Thursday Thoughts: Universal Wake-up Call

Posted on December 12, 2024 by Silver James

Writer’s block. It’s a thing. So is simple procrastination and a bushel basket full of “I don’t wanna!” These are things that plague every writer. Well, every person, if you just take those last two into consideration. But we writers are creative people, especially when it comes to making excuses. “Research! The book needs more research!” This is just an excuse to piddle around on the internet. “Marketing! I need to make contact with people to buy my book!” This excuses wasted time on social media. Don’t get me wrong, that’s actually legitimate but doom scrolling on social media is just another time waster that keeps us from facing the dang WIP. I blame my Muse. Iffy is all kinds of trouble. She runs with scissors. She must have coffee. She’s totally addicted to finding pictures of hot guys which is way more fun–and essential to creating believable romance heroes–than staring at that one scene that has to be written because you’ve already put in a placeholder and moved on but now everything else in the plot hinges on that one scene and…and… Which is about the time we begin the “muppet flail.” This is all normal. But what defines Writers from writers is the ability to recognize these tactics and finally answer that wake up call, just like the Universe says.

Wake up, Silver!

Remember what excites you! Think of those things, those friends, and the adventures that can be yours! Focus. Care. Fantasize. Imagine. It’s all so near.

Speak as if you’re ready. Paste new pictures in your scrapbook, on your vision board, and around your home and office. Physically prepare for the changes that you wish to experience in your life. You’ve done this before. You know it works. You’re due for an encore. It’s time to amaze. That’s why you’re there.

And it’s why I’m here,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

P.S. Wake up, Silver! Remember! Do what you know to do! It’s all so near.

This is the middle of the holiday season. There’s decorating, shopping, cooking, visiting and traveling. There’s parties and family time and holiday movies to watch and books to read. It’s hard to find the gumption to keep working when there’s so much else going on. I’ve been doing this gig for a lot of years and have over 50 books to show for my efforts. And yeah, periodically for various and sundry reasons, I fall into what I call Writer’s Funk. I’m there right now but I’m going to take the Big U’s advice. I’m going to wake up. I’m going to enjoy the holidays but I’m also going to think and remember. I’m going to focus, care, fantasize, and imagine. I’m going to do what I know to do. And I’ll be happy when the end is nearer than it is now and I will celebrate when I hit The End. Because that’s what Writers do, right?

PS – I’m also going to enjoy the holidays, occasionally procrastinating and I won’t feel guilty because there’s always tomorrow which is filled with new possibilities and new words.

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Wednesday Words: All Together Now

Posted on December 11, 2024 by Silver James

Guess what?!? It’s Wedneday and I have new words that are being added to MOONSTRUCK: RETRIBUTION. Sadly, I didn’t “win” anything in last week’s Thursday Threads flashfiction challenge but that’s okay. That’s not why I participate. I do it because it’s a way to make my brain and Iffy sync up and work together so I can remain creative and focused on the WIP at hand. Sadly, I have been a real slacker this time around. I probably should have participated in NaNoWriMo but I didn’t. It was a little weird because I’ve done it every year since like…wow. I don’t actually remember. 2008 or somewhere way back when. Anyway, looking forward not back. Today’s prompt is: *”We’re in this together.”* Again, no real background, just that this scene comes in fairly early in the compilation.

****
Annie watched the three little boys as they played. She glanced over at the other wives. “How do you do it?”

“Do what?” Sally looked up from the mass of yarn covering her rounded belly. “Crochet?”

Smiling, Annie shook her head. “No. Sit around all cool and calm while they’re out there doing…well…you know. I mean, Sean was already out of the army when we met.” She blinked, considering. “Well. Not exactly out but not…you know…on…” She inhaled. “What do you call it? Deployment? Or something. I mean, how did you get through the holidays? How did you get through anything?”

Hannah cleared her throat. “How did you manage as a single mom, Annie?”

“Okay. I managed but it was hard and I knew Cody’s sperm donor would never be around so I did what I had to do. How do you go from having them with you to having them lord knows where doing lord knows what but very likely in danger?” Her gaze settled on Jacey. “What do you do when they don’t come back?”

“It’s like the commercial, hon,” Jacey replied, her voice soft. “You just do it.”

“Okay, enough,” Hannah said.

“Uh oh,” Liz stage whispered. “I recognize that look.”

“Hannah…” Jacey’s voice held a warning.

“Look, we’re in this together. I vote we take Christmas on the road.” She stuck out her hand.

“All for one…”

Each woman added her own hand. “One for all,” they agreed.

“Road trip!” Izzy yelled.
****

There you have it. Our intrepid sisterhood is out to save Christmas. Writers, take the prompt and run. Readers, what would you do to save Chrstmas?

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Christmas Pecans Ranger Style

Posted on December 10, 2024 by Silver James
ttt-midnight-clear-candied-christmas-pecans-bbi-12-17-23

Here’s another “traditional” Christmas-time treat that I absolutely binge out on. Also, they are easy peasy (as long as you pay attention!), quick, and yummy to the max. Everybody likes these. Trust me. FYI, if you give food gifts, these are awesome. You can make a big batch, put them in pretty jars with bows and they are right there ready to hand out in case of emergency. 

Candied Pecans

Note: I have no idea how long this actually takes. I just make them. It takes longer for them to cool than it does to make them. 🤷🏼‍♀️

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

LET’S MAKE IT
1 – Stir ingredients together and cook in a heavy pan until soft ball (235-240° F) stage.
2 – Remove from heat and stir in 3 cups of pecan halves.
3 – Turn onto foil-covered cookie sheet and spread.
4 – Let cool.
5 – Serve and enjoy.

Tip:
1. Use non-stick foil for extra easy removal.

2. Store in air-tight jar or container.

Yesterday, MIDNIGHT CLEAR went wide. I’d really meant for it to only stay on Kindle Unlimited for 90 days (the durationa of a “contract”) but then got sick and well…stuff happens. When I finally got back in the groove, I realized that it would come off the current term right in time for Christmas so…Kismet! Anyway, the book went live all over yesterday and while it’s been out there for a year on Amazon, I’m hoping to pump up some new readers because now it’s on Smashwords, B&N, Apple, and other places overseas. If you don’t have a copy, go grab it because it’s only $1.99 here in the USA. Don’t ask me what that translates to in other currancy. Cooper Boone, the hero of MIDNIGHT CLEAR will sit and munch these pecans until there is not left. Just sayin’. FYI, the candied pecans are so easy, even an old Texas Ranger like Cash Munro can make them. He’ll whip up a batch, sit on his front porch with his chair kicked back, boots up on the railing and watch the skies to see if “them fellers” ever come back. “An’ you tell your people, they don’t need no fancy thermometer. Just drip a drop into a cup of water an’ if it forms a soft ball, it’s done.” Which is true. But you have to touch the ball to make sure it’s soft and not hard and you really have to keep a close eye on your syrup to make sure it doesn’t hit hard ball stage because then you just end up with a glob of hard rock candy. LOL You can get to know Cooper and Cash better by reading MIDNIGHT CLEAR and you can grab the book by clicking on any title mention or pic with the cover or head over to Books2Read. These Candied Christmas Pecans make a perfect snack to munch on while you’re reading. What about y’all? Is there a special food or treat recipe that you make each Christmas to share with family and friends?

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Monday the What?!?!

Posted on December 9, 2024 by Silver James

It’s how many days until Christmas?!?!?! *muppet flail* I am soooo far from being ready. It’s a good thing that Christmas mornings have shifted to the Kids’ house because that’s where Santa comes. All we have to do is load up presents, the pan of home-made cinnamon rolls, our coffee travel mugs (the Kids don’t do coffee), and head up to their place at the given time. That doesn’t mean that I’ve completely stopped decorating. Just…mostly. It sucks to get old, lemme tell ya. Last year, I was sick though I didn’t know that I’d be undergoing two major surgeries within the next two months. This year, I just don’t have the energy to go whole hog. That doesn’t mean the house is devoid of decorations. The dining room and kitchen tables both have Christmas tablecloths and centerpieces. The wreath is on the front door and I’ll be getting the front porch lights up probably tomorrow, depending on the temperature. I don’t do chilly anymore. Reference: it sucks to get old!

Last week went buy pretty much in a blur. As noted above, I’m not ready for Christmas. I did buy one present. The way things are going, we might be handing out cash. LOL On a more somber note, LG had a flare so it was a tough week for him–lack of sleep, lots of pain, and a general lack of appetite so no real cooking on my part. Ah well. Maybe this week as he is feeling a bit better and my stupid chest cold is on its way out.

Stormy had soccer. I didn’t go–cold weather and chest cold. They’ve won several games so yay! It’s fun to watch them come together as a team and get better. They have an awesome coach and the Kids hope Stormy gets to stay on his team. It’s a development league so there’s tryouts in the spring and stuff. He will continue to play with this group through the winter for indoor soccer.

Writing is slow because I’m mostly reading and fixing and adding in very few new words. I’m behind schedule but I’m still determined to get RETRIBUTION out around the first of the year, or shortly thereafter. That said, I do have a book hitting a wide market today! MIDNIGHT CLEAR came off Kindle Unlimited yesterday and is now available at a multitude of on-line booksellers. If you aren’t a ‘Zon fan, now you can grab a copy of this SyFy Christmas story. Find your favorite store at Books2Read.

Still doing the Kristen Ashley listen-athon with her Rock Chick series. Her voice and characters are an acquired taste but I enjoy a marathon every few years. I still have a few books to go. I’m currently on #7. Truthfully, I don’t remember how many there are. I just keep reading until I hit the last one.

All righty then. I think that’s all the news and updates for now. Plans for the week include pushing ahead with the WIP, Christmas lights, a Wallyworld trip at some point, more audio book listening, and whatever else Life decides to toss my way. What about y’all?

FYI, Christmas is SIXTEEN DAYS AWAY!!!!!! Just sayin’… I mean, because there’s still plent of time to panic, right? 😉

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Friday Sinema: Dog People

Posted on December 6, 2024 by Silver James

All I can say is I ❤ this guy and he makes me laugh out loud. I can totally attest to several of these breeds including huskies, rottweillers, Newfoundlands, poodles, GSDs and rescues. I’m pretty sure he’s nailed the other breeds too. Have a laugh to finish out your work week and start the weekend with a smile! Have a good one.

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal “Your Person”

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Silver James

I recently got into a discussion with someone about writing. This is not unusual as I am a writer and a lot of my friends and acquaintances are writers. We all have our own processes, hang ups, thoughts, feelings, and genres. This was not a person I know well and they’ve always had a tendancy to look down their particular nose at romance. The fact that I’ve written over 50 books and just 9 of them have sold over 477K copies (I discovered this the last time I checked out my stuff at Harlequin and includes lots of countries, reprint, duologies, special collections, etc.) took this person by surprise. Yes, that’s a lot of books, but that’s over a decade of publishing. But I digress. In the course of our conversation, I pointed out that romance tends to crop up everywhere. Writing westerns? There’s a woman in there somewhere who has a relationship with the cowboy/rancher/gunslinger/lawman. Writing historical fiction? Henry the 8th had how many wives? Just sayin’. Hard-boiled detective? You can bet there’s a dame in there somewhere. Military? SciFi? Fantasy? Yup, yup, and you betcha!

About now, you’re probably asking yourselves, “What the heck is she going on about?” Here’s the deal. Romance is a big part of life. I don’t care who you are or what flavor is your catnip, every last one of us want to find “my person.” Your “person” is someone who totally gets you, good and bad, and understands. Your “person” supports you unconditionally. How much more romantic can you get than that? Which leads me back to the Universe’s message for today.

Silver, I know what it’s like. I’ve seen it played out a zillion times:

You’re waiting for that magical day when someone makes the connection and recognizes who you really are.

Maybe they’ll first notice that look in your eyes.

Or perhaps they’ll marvel at your insights and the depth of your spirit.

Someone who will help you connect the dots so that you can believe in yourself and make sense of it all. Someone who will understand you, approve of you, and unhesitatingly give you a leg up so that life can pluck your ready, ripened self from the branch of magnificence.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh…

Well, Silver, your wait is over.

That someone is you.

Behold God,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

P.S. Just proving that age-old adage, Silver, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.

Just to prove my point, THIS *points up* is a perfect blueprint for writing a romance. Except for that part about you being your person. I mean, yeah. That’s important. We need to be comfortable in our skins and understand what goes on in our heads–as confusing a place as that is sometimes. But this is the day I try to talk about writing–and writing romance, specifically. Because I get it. And I’m not embarrassed. FYI, the next person who suggests I’m not a real writer is likely to get a punch in the nose. I’m proud to write what I write. I’m proud that my genre produces more publishing revenue than any other genre. The last time I saw numbers, romance produced 1.44 BILLION dollars in revenue, compared to the next most popular genre, crime/thrillers which made 728.2 million.

So anyway. Writing romance. And finding your person. At the heart of a fomance novel is the need of two people to find their person. The fun part comes in the meeting, the eyes, the connections, and then connecting the dots that get them from that meet cute (or scary depending on your romantic subgenre) to the fun and foibles of making the connection, and the author connecting all the dots to get them from first sight to HEA. See? Easy peasy. Pardon me while I laugh. If writing was easy, everyone would be an author. Am I right?

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Wednesday Words: Not Like That

Posted on December 4, 2024 by Silver James

Since last Thursday was a holiday here in the USA, there was no Thursday Threads challenge. Have no fear, though! As I periodically judge the installments, there are prompts that I don’t use–at least not at the time. I keep them, though, and went back to find one. Also, I cheated a little bit because I went over the normal 250 words count. Still, I think it’s a pretty good snippet and we get to touch base with Mac and Hannah. Writers, in case you’re ready to get back in the writing mood, the prompt is: *”It wasn’t like that.”*

****
Mac watched Hannah. He wasn’t glowering. He wasn’t amused. In fact, for the first time in all the years they’d been together, she couldn’t decide the exact state of his mind. Not for the first time, it irked her that, as a Wolf, he could so easily discern her emotions just by her scent. She had to rely on basic human abilities—body language, facial expressions, tone of voice. At the moment, he was pretty much a blank slate.

She knew better but she couldn’t help herself. She opened her mouth to defend her actions. Before she could get a word out, Mac raised one hand, palm in her direction. She could almost feel the sigh he didn’t release.

“Mac—”

He cut her off. “Not now, Hannah.”

Her temper bubbled. “If not now, when?”

“Later.”

“No. We aren’t playing that game again.”

“It’s not a game, Hannah.” He threw out an arm in a sweeping motion. “This is very real.”

“You think I don’t fucking know that?”

“If you know, why are you here? This is a damn war zone, babe, and you dragged all the women and kids right into the middle of it. For what? To keep a promise you shouldn’t have made in the first place? To prove that you’re some kind of bad ass?”

His anger hit her like a wall of flame and her own flared in response. She notched her chin, planted her hands on her hips and opened her mouth to rip him a new one.

“It wasn’t like that, Dad.”

She and Mac both whirled to face their son.

“Don’t blame Mom. This is all my fault.”
****

Ah, Liam. The peacemaker. Also, Liam, who has one of the best lines in this part of the story! “Dad! It’s like a Die Hard movie!” And that brings us to the question of the day: IS “Die Hard” a Christmas movie? 🙋🏼‍♀️

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Christmas Crack(le) Candy

Posted on December 3, 2024 by Silver James

It’s December. Christmas is coming–along with a host of other holidays depending on how you celebrate. Today’s recipe came out of my files, given to me by a former neighbor. Long story, snippet version: Very nice mom and dad and 2 boys moved in. Only was older and nicknamed them The Weasleys. As the boys had red hair, this made sense. I took them Christmas rolls, she brought us Christmas Crack Candy. When she became ill, I asked for the recipe and started making it for both houses. At Dad’s request, I stopped making the candy after she passed, but they still got my rolls. Anyway, they’ve moved on and a new family now live in the Weasley House. Yes, they’ll get my rolls too. Anway, it’s Tuesday and here’s a yummy recipe that’s quick and easy during this busy time of year.

Prep time: 15 minutes>
Cook time: 9 minutes
Chill time: 15-25 minutes
Total time: 40-50 minutes
Yield: 24 – 40 pieces (depending on the size)

Ingredients

  • 40 Saltine crackers (approximately)
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels
  • 1 cup white chocolate morsels
  • 1/2 cup mini M&Ms
  • 1 tbsp. Christmas sprinkles
 

Let’s Make It

1 – Preheat oven to 325F.

2 – Line an 11 x 17 cookie sheet* with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Spray generously with nonstick cooking/baking spray.

3 – Line the pan with saltine crackers, the sides touching. (Crackers are about 2″x2″ square so you should get 5 across and 8 down. They won’t quite touch the sides of the pan becaue of the foil).

4 – In a small sauce pan, melt the butter and brown sugar over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Once the butter is melted, bring to a gentle boil for 3 minutes. No more, no less! Continue stirring constantly.

5 – Once the mixture thickens to “toffee,” spread it over the crackers. Bake in preheated oven for 9 minutes.**

6 – After toffee is baked, remove pan. Sprinkle 2 cups of chocolate chips and gently spread using a rubber or silicone spatula. (See Tip 1). Once the chocolate is evenly spread, sprinkle 1 cup of white chocolate chips on top, followed by M&Ms and the holiday sprinkles.

7 – Put baking sheet in freezer to harden (about 15 minutes). No room in the freezer? Chill in the fridge for about 45 minutes.

8 – Once the candy is hardened, “crack” into bars using a knife or break into pieces using your hands.

*Cookie sheet/pan should have sides

**Turn off the oven and let it cool a little while you are adding the toppings. See Tips…

Tips:

1 – I like my chocolate melted a little so after I sprinkled and s[read the chocolate chips on top and they hadn’t melted enough to suit me, I slipped the pan back into the oven for just a couple of minutes to help melt the chips before adding the rest of the toppings.

2 – You can add peanuts, pecans, crunched pretzels, and/or peanut M&Ms to make the taste combinations you enjoy. You can substitute dark chocolate chips for the semi-sweet, butter scotch for the white, etc. 

Our guest “cook” today is Bridget Nolan, a Southie girl born and bred. She takes no guff from anyone and she’ll tell you that she’s “addicted” to three things: Dropkick Murphy, Christmas Crack Candy and tough guy Sean Sullivan. “Though not necessarily in that order,” Bridget teases. “Me and Ma, we made sheets and sheets of this stuff every Christmas. When I was little, Ma let me use her wooden meat mallet to bang on the candy to break it up. Once I figured out that any small piece was deemed unacceptable for gifting but were fair game for us kids to eat, I went to town with that mallet.” Her eyes twinkle as she adds, “Needless to say, my shift as head cracker didn’t last long.” She shares a look with the other mates. “You should know that these guys? They have wicked sweet tooths.”

Don’t we all? You can read about how Sean rescued Bridget in MOONSTRUCK MAFIA: BOSTON. Just click on any of the pics with the book cover, the title, or here: Books2Read to head over to the landing page to find your favorite on-line book seller. Is there a tradition of sharing Christmas treats/food dishes with neighbors in your family? What do you share? And

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First Monday Musing

Posted on December 2, 2024 by Silver James

Ya know…I really don’t like the first of a new month. It’s depressing. I check my ‘Zon author’s dashboard every day to see if I’ve had any sales. When faced with a row of zeros? Yeah, downer time. *sigh* Last month was too bad. I made almost a hundred $$. When it hits my account in 2 months, it’s better than the $18.89 that was deposted over the weekend. And folks think us writers are rolling in it. Maybe if you hit the best seller list but most of us? Not so much. We do this because we love telling stories and entertaining people. Anyway, that was depressing way to start the day.

In happier news, I was out of bed for the majority of the day yesterday and managed to space out my meds from every 4 (like I had alarms set!) hours, I was going almost 8 between doses. So, feeling better. YAY! But still low energy. Boo!

Last week was mostly down time due to the sinus infection/chest cold from hell. Still, I managed hot rolls (though not truly up to my standards) and pumpkin pie for the family gathering. Our crew visited with the other half and enjoyed good food and company thought Jake and I spent a lot of time in the corner of the living room cum dining room. Yes, we took Jake with us. He’d gone with us at Easter when it was just the James Gang and he’s so much happier (me too!) when he’s with me. Good dog!

Yeah, college football still sucks in these parts. The Kansas City Chiefs managed to pull out another one by the hair on their chinny-chin-chins and they are in the play-offs. Yay! Stormy had no soccer though there are games coming up this week. Maybe. Only is supposed to send the schedule. If they are outdoor games, it’ll depend on the weather if I go or not. Dang cold.

I got nothing done on RETRIBUTION. My bad. It’s hard to work when I’m propped up on pilliows in bed with a heating pad on my chest and trying not to hack up a lung. It’ll get done. At least I’m finally working on it.

Not much else going on. I’m still marathoning the Rock Chick series. Granted, these books are an acquired taste and I find myself occasionally rolling my eyes at all the descriptions of hair, makeup, and clothes, and yes, the predicaments are wildly improbable but I often laugh out loud and find myself wishing these characters were real because I’d like to meet them. And, yes, I will admit that I’ve used Google streetview to go looking for some of the locales just in case they might…you know…be real. Like the bookstore. (The building is there but it wasn’t a bookstore the last I went “walkabout.” Anyway, lots of book listening this past week while I was in bed.

And finally, it’s after Thanksgiving so it is NOW time to get ready for Christmas. In my case, that means scrolling down to the Hallmark channel and bingeing on Hallmark Christmas movies. Last night, it was “The Christmas Quest” and “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.” Now it’s time for y’all to ‘fess up. Are you a sucker for Hallmark movies?

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Friday Sinema: Leftovers

Posted on November 29, 2024 by Silver James

Surely this isn’t just a Southern thing…🤣😆🤣 Hope you had a Happy Turkey Day yesterday–whether you ate turkey, ham, beef…or pizza! Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

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