Midweek. It always sneaks up on me for some reason. The good news is, while I didn’t win last week’s flash challenge, I did have a bit of a break-through with this week’s Wednesday Words. The timeline–and all my random snippets–is coming into clearer focus and as a result, there are new words, jostling of snppets into place, and real progress made. Yippee! Here’s the prompt: *“No one paid much attention.”*
Aisling hovered on the back fringe of the crowd. No one paid much attention. Everyone was far too invested in what was happening. Spectators lined the sidewalk, all of them attempting to peer over the bridge rail to the river below. She was curious too, but not bold enough to push her way forward so she could see.
“A body,” someone closer to the front said.
“Not another one.” This voice was female, and dismayed.
“How many does that make now?”
“Why aren’t the police doing something?”
The mood changed, becoming something darker, angrier, fearful. The emotions rasped across her skin, abrasive and raising goosebumps. She edged back and sideways and yelped as a strong hand gripped her arm and pulled her along faster. Ready to dig in her heels, she glanced up. It was the man from the library. The one on the elevator.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said, his tone of voice holding a quiet urgency.
Unsure why, Aisling quite resisting and went with him. “We’ve met before,” she blurted as they cleared the last of the onlookers. “I’m sure of it.”
Ariel muttered, “In my dreams.” Louder, he said. “I do not believe so. I’m…” He stopped speaking. Names had power. His brain shifted and he continued, “Errol Denny.” It was the name on his hotel registration after all.
“Aisling Goodnight.”
He did not say I know. Instead, he gave the polite, “Nice to meet you.” In his head, he wondered, But who are you really?
This scene happens very soon after what I’m currently writing. So…once again, YIPPEE! Writers, you have your prompt should it inspire you. Readers, what are you not paying attention to these days? Yeah, yeah. Lame question. Whatever.
And now for something different–both the treat and the title. Today’s recipe is brought to you from the Midnight Cafe. The denizens swear by this tasty loaf that is as much cake as it is bread.
LEMON BLUEBERRY CAKE LOAF 12 servings Prep time: 10 Minutes Cook time: 35 Minutes Total time: 45 min
Ingredients Cake Ingredients 1 15.25 ounce Lemon Cake Mix (I used Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme Deliciously Moist Cake Mix) 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt full fat or 2% (not fat free) 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 3 large eggs room temperature 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries tossed with 1 T flour Zest of 1 – 2 lemons depending on size of lemons (I used 1 extra large lemon)
Glaze Ingredients (I doubled recipe) 1 – 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions 1 – Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare pan(s) by spraying baking spray with flour or by lining pan(s) with parchment paper. 2 – Blend cake mix, yogurt, lemon juice and zest, oil and eggs in large bowl with mixer at low speed until moistened, about 30 seconds. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. 3 – Gently fold in blueberries, pour batter into pan(s); bake immediately. 4 – Baking times will vary depending on pans and oven. Bake until toothpick inserted comes out batter free; stained from blueberries is OK. Cool cakes in pans on wire rack for 15 minutes. 5 – Remove from pan and continue to cool on wire rack until completely cool before glazing. 6 – Baking times: (2) 9 inch pans and 9 x 13 pan: 21 – 27 minutes8 x 4 loaf pans: 30 – 35 minutes9 x 5 loaf pan: 55 – 65 minutes
To make glaze: 1 – Mix sugar with lemon juice, adding 1 tablespoon of juice at a time to desired consistency. Pour glaze over top of cooled cake. Double amount of glaze if desired.
Tips 1. Fill your pan only 3/4 full with your batter at least 1 1/2″ below the rim of the pan to prevent batter overflowing pan.
2. Loaf pan dimensions and batter capacity: 8 x 4 x 2 1/2 inch = 4 cups 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch = 6 cups 9 x 5 x 3 inch = 8 cups
3. If using a 9 x 5 pan, baking time will be closer to an hour. Bake until loaf tests done with toothpick and shield top with foil to prevent overbrowning if needed during last 10 minutes of baking time.
4. Use whole-milk, full-fat Greek yogurt for the best flavor or 2% if you prefer. Avoid nonfat, as it can contain fillers and stabilizers that will change the taste and texture of your cake.
5. You can substitute sour cream or plain regular yogurt for Greek yogurt if you don’t have any. If using plain yogurt, strain some of the liquid first so it’s thicker like Greek yogurt. Do not use fat free sour cream.
6. You can substitute frozen berries for fresh, no need to thaw but baking time will need to be adjusted and color of batter will be altered but still taste great.
7. Know your oven or invest in an inexpensive oven thermometer. Oven temperatures vary widely, depending on brand, age, whether electric or gas and it’s not unusual for an oven to run 5 or 10 degrees hotter or colder. Preheat your oven at least 20 minutes.
True story. I stopped in a convenience store on my way to work one day to grab a cup of coffee. I normally brought a cup from home but on this day, I hadn’t and I knew I’d need the caffeine for rush hour. The coffee bar in the store had different blends and flavors and the one that caught my eye was named Cafe Midnight. I fixed a cup, paid, headed out. And by the time I got to work, I had this crazy story idea about a burnt-out cop and a spooky diner. I went home that night and wrote it. Originally published in an anthology called “Cop Tales,” I eventually published this short novella as a single. If you’re looking for something different and like a bit of supernatural humor, you might give CAFE MIDNIGHT a spin. Just click on the pics with the cover or the title. Here’s the blurb to tease you:
A burned-out homicide cop. A mysterious diner. A dead body. What could possibly go wrong?
When that cop is Joe McGwire? Everything. Back on duty after a shootout where his partner died, Joe and his best friend, Insomnia, hit the streets. Drawn to a diner called Cafe Midnight, Joe walks into trouble. Welcome to Cafe Midnight, where the coffee’s hot, you can still smoke, the payphone costs a nickel, and famous detectives hang out looking for a case. This short story is a fond homage to film noir and the detective novels of the last century. It’s a tongue-in-cheek tale about a hard-driven homicide detective and the denizens of the dark he meets while investigating his latest murder.
Hello, August. Hopefully, your arrival means that Summer will slowly fade away into Fall. I am soooo ready. Also in August, LG and I will celebrate 43 years together. Amazingly. Also, his birthday toward the end of the month.
So… This past weekend. It happened. I have mixed emotions, even now. I’ll try not to draw out the story.
Saturday, Only, Stormy, Jake and I drove down to my hometown. Well, Only drove. My eyesight is such now that I’m not comfortable driving much beyond my “known routes of march,” ie. the nearby places I go to regularly. I haven’t been back in…10 years? I was there at the public library for a book signing. Before that, it was for my mother’s funeral. That’s why we went back Saturday–for my sister-in-law’s memorial. She and I had a…complicated relationship. I never really knew why. It escalated after my brother died and once my mother passed, I was basically excised from the family, though at that point, I was the only one left, plus her, her daughter (and her family) and her son. She also excised her son–or he excised himself. Anyway, my niece contacted Only through FB, reaching out to say her mother was gone and to ask if we’d mind being included in the obit. Only tagged me and I mmediately agreed. The memorial service was to be held at the church I grew up in, with “internment” in the columarium within the church where my parent’s and brother’s ashes are interned. LG had a prior appointment that he had to keep, Baseball Boy doesn’t do memorials for very good reasons, but Only and I felt like we needed to be there. So we went. It was odd. My hometown is one of those places that changes without really changing. We sat in the back row of the family section. My niece her daughter and son and their significant others filed in and sat in the front row. My SiL’s sister and husband, and my niece’s two BBFs sat in the second. They didn’t realize it was us sitting behind them until after the memorial. Only family was including in the actual “internment”–which consisted of taking the cover off the slot and placing the urn inside, then replacing the cover. We followed the group in. It’s a small space and because of Jake, I was hanging back. That’s when my niece realized it was me. She immediately flew over and hugged me. We hung on to each other for long minutes, murmurring messages to each other. I wanted her to know she and hers were loved and still a part of my family. She murmurred to me that she was free now to reconnect. Her kids are wonderful. She’s the same effervescent kiddo she always was, and she’s free now. It’s all good.
It had been awhile since Only and I roadtripped. We used to do it a lot. We gabbed. Stormy played video games. Jake snoozed. At least he had an air conditioning vent to lay on in the church. They dropped me off, switched back to Only’s SUV (we took my Highlander down). They took off to get ready for a soccer deal. I decompressed briefly with LG, put my pjs back on, turned on the USA Women’s National Team game against China, and promptly fell asleep. Four hours later, it was dark outside and nobody had eaten. Oops.
Sunday turned out to be productive. I caught up on email and social media (both of which I ignored on Saturday) and then I opened ARIEL’S DAMN BOOK. I really do need to figure out a title–even if it’s just a working title. Still, at th emoment ADB still pretty much describes it. LOL That said, I spent several hours doing some restructing, adding new words, rearranging a little and yay! Progresss! I’m thissss close to getting the dang thing figured out. Labor Day. That’s my goal–which I’ve avoided setting–or resetting as the case may be–after the first few deadlines zoomed right on by. I am currently just under 51K words. My guesstimate has been 65K total but that may go higher.
There you have it, my slightly angsty weekend but it all ended on high notes so I’m good. Also, there was softball! That’s always a win in my book. Oh! And the weather broke just a bit. We only hit 90 on Saturday and Sunday morning, there was a hint of coolness in the air and I took my first cup of coffee outside to enjoy the breeze before the heat and humidity came back–which is happening starting today. Yuck. So how are things in your world?
Uhm…my bad. I forgot to set up today’s post. In my defense, I was in the midst of a writing frenzy that resulted in 1700+ words and a desire to get back to writing today. In that vein, here’s a video of a podcast that makes me laugh. It’s about books. Classic books. Have a great weekend.
I’m beginning to think the Universe is mocking me. Or perhaps chiding. Either way, many of the messages the Big U has dropped in my inbox of late keep insisting that I get my stuff together and, as Larry the Cable Guy says, “Get ‘er done!” Whatever.
Still, today’s message is apropos of the processx. For those just thinking about becoming a writer, or have started on the journey and for those of us who won’t get out of our own way, the Universe has provided a handy-danday “How-to” book.
Finding the shortest path between here and there, Silver, begins with imagining “there” is already “here.”
P.S. And with your imagination and fancy footwork, Silver, these two steps should come naturally.
Could it be that easy? That all it takes to get from “here” to “there” is imagining the path? Hello plot, my old friend. I realize that many pantser might argue that you have no idea of where “there” is because, hello, pantser! Really? As a pantser, do you truly have no idea how the book will end? I’m not talking about the specific actions, words, setti thingng or the final scene itself, but you know that the story is going to end and you have a pretty good idea of just how it does end, generally speaking. Crime novel? Bad guy gets caught. Romance? Happy Ever After. Thriller? The world is saved. SciFi? The world is conquered, colonized, saved/crew survives, etc. See what I mean.
So let me sum up. To write a book, you figure out where “here” is. You know, that whole Once upon a time or It was a dark and stormy night thing. Then you see “there.” To make it easy on the pantser in the audience, we’ll just say there is “The End.” Does that work? Then comes the sausage making. All that imagining and fancy footwork that gets us from A to Z. All we have to do is find the words to describe what we see along that path. All I want to add is, “Happy Hiking.”
On a side note for readers, how many of you go “there’ before you start “here?” Yes, I am inferring that there are those who skip to the last chapter first. None of you would do that, right? … Right?
As y’all might remember, last week’s snippet was the previous week’s Thursday Threads winner. That means that this week’s snippet is based on a prompt from last week’s. As a matter of pride, I try hard to create a new scene rather than continuing on with the winning scene. I do that for a few reasons. One, it gives me a new scene (more about that later). Two, it often depends on where the phrase falls within the snippet. For the challenge, we only get 250 words to work with. If I continue with a scene, I might only add 20 words. Our prompt this week is: *“We got that wrong, too.”* And yes, it appeared fairly early in that scene. All of this said, I often end up–like I have with Ariel’s Damn Book–with a pile of unrelated scenes that in my head, I know they belong in the story. The problem is figuring out where they belong in the story. This time, I got lucky. This snippet is the opening to Chapter 14. Maybe. Oh, it’s a chapter opening, I’m just not sure it will actually be #14 in the final scheme of things. Anyway, here it is for what it’s worth.
Ariel didn’t want to admit it but he was relieved Sade had arrived. He would not have to alibi to Titania why she was there. At the same time, the Dragon’s presence was more than a minor irritation, especially since Nikos now admitted that his purported business in Rochester involved the murders. Before he could call the Dragon on it, the elevator doors opened once again.
“Sir!” Druic stepped off, his focus so intense he ignored the two women and Nikos. “What did you find out?”
Sade smiled archly. “Yes, Ariel. What did you find out?”
Realizing what he’d done, Druic blushed and stammered an apology. His eyes widened when his gaze landed on Sade.
After he finished, Sade’s expression hadn’t changed. Neither had her curiosity. “Who’s your friend, Ari?”
Druic pointed at her, his mouth opening and closing. “You…you’re…” He turned big eyes to Ariel. “She’s…” No other words would come out of his mouth. He finally breathed, “Her.”
Ariel grabbed Druic by the arm to keep the kid from either kneeling or bowing and it was Nikos who made the the introductions. “That’s Druic. He’s Lord Ariel’s squire.”
“Assistant,” Ariel corrected.
“Apprentice,” Druic contradicted.
“Whatever.” Sade turned to Marcella. “So, Agent Lloyd. Here we are in Rochester because four humans have been murdered. We have two Fae and a Dragon also in Rochester. You still believe your boss that there’s nothing Magick about this situation?
“Okay. We got that wrong, too. What now?”
“We’re FBI. We investigat.”
And yes, you will be pleased to know that I went on and finished writing that chapter. I even managed to incorporate one of those orphan scenes in the chapter. I still have about 40 scenes that need their forever home in the story. So, writers, writer. Readers, read. I’m fixing another cup of coffee and getting back to work. What are y’all getting back to this morning?
Gah. It’s soooo hot! No one wants to heat up a kitchen or go outside. Better to stay inside, eat something cool and read a good book, right? The sale is still going on and boy, do I have a treat for y’all. Time to chill out, yeah? As y’all know, I’m rather fond of coffee. I’m especially fond of coffee that is sweet and creamy. And then there’s pie. I especially like pie in the summer. So, coffee AND pie? I’m all over that!
Coffee Ice Cream Pie
Prep: 20 min Total: 2 hr 35 min Servings: 8
Only six ingredients and no baking required! Here’s a frosty treat for a hot summer’s day from Pillsbury Kitchens
Ingredients Crust 30 chocolate wafers, crushed (about 1 1/2 cups) 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened 1/4 cup coconut 3 tablespoons finely chopped cashews or macadamia nuts
Topping 1 cup hot fudge topping, warmed Whole cashews or macadamia nuts, if desired
Steps 1 – In medium bowl, mix crushed chocolate wafers, butter, coconut and chopped cashews. Press mixture in bottom and side of 9-inch glass pie plate; refrigerate 15 minutes. Carefully spoon softened ice cream into chilled crust. Cover and freeze about 2 hours or until firm.
2 – Top individual servings with fudge topping; garnish with whole cashews. Cover and freeze any remaining pie.
Expert Tips 1 – To make cutting the pie easier, remove it from the freezer about 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
2 – Sprinkle each slice with chocolate-covered coffee beans.
3 – Chocolate wafers and coconut. Not a fan of coconut? Leave it out. For the wafers, I use Oreos but I scrape the creamy filling off. If you want a sweeter crust or are just lazy, leave the cream on ’em.
This recipe comes from PILLSBURY so click on over to get all the nutritional details. When a friend pointed out to me that Sade would like this dessert, I commented that Hannah and Sade might go head-to-head over the last piece. Sade, the MC of the Penumbra Papers series, and Hannah, the…well…I guess she’s now the matriarch of the Moonstruck Wolves series, might give up their men for coffee. Probably not. But…maybe…?
You still have until July 31st to grab one of my books at 50% off from Smashwords. Sade’s story begins in THAT OL’ BLACK MAGIC, the first book in the Penumbra Papers. The beginning of Hannah’s story can be found in BLOOD MOON is the abbreviated version of the start of Hannah’s story. The full tale is told lin the MOONSTRUCK: SECRETS, though she’s pretty much has a big role to play in each of the Moonstruck books. Just click on the book cover or the title and you will zoom away to the links page where you can pick your favorite etailer, including Smashwords. If you use the QR code, click on the pie pic or Smashwords, you’ll zoom over to my profile page there, wshere you can find my books.. Anyway, what’s your favorite pie? Stay cool out there and just remember…COFFEE ICE CREAM PIE! FTW!!!
PS: Anyone that wants the full story of the Moonstruck Wolves of the 69th SpecOps unit, you’ll get all of it and spend less money if you buy the Moonstruck Genesis series. Each of those books has two novels plus extra added scenes and stories. Just an FYI…
It’s Monday. The last Monday in July. Is it just me or has it seemed like July has been full of Mondays?
Malaise. That’s one of those words some some people have to look up (or they just skip over it and hope they can figure out the definition by the narrative surrounding it). It’s a word that shows up in a lot of historical romances. Or at least it used to. I have to admit, I don’t read that many historicals any more. Myabe I should. Anyway, I like the word. It sounds like it’s spelled: mah-laze. And the pronunciation leads to the definition. Anyway, I’m definitely suffering from malaise. The dog days of summer are always a doldrum around here.
I wrote a little. Nothing spectacular. It’s frustrating. When I’m in the waking-dream state in between bouts of insomnia, the story plays out in my head. I see the transitions. I know the order of events. It’s all there. Yet when I wake up and sit down at the computer? Nada. It sucks.
In other people’s book news, I finished off my marathon of Jayne Castle’s Harmony series. All three of her personas–Castle, Jayne Ann Krentz, and Amanda Quick–created a massive “universe” that ran from historical (Quick) to contemporary (Krentz) to paranormal/SciFi (Castle). The books are grouped into sub-series but they are all part of the overall Arcane Society World that she built. I’ve read all of them at one time or another but I am particularly fond of her Hararmy series–set on a distant planet in the future with colonists from Earth bringing their secrets (Hello, Arcane!) with them and then discovering that the environment of the new planet is growing their psychic powers. Fun stuff. And there are dust bunnies. Anyway, the marathon pretty much caught me up to my Goodreads challenge. I’ve listened to 84 books so far this year and I’m finally back to being on track to meet my goal of 150 books for the year. I just finished a relisten of Anne Bishop’s TURNS OF FATE, the first book in her Isle of Wyrd series. The next isn’t out yet but I wish it was! It’s an odd book. Bishop’s stories aren’t for everyone but if you’re looking for something different, you might give her a try. She has several series out. I’ve not read but one or two of her Black Jewels but I loved her The Others series.
I actually pretty much did diddly this past week and weekend. The little bit of writing, a Wallyworld run, laundry, sleeping in two days in a row. It’s hard to get motivated when the outside temp is already in the 80s before 9 a.m. Hect, Saturday night, LG and I just had ice cream for dinner. He was nice enough to brave the heat for a Braum’s run. Forecate is for triple digits most of this week. I’ll be here under the AC whenever possible. Other than a grocery run, I don’t plan on getting out much. As a friend said yesterday, stay cool and peace out! ✌🏼
I do love me some baseball. This short reel shows many of the reasons why. I once had an idea for a romantic suspense that invovled an injured police detective who hung out at the minor league ballpark while she recuperated. Then players started dying. And yes, I planned to title the book THE BOYS OF SUMMER. Maybe I’ll get back ’round to it one of these days. In the meantime, hope you enjoy and stay cool, y’all.
The Univere is trying its very best to remind me that I’m a writer. It keeps dropping hints in my inbox. On one hand, I need the nudges. On the other, I keep waiting for the Big U to say, “I told yo so.” That said, today’s message also reminds me that I’m a writer who often offers unsolicited advice to other writers via this blog. On Thursdays. And here it is Thursday. So some advice from the Universe. Except it’s not exactly advice. It’s more an explanation of how things work during certain parts of the process.
Do you realize, Silver, that you are so powerful…
…the entire world (people, places, and angels) looks to you for direction every single day?
P.S. And of course trees and shrubbery, pets and animals, Silver, even other worlds…
And there it is in a nutshell. That’s how you create the world in which to set your story. From the mountains to the plains to the oceans, you plant the trees and flowers, set the animals free, build the buildings and then “birth” the characters and then we tell their stories. Easy peasy, writer-gods!
Silver James 