Thursday Thoughts: Universal Math

Posted on July 16, 2026 by Silver James

First, math is not my strong suit but we’re talking about the Universe so I’m going to see if I can make the message add up. And yes, I probably have not had enough coffee for this so bear with me. First, I like this message just at face value. Second, I immediately related this to the writing process because…well, I do that. I’ll explain–or at least attempt an explanation once you’ve read what the Big U dropped in my inbox.

Do you think I’ll meet you halfway, Silver?

Well… your job is to think new thoughts, speak new words, and knock on new doors.

Mine… is to rearrange the stars, move mountains, align serendipities, and command the elements.

Some might call that halfway. But old souls know that I would literally move heaven… just for you.

And I do,
  The Universe
©www.tut.com 

P.S. The math is in your favor, Silver, because you are in mine.

I leave it up to each of you to absorb and transalte how this relates to you as an individual. As for how this applies to writing, it’s like this…

Read that second paragraph again. Would you agree that our job as writers is to think new thoughts, speak new words, and knock on new doors. New thoughts = idea for book. “Speak” new words = writing the story. Knock on new doors = stretching our writing chops, looking for new readers and new markets. Does this add up to you?

Now, consider the third paragraph: Mine… is to rearrange the stars, move mountains, align serendipities, and command the elements. To me, this implies two things–well, two people, both necessary to the process. First person is each of us as The Writer. Once we hit The End, it’s time to turn our work over to the second person, The Editor. This is the point where we shift into editing mode. We turn a critical and logical eye to our work, making several passes, rearranging, moving, and aligning, in full command of our work. At least until we turn it over to beta readers, editors, and proofreaders.

Anyway, that’s today’s thoughts. Now I need more coffee.

Posted in Craft, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Wednesday Words: Fancy Meeting You Here

Posted on July 15, 2026 by Silver James

There are no “new” words this week as I was the judge for last week’s Thursday Threads. Instead, I pulled a section–which is slighly longer than my usual Wednesday entries–from a chapter I just finished up. This is about 1/3 of the way into the story and Sade has arrived in Rochester on orders from the FBI Director. Marcella is a FBI agent from the Buffalo field office. While I probably won’t use last week’s prompt, I’ll drop it here in case some of you find inspiration with it: *“I’m afraid it’s a hostile takeover.”*

Sade sighed mentally, rolling her eyes skyward in a why me expression. “Well, well, well,” she said. “Why am I not surprised?” The Dragon in human guise smiled bigger and she immediately thought of the very wise advice: Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons for you art crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

“Fancy meeting you here, Agent Marquis.”

Beside her, Marcella sucked in a breath. She couldn’t blame the other agent. The Dragon did have a way of tweaking female hormones. “Agent Lloyd, may I present Nikolas Constantine, Drakon of Klan Kholikikos.
“D-d-dragon?” Marcella finally got the question out.

“Yes. Why are you here, Nikos? Do you know something I don’t?”

“I might ask you the same, Sade.”

“Well, gee. I mean with Rochester being a null space when it comes to magic yet a high-ranking fae and the chief enforcer of a Dragon klan are both right in the middle of things. My spidey sense is tingling.”

“Null space?”

“Yeah, no magic.”

“Whatever gave you that idea?”

“Seriously? All you Magicks say that. Or imply it because none of you have claimed Rochester.”

“It’s wild.”

“Excuse me?”

“The magic here is wild, uncontrollable so we avoid the place.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I have business.”

“With Ariel?” Nikos only raised an eyebrow in response. “I know he’s here, Nikos. I want to know why.”

“That, my dear Sade, is the question of the day.” His eyes flicked beyond her. “Shall we ask him?”

Sade turned in time to see Ariel striding through the front doors. The Fae faltered when he saw her and she noted the guilty look on his face. With a sigh, he walked over. Sade didn’t give him a chance to greet them. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Why are you here, Ariel? And don’t give me the same kind of bullshit answer the Dragon did.”

He held his hands up in surrender. “It’s complicated.”

“So are dead girls.”

Ariel had the good graces to wince. “I’m trying to find out why there are dead girls.”

“Good. That makes two of us.”

Nikos cleared his throat and raised his hand, his expression serious. “Three.”

And the plot thickens. *bwahaha* Progress is still slow but it is progress. What sort of progress are you making on your projects today?

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Tuesday Treats & Titles: Sale & Lemon Blueberry Pie

Posted on July 14, 2026 by Silver James

I know it’s hot in our half of the hemisphere and you might not want to heat up the kitchen but it bakes at only 350 and not for very long. You end up with a creamy, summery delight that’s perfect for sitting in the shade and reading a book. Preferably, one of mine, especially since all my books on Smashwords are still for sale at 50% off until the end of July. Conversely, it’s a cozy treat for those of you waaay down south where it’s winter. Wherever you are, y’all know the drill to get to my books. Either click on the pic or use the QR code on your phone. Happy nomming and reading. Enjoy!

Lemon Blueberry Pie

Recipe details
Yield
8 servings
Time spent:
Prep time: 30 Minutes
Cook time: 30 Minutes
Total time: 1 hr

Ingredients
Blueberry Swirl
2 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
Shortbread Pie Crust
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour unbleached
1/2 cup powdered sugar packed
1 Tbsp cornstarch
8 Tbsp unsalted butter softened to room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract pure
1 pinch sea salt fine

Lemon Filling
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
2 tsp lemon zest
2 large egg yolks

Instructions
Blueberry Swirl
1 – Add cornstarch and lemon juice to a small bowl. Stir until combined and cornstarch has dissolved.
2 – Pour cornstarch mixture into a small saucepan over medium heat. Add blueberries and sugar then stir gently while mashing blueberries with the backside of a spoon until sauce thickens–approximately 5 minutes.
3 – Strain blueberry sauce through a fine mesh sieve then cool sauce to room temperature. (Note: only the strained sauce will be used for the swirl, but feel free to garnish pie slices with the blueberries remaining in the strainer.)

Shortbread Crust
1 – Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2 – Pulse crust ingredients in a food processor until a soft dough forms.
3 – Using your fingers, press shortbread dough into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate until evenly packed.
4 – Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown then remove from oven to add lemon filling.

Lemon Filling
1 – Combine sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, lemon zest and egg yolks in a large mixing bowl then whisk until combined.
2 – Pour lemon filling onto warm shortbread crust.
3 – Drop small dollops of blueberry sauce onto lemon filling and swirl gently with a chopstick or butter knife.
4 – Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until center is just set and no longer jiggly. Do not overbake.
5 – Place pie plate on a wire rack and cool to room temperature.
6 – Chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours before serving. (Mine chilled overnight.)
7 – For best results, allow pie to come to room temperature for 30 minutes before slicing. This allows the shortbread crust time to soften.
8 – Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 5 days.

Posted in Books, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Monday Mishmash

Posted on July 13, 2026 by Silver James

Hello. It’s Monday calling. You might wonder why I keep track of the days of the week on the blog. It’s simple. Doing so ensures that I might actually know what day it is without having to look at a calendar.

I really don’t have much to relate. Again. It’s summer. It’s hot. We did get some rain early Sunday morning. We also had a huge branch come down in the backyard. I’m hoping the yard crew comes this week, chops it up and hauls it off. It’s that big. We don’t let LG have chainsaws. The last time necessitated a trip to the ER.

I’m catching up to my Goodreads Reading Challenge. Last week I was 12 books behind meeting my goal. This week, I’m only 7 behind. This is partially due to my marathon relisten of Jayne Castle’s Ghost Hunters/Harmony series. These books are a mix of light SciFi with paranormal. They are interesting tales with a touch of humor and lots of action and romance. It’s been four or five years since I’ve done a complete series relisten. Did I mention the dustbunnies?

It’s still hot. Not quite as hot today but due to get hotter by the end of the week. As a result, I’m not doing a whole lot of cooking that creates heat. Oh! I did do me a splurge last week. I bought a multi-funtion air fryer/toaster/broiler/oven combo. I’ve used it to air fry egg rolls and to toast toast. It works great for that. My gently used (less than a year old) toaster oven is moving to the Kids’ house. I should explain. My gas stove is 40 years old. It’s gas. It has two ovens–one smaller upper overn and one giant lower over with a broiler drawser beneath it, plus four burners. I love my gas stove. I love my double ovens. But is is 40 years old and I’ve used it hard. I’m going to have to replace it sooner than later. The thing is, most of the new overn don’t have broilers. I don’t use mine as much as I used to but I do use it. Hence, when I saw the new “critter” on the Hamilton Beach site with a 25% off sale, I ordered it.

Speaking of the branch that came down, Toby barks at it every time he goes into the back yard. He also barks at the neighborhood rooster, that lives like 8 blocks away. Except he barks inside the house. He is quick to remind us that he is a guard dog! Gruff-ruff-RUFF. But the squirrel mafia bouncing off the windows in my office? Nope. Nada. Not even an ear flick. 🙄

Writing. I’ve actually made progress. I went back to the beginning and started tightning up the timeline and adding in some of the random scenes that have accumulated. That was 13 chapters and the prologue. Today, I start a new chapter. I think I know where I’m going with it. We’ll see. Still, 🤞🏼.

That pretty much sums up my life of late. If you’re under the heat dome, stay cool. If you’ve been affected by the rains/flash floods, stay safe. If you’re looking for a book to read and you haven’t read all of mine yet, the Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale is still going on and my books are still 50% off. Just click the pic or use the QR code. Have a great week, all.

Posted in Books, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Friday Sinema: Stick It

Posted on July 10, 2026 by Silver James

I’m a big fan of WeRateDogs on X. They also post to YouTube. They share fun dog picks and videos and also have a foundation to fund medical costs for shelter dogs through merchandise (Tell Your Dog I Said Hi) and on-line fundraisers. The founder does a weekly top five video and also does Top Ten lists. This one always makes me laugh. Toby would bring sticks except he gets sidetracked by things like wheelbarrows, pots, shovels… Anyway, these dogs love sticks and this is our reward for sticking it out this week. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Thursday Thoughts: Universal Dreams

Posted on July 9, 2026 by Silver James

Remember when you were a kid and time just seemed to drag? The first day of school and you thought Christmas vacation would never come though you dreamed about it coming. Then suddenly it was Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years–and other holidays but those were the big ones for me. Then school started again and how long until Spring Break? Dream on, it’s months away! Then even better, the last day of school! Dream fulfilled because then it was summer vacation. Long days of sun, play, and just being a kid. August arrived and the cycle started over again. Then you get old and the days, weeks, months, and years zip by like cars in a grand prix race. So, here it is Thursday again and it’s time for thoughts. As usual, the Universe has them…

Silver, not that you ever would, but never compromise a dream.

You have them for a reason -
  The Universe
©www.tut.com 

P.S. Many reasons, Silver, not the least of which is to make them come true.

When I was a kid, I dreamed of many things–mostly of what I would do when I grew up. I wanted to be a cop. I wanted to be an actress. I wanted to live in the mountains. I wanted to do and be a lot of things but deep down, I wanted to tell stories. I wanted people to read my stories. I wanted to make them laugh and cry and get mad. I wanted them to want to spend time in my worlds. That dream kept getting shelved. Oh, I’d write but almost no one ever read the tales. I’d occasionally try to get published and then one day, LG told me to keep dreaming but to get busy on making that dream come true. So I did. And 50 books later (not including the ones that will never be published), I still find it hard to keep the dream alive. It’s work. It’s hard. I get tired. But I still have stories to tell, whether the damn characters want to cooperate or not. Dudes, don’t harsh my dream! The Big U dropped the above into my inbox yesterday. I took the kick in the arse for what it is–a kick to jump start me back on the road to making dreams come true. Back to work, because the dream-making ain’t easy.

What about y’all? What are your dreams? Are you working to make them come true?

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Wednesday Words: Been A While

Posted on July 8, 2026 by Silver James

Wednesday means words and I have some to share. Once again, I was able to add to an already-written partical scene. This makes me happy because it means the book is progressing despite my lack of…well…atualy progress. Yes, I am rolling my eyes at that. The Thursday Threads prompt that prompted this scene is: *“It’s been a while.”* Again, not sure exactly where in the timeline this fits but I can say that the Scooby Gang is discussion Ariel and Sade is having to face some facts.

****
A pensive expression crossed Sinjen’s face. “You are human, Sade, with free will. Caleb was raised with you rather than under the rule of a werewolf pack’s alpha. Ari is Fae. He owes his very existence to King Oberon. Neither of you understand what this is like. To know that another has the literal power of life or death over you, who can command your every breath.”

“That would suck,” Sade said. “No pun intended.”

“It does, indeed.”

She watched him covertly then gave up all pretense at guile.  

Sinjen almost smiled. “If you keep biting it, your tongue will start bleeding.”

“Okay fine. How long?”

He tilted his head, his expression one of curiosity. “How long for what?”

“Since you feared for your life.”

“Ah. It’s been a while.”

“Mathias.”

Her voice held an edge and he needed to thread this needle carefully. Sade’s relationship with his sire was tenuous at times. She both feared yet loved the man in whose household she’d been raised. 

“Mathias never needed to threaten me.”

“Well, aren’t you the lucky one.” Now her sarcasm was tinged with bitterness.

Sinjen had not forgotten that Mathias once used Sade as a pawn in his battle with Oberon and she’d overheard his decree that he would see her dead before losing to the Fae. He reached out to touch her but she jerked away.

Caleb chose that moment to intervene. “You could always ask him.”

Sade blinked. “Point blank?”

The men exchanged looks.

“Fine. I’ll ask.”
****

There it is, for better or worse. Writers, feel free to use the prompt if it inspires you. Readers, what’s a favorite book that it’s been a while since you read it?

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Tuesday Treats & Titles: Cresecent Cream Cheese Dessert & Sale

Posted on July 7, 2026 by Silver James

Happy Tuesday. No tacos today but something yummy and soooo easy. You can make up a batch of these, pour a cup of coffee, find a comfy spot to curl up in andgo shopping at the big sale. Being lazy and not liking the idea of peopling this sounds like a perfect way to spend some time to me. Who’s with me?

Crescent Cream Cheese Dessert

Ingredients
2 (8-ounce) cans butter crescent roll dough
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup butter melted
1/4 cup cinnamon sugar blend

Directions
1- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2 – Unroll 1 can of the crescent rolls and spread the dough out onto an ungreased baking sheet.
3 – In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, the sugar, and the vanilla.
4 – Spread the cream cheese mixture over the crescent roll dough on the baking sheet.
5 – Unroll the remaining can of crescent rolls over top of the cream cheese mixture.
6 – Spread the melted butter over the top of the crescent roll dough with a pastry brush.
7 – Sprinkle the top of the crescent roll dough with the cinnamon sugar blend.
8 – Bake the cream cheese crescents until golden and cooked through, about 20-30 minutes.
9 – Let the rolls “rest” for a few minutes before serving. (Cut following the “perforations” in the crescent dough for pretty triangles.)

Tips:
1 – You can substitute a 12 oz. carton of whipped cream cheese. This makes for a lighter filling. (I find it easier to spread on dough, too.)
2 – Feel free to top with some ice cream or whipped cream. Just sayin’….

See? What did I tell you? I mean…seriously! Can a dessert or snack get any easier than this? And yes, you can bet all my characters love these things too. And about the sale: All my books are 50% off on Smashwords. And while I’d hope some of y’all will go buy one of my books, for those of you who have all my books? Well, there are like a million books for sale from now until July 31st. Some are free, some are various amounts off. So, if you need one or more of my books to finish out a series, nows the time. And if you’re wondering why it’s called the Summer/Winter Sale, that’s easy–it’s world wide. While it’s summer up here in the northern hemisphere, it’s winter down in the southern. You can get to my Smashwords page two ways–simply click on the banner above or use your phone to click into the QR code. One last thing, if you’d like more info on today’s recipe, just CLICK HERE.

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Monday. All Day.

Posted on July 6, 2026 by Silver James

Is today a holiday too? I get all confused as to which extra day folks get when national holidays are on the weekend. I thought Friday was the day but we had USPS service so…🤷🏼‍♀️

So. New month. New week. New day. But it’s Monday. Meh.

Our 4th was fairly boring until we got into the night hours. Mostly. Some idiot decided to start early and at 12:01 am on July 4th, they set off a string of fireworks. Jake freaked. This went on intermittantly through out the early morning hours and then it got quiet during the day. The boys–all four of them (Jake, Toby, Loki, AND LG) all slept in. I let them. Daylight came and went quietly. I had some left-over BBQ brisket and brats as dinner choices then LG and I decided we wanted ice cream. He headed to Braums for cheeseburgers, fries, and Braums Mixes. We’d just finished when two things happened: fireworks and weather.

Let me backtrack. Fireworks. In OKC and several of the ‘burbs, it is illegal for individuals to sell, own, or shoot off fireworks within city limits. The various municiplaities have always had big displays for people to come out and watch. One ‘burb allows fireworks. They prefer that folks come to their massive municiple park and shoot them off there under the watchful eyes of the local EMS and Fire Departments. And yes, we can hear those at my house. We can hear almost ALL of the municiple hooplas. They last about an hour and then it’s done and everyone can go to sleep peacefully. But for the alpha hotels who have decided that they are above the law.

So. Back story on Jake, my service dog. He was a rescue. A deputy on his way to investigate a “shots fired” call enountered Jake running for his life down a country road. The deputy stopped, stepped out of his SUV and Jake dove into the front seat panting and shaking. The deputy found the farmer who’d been shooting AT Jake, told the man to go home, and he took Jake to a nearby resuce. Jake was adopted and returned FOUR times. One of the reasons cited was his aversion to loud banging noises. Well…D’UH! When LG saw him on the rescue’s website and called, Jake had just been adotps for the 4th time. Just over a week later, the rescue emailed to see if we were still interested as he’d been returned. We immediately drove up, met him, did the paperwork but had to wait a couple of days before we could bring him home. That was 7 years ago. Yes, he had some “issues.” We worked with him, trained him, and he is the best damn dog I’ve ever owned. July 4th and New Year’s Eve are excrutiating for him. We’ve tried all the “fixes.” Nothing works completely.

I get wanting to shoot off fireworks. I did them as a kid. It was fun and exciting (and it’s a wonder I still have all my fingers, hands, and eyes!). I can live with the idiots breaking the law if they would shoot them off for an hour after dark, like the big displays. Jake could live with that. I’d sit in the closet or the bathtub (he climbed into both at various times Saturday night) with him for the duration and we’d be okay. But noooo. I was out on my front porch at 11:30 pm yelling at the alpha hotels down the street and yes, I called them the civilian version. Out loud. LG was out there at 3:00 am doing the same to a different set. This is a free country, yes, but your rights don’t get to trample my rights. Have some damn courtesy!

Now, the second thing that happened–the weather. A big front moved through right about the time all the municipal displays were set to fire off. By big front, I mean severe thunderstorm with winds to 90 mph, vicious lightning, and torrential rain. As a result, all those displays that were canceled (at least 6) will now be going off tonight. At least 3 of those are easily heard inside my house. Also, the idiots were out there before, during and right after the storm lighting. Off. Their . EFFing. FIREWORKS! Now I’m worried that Jake will freak every time there’s a big storm with thunder which he hasn’t done before.

Anyway. There it is. I’m tired. I’m cranky. There’s not enough coffee in the world. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, the play was okay. My Cardinals played well against the Cubbies. The OKC Spark (AUSL Pro Softball), also played well and it’s fun to watch them on TV. I listened to several books–Kristen Ashley and Jayne Castle. I’m still behind my Goodreads Challenge by 10 books but I’m slowly catching up.

Thanks for letting me rant. How was your weekend?

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Friday Sinema: Soccer in the South

Posted on July 3, 2026 by Silver James

USA! USA! USA! Happy Birthday, America! The USMNT (US Men’s National Team) made it into the Round of 16. Despite having TWO goals called back and a highly-questionable red card handed out to our star player, they won their game Wednesday night 2-0. Every game is won or done from here on out. I don’t know about other social media sites but foreign fans have been flooding X with their tales of discovering America. From bagpipes playing “Sweet Caroline” at a Boston Red Sock’s game to Norwegians “Viking rowing” up escalators, to OMG BUCK-EES/Waffle House/Chick-fil-A/BBQ! Well, I tumbled across this little tutorial for our new foreign friends from Matt Mitchell of It’s a Southern Thing. Have a happy and SAFE 4th of July! 🎆🎇🧨

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments