Friday Sinema: Cool Ranch Dance

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Silver James

Okay, as promised, this is my follow-up to the Super Bowl. In other words, this is my assessment of the 2020 crop of Super Bowl commercials. There were approximately 50 ads aired. I remember 9 of them. In the order they aired, these are the ones I made note of because I was either WTF? or laughingly entertained by them.

1. Walmart “Out of this World.” I have no idea if that’s the actual title but the add showed a plethora of otherworldly beings dropping in to pick-up groceries at Walmart. It was fun, hip, and nostalgic all at the same time. Lawyer Guy and I had a blast naming the movies/TV shows those beings appeared in.

2. Rocket Mortgage “The Comfort of Home.” Again, my title. This one starred Jason Mamoa who is hotHotHOT! It also showed him “relaxing” at home by “stripping down.” His muscles, that is. He has a great sense of humor. It got a gigglesnort out of me.

3. Snickers “The World is out of Sorts.” You really need to catch the “preview” commercials but basically, Snickers is going to fix the stupid in the world by digging a big hole and dropping in a giant Snickers. I laughed. A lot. Especially at the end.

4. Hyundai “Pahk the Cah.” Three native Bostonians, Boston accent in full bloom, amazed at a Hyundai Sonata “pahkin'” itself. Big Papi’s cameo at the end is priceless. According the “experts,” this ad was the most highly rated. It was good but not that good IMH.

5. Verizon 5G “What 5G Won’t Do.” OMG! Cold chills and the sniffles. It’s a powerful commercial. If you missed it, look it up. it’s on YouTube.

6. Heinz Ketchup “Find the Goodness” to the tune of “I’ll Be There.” Four groups/families in very different places looking to eat… The song nostalgia added to the humor.

7. Cool Ranch Doritos. See below…

8. Toyota Highlander “Go Where You’re Needed. Okay. I drive a Highlander so this might be a sentimental favorite, but the mom driving the Highlander”? She. Is. AWESOME! I must Google Cobie Smulder, who is driving.

9. Jeep “Groundhog Day.” The Super Bowl was played on Groundhog Day. Bill Murray starred in the iconic movie of the same name. This one was a close second for best commercial in my book.

All that said, I had to go with Doritos “The Cool Ranch” featuring Lil Nas X and Sam Elliott, along with the rapper’s version of “Old Town Road.” Watch for the moustache. Just sayin’…

And the winner is:

What was your favorite commercial? Now, go have a great weekend!

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Heartbreak

Posted on February 6, 2020 by Silver James

Where would a romance novel be without the Black Moment™? What would romance authors do instead of sitting around dreaming up the worst thing that could happen to our hapless couples? It’s hard, people! Seriously. Writing a book where boy meets girl (or any combination thereof), they date, get to know each other, get married (or not), and live happily ever after is easy. Boring for the reader, though. There has to be conflict. There has to be a modicum of relationship suspense even if the book isn’t a suspense, mystery, or thriller. We want to see a couple fight for each other, fight for their relationship, fight for love. Right? What’s that got to do with our message from the Universer today?

Hearts don’t actually break, Silver, but sometimes they’re forced to grow so fast, it feels like they have.

Sorry about that,
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®

For every heart ache, Silver, you feel deeper, love greater, and glow brighter. Yeah, which means right about now, you’re blazing.

Heartbreak is at the soul of a romance novel–ie. the Black Moment™. And the Universe is right–whether in fiction or real life. For every hurt of the heart, you do feel deeper, love greater, and glow brighter. And when a couple–real or imagined–come out the other side, that HEA is a blazing moment of glory. And that’s why I write and read romance. Besides, “torturing” a fictional couple in love is so much fun! Bwahahaha

What about y’all? Are you a fan of the Black Moment™ or do you want just a story of two people falling into love and living their lives in an easy-peasy HEA?

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Wednesday Words: Emboldened

Posted on February 5, 2020 by Silver James

Okay, y’all! Get your fans out, crank up the AC and buckle up. Today’s short snippet is definitely NSFW so be warned because Holy Hotness! Today’s guest contributor, USA Today best-selling author MJ Nighingale, is truly bringing the heat! Of course, Angel Murphy is a firefighter so he can handle it and I’m betting he knows what to do if Jemma combusts!
****
When he parted his lips, she tentatively darted her tongue into his mouth. He captured it with his teeth before he allowed her further entry. Then he let her in. Her stomach tightened as she stroked his tongue with her own and felt a deep heat engulf her core. When his hands gripped her arms, and she felt the powerful man under her shudder while she kissed him, it emboldened her further. She needed, no, yearned, to be closer to him. She swung her legs over his body and got onto her knees, placing one on each side of his lean hips so that she half lay astride him. The connection was intimate, and she could feel him grow hard at her apex where their bodies touched through their jeans. His erection against her femininity, even through her clothes, made her body come alive. She thought the position would ease some of the ache inside her, but it only made it worse. She gently pushed against him, and they both groaned in unison at the pleasure that pressure created.
****

If you haven’t already, go pre-order FIGHTING FOR GEMMA by clicking on the cover, the teaser meme or the cover! Want more info? Here’s the book’s blurb to further entice you. 😉

High school science teacher Jemma Haner is ready for love, but she doesn’t do firefighters. Period. Never. No way. But Angel is everything she is looking for. Tall, dark, handsome and kind. As a veterinarian he shares her love of animals, nature, and the outdoors. She’d been burned in the past and had lost too much already to risk her heart to a firefighter.

Angel, “Short Shit” to his friends with the Tarpley Volunteer Fire department, can rescue cats and kids out of trees without a ladder. He works hard and loves harder, but when he meets Jemma he thinks only of making her his. Only problem–she won’t date firefighters. Can he get her to change her mind and give love a chance? Can he win her heart?

And when the storm of the century hits Tarpley, Texas, can Angel save Jemma from the dangers that come at her from all sides, and still do the job he loves? Find out in Book 4 of TVFD, part of Susan Stoker’s Badge of Honor series.

Is anyone emboldened to share some words today? Be bold and go for it! (And they don’t have to be sexy. 😉 )

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Tuesday Treats: Jemma’s Fall-Off-The-Bone BBQ Pork Ribs

Posted on February 4, 2020 by Silver James

Today, we have another set of “guest chefs” in the house: MJ Nightingale and her heroine, Jemma Haner. I ❤ ribs like damn and whoah so I'm all over this recipe! And guess what?!?! These ribs are healthy. No. Really!

Here is Jemma's Recipe for Fall-Off-The-Bone Barbecue Pork Ribs.

Ingredients:
3 to 4 pounds of Pork Ribs
An avocado (Or a quarter cup of vegetable oil)
Light Brown Sugar, Coke, Barbecue Sauce.

Directions:
1. Mash the Avocado, and mix with 1 cup light brown sugar, half can of coke, and one cup of your favorite barbecue sauce.
2. Heat oven to 275 degrees.
3. Use meat scissors to cut ribs into single servings.
4. place tin foil on bottom of pan and put ribs on top, meat side up. Lather with the mashed avocado mixture. Cover.
5. Bake in oven for 3 hours on low heat.
6. Uncover ribs and remove excess juice from pan. Put ribs back in oven uncovered and bake at 400 degrees for ten minutes to crisp. Let stand ten minutes before serving.

Jemma is very impressed with Angel’s cooking and his updated kitchen. When she invites him to her place for a meal, she wants to impress him with her culinary skills as well, and wants to make him some real Texas style barbecue with all the fix-ins. She’s a high school teacher who has no time for firefighters. Yeah, that’s a problem since veterinarian Angel “Short Shit” Murphy is a member of the Tarpley VFD. Will Angel manage to convince Jemma he’s as perfect as her BBQ ribs? To find out, y’all will just have to read their story in FIGHTING FOR JEMMA, releasing on February 18th! You can preorder now. Just click the cover or the title and zoom over to Amazon to snatch it up. Or, you can wait and read for free with your Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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Super Bowl Monday 2020

Posted on February 3, 2020 by Silver James

Welpers, it’s Monday. It’s also the Monday after the Super Bowl. Lawyer Guy and I settled in to watch not only the commercials but the game. At the time I’m typing this, I’m about half-way through the pre-game show. 😂 I’ll do a follow-up later in the week on my thoughts of the game and the commercials. I’ve done a commercial round-up for a lot of years–ever since Super Bowl commercials became a thing.

In other news, not much writing or revising. It happens. There was quite a bit of Jammie time with Stormageddon. That always takes precedent. I had him Monday after school, Thursday after school for an early dinner and play time at Chik Fil-A, and then LG and I headed to his school Friday afternoon for the talent show. Stormy sang a song that he wrote himself, titled “Little, Little Jack Pipe.” He made up the words and the tune. He also told his mom he needed a guitar to play soft music, not a loud one like a rock guitar. Eyes were rolled, but the little dickens stuck to the words and tune each time he sang the song so maybe there’s some talent there…

The new season of “The Masked Singer” arrived last night after the Super Bowl. As an author, I shouldn’t be switching verb tense in this “article” but tough. It’s my blog and I’ll switch if I want to. And there was a Super Bowl and commercials.

I did a brisket, home-made BBQ sauce, deviled eggs, and baked beans for the game. Pretty darn tasty.

Jake had a full day Saturday. We took him to the American Legion Post for pancake breakfast. He stayed under the table and 90% of the people had no clue he was there. Those who did see him all wanted to pet and fuss so I took him off service dog duty. He even got bacon. That was followed by siren test and lunch at Alvarados’s, our favorite Mexican restaurant. They have a table back in the corner and Jack gets tucked back in and sleeps. This was his second time there and NO ONE knew he was there but the owner, who seated us. Imagine the surprise when we walked out. He’s such a good boy! I managed to find a hole in the grass and went down. Two things happened: Jake was right there even though I dropped his leash and I managed to roll to my knees and stand up without help. Both of those are big deals for a variety of reasons.

Remember my “Thursday Thoughts” about stopping to check out the “Wow Moments?” Well, I had some this past week and I thought I’d share. Wow moments:

Yesterday was a rare, once-in-a-century “palindrome” day: 02-02-2020 Reverse the numbers and it’s the same date.

I saw an eagle land on the roof of a house. Crazy.

I actually watched the Super Bowl. Go figure. Hey, I liked both teams, didn’t really care who won, though I was rooting for the Chiefs.

And on that not, I’m shutting down in the “now” (Sunday afternoon) so I can finish food prep and pay closer attention to the SB pre-game. Hope y’all had a great weekend and have a productive week. Did you watch the Bowl? Did your time win? What was your favorite commercial? (I’ll reveal mine on Friday. 😀 )

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Friday Sinema: Moonline

Posted on January 31, 2020 by Silver James

I would never do this. Ever! But wow, to watch this video? Kinda makes me wish I was young and adventurous again. Also, what a cool scene this would make in a book. 🤔🤔🤔 ( <– My thinking face while I thinkthinkthink) What extreme thing would you like to try? Have a great weekend!

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Wow

Posted on January 30, 2020 by Silver James

I’m older than dirt. *shrug* Thing is, I don’t feel that old. Oh, physically I do, but mentally? Yeah…nope. Does that make me “young at heart?” Or am I suffering from “Peter Pan Syndrome?” No clue. I do know that I’m a writer and writers all look at things differently than normal people. “Writer’s Brain” is a real thing and part of that is the ability to understand what the Universe is going on about today. See, writers almost always have this ability:

The ability to stop, reflect, and go “wow,” Silver, is one of the wisest characteristics an old soul can possess.

I recommend it daily,
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®

I’m not “dating” you, Silver, “old soul” is not a chronological reference, but you do wow me.

I’m an old soul. I was born “old” that way, even though I am young at heart. I think most writers are. That’s not to say that other people aren’t, just that writers have a way of stopping, reflecting, and going “wow” when the light-bulb moment hits. It shows in the way we paint pictures with words, in the way we tell stories spun from thin air, in the way we create the worlds in which our characters live. So yeah, I stop and go WOW! a lot. It’s almost as good as stopping to smell the roses.

What’s made you stop, relfect, and go “wow” lately?

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Wednesday Words: Remember Me

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Silver James

Today, I want to welcome my guest “snippeteer,” the international best-selling author, TL Reeves. I’m lucky enough to share the Badege of Honor: Tarpley VFD miniseries and world with some awesome authors, including TL. These books are all standalone but share characters and one major event so you know you want to read them all, especially FIGHTING FOR BRITTNEY. Brittney Hart is a meteorologist who, with her team of experts, chases storms. She’s come to Tarpley, Texas to visit a friend and bumps into more than she bargained for at the TVFD fund-raiser and award ceremony. Five the of the firefighters are being recognized for saving the life of Texas Game Warden Conor Paxton and his girlfriend, Erin Gardner, who’d been kidnapped. If y’all know anything about small-town Texas, you know they are always up for a party and five of their own getting life-saving medals is a big deal. So is running into the woman who Dexter “Dirty-D” Walsh hasn’t stopped thinking about for sixteen years…
****
She turned quickly then stumbled backward. Shock and confusion marred her pretty features. As cliché as it sounded, she hadn’t aged a day. She still reminded him of the young rich girl who wanted to be a weather girl. “Dirty-D?” The way she murmured his name went straight to his groin.

“You remember me?”

“How could I forget you?” She started walking toward one of the other tables.

“I’m surprised to see you,” he said then kicked himself as he followed behind her.

“Yeah,” she replied. “Strange, right?”

Dexter stopped. “Brittney?”

“Yeah?”

She wouldn’t look at him. If he didn’t know any better, he’d swear she didn’t want to talk to him. “Uh, can we talk?”

“About what?” She glanced over her shoulder at him.

“I thought maybe we could catch up.”

She licked her bottom lip and it was then he saw the tremble in her hand and the way her gaze darted from spot to spot, as though she might have been waiting for something. Maybe the guy who’d walked away had been her husband.

“Oh, catch up? I mean, it’s not like we had any kind of relationship, right? We kind of had a quickie in the bathroom of that bar not far from here.”

He frowned. She was right. They didn’t have anything. They’d been a post-test/pre-ship out hook up. “Right. It’s… It’s been a long time. It’s really good to see you.”

She nodded. “It’s good to see you, too. Surprising.” She flashed him her easy smile, the one that made him want to go to his knees and do anything she asked.

“Yeah. It is.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “So, what brought you here?”

She quirked a brow. “Jemma, why? What brought you here?”

“Fire department. This is my station—well, it’s our station. I’m a Paramedic/Firefighter for Tarpley.

“Oh,” she said. “So, Big Bend, huh?”

“Yeah. Crazy.” He stopped her as she handed a dollar to the girl standing behind the counter of a squirt gun game. “I would like to just, talk. I… God, this is going to make me sound like a creep, but I thought about you over the years.”

Brittney pushed a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear. “Dexter, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I mean… I’m not sure if I can.”

“What’s a beer between old acquaintances?”

“I—”

“Mom! Check it out.”
****
And…what a hook! Y’all know you need to one-click like RIGHT NOW! This book has all the feels and second-chance stories are my cat nip. Just click on the title or the cover teaser below and grab it now so it drops into your inbox the moment FIGHTING FOR BRITTNEY goes live! Readers, who is the character you’d like a second chance with? Authors, do you have any “remember me” scenes to share?

If you’re insterested in the book that inspired the Tarpley VFD characters and their story, check out Susan Stoker’s JUSTICE FOR ERIN, Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes.

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Tuesday Treats: No Bake Cookies

Posted on January 28, 2020 by Silver James

A perennial favorite of kids of all ages and so easy even kids can make No Bake Cookies. Today’s recipe is shared by TL Reeves, author of the upcoming new release FIGHTING FOR BRITTNEY.

INGREDIENTS
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 3 cups quick cooking oats
• 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Bring butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa to a boil for one minute. To make sure cookies set up properly wait until mixture comes to a complete FULL boil and then start the timer for one minute. Remove from heat.
2. Add peanut butter, vanilla, and oats. Stir well and drop spoonfuls onto waxed paper or parchment paper. Let them set up and cool.

Just remember, for all their yummy goodness, these cookies are healthy too! They are! I mean…peanut butter AND oats. Making these cookies is a holiday tradition for Brittney Hart and her teen-age son. A single mom, Brittney spends most of her time traveling around the US chasing storms. A meteorologist, it’s her job but no matter what, she always spends Christmas with her son and they whip up a batch of these cookies and settle in to watch all the Christmas shows. After they chase a storm into Tarpley, Texas, there just might be someone else sharing those cookies next Christmas–Dexter “Dirt-D” Walsh, former naval officer and current Tarpley VFD firefighter. You can preorder their book now and read their exciting story come February 18! Just click on the title or the cover and head on over to one-click FIGHTING FOR BRITTNEY by international best-selling author, TL Reeve.

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Last Monday Meh

Posted on January 27, 2020 by Silver James

You know how you think you’ve done something and then you realize you didn’t do it? Yeah…that… I could have sworn I wrote a blog for this morning and set it up yesterday. Only…I didn’t. I have mentioned that it sucks to get old, right?

Moving on. There was a week and a weekend. The week got off to a discombobulated start because Monday wasn’t “Monday.” It was Stormageddon Comes to Jammie’s House for the day. Ha had a lot of coloring to do for homework so we sat at the dining room table to color–him working on his homework, me digging out an “adult” coloring book a friend sent me one year. It was a fun way to spend a few hours but totally messed up my head on which day of the week it was.

The breaking news all last week was that FIGHTING FOR ELENA and the the five other books in the BOH: Tarpley VFD series are up for preorder. There’s always last minute stuff to do–updating the website, advertising and social media. All that fun stuff. That put a dent in my writing brain so not many words fixed or written on BETRAYAL last week. It happens.

There was a weekend. I vegged out. Wonky headspace is not condusive to much of anything.

I caught up on some LIVE PD shows DVR’d. I watch most of them “live” but due to KP duty and critter feeding duties and often falling asleep, I don’t always get to see the whole thing. We DVR so I can zip through to the parts I missed. I did some of that. Yesterday, I caught EXPETIDION BIGFOOT on the travel channel. It wasn’t cheesy and actually took a very scientific slant. Amazing tech stuff was used and some trul creepy moments. The show ran a first-season marathon because the finale aired last night. I’ll keep an eye out for season 2. I also did the first two episodes of 9-1-1 Lone Star on On Demand and then set to DVR the upcoming episode. There’s a lot that made me scratch my head and wince (firefighting stuffs) but it stars Rob Lowe. He’s becoming a bit of a silver fox. 😉

I’m still listening my way through Jennifer Ashely’s Shifters Unbound series. This is only my second time through the series and it’s been since 2018 so there are parts I remember and parts I don’t so it’s all good. I’m waiting for GOLDEN IN DEATH, #50 in JD Robb’s series starring futuristic cop Eve Dallas. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read and listened to all those books. Totally my favorite of all time!

On a sad note, I’m not an NBA fan but my heart goes out to the Bryant family and the others who died in the helicopter crash yesterday. Heartbreaking. 😢

Wow. I had more “news” than I thought I did and now I’m in the mindset to get to work. Have to run some errands today so I’ll be in and out of that headspace but that’s okay. It’s a new “work” week and it’s filled with possibilities. What’s on your list for this week?

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