Thursday Thoughts: Universal Bounce

Posted on November 2, 2023 by Silver James

Today is the second day of National Novel Writing Month 2023. I first “competed” back in 2006. For those not familiar, the impetus is to write 50K words (mostly equivalent to a novel) during the month of November. Since way back when, it has evolved. Now there’s 30 Covers on 30 Days, there’s the Young Writer’s program, 30 poems, screenwriting, short stories… The whole idea is to give an outlet and the nudge for people to write. Most of you know my first “entry” was SEASON OF THE WITCH. My 2021 project was….*drumroll*…MOONSTRUCK MAFIA: BOSTON. Then the war broke out in Ukraine and CROSSFIRE wanted to be written. And then Sade and the GHOSTS AND ANCIENT STONES demanded to be written–both of which finally got finished and published despite some down times along the. So now–finally– I’m back to Boston, which has turned out to be a much longer book than appreciated. Rather than get distracted by a new idea, I’m sticking with my Irish Wolves until their stories are told! And yeah, I think it’ll be another 50K words. As for the Univers’s message today, which sort of ties into my headspace. And my answer to the Bit U? Been there. Done that. Still wear the T-shirt.

Inquiring minds want to know, Silver:

Have you ever felt so down you wondered whether or not you’d bounce back?

Were you later surprised by how quickly you did bounce back?

And then were you surprised by how far you went?

Did you promise you’d never forget how amazing you are?

We did.

In awe,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

P.S. And did you really once celebrate by dancing on a tabletop, Silver, to Barry Manilow?

Actually, it was Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” on top of a bar. Am I dating myself? Writers, have you ever tried NaNoWriMo? If so, did it help? Readers, what’s your current challenge?

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Wednesday Words: Scary Times

Posted on November 1, 2023 by Silver James

Happy All Saints Day aka All Hallows Day. From which came All Hallows Ever aka…Halloween. Fun fact of the day. Anyway, did everyone survive the ghosties and ghoulies out trick-r-treating? Since it’s now Wedenesday, it’s time for some words. New ones. And fun ones. Because I can be a big ol’ tease, I mentioned the snippet on my FB page on Saturday. There were pictures of Ronan. Y’all should check him out. Anyway, there was a reason I teased the snippet over there. *bwahaha* The #ThursdayThreads prompt from last week is: **”Try not to look so threatening.”** I don’t think this snippet needs a set up. It’s pretty self-explanatory. Also, it won an Honorable Mention last week so yay!

Maura backed up a step then chided herself mentally. Hot shot prosecutor, remember? Yes, yes she was and she refused to let this man intimidate her. Or scare the bejeezus out of the woman she’d come to question. This expedition would likely fail if he terrified her witness. “Worst idea ever,” she muttered. Louder, she said, “Can you do me a favor?”

Ronan stared but didn’t speak, waiting for her to continue. 
Ignoring the foreboding feeling, she sucked it up. “Try not to look so threatening.”

“I don’t look threatening.”

Was he amused? She had seen one corner of his mouth twitch. “You look like a serial killer.”

“But this is my happy face,” he said, completely deadpan.

A gigglesnort erupted and she covered her mouth and nose with her hand. “That’s it, bucko. No more Tommy Lee Jones movies for you.”

This time, there was no doubt that the corners of his mouth curled up and she caught the twinkle in his blue eyes.

He leaned in close and murmured in her ear. “And how are ya gonna keep me from watchin’ ’em? Ya plannin’ on bein’ shackled t’me twenty-four seven?”

And why did that idea send excited shivers through her whole body?  She turned her head just enough to whisper in his ear. “I’d prefer to just see you handcuffed to the bed.”

She stepped back just in time to catch the flash of feral red followed by gold in his eyes. It wasn’t a trick of light. No like she had convinced herself every previous occurence. “What are you?” she asked, not for the first time.

The door jerked open before Ronan answered her. Maura didn’t know whether to be relieved or apprehensive. Ignoring the warring emotions, she turned to face the woman who’d opened the door. She had her ID wallet open but the woman only had eyes for Ronan.

“You’re Ronan O’Connor,” she said.

“I am.”

“Are you here to do something about what happened?”

“I am.”

“Good.” The woman opened the door wider to let them in. She gave Maura the barest once-over. “Cop?” she asked Ronan.

“Better,” he said. “Attorney.”

This scene actually has abou 1,000 more words but 1) that’s a long snippet and 2) it’s gets into spoiler territory. Now, as mentioned in the beginning, y’all who check out my FB page will have seen two pics of Ronan on Saturday, and Maura’s pic on Sunday. And hopefully, you’ll remember that I mentioned keeping his pic in mind when reading this snippet. So, my question is, do you agree with Maura? 😉

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Kitchen Witch Magic Dough

Posted on October 31, 2023 by Silver James

Happy Halloween! Today you get treats with no tricks. And no hawking of books. Our recipe is for all you kitchen witches and wizards out there. You can create some monster goodies with this bread dough. You can make buns. You can use it for pizza or calzone dough. You can use it for a variation on a pirogi-type stuffed bun. And the best part is that it’s pretty quick from start to finish. What you do with this dough is more for “intuitive” bakers but beginners can make it and use it, too.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Rest time: 25minutes
Bake time: 20 minutes
Yields: 12 buns (more or less)

Ingredients:
6 cups all purpose flour
1 cups warm water
1 cup warm milk
1 egg optional (more fluffy)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp yeast
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup olive or corn oil

How to make it:

  • Sift the flour.
  • In a large mixing bowl, pour warm water and milk, yeast, sugar and two and half cups of sifted flour. Combine well using the paddle beater. Don’t over mix. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 10 minutes.
  • Heat oven to 150F and turn it off when that temperature is reached
  • Uncover the bowl and add remaining flour, salt and oil and knead until elastic and non-sticky dough. Put a little oil on your hands and work the ball of dough away from the sides and bottom of the bowl, coating the dough with the oil on your hands. You don’t want the dough to stick to the bowl. Cover it again
  • Let dough proof in in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until it doubled in size. Take dough out.
  • After dough is removed from oven, preheat to 350F.
  • Punch down the dough to release the gas and shape it as desired.
  • Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. (I’d suggest using cooking sprat on parchment paper for easy clean-up

Tips:

  • Buns: Pinch off dough and make 12 balls. Stretch the dough to desired shape–round, sub, hoagie, etc. Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with cheese, herbs, whatever you desire.
  • Pizza: You can roll or hand toss dough to the size you want–1 large, 2 medium, 4 individual. Use whatever sauce and toppings appeal.
  • Calzone: I’d make four. Roll out dough to desired size. Put “toppings” on one half and fold the other half over to cover. Pinch edges together.
  • Stuffed buns: Sweet or savory. Meaty or veggie. Stir up your favorite stuffing. Shape the buns, put the good stuff in the middle and fold half over. You might want to let them rise for about 20 minutes to get super soft and puffy around the filling. Cover them with a light cloth if you do this.

There you have it. Mess around with it and have fun. Make some kitchen magic happen. As I mentioned above, not hawking any of my books or characters today though I will note that several who actually…you know…cook are making not of this recipe. LOL Since today is Halloween, I thought I’d ask you this: What’s your favorite Halloween movie and/or book? My movie is PRACTICAL MAGIC. I enjoy the book, too, but the movie just hits all the feels for me. I may have to check to see if some channel is streaming it this afternoon. Tonight is reserved for the World Serious! No tricking or treating for us tonight. It’s too blasted cold out! How about y’all?

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Monday Monsters

Posted on October 30, 2023 by Silver James

Happy Halloween Eve! And Happy Birthday to Only! She almost waited long enough to make her entrance to be our little Halloween Witch. As she won’t be embarrassed, I’ll also say that for years, she thought Halloween was all about her birthday. As a result, I have TUBS of Halloween decorations but now I’m too lazy to put them up.

In other news, good thing there was no soccer this weekend. Brrrr. 🥶 There was rain. Drizzle. And falling temps. Our high on Fridazy was 73, which occurred at about 3 a.m. When the blue norther blew through, our temps dropped steadily over the next hour into the low 50s and then into the 40s. Yesterday, we didn’t get out of the 30s, with windchills in the 20s, and more rain. We need the rain so no gritching there. And the hard freeze last night will help with the bugs though it mean putting out suet for some of the birds.

In sports news, the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks split the first two games in Texas. Sunday was a travel day and the third game is tonight. I don’t care who wins and I’m really happy to be watching some outstanding baseball. Fingers crossed the World Series goes the full seven games! 🤞🏼 In closer to home, sports news, my Cowboys from the real OSU won their homecoming game in excellent fashion. OU played a close game up in Kansas. The Jayhawks beat the Sooner by a touchdown. Bedlam is this coming Friday. OU vs. OSU. And since OU moves to the SEC next year, this will be the last Bedlam game. It ought to be a crazy game!

I finished listening to Kate Carlisle’s THE TWELVE BOOKS OF CHRISTMAS. If you enjoy cozy mysteries with romantic elements, I highly recommend her Brooklyn Wainwright Bibliophile series. I’m currently listening to Jayne Ann Krentz’s DREAM EYES, which is a book peripheral to her Arcane Society series. Once I finish it, I’m not sure what I’ll grab. I have holds on two books at the library–THE DEAD TAKE THE A TRAIN and THE STARLING HOUSE–but they looks to be 3-5 weeks away. There are a couple of books from my auto-buy authors out there but haven’t dropped in audio yet. Maybe I’ll just follow on with the Arcane series as it rolls into the Jayne Castle FutureRom books. That’s a term I just coined for paranormal romances that are technically science fiction because they happen in either the future or the very far future on a different planet but they don’t “read” like a true science fiction story. Anyway…

The Boston Wolves continue to take up my time though I do with they’d stop dragging me dow nthe occasional rabbit hole. Procrastinating is easy enough for me without their help! Still, new scenes, moving chapters forward, and the enhanced snippet for this Wednesday Words post got me an honorable mention in the flash fiction challenge I do every week.

That’s pretty much the new and round-up of the weekend. I’ll be bundling up to head to Wallyworld this morning. I did mention the hard freeze overnight, yeah? It’s still below freezing and the forecast is for a high of 43. At least it’s not that cold drizzly rain like yesterday. What’s the new from your neck of the woods?

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Friday Sinema: Talk to the Halloween Candy

Posted on October 27, 2023 by Silver James

Halloween is next Tuesday. Just in case you have haven’t grabbed your candy yet, here’s an “insiders” peek at what goes on after the trick-r-treating, a la Matt Mitchell of #ItsASouthernThing. Have a great weekend!

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Words

Posted on October 26, 2023 by Silver James

Thursday snuck up on me. Actually, I knew it was coming but yesterday afternoon, when I normally think about setting up the next day’s blog post, I was elbow deep in a rabbit hole grabbing for the time line. I think I got it untangled but I’ve made a note to myself to double-check that whole continuity thing when I reread the whole thing in preparation for edits and revisions. And during all that, I did manage some new words, which is the topic of today’s nudge from the Universe.

Your word, Silver, is one of the most powerful forces of nature.

Listen to yours to find out what you really think.

And speak them wisely to pave the path before you in gold.

So be it,
  The Universe
©www.tut.com

P.S. Remember, Silver, first there was the word, and ever since then… “just” more words.

The message today has two meanings for me. Growing up, my dad impressed on my brother and me that a person’s word is important. Giving your word–like making a promise–is something that shouldn’t be broken. Dad was old school. He did a lot of business on a handshake and very seldom got burned. In the second sense, as a writer, words are important to me. They tell my story (the what) and describe the who, the when, the where, the why, and the how. When I sit down to write a new book, I’m making a promise to my readers (and myself) to write the best book I’m capable of writing. To do that, I have to choose the right story and the right characters. I have to set those things in the right place at the right time. The things that happen and why they happen are just as important. Picking the right words is me keeping my word to all of you. If none of this makes sense, blame it on the time. It’s dark outside. It’s past my bed time and my brain is still circling that rabbit hole like a beagle on a hot scent. While I may never make a best seller list, I hope my words do pave the way to a good story in something that at least resembles gold. After all, we should occasionally follow the yellow brick road, right? Where’s your road leading you today?

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Wednesday Words: What’s Next?

Posted on October 25, 2023 by Silver James

It’s still raining. Yay! There’s something about rainy days that make me want to curl up and write a good book. Or listen to one. 😉 Today’s #ThursdayThreads prompt asks a very serious question. **“So what do I do next?”** This time last week, there were several of the ladies who could have–and probably should have asked that question about their relationships. As Mick and Shannon were on my mind, she got the call. And since I featured both of them last Saturday and Sunday on my FB author page, you can see why Mick is a doofus and Shannon is facing a decision. For context, I’m not sure how this crew ended up together for a “girl’s night in” but they did and as we all know, the conversaton turned to men and relationships. LOL

****

Shannon looked up when no one spoke. “So what do I do next?” 
Fiona looked at Bridget, who looked at Sophie. In turn, Sophie looked at Maura, who threw up her hands. “Don’t look at me. I’m no expert.” She recognized the incredulity on their faces. “I’m serious. I’ve never had more than a handful of dates with any one guy.” 

“But what about Ronan?” The other women all asked the same question simultaneously.  

“What about Ronan? We aren’t dating.” She rolled her eyes with an inelegant snort to emphasis her words. “We’re not even friends.” She held up a finger, glaring the four into silence. In her best courtroom summation voice, she launched into the internal debate she’d been having all evening. “Ronan is what a psychologist would call an alpha male. He is also a control freak.” And a criminal mastermind, but she didn’t speak that part aloud. “He appeared in my life, decided I belonged to him, and here I sit. I had no input and he did not ask my opinion or my permission to take over my life.” She focused on Shannon. “From my observations, Mick is Ronan’s mini-me. He also is, for all intents and purposes, an alpha male. If this was a wolf pack, he would be the beta male. As we all know, he is Ronan’s right hand, as well as his brother. He does not appear to be a man who cannot make up his mind.” 

That statement got a round of nods and murmuring agreement but Maura did not pick up on the telling glances passed between the other women. 

“Look, I don’t want to be brutal here, Shannon, because I know you think you love him, but if it were me? I’d walk away.” 

There it was. The stark truth staring Shannon in the eye.

****

What’s a girl to do? I’m not giving any hints away because there are scenes (some of which are not yet written) leading up to this scene that would be spoilers. *bwahaha* For some reason, Mick is the stubborn one in the bunch. All the other guys are quite happy to jump right in and take over their ladies’ lives. As Maura is learning, much to her chagrin. And Shannon is coming from a place of knowledge given hers is a Wolf family. Trust me, there are some awesome scenes with these two–some written, some just scribbled notes on the white board at present. Writers, take the prompt and run if it helps. Readers, what are you doing next? Me? I’m moving on to the next chapter. Happy Hump Day!

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Cowgirl’s Secret Santa Fe Soup

Posted on October 24, 2023 by Silver James

It’s still pretty warm around here but the weather gurus are promising rain, cooler temps and the possibility of a blue norther next week. Wouldn’t that be awesome?!?! I’m planning ahead with this recipe because hot and cheesey goodness that’s quick, easy, and filling. And yes, I do like me some hot soup.

Total Time: 1 Hr. (incl. refrigerating to marinate the chicken)
Prep Time: 30 Min.
Cook Time: 30 Min.

Serve up Santa Fe-style taste with this cilantro-spiked chicken fajita soup. Neufchatel and VELVEETA® make Santa Fe Chicken Fajita Soup nice and cheesy.

What You Need
1 pkg. (1.4 oz.) TACO BELL® Fajita Seasoning Mix
1/3 cup water
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
4 large cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 large red onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, cubed
8 oz. 2% Milk VELVEETA, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 cans (14.5 oz. each) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

Let’s Make It
1 – Combine seasoning mix and water in medium bowl. Add chicken; toss to evenly coat. Refrigerate 30 min.
2 – Cook garlic and cilantro in large nonstick saucepan on medium-high heat 1 min. Stir in chicken mixture, onions and peppers; cook 10 min. or until chicken is done, stirring frequently.
3 – Add Neufchatel, VELVEETA and broth; mix well. Cook on medium heat until Neufchatel and VELVEETA are completely melted and soup is heated through, stirring occasionally.

Kitchen Tips
Tip 1 – Serving Suggestion: Serve this hearty main-dish soup with a tossed leafy green salad.

Tip 2 – Special Extra: Garnish with additional chopped cilantro just before serving.

My Tip: I tend to buy my chicken and beef broth in giant economy sizes instead of canned so I just use my liquid cup measure to measure out the 14.5 oz. X 2, which is just over 3 1/2 cups.

My Food and Family is one of my go-to website when I’m looking for something diffrent to make. Click over if you want all the details and nutritional info on this soup. I’m not the only one who enjoys a hearty soup. As an ER nurse, Jolie Davis is a big fan of comfort food–especially the kind that can be made, saved, and reheated when she’s in a hurry. Luckily, Cord Barron and their son, CJ, both enjoy it too. Interesteed in this second chance romance? Well, guess what?!? The Kindle version is only $1.99 at Amazon. Grab it now for the cheap. If you already own a copy, why not reread it for old times sake. Click HERE to grab your copy from the ‘Zon. If you want to buy it from somewhere else, click on the pic with the cover or THE COWGIRL’S LITTLE SECRET. Those links take you to its Harlequin page where you can buy it direct or from one of the other retailers.

It’s finally starting to feel like soup weather around here. How about where you live?

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Message From Monday

Posted on October 23, 2023 by Silver James

Monday keeps messaging me that we’re going to be productive. Yeah. Right. Like I’m gonna believe anything Monday has to say–especially on a Monday. LOL Okay, in all seriousness. Once I’m back from my grocery run, I really need to stop falling down rabbit holes and get some actual work done. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

It was a good weekend for college football. THE OSU Cowboys beat West Virginia in a whale of a gam that went back and forth until the very end. There’s a reason we call them the Cardiac Cowboys. OU also won they’re game. In upset news, Utah beat USC. This makes me very happy. Not because I dislike USC necessarily but because I very firmly dislike their coach. There’s history. In baseball news, we’re enjoying the playoffs. We really don’t care who ends up in the World Serious (sic). We’re rooting for all four who are still in it and I’ve already laid in brats, hot links, and popcorn for the Series. Stormy had a soccer game on Sunday. I really am going to have to start appreciating soccer, I guess.

In reading news, I’m about done with the past and present of the Arcane Society books. I’ve enjoyed this jaunt down memory lane. I haven’t read these books since 2011 and 2012. I’ll start in on the future books later this week. THOSE books I’ve read several times. There’s just something about the Ghost Hunter/Harmony books that are my catnip.

I’ve added a new “feature” to my FB author page. Folks over there already know but many who read me hear aren’t over there. At least I don’t think y’all do. So, on Saturdays, I feature a somewhat “hot” pic of one of my heroes or a potential model for a hero. Since the current WIP has several heroes and therefore several heroines, I went searching for models for all of them just to help me out on descriptions and stuff. It occurred to me that my readers might enjoying seeing the ladies as well as my guys. Lately, I’ve been featuring the hero that appears in the next Wednesday Words snipppet so now, on Sundays, i’m posting pics of the models for the gals. And yes, as I did for the Penumbra Papers, there will be a character page with short bios and pics of the characters. That’s down the road. If you’re interested and are on Facebook, you can like and follow me HERE.

As for writing, last week was only semi-productive. Hoping to do better this week. Monday is making promises and there’s always caffeine, right? That’s also chapter two of my story. You know, the one I’m sticking to. 😉

Who did something exciting this past weekend? Who has their week planned out? Who’se ready for a nap? Or another cup of coffee? 🙋🏼‍♀️

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Friday Sinema: Turn Around

Posted on October 20, 2023 by Silver James

Okay, today’s LOL moment is sort of dedicated to a Texas friend who is dealing with the New Puppy Blues™. I hope this gives her–and all y’all–a giggle. And yeah, I totally laughed and I TOTALLY have the song stuck in my head now. Sorry, not sorry. Have an awesome weekend. I think we have a soccer tournament but I need to check the schedule.

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