Wednesday Words – Sing It!

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Silver James

Today, I thought I’d do something different. Music always plays a part in my writing. Those of you familiar with the Penumbra Papers series know that I have a play list for the books. Every book has at least one song that trigger a scene. I don’t just find songs as I listen to the radio. Quite often, I discover them watching TV. They’ll play as background to a scene but the lyrics will be so compelling they suck me in–sometimes to the detriment of the show because I’m madly writing down lyrics in order to track down the song. 😆 So, my words today are some of the lyrics that caught my ear.

From Body of Proof, Emily West’s “Head On”:

Oh silence is a sign
That you’ve got pieces that you hide away.
Even if it’s right
Doesn’t mean it’s safe…

From the season finale of Elementary, NO’s “The Long Haul.”

I hope you got a minute,
Hope you want me in it
For the long haul.
All night long.

We’ll be fine I’m told.
Together we’ll grow old.
So kiss me till the last train leaving
Then stand yourself by me.
We’ll fall until we’re free.

From a CSI NY episode, Josh Groban’s “Happy In My Heartache”:

But I can’t stop loving you.
I don’t know what to do
To keep holding on…

Oh and I, I don’t take it lightly,
The trouble that I’ve gone through, I’ve given you all that I am.
Oh and I, I can’t find a reason to be happy in my heartache
‘Cause I should know better than that.
Oh I’m better than that.

And finally, from Lost Girl (the source of a LOT of songs for me!), Keaton Henson’s “You.”

And yes, that song is the soundtrack for a scene, as yet unwritten, between Sade and Sinjen. What songs are stuck in your heads today?

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Tuesday Tease – In Case You Need a Wolf Fix

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Silver James

Liam McIntire. In wolf pup form. Just sayin’… I’m writing today. What are y’all doing?

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Monday Rewind

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Silver James

funny-pictures-my-official-monday-face How can it be Monday? Oh…yeah. Saturday was a blur and Sunday was a day of snooze. Oops.

Lawyer Guy and I presented the afternoon program for OKRWA. It was a run-through of the panel we’re doing at RWA Nationals in July. We found and are “fixing” some glitches so it should be good to go. I didn’t write but I did a whole lot of brainstorming! I’ve figured out the black moment, some funny stuff, a family intervention or two, and today I’ll be head’s-down-BICHOK writing marathon for the rest of the week. I want the first draft done by Friday. Period. I may be scarce as a result.

As some of you (from Facebook) know, I had a major technological meltdown Friday. A corrupted login .ini on Windows locked me out of my desktop. I’m back in, and mostly up and running. I still can’t access Office or Word. This is bad. I’m working on it. Luckily, my draft writing is all on Scrivener and Dropbox so I can work. Speaking of, you can sign up for a free Dropbox account and back up your files easily! CLICK HERE to get your account. (I get extra space if you do, just sayin’. 🙂 )

TV:

Old season ended. No more Game of Thrones for awhile so I’ll have to look elsewhere for my betrayal/blood-n-guts fix. 😉 Almost Human bit the dust. This makes me have a sad. 😥 Bitten has been renewed and will be back this winter as will Lost Girl. Yay! In the meantime, Longmire and Rizzoli and Isles are back. Penny Dreadful on ShowTime is dark and freaky and I’m not sure whether it will become a favorite yet. True Blood is back for its last season. I stopped after the fae stuff but will watch again, at least on DVR because…last season. And Alcide. *sigh* TNT’s The Last Ship premiered last night. WOW! Intense action, last hope of the world show with hot guys! Can you say inspiration? Iffy can! ❤ SyFy's Dominion started last week. It's DVR'd. Rumor has it there are hot guys there, too. I'll catch up on it soon. And finally, coming in August from TNT, Sean Bean in Legends. He's a very special CIA operative. There's something else out there coming soon and I can't remember at the moment. Ah well.

Reading: Still doing lots and lots of it. I've hit 101 on reads and rereads, though Goodreads says I'm at 98. I'll up my goal soon. I finally got started on Nalini Singh's Psy-Changling series. Oh, yeah. Hot stuff and very interesting worldbuilding. I have a friend who would find the Psy-Net, the NetMind, and the Web of Stars facisnating but he doesn't read romance. I'm starting book 3 and will wend my way through at night after I've exhausted Iffy on SWEETHEART.

So what did y'all do this weekend? What summer shows are on your radar? And what good books have you read?

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Friday Sinema – First Moon Party

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Silver James

Okay. Guys won’t get this one. And it’s not safe for work. But for those of us who were once pre-teens and those of us who have daughters? Yeah, we’ll relate. Warning: This is a commercial from HelloFlo, which offers advice and a “first period kit.” If you are easily offended (if so, what the hell are you doing hanging out here?!?), don’t watch and I’ll see you Monday. Everyone else? Liquids alert.

If you talk to The Only, she’ll swear that her dad and I would have done something like this to her. There’s a reason she didn’t cop an attitude. Very often anyway. 😉

Have a great weekend! Lawyer Guy and I are doing the Laws of Attraction panel for OKRWA. And babysitting Magic Bean Sprout while his parents go to a concert. Who else has fun plans?

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Universal Reality Show

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Silver James

universeI’m not really sure why this little message from the big U caught my eye–other than it made me giggle madly. Oh, and Iffy sat up, grabbed some chocolate wine and said, “Hrmmm….what if…?” If I had the right world built (I don’t), I could see a show like this becoming a part of it. I could see it in…say…Thea Harrison’s Elder Races world. Anyway, I thought it might bring a smile to someone’s face, like it did mine.

When you consistently take the high road, Silver, do the right thing, and see the good in all, the ensuing onslaught of serendipities and coincidences that turn out in your great favor will likely qualify you for your own reality TV show.

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

“Unicorns and Pixie Dust with your charmed host, Silver James!”

I promise not to post a link to the canned unicorn meat on Think Geeks. Just sayin’… 😀

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Wednesday Words – Coffee is Not a Joke

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Silver James

notebook From my intensive bout of reading lately I fear I’ve only come up with two snippets, both of which made me laugh. The books are from series that I’ve read and enjoyed, and truly appreciate the voices of both authors.

“Is this some kind of joke?”
“I have no sense of humor.”
She’d heard that about Raphael. ~Conversation between Lilliana (an angel) and Raphael (the Archangel), Larissa Ione Azagoth: A Demonica Novella (1001 Dark Nights)

I ❤ the Demonica series like damn and whoah though I was like the last person in the world to discover the books. Well…maybe not the last but once I read the first one–which wasn't the first in the series–I had to go back and nom them all! And now I just preorder them. Why fight the addiction, right?

The other series, D.L. McDermott's COLD IRON, is only three books "deep" so far. I was lucky to get hooked early on. The bad news is, now I have to wait for each new story. Her fae are dark and I love that one of them runs the Southie Irish Gang in Boston. That right there was enough to hook me. 😉 Anyway, from the latest book:

They stopped for coffee on the way home because Elada insisted that downing caffeine would help with the iron poisoning.
“I suppose they’ve done studies?” [Sorcha] asked.
“Coffee makes most things better,” he replied. ~~Conversation between Sorcha and Elada D.L. McDermott’s STONE SONG

I really want to make a Meme of that. Because, yes, coffee DOES make most things better, and the things it doesn’t make better? It makes tolerable. *nods*

Any good words this week? Any good books read? I’m currently reading Emma Holly’s TALES OF THE DJINN: THE GUARDIAN. They’re pretty sexy but I like the way she’s built the Djinn world. Personally, though, I prefer a certain someone’s series-in-progress that also features the Djinn. I won’t name any name, B.E. 😉

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Tuesday Treats – Mexican Style

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Silver James

Campbell's Enchiliada Torte Today’s recipe is pretty darn easy and doesn’t heat up the kitchen on hot summer days.

Campbell’s Microwave Enchilada Torte

8 soft taco size flour tortillas
1 lb. ground beef
1 jar chunky salsa
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 can Campbell’s Cheddar Cheese Soup
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Sour cream (optional)

Cook beef in skillet until browned. Pour off fat. Add salsa and chili powder, stir.

Layer 4 tortillas in a 2-quart microwave-safe shallow baking dish. Top with half of the meat mixture and half of the soup. Repeat layers. Top with shredded cheese. Cover with microwave safe wax paper or platic wrap.

Microwave at 70% power for 8 minutes or until hot. Serve with sour cream if desired. Serves 6.

Put together a salad for a side, and maybe some crispy tortilla chips to scoop up the last of the gooey stuff and you’ve got a quick, easy, summer-time dinner.

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Monday Easing on Down

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Silver James

Face the dayYesterday was Father’s Day. I miss my dad. A lot. I miss my father-in-law, too. Hard to believe they’ve been gone so long. 😦 Ah, well. Met the family for dinner. Company was great, food was so-so. But Magic Bean Sprout was there! Lawyer Guy and Uncle Fix-It both got Liam time after dinner. I had Liam during dinner because it was bottle time. 🙂

Insomnia has been my bedmate lately. She hogs the covers. And keeps the light on. 😛 I’m hoping she’ll pack her bags and take a hike. That said, I’ve been doing massive amounts of reading under her influence.

Saturday, I came back from errands and had a scene running through my head. I sat down and about 45 minutes later, I had just over 1100 words done! The scene is a major plot point and takes place about 3/4 of the into the book. While writing it, one of the secondary characters admitted something in the dialogue and I about fell out of my chair! He’ll get his own book eventually and man, I am soooo gonna exploit what he said! 🙂

Hope y’all had a great weekend. This week is full of OKRWA prep–Lawyer Guy and I are doing the program Saturday, LOTS of writing now that I seem to back on track with the story–or at least know where it’s going, and finalizing plans for the NRCA reception in San Antonio. What’s up in your worlds?

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Friday Sinema – Play It Again

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Silver James

I’m weird. I mean, just in case y’all haven’t already figured that out. And it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that today is Friday the 13th AND a full moon.

See, I live a lot of my life listening to soundtracks in my head. I write that way, too, but that’s sorta normal. I’m talking about walking through the house to fold laundry. Or fixin’ dinner. Or opening my Kindle to pick out a book to read.

Yeah, about those books… I did a lot of back-to-back reading of real paper books. From the library. And I knew books I’d pre-ordered were silently downloading to my Kindle. Which has a name, but that’s a different blog post.

Anyway, I digress. I finished up the last library book for awhile and I opened the Fire to see all the yummy new titles to pick out my next read. And everyone of them was my favorite. Because this song was playing in my head.

Yes. I told you. Weird. Have a great Father’s Day weekend!

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Universal When and Where

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Silver James

universeI’ve been in a funk. For like two weeks now. There’s been no rhyme or reason for me having the blues. Nothing bad has happened. None of my usual depression triggers are present. I just feel…I don’t know…blah. Yeah. Blah. No ups. No downs. A bit lower than even-keel. And then this popped up in my inbox.

Silver, you know that feeling?

That sense of eagerness for the moment. Optimism for the future. And confidence that you are exactly “when” and where you should be. That feeling that makes dark days lighter and light days brighter. That precedes breakthroughs, conquests, and euphoria.

Yes, that feeling!

Well, it doesn’t just come.

You have to give it to yourself.

Go on.

The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®

Silver, if it helps, take it from me that you are exactly when and where you should be.

I like that feeling. It’s like starting a new book–writing or reading. There are so many possibilities. Everything is new and shiny. And you know what? Yeah, I think I am exactly when and where I should be. For the moment. That’ll change. And that’s okay, too. For now, I need to get back to work. I have a book to finish and lots of shinies waiting for me when I’m done.

So where are you?

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