Friday Sinema – Smoke

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Silver James

Y’all don’t know much about Hollywood. He had a very minor role in NIGHT SHIFT, and frankly, I hadn’t anticipated writing his story for awhile. But then both he and Hardy started jabbering at me. They both know exactly who their heroines are and what their story is. Sorry sonofabucks. Sometimes, dealing with these characters is harder than herding cats! 😆 Anyway, this is a song I’ve always liked and dang if it doesn’t fit Hollywood’s story perfectly. And no, I’m not giving away the plot but you might be able to figure it out anyway. So happy Friday and someday, Hollywood will get his. 😉

Have a great weekend. Who’s doing fun stuff? Me? I’m working and dodging the weather forecast.

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Thursday’s Thoughts: Universal Wings

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Silver James

universeI’d tucked this nudge from the Universe back in my music box-like draft file, keeping it safe from rain and windy weather. (A prize to anyone who recognizes the song reference.) There have been many times on the journey that is my life that I’ve felt this way.

Silver, sometimes, when it seems your wings have suddenly and unexpectedly been clipped, maybe, just maybe, there’s more to learn by staying where you are.

Maybe not.

Tallyho,
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®

Silver, you decide.

Decisions, decisions. I don’t like making them. Yet at the same time, in many ways, I feel like I’m treading water. I’m waiting on decisions in this quarter, which affect the decisions in that quarter, which could disrupt the space/time compendium. Yes, I’m talking about writing. And editing. And publishing. But maybe I do need to stop for a bit, stay where I am, and reassess the whole thing. I just need to make up my mind.

So what’s on your mind today? What thoughts do you want to send out to the Universe? What decisions are you making?

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Wednesday Words – Double Crossing the Target

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Silver James

wurkn-on-mai-plan-for-word-domination-caleb-pupWednesday. Once again. Time for new words! Today’s #1lineWed is brought to you by the page numbers 14, 47, or 147. After launching the finalists for the National Readers Choice Awards, I’m finally back to work on DOUBLE CROSS/Hard Target. I hope you enjoy the snippets!

This is the last paragraph of Chapter 2, which is approximately page 14, thereabouts, maybe… The team is bedded down waiting for their emergency extraction–still two hours away and the scene is Duke’s POV.

The sound was a soft one, barely registering on the outer limits of his hearing. A whoosh, like air escaping from a balloon. Fuck. Griffin missile. His body erupted into instinctive action even as he yelled orders. What the fuck? His voice got lost in the roaring blast as the damn thing hit. The night lit up and everything went to shit.

This next bit is further on in the story…maybe around page 47 (or a bit earlier but…)

He squeezed her shoulder so hard she winced.

“I may be blind, princess—”

“Don’t call me that.”

“I’m still a fucking Navy SEAL, princess. I’ll get your pampered ass back to the States.”

And finally, a snippet from later in the book–the in between not filled in yet because of that whole Puzzler writing process thing. 😆 In this scene, Duke is in the employ of Mother Goose and her merry band of misfit special operators. The Hard Target team is in the middle of a South American jungle and Duke has recognized the good doctor through his sniper scope–seemingly a guest of the chief of the local drug cartel. He’s speaking to a Wolf shifter by the name of Fraser “Kin” Kincaid, a name some of you might remember… *shhhhh* 😉

“Your call, mate.”

Yeah. His call. He was the damn mission boss. Part of him wanted to put a bullet in her brain. The rest wanted to strip her down and fuck her blind. Decisions, decisions. “Extract her before we blow the hacienda.”

“I’ll retrieve her then. What is it American cowboys say? Yippee-ki-yay, motherfuckers?”

“No, that would be John McClane, the cop character in the Die Hard movies.” And didn’t that just sum up his personal hell. Duke scrubbed at his forehead. The team was out of options. They had to cut the head off the cartel and no matter how much part of him might want to leave Dr. Cory Prince there to suffer the consequences of her actions, he couldn’t do it. Not and face himself in the mirror every morning for the rest of his life. “Get her out, Kin. I’ll cover your six.”

“My arse appreciates that, Duke.” The cocky Scot gave him a one-fingered salute before disappearing into the underbrush.

Who has words to share from their own WIP or a book you’re reading?

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Tuesday Treats – Breakfast for Dinner

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Silver James

baked-egg-potatoes2Every once in awhile we really like breakfast for dinner. Usually, that means waffles but sometimes, it means something that might actually pass for dinner. I came across this recipe somewhere–and sadly I didn’t make note of the site. These are really good and fast if you have baked potatoes already. If not, put those puppies in the microwave for a few minutes. 😆

Sunnyside Up Potatoes

Ingredients to make one serving (double/triple/etc. for however many are sitting down at the table)
1 baked potato
1/2 Tbsp butter
1 egg
1 strip bacon crumbled or pre-crumbled bacon bits
2 Tbsp shredded cheese (cheddar, Gouda, mozzarella, whatever cheese is your fav)
1 Tbsp parsley, flakes or chopped if you use fresh
salt and/or pepper to taste

Using a paring knife, carefully cut off the top third of the potato. Hollow out the middle with a spoon to make a “bowl,” leaving the inside as thin or thick as you like. The more you scoop out, the more room for extra goodies.

Place the butter in the bottom of the potato bowl, break the egg and add without breaking yolk. Top with bacon, cheese, parsley, and seasoning.

Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the egg white is set. Serve immediately. LG likes a bit of Tabasco on the top. You can add fresh chopped spinach, mushrooms, ham, whatever extras you like to eat.

Who else eats breakfast for dinner? And what do you eat?

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Monday…It’s Here.

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Silver James

Here’s a quick wrap up of my weekend…and last week.

We survived the storms, dodging between tornadoes and remaining mostly on high ground though streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes are at near flood levels. That’s good. Mostly. We’ve been experiencing severe drought conditions for several years, to the point that some lakes were 35 feet below normal. Yeah, we pretty much made up a lot of that in a week’s time. CRAZY! And speaking of crazy, this is a pic I took between storms one day last week. The sky was that weird dirty peach color and there was a full double rainbow so large I couldn’t get both ends with my iPhone camera.
rainbow3 5-7-15 resized

Saturday, we had to backtrack on our way to Mountain View for the book signing. The bridge was out. Luckily, I was only a few minutes late. The Addie Davis Memorial library was very cozy, with readers sitting down in the signing room with us and visiting. I sold a few books, made some new friends, and Blue had a blast. Here he is wearing his I ❤ Mom tee shirt.
Addie Long book signing cropped

And again at Meers, Oklahoma where we had the fabulous and famous Meers burgers followed by pecan cobbler and homemade ice cream. I shouldn’t eat for the next week but dang was the food good!
Meers burgers resize

We dashed in between thunderstorms and when we’d finished, the sun had come out so we could meander through the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. Only got pictures of buffalo, long horns, flood waters, and wild flowers. It was a marvelous day and many thanks to Mrs. Lightfoot, the Mountain View library, and community!

Sunday was a kick-back day followed by dinner with LG, Only, BB, and Stormageddon at our favorite BBQ place. Storm decided everything tastes better with BBQ sauce, including green beans and fried okra. 😉

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Happy Mother’s Day to the moms, and Happy Just Because Day to everyone else. What did y’all do?

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Friday Sinema – Hard Target and Real Heroes

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Silver James

I have yet been able to sit down and watch the movie ACT OF VALOR all the way through in one sitting. It’s a powerful story and by the end, I’m always sobbing. But you know me and music and inspiration. So…here’s the SitRep.* I’m dealing with a team of Navy SEALs. They aren’t your typical SEALs, only in that they’ve been genetically enhanced, because SEALs are pretty damn awesome in and of themselves. But I digress. Music. Inspiration. I have the soundtrack to VALOR. I listen to it when I need to touch base with Duke and the guys. And really? This song could be about Duke. So…get your hankies out, but the good news is, you get to look at Keith Urban. Which is always a good thing in my book.

Happy Friday, everyone. What are y’all gettin’ up to this weekend?

Have a great one, whatever you’ve got planned. I’m shooting for a little yard work, some baseball, and hopefully, lots of writing. Duke and his princess need their Happy Ever After. Especially after what I’m putting him through.

*SitRep–that would be military speak for Situation Report. 😉

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Universal Living In the Fun of It

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Silver James

universeWe’ve had rain and storms this week. That’s okay. We are slowly catching up on the drought. I have a few rose buds and a peony blooming, with the tiny pink flowers of oxalis adding bright winks to Spring. My irises didn’t/haven’t bloomed yet. Ah well. In the whole scheme of things, it doesn’t matter. Because I do remember…

Remember when it was really fun, Silver, to catch raindrops on your tongue, walk under archways because they were there, and roll around in the sand at the beach? To go all the way to the store for a tiny treat, lie on the grass looking for “God” in the clouds, and make scary monster faces in the mirror? To watch the stars because they were winking at you, count the flowers in the garden by the door, and put Cocoa Puffs up your nose?

Well, Silver, I’m happy to inform you, most of it still is.

Ah-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h…
The Universe

© http://www.tut.com ®

Whoohoooo, Silver, you’re alive!

Go have some fun today! That’s on my list of things to do. *nods* Right after I wish my favorite brother-in-law and his lovely wife (the SiL I mention with great affection sometimes) a very happy anniversary! ❤

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Wednesday Words: Double Cross WIP

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Silver James

wurkn-on-mai-plan-for-word-domination-caleb-pupIt’s Wednesday. Again. Why does this keep happening? It’s like Monday. We just can’t get away from it! 😆 Okay, today’s writing challenge is to pull a #1lineWed from pages 16, 62, or 162 of your WIP. Or in this case, my WIP, unless, of course, you want to share in the comments. So…DOUBLE CROSS, book one in the Hard Target series. Oh, and I’ve added two new pages under the Moonstruck tab–one for Nightriders and another for Hard Target. There are crappy banners I made (until Only takes pity on me and makes good ones), but they aren’t bad given my limited graphics abilities.

Wait. Oh, yes. #1lineWed. Here you go…And the lines I’ll be using on Twitter is highlighted.

A quick FYI, Duke and SEAL Team Atlantis have been dispatched to Africa to take out a warlord (think Boka Haram). He didn’t expect to find an American pediatrician in the midst of the operation. This snippet is from Cory’s POV before her path crosses with the team.

Cory curled into a fetal ball, her silent screams still echoing in her memory. Her heart thudded, pounding a rhythm far too erratic to be healthy. Damn nightmares. She held onto her sanity and sense of self by her torn and bloody fingernails. Dr. Coreen Prince, MD. Doctors for International Children’s Aid. DICA was supposed to keep her safe. Keep the clinic safe. Yeah, right. The guards deserted her at the first sign of trouble and here she was, on a forced march across the African wilds, cut off from any chance of help.

And a bit later in the same scene:

A boot to her ribs jerked her awake. Rough hands hauled her to her feet. She shouldered the medical pack and blindly stumbled the direction her guard pointed. One foot in front of the other. If she was to survive, she had to walk.

And now a longer bit from Duke’s POV. This is six months later and will be somewhere around page 62. Close enough for government work and #1lineWed, anyway. LOL Duke’s been discharged from a military hospital AND the Navy. He’s back on Key West, sitting on his favorite stool in his favorite bar–Mother Goose’s.

“Here. Have a glass of self-pity.” Mother Goose slid a glass of single-malt scotch in front of Duke. He knew what she was doing by the sound of glass scraping on wood and the smoky scent of the alcohol.

“Not what I’m drinking.” He couldn’t even work up the energy to reach for the sweating beer bottle at his elbow.

“Oh? Could have fooled me.”

“Dammit, Mother. I didn’t come in here for this crap.”

“Then get your ass off my barstool and get the hell out, Duke.”

“I’m fucking blind, Mother.”

And I’ll leave that as a big, ol’ tease! Because I’m all evil like that. *bwahaha*

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Tuesday Temptation: Coffee

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Silver James

Haven’t done one of these in a long time, so just for fun, here are some coffee quotes and facts and memes from my coffee collection to illustrate them.
Coffee understands
Coffee is a blessing and a gift. A well-made cup gets close to heaven. ~The Joy of Coffee by Corby Kummer

Yes, yes it does. There are mornings I can see wings on my coffee mug.
coffee with wings

 

 

Coffee works - owlCoffee reduces muscle pain. After a hard workout, a cup or two of coffee has been shown to reduce muscle soreness (in women, anyway( more effectively than naproxen, aspirin, and ibuprofen. (But don’t replace your water thermos with coffee.)   ~ecosalon.com 20 Surprising Facts About Coffee

You know what that means, right? Jog to the coffee pot! 😉

Coffee levels Good communications is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after. ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

I’d add reading a good book to that list. Just sayin’…

Coffee fae's sexy brother

 

I think if I were a woman I’d wear coffee as a perfume. ~John Van Druten

Me? I think it would be better if the guy wore coffee cologne. Yeah, I’d be all over that! 😈

So that’s my Tuesday Ode to Coffee. Back to work…right after I pour another cup of coffee! 😀

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First Monday in May

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Silver James

loldog Monday Pup2There’s nothing special about this day. But I have lots of randomness to share. First, I had a really laid back–mostly–weekend. Ended up going with Lawyer Guy for his HAM radio club siren test (first Saturday of each month to test the storm sirens in Edmond), so we could meet Only and Stormageddon for lunch. Mexican food. YUM! After lunch, Storm and I headed to his momma and daddy’s house to play with Dozer, the Dog of Doom, and watch baseball while Only and LG headed out to some big antique flea market thingy, with a side dish of neighborhood garage sales. Mainly, she wanted some adult time and she and her dad have fun together.

Sunday, I got the .pdf review copy of NIGHT SHIFT formatted. It’ll be ready for the print version soon, too. I’ll keep y’all posted.

I’m “appearing” a few places this week. Today, NIGHT SHIFT and a few of my other books are being featured on Siobhan Muir’s BOOK GRATITUDE BLOG as Author of the Week. Click the link and go see the answer to my interview question.

Tomorrow, I’ll be on the Smart Bitches blog with a HABO (Help a Bitch Out). I’m looking for a book and hoping the bitchery can help me remember/find the title. The link to the site is over there on the right, in my Place We Go links.

Saturday, I’ll be appearing in person for a book signing at the Addie Long Community Library in Mountain View, Oklahoma. On the way home, we’re going to stop for burgers at Meers, Oklahoma before we meander through the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge so Only can photograph the scenery and wildlife.

In other news, THE COWGIRL’S LITTLE SECRET is on a special 50% off sale at the Harlequin website until May 10th. If you haven’t bought your copy (I mean, seriously?) or you know someone who would enjoy the book, you can share this coupon code: MYRD3. Just click on the code to go to the buy page at Harlequin!

Reading: Started a new/old series. New to me but has been out awhile. It’s the Dragonkind series by Coreene Callahan. Dragon shifters–good guys vs. rogues, and the women meant to mate them. It’s been fun so far. First book in the series is FURY OF FIRE. I’m currently reading #2, FURY OF ICE.

Didn’t get much writing done on DOUBLE CROSS but I have hopes for lots of words spewing forth this week. I’m shooting for a July 1, 2015 release date. I’m also toying with the idea of doing a pre-order for it. What about y’all? What kept you occupied this weekend?

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