Universal Advice

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Silver James

universeYa know? My dad pretty much said this same stuff to me. Over and over. And over again. At some point, I think it sort of stuck with me. Until doubts would set in. Dang but those suckers can sure scream loud in my ear. I have to concentrate to make them go away, nasty little devils. But you know what? The older I’ve gotten, the more I realize the Universe is on to something here.

Practice, Silver. Study. Prepare yourself. Think. Act. Face the beasts. Pay the piper whatever dues you think you have to pay. Do the dance, walk the fire, wait in line. Plant the seeds, hoe the field, go to market. Because on the day that you become all that you now dream of becoming… Oh my gosh, there is simply no price that would seem too great.

It’s going to be that good, you’re going to be that happy, and it’s going to be for so, so long, Silver. Guaranteed.

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

Is “hoe” what they do out there, Silver?

Not sure what the answer to that last question is, but it doesn’t matter. I’m getting ready for the good times. How about y’all?

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Wedneday’s Words – Weapons

Posted on November 5, 2014 by Silver James

Blue Moon Final 680Weapons come in all shapes and sizes. Today’s #1lineWed on Twitter is all about weapons. So, I thought I’d share some of my weaponry snippets today.

From BLUE MOON:

The concussion from the explosion knocked DJ on her butt. Antoine was on his feet—all four of them—and howling. He nosed her back into a corner and stood between her and the bars on their cage. Acrid smoke drifted in, smelling of ammonia and concrete dust. Human and wolf both sneezed. DJ pulled the neck of her T-shirt up over her nose to act as a filter. It didn’t help much, but was better than nothing.

“Grenade!” Danny reacted first to the metallic thunk of the explosive device hitting the concrete floor and rolling their direction. He leaped toward it and when he couldn’t scoop it up, he fell on top of it, scrambling to get control of the device to throw it back.

“Idiot.” The chide did nothing to slow her racing heart. Why should a wolf freak her out so much? That whole city girl thing notwithstanding, she was armed. With a big-ass 9mm Glock pistol. Loaded with a fifteen-shot magazine. She could take down a wolf with it. Even so, she was inordinately happy to break into clear air with the lights of a town shimmering on the horizon. She gunned the car and headed away from whatever waited for her back in the swamps.

If I had more time, I’d go through some of the other books looking for passages dealing with more “unconventional” weapons–like smiles. Tears. Sexy expressions. 😉

Okay, I lied. I want to include this snippet from FAERIE FAITH, coming out in SIX DAYS!!!!

The “feckin’ fae,” as Kieran called him, held his
audience on the tip of his bow. Unease pricked at her
scalp when his gaze met hers. Something flickered in the
muddy depths of his eyes, something sharp and
dangerous, and oh so terribly familiar.

He advanced on her, playing like the very devil
lived in the fiddle. If there was such a thing as the Wild
Hunt, Abhean would surely lead it. But this was the
mortal realm, and Abhean was no longer magic. Becca
breathed against the pressure building in her chest.

Happy Hump Day. And this guy STILL has a secret weapon in his smile…
Jamie-Outlander

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Tuesday Treats – Slow Cook Mexican Lasagna

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Silver James

This is really healthy. No. Really. It’s a bit of a pain to set up but then you forget about it until dinner time–which means most of the day to get your NaNoWriMo word count done. 😉

Slow Cook Mexican Lasagna

crockpot-lasagna4-6 Quart slow cooker
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 lb ground turkey or 93% lean beef
1 diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced (or 1 Tablespoon processed minced garlic)
1 package taco seasoning mix
2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
16 oz. low fat cottage cheese
8 oz bag shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided into 2 oz. portions
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
9-10 whole grain lasagna noodles (I use just regular ones because I’m a rebel like that 😉 )

Brown meat in oil, add garlic, seasoning, tomato sauce, and pinto beans. Stir well and set aside. Combine cottage cheese with half of the Mexican cheese and all of the spinach.

Layer in the slow cooker like this:

1/4 of meat mixture
1/3 noodles, broken where needed to cover meat
1/3 cheese mixture
Repeat two more times, ending with the remaining 1/4 of meat mixture

Cook on low for 5-6 hours, until noodles are soft. Sprinkle remaining shredded cheese on top, cover, and allow to melt.

You can serve with sour cream, chopped green onions, and/or chopped cilantro.

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First Monday of NaNo

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Silver James

Yes. It is that crazy time of year when writers and would-be novelists all go a little bit crazy. I’m behind. For the first time ever. But that’s okay. I fully intend to catch up but expanding my daily word count until I’m back on track. This is my month for multi-tasking. I have line edits due by November 10th. So…not much time for social media for me until later in the month. I’ll be here. There will be NaNo inspirations posted to my Facebook. I’ll still be doing #1lineWed on Twitter on Wednesday. Maybe. If I can find some good lines about weapons. shifty-eyes-ani2fasterAlso, I’m at Avery Flynn’s Facebook party celebrating the release of her new book, HOLLYWOOD ON TAP. Click HERE to join the party. I’m hosting between 1:30-2:00 EST, which is 12:30-1:00 CST, 11:30-12:00 MST, and 10:30-11:00 out there on the left coast. 😉 The party starts at 10:30 eastern and there are a LOT of authors gonna be there throughout the day with lots of swag and books being given away. Warning, there will be major doses of mancandy, too. Just sayin’…

DPL sign Blue closeup 680So…weekend wrap up. The James Gang minus Baseball Boy, who was working, roadtripped to my hometown where I was the featured author at the 4th Annual Duncan Public Library’s Local Author Festival. My little friend Blue helped us find the new library. He was all dressed up for the occasion because he wanted to celebrate the upcoming release of COWGIRL’S DON’T CRY so he was wearing his Red Dirt Royalty costume. I was really lucky. The lovely librarian in charge of the event, Amy, put me at a large round table by the front door. I had lots of room to spread out.Silver-2 DPL 680 I sold and signed several copies of SEASON OF THE WITCH, visited with a very nice lady who put her name down to be the first to check out the Faerie Reign books once the library put them into circulation, and I visited with several young people who want to be writers about fan fiction, sparkly vampires, dragons, and witches. They’d not heard of Anne McCaffrey’s DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN so we talked about them and Andre Norton’s Witchworld series. I hope they’ll check those series out. I also visited with an old high school buddy and got to meet his lovely wife. That was fun! We reminisced, talked about the directions our lives had taken, and wondered where old friends we’d lost track of might be. I also visited with a nice gentleman who was interested in my Wolves but he doesn’t read digitally. I promised once I got them into print, the Duncan Library would receive a copy so he could read them. In the course of our conversation, I suggested he give the In Death series a try. Have I mentioned that I love talking about books?!? Yeah. I really, really do.

Red Dirt Blue1 680Since we were on the road, and I napped for several hours after we got home (since I couldn’t stand to watch OSU get slaughtered–it IS a rebuilding year, dammit!), I didn’t get one word written for NaNoWriMo. I had very good intentions of catching up on Sunday. I…didn’t. I did get words done but I found myself procrastinating by researching the damn Navy SEALs. I know, I know. *hangs head in shame* I broke my own cardinal rule of NaNo. I’ll do better!

I’m off for a quick coffee meeting with my CP and then it’s home to spend the rest of the morning on line edits and the afternoon on MOON SHOT, my NaNo project. I leave you with one last pic from the weekend. Blue is doing his best Chance Barron imitation in that black Stetson and bandanna. Don’t forget you can click on the pic to get a blow-up. 😀 So tell me, how was your weekend?!?

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Friday Sinema – Middle Earth Style

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Silver James

Best. Airline. Safety. Video. EVER!!!! Even though it’s Halloween. This is a much better video to be watching and…and…COSPLAY! 😉

Now I REALLY want to go to New Zealand! Not that it isn’t already on my bucket list as soon as I win the lottery. Where do you want to visit?

Have a great weekend! *heads out to buy lottery ticket*

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Universal To Do or Don’t

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Silver James

universeI had to think about this one for awhile.

The thing to remember, Silver, to always remember, is that what you do, or don’t do, today, is what matters most.

Start your engines,
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®

Right now, Silver.

I finally decided that what today’s message means, at least to me is this: It’s not the time you have, it’s what you do with the time you have. And with National Novel Writing Month starting at midnight Friday night, and with having just received my line edits for THE COWGIRL’S LITTLE SECRET, due November 10th, I will definitely need to do, rather than don’t do.

And one of the things I need to do today is wish The Only a very happy birthday! 😀

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Wednesday Words: Coffee Wisdom

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Silver James

He wants coffeeI haven’t talked about coffee in…oh…a day or so. On Facebook. I talk about it all the time over there. Here? I mostly talk about other things but I thought I’d catch up on some the sayings, etc. gleaned from my Coffee-a-Day calendar. 😉

Forever: time it takes to brew the first pot of coffee in the morning. ~Anonymous

That Anonymous person is sure smart sometimes.

Do you know how helpless you feel if you have a full cup of coffee in your hand and you start to sneeze? ~Jean Kerr’s character in Mary, Mary

Been there, done that, wore the coffee stains on my T-shirt.

Coffee squirrel

Murphy’s Law of Coffee: As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something that will last until the coffee is cold.

Murphy speaks for all of us.

You make good coffee… You’re a slob, but you make good coffee. ~Cher, Moonstruck

I can forgive a man a lot of sins as long as he does…
coffee-crack-cat

It is inhumne, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity. ~Dave Barry

Starbucks. Every time I walk in the freakin’ door!

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Tuesday Treats – Hungry for Chinese

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Silver James

I’m feeling like a little Chinese and while this is a quick recipe, you need the ingredients on hand. Again, haven’t made this in awhile so no picture–at least not of the food. 😉

Quick Chicken Lo Mein

8 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1″ pieces
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 cups of water
1 16 oz. package Oriental style mixed vegetables (or stir fry veggies)
1 4.8 package Pasta Roni Angel Hair with Herbs
3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute chicken in the butter for 5 minutes until chicken is no longer pink.

Stir in water and vegetables, bring to a boil.

Stir in past and season package. Return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Gently boil uncovered 4 to 5 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring frequently. Stir in teriyaki sauce. Let stand 3 minutes before serving.

Serves 4

And for dessert…

Jamie-Outlander

You’re welcome. 😀

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Monday Rewind

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Silver James

funny-dog-pictures-not-ready-for-monday Well…maybe I want it to be over a little bit. 😆 I’m actually looking forward to this week. Wait?!? What??! No, really, I am. This is the downhill slide to NaNoWriMo starting on Saturday. I’ve got some things in the works and I’ll be getting all my ducks in a row this week.

after-book depressionAs for my weekend…I was totally lazy. TOTALLY! I pretty much stayed in bed all weekend. Did some household-y stuffs but then went back to bed. And read. An entire series, though there are more books coming. What literary beast ensared me? Kit Rocha’s Beyond series. These books are hedonistic. Dark. Violent. Pretty much X-rated dirty-sexy. And yet, with each one I finished, I immediately reached for the next one, and the next–burning through the novels and the novellas until I finished the last available story, the one that had me in freaking tears, even though I knew there was no way the authors (it’s a writing team using the Rocha pen name) would take the story to a place of no return. They still made me believe they could…and would go there. So I’m blubbering. And that’s why this series keeps hitting the lists. People can write them off as dystopian porn, and they might be, but the characters are so well-defined, so fracking real that I’m able to suspend belief, absorb the wall-to-wall sex, and look beyond it to the story, to the characters, to the reality of that world. And trust me, it’s all there! Anyway, I’m totally hooked. The next one comes out November 10th and I’m already in the throes of book withdrawal/hangover.

Other news…I’m now on Wattpad. I don’t quite know how to explain Wattpad. It’s a place to put up WIPs, for random people to read and give feedback. I’m putting up the Wolves’ MC book(s) there–in two versions. PG-13 so new readers can find me, and R, which is the version that will be the published version. Evidently, Wattpad started life as a teen fanfic site but has evolved. I may even post short stories from my various worlds–stories that will never be “published” but will be available there for free. We’ll see.

That Ol Black Magic 680Those of you on Facebook saw my news about THAT OL’ BLACK MAGIC. It placed FIRST in the International Digital Awards Short Paranormal Fiction category. CHRISTMAS MOON place 3rd! 😀

I also broke down and signed up for MailChimp so I can send out the occasional Newsletter. There’s a link up there on the right side if you haven’t signed up already. Also, you’ll note I’m doing a blog hop with Nightowl Reviews in November. More about it when we get closer. I have other upcoming appearances, both virtual and in person. If anyone happens to be in Southwest Oklahoma on November 1st, I’m on the featured authors in the Duncan Public Library’s 4th Annual Local Author Day. I will have books there. 😀 November 3rd, I’m “at” a Facebook party hosted by Avery Flynn. More details about that one and my November 10th Facebook party with the 12 Brides’ authors as they become available.

So that’s my news for the day. What’s up with y’all?

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Friday Sinema – Lindsey is Stirling

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Silver James

Lindsey Stirling is one of my favorite instrumental artists. Her latest video is determined to be one of my favorites! Between the music and the “story”, I’m hooked. Enjoy! And have a great weekend.

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