Wednesday Words – Secret Joke

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Silver James

Cowgirls Secret 680It might be April Fool’s Day, but it’s no joke when I say I’m excited that THE COWGIRL’S LITTLE SECRET is available in digital format and will be available in print on April 7th!

The theme for #1lineWed on Twitter today is: Practical Jokes or General Mischief. I don’t really have anything from TCLS that works, but for the fact that Jolie really pulled the big one on Cord. This excerpt is the moment when Cord finds out he’s a father. It’s his first day out of the hospital and Chance and Cassie took him to Cattlemen’s for a late lunch. He’s still in a wheelchair and feels very much at the disadvantage when they bump into Jolie and CJ at the entrance to the restaurant.

Cord settled the child he was pretty damn sure was his son more firmly on his lap.

“Is he mine?” He was pleased his voice remained calm and sounded reasonable. Inside he was a seething cauldron of anger.

CJ stopped squirming, as if he sensed something momentous about to happen. His eyes jittered between his mom and Cord.

“I…” Jolie looked away. “Cord…you don’t understand.”

“No. I guess I don’t. Since you didn’t give me a chance. Or explain. But you didn’t answer my question. He is mine, isn’t he?”

Anger swirled, cramping his gut. His eyes stayed fixed on Jolie, and even though they burned, he didn’t blink. How could she do this to him? Did she hate him that damned much?

When he’d caught her crying over him in the hospital, he’d hoped for a second chance, but she’d obviously wiped the slate clean and eradicated him completely. His heart turned to granite when he realized what Jolie had done–and had done deliberately. If he said a word, his face would crack, shattering just like his heart was doing. But he had to know.

“Were you ever going to tell me?”

And what do you think Jolie’s answer was? My lips are sealed. You’ll just have to read the book to find out! Happy April Fool’s Day! 😀

Posted in Books, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Tuesday Tease – The Cowgirl’s Little Secret

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Silver James

Cowgirls Secret 680I wonder if I should be weirded out that THE COWGIRL’S LITTLE SECRET is releasing tomorrow on April Fool’s Day… Naw. I checked my Amazon numbers yesterday on both of the Red Dirt Royalty books and they were both in the top 100 of Harlequin Desire titles AND Westerns. Maybe some day I’ll make one of the Big Lists. I think that’s a dream of every writer who ever had a book available for sale. 😆

So…how about some teases for those of you who haven’t read the book yet. Here’s a little bit about Cord Barron, our hero:

He was supposed to be the easy-going Barron, the good ole boy comedian. He didn’t get angry. He didn’t slam his fist into inanimate objects–especially when it would hurt like hell. Except when Jolie was around. He was always off balance where she was concerned, like a pinball game with lights flashing and bells clanging as a huge TILT strobed in front of his eyes. Yeah, that definitely summed up their relationship. They’d been headed for a big, fat “game over” from the moment he’d first laid eyes on her.

And how he sums up his relationship with Jolie:

Jolene Davis. Juliet to his Romeo–right down to their feuding families. Cord had walked away from her, not once but twice, if their hookup for “old time’s sake” five years ago counted. Technically, she’d walked away the second time–before he could. Turnabout was fair play and all that crap. That was what he’d told himself at the time. He hadn’t wanted to admit how much it hurt–waking up hungover to find her gone, the sheets still smelling of her sweet mimosa scent. Even now, all these years later, he hated spring when the mimosa trees bloomed.

Jolie is working at Trauma One when Cord arrives in critical condition after an oil well accident. So much for being professional, right? 😉 He’s been stabilized and sent up to surgery and now Jolie has to notify his family. Who hate her. You know, that whole Romeo and Juliet thing? This is what she does at one point:

The bin with Cord’s belongings sat at her feet. She bent over and dug through the ripped and bloody clothes. She flipped open his wallet. Credit cards. A couple of receipts. No list of contact phone numbers. Jolie tucked the wallet and his driver’s license into a plastic baggy. She did not stare at his photo. She didn’t sigh over those sculpted cheekbones and that strong jaw, the golden-brown eyes. She didn’t rub her thumb across the plastic pretending it was his face and she could feel his skin. Well, just once. Or twice.

There’s a lot to keep these two apart but it sure was fun writing the pitfalls and then getting them together because deep down? They never stopped loving the other. And Cyrus is his bad ol’ most villainous. Since I’m teasing y’all, I’ll throw open the comments. Do you have a question about Cord, Jolie, CJ, the Barrons? Ask, and I’ll answer. And yes, I do have another copy of the paperback to give away. 😀

Posted in Books, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Monday With the Muse

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Silver James

funny-pictures-i-know-those-feels-monday-catToday is Monday. That means there was a weekend. There was a Friday evening, a Saturday, Saturday night, and Sunday. Sunday night, I usually set up the blog for today. The weather was really nice. REALLY nice. Almost fall-like rather than spring. Low humidity, nice temperatures. That was a relief after the storms of last week. People got out and did things. I didn’t.

I worked this weekend. Sadly, it wasn’t necessarily 8 to 5 like normal people work. Oh, I sat at my desk. I drank coffee. But actually working? Yeah, about that. I’m an author. That means I’m not normal. All those voices in my head make me crazy. At the same time, when they go silent, I panic.

BeAWriterLast week was a struggle on the writing front. You can tell when this happens because I tend to drop off social media. Well, Facebook and Twitter anyway. Both can be a time suck when I don’t have the time because the writing sucks. If that makes sense? See? I even start second guessing my blogging chops. I know, right?!?! What’s up with Iffy? I’ve tried chocolate. And peanuts. And chocolate covered peanuts. Special coffee. Regular coffee. I bought her a month’s subscription to Deposit Photos so she can download pics of sexy men and we have the rights to show them here, on Facebook, and on book covers. Yeah, lots of time wasted looking at chests, abs, and arms. But no inspiration.

Write club rulesLawyer Guy dragged me out for brunch on Saturday. We went to a local diner that serves great, diner-style breakfast. I had eggs, hashbrowns, and a big ol’ slab of grilled ham. We got home and I sat down at the computer because we all know the rules of Write Club. Did I mention about that subscription that allows Iffy to download 5 pics a day? Yeah…about that. And then gosh, it was time for dinner which is always an interesting discussion around here, unless I’m cooking.

Lawyer Guy: Are you hungry yet?
Me: Yeah, I could eat. What are you hungry for?
LG: Food. What appeals to you?
Me: Food.
After haggling for 10 to 15 minutes, we usually narrow our choices down to one of our usual restaurants. Saturday night, it was down to Greek, BBQ, or a place called Louie’s that’s a sports bar with a decent selection. LG narrowed it down to either BBQ or Louie’s. As they are around the corner from each other, we loaded up and headed that direction. Only two police cars, running hot, cut in front of us. Goose chase. They were setting up a perimeter in a area known for lots of “shots fired” calls so we kept going. By the time we ate, got home, and I’d fed the boys, it was after 9 p.m.

Writing lamentFrustrated with the writing (or lack thereof more precisely), I headed to bed to read. FYI, I gave up and succumbed to the lure of the Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh. Yeah, the series is pretty much catnip. Around midnight, I realized I’d read the same page 4 times. I wasn’t sleepy. It was Iffy. Needless to say, I got out of bed. I fired up the desk top. I wrote. Luckily, she was still behaving yesterday so I wrote some more. Those keeping score will be happy to know that Easy and Sam finally did the deed. I was beginning to wonder if they ever would and since NIGHT SHIFT is a dark, sexy MC book, they REALLY need to get it on. I mean, seriously. What’s up with them?!?!

So, that was my weekend. This week brings the release of THE COWGIRL’S LITTLE SECRET and a book signing at the Anadarko Public Library. I have paperbacks of THAT OL’ BLACK MAGIC and MOONSTRUCK: SECRETS to go with my other books in print. If I have any left over, we’ll have a contest next week. 😀 What about y’all? How was your weekend? What’s on tap for you this week?

Posted in Books, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Friday Sinema Goes Uptown

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Silver James

This guy went viral. Can you figure out why? LOLOL Yeah, I am neither coordinated enough nor in good enough shape to even attempt this but he is cute and he can dance. 😉 Have a great weekend!

And back on Monday, I promised an autographed paperback of THE COWGIRL’S LITTLE SECRET picked randomly frmo the commenters. Ashlynn, that would be you! PM or email me your snail mail. Enjoy!

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

#ThursThreads – Tying Tales Together – Week 161

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Silver James

[NOTE: Due to some technical difficulties, I’m hosting a “late” edition of my friend Siobhan Muir’s flash fiction contest. I often participate, have won a few times, gotten my share of honorable mentions, and way more scenes to incorporate into my on-going WIPs. Today, y’all get to sample some interesting writing from some very talented authors.]

TTY3smlWelcome back to the Weird, the Wild, & the Wicked. Today is Thursday and we’re into our fourth year flashing! This is Week 161 of #ThursThreads, the challenge that ties tales together. Want to keep up each week? Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook.

Need the rules? Read on.

Here’s how it works:
• The prompt is a line from the previous week’s winning tale.
• The prompt can appear ANYWHERE in your story and is included in your word count.
Rules to the Game:
• This is a Flash Fiction challenge, which means your story must be a minimum of 100 words, maximum of 250.
• Incorporate the prompt anywhere into your story (included in your word count).
• Post your story in the comments section of this post
• Include your word count (or be excluded from judging)
• Include your Twitter handle or email (so we know how to find you)
• The challenge is open 7 AM to 8 PM Mountain Time
• The winner will be announced on Friday, depending on how early the judge gets up.
How it benefits you:
• You get a nifty cool badge to display on your blog or site (because we’re all about promotion – you know you are!)
• You get instant recognition of your writing prowess on this blog!
• Your writing colleagues shall announce and proclaim your greatness on Facebook, Twitter, Tsu.co, and Google Plus, etc.

Our Judge for Week 161:

SJ MayleePMP, dancer, and erotic romance author, S.J. Maylee.

S.J. on Facebook
S.J. on Twitter
S.J. on Goodreads
S.J. on Google Plus

And now your #ThursThreads Challenge, tying tales together.

The Prompt:

“Let them work or starve.”

All stories written herein are the property (both intellectual and physical) of the authors. Now, away with you, Flash Fiction Fanatics, and show us your #ThursThreads. Good luck!

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Universal May I

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Silver James

universeHow many of you played “Mother, May I?” when you were growing up? That was a playground staple, along with Red Rover, Statues, and Simon Say. And Dodge Ball. Dodge Ball probably has more to do with today’s advice from the Universe, because I’m always dodging those hard decisions, skipping away from taking those final steps, and looking for permission from someone else…or from my inner critic, fraidy cat, Iffy, and the world. Oh, yeah. And quite often, the Universe.

If you keep asking “May I?” Silver, I’ll keep asking “Will you?”

It’s never been up to me.

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

Now, if you’re nodding, winking, or chirping, “Yeah,” Silver, then just go do it and give thanks in advance for my cleverness. Oh, you so chirp.

The time comes, as the Walrus reminds us, to talk of many things. But the Universe is telling us to get off our @$$es and just do it. What are you going to do today that you’ve been putting off while waiting for permission?

And yeah, that’s one of my favorite quotes:
“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes–and ships–and sealing-wax–
Of cabbages–and kings–
And why the sea is boiling hot–
And whether pigs have wings.”
~The Walrus and the Carpenter, Lewis Carroll

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Wednesday Words – Finding the Humor

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Silver James

wurkn-on-mai-plan-for-word-domination-caleb-pupIt’s Wednesday again. Today’s Twitter #1lineWed is all about the funny. Words to make us laugh. Scenes that cause giggles. This is great if you write humor. Me? Not so much. I write the occasional line that elicits a chuckle–think Hannah throwing up on Mac’s combat boots. Don’t know what I’m talking about? You need to read MOONSTRUCK: SECRETS! 😆

Anyway, humor. And I guess there are ways to define humor beyond just writing funny. So, here are a few snippets from NIGHT SHIFT. This first one is in Sam’s POV and occurs shortly after she arrives at the Nightriders’ clubhouse to pick up her nephew and niece. This is her first look at Easy. The humor is in the second paragraph, but I wanted y’all to get a glimpse of what Easy looks like.

The guy in the lead looked me up and down. I returned the favor. Full tattoo sleeve on his left arm—colorful even in the dim light, brownish hair cropped short on the sides and a little longer on the top. What the hell was up with that? Tall, broad-shouldered, tapered hips, and I caught a whiff of leather and motor oil. His face looked like the boy next door’s until I caught the glint in his eyes. Blue. As blue as the Siberian husky who lived at the lodge where I worked ski patrol. But feral. Wild. He might look all aw-shucks but he was a predator, too.

Crud. He grinned and twin dimples creased his cheeks. Yeah, he was easy all right. So easy the club girls would be all over him like bar-b-que sauce on smoked ribs and I bet he tasted just as good. He had a killer grin. I needed to remind myself of that adjective. Killer. He wore the patch and everything. He’d be a killer in bed too, as my libido happily informed me. I reminded said libido of our mission. Kids. Escape. No time for sexy bikers. None. Nuh-uh. I would not let him into my happy place. That’s what batteries were for.

This next bit happens a few sentences later in this same scene.

“I’m Easy.” The guy with the cropped hair and full sleeve of tattoos gave me his name and that aw shucks grin again.

“I’m still not.”

He laughed—an honest one and those freaking dimples winked at me. A biker with a sense of humor. And dimples. Who knew?

Sam’s been on the road for about 20 hours straight and Easy is going to fix her breakfast since it’s after midnight so…

Easy tossed a big ol’ slice of ham in the frying pan and snatched a carton of eggs from the fridge. He held it up and asked, “How do you like yours?”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll eat just about anything.”

His dimples came out to play and he shifted as if his pants were too tight. I knew exactly what he was thinking but he took the high road, even though those Husky eyes of his glittered with way too much cockiness. “Why don’t you check out the…” He glanced down, and he looked sly now. So much for the high road. Then he cleared his throat and continued, “…fridge for something to drink then go sit down. I’ll bring your food over when it’s done.”

What about y’all? Care to share the funny from your own WIP?

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Tuesday Treats: Cinnamon Nachos

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Silver James

ConAgra Cinn Desert NachosThis tasty treat showed up in an email from Pinterest and I thought YUMMMMMM! So I pinned it. Then I copied it to share here. All rights belong to the kitchens of ConAgra for the recipe and the photo. All I can say is, when I’m ready to cheat on the diet, this is the first thing I’m making to indulge in. (And actually, at 281 calories a serving, it isn’t that bad plus there are probably ways to cut down calorie count further by using sugar-free or low fat ice cream and sugar free chocolate syrup.)

INGREDIENTS

From the kitchens of ConAgra

Cinnamon Dessert Nachos

2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 flour tortillas (6 inch)
2 tablespoons Parkay® Original Spread-tub, melted
1 cup vanilla ice cream
1/4 cup chocolate syrup, warmed

NUTRITION INFORMATION*

Serving Size 4 servings (8 chips with 1/4 cup ice cream each)
Calories 281
View complete nutrition information

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine sugar and cinnamon in small bowl; set aside.
Brush both sides of tortillas with Parkay; cut each tortilla into 8 wedges. Place on foil-lined baking sheet; sprinkle both sides of wedges with cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake 5 minutes on each side or until crisp.
Divide chips between 4 plates; top with ice cream and drizzle with chocolate syrup. Serve immediately.
– See more at: ReadySetEat.com

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Plain Jane Monday

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Silver James

Coffee MondayEh. I don’t have much to say today but here’s my weekend rundown. Saturday was OKRWA. The program was on synesthesia. Don’t ask me to explain the syndrome but basically, when writing, authors want to incorporate it. It has to do with the five senses and them “bleeding” over. Here’s the paragraph I wrote for the “hands on” part of the program:

A frisson of awareness teased my bare skin. My whiskey-soaked brain attempted to process that whispered feeling, to make sense of what was happening. My nostrils flared at the scent tiptoeing in on the breeze. Honeysuckle and gunpowder–sweet and deadly. Sam. She was back.

Yes, it will be incorporated into NIGHT SHIFT. Sam and Easy are giving me fits right now. I’m into Chapter 8 and they haven’t even kissed yet. Yeah, yeah. This is an MC book and there’s supposed to be lots of the down and dirty, but this is the way they’re telling their story so…

The Sprout turned one yesterday. My how time flies, right? The house was packed with kids and friends, family, and presents. They ended up with a new “puppy” on Friday. He’s a fuzzy German Shepherd named Dozer. At 17 months old, I hope he’s already grown into his paws. They. Are. Massive! His family is active duty military who got reassigned overseas and couldn’t take him. The mom’s mom works with Only and put a notice up because she couldn’t take him. She lives with her sister who hates dogs–especially big ones. Sprout and Dozer get along great and he was very gentle with the mass of screaming kids in the back yard yesterday afternoon. And yes, I did buy Sprout his first baseball tee, bat, and balls–Little Tykes version. 😀 Hey, his momma played Gold level softball and his daddy played college baseball so y’all hush! 😉

Reading…Still doing the Jayne Castle reread of the Harmony/Dreamlight/Rainshadow books. A couple of new books hit my Kindle, including A CURSE UNBROKEN, the latest in Cecy Robson’s Weird Girls series. I made the mistake of reading a review and I’m worried that the author has gone back to unrelieved bad shit happening to the main character and her mate. I almost quit reading the series a book or two ago for that reason. I’ll definitely have to be in the right mood.

Writing…I’m close to 20K on NIGHT SHIFT. The plot is gelling and moving along. Now, as I mentioned above, if I could just get Sam and Easy to get in gear. Jeez. You’d think two horny people would pounce. Sam has sister issues and Easy is trying to be honorable–he needs to tell her that he’s a Wolf before he claims her. I promise there will be lots of that coming soon. I have…four sexy scenes semi-written. And there will be more once they figure out the logistics. As the UPS commercial says, I LOVE LOGISTICS! *bwahahahaha*

THAT OL’ BLACK MAGIC and MOONSTRUCK: SECRETS should be available in paperback this coming week. I’ll post here and on FB once I know they’re live. I’ve ordered copies because I’m doing a book signing at the Anadarko Library on April 4th. If I don’t sell all the copies, there will be a contest. 🙂 Speaking of, who wants a signed copy of THE COWGIRL’S LITTLE SECRET? It comes out in digital on April 1st and should be available the following Tuesday in paperback in most bookstores. But I have copies. So I’m going to give one away to my faithful readers here. Leave a comment! I’ll pick one of you randomly because that’s how I roll. And wow. I had more to say than I thought. 😆

In the meantime, what did y’all do this weekend? And who has big plans for this week? Me? I’m headed for another cup of coffee!

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Friday Sinema – Oklahoma Style

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Silver James

I caught this commercial the other night and two things happened. I fell in love with the narrator’s voice and I want a download of the background music! Y’all want to see where I live?

Bet you thought Oklahoma was all flat and full of dust, huh? 😉

Who’s got fun planned for this weekend? TGIF and enjoy! I have OKRWA tomorrow and Sprout’s first b-day on Sunday. Life is good!

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments