Monday Matters

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Silver James

Coffee understandsWho had a good weekend? My was…eh. Let’s get right to the recap…

Sports: My Cards are sucking it up. A week ago, they had a lock and a huge lead on taking the NL Central and getting into the play-offs. Then they started losing. And the 2nd & 3rd place teams started winning. This is not good. Luckily, the Pirates and the Cubs play each other for the next 3 games. If Cards can beat the Brewers, they should at least stay even. Yeah, yeah. I’m a baseball fanatic. I also enjoy my college football. Oklahoma State won. But they should have! Most of the team is doing fine but the offensive line sucks as much as my current WIP. They play one more weaker team this coming weekend and then it’s gonna be Katie-bar-the-door until the end of the season. If the line doesn’t suck it up and get some push back against the defense, it’s gonna be a long painful season. My “other” team, OU, won a squeaker with University of Tennessee. The Vols gave the Sooners a whuppin’ and it took two overtimes before OU pulled it out. Good thing we were drinking beer with our pizza last night!

Speaking of, while I’m not a huge beer drinker, I heard about a red ale brewed by a firefighter. Fireman’s Brew Redhead Ale is pretty darn tasty. And a portion of the proceeds goes to various foundations that support firefighters.

Reading: I did some. LOVED Nalini Singh’s latest in the Archangel/Guild Hunter series–ARCHANGEL’S ENIGMA. You have haven’t read this series, start with the first one. You need the whole story to understand the series arc and all the characters. I’d been waiting for Naasir’s story and it was yummy. I can’t wait to see what happens next. That was the good book. The other book I read was WICKED RIDE (Realm Enforcers #1) by Rebecca Zanetti. I’ve enjoyed other series she’s written, though I haven’t read the series this is a continuation of. I like Zanetti’s voice. I liked the hero. Mostly. I hated the heroine. Enough so that I didn’t rate the book. I’ll give the next one a try, though I’ll check it out from the library, too. Next up is Julie Ann Walker’s newest Black Knights Inc. book, TO HARD TO HANDLE. And Tuesday is JD Robb day! I can’t wait!!!!

Writing: I did some. Then I undid some. Then I did some more. Then I think I figured out how to restart the book. I still think it’s crap and I don’t feel that way about my books too often. I can fix crap so that’s okay. I just have to get the order right and I think I’ve finally achieved that. Originally, I was thinking a novel of about 70K words. Now? Probably not that long. That’s okay too. The story has taken a few turns in its evolution. We’ll see.

TV: New and returning shows. Yay! Shows I’m looking forward to sampling: The Bastard Executioner–a crazy Welsh knight in the time of King Edward III. Produced by the guy who did Sons of Anarchy, I’m intrigued. Blindspot–naked amnesiac is found in a duffel bag in the middle of Times Square. She’s got tattoos that are clues and mad skills. The Player–a security expert in Las Vegas is…chosen to become a third in a triad of crimefighters. Sort of. It’s…just look it up on Google and catch the trailer. Lots of car crashes, shoot outs, and explosions with a most intriguing premise. My kind of escapism. LOLOL And of course, there’s Castle and NCIS.

So what new books or TV shows are you looking forward to? How did your teams do? What have you read that you’d recommend? *wanders off for more coffee*

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Friday Sinema – Wild

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Silver James

Warning: This is a sad one, but man, I soooo want to write this story, especially after reading about Pete Scobell’s life and his path to becoming a country singer. Add a heroine to give him a HEA and the story is gold!

I’m not going to reveal all the details of Pete’s life. You can check out the story HERE.

Just what I need, right? One more story rattling around in my brain demanding to get written. Something tells me I’ll be working this weekend. What about y’all? Have you ever read an article, caught a news report, or seen a video and thought, “AH HA! I NEED TO WRITE THAT!!!!!”

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Glance

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Silver James

universe I was going a different direction for this week’s message from the big U, until this landed in my inbox. This struck up upside the head like a clue-X-4. As a writer, this is what I do. This is what I “program” my characters to do. This message is the whole premise of a romance novel. Cute meet. First meet. First glimpse. Yeah. Can’t have that all-important first meeting without this:

A reassuring glance, Silver, to an unsuspecting stranger – across a room, down a hallway, or through a window – can literally change the world, forever.

Even though it was pretty cool to begin with.

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

Can you tell, Silver, that I try to keep these easy? At least for those who’ve already changed the world.

See? My writer brain is all over this. The hero is sitting in a restaurant suffering through a bad date. He’s compelled by some unseen force to look up. Sitting across the room is a woman. She looks as miserable as he feels. He offers a smile, and a moment of shared understanding, before the man with her forces her to leave.

The hero catches a glimpse of the heroine down a hallway. He recognizes something in her and he sprints down to the intersection but she’s gone–*poof*–disappeared and he realizes he’s missed something important to the rest of his life.

The heroine looks up from the book she’s reading in the coffee shop and sees the hero walk by on the street. Their eyes meet. There’s a moment of connection and then he’s…gone. He’s her own personal Romantic Male Lead but he’s already lost in the crowd on the sidewalk.

Oh, the what ifs!!!!! And now I have to incorporate some of these in future books. Because yeah, my brain is like that. Thank you, Universe.

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Wednesday Words – Family

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Silver James

wurkn-on-mai-plan-for-word-domination-caleb-pupStill behind so still not doing the official #1LineWed on Twitter. Today’s theme, though, is family, so here’s a snippet from THE DEVIL’S CUT.

From the chapter Death is a Dialog:

There wasn’t much wind to speak of and heat waves shimmered around the headstones making them look ghostly despite the solid, salt-of-the-earth granite squares delineating each gravesite. Caleb was surprised at how many trees dotted the cemetery and how green the grass was. This was desert country—hot, desolate foothill country pushing toward the Guadalupe Mountains. This part of New Mexico was Apache country—the stuff of western movies and penny dreadful novels. As the crow flies, he wasn’t all that far from Lincoln County, of Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County cattle wars fame.

The widow and her family sheltered beneath a dark green canopy. Slatted white folding chairs squatted in formation atop a square of Astroturf. As many mourners as could fit under the false shade crowded in close. The flag-draped coffin hovered over the open grave, a mound of flowers and ribbons sending odors into the air that reminded Caleb all too much of the Fae. On the opposite side of the grave, almost hidden by the flower arrangements, the honor guard stood with rifles grounded at their sides. The color guard propped up limp flags and tried not to sweat through their dress uniforms.

Caleb held back from most of the crowd. He’d found a nearby tree and leaned a shoulder against its sturdy trunk. His jeans and boots were clean, his dress shirt pressed. A few of the men wore suits and ties and looked miserable for it. The women at their sides were dressed in their Sunday best. Marrying and burying, Caleb thought. Why folks always dressed up when they knew it was going to be a long, hot day of standing on their feet was beyond comprehension.

Caleb isn’t quite ready to talk about his own family yet. “Not much interesting to relate,” he drawls. “Well, besides my first change when Sade told me if I licked my balls in human form she cut them off and feed me. Course, we were twelve at the time.” He brushes his heavy bangs off his forehead. “Yeah, I think Sade and I put the diss in dysfunctional.”

What about your WIPs and/or characters? Any words or advice about family?

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Monday Vacation

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Silver James

More weekendHello, Kitty! Welcome to one more day of weekend! At least here in the US. Labor Day. That last hurrah of summer. Except we’ve got hot temps here until next weekend. I am soooo ready for fall! Sadly, I’m not really taking today off. I did take Saturday off. I slept until 10 a.m. (UNHEARD OF!), went to siren test with Lawyer Guy, then met Only, Baseball Boy, and Stormageddon for lunch at their favorite Mexican restaurant. We came home, I stretched out and read for a little bit while watching the Cards finally beat Pittsburgh (they slaughtered the Cards Friday night), and fell asleep about 4 p.m. Woke up about 8 p.m. And of course, I was up until 4 a.m. Sunday morning because…long nap and insomnia. I should drag my butt out of bed and write but usually my brain is so much mush so I end up reading.

Speaking of, still wending my way through Shelly Laurenston’s Pride series. She still makes me laugh out loud at times. Once I’m done with the series, I’m glomming onto Nalini Singh’s ARCHANGEL’S ENIGMA.

TV has mostly been baseball and a little college football. I am looking forward to the fall season, but I still need to get my DVR cleaned off. I have a few episodes of RIZZOLI & ISLES, most of last season’s LOST GIRL, and to my shame, all of last season’s OUTLANDER. I know. Something is seriously wrong with me but I just wasn’t in the mood to watch it when it was running live. Weird, huh? I’ll get ’round to it one of these days.

Writing is…going. Thank goodness for Scrivener. Otherwise, I’d toss out THE DEVIL’S CUT and start from scratch. Which would be sad because I think there’s some good scenes there. I’m slowly stitching it together. Not getting as many new words as I’d like, but yeah. Progress is progress. And speaking of the business of writing, August was a really good month on Amazon. Sales were up, as was the number of pages read in the KU program. I ended up with 194,704 pages (almost double the pages in July), across all the books I have in KU. One day, I even had 11,267 pages read and the next day, I sold 16 books, which was my highest sales day. October’s checks will be nice.

So, are y’all enjoying your holiday? Are you reading? BBQ-ing? Spending time with family? Taking naps? What’s on tap for the rest of your week?

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Friday Sinema – Country Nation and Football

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Silver James

It’s time for college football! My OSU Cowboys played last night. They won. Yay! So, to celebrate…

Brad Paisley’s new song and his video homage to college mascots is made of awesome so of course I had to share!

Who are you cheering for this season? This is a long, holiday weekend in the states. Enjoy yourselves but stay safe!

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Word Choice

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Silver James

universeI’m a writer. Yes, I know. That’s a real d’uh moment. My job is words. But when you get down to the nitty gritty, it’s far more than words. I have to entertain. I have to pull emotion out of the story, the characters, and push that emotion into the readers. I am a storyteller. I am a wordsmith. (And I do like that word like damn and whoah!) When this popped up from the Universe, it touched a nerve.

When it comes to the words you choose, Silver, whether in your mind or amongst friends, let them be of what you like and love. What you care about and cherish. What makes you happy. What gives you wings. What makes you dream.

And very little else.

You make me happy,
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®

That’s why I talk so much about you, Silver.

Pretty much self-explanatory, right? Yup. Except when I get so wrapped around the axle about the BUSINESS of writing and forget about the joy, the dreams, the love of it. I forget about what makes me happy, what gives me wings and dreams. So yeah. Time to get back to my word roots.

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Wednesday Words: Making Sense

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Silver James

wurkn-on-mai-plan-for-word-domination-caleb-pupI haven’t done #1lineWed in over a month…maybe even two. If I take the time to play, I get caught up in all the lines people post and I forget to, you know, write! 😆 Today’s theme is SENSES and I came across these two snippets, both dealing with Caleb’s sense of smell. Even in human form, my favorite werewolf (as opposed to the wolf shifters in Moonstruck), has a good nose. In the first bit, Caleb has just arrived in New Mexico to meet with a…rural pack leader. He’s staying at the TeePee Motor Court in Buhmfuch, New Mexico and is met by the Alpha’s…emissary, Buddy Johnson.

Buddy climbed into the passenger seat and Caleb was glad this was a rental instead of his car. The dude smelled ripe—not in the way that an apple or orange smelled ripe, full and sweet with a hint of musk. No, Buddy smelled ripe like week-old garbage does—or a pro wrestler who forgot his antiperspirant. Caleb hated those little cardboard evergreen trees people hung from the rearview mirrors to cover up the odors of a host of sins from cigarettes and weed to BO but he was going to have to buy one somewhere once Buddy got out of the vehicle. Despite the dust, Caleb rolled his window down and leaned toward the dribble of fresh air that wandered in.

And, later, Caleb is out in the desert when he comes across something that distrubs him.

That other scent was illusive–like a magical spell, but…not. Spells had their own aromatic signature. Plus, there was the cloying stench of magical death clinging to both bodies that overlaid everything else. That burnt-fur acrid scent of ozone, the rotten eggs of sulphur, and if you’d ever gotten a whiff of a copperhead snake’s nest, you would recognize the spoiled cucumber smell that underlies it all. Magic carried its own odor, one a discerning nose recognized immediately. Just like a wine connoisseur could tell you about the bouquet and vintage of a good bottle of wine, a magick with a good nose could tell you the same about a spell.

Layering in all the senses is something writers should do without thinking. But…yeah. I usually have to go back and add stuff in, unless I’m dealing with wolves because…well…WOLVES! LOLOL Anyone have snippets or lines to share today? Oh, and Happy Hump Day!

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Tuesday TeeHeehee

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Silver James

It’s September. *FLAIL* How did that happen?!?!?!

I’m on Pinterest. Sometimes I remember to, you know, actually pin shitstuff there. Mostly, though, it’s sexy guys and funny sayings, or the occasional erudite thought to hang out with the funny stuff. Have I mentioned that I also have a file folder on my hard drive titled “Funny Stuff”? And in that file, I have a subfiles titled things like Coffee, Funny Phrases, lol, Writing/Reading, Monday. Oh, and Sarcasm. I thought I’d share a favorite today.

Sarcasm-defense

I’m on a If It’s Tuesday, I Must Be Sarcastic roll. What can I say? 😀

The class LG and I are teaching started today with a welcome and introductions. I’m curious about the people who signed up to take it. It’ll be fun, and we’re getting paid. Yay.

headdeskOn the project front, I added a new chapter of 2709 words to RDR#4 yesterday. THE DEVIL’S CUT is such a hot mess I spent most of the afternoon cutting, pasting, rearranging and doing a lot of this. There are some good words in the middle of all the dreck. I’ll winnow them out and yank that story into shape. Caleb is all growly/snarly at me so I have no choice. 😉

Did y’all survive Monday? Yeah, me too. I need more coffee…

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Monday All Over Again

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Silver James

Monday again babyWhat is it about Monday? It just keeps showing up every seven days whether we want it to or not. I mean, seriously? It needs to just take a long hike already.

Writing: As most of you know, the proposal for RDR#4 (working title of LAST COWGIRL STANDING) headed off to Mr. HQEd last week. Now to get started on my next two projects–THE DEVIL’S CUT and MOONSTRUCK: LIES. I need to start multi-tasking ASAP. Plus, I need to work on LCS periodically too because once the proposal is accepted, I have a short trigger deadline on it as well. So, not much time on social media in my immediate future. I think I’m supposed to be sad but I’m not really. I know, my bad.

Reading: I’ve been doing my fair share since Insomnia is visiting. I’d like to kick it’s @$$ to the curb but that’s not happening. Ah well. I burned through Roxie Rivera’s Her Russian Protector series. They’re sexy and despite the fact the Russian mob was operating in Houston, which may or may not be a real thing but it made me go, “Huh?”, they were fun reading. A little gritty, very sexy, and dang those alpha men. *fans face* I also read and thoroughly enjoyed (5 BIG stars worth!) our own B.E. Sanderson’s new UF novel, WISH IN ONE HAND. I got to beta read this book way back when. Enjoyed the heck out of it then and loved it when I got to read the final version. If you’re a fan of Larissa Ione’s Demonica series, I highly recommend HADES, which is part of the 1001 Dark Nights anthology series. I always enjoy touching base in Larissa’s world.

TV: Saw DRACULA UNTOLD Saturday night. OMG! I love this take on the Dracula legend and OMG Luke Evans (who plays Vlad) is yummy awesomesauce. Someone PLEASE tell me there’s a sequel set in modern times in the works because the ending…REINCARNATION, people! And true love!!!! And a very bad guy!!!! So yeah. I really liked it, in case you couldn’t tell.

Stuffs: Lawyer Guy and I are co-teaching an on-line class, Letters of the Law, for the Kiss of Death RWA chapter. It’s open to anyone to take. You can get info HERE if you are interested. The course lasts through the month of September, starting tomorrow, September 1st.

We went shopping for Stormageddon on Saturday. Baseball Boy is coaching a 14 and Under baseball team and LG wanted a batting helmet with a face cage for Stormy. The kid is 17 months old. He has his own glove, balls, batting tee, helmet, and also a deal that blows up with like a basket ball net in the middle of it to catch balls when he throws them. Not that we’re expecting him to play baseball or anything, because The Only was just an NAIA All-American catcher and BB was a conference team first baseman. shifty-eyes-ani2faster

And that’s been my life of late. What about y’all? What did you do that was fun this weekend? Read any good books? Seen any good movies?

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