Super Blood Wolf Moon Monday

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Silver James

So, who stayed up to see the Super Blood Wolf Moon last night? *raises hand* It was pretty cool. Even cooler is the sale I’ve got going on for BLOOD MOON and WOLF MOON. Also, BLOOD MOON is featured on BookDoggy today. CLICK HERE to check it out. When I last checked my rankings, BLOOD MOON had hit the top ten in Kindle Fantasy, War & Military, and Romance. Hopefully, all the free downloads will create sell-throughs on the rest of the series. Time will tell. WOLF MOON has moved up in rankings, and that’s good too. I’ll be interested to see my stats tonight after the ad and feature hit. If you want to grab BLOOD MOON for free, CLICK HERE. You can grab WOLF MOON is on a Kindle Countdown Deal so it’s between .99 and $1.99. By Wednesday, it’ll be back to its regular $2.99. CLICK HERE to buy it.

In other news…

Have I mentioned how much I love LIVE PD? And A&E’s MURDER SQUAD: ATLANTA. I must be in a criminal frame of mind.

That frame of mind seems to be sloshing over into my reading. I’ve done a marathon listen to Lani Lynn Vale’s Uncertain Saints MC series. They’re all law enforcement types who walk the shadowy side of the law. It’s set in Uncertain, Texas–a real place on the Texas/Louisiana line on Caddo Lake. I enjoyed the characters but struggled to get over the somewhat blatant disregard of actual LEO/legal practices. I got all the audio books either through my Audible Romance package (subscription service) or the library. I also got my list of books to read for the RWA RITA award. I’m excited. I’ve already started on the first, but as they’re digital, I can’t read all the way through like I’d prefer.

Sports: Wow. The Saints got beat. And it’s 22 days until Pitcher/Catcher. I care far more about that than the NFL. I’ve only watched the Superbowl for the commercials the past several years.

Writing: Yeah…no.

Weather: It got colder that brass…well, y’all know the old saying…over the weekend. I hauled out the sheepskin ranchers coat. Warm and snuggly. I worry about the feral cats I feed in this weather. I have “houses” for them on the porch, mostly out of the wind, definitely out of the rain, snow, and ice. I feed them on little rugs to help their feet from getting cold. The set hanging around may or maynot be using the shelters. The ones who definitely used them have moved on–death or adoption or just passing through.

So, it’s a new week and I have new goals set. What about y’all?

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Casting

Posted on January 17, 2019 by Silver James

Those of you who read yesterday’s snippet in Wednesday Words will know the character I’m referring to. If didn’t read yesterday’s post and you want to, CLICK HERE, then come on back. 🙂

So anyway…Maks. I have no clue where he came from. Y’all know I do several #flashfiction challenges. Participants are given various types of prompts and then write a scene that’s anywhere from 250 to 500 words. In my process, those scenes usually get expanded and used in a book. From time to time, I toy around with the idea of writing and releasing three serial novels. Three Wolf “packs” whose members are mobsters, basically. Irish, Russian, Italian. Multiple characters, each Wolf getting his mate, overall story arc in the book. It will take far more preliminary plotting–I have a weird process but usually the plot and character arcs fall into place as I write.

So…Maks. He appeared out of thin air, a Wolf and a member of the Russian mafiya/Vor. And something terrible happened to him. Yesterday’s snippet is a peek at the aftermath. It’s magic when a scene and a character appear from the mists of my imagination. Which is why this message from the Universe hits so close to home.

The world is filled with many colorful characters, Silver, one or many of whom would be absolutely thrilled to play along in any drama you’d care to create – romantically, socially, financially, comically – any.

You just have to let me do the casting – have to.

Truly thrilled,
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®

You decide what you want, Silver, physically move in its direction and I’ll “send in the clowns.”

This is a great summation of the writing process. Those of us who write fiction create imaginary beings and give them substance. We give them lives to live–romance, social activities, jobs. We give them laughter and tears, happingess and sorrow. We create the fabric of their existence and breathe life into them. If that isn’t magical, I’m not sure what is. It’s time for me to knuckle down and send my clowns out on stage. They’re all waiting for their chance. Have a little music to go with the magic and the clowns this morning. FYI, someday, this song will be my inspiration for a second-chance romance. 😉

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Wednesday Words: Fantasy

Posted on January 16, 2019 by Silver James

Another Wednesday and we’re already half-way through January. How is that even possible?!? I have this fantasy of stopping time so I can get everything done that I need and still sleep, eat, and other stuffins. Wednesday also means it’s time for Twitter’s #1lineWed and this week’s theme is **FANTASY.” This piece is a bit dark. And a lot off the wall. Old-timers will remember me talking about creating a three-book serial series, Moonstruck Mafia, with books centering on Irish Wolves/mob syndicate in Boston, Russian Wolves/Vors/Mafiya in New York, and Italian Wolves/mafia/mob in Chicago. Each book would be a complete story arc but there would be more than one Wolf finding his true mate during the course of the story.

Still with me? I still have this project on the back burner and when I get the occasional flash of inspiration, I jot the words down. Well, Monday, I had one of those flashes thanks to a flash fiction challenge. I wrote a terse scene of only 250 words (that’s part of the challenge), and I’ve since added some more. I know one of the characters (Mikhail is the Russian’s brother), but I don’t know who Maksim is. Not yet. But I will. And I want to work on this project. But I have others in front of it. Anyway, here’s an out-of-the-blue snippet that sort of fits today’s theme.
****
“Maks.”

His name whispered in the dark, enticing him to follow the sound. He didn’t move. As long as he hid in the shadows, no one could find him. He didn’t breathe for a long time as he listened.

“Maksim.”

Her voice. Sultry. Tempting.

“Maksim!”

Her voice. Strident. Taunting.

Lover.

Mother.

Both had betrayed him.and they weren’t the only ones. He’d been delivered into

The faces chased each other in and out of his memory. Beautiful. Ugly. Soothing. Horrifying. The memories blended together in the shadows of his mind until he could no longer separate them and he saw only an amalgam of their faces fused together.

“Maks.”

His voice. Mikhail. The one who found him. Who saved him so long ago. Who couldn’t save him now. No one could save him now.

“Come back, Maks.”

He didn’t want to. He had no place to go back to. It had all been destroyed. He’d been destroyed. Body. Soul. His brain…so fragile…like it was made of glass. If he opened his eyes, if he faced the world, he would shatter like crystal on jagged rocks. Better he stay in the Stygian depths of his madness. The voices silenced. Finally. Likely, his imagination had conjured them like a bitter fantasy of what could never be again. He was supposed to die.

Pain. So much pain. No. He would not remember. He would not talk, would not reveal the secrets he held. No matter what they did to him. They broke him. Over and over but he remained true to his brothers. To the Vor. He’d kept the secrets, no matter what obscenities those others perpetrated on him. More pain. Bones breaking. Joints popping. Skin splitting. The blackness swallowed him whole, and he welcomed it.

Floating. A sea of shadowed mist. The pain was held at bay

What was that sound? He listened. Considered. Skin brushing paper? Yes. Maybe. Was someone folding paper nearby?

“What are you doing, Katya?”

“Folding origami cranes, Uncle Misha. If I make one thousand cranes, my wish that Uncle Maks will wake up will come true.”

“Ah, Katya.”

He heard the heartbreak in Mikhail’s voice. In the child’s. Small hands patted his cheek. Sweet lips kissed his forehead. Then the sound of rustling paper once more.

“How many more, Katya, before your wish comes true?”

“Nine hundred and ninety-nine.”
****
There it is. If you’re curious about the prompts (there were three) CLICK HERE. You can also read my original scene. FYI, I won this week’s contest. 🙂 If you have some fantastical words to share, please do.

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Tuesday Treats: Easy Pudding Cookies

Posted on January 15, 2019 by Silver James

Everyone loves cookies, right? Cookie Monster certainly does and I have it straight from the Blue One’s mouth that he LOVES these pudding cookies. They’re easy to make and yummy to eat. Especially with a cup of coffee. 😉

Prep Time: 15 min.
Total Time: 27 min.
Servings: 42 servings, 1 cookie each

What You Need
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding
2 eggs
1-1/2 pkg. (4 oz. each) BAKER’S White Chocolate (6 oz.), chopped

Make It
Heat oven to 350°F.

Combine flour and baking soda. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Add dry pudding mix; beat until blended. Add eggs; mix well. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing well after each addition. Stir in chocolate.

Drop tablespoons of dough, 2 inches apart, onto baking sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 min. or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Cool 1 min. on baking sheets. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

CLICK HERE for all the nutritional details. Even Hannah can make these–just so long as she remembers they’re in the oven. 😉 With the Super Wolf Blood Moon arriving later this month, y’all might want to revisit Hannah, Mac, and the gang. You can start with MOONSTRUCK: SECRETS. Just click on the bookcover to hit the page with the links to all the places you can buy the book in all the formats.

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Half-Moon Monday

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Silver James

And, time to start another week. *sigh* Today might just call for two full pots of coffee. However, there was a week and a weekend passed to sum up so moving on, coffee mug firmly in hand.

Writing: I’m doing some. Sadly, mostly flash fiction bits and pieces on the WIPs, but even a few new words is a baby step forward. On a more hopeful note, I’m finally getting around to revising and updating the two Moonstruck Wolf novellas that were previously published in Kindle Worlds that I didn’t republish with the original licensing authors. I have the rights back and just haven’t found the time or inclination. They’ll basically remain the same story, but with references from the Kindle World characters and locales removed and with some additional insertions of Moonstruck characters, a few revisions and additions to narrative. I have hopes of having them published to Kindle this week. I have the revised covers back so I know at least one of them will be, provided I get through the rest of the editing. I’m about half-way done.

Sports: Clemson beat Alabama. More importantly, it’s only 29 days until pitchers and catchers report.

TV: I’ll admit to a new obsession. “The Masked Singer.” I’ve described it as a trainwreck with champagne on the side. Basically, celebrities dress up in crazy and elaborate costumes and compete head-to-head in a singing competition. There are hints and clues about who they are. The celebrity panel is supposed to guess the singer. At the end of the night, one is unmasked. So far, there’s been an NFL player and Tommy Chong. It’s insane, I know. I DVR it and watch when no one is around to catch me. Also, LUCIFER is “live” on Netflix now. I need to schedule a time to catch up on the last three episodes from last season and then binge watch.

Reading: I did some reading and some listening. Some new to me authors, some favorites, most of them dark-and-dirty mafia/mob type books. Not sure what that says about my headspace but it is what it is. There are some new releases coming up that I have on preorder–the next J.D. Robb, Anne Bishop’s next The Others book, Christine Feehan’s next Torpedo Ink entry (another dark and dirty–heh!), and…Oh yeah! Jayne Castle’s ORCHID, which is the last book in her St. Helen’s trilogy that were released a looong time ago. I believe she might have gotten the rights back–or at least the audio rights because she’s been releasing them lately.

That’s pretty much the sum total of my world of late. What’s been happening in yours?

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Friday Sinema: Danger Zone

Posted on January 11, 2019 by Silver James

I haven’t posted a PD Lip Sync Challenge video in a long time. I was listen to some songs while working on the playlist for the next Penumbra Papers novel and this one popped up in my Youtube suggestions. Because I ❤ the song–and San Diego–I clicked. And started laughing. Grab your favorite beverage, take ten minutes, and watch the video. You'll want to watch the "out takes" at the end. Trust me! Happy Friday and well done, San Diego CHP!

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Soul

Posted on January 10, 2019 by Silver James

You know, there’s not much to say here. I mean, think about it. The Universe has pretty much boiled it down. Lead. Follow. Or get out of the way.

Baby souls follow.

Young souls lead.

But old souls, Silver, are just as happy to dance alone.

Not that I’m spying on you,
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®

Silver, your wisdom is showing.

The thing is, sometimes even old souls don’t have sense enough to get out of their own way. They can get wrapped around the axle just as easily as the young and dumb. We like to think that with age comes wisdom, but I promise…that’s not always true. Still, maybe I’ll go dance a little jig when no one is around. S’gotta be better than sitting around like a lump wondering WTF?, right? And who knows, maybe that jig will become a conga line and all my WIPs will line up and dance with me. Sounds like a plan to me. What about y’all? Where are you on the universal scale?

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Wednesday Words: Fun, Travel and Adventure

Posted on January 9, 2019 by Silver James

So…it’s Wednesday again. That mean’s there’s a new #1lineWed theme and a snippet from a WIP. This week, authors are sending their characters out for FUN, TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE. Around here, we just say “FTA.” It has a different meaning but when translating for civilians, we say Fun, Travel, and Adventure. This week, we’re back with Wizard and Jen. This is still early in their relationship. She’s still at the Nightrider compound outside of Kansas City. She’d only packed a weekend bag for the wedding party. Jen has convinced Wiz that she needs to go shopping–which for an outlaw biker is nothing but FTA. 😉
****
Wizard eyed the food court like he was sizing up a rival gang. I managed to hide my eye roll when he glanced my way.

“Babe, you can’t be serious.”

“It’s just the mall, Wizard.”

“Yeah, and?”

“Don’t you go to the mall?”

“Oh, hell no!” He growled. At me! I started to laugh but then I got a good look at his face. He was totally serious.

He was the one who insisted on coming with me. While I wasn’t a huge fan of shopping, there were some things a girl can’t get at the local Gas-n-Go or truck stop. Since this particular mall had a Victoria’s Secret, I planned to shoo Wizard into some guy-type store then duck into Vicky’s to buy something to wear for him as a special surprise. Why? Because this man made me—despite my extra padding—feel beautiful. I wanted to do something special for him. I mean, even bikers would like their women is something frilly and sexy from Vicky’s, right?

That was the plan. Except Wizard was a biker. No auto parts store or Harley shop in sight. I’d totally miscalculated. Plan B was to park him in the food court, head to the ladies room then sneak away.

“C’mon. I need food,” I said.

We got drinks, snagged a table and I made my excuses.

“No.”

“No? I can’t go to the bathroom?”

“Yes, you can go to the bathroom. No, you aren’t going alone. I’m going with you.”

I didn’t screech. Much. “You can’t.” All my plans were collapsing. I inhaled deeply, squared my shoulders and with as much dignity as I could muster, informed him, “I’m quite capable of walking from here to the restroom, strolling inside, doing my business, and returning.

He shook his head, totally adamant. “Nope. Not happening. You aren’t leaving me here alone.” He swept out his arm. “Teenage girls.”

“So?”

“They always travel in packs.”

Who knew? My big, bad biker was afraid of teenagers.

“And they’re staring at me.”

They were staring, like they wanted to eat him for dessert. Maybe I didn’t need sexy lingerie after all.
****
So that was Wizard’s Mall Adventure. Writers, do you have any FTA words to share? Readers, what fun, travel, and adventures have you had lately?

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Tuesday Treats: Italian Steak

Posted on January 8, 2019 by Silver James

Where’s the beef? That’s what every Wolf wants to know. With this recipe, it’s Shiane cooking for Gravedigger. I hope they have a little left over because I want some too!

Prep Time: 5 min.
Total Time: 50 min.
Servings: 4 servings

If you’re going to invest in a good steak, you want to make sure it is cooked to perfection and tastes superb. The marinade in this tasty recipe delivers a tender juicy steak that is sure to please family and friends alike.

What You Need
1/2 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
2 boneless beef sirloin steaks (1 lb.)
1/2 cup A.1. Original Sauce

Make It

Pour dressing over steaks in shallow glass dish; turn to evenly coat. Refrigerate 30 min. to marinate.
Heat grill to medium-high heat. Remove steaks from marinade; discard marinade.

Grill steaks 4 to 5 min. on each side or until medium doneness (160°F.) Brush with steak sauce. Remove from grill; let stand 10 min. Cut diagonally across the grain into thin slices.

CLICK HERE for all the details. Shy mentions that this marinade works well on a London broil cut of beet, and Digger likes the flavor so much, she might try it the next time she throws a roast into the slow cooker. “I’m not a cook,” she admits. “Thank goodness my dude doesn’t like all the fancy stuff. Steak, pototoes and a cold beer and he’s good to go.” If you want to find out more about Shy and Digger (if you haven’t read the book already), you can grab their story by clicking on the cover pic. NIGHT FALL is free to read on Kindle Unlimited.

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New Year, New Monday

Posted on January 7, 2019 by Silver James

It’s a new week in a new year and I should be all motivated and shitstuff. There’s paperwork to finish, books to revise, edit, write. There’s books to read (I set a rather optimistic goal for my GR Reading Challenge of 250 books. Of course, I read 265 in 2018 so…) despite my current reading slump. So anyway…

Getting back on track, I hope.

Reading: I have done some. I’m five books into my 2019 challenge. One I was glad was basically free (Audible Romance subscription but if I listen to more than 1 book a month–especially those that aren’t necessarily keeprs, it’s gravy.) I got through the book due to sheer stubborness. I followed that up with a dark-and-dirty contemporary that I would have paid money for. New to me author, highl appreciated. I’m trying to expand my horizons like our own B.E. is doing–trying to read underappreciated (and leaving the highly-sought-after review) books and/or new-to-me authors. SPARROW (L.J. Shen) won’t be for everyone. Really bad-boy hero and some other triggers for some but the writing, story, characters and narration was 5 star. I’m also listening to a non-fiction, THE PERFECT HORSE, by Elizabeth Letts. It’s a historical treatise on Nazi Germany and the Third Reich’s search for “genetic” supremacy, wrapped around the story of the Lippazaner horses of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. LOTS of history there an a long book but the narrator keeps it from being dry and the history nerd in me likes the background while the horse-crazy girl who fell in love with Disney’s “Miracle of the White Stallions” is fascinated. I also zipped through two SciFi romances by Ilona Andrews, a favorit author.

TV: There was college football. OU lost. OSU won. Tonights the National Championship between Alabama and Clemson. I only care because Imagine Dragons is doing the half-time show though I wonder if that part will even be shown. Also, I’m almost caught up on all the LIVE PD shows I DVR’d. I often miss the opening because dinner clean-up and dog feeding, and way too often, I doze off before the end. Yay for DVRs. Oh! I also watched an episode of “The Masked Singer.” It’s…bizarre but oddly compelling. Celebrities don elaborate (and masked) costumes to perform a song. The studio audience and 4 celebrity judges vote. Loser unmasks at the end of the show. Not sure I’ll watch live but DVRing it too because…crazysauce.

Writing: No comment. There’s always tomorrow.

Life: Also no comment. See the sentiment above.

On that note, time to go do something. Not sure what. I will be clearing out the last vestiges of Christmas today. I’ll miss the outside lights and the mantel will look bare. Also, I suspect the tree will remain in it’s corner of the family room for the next year. Haven’t moved it…since we first put it up *coughcough* years ago. But first, another cup of coffee. Anything of note to report from your world?

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