There’s nothing cuter than the original grumpiest of cats–especially a Momma Pallas with her new kits. Enjoy. And have a great weekend.
What’s that song we used to sing in rounds? Row, row, row your boat. Gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, life is but a dream. As I think about it, especially in conjunction with today’s message from the Universe, I can’t help but think it’s a bit like writing. The message is about sailing rather than rowing. Either way, you have to work for it. Right?
Silver, living the life of your dreams is a lot like sailing.
You pick your destination, hoist up your sail, make minor adjustments while the journey is underway, and let the wind do all the hard work.
In other words, imagine the end result, do what little you can, make minor adjustments while the journey is underway, and let me blow your mind.
W-e-e-e-e-e-e!
The Universe
©www.tut.comP.S. Of course, Silver, there are also a few other considerations. Like don’t think that just because there’s magic in life you won’t have to hoist up your sails or that doing so will instantly deliver you to your destination. Don’t assume that just because there’s no wind one day it’s a “sign” that something is wrong or that it won’t be there tomorrow. And, perhaps most importantly, don’t forget to pack your Ding-Dongs, cupcakes, and Ho-Hos.
There it is. When you start to plan a book, you know where you are and even if you are a pantser or a puzzler, you have a pretty good idea of your final destination. You do your prep work, ready for the voyage then you hoist your sails–or grab a paddle–and off you go. It’s a magical journey. Enjoy the ride. And don’t forget the snacks. And coffee. Lots of coffee. Readers, this goes for y’all too, but in living life. Go live it to fullest. With snacks, of course.
It is once again Wednesday which means it is once again time for new words. I have some. Sadly, the characters on the side quest are the only ones clamoring for attention. Since this is Ariel’s book, you’d think he’d raise a hand to volunteer occasionally. But noooo. Not the hero of his own book. Maybe I’ll focus on Bran. Ha! Maybe this will be Bran’s book instead of Ariel’s. That’ll teach ‘im. But first, the Thursday Threads prompt: *”I can’t get through to them.*” Boy, I know how that feels. Ariel. Ariel. Ariel. *delivered in the Ferris Beuller teacher’s voice*
****
Sade listened to the endless tone on her cell phone. The call never rolled over to voice mail. Giving up, she stabbed the end call button. Her expression betrayed her helpless feeling as she stared at Caleb. “I can’t get through to them.”
Calm as always, her werewolf partner shrugged. “Not surprised. The magic around here is thick enough to choke a dragon.”
“Careful, wolf.”
Sade watched, fascinated as two thin tendrils of smoke curled around the words spoken by Nikos.
“I rest my case. You have flames in your eyes, Nikos, and are literally a breath away from spitting fire.” Caleb glanced at Sade. “It’s a miracle you have cell service.”
Sade pushed hair off her face and turned into the rising wind. The storm continued brewing. Black clouds churned, pierced by lightning and heralded by thunder. “We have to do something, Caleb. Ariel’s in trouble.”
“I’m open to suggestions.”
She glanced at the dragon. Nikos still struggled for control. She flashed a telling look at her partner.
Caleb shrugged again. “Wild magic. That’s my guess.”
“Wild magic?”
“Yeah.” Caleb then explained. “Like, the magic that runs with the Wild Hunt.”
“Why do I get the feeling you just capitalized that term.”
“I did. I know you’ve heard of the Wild Hunt.”
“You mean…” Sade blinked. “No. Seriously? Like in the fairy tales? When the Fae courts run amok through the world?” Her gaze darted between both men as they nodded. “We’re fucked.”
“We are indeed,” Nikos agreed.
****
There you have it. Details are coming out but not fast enough to suit me. Anyway, writers, as always, steal away. Readers, have you heard of the Wild Hunt? What do you think it means where Ariel is concerned?
Guess what!?! I have music! Let’s visit Memory Lane. Several years ago, I wrote the lyrics to two songs for BILLIONAIRE COUNTRY. Runaway bride and single mom, Zoe Parker has Nashville aspirations. She meets Tucker Tate, who’s brother Deacon is a mega country star. And a bunch of stuff happens. Anyway, I wrote the lyrics for two songs in the book. The first song “We Can’t Be” went on to be a hit for her. The second song was written for the HEA at the end of the book. Luke Franklin, who is also an author and tech guru (IMO!) offered to set the lyrics to music and voice using an AI program he has. Y’all, when I first heard the songs yesterday, I sat here with tears in my eyes, grinning like an idiot. He made two versions of each song and I leave to y’all to let me know which one you like the best.
First up, “We Can’t Be” version 1:
Next, second version of the same song:
Next up, we have “This Day” version 1:
And finally, “This Day” version 2:
There it is. What do y’all think? Is Zoe ready for Nashville? I certainly thank so and I can’t thank Luke enough! He took time out of his busy schedule to offer to do this and then do it. I’m blown away. And okay, if you hate them, you can say that too. You won’t hurt my feelings. But for me? He nailed Zoe’s voice and while the versions are slightly different, he nailed the theme and emotion of each one. Hope you enjoyed listening…
And if you’ve never read the book, why the heck not?!?! CLICK HERE or on the cover up there and go forth to buy and read!
Well, I sort of had that on my BINGO card. B2. Check. I0. Check.
In other news, it’s hot. And humid. Which is typical for Oklahoma this time of year. Yesterday morning, I glanced at my weather app. At 9 a.m. it was 79 degrees with 79% humidity. That’s just ridiculous. Oh, and Great Britain is under heat advisories. Sunday they had a high of…79. No comment. 🤦🏼♀️
I’m not going to talk about the iPhone SNAFU and the cops at the door.
I made pasta salad this weekend. I make LG eat it every couple of weeks in the summer. There’s always leftovers for my lunch or those nights when it’s: “What sounds good for dinner?” “Nothing really.” “Are you hungry?” “Not really.” “I guess we’re doing every man for himself.” “Works for me.” I do try to make it sort of healthy. I use the tri-color “veggie” rotini, celery, black olives, julienne carrots, rotisseri chicken (I buy it “fresh/premade” at Wallyworld, and then red wine vinegerette dressing. Oh, and shredded Parmason cheese. MmmMmmm good.
I’m listening to IT TAKES A PSYCHIC by Jayne Castle. I love her Harmony series. Especially the dust bunnies.
Do y’all remember that I wrote two “songs” for BILLIONAIRE COUNTRY? Well, I did. I “met” a guy in a writer’s group on X and for fun, he got a trial of an AI music thingy and wrote some songs for fun. He’s volunteered to take my lyrics and “record” them. Fun stuff, huh? Yes, I’ll share when I get them. No timetable.
Not much else happened this weekend. Well, the Thunder and Pacers played game 7 for the NBA chapmpionship. As I’m typing this (Sunday evening) no clue who won. I’ll be asleep before the game ends so will wake up to the news. Hope it’s good. On that note, hope y’all had a good weekend! Cheers to a good week for us all.
I can’t decide if I want to redo my kitchen or not. What do y’all think? Have a great weekend! Stay cool, dry, safe, or simply enjoy, depending on whatever the heck Mother Nature is throwin’ at’cha.
Today’s message from the Universe caught my attention as soon as I opened it. I have a meme that starts out “I am a writer…” and mentions “I live in my own strange fantasy world.” It says some other stuff but that’s the gist of it in regards to today’s post. I am a writer and this is pretty much what writers do. Once again, the Big U is right on target.
Turn the jungles of time and space into a patio garden, Silver…
By realizing that their many mysteries actually conspire on your behalf.
Hoe,
The Universe
©www.tut.comP.S. You live in a make-believe world, Silver, where you can believe as you like.
Translation: Jungles of time and space equals our imagination. The patio garden is our WIP. The characters, setting, and plot are conspiring to help us develop the story. When he hoe, we grow words. The Big U left out weeding, but that comes once we’ve propogated that secret garden of a WIP. Weeding equals editing. And yes, we live in a world of make-believe. Readers, you can just take this one at face value, no real “analysis” needed. On that note, what garden will you grow today?
Happy Hump Day. Happy Wednesday Words Day. We’ve had storms for like 12 of the last 17 days or something. One of the weather gurus mentioned this early this morning but I was still mostly asleep. Anyhow, last week’s Thursday Threads prompt was most apropos for the weather then. And now. Storms again last night. Nikos and I are going to have a come-to-Jesus meeting if this keeps up. Anyway, when I saw the prompt, I knew immediately this was a scene for our favorite dragon. And the prompt is: *”This is no ordinary storm.”* Here ya go…
****
Sade clutched the tree and shouted above the wind. “Do something.”
“I’m a dragon, not a weather witch.” Nikos braced, leaning into the gale.
“Well, do something dragony!”
“Like what? Breathe fire? Sure, let’s burn down this park along with half the city.”
“And you call me sarcastic.”
Inexorably, the tempest forced Nikos backward. He snagged Sade’s tree with one arm.
“This is no ordinary storm.”
“What was your first clue, Sherlock?” Her arms still around the trunk, Sade slid to a crouch. “Can’t you…I don’t know. Turn into a dragon and fly us out of here?”
He stared down at her and she’d swear later that she saw flames in the depths of his silvery eyes. “These are hurricane force winds. My wings would snap like matchsticks.”
“Well, can’t you poof us out of here?”
“Poof.”
“Yeah. Poof. Dematerialize. Jump from here to there. Teleport. You know what I mean.”
“Have you learned nothing about magic, Sade?”
“I know that the damn Fae bounced me from realm to realm like I was a ping pong ball when I was a toddler. Gargoyles can do it. Why can’t you?”
“I didn’t say I couldn’t but I repeat, this is no normal storm. Can you not smell the magic in the air?”
“You mean like…ozone?” Sade inhaled deeply. The odor crinkled her nose. “What the everfucking hell is that smell?”
The wind died in the middle of her exclamation.
“Why are you yelling?” Ariel stood behind them, looking perplexed.
****
There you have it. Just a bit of magical mystery in the middle of somewhere in the book. I’ll figure out where and why eventually. All I know is that Bran’s mistress is not a happy campter. Readers, I hope you enjoyed. Writers, take the prompt and run if you want. Me? I’m back to work scratching my head, staring out the window and drinking copious amounts of coffee trying to get this mess to make sense. Happy Hump Day. Oh. I said that already. 😉
Once again, I’m sans a recipe. I’ve got a few tucked back but I’m just not inspired. Which sucks, especially since it’s spilling over into my writing. As a friend often says, I really need to get over myself and just write the damn thing.
So, tidbits. Here are some things that pop into my head from time to time. Answers. In search of some.
Is a left-handed compliment a right-handed insult?
The news said that someone was stealing tires from police cars. I bet they are working tirelessly to catch him.
Don’t joke about wine running out. That’s Gallos humor.
What do you call a bird who drinks too much? An owlcoholic.
One more and then I’ll go away. Promise.
Why do dogs float in water? Because they are good buoys.
Thank you. Thank you. There’s a tip jar by the door. We’ll be here all week. Have a great Tuesday!
Well, allrighty then. The world decided to go crazy this weekend. Let’s hope the earth settles back on its axis and things calm down.
The first bit of crazy has been the weather. For the first time since 2019, the drought map in Oklahoma is white. Actually, it should be green because stuff is growin’! We’ve had sooo much rain. I’m not complaining because the alternative is all too frequent. I just wish the storm dragons would settle down. Apparently, this batch is descended from cats because they get the zoomies in the middle of the night. Kept me up most of Saturday night.
Speaking of Saturday, talk about the scary weird on one hand and the amazing on the other. Let’s start with the good. The military parade in DC was all kinds of awesome! I’m familiar with several of the specialty units and I was so proud to see them show out well. I have a new fave mascot–Doc Holliday, the blue heeler attached to the 1st Cavalry. Watching the aircraft, the mech units, the historic showing, and the occasional touch of humor, ie. the tank retriever towing a jeep…the bands. It all made me proud. And then to hear the arrangement of Toby Keith’s “American Soldier” at the end, with the fireworks? Oh yeah. I was cryin’ for sure. The parade and the wave of proud pattriotism was a balm to the truly bad stuff that went down.
I normally don’t get into politics but that’s getting harder to ignore. This whole “no kings” BS? Their rhetoric and violence is borderline criminal. Honestly, I think they’ve stepped over that legal line but I’m not the one in charge. The other thing is the horrible murders and attempted murders in Minnesota. What is wrong with people?!?!!! That whole deal doesn’t pass the sniff test and trust me, I am NOT a conspiracy nut. That deal? I’m starting to feel like Fox and Mulder. The truth is out there but will we ever see it? It’s far deeper than the “peaceful protests.” Anyway… Stay safe out there, y’all.
I listened to Jayne Castle’s PEOPLE IN GLASS HOUSES this past weekend. I’m currently listening to the new release in her Harmony/Guildboss series, IT TAKES A PSYCHIC. If you haven’t indulged, give the series a try. Yes, there are a STACK of books because the roots of the series go back to her Amanda Quick persona writing historicals. Then there are Jayne Ann Krentz books set in the present, both writing about the Arcane Society. Members of the Society head into space and help colonize Harmony. It’s a fun world.
I did write. Sort of. A little. I don’t know what this book is kicking my @$$ so hard. If another book was talking to me, I’d shelve Ariel and write something else but it’s like everyone has gone to the lake for the summer and didn’t invite me. Which is fine. I’m not fond of lake life so whatever. I swear it’s something in the air.
No soccer lately–just camps and practice. My Cards have been hot and cold. Ah well.
And on that note, I’m out of anything even remotely interesting to talk about. What about y’all? What’s up with y’all? Any thoughts or comments on the world? Read any good books? Movies? Inquiring minds want to know.
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