I discovered this song, artist, and video thanks to B.E. Yes, it’s going to be inspiration for a chapter in Ariel’s book. Have a great weekend. We have soccer. Maybe. Depends on the weather.
Sometimes, I wonder if blogging is worth the time and effort. Heck, sometimes, I wonder if social media is worth it. Yes, I’ve made friends that I’ve never seen in person and probably never will. Yes, I stay in touch with friends that I have met but we live far-flung lives. See, I’m basically an introvert. Oh, I can put myself out there. In fact, I’ve been an actress–but that was like writing. I put on somebody else’s “life” and pretended to be them for awhile. I’ve also been a fire chief and taken command of incidents. I guess it’s the two fish constantly circling each other and it depends on which is on top when the current stops. I’m a Pisces, you see. And no, I haven’t had much coffee yet, why do you ask? Anyway. The Universe hit me with this:
The only way to get what you really want is to know what you really want.
The only way to know what you really want is to know yourself.
The only way to know yourself is to be yourself.
And the only way to be yourself, Silver, is to listen to your heart.
I do,
The Universe
©www.tut.comP.S. French toast every now and then might help, too, Silver.
I wish there waqs a way to magically write books. I mean, like a dream up the story and book fairy plucks the words out of my imagination and with a sweep of her magic wand displays them on the monitor. There it is–the book whole cloth, in no need of revisions, timeline perfect, plot points in place, and character arcs guaranteed to make readers everywhere fall in love with the them and everyone wants to read it and Hollywood wants to make it into a movie and…and… Wait. What was the question? Okay, Big U. The message is there. I just need to figure it out. Maybe I’ll go fix some French toast for breatkfast…
Wednesday, Wednesday, so good to me…
Oh, wait. Right song, wrong day. I have words to share this lovely Wednesday morning. I was lucky enough to capture the honorable mention for last week’s Thursday Threads flash fiction challenge. The prompt is: *“You should get out sometime.”* This is the third week in a row the prompt fits nicely into the same extended scene. In this case, it’s the beginning of the scene.
****
As she stepped off the bus, the drizzle trailed chilly fingers across Aisling’s cheeks. She didn’t bother with her umbrella. It would do nothing to hinder the damp and with the wind kicking up, she’d just be battling one more thing on her way home. Having grown up in Seattle, Rochester’s sodden atmosphere didn’t hold a candle to weather she was used to.
The long block’s walk to Post House was made in semi-dark. She’d stayed late at the library. Again. Even after six months, there were nooks and crannies and vaults to be discovered.
There were times when she wanted to hunt down her predecessor and give that person a good rant. She made it up on the porch just as the front door opened. The Bees and Carla spilled out.
“Aisling!” Carla all but shouted her name. “Perfect. You’re just in time.”
Brad and Bruce nodded in unison. “Come with,” Bruce urged.
Aisling shook her head out of sheer reflex and took a step back away from the group.
Carla shook a finger at her. “Uh uh. We’ve talked about this. You should get out sometime. And guess what! This is sometime. We’re heading down to Cavanaugh’s.”
She couldn’t help herself. She asked, “The place across from the Daily Grind?”
“Yes. Ye old Irish pub and neighborhood watering hole.” Carla didn’t give her a chance, hooking her arm through Aisling’s. “C’mon. It’ll be fun.”
Pulled along, she wondered if those would be famous last words.
****
Y’all know the drill. Writers, do your thing, should you wish. Readers, have you ever been to an Irish pup? 🙋🏼♀️
…It must be time for tacos! Yesterday slipped away. I had two tech guys all over the utility pole in the backyard yesterday so interenet was hit and miss and then I wanted to try something different for dinner and…and…I totally blanked about doing a blog for today. And didn’t remember until just now. Come back tomorrow for words! Enjoy your tacos. 😉This pretty much sums up my mentality at the moment.👇🏼👇🏼
Also, it’s Veteran’s Day. Thank all those you know for their service and the sacrifices made by their families while they served. Thank you, Veterans! ❤️
Another few cups of coffee and I’ll be ready to mosey my way through Monday. Have you ever used the word mosey? Have you ever mosied? Is it just a Southern thing? I need more coffee.
First up, AT&T Tech is coming back out today. I’m a bit confused but I hope they aren’t. The tech guy who was here most of Wednesday did LOTS of things to the things. He switched out two hardware items–mysterious boxes that get things connected. He went to the branch box which is about a block and a half away to check our connecitons there. He cleaned those–and the whole box in general. He rewired the inside control box that does the fiber to cord switch, He discovered our outside box was literally hanging by a nail. He rewired inside it and attached it properly to the brick with masonry screws. Then he went up the ladder to the stuff out on the telephone pole. THAT’S when he decided to call in the crew that is coming today. At least, I hope it’s the outside crew. Inside Tech Guy put in a work order for Outside Tech Guy to come fix the stuff on the pole. Long story. We were one of the first neighborhoods to get AT&T fiber and we immediately switched to it and U-Verse rather than Cox Cable. (Do NOT get me started on them!) Anyway, that was a loooong time ago. There have been ice storms, wind storms, and storm storms with subsequent damage. The stuff that needs fixing out there was outside of Inside Guy’s box. So, the message from AT&T is that Tech is coming today between 8 and 10 a.m. But it sorta sounds like it might be another Inside Guy. Or something. I’m so confused. Anyway.
I managed to write some last week and over the weekend. I feel weird not knuckling down and forcing out at least 1700 words a day. This is November. But my brain just doesn’t want to cooperate.But I wrote! I finished off 2 chapter that I’d started and got stuck in. They are now complete. The plot is moving forward and solidifying. I think I know what’s going to happen in the end. I have new scene to write. Poor Sade’s entrance keeps getting pushed back. She started to appear in Chapter 7. Now it’s like chapter 10 and with this new scene, it’ll probably get bumped to chpater 11. Still, progress!
In other creative news, I played around with Microsoft’s Copilot image maker. I’ve played around with Grok (the beta program on X, not the downloaded one) and the results were never quite…right. I got a few good images from Grok but many that I just tossed. Remember the Halloween pics of the dogs and the cats? Those were Copilot. Anyway, I played around Sunday morning. I now have some fall graphics with the boys (dogs) and the boys.(cats). I also have their descriptions saved so I don’t have to go through that again. Granted Toby still needs a little tweeking but I’ve figured out how to upload an image so CP can get a visual. On a whim–and because his was the last scene I wrote on Saturday–I decided to play around with Nikos’s dragon form. CP nailed it! Then it offered to do a 3-panel image of Nikos morphing into his dragon. It’s pretty darn cool. And no, I’m not sharing any time soon. This book is supposed to be Ariel’s. Nikos will get his own.
In book news, I’m listening to Rhiannon Held’s Silver series, first book SILVER, second book TARNISHED, which I’m listening to now. The books came out in like 2012(?) or thereabouts and are a very interesting take on werewolf life and history. If you aren’t familiar, you might check them out. I actually read the books back then. Now they are out in the full cast version from Graphic Audio. That’s a yippee for me! I bought the first two but the series is available on Hoopla. I’ll be borrowing the other three books from Hoopla, book budget being what it is.
No soccer. No college football. All my teams had byes this week. Not much else went on so on that note, I weill return you to your regularly scheduled social media scrolling. I’m going to have another cup of coffee while waiting for Tech Two to arrive. Hope y’all had a great weekend!
Yes, I’m late. But hey, I’m here! I apologize for the quality of some of these videos but I think you’ll get the idea. WC Fields famously once said never work with kids or animals. Good thing advertisers didn’t get the message. Hope this gives you a laugh. Enjoy your weekend!
Today’s message from the Big U comes at a time when I’m finally getting some insights into one of the main characters. Aisling has turned out to be almost as big a PITA as Toby. Except she doesn’t chew up pillows. At least not yet. First, she fought me over her name. Then she balked about her entrance into the book. She informed me that she was just as important as Ariel and therefore…yada, yada. So then this message recently dropped into my inbox and things started to fall into place.
No one, Silver, can see into your heart.
Which is why you sometimes have to show them how you feel.
Winks & hugs –
The Universe
P.S. No one can see into your mind either, Silver, but then, your thoughts eventually become things.
Writers are said to put our hearts and our souls into our work. Which is true for the most part. In order to engage our readers, we have to give them a glimpse of our hearts. We have to show them how we feel about our characters. If we’re honest, we’ll admit that we even love the villians just a little bit. This is how we breath life into our characters and how we get our readers to care. I know that I, as a writer, want to connect with my readers and want them to connect with my characters–love them or hate them. It’s the PS that explains writing in a nutshell. Our thoughts eventually become things. Those things are words and sentences. Paragraphs. Chapters. And finally, a complete story meant to entertain, lead the reader on an adventure, to fall in love. Gotta show not tell. And then we all get the HEA. And no, I haven’t had much coffee this morning, why do you ask?
Here it is Wednesday again. This keeps happening every week. Kinda like Monday. But yay! Wednesday means words and I have new ones. In fact, I have lots of new ones. This whole “the internet might or might work but you definitely can’t watch TV thing seems to have helped me get up the hump if not over. I mean, it is Hump Day, right? I finished a chapter, figured out a continuity problem and fixed it, shuffled some chapters around, and got a little better handle on the whole book. Hopefully, the progress will continue. In the meantime, there was a Thursday Threads prompt and I used it: *”You’re not lonely?”* Once again, this week’s prompt played well with last week’s so this snippet is a bit of a follow-on to last weeks. There has been some editing and rewriting so the final outcome will be a tad diffferent.
****
“You’re not lonely?”
Aisling considered Carla’s question. She knew the definition of the word: sad because one has no friends or company. But wouldn’t one need to have had friends to know what their absence meant? She didn’t want to think about this and was relieved when the Bees finished their dart game.
Brad and Bruce dropped into their chairs, laughing as they grabbed their fresh ales. Aisling smiled at them. “Did you win?”
The men exchanged a look then burst into guffaws. Worried, she leaned away from them. Bruce, recognizing her discomfort, reached over to gently touch her arm. “Didn’t mean to be rude. You don’t really know us. Brad could be a professional dart player.”
“Except I like eating regularly and paying bills on time,” Brad said. “I’m a CPA. Bruce is an insurance agent.”
They both looked at her expectantly. The light bulb went off. “Oh! I’m…” She fidgeted with her glass. “Well…I’m a librarian.”
Brad grinned. “Like that TV series?”
She leaned away again, this time out of confusion rather than self-defense.
He explained. “It’s about this secret library that contains all sorts of magical items too dangerous to be out in public. The library recruits special humans to take care of things.”
She sat up a little straighter. “Oh! That sounds interesting, actually.” She felt her cheeks heat as she admitted, “I don’t watch much TV.” Her smile was tentative. “To me, all libraries are magical. I’m the special collections curator at the downtown library.”
****
I’m guessing Aisling will probably go binge watch the “The Librarians” now. And to be honest? I didn’t realize the similarity between her area of the Rochester Library with the sentient library in the series until I wrote the above. Ah well. Great minds and all that. Writers, write. Readers, read. Who wouldn’t want a magical library?
First off, we are having intermittant internet and TV disruptions. This started just after 8 a.m. yesterday. We have 3 TVs–the main in the family room, and one each in our bedroom and my office. It started with the picture freezing and then weirdness followed by a message that our U-verse “could not be found.” Poor LG spent 3 hours with a very nice customer service tech. She ran every test possible and finally concluded that our equipment was (like us) old. Sadly, the quickest they can get an actual service tech out to replace all the various boxes, bells, and whistles will be Wednesday morning. What’s really weird is that the big TV in the front room seems to be working fine. Our phones are fine. It’s just the computers and the two TVs. Anyway, I’ll be in and out of contact until sometime Wednesday. Hopefully, the blog will post. We’ll see. Now, to today’s goodies!
Warning: I have not made these but they looked cute and sound tasty for any sort of Autumn party, gathering or for Thanksgiving. You know, in case you’re feeling adventurous and creative. They appear a bit time-consuming but I bet they are pretty tasty and they are definitely cute. I have no character stepping up to make these so I’m featuring the entire Penumbra Papers series because…well…they remind me of Fall.
Start by draining the excess liquid from the pumpkin puree. Place the puree on multiple layers of paper towels, gently pressing down with another set of paper towels. Allow it to sit for a few minutes, then remove the towels. This step is essential! Too much moisture can make the filling soggy.
Preheat your oven to 375°F. While waiting, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside. Getting this ready saves time once you start assembling your crescent pumpkins.
In a mixing bowl, combine the drained pumpkin puree with the egg yolk, light-brown sugar, granulated sugar, corn starch, and spices. Stir the mixture just until combined, then set it aside. The aroma will start to fill your kitchen, and you’ll know it’s going to be good!
In a separate bowl, mix the softened cream cheese with sugar and vanilla extract until just combined. This simple yet creamy filling complements the pumpkin perfectly. Set this aside while you work on the next steps.
Now it’s time to unleash the crescent dough! Unroll the crescent roll dough and separate it into four rectangles. Seal the perforations between the triangles and cut each rectangle in half, yielding eight squares. This is where your crescents start to take shape.
Take a square of dough in your palm, gently stretch it, and drop one heaping tablespoon of cream cheese filling in the center. Follow this with one tablespoon of pumpkin filling. Fold the corners of the dough over the filling, pinch to seal all sides, and roll it gently in your palms to form a ball. This step is quite fun, and you’ll find yourself grinning at each mini pumpkin you create.
Arrange the formed balls on the lined baking sheet with the sealed side down. This helps them keep their shape in the oven.
Take a long piece of kitchen twine and wrap each dough ball, creating eight sections around each ball. They will bake with the string attached, helping to create that adorable pumpkin shape you’re after.
Bake the crescent pumpkins for 18-22 minutes at 375°F, or until they achieve a beautiful golden-brown color. You’ll know they’re done when your kitchen fills with a warm, inviting aroma.
Once baked and cooled, cut the string with small scissors. Gently peel it away from the dough, and insert a pretzel stick into the top of each pumpkin for a whimsical touch. These finishing touches take your celebration to the next level!
Serve these delightful crescent pumpkins warm or at room temperature. They pair beautifully with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of caramel sauce for an extra-special treat. You might even want to create a cozy dessert bar with toppings and sauces for everyone to enjoy!
You regulars know to just click on the pic to find your way to Books2Read and the landing page for the series. Once there, you can–hopefully–find your favorite on-line bookseller. If y’all try these, let me know. I want to know if they are as cute and tasty in real life as they look the picture.
Hello, Monday. Hello, November. Hello, Standard Time. Goodbye, DST. Don’t let the door hit you on the way. May this be the final time we change the clocks!
Did everyone enjoy their extra hour of sleep? I certainly did. And I drank (and am drinking) my morning coffee while the sky turns pretty colors as it gets light. Normally, I’m on my 2nd or 3rd cup before I see daylight.
There was soccer over the weekend. We didn’t make the Saturday game–LG had siren test at the same time as the game…match…whatever it’s called. Reports say Stormy played well in the 3-3 tie. We made the game Sunday afternoon. Stormy again played well, averting a couple of goal attempts (he’s a defender) and stealing the ball and passing it upfield to his midfielders and strikers. Or whatever. Anyway, they won 6-1. Yay. The weather was really nice both days–highs in the 60s with a north wind on Saturday and a south wind on Sunday.
In other sports news, how ’bout that World Serious! I mean that was some SERIOUS baseball right there. Every game. All 7 of them. Records set. Amazing defensive plays. Walk-offs. Extra innings. It was everything a baseball lover could ask for. Sadly, I kept falling asleep during those extra innings. My OSU Cowboys lost (this is another lost season for them for…reasons) and OU won.
I wrote a little bit. It feels weird that this is the 3rd of November and I’m not madly dashing off words for NaNoWriMo. This is the first time since like…2006? Or maybe 2007. I don’t remember exactly my first year. It was a loooong time ago. All good things come to an end, I suppose. I have reasons for nort participating and while my current writing lethargy is a problem, it is not a contributing factor to my decision. Maybe today will be the day I get back in the groove. I did write a little last week and over the weekend so there was progress made. I’m really pissing myself off because Ariel and his story deserve my all. And it’s a better story than I’m giving it credit for in my head. Argh.
I need to get out of my book slump. If I can find a book that grabs me while I’m listening to it, that might get me out of my writing doldrums. I’m a little ahead on my yearly challenge but if I don’t get back into that habit too…well. I suck. Whatever.
Well…okay. I’ve been sitting here staring at the screen and other than being perturbed with FB, I really don’t have much else to say. So, I’ll say get along little doggies, get your week started. Me too. Did anyone have any Halloween shenanigans? Or any fun stuff over the weekend? Good books you’re reading? Good books you’re writing? Drop a comment. I’m nosy!
NEW RELEASE
NEW RELEASE
NOW AVAILABLE
Silver James 