Thursday Thoughts: Universal Magic

Posted on May 28, 2020 by Silver James
Writing fiction has been described as making magic. In a way, I suppose that’s true. I mean, we close our eyes, pluck characters and events and settings from the vast cosmic void that makes up our imaginations. Then we use words to describe those settings and people and make things happen. Easy peasy, right? Wrong. Writing is hard. Creating a cast, a plot, and the places where it all occurs takes time. Characters don’t arrive whole cloth. They aren’t two dimensional. They have to read real. As in, they could be the couple at the next table or the slightly scary dude standing behind you in line at the store. They must have motivation. Goals. Conflict, Stuff needs to happen in a clear, logical sequence. It takes practice and work and lots of do overs. But it is magic. In a way.


Through you, through you, through you, Silver…

The magic works through you. Not beside you. Not around you. Not for you. Not despite you. But through you.

You have to go there. You have to choose your stage. You have to do your dance. Putting yourself in place, to any degree that you can, even if it scares you, even when it’s “hard,” even if it’s just your big toe. Stretch yourself, scoff at the odds, get the ball rolling so that the magic can then come alive and sweep you off your feet with its infinite grace and glory.

You wouldn’t just carry around the seeds for the garden of your dreams in your pocket, all the while asking where your flowers were? Nope, you’d have to brave the elements, you’d have to choose the location, and then you’d have to go there.

Your life is your wand (or hoe),
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®

Oh, Silver, it is one heck of a party to those so initiated, but every single one of them (long dramatic pause) had to invite themselves, and use their own motor skills to arrive. And the dip is out of this world.

Like a magician has to practice, so does the writer. Like the magician has to dream up tricks, so does a writer. And when the magic happens, the audience is left awed, amazed, and amused, each in turn. The Universe is right. We have to capture the magic, channel it, use it. We have to stretch, write in ways that scare us, get better. Even when we don’t want to. Even when the well seems dry. We sit down. We plant seeds. And the words grow. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t quit. Keep planting and stretching and scaring yourself. It’s worth it. Turning caffeine into words is my magic superpower. What’s yours?
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Wednesday Words: Picture of Health

Posted on May 27, 2020 by Silver James

How can May almost be over? This is the last Hump Day in the month. Once again, I’ve looked to Twitter’s #1lineWed for inspiration and today’s theme is *HEALTH.* I’m happy to report that the only mentions of “health” (without searching for all the synonyms and permutations) were previously published so I decided to write new words. Yay! This is a snippet from NIGHT WISH from our heroine’s POV. I can tell you that Jen moved to the Kansas City area despite the fact that Wizard basically walked away from her. Her job…well, you can probably figure that out from the snippet. 😉
****
Jen
Early to bed, early to rise. Welcome to my life, I thought bitterly. I was neither wealthy, healthy or wise. No. I was simply mired in a swamp of depression, regrets, and feeling totally stupid. Why was I here? What had I been thinking? Masochist. That was me.

I heaved out of my car then leaned back in to grab my bag. I hated this job. Hated my apartment. Hated my life. I even hated myself but could I hate the one person who was the basis for all this? Oh, hell no. Not me. See? Masochist. Totally. I shut my car door and beeped the locks on my fob. Trudging to the front door, I fumbled for the other set of keys.

Something slammed into me and I careened into the building’s entrance, my face smashing against the glass. Stunned, I tried to figure out what had happened. I caught a reflection in the glass. Two men. In hoodies. One had a gun. I hated Mondays?

“Open the door, bitch.”

Stars were still zooming around my head like in the cartoons but my brain decided it was time to think. I could unlock the door and not hit the alarm code. Or I could hit the panic button. Or…not. Had my employer paid the alarm company? I’d bugged him about that for two months now.

“Bitch! Door!”

I dug in my bag for the keys, managing to spill a bunch of stuff in the process. Not that I cared. The one with the gun was now pressed up against me and the barrel of the gun pressed into that soft indention at the base of my skull. A shadow flickered in my peripheral vision and then there was nothing around me. I checked the glass door. No. Wasn’t my imagination. The two men were gone. Poof. Like puffs of smoke.

A third man appeared, this one tall, muscular, and wearing an all-too-familiar vest. For a moment, my heart seized. Wizard. But it wasn’t. Another Nightrider. One I didn’t recognize. He shook his head and looked like he wanted to tsk at me.
“Seriously, babe. You need to find a better job.”

Did I mention I hated Mondays? They just weren’t conducive to my health.
****
So there it is. Jen and Wiz have a hard story to tell for…reasons. But it’s coming out. Slowly, not very surely, but eventually, it’ll all be revealed. In the meantime, writers? Any words to share about your characters’ health? Readers, do you like medical dramas? Yeah, yeah, total non sequitur but there ya go. 😉

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Tuesday Treats: Caesar Tortellini Salad

Posted on May 26, 2020 by Silver James

I’m a big fan of pasta salads, especially with the edition of meat because…carnivore. Even if it’s chicken. 😉 Anyway, this is an easy variation with some awesome flavors. As I’m allergic to tomatoes, I leave those out. Your mileage may vary.

Total Time: 1 Hr. 15 Min.
Prep Time: 15 Min.
Cook Time: 1 Hr.
Servings: 6 (1 cup each)

Thanks to refrigerated cheese pasta, this Caesar Tortellini Salad couldn’t be quicker (or easier) to make. Sprinkle with Parmesan and enjoy!

What You Need
1 pkg. (9 oz.) refrigerated cheese tortellini, cooked, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup KRAFT Classic Caesar Dressing
2 plum tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
1 can (6 oz.) pitted black olives, drained
1/2 cup sliced red onions, separated into rings
1/4 cup POLLY-O Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Let’s Make It
1 – Toss all ingredients except cheese in large bowl; cover.
2 – Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
3 – Sprinkle with cheese just before serving.

Kitchen Tips
Tip 1 – Size Wise: Keep an eye on portion size when you enjoy this rich salad!

Tip 2 – Substitute: Substitute 1 medium cucumber, thinly sliced, for the olives.

Tip 3 – Variation: Chicken Caesar Tortellini Salad – Add 2 grilled or broiled boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips, to salad before refrigerating.

My Tip – You can use creamy Caesar dressing which is a nice change. Also croutons and/or bacon bits for a bit of crunch. And, as above, no tomatoes for me!
****
In our regular Tuesday drill, CLICK for all the details. Living though a muggy Oklahoma summer means I’m always on the lookout for easy, non-oven meals that are filing and cool to eat. I’m not the only one. Since her significant other, Duke Reagan, is based out of Key West, Dr. Cory Prince also appreciates cool recipes that are easy and filling and something her manly-man, Hard Target team leader Duke will eat. Duke is not just a former SEAL and the team is made up of men out of the ordinary. They met when Duke’s SEAL Team Atlantis was sent to Africa to rescue the kidnapped doctor. You can read their story in DOUBLE CROSS (Hard Target #1). Grab a copy by clicking on the cover or the title.

What about y’all? What’s your favorite summer dish? And would you like to visit Key West?

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Memorial Monday

Posted on May 25, 2020 by Silver James

It’s Memorial Day. Considering the crazysauce that is most people’s life these days, celebrations will be small. I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. Memorial Day isn’at about sales or cookouts or hanging at the beach. It’s about remembering and honoring the men and women of the military who made the supreme sacrifice for the rest of us so we could go to sales and have cookouts and hang out on the beach…or the lake. Or wherever. It feels a little weird because normally Lawyer Guy and the rest of veterans at his American Legion post would be out and about, handing out paper poppies and talking to kids who are curious. Not this year. No way would we risk a treasure like our 90+ year old WWII Navy veteran who served on the USS Enterprise. Anyway, take a moment today and send up a prayer or a thanks to those who made it possible for us to celebrate today. Also, I hope that someone in your neighborhood saw the CBS story on “Taps” Across America. At 3 p.m. today, buglers and trumpeters will step outside and play “Taps.” Step outside and listen, if you can. Put a hand over your heart and offer a moment of silence in respect.

Okay. Enough teary eyes because “Taps” always does that do me. There was a week and a weekend. And maybe light at the end of the tunnel.

First the not-too-important but their performances made me smile so it’s worth noting. Last Wednesday was the finale for The Masked Singer. The final three, after amazing performances, were revealed. Kandi Burris, the Night Angel, won. She was on Housewives of Atlanta, owns a restaurant chain, writes songs, and is basically multi-talented to the point I’m jealous. 😉 Runner-up was the Turtle, Jesse McCartney. He started his career on All My Children, sang with the boy band, Dream Street, and did/does cartoon voiceovers for various super heroes and the Chipmunks. The dude can sing! Coming in 3rd, and I’m sure it was a very close race, was the Frog, who turned out to be Bow Wow. Yes, that Bow Wow. He’s an amazing performer, rapper, and dancer. I totally want his moves! Anyway, it was a fun season. Can’t wait to see who participates this fall. In other TV news, Live PD is back to three hours and they’ve announced that they will be back “live” on June 5, with their 300th episode airing June 6. I’m guessing this means they will be back in the studio, rather than remote broadcasting from home.

Last week was slow in the reading/listening department–only 2 books. That’s okay. I actually worked. MOONSTRUCK: BETRAYAL is in the final stages of editing and formatting. As of the writing of this (on Sunday), no cover yet but hopefully, by the time you read this, I’ll have it in my files. Anyway, very soon now on a release. I may even generate the energy to do some teases with graphics. We’ll see. 😆

We got outside Saturday. Kid soccer! Yayay! Stormy was very happy to be out with his friends. Sort of. Only 3 members of his team showed up. Two other teams also had 1 and 2 respectively show, so they formed a team to take on the highly organized and practiced team from a local private school. That team was 8U. Stormy’s team had a 5 year-old, two 6 year-olds, two 7 year-olds, and an 8 year-old. A little one-sided on the scoring but the kids had fun and Stormy looked awesome. He’s also gotten faster when he runs. In other sports’ news, rumor has it that MLB will be back around the 4th of July. HUGE yay!

And that’s about all the news fit to print. How many newspapers are still IN print these days? Anyway, what’s going on in your worlds? New week, people. New possibilities! Let’s use them. 😀

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Friday Sinema: Nobody But You

Posted on May 22, 2020 by Silver James

Y’all may–or not–know that Blake Shelton was the inspiration for Deacon Tate, the hero of the THE COWBOY’S CHRISTMAS PROPOSITION. Well, Deke’s baby brother Dillon is likely to get the next book and when I heard this song, I knew that if I were in control of the country music world and Deke, Dillon, and the Sons of Nashville were real, Dillon would have written it, Deke and Zoe Parker, who is married to their brother Tucker, would record it, though Deke would be singing to Quinn and Zoe to Tucker. The woman Dillon wrote it about? That’s a big ol’ secret but she’s been around, putting up with his shennanigans. I hope you enjuoy Blake and Gwen Stefani’s rendition as much as I did! Have a great weekend. 🥰

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Self-Love

Posted on May 21, 2020 by Silver James

We’re now on day…what(?) of the lock-down… This whole isolation thing is getting harder and harder. I’m tempted to answer the spam telephone calls just to talk to someone. I actually saw a meme on that–about telling the spammers, “I’d love to get that extended warranty, let me get my credit card. By the way, let me tell you about what my cat did today.” And then launch into some tall tale about the cat or dog or heck, some mythical Aunt Mabel! The point was to make the spammers hang up, take you of the no-call list that doesn’t work anyway, and never call you again. Anyway, a lot of people who haven’t been able to get out and about are almost to this point. On that note, we need to remember to look after ourselves. Working parents are stuck with the kids and doing home work and homework as they cover all the bases as both working adults and now homeschooling teachers. Take a moment to take this advice from the Universe.

You’re beautiful enough, Silver.

You’re special enough.

You’re sexy, playful, and fun enough.

You’ve worked enough.

You’ve cried enough.

You’ve been grateful, generous, and kind enough.

Okay, then?
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®

I’m not the one who needs convincing, Silver, nor have I been the one holding it back. Love yourself as we love you.

No thoughts on the craft of writing, as I have a tendancy to translate some of the messages. Today, we all need to remember that we ARE beautiful. And Special. And all the things that make us wonderful human beings. We will get through this, hopefully with our senses of humor intact. So do me a favor. Give yoursevles a pep talk and a hug and pretend that hug is me. Because, as the heroine (and sometimes the hero) in a romance novel often learns, you have to love yourself before you can love someone else. Love and hugs, people. Love and hugs! 🥰🤗

 

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Wednesday Words: Fly Away

Posted on May 20, 2020 by Silver James

Another Hump Day, another word prompt from Twitter’s #1LineWed. Today, it’s all about **FLIGHT**. Today’s snippet comes courtesy of a flash fiction challenge from ages ago. The prompt was “car trouble” and this is what ensued. Yes, it will eventually appear in one of the Nightrider books. Not sure who’s, but I like this heroine, and who doesn’t appreciate a big, bad biker coming to the rescue? I hope you enjoy and I’m always open to suggestions on who these two might become…
****
There is no us so just forget me and whatever weird shit is in your head. Here, I’ll make this easy. Get lost, bitch.”

He’d turned on his heel and walked away. From me. Sliding into his damn Porshe, roaring away into the night. Forget him? Hard to do when he’d ripped out my heart, stomped on it, and left me empty. How could I forget? It had been real to me.

That was then. Ten years I’d fought to regain my equilibrium. To regain any sort of power I’d once had. Ten years to feel human again. Ten years to get up the nerve to leave it all behind and start over. Ten years of looking for…me.

And then my car died. On the side of a deserted road in the middle of the night and a big, scary biker was walking toward me. No, not walking. Stalking. I felt like…prey. I wanted to run, had no place to go, and he’d catch me if I ran. I knew that with complete certainty. Yes, running would be the worst thing I could do. With flight no longer an option, that left fight. Only…

Good grief. He was huge. Well over six feet tall, probably close to 300 pounds—all muscle. Shaggy hair. My flashers alternately washed his sculpted face with yellow followed by night.

“Problem?” His voice sounded like tires skidding on gravel.

“No. I always park on the side of the road at midnight with my flashers on.”

A grin tugged on his full lips and I suddenly wanted to throw myself into his arms and kiss him. Bad me.

“Babe.” While still rough, his voice smoothed to hot coffee.

I threw up my hands. “My car died. I have gas. Oil. The check engine light flashed on, the motor stopped, and let me tell you, fighting no power steering and going from seventy to zero is scary.”

“Pop the hood.”

He might as well have said, “Pop the buttons on your blouse.” Actions jerky, I did what he said, waiting for his verdict.

Dropping the hood, he leaned in my window. “Serpentine belt shredded. C’mon.”

“Excuse me?”

“Babe.” He said that word like I should understand ever nuance, was probably dense that I didn’t. “Can’t leave you on the side of the road. Get on my bike. We’ll deal with your car tomorrow.”

Not stopping to think, I grabbed my purse. He took my keys, locked the car. I’d decided to move across country and now my best friend’s words echoed in my mind. Don’t waste another ten years. Get out there, find what completes you then love to your limit.

Okay. I could do that. Starting now. Except this wouldn’t be love. Just sex. With a scary biker. Who’d stopped to help. Wait. Did he even want sex with me?

“Babe. Thinkin’ too hard. Just get on the bike. I don’t bite.” Again with the grin. “Much.”

New me. Powerful me. Looking for real. Looking to stretch my limits to love. On the back of a stranger’s bike. If he murdered me, I wanted it to be worth the ride.

“I will be, babe.”
****
There it is, the beginning os someone’s adventure. Writers, got any flying words to share? Readers, which instinct would you follow–fight or flight?

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Tuesday Treats: Cheesy Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Bread

Posted on May 19, 2020 by Silver James

Looking for easy appetizers? Or TV munchies for when sports are back? How about just to eat because this recipe totally easy and totally quick and totally good. You need look no further than this recipe of yummyness. And that is too a word. Totally! 😉

Total Time: 50 Min.
Prep Time: 15 Min.
Cook Time: 35 Min.
12 servings

Make this Cheesy Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Bread for your next party. This Cheesy Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Bread incorporates three delicious cheeses.

What You Need
3/4 cup KRAFT Real Mayo Mayonnaise (I substitute Miracle Whip)
1/4 cup KRAFT Classic Ranch Dressing
1/3 cup Buffalo wing sauce, divided
2 green onions, sliced, divided
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 pkg. (8 oz.) KRAFT Shredded Colby & Monterey Jack Cheeses
1/3 cup ATHENOS Crumbled Blue Cheese
1 French bread baguette (14 oz.)

Let’s Make It
1 – Heat oven to 375°F.
2 – Mix mayo, dressing and 3 Tbsp. wing sauce in large bowl until blended.
3 – Reserve 1 Tbsp. onions for later use. Add remaining onions to mayo mixture along with the chicken and cheeses; mix lightly.
4 – Cut baguette lengthwise in half. Remove bread from insides of both bread halves, leaving 1-inch-thick shells. Fill with chicken mixture; place on parchment-covered baking sheet.
5 – Bake 30 to 35 min. or until heated through.
6 – Drizzle with remaining wing sauce; sprinkle with reserved onions.

Kitchen Tips
Tip 1 – Make Ahead: This delicious appetizer can be prepped ahead of time. Fill bread shells with chicken mixture, then wrap tightly and refrigerate up to 2 days before baking (unwrapped) as directed, increasing the baking time if necessary until chicken mixture is heated through.

Tip 2 – How to Use the Removed Bread: Use pulsing action of food processor to process the removed bread into desired-size crumbs. Store in resealable plastic bag until ready to use as desired.

Tip 3 – Size Wise: Manage portions by using a smaller plate for your meals and snacks to help you stick to the recommended serving sizes of your favorite recipes.

As always, CLICK to check out all the nutritional info from My Food and Family. This is a particular favorite when the Wolves get together. While she might be a close second to Hannah when it comes to not cooking, this is a treat that former US Marshal DJ Collier introduced to the guys. Her mate, Antoine Fontaine, is Cajun. He likes his food spicy, even if buffalo chicken is a damnyankee dish. DJ’s first encounters the Wolves of the 69th in WOLF MOON but it’s not until BLUE MOON that she almost loses her life, is kidnapped to be an experiment, and learns her fate. Interested and haven’t read it yet? Just click on the cover or title to head on over to grab it for your reading pleasure. I’ll warn you–it’s book 8 so you might want to start at the beginning. 😉

Okay, folks, inquiring minds want to know… What’s your favorite regional dish?

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Monday May I?

Posted on May 18, 2020 by Silver James

I hope your weekend wasn’t filled with chaos. Mine was pretty quiet. So was last week. As boring as that is, I’ll take it. Basically, I did some stuff, read some stuff–okay I actually listened, watched some stuff, ate some stuff. Oh, and I wrote some stuff. I’ll break it down.

Let’s start with the good stuff–writing. I’m nearing the end of MOONSTRUCK: BETRAYAL. I’ve finished the brand new novella, MOON CROSSED, that falls between the two previously-written but now expanded with new stuffs novels. I need to reread ROGUE MOON and catch any typos that have slipped through and add in a bit here and there and then do a complete proofread. Then it’s cover, formatting, and uploading. With luck, by the end of the month if not before. You may 🤞 but don’t hold your breath.

Moving on to sports, and the lack thereof… You know I’m desperate when I watch a skins golf game for charity. I mean, what IS a skin? Yes, I can probably google it but why? 🙄 But it was Ricky Fowler and Matthew Wolff, both former OSU Cowboys. I also switched channels a few times to check out the NASCAR race. First crash happened in the first lap. Both are weird with no spectators, and even I could recognize that the pros were a bit rusty, no matter which sport. I’m waiting with “baited” for the Pro-Bass tour. Yeah. Right. However, there is a rumor that we may have baseball for the 4th of July. That would be fireworks-worthy news!

My book listening hasn’t been a lot this past week. I’m being doing some of the lighthearted stuff because my brain is starting to rebel over all the stupid stuff going around social media. As a result, I have no tolerance for the stupid and a short fuse on my temper. I give the TV and/or computer monitor a piece of my mind, upsetting the fuzzy critters. Then I calm down, turn off everything, and stare at the ol’ WIP. Which is why Rudy’s new additions turned out a bit darker. But books. They are normally my refuge. I’m digging for books because most of what I’m waiting for isn’t out in audio yet, or hasn’t been released at all. Anyway, I did finish up Jennifer Estep’s Crown of Shards trilogy with CRUSH THE KING. Her worldbuilding and chacracters are wonderful. I’ll miss the world though she has mentioned she might come back to the world with other characters. There were some intentional loose threads so I hope she makes it so! The rest of the books were so-so.

So…writing, sports, books…what’s left? Oh, TV! LIVE PD is back to 3 hours! Yayayay. And there was an awesome dog rescue in Richland County. Turned out the puppers was 17 years old. Maxine is home with her dog mom, being spoiled and coddled and the vet says she should be fine. She’d been down in the drainage pipe for quite some time–lost, dehydrated, hurt, and hungry. Yay for Richland County deputies and good Samaritans! “The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch” is heating up. Weird stuff, people. WERID stuff! And finally, “The Masked Singer.” I forgot to mention the unmasking from the week before last in last week’s update. The Kitty, aka Jackie Evancho (a finalist on America’s Got talent), was unmasked. This past week, it was Rhino, a personal favorite of mine and not only did I know who the celebrity was, but I’d correctly guessed him–Barry Zito, former major league pitcher. The dude can sing, people! We’re down to three this week, Night Angel, Frog, and Turtle. No clue who they are behind the masks.

So, that’s it for me. Today starts a new week filled with possibilities, even if we’re still under seige. That’s what it is beginning to feel like. Here’s hoping all of you and yours are still healthy and still safe. The James Gang is both. How was your weekend? Need to rant? Any tips for getting through this mess? We’re listening…Okay, reading. You know what I mean. 😆

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Friday Sinema: Roses and Seals

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Silver James

When I saw this video mentioned in my blog feed, I clicked. Because…SEALS! And I ❤ the song. I gigglesnorted so hard Lawyer Guy came running in to check on me. He didn’t find it quite as funny so your mileage may vary…

So now, from the ridiculasly cute to the sublime, because I do love the song and the way Seal sings. Plus, some bonus Batman footage. Hope you enjoy the official video. Have a great weekend, everyone!

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