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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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Logistics

Posted on March 27, 2025 by Silver James

What is logistics? And what does it have to do with writing? You’d be surprised. Here are some synonyms for logistics. Coordination. Engineering. Planning. Strategy. Starting to rings bells? How about organization or management. That pretty much maps out what we do as writers–whether it’s plotting a book, working on marketing, finding an agent or publisher. But there’s more to writing than just the logistivcs. The Universe knows.

You might call it spiritual logistics, Silver, but sometimes you have to move away to get closer.

Or you might just call it weird.

Either way, it helps to remember it from time to time.

Tallyho,
The Universe
©www.tut.com 

P.S. And while we’re at it, Silver, sometimes you have to let go to stake your claim. Be still to move forward. Give to receive. Cry to feel joy. Pretend to make it real. Fake it before you make it. And sometimes, oddly enough, you must first decide to feel their love to find it was there all along.

There it is, in a nutshell. It’s all spiritual. As in, it’s all in our heads. Get stuck? Move away and come back. Crazy, weird idea? Incorporate it. Read that P.S. Now read it again and take it to heart. That’s how we write books. You’re welcome.

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Wednesday Words: Inquiring Minds

Posted on March 26, 2025 by Silver James

It’s Wednesday and my mind found it’s way home. Finally. Sort of. Anyway. I have new words. In fact, I have new words that took the Honorable Mention in last week’s Thursday Threads. The prompt is: *”He intended to find out.”* The judge’s comments puffed me up so much, I’m sharing them. Louisa says: James showcases her storytelling ability with this piece. There’s the alliteration of the “tenuous truce” and striking descriptions like “golden opalescence.” She pushes the boundaries of microfiction. I’m as intrigued as Nikos to discover who this mystery woman from behind the Veil is.  An absolute fitting tribute to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on the Spring Equinox. (Hint, if you don’t know the reference to Oberon and Titania.) I hope you enjoy.

****
Nikos watched from the shadows. When he’d confronted Ariel earlier, he’d been honest. He was here in Rochester on business—just not the business Ariel would assume. His own king had sent him here to discover why Oberon and Titania were so interested in events occurring in this somewhat backwater upstate New York city. Once thriving, now Rochester clung to past glories with tenacious grit.

Yes, there was the yearly Lilac Festival which drew the Fae like bees to honey. Yes, there were lay lines here where magic swirled right under the humans’ noses.

He stiffened, noticing for the first time the beings gathered in the pool of darkness across the way from Ariel. His sharp dragon sight focused but the entities wavered, incorporeal spirits peering through the Veil.

Nikos swallowed the flame threatening to escape on his next breath. Those creatures raised the scales on the back of his neck, despite his human glamour. Dragonkind and Fae maintained a tenuous truce since the Veil ripped and the magick realms had been revealed. That did not preclude them from spying on each other.

Laughter carried in on the breeze. Ariel froze, as did those other hidden watchers. The woman appeared and the world inhaled sharply and held its breath. She wasn’t beautiful but the air around her glowed with a golden opalescence.
Intrigued, he watched her walk up the block followed by Ariel and the two spirits. Who was she? More importantly, what was she?

He intended to find out.
****

So, for those of you who love dragons, you can probably figure out that Nikos has many cameos in this one. As will Sade and the whole “Scoobie Gang” but for the most part, this is Ariel’s story. Sadly, his heroine is still fighting me over her name. Happily, the “villain” has introduced himself. He is Bran, the King’s Raven. *bwahaha* Have I mentioned this one is set in Rochester, NY? I know weird. But hey, they have a big lilac festival! This will be important. Writers, grab the prompt if you wish. Readers, where do you wish you were right now?

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Tuesday Oops

Posted on March 25, 2025 by Silver James

What do you mean it’s Tuesday? I have only this as an excuse… 🔽🔽

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March Madness Monday

Posted on March 24, 2025 by Silver James

I’m not a basketball fan. I don’t hate it. I just don’t appreciate it. Yes, it takes a lot of skill. And stamina. But just not my thing. That’s okay, a lot of people do enjoy it, especially this time of year. Not sure why the NCAA tournament season is called Madness. 🤷🏼‍♀️

In other news, it’s Monday. Sadly, I did very little this weekend. Absolutely nothing remarkable to relate. Okay, go get more coffee. That’s what I’m going to do. And maybe I’ll wake up. The one thing I DO hate about this time of year is the madness that is Daylight Savings Time. If you hate it as much as me, let your state legistlatures and their federal counterparts how you feel. Maybe we can end it. And I don’t mean leaving the clocks set to permanent DST. Nope. I’m advocating for permanent STANDARD TIME!

My Cowgirls played Baylor. They split 2-1, winning the the 3-game series. Yay. OSU also had two wrestlers who won their weight classes at the NCAA tournament. It was a good weekend for the orange and black. No soccer for Stormy. Well, no matches. He had soccer camp. It was Spring Break. Happily, the coach of the gold team in his academy has taken an interest in him and wants to work with him one-on-one. Stormy is on the silver team. It works out well because the coach’s son is a teammate and friend of Stormy’s. Score!

I finished a relisten of MAGIC BITES. MAGIC TRIUMPHS, the last book in the main series, releases this week in the Graphic Audio version. I was shocked when I realized how much fun the dramatized adaptations are. Full cast. Fun times.

I made it to Wallyworld yesterday. Now I can just get up, get my morning chores out of the way and not procrastinate doing errands. The laundry bin is only about half full. That means I really need to put my behind in the desk chair, my hands on the keyboard and make up words.

Speaking of, the “villain” in Ariel’s book has a name. Bran. I’ve also been playing with some titles and ideas for cover art. I may not be writing-writing but I am thinking and doing bursts of short scenes that are helping the story to gel.

Still beta reading for a friend. Y’all? If detective noir is your catnip, you’re gonna enjoy this one! I’m gonna do my best to get it finished this week and back to her so she can finish edits and get it ready for release.

Speaking of books, I found out that 37 of my books have been uploaded to help train an AI platform. Big, mainstream authors are all in arms and I can see why. I mean, people could order AI to “write me a book in the style of Nora Roberts.” Or Stephen King. Or whose that guy who writes romances that aren’t romances? “The Notebook” dude. My brain… Anyway, I’m not worried that someone is going to order up books writing like Silver James for someone to publish. Part of me is giggling a little bit because think of all the cussing, sexy times, and regional accents that will become permanent embedded in some AI brain. Yeah, I’m warped.

On that note, I need another cup of coffee, some eye drops, and the ability to whistle while I work. No, I have not–nor will I–see that particular movie. How was your weekend? What plans do you have for the week?

Wow. I just remembered the date. It’s my brother’s birthday. He would have been 79. And isn’t that food for thought… *wanders off in a DST-induced daze to find more coffee*

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Friday Sinema: Spring Solstice

Posted on March 21, 2025 by Silver James

Yesterday was the first day of Spring and this video popped up. Listem for the line about hail and Sonic ice. Yes. I laughed. Why? Because this is pretty much Spring in the South. And trust me, Southern Spring is not for sissies! TGIF. And have a great weekend. I have no real plans that I’m aware of. This is always subject to change. 🤣

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