I’m a huge Lindsey Stirling fan and watching her performances on “Dancing with the Stars” was a real treat. Love seeing her use what she learned in the videos for her current tour. In this video, she plays and dances with Mark Ballas, her DWTS partner, who is one-half of the singing duo Alexander Jean, along with BC Jean.
Plus, this sort of puts me in the mood for NIGHT FALL, my upcoming Nightrider MC release. Have a great weekend!
There’s a lot of ugly in the world right now, and not just in actions but in hearts. I’m old school. I believe in civil discussions about differences, a give-and-take debate over topics two people disagree about. That’s not happening any longer. It makes me sad. It makes me mad. And it makes me want to shake my “mother finger” and send people to time out. Or bang their heads together. The Universe dropped this into my inbox some time ago, as if the big U knew what was coming.
Looks change, Silver.
Beauty lasts.
Gorgeous,
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®The “thing” that makes beauty, Silver, lies within all.
Too bad so many people are finding the ugly inside instead of the beauty. There was a time when it was okay to disagree, when folks could still sit down together, could be friends though they held differing views. Not that way anymore. I just hope that things that can’t be taken back won’t be said, that friendships won’t be so ripped apart that nothing will put them back together.
Me? I’ll keep my head down, my thoughts and views to myself, and I’ll write and read books set in worlds where love finds away. And I’ll look hard for that thing that makes beauty in everyone.
Spin the Bottle. Truth or Dare. Party games teenagers the world over have played. For this week’s #1lineWed THEME, it’s time to tease with a bit of **TRUTH** or **DARE** – and extra bonus points if both words AND theme are checked off. FYI, there’s a bit in the middle that’s a little bit NSFW.
In this scene, Shy has scouted out the Nightriders’ compound. Now she’s come back to beard the lion, or in this case, the Wolf shifter, in his den. 😉
****
Shy
I was the world’s biggest fool but I’d been thinking about it since leaving Full Throttle that afternoon. The manager of the loan company looked like a nice lady—a pregnant one at that. The biker who’d come out? He was sexy as hell but all about his old lady. He was scary but so protective of her that it made my heart hurt. What would it feel like to be that loved? They were making a family. I was making war. It had been a sobering thought, one that stuck with me all day.
Driving more or less on autopilot, I headed to the convenience store. A plan was forming in the back of my mind. A stupid plan, but it was a plan. At the store, I picked up a suitcase of cold beer. My brain decided a frontal assault was the best idea and rather than a Trojan horse, I’d use a 24-pack of beer to get through the gate.
I pulled up across the road from the gate, which was open, but two guys were lounging there looking all badass and cool. They pretended not to notice me while I pretended not to study them, the gate, and the compound. There were motorcycles lined up in the forecourt but I didn’t see any bikers beyond the two on gate duty. Did I take a chance and try to smuggle my pistol inside? In the grand scheme of things, the weapon wouldn’t really matter. I slipped my Glock under the front seat, made sure the hilt of my combat knife was well below the top of my right boot, and stepped out the car.
Making a show of bending over to reach back into Mitch’s truck, I hoped the guards were checking out my butt. My baby-doll tee shirt rode up showing a band of skin above the black leather belt looped through my low-rider jeans. I’d made sure that belt was loose enough my jeans rode down over my butt showing a hint of red lace. I owned one set of sexy underwear—the red lace bra and bikinis I’d worn on my first foray into Nightrider territory. Suppressing the shiver the memory of that night conjured, I clamped down on my libido. I wasn’t here for a finger fuck or anything else that would lead to a orgasm.
I straightened, the beer cradled in my arms. My boobs were only a B cup so I used the suitcase to plump me up. If they were checking out my T&A, maybe they wouldn’t recognize my face.
“Hey,” I called as I crossed the road.
“Yo,” the tallest of the two guys said.
Decision time. Did I ask for Bricks or for Gravedigger? I flipped a mental coin. “Is…Gravedigger around?”
The men exchanged looks and I wondered if I’d messed up. I juggled the package of beer which jiggled my breasts, bringing their eyes back to my chest. “I owe him some beer,” I added, pasting what I hoped was a sexy smile on my face.
The tall one put a cell phone to his ear while saying, “What’s your name, babe?”
Dare I give another fake name? Neither of them were on the gate the night of the party, but that one guy—the one who’d gotten me off standing there in the back courtyard—knew the truth. I probably shouldn’t chance it. “People call me Shy,” I said.
****’
Are you ready to play? Share some truthful words, if you dare. 😉
I like Italian food. Sadly, my two favorite family-owned Italian restaurants have gone out of business. Since I have the occasional craving for chicken Parmesan, when I found this recipe from Kraft, I knew I wanted to share.
Prep Time: 15 min.
Total Time: 45 min.
Servings: 6 servings
Save time with our Easy Chicken Parmesan! Bake chicken in spaghetti sauce to infuse your Easy Chicken Parmesan with flavor, no breading or frying required.
What You Need
1 jar (24 oz.) OLIVO by CLASSICO Traditional Pasta Sauce
6 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
6 small boneless skinless chicken breasts (1-1/2 lb.)
3/4 lb. spaghetti, uncooked
1-1/2 cups KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Make It
Heat oven to 375°F.
Pour sauce into 13×9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Stir in 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp.) Parmesan. Add chicken; turn to evenly coat both sides of each breast with pasta sauce mixture. Cover.
Bake 30 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF). Meanwhile, cook spaghetti as directed on package, omitting salt.
Top chicken with remaining cheeses; bake, uncovered, 5 min. or until mozzarella is melted. *Note: I use the grated (canned) Parmasan with the sauce but substitute shredded (fresh) cheese mixed with the Mozzarella.
Drain spaghetti. Serve topped with chicken and pasta sauce mixture.
To check out all the nutritional information and watch how-to video, CLICK HERE. This is one of those recipes that even a guy can make, and kids will eat it. Easy, from NIGHT SHIFT, figured out that sometimes his mate needs a break from the kitchen. He sends Jonas and Noni out to play so Sam can soak in a hot bath while he fixes dinner for the family. If you haven’t jumped into the Nightrider series, NIGHT SHIFT is the first book and tells all about how Sam came to claim Jonas and Noni, her neice and nephew, from Easy, one of the club’s enforcer. Just click on the cover for the link. It’s on sale and you can also read for free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription.
I’m celebrating the full moon even though there isn’t actually one. I’m celebrating because I’ve finally finished the draft of NIGHT FALL, book 4 in the Nightriders series. All it needs now is a hard edit, beta read, editor edit, revisions, blurb, formatting and upload. Why yes, the cover is done, thank you. I’m revealing it over on my Reader Page on Facebook later this morning. If you don’t follow that page, CLICK HERE and follow me, dang it! The cover post should be up around 8 a.m. Thereabouts. The blurb, like the bok is in first draft stage, but here it is just to tease you.
He’s big. Bad. And a Wolf.
Shane “Gravedigger” Cole comes by his name honestly. He knows where all the skeletons are buried. He’s walked through fire and a rain of bullets for his brothers, meting out the justice demanded by the Nightriders MC.
When you hunt a big, bad Wolf…
In one violent night, Shiane “Shy” Rourke lost everything. For fifteen years, she’s planned, trained, and now she’s ready to hunt down the man who stole her sister and her childhood. With only memories and a name, she goes after the Nightriders and a man called Gravedigger.
You just might end up as prey…
Bent on revenge, Shy is ready to give up everything to take down the Nightriders and the one man who tempts her into sin, the one man who might just be her salvation, or her destruction. Everyone knows that when a Wolf claims his mate, it’s “’til death do them part.”
In other news, the Cardinals finally won two games, beating the Brewers Saturday and Sunday. Now they’re only 4.5 games back from the Brewers in the National League Central Division.
On the reading front, I’ve caught up to the newest release in Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling/Trinity series. I finished SILVER SILENCE late Saturday night. I ❤ that book so much! The Russian bears are a delight and Silver Mercant is a sly "adversary" for Valentin Nikolaev, alpha of the StoneWater bears. LoveLovELOVE this book. As I'm typing this early Sunday evening, I haven't yet started listening to OCEAN LIGHT, the newest release in the series. While I suspect I don't love it as much as SS (since that book is in my top ten favorite books), I hope I'm enjoying as you read this.
We had storms all weekend. Lots of rain, some lightning and loud thunder. Poor Boone. I don't know why he's smart enough to hide in the closet but so dumb he doesn't realize that thunder won't hurt him. The biggest round hit about 4 a.m. Sunday morning. Fun times. Not! It stormed off and on all day but since we needed the rain, no complaints from me. That's what naps and early bedtimes are for!
Updating some TV news. LUCIFER has been picked up by Netflix for a new season. This makes me happy! Sort of. The only "smart TV" in the house is in the family room. That means watching it in there. Or on my computer. If I can figure out how to get Netflix open on it. There's a new series that debuted Wednesday night, too. YELLOWSTONE with Kevin Costner. I DVR'd it and haven't watched it yet but it looks intriguing. We'll see if the execution holds up to the hype. I also broke down and entered A&E's sweepstakes to visit the set of LIVE PD and meet the folks there, including Sean "Sticks" Larson, of the Tulsa PD gang unit. I would LOVE to talk him into posing for a book cover and creating a Wolf character based on him. Still, an expense paid trip to NYC for the weekend? Yeah, buddy. I'd take it if I won. (See me holding my breath? … Not! 😆 )
And that's pretty much been my life of late. This week is edits and shipping NIGHT FALL off for the next round, then getting the Kindle World books ready for either resubmission with the World owners' publishing companies, or stripping out world references and republishing as semi-different books. There are two I'll republish myself after some revisions. There won't be enough changes to make a difference so no need to rebuy them or anything.
On that note, time to get this Monday off to a good start. I'm editing. What's on your agenda today?
Happy Ever Afters. The stock and trade of romance writers everywhere. That’s why I read romance. And why I write it. I’m there for the feel-good pay-off. And when I pick up a romance novel, I’m guaranteed at least a Happy For Now, hopefully with more books to follow where the hero and heroine get their final HEA.
Endings are a funny thing when you’re writing. If I get really, REALLY luck (being a puzzler), I’ll have the final scene written before I get to that point. A lot of times, I bump up against the end of the story, stare at the Scrivener program screen, and tap my fingers on the keyboard with no words coming. I hit that spot yesterday. I got the sexy bits, I got the “big reveal,” and then I got nuthin’. Well, I had the last line. At least, I thought it was the last line. But I needed a whole chapter of action before I got to that last line.
Endings. I hate them sometimes. Like now. Other times, the ending of one story flows right into the next story. That’s how series are born. I’m sort of shaking my fist at the Universe at this point. Because all good things must come to an end. Including this dang book. Anyway, the Universe’s message is most apropos.
All endings, Silver, are happy endings.
If you even believe in endings.
Whah!!
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®It’s just a matter of staying with the story long enough, Silver. And by the way, yours is about to get really, really exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t know about exciting, but the bottom is about to fall out and I’m going to be deluged with deadlines. Which is why I need to type The End. I’ve stayed with this particular story long enough. 😆 What about y’all? Writers, do you know your story’s ending? And readers, do you want the HEA? Or can you read without it?
#1lineWed isn’t playing around this week. No games when it comes to the THEME which is **HIDE** and **SEEK** and bonus points for using both. 😉 I get bonus points even if the snippet is short because…spoilers.
I know I keep saying that I’m close to finishing this dang book, tentatively titled NIGHT FALL but I really am. I have a love scene to finish, some explanations, and acceptance, and voila! It’ll be ready to edit and revise. I hope to have a cover to share soon. But I digress. Gravedigger. He…uhm…well…see…there was this thing that happened. And Shy left. So Digger turned wolf.
Gravedigger
Hardy sat, back braced against a broad tree trunk. He stared into the underbrush, his gaze fixed on me. “It’s time, Digger. You need to come back now. No more of this hide and seek shit.”
His voice was low, with a hint of alpha command in it. Not that it would work on me. We’d never tested who was the stronger wolf but I was damn sure he couldn’t force me to change. Only the Russian was capable of that.
“I brought your clothes, bro. It’s been over a week.”
I sank down on my haunches, regarding him unblinkingly, a snarl on my muzzle.
“You don’t scare me, Dig. You forget. I work for the Russian and I served under Mac McIntire. You’re tough. But you ain’t either of them.”
True.
“And not to sound humble, but I can take you.”
I snorted, which came out more of a sneeze. Like hell.
“I need to check your wound. I suspect you haven’t been shifting nor have you smeared any of the antibiotic ointment on it. That means you’ve been licking it. We heal fast but that was a wicked wound and wolf spit won’t do squat.”
I growled, even though he was right. That’s exactly what I’d done. If it worked for our wild kin, why wouldn’t it work for us?
****
Why yes, Gravedigger has been running wild licking his wounds, literally and metophorically. Anyone have hide-and-seek words to share? Anyone want to make odds on when I will actually type The End?
Dennis Haggerty is a big city homicide detective thrust into small town life. And he is AWESOME! So is the writer who created him, B.E. Sanderson. I’ve read B.E. since the beginning of her career, when she first published her Once Upon a Djinn urban fantasy series. I stuck with her as she dove into the cold waters of suspense and mystery and I never looked back. If mystery and suspense is your thing, you need to give this author a chance. Because hey! You’re only out two bucks and I’ve heard a rumor that a 3rd Haggerty book is bound to happen fairly soon. Check out the blurbs then click the link at the bottom and go indulge your ol’ reading self. Trust me, you’ll be glad you dipped your toe in this pond!
Murder doesn’t happen here.
Serenity is the safest, little town in Colorado. But residents are dropping like flies. No big deal. Accidents happen.
Detective Dennis Haggarty is there to comfort his recently widowed sister, not investigate a homicide. However, finding a corpse means he can’t avoid doing his job—especially since the local authorities are determined to disregard the facts. Delving deeper, he finds a string of deaths everyone wants to ignore even when all the evidence points to murder. Lucky for the detective, one person in town seems rational enough to help him.
Too bad she’s his prime suspect.
Murder is never natural…
As the new police chief in the mountain town of Last Ditch, Colorado, the worst case Dennis Haggarty has investigated dealt with vandalized decorations. Life is slow and laid back, exactly what he and his new bride, Jillian, need after the debacle in Serenity. But when a hiker stumbles onto a gruesome scene in a secluded ravine, the calm world he’s trying to build for them fractures. Now he’s faced with determining whether a cougar attack is actually man-made mayhem in disguise, who’s lying to him, and how to take down another killer with no regard for human life.
Tough luck for him, he’s not certain he could pull the trigger again—not even to save his new life.
Both books are on sale for 99 cents or 99 pence, if you happen to be in the UK. Both are worth reading at full price, but if you enjoy a good “who-done-it” with a small bit of romance on the side
CLICK HERE to visit B.E.’s website and get the buy links to both Dennis Haggerty books.
As I stare morosely into my cup of coffee, I contemplate last week and the week to come. There were some words written. Not enough, but new words. There was much procrastination which is evil given the amount of stuff on my to-do list. My brain just didn’t want to engage. There was insomnia. There was baseball. There was a weekend. There was hot waeather.
The weekend was a smidge better. There was T-ball. There was Father’s Day and brunch out with the kids. There was much napping to make up for the little-sleeping nights. And there were audio books. Also Lucier was picked up by Netflix!
As for last week’s to-do list? Yeah…all that crap is still on this week’s to-do list. I think the dog days of summer have come early.
So, today, I ignore the innertubes of procrastination. At least until I get many new words written. The time for Meh is gone. If I keep telling myself this, maybe it’ll take hold. Right? Right! Okay. I’m going now. Just as soon as I post to my FB author page. 
A woman was driving down a street in her Florida neighborhood and saw these sandhill cranes. She rolled down the car window, grabbed a video with her smart phone and Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” just happened to be on the radio. Kismet because after her husband posted the video on Facebook, it went viral with over 9 million views. I think it’s an awesome way to finish up the week and get a head start on the weekend! Have a good one and remember to smile.
NEW RELEASE
NEW RELEASE
NOW AVAILABLE
Silver James 