Two Mondays Before Christmas Eve

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Silver James

If you’ve finished your holiday shopping, I don’t want to hear about it. I got the tree up. Okay…I plugged in the lights, since I never took it down last year. And I might get the mantle decorated. And the outside lights on the porch and along the walkway. When it warms up a little.

Speaking of, that bit winter storm that was supposed to hit over the weekend? Yeah…no. Missed us totally. Other areas are getting hammered. We got cold air, some spit, and…not much else. That’s the fun of weather around here and just goes to show that computers are no match for Mother Nature.

I hate to admit this, but my reading and TV habits are pretty darn boring these day. I’m still doing the re-listen to Jayne Castle’s Harmony series. And about the only TV I’m watching is part of the Live PD franchise. Well, that and college football, which segues into the Army-Navy game. Army won. Yay. I dated a cadet one year and even got to go to Homecoming at the Point. That was a memorable weekend to be sure. Also, the prayer the Army chaplain gave? Dude! Goosebumps. I was ready to go enlist. If you didn’t watch the game, take a minute to watch the prayer.

As Colonel Pawlikowski said, let this game begin. It’s a new week, one leading into a season that should reflect the best in us. I’m going to do my best this week to do what is right, what is good, what needs to be done. I hope y’all will join me.

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Friday Sinema: Amazing Grace

Posted on December 7, 2018 by Silver James

There are two songs that always make me sit up and listen: “Amazing Grace” and “House of the Rising Sun.” Yeah, yeah. About as diametrically opposed as music can get, right? 😆

I’m not a huge fan of the talent reality shows though I’ll admit to dropping in to watch Dancing with the Stars and The Voice from time to time. The Voice was on as I wandered back into my office last night and I was there just in time to catch Sarah Grace, a 15 year old singer/musician, belt out her Top Ten performance of “Amazing Grace”…sung to the tune of “House of the Rising Sun.”

I did two things that are atypical of me once her perfomance was done. I signed up on NBC so I could vote for her and I accepted my free 3-months of Apple’s streaming music subscription so I could stream Sarah’s song. I’ll have to remember to cancel the streaming because I don’t listen to enough new stuff to justify $9.99 a month. Still, I’m hoping this talented young woman gets all the kudos! FYI, she DID make it into the semi-final rounds that start next week. Have a great weekend.

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Anonymity

Posted on December 6, 2018 by Silver James

I remember years ago when the court I worked for decided to get one of the “Santa Letters” from the post office. I was tasked with picking a letter and organizing the collecting of money and gifts. I discovered that judges could be real Scrooges and one totally wanted to out-Grinch the Grinch. Then I introduced them to a real Cindy-Lu Who. The little girl who wrote the letter asked for things for everyone in her family–things like warm coats, and socks, and new shoes. She asked for a job for her mom, and at the very end, she asked for bicycle for her little brother because he loved watching the wheels go round. She didn’t ask for one thing for herself. Well…after doing some digging, I discovered that dad had died after a long illness, mom only had a high school education and couldn’t get a job, that the little brother who loved bicycles had autism. I created a “friend of the court brief” and circulated it. Something I wrote got through to the judges and kicked then into high gear. ALL the kids got bicycles. And toys. Clothes. Food. And a scholarship to a local Vo-Tech for mom. The judges got so competitive that the court ended up with a second family. And you know? That was the Christmas that I realized Santa did, indeed, exist. Those grouchy old men smiled through December and I even caught a couple of them humming Christmas carols.

The statute of limitations has run because that was almost 40 years ago. But with each story of an anonymous donor this time year, I’m reminded all over again that Santa lives in the heart. And what generated this memory? Easy. The Universe’s message in my inbox:

When was the last time you pleasantly surprised or even shocked someone, Silver, and remained anonymous?

Well, it just may be the most fun one can have in time and space.

Let’s play,
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®
And the dividends, Silver, are out of this world.

Tis the season, right? I try to do little things every Christmas season but I should really think–AND do things year round because…warm fuzzies are good but anonymous warm fuzzies are the best. What was your last good deed?

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Wednesday Words: Cliffhanger

Posted on December 5, 2018 by Silver James

Kiss of Death decided to shake things up this week for #1lineWed on Twitter. Instead of a theme, they’re asking for cliffhangers, ie. the hook line at the end of a chapter. I’m not sure this snippet qualifies, but maybe. I also don’t remember if I posted this particular snippet here. It started out as a bit of #flashfiction and has been edited and expanded. I’ll leave it up to y’all as to whether or not the last line qualifies.
****
Sinjen struggled to keep his voice even when he asked, “When are you coming back?”

“I just need another week.”

He squashed the anger welling up inside him. He’d known exactly who and what Sade was from the moment he’d first laid eyes on her. She’d stalked into his life, with those snapping green eyes, stubborn jut of her chin, wearing her badge like a suit of armor. Still, she had, and continued, to fascinate him. She should have been like all the other human women who’d enticed him through the long centuries of his life. What was the modern phrase? One and done? Yes. He’d meant to seduce her, enjoy her, and be done with her. He almost laughed at his foolishness.

Sade was a siren who’s song he couldn’t resist. He’d gotten involved in her case, and continued to remain at her beck and call. Still, he was egotistical enough to want her to focus on him. He blinked. No. Not him, but them. As a couple. Maybe he was the fool Mathias called him. A relationship between a vampire and a human? Especially when that human was the lead FBI agent on the Bureau’s MAGIC unit? She had assignments. He understood her job was important—not only to her, but to the entire magick community. But she’d been gone three weeks. With that damnable dragon in attendance.

Jealous? Damn straight he was. And she was asking for another week. Away from him.

“Sinjen?” His name sounded uncertain when she said it.

He’d been quiet for too long as he considered the complexity of their relationship. Her anxiety was almost palpable even across the distance that separated them.

“Come home, Sade.” It wasn’t an order, it was a plea.

Silence stretched. Seconds ticked off like, each one swooping in to perch along the edge of perception until time became a murder of crows anticipating battle so they could feast upon the fallen. When she finally spoke, it wasn’t what he needed to hear.

“I can’t. I have a job to do.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose and swallowed the swell of dark disappointment attempting to engulf him.
“As I am well aware.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Her voice whiplashed through the phone’s speaker.

“Exactly what I said. Do your job, Sade.” As you always do, he thought. Then, before she could reply, he added, “Good night.” He stabbed his cell, ending the call, then turned off his phone. “Coward,” he acknowledged out loud, but better that than freeing his hurt and saying something that could not be taken back.

Light from the full moon filtered through the blinds as he stared out the window of Sade’s DC apartment. Sinjen considered going to her, knowing it would be a mistake, perhaps one fatal to their relationship. Or was it already too late?
****
So…as a reader, would you turn the page to find out what happens next? And if you’re a writer, show us what you got! We want your cliffhanger hooks so drop them into the comments.

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Tuesday Treats: Pumpkin Dumpkin Cake

Posted on December 4, 2018 by Silver James

Since we’re in the middle of holiday season, here’s a different take on traditional pumpkin pie–with a cakey-cheesecake twist. It’s perfect for family gatherings or to take-along for those holiday potlucks.

Prep Time: 15 min.
Total Time: 1 hr. 15 min.
Servings: 15 servings

If you like pumpkin cake and cheesecake, you must try this simple (and simply scrumptious) dessert recipe.

What You Need
15 oz. can pumpkin puree
1 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 box (16.5-oz.) yellow cake mix
1-1/2 sticks butter, melted

Topping
1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Cheesecake Flavor Instant Pudding
1 cup milk
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

Make It

To Make Cake
In mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. *Line the bottom and sides of a 13x 9 baking pan with waxed paper, and then pour in the pumpkin mixture.

Sprinkle dry cake mix over pumpkin. Spoon melted butter over cake mix.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown in color. Let stand about 10 minutes, then flip dessert over and out of pan onto serving dish or into another 13 x 9 baking pan. Carefully remove waxed paper. Let cool completely; refrigerate.

To Make Topping
Whisk together pudding mix and 1 cup milk for 2 minutes. Let sit in fridge for about 5 minutes to thicken. Carefully fold in COOL WHIP to combine. Spread over the top of dessert. Keep refrigerated.

Tip*
Flipping the dessert over allows the “crust” to be on the bottom. To make it without flipping, leave out the waxed-paper liner step and lightly spray the baking pan with nonstick cooking spray before adding pumpkin mixture.

Georgie’s Tip: It’s prettier to serve, if you take the extra effort to flip it. The easy way is to lay a serving platter or tray close to the 13 X 9 size over the top of the baking pan. Hold it secure, flip, set the tray on the counter and gently peel off the waxed paper.

As always, if you want to check out nutritional values, CLICK HERE. You probably noticed the additional tip above so you can guess who suggested this recipe. Georgie Dreyfus Barron takes it to all the Barron family gatherings. There’s never any left. If you’d like read about how Senator Clay Barron corralled his cowgirl, Georgie, check out THE BOSS AND HIS COWGIRL. Click on the cover to hop over to Harlequin. You can buy it direct or click on all the other retailers at the bottom of the page! Georgie hopes you enjoy the dessert and she and Clay wish you and yours a happy holiday season!

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It’s Monday…

Posted on December 3, 2018 by Silver James

Wait! WHAT?!?!?! How many days until Christmas? And all the other holidays celebrated this month? *flail* Hey, at least my Christmas tree is up. Of course, I never took it down last year. Looks like Christmas Eve dinner will be at my house so that means I actually have to decorate. Ah well. Tis the season… 😆

In other news…

Sports first. OU made it into the top 4 so they’ll be playing Alabama on December 29 in Miami as part of the National Championship playoffs. OSU, and I mean the REAL OSU, plays Missouri in Memphis in the Liberty Bowl on New Year’s Eve. Yay. Sounds like a good night to stay home and watch. And yeah, most of you/ALL of you couldn’t care less about any of this. 😉

Reading is a thing. Always. I’m doing a relisten to Jayne Castle’s Harmony series, as y’all already know. In the middle, I took a break to listen to HEARTSTONE by Elle Elizabeth White, followed on by DRAGONSHADOW, the 2nd book in her series. They are fantasy books with a touch of romance set is a sort of…Regency period but not in the British Isles as we know them. It’s been described as a sort of Pride and Prejudice with dragons. I enjoyed both books so if that’s your catnip. check them out. I’m up to Midnight Crystal in Harmony which is interconnected to other books/series written by Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick – Dreamlight Trilogy, #3; Arcane Society, #9; Harmony, #7. Anything good on your reading shelf?

TV. I’m a broken record. Live PD, and its permutations. Sorry. Books are more interesting at the moment though I’ve got hours of stuff on the DVR I should watch and delete. I’ll get round to it when I’m in better head space.

Writing. Well, November is National Novel Writing Month. It took working on three separate WIPs to get it done but I actually got 50K words written. Too bad those words are spread across 3 separate WIPs so I don’t have an actual…you know…NOVEL to edit and publish. This month. If I get in a better head space.

And that’s about it for me. Boring life. Sorry. Oh, one other thing. I’m probably going to create a FB group for my readers. While the page is okay, I’d like to see people interact more. With a group, the members can post fun stuff that attracts their attention so they can interact with each other and me. It’s one more thing to keep track of but I’m hoping the gang will jump in and have fun with it. We’ll see. Nothing ventured nothing gained, right?

So how’s your life?

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Friday Sinema: Princess Rap

Posted on November 30, 2018 by Silver James

Okay. I should not have been grinning as hard as I did when I first saw this video. Warning: Probably not safe for work due to a few words that Sade and Hannah use frequently. If I were really musically talented, I’d do something like this starring those two. Anyway, I thought this was funny and a good way to end the month with, hopefully, a giggle or three.

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Thursday Thoughts: Making a Universal Memory

Posted on November 29, 2018 by Silver James

Yeah…there are days I wonder about things like this…

There’s only one reason I can think of, Silver, that an infinitely powerful, all-knowing, fun-loving, eternal gladiator of the Universe would ever choose to be born into a little human body, with stub-able toes, adrift in time, immersed in space, cloaked in mystery:

There’d have to be much more to what was going on than mere mortal eyes could behold, and it would have to be really, really, really, really, really beautiful.

And it so is.

You’ll “see,”
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®

Love it all, Silver, before it’s just a really, really, really, really, really beautiful memory.

Those days are the ones when I truly wonder if the struggle is worth it. And then something happens. A Carolina wren lands on the window sill and trills at me, head cocked, it’s knowing gaze checking me out. A sunrise paints the eastern sky with strokes of vibrant watercolors. A star winks in a midnight sky, thumbing its nose at the full moon. There’s the Green Giant’s laughter, phone calls from The Only, the purr of Editor Cat and the snores of the Office Dogs. There’s watching TV and Lawyer Guy and I spouting the same thing at something we just saw on the screen and yelling, “JINX!” as we laugh. And you know what? There’s a whole lot to love about my life. That includes all the friends, readers, and fans I’ve met one way or another. S’all good, I think. And I have a lifetime of beautiful memories to look back on.

What about y’all? What memory sticks in your mind?

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Wednesday Words: Shopping Spree

Posted on November 28, 2018 by Silver James

We’ve made it to Wednesday. Considering the seven days starting the Friday after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest periods for buying and selling all year long. It’s pretty much a no-brainer that the #1lineWed THEME for today would be **SHOP**. Since I’ve already posted the mall scene from Jen and Wizard’s current WIP, I had to go looking for another scene where shopping plays a part. I found this one, staring one of the Oklahoma Nightriders, Tag. You might remember him as the Wolf who was severely injured in REMEMBER THE NIGHT. He’ll get his own book eventually, and I’m thinking it might be a Christmas novel for next year. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this first meeting with his heroine, who is more than ready to give up retail. 😀

****
I stared at him, all ropey muscles, granite jaw—who even said that outside of a romance novel—and those eyes. Oh m’gawd, those eyes. Oh, forget his eyes. I couldn’t take my eyes off his package, and I didn’t mean that package, even though I’d sorta checked it out, but the whole, complete present wrapped in black leather that was him standing there all insolent and full of more testosterone than any male I’d ever come across.

Opening my mouth, I waited. And waited. No words came out, only a sound. “Uhm…”
He arched a brow which only infuriated me.

“Uhm.” Dang it. I was a full-grown woman. Right? Right. Of course I was. I could handle this hunka-hunk-of-burning-love. I pulled together whatever brain cells I had left and pasted a professional smile on my face. Because I was all professional like that. “May I help you?”

A slow grin tweaked the corners of his mouth and I licked my lips. I could almost taste him.

His eyes followed my tongue before rising to meet my gaze. “I have the feeling you just might, darlin’.”

Oh my freaking god. He had a drawl. A real life southern drawl. I swallowed. Hard. Professional, I reminded myself.

“Are you shopping for something in particular, sir?”

He laughed, the sound deep and rumbling, which made the hair stand up on my arms.

“I wasn’t until I saw you. I got the feeling you’re something very particular.” He teased his fingertips down my cheek, his eyes all soft and sexy, his voice matching when he said, “Touching you like this feels so damn right.”

My knees all but buckled. It did. It felt so very right.

His grin crooked and a freaking dimple popped out to punctuate his face. I was a goner. I knew this deep in my very bones.

“My name is Tag.”

“Tag, you’re it.” And he was. I stared at him, pretty sure I looked as dumbfounded and idiotic as I felt. I didn’t believe in soul mates. Or sexy repartee. Or any of that stuff. Men were good for one thing and one thing only—reaching stuff on the top shelf. Tag was tall enough he could reach stuff in the attic.

“Yo, babe?” He didn’t snap his fingers to get my attention but he might as well have.

“Uhm…” So much for professionalism.

“I can call ya babe. Or darlin’. Don’t got a problem with that but I surely would like t’know your name. Since you know mine…”

“Yours?”

“Yeah, you will be.”

Wait! What? That’s not what I meant. “Your what?”

“My whatever you wanna be. What’s your name, darlin’?”

I pointed to my name tag—WINTERS. That was my name. Well, my last name. He leaned over the counter, caught my chin, and kissed me before I could do more than squeak.

“Ms. Winters, what is the meaning of this?”

Uh oh. My stick-up-her-butt boss. Dang it. Tag stiffened and I belatedly realized he wore a leather jacket. With patches. Like biker-type patches. Uh-double-oh-oh.

“I’ll take that one.” He pointed to the priciest gift set, reached in his pocket, and pulled out a couple of hundred dollar bills. “And I’ll take you, babe. Tonight.” He winked at me. “Be sure to take that girly stuff home with you. It’s for you.”

He turned and sauntered toward the door. Man, but his butt in those jeans could saunter. I was mesmerized.

“You’re fired, Ms. Winters!” The dragon lady was right beside me, seething.

I could live with that. My purse was under the counter and my paycheck was direct deposit and had already cleared. I grabbed my purse and hopped up on the counter, swinging my legs over. I yelled after him. “Tag! Wait.”

He did.
****
The shopping discussion has been on-going across my social media. I promise I’ll stop now. But…before I do, do any of you have any shopoholics, little shops around the corner, or shopgirls in your WIPs? Feel free to share a snippet here!

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Tuesday Treats: Hot Reuben Dip

Posted on November 27, 2018 by Silver James

It’s December. That means entertaining. Here’s an easy and tasty hot dip. I’ll admit that I’m a fan of Reuben sandwiches so I like this dip.

Total time: 35 Minutes
15 Min Prep

Make this Hot Reuben Dip by combining cream cheese, Thousand Island dressing and corned beef. This Hot Reuben Dip is our take on a New York deli classic.

What You Need
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened 1/2 cup KRAFT Thousand Island Dressing 1 pkg. (8 oz.) KRAFT Big Slice Swiss Cheese Slice s, chopped 1/4 lb. sliced deli corned beef, chopped (about 1 cup) 3/4 cup well-drained CLAUSSEN Sauerkraut

Let’s Make It
1 Heat oven to 350ºF.
2 Mix cream cheese and dressing in medium bowl until blended.
3 Add remaining ingredients; mix well.
4 Spread onto bottom of 9-inch pie plate sprayed with cooking spray.
5 Bake 20 min. or until heated through.

For all the nutritional details, head on over to Kraft Recipes by CLICKING HERE. As y’all might have noticed, not all of my heroines are great cooks. *ducks book thrown by Hannah* But since Christmas parties are coming and readers might want to get into the season, Quin Kincaid Tate admitted that she’s made this dip and every time she took it to Troop A the OHP troopers swarmed and all but licked the bowl. Now she fixes it for the Tate family and the guys in Deacon’s band, the Sons of Nashville. If you haven’t read the book, click on the cover and head over to Harlequin. If you don’t want to buy it from them, you can click through to all the other retailers from the book’s product page.

Do you have a favorite dip or other go-to dish that you always take to holiday get-togethers?

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