Tuesday Treats & Titles: CinnaMoon Rollups

Posted on September 9, 2025 by Silver James

Since FB didn’t want to play nice with my blog photo yesterday, I decided to feature MOONSTRUCK MAFIA: BOSTON for today. These CinnaMoon Rollups fit right in with reading while there’s a full moon. They’re easy. They’re tasty. But you might want to lick your finters before you turn the page or swipe left. 😉

Cinnamon/CinnaMoon Rollups
Yield: 10 rollups
Prep time: 30 Minutes
Cook time: 10 Minutes
Total time: 40 min

Ingredients
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
10 slices soft bread of your choice
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Instructions
1 – Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.

2 – Roll bread slices with a rolling pin to flatten slightly, and trim off the crusts with a sharp knife or kitchen scissors.

3 – Beat the softened cream cheese, egg yolk, sugar, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl until combined.

4 – Divide the mixture among the bread slices and spread evenly. Roll up slices tightly jelly-roll style, pressing on the edges to seal.

5 – Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a shallow bowl. Generously brush each roll on all sides with the melted butter and roll in the brown sugar mix. Arrange the roll ups on the prepared baking sheet.

6 – Bake until lightly browned and hot, about 10 minutes. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes and serve. Makes about 10 pieces.

Tips
1. This recipe can easily be doubled.

2. These roll ups freeze really well. Simply freeze them before baking, on the parchment lined baking sheet. Transfer them to a zip lock bag when they’re frozen.

3. To reheat, arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet and cook at 375 degrees F until lightly browned and hot, about 20 minutes.

4. Store any leftovers tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

I don’t have character back-up for this one. I just like the darn things and wanted to share the recipe. They’re great year round but they seem especially appropriate for Fall treats. Sorry. I mean, let’s face it. Every one of my characters would make them and snack. Hannah and Sade would try to con someone else into making them but they could produce a batch in a pinch. 🤣 Y’all know the drill. Click on the title–MOONSTRUCK MAFIA: BOSTON, the pic at the top, or use the QR code to head over to Books2Read to find your favorite on-line book seller. Happy reading and snacking!

Oh, and question for today. If you aren’t reading one of my books, what are you reading? I’m giving Rachel Caine’s The Hollows series another try, currently listening to DEAD WITCH WALKING. I’ve got the newes JD Robb book in reserves but I’m always looking for suggestions!

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Full Moon Monday

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Silver James

Who saw the full moon last night? 🙋🏼‍♀️

The weekend was nice and cool. Sadly, a bit of heat is coming back this week but we’re talking highs in the mid-80s so I really can’t complain. Humidity is not really a factor. Which is nice.

If y’all are into humorous paranormal romance, and you haven’t read Shelly Laurenston, you need to! Her Honey Badger Chronicles make me laugh. Often out loud. The newest release is TO KILL A BADGER. I would shuggest starting at the beginning so you know who the characters are. The badgers are a spin off from her main Pride Series. The way she characterizes the various breeds in their human form really does crack me up. I also finished up Jayne Ann Krentz’s Fogg Lake trilogy. Interesting paranormal suspense and you can mostly get the gist of things even though it is an adjacent series to her overall Arcane Society universe. Needless to say, I’ve had some great book listenting this past week and weekend.

Speaking of the weekend, the best laid plans and all that. It was First Saturday but due to circumstances and on account of because, no siren test for me. PITA Pup is still being mostly a PITA in public and we decided it was just easier for me to stay home. Then the Sunday soccer game got canceled because they couldn’t get refs. There was also college football but I’m not going there. Cowboy Nation is hanging their heads.

Writing got done. At least a little. ‘Nuff said about that. Pretty sure y’all are sick of my whining about this book.

On that note, I’ll stop boring you, finishing off my first cup of coffee, and considering what the heck I’m going to do today to procrastinate instead of write. 🤣 How was your weekend?

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Friday Sinema: Neighbors

Posted on September 5, 2025 by Silver James

This can’t be true of only Southern neighbors, though it is certainly true of them. Also, I LIKE Cherry Vanilla. Just sayin’… Have a great weekend, all. It’s First Saturday for us so sirens and family lunch. Plus college football. Anybody else got plans?

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Surprises

Posted on September 4, 2025 by Silver James

Every writer has their own process. We’re usually divded into one of two groups–Pantser or Plotters. There are variations within those groups. Someone who knows where the story begins, what happens along the way in a 1-2-3-4-5 way and how the story ends and uses like seven sticky notes as a storyboard? That’s a Plotter. Then there’s the writer who outlines everything–every scene, every chrachter’s backstory and chracter arc, every bit of scenery. They are also plotters. We moved to the Pantser. Some get a vague notion for a story, sit down and words start flowing. Stuff happens. Characters come and go. Places pop up as needed. The Universe has this to say:

Silver, you don’t have to, nor can you, figure out all the “hows”!

Besides, you opted for the “Surprise me often!” life package.

Brace yourself,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

P.S. Create space for the unexpected, Silver, through non-attachment to everything that may show up within each journey, even as you attach to your wisely chosen end results.

Not all Pantser are as free-wheeling as what I described above. Some get inspired, learn something about their characters–enough to name them and to know where they came from and where they’re going. They know how they want the story to end. They might even know a few important stops along the way but for the most part, the words come and go with mostly ease.

Then there’s me. I started life as a Pantser. Then I tried the Plotter way. I finally discovered that I’m a Puzzler. I’ve explained this several times but to a quick overview: My WIP is a jigsaw puzzle I’m putting together. I start with the straight pieces as the frame, then fit pieces together into bigger pices which then fit in the right spots on the framwork. Yes, it’s weird but it works for me.

What does today’s message mean for writers? It means that no matter what your process is, surprise is a good thing and you should embrace the light bulb moments, the sudden sprays of confetti, and even the unexpected tear when they come. It’s the surprises our characters and our plots throw at us that give our stories depth and emotion. And that always translates into a better reading experience. Right? Trust me, if we surprise ourselves, we will certainly surprise our readers and that delights them. Right, readers?

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Wednesday Words: They Who?

Posted on September 3, 2025 by Silver James

Here it is Wednesday again. See? I didn’t even get confused because Monday was a holiday and there was no mail. Being Wednesday, y’all are probably expecting new words from me. I have some! Are you proud of me? I’m proud of me because I WON last week’s Thursday Threads challenge. Here’s what the judge had to say:

This is a lot to fit into such a short amount of space, but it has me wondering what comes next – how so many different characters and types of characters can fit into this narrative. The cross genre of cops and dragons, and… werewolves? has me intrigued to read more.

He obviously is unfamiliar with Sade’s world. LOL Anyway, the prompt was: *”They don’t like it.”* It’s pretty generic but sometimes, those prompts are the most fun. At least I had fun writing the following. I hope you have fun reading it.

****
Sade shook a finger at the dragon. “Don’t even, Nikos!” He opened his mouth and she jabbed his stomach, not that her finger would dent his scales. “I mean it. Fire is not always the answer.”

“It is in my world.”

She threw up her hands. “Are you seriously serious right now?” The massive beast slow blinked and if that wasn’t a smirk on his face, she wasn’t an FBI agent. “Don’t make me shoot you.”
Scales above his eye rose in the equivalent of an arrogant eyebrow. “Your pistol will do little damage.”

She stomped on what would be his big toe had he been in human form. He yowled. “I shoot you in the foot, you gonna dance me a jig?”

Curls of smoke unfurled from the dragon’s nostrils.

“Think he can blow smoke rings?” Caleb spoke sotto voce but the dragon heard and glowered.

“Don’t be such a werewolf, Caleb.” Everyone turned to look at Ariel. He shrugged.

Sade hoped to regain control of the situation, though the looming presence of the dragon rather precluded that. “Did you talk with Oberon and Titania?”

“I did.”

“And you laid out our plan?”

“I did.”

Making a well-spit-it-out face, she pushed. “And?”

“They don’t like it.” Ariel held up a hand staying her protest. “It’s a delicate situation. They don’t want Mab to find a foothold here but stopping her could mean war between the Fae.”

“I could always roast and eat her,” Nikos volunteered. “I love the smell of burnt Fae queen in the morning.”

The thought, though tempting, was too simple.
****

This scene is later in the book, obviously, and there’s a lot that will happen between then and where I am at the moment but I get all giddy when I have a fun scene just waiting for me to catch up to it. And I will. I’m making better progress. In the meantime, writers, your inspiration awaits you should you wish to accept the challenge. Readers, name something you don’t like. 😉

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Blueberry Moon Bars

Posted on September 2, 2025 by Silver James

I like blueberries. A lot. It’s been a while since I’ve featured a blueberry recipe. I’m all about the blueberries. Blueberry muffins. Blueberry scones. Blueberry pancakes. Blueberry smoothies. Blueberry cheesecake. Heck, anything that has blueberries on it or in it. So, yeah, when I come across a recipe with blueberries, I tend to bookmark it to make at some point because…BLUEBERRIES! Sometimes, I find a recipe that is both yummy scrumptious and peasy easy. 😉

Prep time: 20 Minutes
Cook time: 30 Minutes
Total time: 50 min
Servings: 18 squares (or less, depending on how big you cut them 😉 )

Ingredients
1/2 lb butter softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 Tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 can blueberry pie filling, approximately 2 cups or 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed

Let’s Make It
1 – Heat oven to 350 degrees
2 – Cream softened butter and sugar until…well…creamy (go ahead and laugh. You know what I mean…)
3 – Beat in eggs, one at a time
4 – Mix in vanilla extract
5 – Add the flour one cup at a time and beat until mixed, scraping the sides of the bowl.
6 – Grease a 9 1/2″ by 13″cookie sheet or baking pan with butter or Crisco. (Also see tips!)
7 – Spread 3/4 batter on sheet. Leave about 1″ around the edges for the batter to spread.
8 – Spread the blueberries on top
9 – Drop tablespoon fulls of the remaining batter randomly all over the top
10 – Bake for 30 minutes until the middle springs back. The edges will be a little brown. Let cool for about five minutes before cutting into squares.

Tips:
1 – You can line the baking sheet with either nonstick foil or parchment paper for easy removal and clean up. (I am ALL over this!)

2 – If you want a little “spicy” sweetness, sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the top before baking.

3 – Best (to me) served warm but also tasty when cold.

4 – Feel free to add whipped cream or ice cream or just eat plain.

One of the joys of living in a small town that’s pretty much out in the country is the fact that there’s usually a farmer’s market or a farmer who will let you pick for yourself. Annie Simmons-Donaldson is used to county life and with a growing kids and a Wolf mate, she cooks and bakes a lot. She can whip these bars up in a hurry for school lunches, after-school snacks, and a hungry man hanging around the kitchen wanting dessert. Sean is like me. He’s very found of blueberries too. Their story is told in WOLF MOON but I’m featuring their appearances in MOONSTRUCK: RETRIBUION today for a couple of reasons. One, Annie taught the other mates (except Hannah–though Hannah did attempt it (the edges came out a little…too crispy, shall we say?) and this has become a staple, especially during berry season. Anyway, since they all live in Blaidd’s Gap, West Virginia now and there are blueberries a plenty, I thought it would be fun to revisit everyone. Two, this book mostly finishes off the original Moonstruck series, not to mention it’s my most recent release. Don’t despair, though. There might be an anthology of short stories eventually. Iffy and I are in negotiations. Grab WOLF MOON by clicking on the title link or for MOONSTRUCK: RETRIBUTION, you can click on any of the cover pics or the title. What about y’all–what’s your favorite berry additive?

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First Monday and a Holiday

Posted on September 1, 2025 by Silver James

Actually, it’s not over! At least not here in the USA. Happy Labor Day, folks. Unless you are in food service, retail, or public service, you probably have the day off. We have no real plans. For me, it’s just another Monday. Which means I’m sitting here on my computer doing what I normally do on a Monday–sipping coffee and silently cursing my characters for not falling into line and doing what they’re told. The happy news is that our less-hot weather is still in place. Yippee. Labor Day weekend tends to be one of the hottest of the summer in these parts. The weather gurus are saying 70s and 80s for highs all this week. Yippee.

In wildlife news, I’m thinking permanent cool might be early this year. The birds, squirrels and hummingbirds are votracious in their eating habits. There’s constant traffic at the hummingbird feeder and I could fill the bird feeders twice a day and they’d still be emptied by sundown. Same fore the squirrel feeders. This keeps up, I’m gonna go broke. Permanent cool works for me. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a fan of cold weather but cool? I’m all over that!

In writing news, I’ve added new words. Wednesday’s Words were fun to write but I’ve also managed to rather mundane words that I hope aren’t too boring to move the story along without doing one of those irritating (in my mind) jump cuts. I really need to get myself in hand and get this damn book written. Sadly, since my health issues, trying to get back on track has been a total PITA.

Speaking of PITAs, Toby has a new nickname. He is now PITA Pup. That said, he made his public debut Saturday evening. The family gathered to celebrate LG’s belated birthday and Uncle FixIt’s upcoming birthday. Since PITA Pup can’t be trusted at home alone, he is now officially in Service Dog Training. He has a vest and everything. And yes, I am seriously training him. Jake is 10 now. He’s slowing down. When we rescued Toby, it was with the idea that he’d be trained too, as back up and then eventually, step into Jake’s harness when he retires. Anyway, Toby is starting to understand heel and work on a leash but “sit”, “down,” and “stay” are beyond him. 🤣 With seven people, one in a wheelchair, and now two LARGE service dogs, it’s an adventure to eat out as a family. We went to Loui’s on the Lake and sat on the patio. They allow non-service dogs out there because it literally has a gate that opens onto one of the walking trails around the lake. Jake went down and stayed as usual. Toby was up, sit, down, up, sit, down constantly and he only barked at passing dogs a couple of times. Progress. He’s still chewing inappropriate items but I did wake up Sunday morning to nothing untoward. That’s progress. I’m hoping he has a strong constitution and things “pass” easily.

Pete and Toby have entered the Cold War phase of their relationship. In the meantime, Loki is playing Spy vs. Spy. He’s the black hat obviously, since he’s a black cat and Toby has white fur. It can be amusing to watch.

In reading news, I’ve mostly finished off the Elder Races series. I’m currently working on the Fogg Lake trilogy by Jayne Ann Krentz. The books are set in her Arcane Society world. Two of the audio books are “on loan” through my Audible membership, but they are due back by September 9th. The middle book is available from the library. I own a LOT of her books but I’d go broke buying all of them LOL JD Robb’s newest drops tomorrow. It’s on the list for later.

On that note, I need more coffee. The next chapter waits for no writer. Or something like that. Anyway, off to work I go. Enjoy your holiday and have a great week!

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Friday Sinema: Cobbler Season

Posted on August 29, 2025 by Silver James

I…Uhm…I can’t even… I started laughing at the intro and I’m glad the captions were on because I was laughing. Out loud. Enjoy this very Southern Thing! Have a great weekend, all!

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Dream On

Posted on August 28, 2025 by Silver James

I saw a…post(?)…tweet(?)…whatever they’re called now on X the other day. It was in one of the writing communities and the author posted this question: Have you ever written a story based on a dream you had? *this is me doing a side eye* Um…kay. *more side eye* I don’t know about y’all but almost all of my stories are based on dreams–whether sleeping or simply staring out the window and daydreaming. I had several messages from the Universe tucked back for use today and then the following popped up in my inbox yesterday.

Let’s get back to basics, Silver…

You live in a dreamworld where all things are possible.

Your mere existence is the undeniable proof.

Hallelujah,   The Universe ©www.tut.com 

P.S. And you once wondered if your dreams were realistic. Oh, Silver, you crack us up.

Well all righty then. Doesn’t that just explain everything? It certaining does when it comes to writing–as far as I’m concerned. But it also works in real life. Have I mentioned I had to take some philosophy classes in college? 

“Dubito ergo cogito, cogito, ergo sum.” That’s the original Latin. It translates, basically, to “I doubt therefore I think. I think therefore I am.” Know who said it? Raise your hand. 🙋🏼‍♀️ That would be the ubiquitous Rene Descartes.

I would respond with “Ego somnio ergo scribo. ” I dream therefore I write. Seems pretty simple to me. Put those thoughts and dreams into words m’friends. There are readers out there dreaming of reading a good book.

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Wednesday Words: Something to Talk About

Posted on August 27, 2025 by Silver James

How can it be Wednesday? I mean…wassn’t it Wednesday just…like…two days ago? *flail* In other news, Toby is keeping me on my toes. I’m getting my steps in getting up to find him when it gets too quiet. Yes, at some point, he will like be written into a book. Until then, I must rely on an abundance of patience and caffeine. I have not yet succombed to alcohol yet, but trust me. It remains an option. In the meantime, words! I have some. Last week’s Thursday Threads prompt was: *”I don’t want to talk abou that.”* While it might not directly follow last week’s words, this week’s snippet is part of the same scene. Yay. And here…

****
Aisling opened her mouth to chastise him but snapped it shut. In retrospect, she couldn’t fault him for toeing that damnable book. She swiped her hands against her skirt, an involuntary movement to rid her of the feel of those cold flames dancing across her skin. How could flames be cold? And slimy. She shuddered but hid the action by turning and crouching to gather some scattered papers into a loose pile.

Looking around, Ariel found a broom and a metal dustpan. He used them to scoop up the recalcitrant book. He carried it over to a metal file box and dumped the book inside. With a quick flick, he closed and secured the lid. He surveyed the room. Aisling remained on the floor picking up papers and books reaching up to place them on a nearby work table. There was so much magic in this place it made him dizzy.

Since Aisling’s attention remained focused elsewhere, he watched her. All the feelings he’d suppressed rose. Distracted by her, he picked up a book and recognized it immediately. It had been stolen from Oberon’s library almost a century before. Doubt crept in, dampening his ardor.

“Aisling, how did you come to work here?”

“I don’t want to talk about that.”

“Fine,” Ariel said, losing his inner battle. “I didn’t want to talk anyway.”

Before Aisling could move, he’d drawn her into his arms and kissed her. Hard. Which quite effectively silenced her next words. And she didn’t mind at all.
****

That’s probably their first kiss. Not sure. And it needs a LOT of expansion but hey, flash fiction is flash fiction and the one I play is limited to 250 words. Things are progressing, whether they understand the reasons or not. Writers, do your thing, should you so desire. Readers, what do you think? Should this be their first kiss?

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