and missed. Baseball isn’t over yet and I’ll tune in to check on the division races and the World Series because that’s tradition.

In the “It’s a Small World” category, Lawyer Guy and I did siren test on Saturday and met Only, Baseball Boy, and Stormageddon for lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurante. Three people were seated at the table next to ours–grandparents and a granddaughter. They recognized Jake. Turns out, they were the third family to return him to the rescue group. THANK ALL THE FURREVER HOME GODS! They were the ones who crated him. The final straw was when he messed up their venetian blinds when they left him. The woman claimed that they’d owned and showed Newfoundlands. Yeah…okay. Maybe. But they knew f*ck-all about dog psychology. What’s sad? Jake recognized them too and spent lunch restless and needing attention from us until they left. I think he thought we might be giving him back to them. Not happening! EVER! Jake is here to stay. He spend a lot of time on the bed wtih me that night looking for reassurance and I cancelled my trip to Wallyworld on Sunday because I worried what he’d think in the car. Anyway, he’s ours.

In TV news, I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned that The Masked Singer is back on with the new season. The costumes are wild this time around. The first to be eliminated was the dragon. He was awesome! And was Busta Rhymes. It fit. Last week, it was a total charlie foxtrot, in a way. The group went through their songs–all of them outstanding, until the last contestant, the Gremlin. Who was totally cute in costume. And he did okay. So then, the judges are making picks and Jenny McCarthy comes up with this crazy pick–Mickey Rourke. At which time, the Gremlin started pulling his head (mask) off. Crazysauce! And it turns it, it was Mickey Rourke. Who either didn’t understand the rules, was a little high, or was just tired of being hot in the costume. Anyway, that was the elimination for the round so everyone else was safe. I’m totally serious about the crazysauce!

Reading/listening remains focused on my marathon of the In Death books by JD Robb. I managed to skip the novella after NEW YORK TO DALLAS so I went back and picked it up and now I’m back on track with #37, THANKLESS IN DEATH. 

I did some writing last week. Once again, I had to look for different headspace on NIGHT WISH. It’s over 60K words and a lot of what I wrote earlier don’t really fit the direction it’s going. Which is okay. Any scenes I cut got back into the “stew pot” and can be rewritten for another book. I’d really hoped to make serious progress over the weeknd but life happened, as it does. However, I did also get the opening to FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE done and I’m liking it. I think JUSTICE will mostly write itself. Crossing fingers on that. I have the big climatic scene in my head. Opening and closing is not a bad place to be.

In social media news, y’all are well aware that I’m not a big fan of FB. And I haven’t been on Instagram in months and months because my phone is not my social media friend and trying to get to Instagram on my desktop has been a hassle. You may or may not be aware that FB bought IG and now has released a “business suite” that, since I have a “professional” page, I can use to post to both FB and IG, with the same post or individually. So, I’m at least posting a bit more on IG. Anyway…

 That’s it for me today. I’ve got to hit Wallyworld. Eggs and munchy bone treats for doggos wait for no woman. Hopefully, that’s were I am as you read this so I can come home, get to work and get NIGHT WISH closer to The End. JUSTICE is a has-to-be-turned-in by November 30 and I don’t want to stall releasing WISH any longer than I have already. So, work day for me. What about y’all? What kind of day are you planning?

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Friday Sinema: Lights Out

Posted on October 2, 2020 by Silver James

Y’all know I’m a big fan of Lindsey Stirling. Here’s her latest video–rather apropos for October. It also makes me wish I wrote “hard” fantasy because I have all sorts of ideas about this one. Tomorrow is Pancake Day, Siren Test, and family lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurante. I might even get some work done. Or a nap. What plans do you have? Have a great weekend and I hope you enjoy the video!

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Expectations

Posted on October 1, 2020 by Silver James

Sometimes, getting the right words down in the right order and actually telling a story from the beginning to the end feels like a miracle. Writing is not easy. Oh, we writers like to pretend it’s all roses and chocolate but it’s more nose to the grindstone and butt in chair, hands on keyboard.

Every enlightened master, Silver, knows that it’s not what you do that brings about a miracle, but that you do something, consistently, with an unwavering expectation that thy will shall be done.

Because when you do something, with intention, every day, almost anything, in the direction of your dreams, that’s all I’ll need to reach you, connect a few dots, and drop a few jaws.

We takin’ over,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

Which means, Silver, that usually the best way to extraordinary is through the ordinary (making ordinary quite extraordinary, if you know what I mean).

And isn’t that all the truth? Do something, with intention, every day, working toward the dream of finishing your story. Or for those of you who aren’t writers, the same holds true. Whatever your dream is, working toward it will bring about the miracle of completion. I’m off to connect a few dots and hopefully, when all is said and done, I’ll drop a few jaws when NIGHT WISH goes live. What about y’all? What miracle are you looking to create?

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Wednesday Words: Magnify

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Silver James

Hump Day once again. MLB playoffs are in full swing, new words are getting written and I have a snippet that fits the #1lineWed theme of **MAGNIFY**. Sort of. I’m not going to explain this snippet because it’s fairly self-contained but mainly because I’m all mean and mysterious like that. 🤣
****
Gen
I ignored the three men in the small interrogation room. It wasn’t like TV—no two-way mirror on a wall, no metal chair or table, or handcuffs. Still, unseen eyes watched me. The camera tucked in one corner of the ceiling wasn’t obvious, but I knew it was there. Now I knew how a bug felt under a magnifying glass. The men lounged back in their chairs, watching me. Silence stretched out. I understood that game, had played it myself when doing mediation between coworkers. The ATF agent attempting to be the good cop spoke. “I’m going to read your rights—”

“I understood them the first four times.” My voice sounded as hollow and dead as I felt. The law could do its worst and it wouldn’t be as bad as what Wizard had done.

“Ms. Pruitt…”

I closed my eyes, shutting them all out.

A fist thumped on the Formica table, toppling the bottle of water they’d brought me. I didn’t move.

“Dammit. You need to tell us about the Nightriders. About your relationship with Jack Dimond.” The voice belonged to the DDCC agent who’d raided Chasin’ Tail.

“Who?” I’d never heard the name before.

Jones laughed, the sound both accusatory and sarcastic. “You don’t even know the real name of the man you’re fucking? Jack Dimond, also known as Wizard.”

A strangled laugh exploded from my mouth. I opened my eyes in time to see my interrogators rear back. Pretty sure my crazy emotions were apparent in my brittle smile, I said, “They had a wicked sense of humor.”

They exchanged uneasy looks. I pushed back from the table and stood. “Are you arresting me?” No one spoke. That’s what I thought. They’d bought into the nonsense Brent spewed about me. Well, I wasn’t that woman anymore. Not that I ever had been. I stared at each man. Jones, the DDCC agent, smirked. Jerk. The local Kansas City cop wouldn’t meet my gaze. The ATF agent stared at Jones. “Fine. Then we’re done here.”

No one spoke as I shoved out of the corner they’d put me in—physically and emotionally—and headed for the door.

The ATF guy grabbed my arm as I passed. “Ms. Pruitt, you need to be careful. They’re criminals.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”
****
Yeah, nobody puts Baby in the corner. 😉 I will add that things are going from bad to worse for Gen but when push comes to shove, there’s always a Happy Ever After. Is that vague enough? And yes, I am a big ol’ terrible tease and y’all can hate me. That’s cool. Just so long as I tease you enough to read the book. I’m getting closer each day. What do you think is going to happen next in the book? 😉

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Tuesday Treats: Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Silver James

It’s International Coffee Day!!!! Of course, every day is Coffee Day in my house. None of you who know me are surprised by this. To celebrate, here’s a recipe for coffee cake that not only goes down well with coffee, but is real coffee cake.

Total Time: 50 Min.
Prep Time: 20 Min.
Cook Time: 30 Min.
24 servings

Treat your morning coffee to something special with our Cinnamon Coffee Cake. This Cinnamon Coffee Cake is a moist cake topped off with a cinnamon crust.

What You Need
1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
1-1/3 cups brewed MAXWELL HOUSE Decaffeinated Coffee, cooled
1/3 cup oil
3 eggs
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup BAKER’S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut
1/2 cup chopped PLANTERS Walnuts

Let’s Make It
1 – Heat oven to 350°F.
2 – Beat cake mix with coffee, oil and eggs in large bowl with mixer until blended; pour into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round pans.
3 – Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl. Stir in coconut and nuts; sprinkle over cake batter.
4 – Bake 30 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool 10 min. Remove cakes from pans to wire racks; cool completely.

Kitchen Tips
Tip 1 – Make Ahead: Bake and cool coffee cakes as directed. Enjoy one of the coffee cakes now and freeze the other one for later use. Wrap tightly before freezing.

Tip 2 – Easy Cleanup: For easy cleanup, line the pans with foil and spray with cooking spray before filling with batter and baking as directed.

My Tips: I use REAL coffee–NOT decaffienated because that’s how I roll. Don’t like coconut? leave it out. Want some fruit that’s not coconut, add raisins. Substitute sliced almonds or pecans for walnuts.

CLICK HERE for all the nutritional details from My Food and Family. Just as I love coffee, I have two characters who rae just as enamored–Hannah Jackson McIntire and Sade Marquis. They each star in a series, as most of you know. But for those of you who might not be as familiar, here are the books where you can first make their acquaintances. Both books are available lots of different places and in both digital and paperback. Just click on the covers or titles to find links to all the stores. Hannah’s book, MOONSTRUCK: SECRETS, starts with this conversation with the man destined to be her mate, Ian “Mac” McIntire:

“I need coffee.”
“Damn. Listening to you, I’d think you were actually human.”
“I AM human, furball.”

And then there’s Sade, FBI agent extraordinaire, who is finishing her third cup of coffee before her partner, werewolf Caleb Jones, walks into Déja Vu, the bar-restaurant Sade calls home when she’s in New Orleans. The reason for the meet and the three cups of coffee? Her morning musings start like this:

This was only Day One of what was shaping up to be a bloody weird week and the gods had been drinking again. Too bad Sade Marquis didn’t have that option. She was on duty. Dammit. Not to mention it was only ten in the morning. However, if things got any stranger, she might change her mind.

In THAT OL’ BLACK MAGIC, Sade is in New Orleans dealing with preternatural murder.

And now it’s time to celebrate International Coffee Day with another cup of cafe au lait, and yes, I acquired the taste while I was in New Orleans, where it just happens that the idea of Sade first began to take shape, and then new words on the current WIP. Because it’s time y’all had something new to read. Right?

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Mundane Monday

Posted on September 28, 2020 by Silver James

It’s the last Monday of September. I’m ready for a new month and the change of seasons that comes with October. I think I’m afflicted with the last-of-the-summer doldrums.

In other news, I still have a couple of days before I hit my self-imposed deadline. I’ve made good headway with NIGHT WISH but it’s not quite there yet. I lot of the snippets that popped up along the way have been moved to a “maybe” file. I’ll change the names and fit them into other books. A lot of times, as I do flash fiction snippets that seem to fit, when I start putting the puzzle together, they turn out to be extra pieces because the story turned a different direction. S’all good. Still, this is going to be a longer book and I’m not sure why or if it should be. I guess I should just get it finished and edited, deciding during that final process. Anyway, I need to get it done because I have a hard November 30 deadline for FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE.

I played “good mom” Saturday and loaned Drover (my Highlander) to Only. She was doing several photo shoots in a park and needed a vehicle large enough to haul a love seat. Their Jeep was gettting desperately needed mechanical work done and that sofa was NOT going in her Mustang. 🙄 It was fine. Made me stay home and write most of the day so there’s that.

“The Masked Singer” is back. I’m still fascinated by the costumes and amazed that anyone can sing while wearing them. I have no clue who anyone is and that’s part of the fun, because the clues that are given? Yeah, I’m just not that much into pop culture. The only reason I guessed Barry Zito last year is because he plays baseball. 😜

Speaking of baseball, yesterday was the last day of the regular season. My Cards won yesterday, negating a double-header in Detroit. They’re going to the playoffs! YAYAYAYAY! This is a weird baseball season with an even weirder playoff bracket but hey! Baseball isn’t over for me yet. That’s always a plus.

In sad news, Smidgen crossed the rainbow bridge late Saturday night. We heard growling and snarling and ran out. Smudge was up a tree and a stray had Smidgen cornered. We got the dog away and I gathered up Smidge in a towel. He was snarly and bitey and seemed to be able to move his back legs and such and there was no blood, though there was wet fur. I made the decision to put him in the cat carrier and see how he was this morning. I had hopes that he was just still scared and in shock, hence not trying to get away. Sadly, when I got up this morning, he’d passed, likely from internal injuries. Smudge was gone from the tree but I didn’t see him this morning when the “cauldron” came over to eat. Tis the life of ferals, I guess. Still hurts my heart. I’d domesticate and bring them all inside if I could. LG and the dogs, and even Loki, might not be so happy, but hey!

What am I forgetting? Oh, yeah. Reading. Or listening. Still doing the In Death marathon with nothing new breaking the pattern. I’m currently on #34, CELEBRITY IN DEATH. It’s got some crazysauce going on. Let’s see if I can sum it up: Nadine Furst, ace reporter and friend, wrote a book about a double honmicide case that Dallas and Peabody caught, that evolved into human cloning and totally weird stuff. The victims were father and son doctors. The book won a Pulitzer and is picked up by Hollywood. The actress playing Peabody is murdered at a dinner party in the director’s house, said party attended by the actors and their civilian/cop counterparts. Everyone is all freaked out because the actress LOOKS like Peabody. Anyway, it’s not your usual who-done-it.

And I think that’s it for my week and weekend. I’ve got writing to do and since my Wallyword trip was made yesterday morning, I’m good to work all day. I have coffee. I have characters fussing at me. I have a dog under my deak playing havoc with my posture and a cat in the window studiously watching the bird feeder for action. You know, the mundane’s not all that bad. How was your weekend?

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Friday Sinema: Dad Jokes First Responder Style

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Silver James

It’s Friday! Let’s celebrate the end of the week with a laugh…or twenty. I’m a sucker for “dad jokes” and the badder they are, the harder I laugh because I’m all weird like that. And we need a lot of laughter in our lives right now. So take about 7 minutes of your day and watch this competition between the Souix Falls FD and PD. Warning: Don’t drink anything until it’s over. Have a great weekend! And Happy Birthday, Dad. I miss you but I sure hope you’re doing a lot of fishing up there in Heaven.

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Pink

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Silver James

I tend to apply many of the messages from the Universe that pop up in my inbox to writing. Why? Because I’m a writer and that’s what I tend to visualize–the stories in my head. See, the Universe is big on visualizing what we want to occur. Which is what writers do. Anyway, this message popped up and I said to myself, “Self, isn’t this what writing and editing is all about?” And myself answered right back, “I think you’re right…or write as the case may be.” Writers are always looking for ways to say exactly the right thing and exactly the right time.

Until everyone believes in their own ability to say exactly the right thing, at exactly the right time, to exactly the right person, then allow me:

Silver, everyone wants to be your friend. Everyone.

You’re just so cool,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

Silver, and those who are your friends… are tickled pink.

I’m not so sure about everyone wanting to be my friend though. That said, I DO want them to want to be friends with my characters. If readers find one of my characters to root for, one who’d they’d like to have for a friend, then I’ve done my job. And with the current WIP, the heroine’s nickname is Pink. So yeah, her hero is tickled… 😉 What makes you tickled pink?

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Wednesday Words: Don’t Insult Me

Posted on September 23, 2020 by Silver James

Another Hump Day. Wednesday. And time for words. Over on Twitter, the theme for today’s #1lineWed is **Creative Insults.** I actually found a spot in the current WIP with that phrase. In a note to self. Gen, our intrepid heroine, is leaving town and she is thinking a lot of things about Wizard. My note says “Insert creative insults, string of curses.” I couldn’t think of any at the time and I was on a roll so I marked it and went on. I need to work on those. However, I’ve still not come up with anything appropriate so I’m just going for plain ol’ insults. Except it’s not really. This scene is the night after Gen arrives at the Nightrider compound. There’s a party. And Wiz left her in his room to follow when she was ready. And…here we go:
****
No, I didn’t get him but I’d seen the sincerity in his expression, felt the truth of his words as he spoke them. Okay. So I wasn’t some skanky biker babe. I was me. Geneva Pruitt. I could hold a wedding together, wear pink, and settle employee feuds with my eyes closed. I was worthy of a man as gorgeous as Wizard, though I still hadn’t learned his real name. He brushed me off every time I asked. Wizard was his road name, bestowed by the club and he insisted that’s the only name he needed.

If I stayed here, in his room, would he come looking for me? Or would he just party out there with the rest of them? I stood, checked my reflection in the mirror. Surprisingly, my hair had stayed in a tight braid and looked all right. I fussed a little with my makeup and added lipstick. Inhaling, I squared my shoulders. I could do this. Hadn’t I been thinking I was in a rut? Well, this was about as far down a rabbit hole as I could imagine. I marched out into Wizard’s room and resisted the urge to pack up my bags and skedaddle while no one was looking.

I made it all the way to the front doors. The glass almost vibrated from the noise. Flames now danced in a fire pit in the center of the space and people gyrated around them. I scanned the crowd, looking for Wizard but couldn’t find him. My hand rested on the door’s push bar but for the life of me, I couldn’t put enough pressure on the thing to open the door.

“You just gonna stand there all night?”

I jerked and whirled to face the woman who’d snuck up on me. She eyed me up and down, taking in my appearance. I returned the insult. She wore heavy motorcycle boots, faded jeans that fit her like a glove, a red long-sleeved T-shirt with a Harley emblem on the front and that ubiquitous leather vest I was becoming far too familiar with. Long dark hair framed her pretty face and her brown eyes crinkled at the corners.

“You must be Wizard’s civilian.”

Civilian? What did that even mean. Evidently, my confusion showed because the woman continued. “Civilian is just that. Regular people who aren’t in the life.”

“Ah. Then, yes. I am most definitely a civilian.”

“And a bit overwhelmed, yeah?” She grinned and winked. “C’mon. I’ll help you find Wiz.”
****
I’m not going to tell you which of the biker babes that was. You’ll have to read the book once I get it out. This is a peek into Gen’s head and sets up stuff for later. Anyway, who has some creative insults to share? If they’re really good, I might steal them for the book. 😉

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Tuesday Treats: Salted Caramel Brownies

Posted on September 22, 2020 by Silver James

Happy Fall, y’all! So glad it’s this time of year. 🙂 So, last week, with the advent of cooler temps, I featured a pumpkin spice latte muffin recipe because I have readers who love the flavor. This week, I’m hitting another set of readers who prefer salted caramel. Because I’m all nice like that. 😉

Total Time: 45 Min.
Prep Time: 15 Min.
Cook Time: 30 Min.
32 Servings

Take your brownies up a notch with our Salted Caramel Brownies recipe. These Salted Caramel Brownies include roasted peanuts, gooey caramel and cayenne.

What You Need
1 pkg. (4 oz.) BAKER’S Unsweetened Chocolate
3/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 tsp. ground red pepper (cayenne)
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup coarsely chopped PLANTERS Dry Roasted Peanuts, divided
25 KRAFT Caramels
2 Tbsp. milk

Let’s Make It
1 – Heat oven to 350ºF.
2 – Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in pepper. Add sugar; mix well. Blend in eggs. Add flour; mix well. Stir in 1/2 cup nuts. Spread half the batter into 13×9-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray.
3 – Microwave caramels and milk in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2-1/2 min., stirring after 1 min. Stir until caramels are completely melted and mixture is well blended; spread over brownie batter in pan. Cover with remaining brownie batter. (Some caramel sauce may peek through.) Sprinkle with remaining nuts.
4 – Bake 25 to 30 min. or until top is firm to the touch. Cool.

Kitchen Tips
Tip 1 – Note: It is important to add the ground red pepper right after you melt the chocolate. This ensures that the pepper is evenly distributed in the brownie batter.
Tip 2 – Size Wise: One serving goes a long way on chocolate flavor and can hit the spot when you are looking for a sweet treat.
Tip 3 – Easy Cleanup: Line pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Spray with cooking spray. Use foil handles to lift brownie from pan before cutting to serve.

If you want all the nutritional details, CLICK HERE. And since a favorite character happens to be Major Hannah Jackson McIntire from the Moonstruck series, we’ll feature her today. She doesn’t cook but she’s a fan of chocolate AND salted caramel because it goes so well with coffee–and we all know how important a food group coffee is, according to Hannah. She’s first introduced in BLOOD MOON but the fuller story of her relationship with Sergeant Major Ian “Mac” McIntire is more fully told in MOONSTRUCK: SECRETS so it gets the cover photo. Also, Hannah is a major force in all the books! (Pun intended 😉 ) Fans, you should reread the series and leave reviews if you haven’t–or recommend the books to any friends who might enjoy. New peeps should give this series a try because you might just like it. Just sayin’… Y’all can just click on the titles or the cover to find the buy links.

In other news, what’s your fall-favorite flavor or character? I might just feature them in upcoming Tuesday Treats. 😀

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