Today’s sinema is courtesy of Lawyer Guy. You can blame him for the ear worm. And the giggles, especially if you remember the 70s. Just sayin’. Have a great weekend! I’m doing Jammie duty followed by my RWA chapter meeting on Saturday. I hope the chest cold eases enough I have some energy. If not, I’ll sit in the corner and cough. 😉
Okay. I love the pic in this Twitter meme that we used for #1lineWed today. And while I will likely use the photo as inspiration at a later date, it is not the basis for today’s snippet, which illustrates the theme. With SpecOps and biker Wolves, you know there’s plenty of danger in my books, but I ❤ this snippet so I'm sharing it again. It's been a long while and y'all know that the Russian is one of my favorite Wolves. I can't give you any context for the scene, but I think you'll be able to sort of figure out what's going on. If not, stick around. The Russian's book will arrive eventually. *bwahaha*
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He was a man who would never wear a suit and tie. He was a man who would never succumb to the trappings of civilization. Wild. Fierce. Powerful in ways that made women sigh all the way down to their deeply feminine cores. This man would keep his woman safe, bring meat to the cave, and fuck her into oblivion. Danger gathered around him like shadows at midnight. I was always a little afraid of him. But never enough to walk away.
What happened was all my fault. If I’d been the one strong enough, brave enough to leave, I wouldn’t be standing here gazing at the faces around me. No one looked at me. I stood at the back, listening to the rain tap dance on my umbrella.
Nothing made sense. Not how we met. How he came to possess me. How I surrendered to him heart and soul. How his touch devoured me like flames. How, in the end, the light of his love would flicker out, leaving me in the dark.
“You don’t belong here.”
I glanced at the woman who had sidled up next to me. She obviously did, with her spiked blonde hair and patched leather jacket. Property of Easy, the patches said, the words hugging the leaping wolf with the comet’s tail. She was right. I wasn’t Nightrider property. Not anymore. Not that I’d ever been. Really. I didn’t belong, but I’d been unable to stay away.
We’d parted badly, he and I, him ripping my heart from my chest when he roared away on his Harley without a backward glance. I’d heard the news that brought me here from a little bird far too happy at sharing information guaranteed to shred my heart. Again.
So here I stood, hiding under my umbrella though the rain gave way to drizzle, watching to see if it was true. Tall, he could see over the crowd. His eyes found me like a heat-seeking missile. He recognized me, but his expression never changed. That told me all I needed to know. He was done with me. Irrevocably. I was yesterday’s trash. Old girlfriend. Old news.
Someone spoke to him and his gaze slid away. Freed from his spell, I turned, walked with an unsteady gait I blamed on the uneven terrain back to my car. I watched my feet, unwilling to trip and fall, furthering my embarrassment. I stopped when I saw the black motorcycle boots blocking my path.
Tilting both the umbrella and my head, I looked up. I’d been a cherished possession when I’d been his, back in the dark ages. He brushed two knuckles across my wet cheek as he breathed my name. “Grace.”
In self-defense, I said the first thing that came to mind. “There’s not enough rain to hide the tears.”
“Do you miss me so much, kotenok?”
Kitten. He still called me kitten. I couldn’t answer so I stepped around him, determined to leave.
He called after me, his voice curling around me like warm fingers. “Always you lied to yourself, but you could never lie to me.”
Truth, that, but I kept walking, telling one final, dangerous lie to myself—that I could walk away. From my destiny. From Sergei.
****
So what about y’all? Any dangerous stuff going on in your lives? Do you live for danger? 
Share if you do!
Breakfast for dinner! Breakfast for brunch! Breakfast for breakfast’s sake! Who doesn’t love breakfast? Especially one you make ahead.
Total Time: 13 Hr 5 Min
Prep Time: 15 Min
Cook Time: 12 Hr 50 Min
Enjoy this Easy Ham and Cheese Bake that will please any brunch crowd. Dig into this ham and cheese bake full of cheesy goodness and waffles. You’ll love sharing this dish at a gathering with friends and family.
What You Need
10 frozen waffles (4-inch diameter)
12 KRAFT Singles
1 pkg. (7.5 oz.) OSCAR MAYER CARVING BOARD Slow Cooked Ham, chopped
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese
2 cups milk
10 eggs
Let’s Make It
1 – Layer half each of the waffles, Singles and ham in 13×9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray, cutting waffles as necessary to fit dish; repeat layers.
2 – Microwave cream cheese in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 30 to 40 sec. or until softened; whisk until creamy. Gradually add milk, about 1/4 cup at a time, whisking after each addition until blended. Whisk in eggs. Pour over ingredients in baking dish; cover with foil. Refrigerate overnight.
3 – Heat oven to 350ºF. Bake casserole (covered) 50 min. or until knife inserted in center comes out clean, uncovering for the last 20 min.
Kitchen Tips
Tip 1 – Variation: Prepare using KRAFT 2% Milk Singles and PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese.
Tip 2 – Special Extra: Serve topped with maple-flavored or pancake syrup. Special SPECIAL extra (my variation): Use bacon instead of ham because…BACON!
Tip 3 – Savory Waffle, Ham and Cheese Bake: Prepare as directed, whisking 1 Tbsp. GREY POUPON Dijon Mustard and 2 sliced green onions into egg mixture before pouring over layered ingredients in prepared baking dish and baking as directed.
For all the details, head over to Kraft’s MY FOOD AND FAMILYsite. Believe it or not, today’s recipe can’t be attributed to any of my heroines. Nope. Today, the guys are taking charge because Mac and Liam McIntire make this dish for Hannah for Mother’s Day. Or they do now that they’ve settled down in Bladd’s Gap. They serve this up with a big ol’ cup of coffee, just the way Hannah likes it. If you’d like to learn more about Wolf shifter Mac, his crazy-ass (as described by a few fans) wife Hannah, and their way-too-smart son Liam, I strongly suggest you start at the beginning with MOONSTRUCK: SECRETS, followed by MOONSTRUCK: LIES. Then you can coast through the individual stories until you hit MOON SHOT, which is today’s sponsor. 😉 Just click on the titles or the cover of MOON SHOT to grab your copy of any of the books.
When do you eat breakfast?
Why yes, I did go to a calendar and count up how many Mondays have gone by so far this year. Hey…it’s HARD to come up with scintillating titles. Just ask any author…
So, there was a weekend. We had rain. The Big 12 decided to cancel the Big Twelve Softbal Tournament and just declare OU the champion. The only problem? OSU had already won both their bracket games and was set to play in the championship game. As of the time I’m typing this, NCAA regionals haven’t been announced. We’ll see if OSU gets screwed by the Big 12. In other sports news, OSU beat OU in baseball, taking 2 of 3 in the last Bedlam series between the teams. My Cards? Well…they’re running hot and cold. Ah well. It’s still early in the season.
Reading and/or listening. 😆 I worked my way through 21 Black Dagger Brotherhood world books. I have two more to go, but I’m on the wait list at the library for them. The next new book releases in August, with another in November. Since I’m waiting, I’m heading into a new-to-me author, Annette Marie, and series, though not under appreciated series. The first book, THREE MAGES AND A MARGARITA, is pretty clever so far. The series is called The Guild Codex: Spellbound. I got the first book on special and had an Audible coupon so it was free, and it looks like I can get the rest of the series on Hoopla so yay!
TV: Live PD FTW. Live Rescue is okay. Game of Thrones episodes are stacking up. Once the season (and series) is done, I’ll pull a marathon watch. Oh, and First 48. Police reality shows and baseball. That’s pretty much all that’s been on my screen of late.
Writing: Only minimal, which totally sucks. I’m determined to get back on deadline duty. Today.
And finally…
Life: It beats the alternative.
What’s going on in your world?
Okay, there’s a story behind today’s Sinema selection. A guy I follow (David Gaughran) for marketing advice used this song to illustrate a point in one of his newsletters. I had to go to YouTube to listen to it because…reasons! And I’d forgotten it was part of the soundtrack for “Guardians of the Galaxy.” So here. Chris Pine and an earworm for your TGIF fun! Have a great weekend. 😉
While these “messages” from the Universe (via Tut.com) are meant to be life lessons of a sort for the individual, I so often find lessons that pertain to writing as well. Granted, my life certainly needs all the help it can get, and as a writer, I never want to stop getting better. Anyway…
So. There’s a thing when dealing with characters. Fiction writers take classes on the topic. What is it, you ask… It’s called GMC–Goal(s), Motivation, Conflict. Each character needs these three things in order to be interesting, in order for their story to be interesting and compelling, which keeps a reader reading. Some writers keep detailed notes, outlines, charts, etc. to make sure that each scene has its share of GMC. Lots of new writers want an easy way to understand GMC. To me, the Universe pretty much sums it up:
There’s never been a conflict, Silver, from which both parties didn’t have something very cool to learn.
That’s why we call them parties.
Gr-r-r-
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com®Actually, every day’s a party, Silver, in time and space.
The last two lines before the Univers signs off is what sums it up for me. “There’s never been a conflict from which both parties didn’t have something very cool to learn. That’s why we call them parties.” The conflict between the parties (external conflict) leads to lessons (internal conflict) learned by the characters. And the party? That’s the Happy Ever After. Because I write romance. Gotta have the HEA. So question for both writers AND readers: Do you prefer the character’s internal conflict or is the external conflict your catnip?
Another Wednesday. More #1lineWed words. Today’s theme? Well…do you fear the UNKNOWN? Is there an Unsub (UNKNOWN Subject) in your future? Been to the Tomb of the UNKNOWN Soldier? Yup, our theme is **UNKNOWN**. Sadly, for Derek Alexander, the hero of CRASH & BURN, there are lots of unknowns in this snippet–Kit’s fate, who’s calling him, will he get to her in time? Hrmmm…
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It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep his wolf at bay. If Derek didn’t concentrate, claws, fangs, and fur sprouted spontaneously. He was sitting three cars back at a stoplight when a fire engine roared across the intersection, lights flashing and sirens blaring. More fire apparatus followed.
Derek! His lungs seized as his name echoed in his head. Kit. She was in imminent danger—and not too far away. His gaze followed the fire trucks and his gut clenched. He knew he was right. So did his wolf.
His phone rang. Unknown caller flashed on the screen. He answered but didn’t speak.
“The woman is going to die.” The deep voice was oddly accented, the English stilted. “If you drive very fast, you might save her. Or not.”
“What do you want, asshole?”
“You seem to know me so well. It is very simple, Mr. Alexander. I can save her, but I will need certain assurances from you first.”
You have a price on your head, literally. Smoke’s voice echoed in his head. And he caught the nuanced “can save her” as opposed to “will save her.” He clamped down on his emotions and leashed his wolf. “What do you want?”
“Your head.”
He laughed. “Yeah, right. I get someone to deliver my head and meanwhile my…the woman also dies. That’s not a bargain I’ll be makin’.”
“Ah well. We will play another day. In the meantime, I will watch your mate die.”
Derek caught the sound of sirens. The fire trucks. Oh, fuck. Kit was in danger of burning to death. But then the sirens faded, passing by the caller.
Laughter scraped his eardrum. “Big fires. Little fires. Both can kill. Too bad the firemen are going the wrong direction.”
“Listen to me, you motherfu—” The line went dead.
****
If you haven’t read C&B yet, just click on the book over over there on the right. Remember, the price goes up in a week or so. And if you have unknown words, share them!
Even though it’s spring time, sometimes the taste for chili is there. This is especially true around a firehouse. Just ask Kit.
Total Time: 7 Hr 30 Min
Prep Time: 30 Min
Cook Time: 7 Hr
This hearty BBQ Steakhouse Chili is made with tomatoes, beans and a pound each of beef top round steak and extra-lean ground beef.
What You Need
2 Tbsp. oil
1 lb. beef top round steak, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 lb. extra-lean ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup A.1. Dry Rub Bold Original
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (16 oz. each) kidney beans, rinsed
2-1/2 cups undrained canned no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 bottle (18 oz.) KRAFT Hickory Smoke Barbecue Sauce
3/4 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Let’s Make It
1 – Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add next 5 ingredients; stir. Cook 10 min. or until meat is evenly browned, stirring frequently. Spoon into slow cooker sprayed with cooking spray.
2 – Add all remaining ingredients except cheese; stir. Cover with lid. Cook on LOW 7 to 8 hours (or on HIGH 4 to 5 hours).
3 – Serve topped with cheese.
Kitchen Tips
Tip 1 – Special Extra: Garnish with sliced green onions before serving.
Tip 2 – Special Extra: For easy cleanup, line slow cooker with plastic liner bag before filling with ingredients and cooking as directed.
Tip 3 – Game Day Tip: This is a great game-day chili since it both makes enough to feed a crowd, and can be prepared ahead of time. Refrigerate any leftovers, then reheat and serve spooned over split hot baked potatoes or cooked OSCAR MAYER Wieners.
Since the book with Kit and Derek’s story went live yesterday, she really wanted to share another tried and true recipe from her old department at Will Rogers World Airport where she was an ARFF. And yeah, she’s heard all the dog jokes, thank you very much. Kit’s very proud to be an Airport Rescue Firefighter but she sure didn’t expect to hit the ground running when she moved to the DFW International Airport Fire Department, nor did she expect to meet a sexy federal agent. FYI, Derek likes this version of chili. A lot. Because…it has meat. And lots of it. He’s a Wolf. What do you expect? You can grab their expanded story for $1.99 for the next couple of weeks or read free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. Price goes up to $2.99 in about 14 days. What about y’all? Chili year-round or only on chilly days? 😉
New month. New week. Same ol’ Monday. So…time to wax on about stuffs. Like…what I did this weekend, because I know y’all are bating your breaths to find out–or would that be baiting? 😉 Anyway, I have coffee in hand and I’m pretending this is Monday morning when it’s actually Sunday evening because that’s how I roll.
Writing news: CRASH & BURN is LIVE! CLICK HERE to grab your updated copy. It’s free to read with a Kindle Unlimited subscription, $1.99 to buy–for the next few weeks and then it’s going up to $2.99. There’s new material in a previously published book. So there’s that. Today is back to the RDR grind. Gotta get that puppy ruffed out because the Nightrider books are going into wide distribution the end of the month and I have to get updated copies done and uploaded to D2D for distribution. My KU page reads are down, as are sales in general at Amazon. Time to try something different.
TV: Live PD marathon. Like…d’uh. I’m refusing to watch the news and between baseball and Live PD, not watching much of anything else at the moment. Boring. *shrug*
Sports: Well, my Cardinals are doing better than anticipated, though they’ve dropped some games to some teams they should beat, like the *koffCubskoff* Still, they’re hanging in there at the top so no complaints. My Cowgirls got swept by OU but that’s not too surprising. OU is #1 in the nation and OSU is either #12 or #13, depending on the poll. I’ll take it! Speaking of the Stanley Cup, the St. Louis Blues have forced a game 7 against the Dallas Stars so that’s a yay, too.
Reading: The Black Dagger Brotherhood keeps growing. I’m up to the 18th book, THE CHOSEN. I grabbed a couple of audio books on sale for future listening: KILL THE QUEEN by Jennifer Estep. I’ve read the book and really enjoyed it. Grabbed the audio in preparation for release of the 2nd book in the series, PROTECT THE PRINCE, coming out soon. Also grabbed THREE MAGES AND A MARGARITA because…why not?!? There’s also some other books on my wish list coming out soon but I can’t remember them off the top of my head.
Miscellaneous: My bruises from the fall I took last week are sort of fading. I nailed my right arm. Ugh. The left knee has good days and bad days. I can’t sit for very long, still. I get stiff and stove up and it freaking hurts! Sucks to be old. 😛 Weather was cloudy and a bit chill on Saturday but beautiful Sunday. Now it looks like rain/stormy weather is moving back in today. Saturday was pancake breakfast at the American Legion post, along with a craft show, followed by siren test–which was call off due to “something in the atmosphere that might cause problems…oh, and the Edmond Arts Festival was in full force.” Most “spotters” were already in place. It meant that Only, Stormy, and I got to have early lunch at our favorite Mex restaurant. Lawyer Guy was doing Legion stuff at the Warr Acres Family Wellness Festival and Baseball was out-of-town with his team at regionals. They lost so he’s done. We also kept Stormy Saturday evening so Only could have a much-needed girls’ night out.
And that’s my news for the day. How about y’all? What’s going on in your worlds?
So, 20 years ago, the first tornado officially measured with winds of 300 mph occured here in central Oklahoma. I responded with the SAR team I volunteered with. Our first duty was to clear the cars and debris under an overpass on I-35 at Moore. After the two Bethany firefighters I was with, along with OHP officers and others, cleared the area, we used my Blazer to load up some injured motorists to take them over to the command post set up at a big Baptist church. I ended up running Resource Command for the duration. The May 3, 1999 tornado caused an “upgrade” in the Fujita Scale. As y’all know, I have a macabre sense of humor. Which is why I’m posting this video. Happy Friday.
FYI, Iffy wants to turn this video into a story. Figures. 🙄
NEW RELEASE
NEW RELEASE
NOW AVAILABLE
Silver James 