Thursday Thoughts: Slippery Slopes

Posted on April 10, 2025 by Silver James

Life imitates art. Or not. Art imitates life. Maybe. I mean inserting Picasso, Jackson Pollock, or Salvadore Dali into that discussion immediately skews things. Please understand that I’m writing this after about 3 hours of sleep and a full day so my brain is…AWOL. Mostly. There is a point to all this, if I can find it. In the meantime, the Universe dropped this into my inbox.

It’s not that your life totally rocks, except for a few tricky spots, slippery slopes, and challenges, Silver.

It’s that your life totally rocks, in large part, because of the tricky spots, slippery slopes, and challenges.

Stranger than fiction,
The Universe
©www.tut.com 

P.S. Everything makes you more, Silver, and you look so good on the slopes.

Writers, what does this put in your mind? Are these things you want to incorporate into your book? *nods* Of course you do. You need those tricky spots, slippery slopes, and challenges in your plot. Think how boring it would be to read a story that was just boy-meets-girl, they date, they get married, they live happily ever after. 🥱 Am I right, readers? You want conflict, action, and well…challenges. As writers, we need to supply those things. So add the tricky spots, slipperty slopes, and challenges to totally rock your story.

And yes, today’s blog totally sucks because I really am that tired and brain fogged. What’s rocking in your life lately?

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Wednesday Words: Coffee Helps

Posted on April 9, 2025 by Silver James

Midweek. Wednesday. Hump Day. New words. Yay.

I feel a bit phony claiming to be a writer because the only words I’ve managed on the WIP in the past week are these. In a way, that’s okay because they are pretty good words–enough to get me the honorable mention in last week’s Thursday Threads flash fiction challenge. Here’s the prompt: *”Helps most of the time*”

****
Business at the counter remained steady. Most customers were mundanes though an occasional magick arrived, made their purchase and left, often with a scowl directed Sade’s direction. After a werewolf flashed red eyes and barely hidden canines at her, she raised her elbow and sniffed under her arm.

“I showered this morning. What’s the deal, Caleb?” She arched a brow. “Oh, duh. I’m sitting here with a werewolf and a dragon. It’s not me, it’s the company I keep.”

“Don’t be sarcastic, Sade.”

Nikos snorted. “That’s like telling a rooster not to crow, Caleb.”

She turned a jaundiced eye to the dragon. “You’re the one who insisted that Ariel frequents this place, Nikos. So where the hell is he?”

“Patience.”

“Patience? At this moment, all of my patience is contained in this cup of coffee.”

“Is it working?”

Sade stared at the mug she held, her expression morose. She eventually took a sip, swallowed, and said, “No, but this helps most of the time.”

Caleb rose, strode to the counter then returned shortly with a large to-go cup. He didn’t sit but teased her with the cup. “You’re going to need this.”

“Why?”

“Because I just saw Ariel across the street.” He paused, his focus centered on a spot out the shop’s window. “He’s following something.”

Standing, Sade reached for the cup. “Who? Who’s he following?”

“Not who, Sade. What.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Whatever he’s after isn’t visible.”

“Great.” Sade growled, heading for the door. “Another wild goose chase.”
****

Yes, Sade is used to wild goose chases at this point in her career. I’m not quite sure where this scene will eventually reside in the book. It depends on when Sade ends up getting involved with the situation that’s developing in Rochester. I still can’t believe that I’m setting a book in Rochester, NY, but there ya go. Writers, I hope the prompt provides some inspiration. Readers, what helps you most of the time?

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Bailey’s Irish Mob Cake

Posted on April 8, 2025 by Silver James

Sometimes you want something sweet and chocolatey. Sometimes you want something creamy with a bit of kick. Sometimes, you might want to hang out with the Wolves in Boston. Well, have I got a cake for you!

Recipe details
Yield: 14 slices
Prep time: 30 Minutes
Cook time: 35 Minutes
Total time: 1 hr 5 min

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1½ cup brown sugar
3 tbsp instant coffee
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 large eggs
¾ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup vegetable oil
½ cup baileys Irish cream
½ cup boiling water

Coffee and Baileys Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp espresso powder
3 tbsp boiling water
1 tbsp Irish Cream

Let’s Make It
1 – Prepare two 8 inch cake pans by greasing with butter and dusting with flour. Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C).

2 – To the mixing bowl, add milk, oil, eggs, vanilla paste and Irish cream. Mix well.

3 – Add all dry ingredients.. Mix till well combined. If you find this time consuming, you can use a hand mixer.

4 – Add boiling water and slowly mix into batter till incorporated.

5 – Divide the batter evenly between the cakes pans and bake for about 34-36 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs. Do not over bake,else it dries out.

6 – Add boiling water to espresso powder and mix, Combine powdered sugar, espresso powder mixture and Irish cream in a medium bowl; stir well with a fork until smooth. Poke your cake in different areas and drizzle glaze generously over cake; serve.

Tips:

If you don’t have espresso powder, just use instant coffee. The same with vanilla paste. Just use plain ol’ vanilla extract. That said, vanilla paste totally makes for a richer flavor.

Go HERE for more info and a video! This makes two cakes. Also, I WANT those spring form pans she uses!

If you’ve read MOONSTRUCK MAFIA: BOSTON, you know about Clancy’s Irish Pub. And if you ever get to Clancy’s at just the right time, you might be able to sample this Bailey’s Irish Mob Cake. And I promise that Finn would not be the baker. In fact, the pub buys this treat from one of the women in the neighborhood that bakes them for a little extra pocket money. Her cakes are so popular that the mates are conspiring to kidnap her and tickle her until she hands over the recipe. In the meantime, they’ve been known to place “private” orders and pay lots of moolah for the results. 😉 Ah, if they only knew that I’ve been entrusted with the secret. What about y’all? Are there any secret recipes in your families? If you want to know more about the Boston Wolves and their mates, then click on any pic with the cover or HERE to head over to Books2Read to find your favorite on-line bookstore.

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April Showers…Bring Monday

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Silver James

It is Monday, right?

Hey, I managed to flip the calendar pages on time this month. I have mismatched calendars. The big wall calendar in my office is…normal. The week starts with Sunday and ends with Saturday. The small calendar that fits the holder on the side of the fridge is…weird. Its weeks start on Monday and end on Sunday. Is it any reason I’m always confused?

It rained. I’m not sure how much. It came in fits and starts. We need rain so this is not a gritch. Simply an observation. I don’t mind rain. These fronts brought tornadoes and floods for other places. That’s not cool. I have a tendancy to joke about Mother Nature but when people get hurt, it’s no longer funny. After the rain came the cold. And I do mean COLD. The western half of the state got some snow. In April. In Oklahoma. Crazy.

I almost don’t want to talk about writing. I’ve got a bad case of the procrastinates. It’s stupid. What little I’ve written on Ari’s story are good words. People like them. The full story if forming in my head. I might even redeem the villain, though that’s still up in the air. But every time I open the manuscript and look at it, I find something else to do. Sadly, the other stuff I find to do has nothing to do with anything that needs to be done.

Let’s see… What else has gone on? I’m still doing the relisten of the Graphic Audio dramatized adaptations. I finished GUNMETAL MAGIC yesterday. I’m currently listening to MAGIC RISES. Sadly, GUNMETAL is a…well, a side quest for lack of a better term. It veers the story away from Kate and Curran to tell the story of Andrea and Raphael, the events of which coincide with the main series. GA has not adapted it yet. Still, the events in it are important to note.

So…weather, writing, reading/listening. I guess that leaves sports. There were no personal sports, ie. Stormy had no soccer matches due to the weather. There was baseball and softball on TV. There were good games and close games, and some really good ball to watch even if play resulted in a loss.

At some point, I have to hit Wallyworld this week. We had chili for dinner last night. Now there’s a question to end on. Chili: is it solely a cold-weather food or should it be enjoyed year-round? And I mean as a meal, not an add-on for hot dogs. How was your weekend? Any good stuff to look forward to this week?

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Friday Sinema: Going Parking

Posted on April 4, 2025 by Silver James

Parkour is amazing. Period. People who can do parkour are amazing. Period. I’m not a gamer but if I was, I’d want to play Assassin’s Creed. There have been a series of videos marrying real-life parkour with the game. I’ve posted a few from time to time. I hadn’t seen this one. You definitely want to watch to the end. The transition is…yes, you guessed it, AMAZING! Have a great weekend. We’re due rain which makes it likely that there will be no First Saturday events. That’s okay. Do you have plans?

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Edits

Posted on April 3, 2025 by Silver James

There’s one job that is always a pain when it comes to writing. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of things associated with writing is a pain. Like…writer’s block. Imposter’s syndrome. Low/no sales. Unruly and/or unreliable characters.Writing blurbs (my personal demon). Research (yes, falling down the rabbit hole can hurt when it turns into a time suck.) What have I missed? Cramping hands? Back aches? Swollen ankles from sitting at the computer all day? Yes, yes, and yes. What have I missed? Oh. Yeah. Editing. The Universe popped in yesterday and made this suggestion.

In time and space, Silver, if you just look for what’s right—in others, in relationships, in yourself, and in your journey—you’ll always find it.

Same when looking for what’s wrong.

Tallyho,
The Universe
©www.tut.com 

P.S. Now that’s perfection, Silver.

If you equate “journey” with manuscript and “others,” “relationships,” and “yourself” with plot, characters, and your words, you have a way of looking at the editing process. Sometimes, we spend so much time looking for what is wrong in our writing that we forget to look for–and appreciate–what’s right about it. I’ve known more than a few “would-be” writers. I say “would-be” because they’ve never published. They’ve never even let someone else read their work yet they profess to the desire to be publsihed authors. I also know published authors who edit a piece to death–quite literally. By they time they’ve “finished,” they toss the project because it falls flat.

Is there a happy medium? Absolutely. And the Big U pointed it out above. Look FIRST for what is RIGHT. Then fix what is wrong–the typos, the misuse of a word or phrase, an oops in the timeline or character reference. We need to learn to celebrate what we’ve written, to bask in the glow of the story and keep that feeling throughout the editing process. It’s a challenge. Are you up for it?

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Wednesday Words: No Exit

Posted on April 2, 2025 by Silver James

The week is half over. We’re headed to the weekend. I have new words. I’m thankful. I hate to keep harping on this whole DST thing but I’m just not making the shift with any sort of grace this year. Last year, I was pretty much bedridden and only had to do the minimum to get by. This year, when I’m still trying to rebuild energy and stamina, the time change has been brutal. It sucks.

In other news, these words don’t stuck. While I didn’t make the Thursday Threads winner’s cut, I’m happy with them. And I’m happy with the possibilities they present. Last week’s theme was a good one, as far as I’m concerned. The prompt is: “Don’t go in there.”

****
Sade blocked the doorway. “You can’t go in there, Ari.”

“What are you hiding?”

Nothing. Everything. The thoughts whipped through her mind but she didn’t voice them. “I’m here on official business.”

Ariel stiffened. “As if I didn’t see your badge. Move aside, Sade. I do not wish to hurt you.” He stepped closer, halting only when his chest met the palm she extended.

“Really? We’re going to play this game?”

“It is not a game, Sade.”

“You’re right. It’s not. That means it’s Agent Marquis to you.”

The Fae flicked his gaze to the man standing a few feet away. “Do you desire to test your strength against my magic, werewolf?”

Caleb shrugged. “Sade’s right. This is a crime scene. We’re FBI agents. You’re not. Go home, Ariel. There’s nothing you can do here.”

He opened his mouth to retort but the lights dimmed. Sade’s hand immediately reached for her weapon. Caleb also reached for his, though his hand had grown fur and claws.

Swirls of darkness danced across the ceiling. Before any of them could react, the shadows dove to the floor and slid beneath the closed door.

“What the hell?” Sade whispered, her 9mm pistol in hand.

Ariel reached around her and grabbed the doorknob.

“Don’t go in there.”

He opened it anyway. “I’m the only one who can.” Ari stepped through and was swallowed in darkness.

Caleb exchanged looks with Sade. “We have to go after him.”

“Well, shit.” She braced and nodded. “Let’s go.”
****

What do you suppose is on the other side of that door? Inquiring minds–including mine–want to know. Writers, feel free to be inspired. Readers, what fictional door would you step through?

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Snickerdoodle Mix Tape

Posted on April 1, 2025 by Silver James

Happy April 1st! Yes, it is April Fool’s Day. Are you feeling foolish? Yeah, me neither. But that’s okay. I’m sure the fools will be out on social media for our entertainment. In the meantime, let’s talk cookies. Who loves snickerdoodles? 🙋🏼‍♀️

Sometimes, you want snickerdoodles but don’t need the giant ones nor want to wait for that whole chill-the-dough thing that comes from making them from scratch with my go-to recipe. This hack cuts out that step and makes getting your mitts on the yummies in a little over 30 minutes.

April Fool’s Cookies

Yield: 32 cookies
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 12 Minutes
Total time: 22 min (for the 1st pan)

Ingredients
1 box of yellow cake mix (or white) (13.5 ounce)
½ cup all purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup canola oil or vegetable oil
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

Let’s Make Them
1 – Pour cake mix, flour, cream of tartar and oil in a large mixing bowl. Stir.
2 – Add eggs 1at a time to the bowl.
3 – Mix until thoroughly combined.
4 – Preheat oven to 350° F.
5 – Pour sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl or plate.
6 – Portion dough using a small cookie scoop or a teaspoon.
7 – Roll each cookie ball in the sugar/cinnamon mixture.
8 – Bake 12 cookies at a time on a parchment-lined cookie sheet at 350 for 12 minutes.
9 – Let cookies rest on cookie sheet for a minute or two before moving them onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
Note: The recipe says bake 12 at a time. I have a giant cookie sheet and a big oven so I make them as close to one baking as possible.

Tips
1 – You can use a white cake mix if that’s what you have.
2 – Don’t leave out the cream of tartar. Your results won’t be the same.
3 – You can use any “granulated” sugar–just regular or the fancier sanding sugar.
4 – Don’t overbake. Cookies are meant to be soft and puffy and will stay that way unless you overbake them. Remember that cookies continue to bake for a minute or two on the cookie sheet after you remove them from the oven.
5 – If you’re easily distracted like me (and Hannah), set a timer so you pull the cookies out of the oven at the right time.
6 – My cookie sheets don’t have sides so I just leave the cookies on the parchment paper then slide the whole thing off onto the wire rack. Easy peasy.

Since all the kids are in MOONSTRUCK: RETRIBUTION, that’s where I’ll put this recipe. Find out the night before there’s a bake sale? You’r’re the class snack parent? The junior pack has swarmed your place and they’re hungry? This recipe is for you! And Liz, Jacey, Annie, Amy, Izzy, DJ, and if everyone clears out to so she can focus, Hannah. 😉

It’s the first of the month. My sales dashboard on the ‘Zon is goose eggs. Tell your friends to go buy the book. And then bake the cookies, grab your copy–you DO have a copy, right?!?–and sit back to munch and read. Sounds like a good plan to me. As always, just click on the title or the book cover to head over to Books2Read to find this book AND the rest of the books in the Moonstruck Genesis series, along with your favorite on-line bookstore. And remember to watch out for April Fool’s jokes!

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Last Monday

Posted on March 31, 2025 by Silver James

I have coffee. I also have laundry. Between the two, I should be able to get some work done. Maybe. Or not. 🙄 Also, having 5 Mondays in a month is cruel and unusual punishment. Just sayin’…

The weekend was mostly good. My Cowgirls won morethan they lost. The OSU Equestrian Team won the Big 12 Championship. Now they’re off to the NCAA National Champtionship. Go Pokes! My Cards did well too. All in all, it was a pretty darn good sports weekend. Baseball Boy’s team played in a tournament and made it to the championship game but fell short by 1 run. They weren’t supposed to get that far so I’m counting that a win too!

Saturday was hot and windy but we took a road trip with Stormy anyway. An author I know through X was doing a signing at a semi-local museum during their Chuckwagon Festival. We loaded up and headed over to Kingfisher to The Chisholm (aka the Chisholm Trail Museum and Seay Mansion). It was fun though Jake wasn’t too happy about the gunfight show. Stormy made a rope, got to wander the historic village, including the cabin once occupied by the mother of the Dalton Gang. I got to visit with Natalie Bright and buy one of her books–a history of cow towns at the end of the trail drives, along with recipes. It was a fun day.

We got a little rain Saturday night, along with some hail. We had from pea to quarter size ice balls. Yippee. Drover is garaged but LG and the Kids scrambled to get the truck, the Pathfinder and the Explorer all under cover around 10:30 Saturday night. FYI, it’s in our marriage contract that as long as we live in a house with a garage, there will always be room for me to park my vehicle. 😉

I’m loving my detective noir beta read. Fun stuff even if I’m slower that molasses. Eye drops are my friends. I’d hoped to be finished by now but I have to go back over stuff to make sure I didn’t miss anything due to blurry vision. This book is worth the effort! So is the friend I’m beta reading for.

So, my heroine has a name. The villain has a name. The story is coming together. I had to break my beta reading to write a scene yesterday when a news story about Rochester being a sanctuary city caught my imagination. The villain was all “Snidley Whiplash” about it. So, a couple of partial scenes to go with the one written for Thursday Threads last week, which will be revealed come Wednesday. The flash fiction, not the partials.

I’m not exactly racing through my relisten of the Graphic Audio dramatized adaptations of Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniel series. I am up to book 4. There are some new releases out there that I also want but I have to wait for the book budget and my credits to replenish. Anyone reading something you highly recommend?

On that note, time to start the laundry and get another cup of coffee. It’s Monday. All day. Despite that, I plan on making it a good day. What are you going to make of it?

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Friday Free-For-All:

Posted on March 28, 2025 by Silver James

It’s Friday. How did that happen? Rhetorical question. It’s been a week. All week. Those of you who have had this kind of week know what I’m talkin’ about.

I have very little to show for the week. The weather has been nice. I could complain that we haven’t had rain because we need rain but this is Oklahoma and the weather is what it is no matter who or how much complaining there is.

In a completely random moment, here’s some food for thought: If you replace the W with a T in When, What, and Where, you get the answer to those questions. …   …   Think about it…

Ariel’s heroine has finally revealed her name. And yes, I’ve stayed up late arguing with her. She started out Lyssa, Nyssa, Ryssa or Rivi. Rivi decided she belonged in a different book and left. Ryssa simply disappeared. That left Lyssa/Nyssa. If you could see what’s been written so far, there are scenes with Lyssa. There are other scenes with Nyssa. There are scenes with Lyssa/Nyssa. Guess what? Thta’s not even close. She walked in, pulled up a stool and scowled at me. “They’ve made fun of my name my whole life and now you?” I hastily explained, “Not me. I don’t care what your name is as long as we get it right. You going to give me a hint?” I offered her a cup of coffee. She declined. After a few moments of reflection, she offered her hand. “I’m Aisling Goodnight. And you pronounce my name–” I interrupted her. “Do you prefer the G to be silent?” She nodded, eyes narrowed. I took her hand. “Hello, Ash-linn Goodnight. I am pleased–and relieved–to meet you.” Ya gotta love the Gaelic pronunciations. So, hopefully, now that Ash is starting to reveal herself, I can get back on track with the damn book.

In other springtime news, my redbuds are budding and the stuff that I think is Japanese quince is blooming. No signs of honeysuckle or wisteria blooms yet. And I fear my peonies are likely to be duds this year due to the lack of moisture/precipitation over the winter. I really need to find the funds to pay a plumber to replace the faucet in that flowerbed so I can water. 

Good lord, the dust and pollen is rampant. I don’t just sneeze, I SNEEZE multiple times. Like 4 or 5 in a row. 🤧🤧 This is the worst it’s been in a while.

Okay. I’m done. Happy Friday! Not sure of plans this weekend. Maybe a road trip with Stormy to a museum for a cattle drive/chuck wagon festival and to meet an author I met on X. Depends on soccer/life schedule. Anything happen this week you want to share? Any weekend plans for y’all?

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