You know what? I really hope this is true. Karma can be a bitch but sometimes, just maybe, it’s all worth it.
Once you realize, Silver, that everything you’ve ever been through – every scuffed knee, lost deal, and broken heart – will eventually play wildly in your favor, it’s kind of hard to complain.
Not that you would anyway.
Tallyho, ho, ho –
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®Oh yeah, wildly, Silver. Grrrrrr…
What do you think? Is it? Worth it, I mean…
See me? I get to play on social media today! Or I will once I go to Office Depot and WallyWorld. I’m finished with the stupid Excel Hell™ and have printed out the judging sheets. Now all I have to do is mail out all the supplies to the coordinators. And here it is Wednesday again. Which means it’s time for #1lineWed. Today’s theme? Hair. And yes the lyrics to the song are playing over and over and over and over. S’okay.
So. Here’s a few snippets from current WIPs.
From MOONSTRUCK: SECRETS:
The sun peaked at noon and slid toward the west. When he woke her, Hannah sat up gingerly and combed fingers through her short crop of tousled hair. He handed her a wet bandanna to wipe her face, then helped her to her feet. She didn’t argue this time when he hefted both packs. Even if he’d been only human, he was more than capable of carrying them without breaking a sweat. Thank God he hadn’t listened to her before. Had she carried the sixty-pound pack, she’d probably be down for the count.
****
Too late, she recognized the narrowing of Mac’s eyes and the flaring of his nostrils accented by the twist of his mouth. And if that hadn’t been enough of a clue, the growl rumbling deep in his chest heralded bad things about to happen. If he’d had hair on the back of his neck, it would be standing up like the ruff on an angry dog. Or in this case, one seriously pissed-off wolf. She took a frightened step backwards and then another. Stiff-legged, Mac stalked her until her back hit the cave wall. He was so livid his entire body vibrated.
****
Mac had to inhale more than a few deep breaths to settle his wolf. The damned animal was riled up—panicked over Hannah’s threat, the need to protect and soothe its mate, and the man’s inability to fix things. He let his anger simmer for another few minutes then forced it to cool. Once it was gone, he was swamped by Hannah’s feelings—fear, exhaustion, and something he didn’t recognize, some emotion he couldn’t put a name to.
Hannah pushed her hair off her forehead and closed her eyes. “Please, Mac. Just…go away for awhile. You’re…you…sometimes I can’t breathe. You’re so…big. You fill up all the space. Take all the air.”
****
She’d just gotten her nerves under control when her Blackberry phone chirped and she almost screamed. Her hand was shaking as she withdrew it from her bag. She answered it with a breathy, “Hello?”
“Hey, babe—”
“Mac? Mac!” Her tears could no longer be contained and she was sobbing his name.
“Hannah? Baby, what’s wrong? Is everything all right? Hannah?” Mac’s gut clenched and he had to force air into his lungs so he could talk. Something was wrong—really wrong. “Honey, is it the baby?” He caught her shuddering breath and his heart broke, fearing the worst.
“Oh.” Her voice sounded small. “Yeah. The baby. Always about it. It’s fine. What do you want?”
Fuck. He rubbed his palm over the bristly hair on his head. What had he done now to screw up? “What’s wrong, Hannah?”
“Nothing.”
Ah yes. Mac and Hannah are doing the getting-to-know-you dance and since neither of them have any rhythm…*bwahaha* I’m back to work. Yay for writing! Oh…I did discover something while looking for snippets. Mac spends a lot of time with his nose in Hannah’s hair. It must be a Wolf thing. 😉
Do you have any words to share? And Happy Hump Day!
Blerg. Yes. This is what I looked like in the mirror this morning. I feel–and look–like a slug. I have been in Excel Hell™ getting stuff done for the National Readers Choice Awards and also trying to keep my head above water on the deadline for MOONSTRUCK: SECRETS. That one is going to be close getting it out by the end of the month. Luckily, my editor is my insomniac twin and has a fast turnaround.
At least the weather’s been nice.
And I went to the cleaners and the grocery store.
Did I mention the Excel sheets? *headdesk* Oh, and I’m in two writing classes, one on synopsis and log lines (which I desperately need!) and one starting today on motorcycle gangs, bad boys, and writing them into romance. 🙂
I haven’t been on Facebook and everyone there is going to start unliking me. I’m such a lousy FB friend. 
I will try to do better. I feel like I’ve been living under a rock and have no clue what anyone else is doing.
So tell me! What are y’all doing?!?!
Today’s little gem from the Universe is apropo for several reasons. A Blue Norther came through late yesterday evening and it’s freaking cold today, my birthday is twenty-one days away and I dang sure ain’t gettin’ any younger–despite my inner Peter Pan! And…you know? That ol’ Universe seems to have the right idea.
Silver, as surely as the snow falls, the winds rage, and the rivers run, so are you, minute by minute, day by day, inevitably drawn to all your heart desires.
Act on this,
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®Sure beats thinking that you’re just getting older, Silver.
So I’m acting on it. I’m dreaming and imagining and writing and all the things I need to do to achieve my heart desires. Today, I’m going to sit back, enjoy my coffee, and work my tail off on SECRETS. I’ve been dealing with Excel Hell doing the NRCA assignments. I’m behind. Ah, well. What are you doing about your heart desires today?
Time once again for the #1lineWed tweet madness. Today’s theme is CLOTHES. These are all snippets from MOONSTRUCK: SECRETS.
The first one describes Mac and Hannah’s attraction. 😉
She fisted her hands in his tee shirt and pressed closer. Twisting around, she got her legs free and wrapped them around his waist. She rubbed her center against his hard cock and it swelled even more.
He smelled her arousal. Only supreme self-control kept him from ripping off her uniform. It was the only one she had. If he shredded it as he wanted to—needed to—she’d be naked afterward and then he’d have to kill his pack mates for looking at her.
Growling, he stripped her with a patience born of necessity. He pulled the olive green tee shirt over her head, severing the touch between his lips and hers for a heartbeat. A quick breath later, her bra followed the shirt.
And this one is Mac with a little more control.
“I’m not ready to let you go.”
Her eardrum felt the words as puffs of air yet she heard them as clearly as if he’d shouted them from the nearby mountains. Her heart, heretofore marching along steadily, danced a stutter step. Her cheek brushed the comfortable cotton knit of his standard-issue tee shirt as her lips quirked into a one-sided smile. His heart had stuttered, too, as he mouthed those words against her ear.
Then we switch to Lightfoot the first time he encounters Liz:
He stepped through the ring of wolves, his hand dropping briefly to the head of the alpha. As he approached, she got a better look at him. Close-cropped black hair above piercing eyes that also appeared black. Dark-skinned with high cheekbones, a hawk nose, and a strong jaw, he towered over her. She resisted stepping backwards. She recognized the uniform now. Dark woodland camouflage pants and boots topped with an olive tan shirt with a U.S. Forestry Service patch. A forest ranger. She relaxed just a little.
“Give me your hand.”
And back at Lightfoot’s cabin, after he’s rescued Liz with Nakai’s help and they’r back at his cabin.
Liz opened the bathroom door. She’d dressed in jeans and an over-sized plaid shirt that did nothing to hide her curves. If he’d been a man who blushed, he’d be beet red at the look Tala and Nakai exchanged. The older man cough and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “moonstruck pup.” He chose to ignore the gibe. Michael wouldn’t add credence to the man’s assertions even as his gut twisted and his free hand opened and closed with the need to reach for Liz, to touch her and hold her and take her back to bed. Dammit.
At this stage of the game, most clothing descriptions lean toward BDUs, olive drab tee shirts, and uniforms. 😆 Well, except for the examination gown Hannah had to wear–the one with the purple tigers and lime green elephants. 
What about y’all? Any of you have clothing descriptions you want to share?
Dang. For a game where I didn’t care who won, that was a heckava game. I actually watched most of it, even though I read through all but the commercials. Because really? The past many years have been all about the commercials as far as I’m concerned. So…my top five?
1. Budweiser Clydesdales – Lost Puppy/Best Buds
2. Snickers – A Very Brady Christmas
3. Mophie – God Knows (the phone battery commercial where it’s the “end of days”)
4. Doritos – Love on a Plane (guy on plane picking his seat mate–the gorgeous gal…with a baby)
5. Kia – Pierce Brosnan (c’mon! PIERCE BROSNAN!) tie
5. Camry/Toyota Dads Tie
Other than the big game, I spent the weekend fighting dizziness and a migraine. No bueno. In between periods with my eyes closed, I read more In Death books. I’m almost half-way through with the full reread.
What about y’all? Favorite commercials? If you didn’t watch, what did you do? And because I can’t resist, here’s the Bud commercial. 😀
We’re celebrating my friend Ashlynn Pearce’s new release FUEL today! For those of you on Faceback, there’s a release part from 11:00 to 3:30 Central Time. Besides Ash, there will be several other authors, including the fantabulous (and good friend) Jennifer Lyon and me! I’ll be there from 2:00 to 3:00. Drop by and visit. There will be prizes! Here’s the LINK. I think I invited everyone who hangs out here but I might have missed someone in the bustle.
In case some of you don’t know about Ashlynn, she originally published her first book several years ago, to a lot of success. Then the bottom dropped out of her life. Right before a family trip, she became ill. Doctors thought it might be a stroke. Or something else. Or this. Or that. Years later, she still doesn’t have a definitive diagnosis. Lawyer Guy and I have been going through this for 20 years with his medical problems so I totally understand her frustration. The disease/condition/whatever the hell it is left her feeling pretty damn low–physically and emotionally. But this brave lady fought her way back. She never gave up her dream of writing and today is the culmination of that effort! It is with my great pleasure to introduce y’all to FUEL!
FUEL (DirtSlap Series Book 1)
OUT NOW ON AMAZON:
“Is there any line she won’t cross?”
Cassie Dalton escapes her narrow-minded hometown and will do whatever it takes to make a life for herself—on her own terms. Getting stranded in Nashville on her twenty-first birthday is fine…running into the one man she never thought she’d see again is mind-blowing. She doesn’t want, or need, a hero, but he opens her heart to feelings she’d stopped believing in. She’s always loved him, but is he worth risking her heart?
Thrand Medlam is content with his life as a studio drummer, until Cassie slams into his world at full throttle. Grown up and running wide ass open, she sparks the fire he never knew he’d lost. The girl from his past digs up all the regret and remorse he’d buried when he left. Torn between the guilt of long ago and the vibrant girl in front of him, he must make a choice. Honor a promise he made to his best friend, Cassie’s dead brother, or love her.
In the midst of their chaos, a band, with a little bit of country, a dash of metal and a whole lot of dirt, is born…DirtSlap.
*This book can be read as a stand alone*
Now go get your party clothes on! See you on Facebook!!! Oh, and have a great weekend. 😆
Okay, first off, I’m not a giant of anything. No fee-fi-fo-fum about it. But whenever I think about marketing, about putting my work out there, I’m all about the awkward shyness, fear, inadequacy but not so much the blushing. I don’t blush as a rule.
Random awkwardness, unexpected shyness, feared inadequacy, and occasional blushing are just a few of the signs, dear Silver, that a giant is settling into their greatness.
Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum,
The UniverseYeah, did you read any of this Note twice, Silver? That’s what we’re talking about.
That said, you know the Universe is probably on to something. I did read it twice–or more times–and I think I sort of know what the big U is talking about. While I don’t think I’ll ever be great or a giant in my chosen field, I can be better than I am. I can write. I can publish. And I shouldn’t get all weird about it. Right? Plus, I’m pretty sure this goes for all of us in some form or another, no matter where our talents lie. So…all together now…
FEE-FI-Fo-FUM!!!!!
And I’m over at Donna Cumming’s ALL ABOUT THE WRITING, along with several other writers. Today’s topic? What our heroes would give our heroines for their birthdays. Hrm…what do you think Chance would give Cassidy? Click and go find out. Were you right? 😀
It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for #1lineWed over on Twitter. Today’s theme is **Faces**. So, I’m posting all about those features, expressions and whatever else works from your WIP. All of them here are the longer versions, obviously, since Twitter is only 140 characters. 😆
From MOONSTRUCK: SECRETS:
Mac let out a slow breath and she recognized his resolute look. “I’m sorry, Hannah. If I’d known about the patrol, I would never have left you alone.” His thumb touched her bruised cheek, a light feathering of rough callous over silky skin, and he winced.
She searched his face, saw tenderness and regret etched there. Did he regret she was the one he’d be stuck with for the rest of his life? Was it true that they were trapped in this relationship? She knew nothing about Wolf life. And if getting pregnant was such a big deal, how had she popped so quickly? She had so many questions but there was no time to get the truth from him. Her nostrils flared as she breathed in slowly and deeply. He watched her intently, like a hunter homing in on his prey. She didn’t like that image much but it was truthful. Truth. It all boiled down to truth.
There’s a couple of lines I could tweet in this next section. 🙂
Her fingers tightened convulsively on his and Mac glanced over at her face. A light sheen of sweat coated her skin. She’d pressed her head back against the bulkhead and was breathing in short, panting gulps. “Babe? What’s wrong?”
She swallowed and he swore her color paled even more. The sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks stood out like a crazy bunch of connect-the-dots. She swallowed again and a tiny trickle of drool escaped the corner of her mouth. Anger flashed through him. His mate was suffering and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. His wolf’s power swelled until every man on board came awake.
This one could be faces or hands either one, and shows a little insight into Mac McIntire’s psyche. 😉
Her color returned to somewhat normal and she no longer gasped for air. Mac offered her the Dramamine and more water. She opened her eyes and held out her hand, palm up, to take the pills. Mac ripped the packet with this teeth and dumped the two tablets into her hand. It looked so small next to his. He liked Hannah’s hands. She had long, slender fingers but there was strength in them. She didn’t wear jewelry. No rings or signs that she wore one. He liked that too. It meant his ring would be her first and only. As she lifted her hand to her mouth, he realized he could see all the veins on the back of her hand. Her skin appeared paper thin. His gaze fixed on her face. The delicate skin around her eyes looked bruised—beyond the injuries she’d sustained—and he could see the lacy tracings of the veins just beneath her skin.
And last but not least…
“We lost Whiskey Team Charlie.”
“Wait. What? Lost them? Lost them how?” There were only three active Whiskey teams in the 69th—Bravo, which was Mac’s team, Charlie, and Delta. “They weren’t on a mission.”
“No, they weren’t.” Mac’s expression hardened. “It was reported as a training accident. Chopper crash. Allegedly.”
Hannah’s eyebrows tried to hold hands as she furrowed her brow. “Are you saying there wasn’t a chopper crash?” She was having a hard time keeping up with the conversation, especially since no word of any accidental deaths had come across her desk.
Today, I’m welcoming my good friend, Siobhan Muir. She has a new release, the second in a fantasy series with romantic elements. I was lucky enough to get to beta read this sweet winter holiday story. FYI, Siobhan hosts a flash fiction contest on her blog every Thursday. If you’d be interested in judging or participating, be sure to leave her a comment. I participate almost every week, and have judged several times. It’s a blast!
First, though, let’s get to know Siobhan before I start to grill her with my fantastic interrogation interview techniques. 😉 She lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with her husband, two daughters, and a vegetarian cat she swears is a shape-shifter, though he’s never shifted when she can see him. When not writing, she can be found looking down a microscope at fossil fox teeth, pursuing her other love, paleontology. An avid reader of science fiction/fantasy, her husband gave her a paranormal romance for Christmas one year, and she was hooked for good.
In previous lives, Siobhan has been an actor at the Colorado Renaissance Festival, a field geologist in the Aleutian Islands, and restored inter-planetary imagery at the USGS. She’s hiked to the top of Mount St. Helens and to the bottom of Meteor Crater.
She writes kick-ass adventure with hot sex for men and women to enjoy. She believes in happily ever after, redemption, and communication, all of which you will find in her fantasy and paranormal romance stories.
Her new book A CENTAUR’S SOLSTICE WISH released yesterday, January 26th. It’s a sweet M/M fantasy romance and is book 2 in the Rifts series. Before I tell you more about it, I want you to meet Siobhan!
When did you know you were a writer?
I think I always knew. I began telling myself bedtime stories (after my parents read me one and turned off the light) since I was 7 or so. And they wouldn’t stay in my head by the time I was 10 so I wrote them down. There were other things I needed to do in life like go to college and travel, but the stories stayed with me and kept getting written until someone told me to show them off beyond email to friends.
And I’m really glad they did! Othewise, we wouldn’t have met. So, I want to know who are three authors, living or dead, you’d want to have dinner with?
Monica McCarty, Kate Pearce, Deborah Coonts. All three are living and are really interesting people. I’ve met Deb, but having lunch with her, heck any meal, is a hoot. That woman keeps me laughing. 😀
Deb is a hoot! Travel. You’ve done a lot. So, jet-setter or armchair traveler?
I used to be a jet-setter, but having a family curtails that for now. So more of an armchair traveler until the kids get old enough.
That will be fun. We always enjoyed dragging The Only along with us. 😉 Speaking of traveling, what’s the place you most want to visit?
Toss up between New Zealand and Machu Pichu, Peru.
Let’s get to the important stuff. Coffee, Tea, or Other?
Both, but I drink coffee most often.
Are you a Glass ½ full or ½ empty sort of girl?
I tend to be a positive thinker because nothing but negative things come from thinking negatively. Plus, being negative is exhausting.
Yeah, I’ve kind of noticed that about you. 😀 Now, for our readers, I did NOT put Siobhan up to this. I simply asked what she was currently reading.
LOL Cowgirls Don’t Cry by Silver James 😉
What’s next on your Reading List?
Hmmm, which one? Third Chance by Ann Mayburn.
I want to know more about your writing, or more precisely, your process. When–the time of day–and where do you write?
I’m an early bird and get most of my writing done before 6 pm each day. I have my own office now, with a real door! Lol this is good because when I’m in the middle of an intense scene, I can close off the world to concentrate.
I sometimes use a writing soundtrack of the musical variety. Do you use a “soundtrack”? If so, music or other background noice?
Not usually. I tend to listen to music only when I’m editing or when reading.
How about inspiration for your current book. Character first.
I came across the photo of an intense, well built, and handsome man on Facebook and he gave me this look of, “My story’s next whether you have something else or not.” I don’t usually write holiday themed tales, but he wasn’t letting my attention wander.
And for the plot?
The plot didn’t come to me until after I got the first scene written. All I knew was it would be between two men, it was the time of the winter solstice, and they’d both made the same holiday wish for love and partnership.
And last, the setting?
The setting is in the world of my previous release, Take the Reins. These two men are centaurs and this story takes place after the ending of Bethany and Mack’s story. I wanted a bridge-tale that kept the world alive in the readers’ minds before the next one comes out in the middle of 2015.
What’s your process? Are you a Plotter, Pantser, or Puzzler?
Hmmm, combo of all three? I write a short and loose outline so I make sure to include some details I don’t want to forget, then I let the muse tell me how the scenes will come together. But sometimes I get stuck and a scene will come to me that isn’t linear to where I am in the story. I’ll write that scene and fit it in where I’m pretty sure it will go.
Almost done now. Just two more questions. First, any writing superstitions? Must-have foods, shirt, pen, or other little idiosyncrasies you want to share?
No, not really. I do believe I write better with something to drink next to me, whether water or coffee, and I tend to write better in the morning.
And finally, we want to know about your next project. What WIP are you working on?
My next project is a serial fantasy, action/adventure romance. Sheesh, how many genres can I fit in there? But it’s a story I wrote in the year 2000 and it was inspired by the adventure I was having out on Adak Island, Alaska. I was half-way to Russia and this story wouldn’t leave me alone. I was supposed to be mapping the largest volcano on the island (which I did), but when I got home from fieldwork each day, this story just came out.
It’s about a Hollywood actress on a solo-hike in the middle of White Sands National Monument when she steps across a dimensional boundary and runs into the guy with whom she’s supposed to film her next movie. Except it isn’t him and she’s not in her home world and now she has to figure out how to live here, since getting home doesn’t seem to be an option. Plus there’s an army after this man and she has a talking horse. It’s a four part serial all about her adventures. Each part is about 25K words and will come out in February, March, April, and May, and then the whole set will be out in paper in June.
Okay, that sounds totally awesome! Do I get to beta read it? *looks all hopeful and stuff*
If you want to know more about Siobhan, check out her WEBSITE | BLOG | GOOGLE+ | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | TSU.CO | GOODREADS | PINTEREST | ALL ROMANCE | AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE | BOOKSTRAND
Because it’s release day for A Centaur’s Solstice Wish, Take the Reins is on sale this week for 75% off on Smashwords. Just use this code: XE38G and you can grab the first book in the series for only a $1! And All Romance has the sale price, too. Just put the books in your cart and click buy!
And here’s why you should go buy the book!:
Blurb:
When making wishes on the Hunter’s star…
It will take more than wishes to improve Sedgewick Icetrotter’s Solstice. After being sent to the infirmary, again, for dislocating his shoulder while stringing his bow, he figures he’s got a snowball’s chance in hell to impress the centaur he loves. Until Corporal Ronin Creekjumper brings in two injured centaurs suffering from unusual insect bites, and Sedgewick knows how to treat them.
Ronin can’t believe his good luck when Sedgewick saves his men. It also gives him a chance to do more than light candles for his injured friend. Ronin takes the chance and invites Sedgewick to spend the Solistice holiday together. Just the two of them.
And a pack of hungry dire wolves who’d like to put Sedgewick on the menu. Who says Solstice can’t be exciting?
NEW RELEASE
NEW RELEASE
NOW AVAILABLE
Silver James 