Thursday Thoughts: Universal Meet Cute

Every romance has a “meet cute” between the MMC and the FMC. That would be Male Main Character and Female Main Character. There are those now objecting to the terms hero and heroine because that’s previous been “abbreviated” as H/h and there were those objecting to the Heroine being the small h. Whatever. I’m easy. MMC and FMC are easy to type. Anyway… Where was I? Oh, yeah. The Universe has a message and it’s about meetings.

Usually, Silver, miracles actually happen before you see their effects.

Sometimes even months go by, or a year.

Like meeting someone who later introduces you to someone else who changes your life.

That first meeting was part of the miracle.

Which means some miracles that have recently happened will soon be known by all.

Act surprised,
The Universe
©www.tut.com 

P.S. You’re sitting pretty, Silver.

Did you see what I did there? Think back to the Wednesday Words from the past two weeks. Those snippets deal with Aisling meeting Bran. And while Bran isn’t the MMC, he is the catalyst that propels Aisling into Ariel’s sphere. And their meeting will be something olf a miracle, which brings us to today’s Universal message of hope. Now, when the time time comes and you’re reading the book for the first time, act surprised, okay?

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Wednesday Words: For Certain

Here it is Wednesday again. At least I remembered to add a title this week. I had to go in and fix that last week. *me rolling my eyes* Bran is certainly making a nuisance, but then again, that’s his job. Last week’s Thursday Threads prompt was: *”One thing was certain.”* It was perfect to let me roll into a scene that quickly follows last week’s snippet. Just for your time frame of reference.

****
As Aisling left the library that evening, she didn’t ignore the prickles on the back of her neck. That sense of dread, of being watched had become more frequent. At first, she’d chided herself for an overactive imagination. She was a librarian after all. She lived the lives of the characters in the books she read.

Drawing on that reading, she surreptitiously surveyed her surroundings. Nothing out of the ordinary that she could see. Traffic stopped and started on the street, as was usual for this time of day. A few pedestrians hurried down the sidewalk, some of them heading to the library’s main entrance.

The rain that had been threatening for days still wasn’t falling but drizzle clogged the air. She headed up the sidewalk on her usual trip to the bus stop clutching her raincoat a little tighter. Darkness came earlier this time of year and the cloudy skies didn’t help matters.
RTS, Rochester’s mass transit service, didn’t bother with benches or covers at the bus stops—just a pole with a sign. Two teens were waiting for the same bus as she arrived. They were busy on their phones so she ignored them but continued to be aware. Situational awareness, she thought, remembering that from a military romance she’d just read.

The bus arrived and she boarded. Taking her seat, she glanced out the window and saw…him. The darkly handsome man who’d invaded the restricted stacks was watching her. His expression chilled her and when he smiled, her lungs seized and she couldn’t breathe.
One thing was certain, she wasn’t paranoid.
****

There you have it. And it ran a little over 25o words because I had to cut a bit to meet the challenge. I put those words back in here because…my blog, my rules! LOL Anyway, the plot is thickening. Just wait until she picks up on the fact that Ari is also following her, and a certain mysterious silver-eyed dragon shifter… *bwahaha* Writers, run with the words, should you so desire. Readers, how evil should I make Bran? Iffy wants to know before she gets out her scissors.

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Granny’s Moonstruck Summer Dump Cake

Memorial Day is coming up soon, as is the 4th of July. If you’re looking for a simple dessert that’s sure to appeal to everyone, this just might be it. It clears your oven and stove for other things and it doesn’t heat up the kitchen. This is important as summer arrives.

Blueberry Lemon Dump Cake

8 servings
Prep time: 5 Minutes
Cook time: 3 Hours
Total time: 3 hr 5 min

Ingredients
2 (21 oz) cans of blueberry pie filling
1 box of lemon cake mix
1 stick of butter

Let’s Make It
1. Spray the crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Add two cans of blueberry pie filling.
3. Add cake mix
4. Cut the butter into 10 slices and place them spaced out on top of the cake mix.
5. Cook on high for 3 hours, or low for 5-6 hours.
6. Served topped with ice cream or whipped cream.

Tips
1 – Be sure to spray the crockpot with non-stick spray. This will make it a lot easier to serve. It also makes clean up a lot easier.

2 – If you are serving this to a group you can easily double this recipe but make sure to watch the cooking time.

If y’all have read MOON SHOT or MOONSTRUCK: RETRIBUTION, then you’ll recognize Granny Mae. She’s the midwife/town elder and most likely, the final arbiter of all things going on in Blaidd’s Gap, West Virginia. She’s also a practical cook.

“Ha! Practical cook. I like that there description, I do. I’m too old t’be dilly-dallyin’ around with stuff. Not t’mention I’m busy. Since all them new Wolves moved t’town with their mates and their pups, they’ve got me jumpin’ fer sure. All that bein’ said, I am mighty proud that you’d be wantin’ t’share one o’my go-to recipes. It’s a sure fire people-pleaser. I hope y’all sure ‘nuf enjoy it.”

And there you have it from Granny Mae’s lips. I’m torn between my toppings. I suppose I could be bold and have both ice cream and whipped cream. Yummers! So, y’all give it a try and you can read MOONSTRUCK: RETRIBUTION while you’re waiting for it to cook. Yeah? *nods* Absolutely! Enjoy! Both the book and the cake. Just click on the pic or the title to head over to the Moonstruck Genesis landing page at Books2Read where you can grab ALL the Genesis books. 😉

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Monday Mayhem

Well. There was a weekend and what a weekend it was! First off, to anyone who got caught up in the wild weather in Missouri and Kentucky, I hope you all are safe! Holding good thoughts for all of you! I was in college in Kentucky a loooong time ago when there was a tornado outbreak. I was the only one on campus who’d every experienced a tornado. It was pretty crazy, let me tell you. I still remember it clearly 50+ years later. Yes, I AM that old. When I say I’m older than dirt, you can believe that as gospel. Anyway, that sh!+ got real over the weekend with deaths, injuries, and damages.

We had our own weather here over the weekend but it was tamer. Severe thunderstorms, hail, losts of lightning, and only one tornado down south of us. The storms rolled in late afternoon Saturday and hung around through the night with cells popping up about every two hours and rolling through which meant phone alerts, dog and cats on the prowl, and my weather spidey senses active. Sunday stayed warm, humid, and cloudy with watches. At the time of typing this. What rolls/rolled through overnight remains to be seen.

There was soccer. Stormy’s team lost Friday night, won the early Saturday morning match, and tied the late Saturday rain-delayed match. No matches on Sunday. There was softball. Again, as of typing this, no results other than OU moving on to Super Reginionals. OSU plays/played one or two games on Sunday. The must beat Arkansas twice to move on. I’m not watching. Don’t want to jinx, but I’ll update in the comments.

In ugh news, LG, Jake, and I were on our way to Stormy’s Saturday evening match. There’s a lot of interstate/highway construction going on and we were in a zone when a car in the middle lane decided that the white lines didn’t meant anything so edged over into our lane on a curve. LF put the truck onto the shoulder which was basically nonexistent. He hit a hole and partially removed curbing section. It damaged the front passenger tire and totally blew the rear passenger side tire. We limped into a Love’s Travel Stop. Luckily, we have roadside assistance through our insurance, especially since it necessitated a tow. We were also in the middle of a downpour within minutes of pulling in to the parking lot. Luckily, the hail missed us. Baseball Boy had to come up from the soccer fields to get me and Jake to take us home to get my SUV while LG waited on the tow. I then met them at the tire shop. Truck is home now, all better with two new tires. Luckily, no alignment needed and it didn’t damage the rims–just the tires. The tires had a warranty so we’re only out $200. Needless to say, we didn’t make it to that last match.

In reading news, I finished of the “1st gen” Chaos series books by Kristen Ashley. I’ll get around to a relisten of the 2nd gen boys and girls later. I’m currently listening to MAGIC BINDS (Dramatized Adaptation) by Ilona Andrews. The last book in this portion of Kate Daniel’s world comes out Tuesday from Graphic Audio. When I finish this book, I’ll pop over to IRON AND MAGIC is a peripheral to Kate’s main world but is in the timeline before MAGIC TRIUMPHS, the final book in the main series. The two MCs in I&M are important in the final book.

Writing. I did some. Not much. Which sucks. I buggered my left shoulder again. I have got to find some position for my desktop computer, keyboard, and chair that is comfortable for long sessions. I keep messing with positions–which led to this installment of “ow, that hurts!” One way or another, I’m going to do a June 50K, if any writers want to play along.

That’s all the news fit to print. Hope y’all had a good weekend. Any news to share?

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Friday Sinema: Crowns

[Note] Had a computer oops yesterday so late today. Sorry ’bout that. Hope your Friday is starting better than mine. 🙄

Happy Friday! I thought I’d share one of the songs from Ariel’s soundtrack. Keep this in mind: What if your king ordered you to find, seduce, and then kill the one who was your heart? Yeah, faery tales are often dark… Have a great weekend. 😉

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Latin

Latin is one of those languages that we all should study. Yes, it’s mostly a “dead” language, unless you’re Catholic. I mean, normal folks don’t go around speaking Latin like they do Spanish, French, Italian, English… Heck, any language in any country. But see, the languages I listed above all have Latin roots. Well, English has LOTS of roots–Germanic, Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and yes, Latin. That’s not to mention that we invcorporate a lot of Latin into medicine, law, and science. I mean…writ of habeas corpus. Ad hoc. Ad infinitum and well, ad naseum. 😉 Of course, those of us in the romance game know in flagrante delicto. I can go on and on but by now, y’all are probably wondering what I’m going on about. The Universe will explain.

The main reason some can move mountains, win friends, influence people, amass a fortune, or make anything else happen, Silver…

…is because they thought they could.

You can do that –
The Universe
©www.tut.com 

P.S. Shall we “Veni, Vidi, Vici!” Silver?

I came, I saw, I conquered. What does this have to do with writing? Simple. This should be every author’s rallying cry. I came…up with the idea for a book. I saw…the words on the monitor. I conquered…by writing the dang thing start to finish, typed the end, edited, proof, got a cover, got it formatted, and published that sucker. See? Easy peasy. Now, if y’all will excuse me, I really need to work on that whole Vidi thing…

P.S. Readers? Y’all can rally to this to. It applies the same way to reading a book. *nods*

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Wednesday Words: No Problem!

Not many words lately, on the whole, but I can always count on Thursday Threads to get me some new words to post here the following Wednesday. The prompt for today is: *”That’s no problem.”*

In thinking about a 250 word snippet based on that prompt, I thought about what would be a problem. That immediately brought Bran to mind because he’s a problem. At least for Ariel. So, here ya go. Here’s the first time Aisling sees Bran. In 250 words. Which will be longer once I’m done because there’s a whole lot more to this scene. *bwahaha*

****
“Hello.”

Both women paused at the voice calling for their attention. It was deep and rich like a decadent bite of warm chocolate cake. No, Aisling decided. Not warm. Cold. Like ice.

“How may we help you.” Janet was all but bouncing on her toes.

“There is a book I need. In this section.” He showed them a piece of paper.

Breathless, Janet gushed, “That’s no problem.”

Aisling pushed her glasses up on her nose and stared at her colleague. “Actually, it is a problem.”

Janet gave her big eyes while tilting her head toward the handsome man, her expression asking if Aisling was nuts. Maybe she was because shivers were still ricocheting around her spine. The man’s gaze fell on her and now she wished she’d kept her mouth shut. His dark blue eyes bored into her and goosebumps pebbled her skin. Drawing a deep well of strength she didn’t know she had, Aisling managed to keep her hands still rather than rubbing up and down her arms.

“This is a restricted area. No one is allowed down here but staff. If you will fill out a request form, we will notify you when you can view the material.”

The smile curving his lips did not warm those cobalt eyes. “But I am here now.”

“Yeah, Aisling. He’s here. I’ll get—”

“No.” Aisling cut her off. “Sir, you need to leave before I call security.”

Smile smug now, he nodded. “It no longer matters. I found what I need.”
****

And there ya go. Not a meet cute by any means. And yes, it needs to be expanded and there needs to be a lead in and a follow up but that’s kind of the fun a flash fiction–a short “story” in few words. Writers, have fun with it if you want. Readers, how appealing should I make Bran? Again, *bwahaha*

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Tuesday Treats and Titles: Hot Crab and Corn Dip

Since we’re coming up on the end of school and Memorial Day, I thought I’d share a quick and easy dip recipe that looks a lot swankier than it is to make. It’s also tasty. It’s been a while but I’m thinking I might need to add the ingredients to my next grocery list because…yeah…did I mention tasty?!?

Total Time: 50 Min.
Prep Time: 15 Min.
Cook Time: 35 Min.

22 servings, 2 Tablespoons each

Get your shellfish on with this tasty Hot Crab and Corn Dip recipe. Hot Crab and Corn Dip goes great with toasted baguette slices or tortilla chips.

What You Need
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup MIRACLE WHIP Dressing
3/4 cup KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1/2 cup KRAFT Finely Shredded Parmesan Cheese, divided
2 green onions, sliced, divided
1 can (6 oz.) lump crabmeat, drained
1/4 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
1-1/4 cups fresh corn kernels, divided

Let’s Make It
1 – Preheat oven to 375°F.
2 – Mix cream cheese and MIRACLE WHIP in medium bowl until blended. Add 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan; mix well.
3 – Reserve 2 Tbsp. onions for later use. Add remaining onions to dip along with the crabmeat, peppers and 1 cup corn; mix lightly.
4 – Spoon into 9-inch pie plate sprayed with cooking spray; top with remaining mozzarella, Parmesan and corn.
5 – Bake 30 to 35 min. or until dip is heated through and mozzarella is melted. Sprinkle with reserved onions.

Kitchen Tips
Tip 1 – Variations: Prepare using thawed frozen corn, and substituting mayonnaise for the MIRACLE WHIP. We’re a Miracle Whip family so…

Tip 1.5 – Splurge an buy fresh green onions. They do make a big difference.

Tip 2 – Note: This easy-to-make recipe can easily be cut in half. Just prepare as directed, cutting all ingredient measures in half, and reducing the baking time to 25 to 30 min. or until dip is heated through.

Tip 3 – Food Facts: You will need to buy about 2 medium ears of corn to get the 1-1/4 cup measure of corn kernels needed to prepare this delicious hot dip.

Tip 4 – Serving Suggestion: Serve with toasted baguette slices, pita chips, club crackers, or tortilla chips. Oh heck. Just serve it with whatever you like to dip with. 😋

The gals in Boston put their heads together and reminded me about this dip. It’s a thing up there on the Cape, evidently. At least, that’s what they tell me. Personally, I’m just all about crab dip and I’m a fan of corn so I’m all over this. If you haven’t met the mates from MOONSTRUCK MAFIA: BOSTON, you can click on either pic with the cover to head over to Books2Read to find your favorite on-line bookseller and grab a copy. What about y’all? Are you a fan of hot seafood dips?

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Monday May I

Yesterday was Mothers Day. Mothers come in all shapes and sizes and includes moms of non-human kids. I saw a cool word yesterday that incompasses all the kinds of moms: Motherers. So I’m decreeing today Happy Motherers Day!

Our weather was beautiful. For a change. We had soccer Saturday. It was nice. Warm with a cool breeze. Stormy played well but due to circumstances and on account of because, they didn’t score enough goals to win. Ah well. Next time.

Other than that, we really didn’t do anything and that was nice. We just vegged. I even got in a nap on Saturday.

I haven’t done much writing despite all my good intentions. I did some thinking about the book so there’s that. Ariel is being an absolute mule about his story. Sadly, writing will be shoehorned in around Real Life this week. LG, Jake and I will be at VA most of tomorrow as he undergoes some tests that require him having a driver. Any of y’all with manly men know how that goes over. 😉

Doing a marathon relisten to Kristen Ashley’s Chaos MC series. I’m currently listening to RIDE STEADY. It’s probably my favorite in the series.

I tried a new recipe but screwed up one of the ingredients. It turned out better–in my opinion–so I’ll make it again but set it up a little bit different. When I do, I’ll take a pic and use it for a Tuesday Treats posts.

Other than that, not much else going on in my world. What’s up in yours?

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Friday Sinema: Short Stuff

I’d got to a game with this guy. Just sayin’! Have a great weekend and Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms of whatever stripe!

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