Monday After the Equinox

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Silver James

I ❤ Fall and the Autumnal Equinox when the days really start getting shorter and the temperature cooler is a bookmark in my year. As dawn comes later and sunset comes sooner, as humidty gives way to crisp days and cool nights, something inside me unwinds a bit. S'all good. In the meantime, there was a week done and a week to come.

The week that was…was. Nothing special, some disappointments, a few wins. S'all good. Mostly. To break it down, this happened:

Uhm….ah….well… *scratches head*

Oh, let’s see. Sports. Army almost beat OU. I have to admit I was rooting for Army because…Army! I don’t want to talk about my Pokes. OSU was… Moving on. The Cards won some, lost some, and are still in the running for the Wild Card. Trouble is, there are six games left. The next three are against the Brewers, who are two games ahead of the Cards in the WC race. The last three games are against the Cubs, who are leading the division. I may not have any nails left by this time next week.

Reading. That’s been a win. I returned to a series I discovered last year and I’m doing a relisten to Suzanne Wright’s Phoenix and Mercury Packs series. Two series that crossover. They are way sexy but the heroines are feisty and the humor makes me laugh at loud. Often. There’s also hunky alphas, nefarious bad guys, and action.

We won’t talk about writing. Iffy and I aren’t speaking at the moment. ‘Nuff said.

TV is mostly sports, LIVE PD, NIGHTWATCH, and stuff on the DVR I haven’t gotten to yet.

Jiminy but my life is boring. Actually, it mostly is. Boring interspersed with massive doses of anger. If blood pressure spikes burned fat calories, I’d be skinny by now. I want to rant at people that I normally like and I realize that I might not be able to like them any longer because they are soooo brainwashed that I wonder if they are actually thinking for themselves any longer or are so caught up in the BS that they’re drinking the powdered fruit punch. Anyway. Just thinking about the things behind this part of the post has made me angry. I don’t have time for it. So…

I’m done. I have line edits to finish, new words to write, life to live, hope to scavenge. I need to write those new words because that’s how I process all the crap swirling around in my head. Y’all have no idea what I’ve done to characters that never make it in the final draft…or even the first beta draft. *bwahahaha*

One final thought: Happy Birthday, Dad. I miss you so damn much! Especially this time of year. It was always our favorite.

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Friday Sinema: Dirty Dancing

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Silver James

I’m a sucker for wedding dance videos. This one, considering how much I love the movie, is covered in crazysauce awesomeness. Considering the weather outside, I maybe should have found a clip of Gene Kelly “Singing in the Rain.” 😆 Do you watch wedding videos, whether it’s crazy processionals, first dances, or the bridal party getting their groove on? Have a great weekend.

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Life

Posted on September 20, 2018 by Silver James

As I look around at all the crazy going on in the world–the finger-pointing, the hypocracy, the down-right hate that one group heaps on another, it makes me want to pull into my shell, to hibernate in my writing cave where I can give at least my characters some happiness. Stuff breaks and money’s tight. Bills come due and money’s tight. The economy is soooo much better than it was two years ago, and while it’s trickling down, it’s at least getting here. For so many years, the money all flowed the other way and the stranglehold was suffocating. I see hints of daylight at the end of this tunnel now and for 8 long years, it was just a freaking train. Yeah, feeling a bit…out of sorts these days. Depression is ugly and being unable to change the life outside my window just intensifies the feelings.

And then the Universe dropped this into my inbox:

It’s being alive, Silver, that makes you rich.

So easy to forget,
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®

And no matter how you spend them, Silver, each day makes you more.

Yeah…there’s beauty to be found, and frienships, and words–old and new. There are the words of others to read or listen to and enjoy. There’re smiles on the faces of children. Raindrops. Sunshine. Shapes in the clouds. My life is better than some, worse than others, but it’s my life. I need to remember to put away the bullshit and just remember to live, to be alive, and to spend each day so that I go to sleep each night with a smile on my face. Those are my thoughts for this Thursday, and I’m sending them out into the Universe in case someone else needs to hear the message too. I certainly did. No go live a little. That’s what I’m going to do.

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Wednesday Words: Dirty Laundry

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Silver James

Wednesday. It comes around every week, just like dirty laundry, of which I have some that I should be stuffing in the washing machine. I’ll get around to it. Eventually. First, I want to share this week’s #1lineWed theme with you. Can you guess? Nope. It’s not laundry. 😉 It’s time to get my hands DIRTY and get to work. Warning: this is an unedited snippet from the next Penumbra Papers book, starring Sade, Sinjen, and apparently, that pesky dragon, Nikos.

“Look on the bright side,” Caleb quipped. “At least we found each other.” He probed the darkness with every sense available to him.

Sade snorted, the sound both inelegant and pithy. “I’m getting damn tired of this whole Fox and Mulder routine.” She shifted slightly. “Any clue about where we are?”

“Nope.”

“Big help you are.”

“Hey, the last time you decided to fall through a portal, Roman fished you out. I’m a werewolf, Sade. I don’t have magic like the gargoyles or the fae. Maybe Ariel can find us.” He gave her a sidelong look. “Or Nikolas. Dragons can shift realms too.”

“Do not mention that…gawddamned critter’s name to me.” She fumed, wanting to pace out her frustration, but in the pitch black of whatever hell they’d landed in, doing so would not only be foolish but dangerous.

“Somebody will miss us eventually.”

“Oh really? We’re undercover, moron.”

“True, but we also have rigid check-in protocols. When we both miss the next one, the Bureau will come looking.”

“And they’ll find us how?” Sade clenched her fists, growling. “Portal, remember? We don’t even know which fuckin’ realm we’re in.”

A soft chuckle echoed around them, the sound rich, dark, decadent—like dark chocolate wrapped around a caramel truffle. And Sade recognized it immediately. She punched Caleb’s biceps and hissed, “I told you not to mention his gawddamned name!”

The air lit with dragon fire and a huge silver creature reared above them. Gold flecks glistened in coal-black walls hewn out of obsidian. They should have been burned crispy but dragon magic was weird like that. And Nikolas Constantine, Drakon of Clan Kholikikos, had dragon magic in spades. Not to mention he was a major pain in her ass. She inhaled deeply and pushed out a massive sigh.

“Oh, hi, Nikos,” Sade called with forced nonchalance in her voice. “Don’t mind us. We were just leaving.”

“And how do you plan to do that?” the dragon rumbled.

“Good question.” She muttered under her breath, not that it mattered. The damn magicks—especially the shifter types—had phenomenal hearing. Like being magic and mostly immortal didn’t give them enough of an advantage.
“And do you have the answer, Lady Sade?”

The damn dragon was just toying with her now. “Asshole.”

Caleb ducked his head where hit met the palm he’d raised. “He can hear you.”

“D’uh.”

“He’s in dragon form.”

“D’uh.”

“Sade, you do remember the old saying, right?” When she only tucked her chin in order to glower down her nose at him, Caleb continued. “Be kind to dragons, for thou art crunchy when roasted and taste good with ketchup.”
She snorted out a choked laugh. “Where the hell did you hear that?”

The tips of the werewolf’s ears reddened. “I read it in a book,” he mumbled.

Dragon fire flickered above their heads. “I like that quote,” Nikos said. “What kind of book?”

Continuing to mumble, his face flushed now, Caleb added, “A romance novel by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Del was reading it.”

Sade managed to ignore the rolling laughter sheathed in fire and slow blinked at Caleb. “You read a romance novel.” She spoke slowly, enunciating each word.

“No. I looked over Del’s shoulder and read a paragraph.”

Nikos lowered his head and his huge blue eyes glittered as he watched Sade. “When I eat you, Sade, it won’t be with ketchup.”

She punched him in the nose and the dragon jerked backwards, tripped over his tail and crashed to his rump. By the time he got his bearings, Sade stood feet apart, arms extended, Sig Sauer resting in the firing position in both hands. “You have a dirty mind, you stupid dragon.” She flicked the safety off. “The last time I checked, guns worked in this realm. I might not be able to kill your sorry ass, but I can sure mess you up at this range. Now cut that sexy shit out and get Caleb and I home.”

Nikos resembled a contented cat—if that cat was from Cheshire. “As you wish, Lady Sade.”

“Cut that shit out!”
****
I hope you enjoy and if you have any dirty words to share, please do so.

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Tuesday Treats: Caramel Apple Cake

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Silver James

Fall is in the air and it’s time for state and county fairs. As a kid, caramel apples were a favorite treat. Now I can get the best of all worlds with this tasty recipe.
Prep Time: 15 min.
Total Time: 2 hr. 15 min.
Servings: 16 servings

Bake this Moist Caramel Apple Cake for your family and friends. Freshly chopped apples meet caramel scrumptiousness in this delicious recipe.

What You Need
1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1 cup water
4 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1/4 cup milk
3 Granny Smith apples (1 lb.), peeled, coarsely chopped
20 KRAFT Caramels
3 Tbsp. milk

Make It
Heat oven to 350ºF.

Beat first 6 ingredients in large bowl with mixer until blended. Stir in apples. Pour into greased and floured 12-cup fluted tube pan or 10-inch tube pan.

Bake 50 min. to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan 15 min. Loosen cake from sides of pan; invert onto wire rack. Gently remove pan. Cool cake completely. Transfer to plate.

Microwave caramels and milk in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1-1/2 min. or until caramels are completely melted and sauce is smooth, stirring every 30 sec. Cool 10 min. or until slightly thickened. Drizzle over cake just before serving.

You know the drill. 😉 CLICK HERE to get all the details on this recipe from Kraft. This dessert reminds Amy Rouse Harjo, who first appeared in Hunter’s Moon and then got her own story and HEA with Colonel Joshua Harjo, of eating at her grandmother’s house. Granny was a firm believer in making it easy. “‘Sides, li’l girl, nuthin’s better than homemade.” Amy noted the cake mix which got a laugh. “It’s still made from scratch when you mix it all together and stick it in the oven t’bake. Are we in my kitchen? Is this my house? That makes it homemade from scratch.” True story. Harjo and the guys certainly enjoy Amy’s culinary skills, no matter how or where she makes this cake. Just click on the cover to grab a read (free if you have a Kindle Unlimited subscription) if you haven’t read it. If you have, maybe it’s time for a reread? What food reminds you of Fall?

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Mid-Month Monday

Posted on September 17, 2018 by Silver James

September is half-way over. The month started out feeling a bit like Fall but Summer just won’t let go. She’s hanging on by her long, sharp nails. There’s rumor of a cold front the end of this week. I’m ready. Fall is my favorite season. It has nothing to do with the holidays and everything to do with the weather–especially the temperatures and low humidity. In other news…

Reading: I put several library books on hold and two dropped amost simultaneously. :/ One is billed as erotic romance, but it sounded intriguing–club owner expanding, builder/decorator arrives for meeting, they hit it off, things progress, his ex drops a kid off. I’m curious how the author handles the kid. I haven’t read past the first chapter. The other library book that hit my Libby app is WRAITH by Helen Harper. A fantasy/paranormal with an element of romance, it’s set around Sterling, Scotland–city and castle. There are goblins, dark elves, and humans. I got the audio book and the first few chapters were a bit of a slog due to wordage and world building. Had I been reading rather than listening, I might have jogged a bit. I’m 12 chapters in and it’s pretty interesting. I also finished a paranormal romance by J.T. Geissinger. Justine Eyre was the narrator and she’s a favorite. Her Night Prowler series is a different take on panther shifters. I’ll be looking into the rest of the series. The books appear to be “free” (reading AND listening) on Kindle Unlimited. Gonna get my subscription fee’s worth this month.

TV: I’ve started at the beginning of “Mayans, MC” on FX. It sort of takes off where “Sons of Anarchy” left off. I think. I never actually watched the entiere SOA series. I need to rectify that at some point. When I have like…hours of fres time. 🙄 Still, I like the actors in it and the premise is rather interesting. There’s confidential informants, traitors, a first love married to the drug lord, kidnappings, weird kids (a la Lord of the Flies), and the MC. I’ll see how it goes, since there’s only two episodes so far, but dang! A bunch has happened in thos two. “Live PD” comes back the end of the week. That’s a yay. New episodes. And I’m enjoying the “Nightwatch Nation” series, though not as much as I liked the original “Nightwatch.”

Sports: My Cards are killin’ me. Enough said. College football news is brighter. OU and OSU both won their games. OU stayed at #5 in both the AP and the Coaches polls. OSU moved from #24 to #15 (AP) and from #19 to #15 in the Coaches. Both teams have some injuries, but OU has some big ones. My Pokes had a couple of lapses but they corrected and came back to beat then-ranked #17 Boise State. The Pokes were ranked 24th at the time, so a big jump in the AP. Yay! And “pistols firing!”

Writing: Well…I need to get back on that horse. This week. I procrastinated last week. A lot. I’m wrestling with revisions and Iffy is sulking. I let her play with pictures and music and we managed to create a book trailer for MOONSTRUCK: SECRETS. Now she wants to make trailers for all 40+ books. Silly Muse! I did write a few snippets but not near the word count I need on either additional project I’d like to get finished and published this year.

And on that depressing note, I’ll sign off. Anything newsworthy you want to share? Anything on your To-Do list that you want me to nag you about? Feel free to nag me about writing. *nods* Until tomorrow…

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Friday Sinema: Dance With Me

Posted on September 14, 2018 by Silver James

I’m in a Sade and Sinjen headspace so when I saw this video on FB, I tracked it down on YouTube. Yes. This could be a scene from the book. It’s definitely inspiration. And I do love a sexy tango with Leonard Cohen a plus. Hope you enjoy and have a great weekend.

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Love

Posted on September 13, 2018 by Silver James

When I was a teen, I was always falling in love. Rock stars. Movie and TV stars. Teen idols. I made up stories about them in my head–with me always playing the heroine, of course. And we always lived happily ever after. Oddly, I didn’t read much romance in those days, though I was, apparently, writing it. I read science fiction and fantasy. Andre Norton was a huge favorite. Suspense by Mary Stewart and Ian Fleming. I read Robert Heinlein and Issac Asimov, too. Westerns by Louis L’Amour, though ol’ Louis snuck quite a bit of romance into his books. But I still fell in love. And learned the hard way that love doesn’t always lead to a HEA.

Thanks, Silver, for every single time you ever fell in love.

Whether or not it was obvious, whether or not it lasted, and whether or not you were loved back, it changed everything.

You changer,
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®

Actually, Silver, you’re always loved back.

At some point in college, I picked up a romance. I don’t remember which one–probably THE FLAME AND THE FLOWER or a bodice-ripper of that ilk. I can’t way I was hooked, though. That summer I went on a Mack Bolan reading binge after discovering Don Pendleton’s classic series. But romances hung in there on my TBR pile. And one day, I realized that all those words I’d scribbled in notebooks told the same story–two people falling in love, doing stuff, breaking up, and realizing they truly love each other and find their HEA. It’s a tried and true formula. I just finished my 46th book, which will release from Harlequin in March, 2019. I hope to publish at least two on my own before then. I’ve got #47 (Red Dirt Royalty #9), #48 (Penumbra Papers), and #49 (Nightriders) on the drawing board. I’ll have to think on #50. That’s a big milestone. Good thing I love writing romance, huh?

What are you loving today?

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Wednesday Words: Memories are Made of This

Posted on September 12, 2018 by Silver James

Time just keeps slip-slip-slipping away. Here it is Wednesday again. Today’s #1lineWed theme of **MEMORY/REMEMBER**is rather apropos given yesterday’s anniversary. I have a few memories and some remembers, though most in published works or in snippets I seem to remember that I’ve already shared. I also haven’t really written this week and I had Sinjen on my mind so I sat down at the computer last night and came up with this. This is a rough first draft, mostly unedited so ignore the typos. Yes, it will be in the October Penumbra book, tentatively titled LEATHER AND LACE, though I have no official word count started yet. I should update the site. I’ll get right on that. Soon. Ish. In the meantime…

Memories

Sinjen stared into the rich, citrine-colored liquid contained within the expensive Waterford crystal glass. He’d died long before Irish whiskey was first distilled but the scent of it, and the taste of it on his tongue reminded him of other times. Other places. He lifted the glass, inhaled. He was always a bit surprised at the fruity notes—ripe apple and pear, followed by the hops and clove that would seem more conventional. He swirled the Jameson, watching light reflect through the cut glass to enhance the glints of whiskey gold inside. He sipped—just enough to settle on his tongue. Hops, vanilla and orange juice, quickly followed by cocoa and the bite of oak. He swallowed. And savored the essence of butterscotch and chocolate left on his tongue.

Memory was an odd thing, especially when filtered through centuries rather than decades. Humans marked their existence by remembering the huge, life-altering events. Colleagues of his at the University of Chicago could relate in great detail where they were on that November day when John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Or on April 19, 1995—Oklahoma City. And 9-11. The whole world remembered that date.

He took another sip, swirled the smooth whiskey around his mouth, settled a bit deeper into the chair. Dawn was still a few hours away but Chicago could almost rival New York for the skyscrapers and the lights. Almost.

A song drifted up from the street below. He closed his eyes. Sade strutted from the shadows, all long legs eating up the space to the cell where the cops held him. Yes, she had the look, the one Roxette was singing about. Sinjen pushed out of the chair. He didn’t want to remember.

Twenty minutes later, he occupied a table in the corner of a noisy bar. His waitress passed him her phone number as she served his drink. The slip of paper sat on the table top drinking up the ring of moisture left by a previous occupant’s drink. Women checked him out with hungry eyes. Men reacted to his presence in two ways—some wanted to be him. Others wanted to prove their manhood by taking him down. He sipped whiskey, watched, winced as music, voices, and sports on the various TV screens all clashed.

He didn’t want to be here but anyplace was better than his apartment. Too many memories there. Too many memories of her. Sade Marquis. The bane of his existence. The reason he opened his eyes every night. His phone buzzed in his pocket. Withdrawing it, he glanced at the screen . SADE CALLING. He thumbed the IGNORE button and dropped the phone back in his pocket.

Another song started to play. Another memory he didn’t want to remember. Daughtry. He thought that was the name of the artist, though this song was also familiar. Also tied to reminders of what he wanted to forget. His phone beeped. Voice mail. He wanted to ignore it, wanted to delete it without listening.

Holding the phone to his ear, he listened. Her voice sounded husky, like they’d just made love. “What about now?” she said. “Is it too late?”
****
What about y’all? Writers, do you have memories in your WIP that you can remember to share? Readers, care to share a good memory?

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9-11: In Remembrance

Posted on September 11, 2018 by Silver James

It’s been 17 years, but it still feels like yesterday.

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