Thursday Thoughts: Stick a Fork In It

Posted on May 26, 2022 by Silver James

A friend of mine was talking about which WIP to work on and why she’d switched from one to another. She mentioned reader input and then we discussed inspiration, because sometimes, to find the words, you need to listen to that nudge from your Muse and follow the inspiration. I’ll admit, I can be flighty when it comes to Works in Progress. This is why I love Scrivener as a writing “platform.” I can easly skip betwseen porjects, drop in a randopm scene, write myself a note, leave a link for further research, or spend some time writing–both intentional while following a plot thread and “free” writing, which is following that spark of an idea..

For every fork in the road, Silver, there are often two paths from which to choose: the one you “should” take and the one you want to take.

Take the second. Always take the second.

I did,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

Man, Silver, could life rock any more than it does?

FYI, I have notes and scenes for about ten different books*, in addition to scenes that are totally random and I have no clue who the characters are. See? I listen  and follow the inspiration because that’s the fort in the road I WANT to take. Even if the fork I SHOULD take is the one that leads to a project under deadline or one that’s close to being finished and I’m just ready to stick a fork in it and say I’m done. 😉 Speaking of being done, I’m just over halfway in the revisions for UNDER THE ASSASSIN’S MOON. If I can fight off distractions and nap attacks, I might actually finish that part of the process today. Tomorrow for sure. What have you “done” lately?

*I have no time or inclincanation because I already have too many series and ideas but a new one hit me last night: the Whiskey Bravo series. Four friends who are now doing…something. Their names? Jackson “Jack” Daniels, Evanston “Evan” Williams, John “Johnnie” Walker, and James “Jim” Beam. All I have to say is, “Iffy, go home. You’re drunk!”

Posted in Craft, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Wednesday Words: To Do a Bad Thing

Posted on May 25, 2022 by Silver James

Wednesdays are starting to roll around as fast as Mondays. I swear there is a conspiracy among the Time Lords. Where’s the Doctor when I need him? Yes, we all know that around here Hump Day means new words based on writing prompts. I sort of manage to connect the dots between the #1lineWed theme of **TO DO A_____(favor, 180, fill-in-the-blank…)** and the #ThursdayThreads prompt of: “That could be bad.” I’m still hanging out with the Hard Target team and some of these random scenes are starting to merge together, which is a good thing. I think y’all can figure this scene out.
****
The team perched on a ridge overlooking the river valley. Lines of people struggled across the curving bridge spanning the river. Some rode on carts drawn by all sorts of draft animals, including humans, but most were on foot. The river churned below the bridge. Roaring was a good description, Duke decided, since he could hear the noisy water all the way up here. A few trucks chugged up alongside the pedestrians. The vehicles were filled with crates, many with children perched on them. At each end of the bridge, a group of uniformed men guarded the passage. In the far distance, a column of tanks snaked along the road. Their progress was slow. Apparently, they were in no hurry to rush into the slaughter that would happen should they catch the civilians out in the open.

“That could be bad,” Dalton said.

“What was your first clue, Sherlock?” Tank shot back without taking his eyes from the binoculars he held.

“Thoughts?” Duke asked.

“We can’t bring it down all at once,” Tank said. “We don’t have enough explosives.” He studied the bridge again, tilting his head first one way and then another as he looked at it from all angles. Then he smiled. “We blow the first far side span first. The tanks on the bridge are dead meat that way. No retreat.” His smile grew broader. “Then we take out the span on this side. The middle should stand, which will help with rebuilding when the times comes.”

“Can we let some of the tanks get on this side?” Dalton, shading his eyes, counted the rumbling into view but glanced over to check Duke’s reaction.

Duke furrowed his brow at the younger man. “Why?”

“If we can take out the crews, then the Ukrainians can use the tanks. If we can’t, then the more we take out on our terms, the less the Russians will have to work with.”

A wolfish grin tweaked the corners of Kin’s mouth. “We have grenades for the ones we don’t want to keep. The Ukrainians have had good luck taking out tanks. The rest of us are also capable of doing the same.

“Good point. Okay. Let’s get down there and have a conversation.” Duke, staying low, headed, down the mountainside.

They were met by a tall man with rugged features and shaggy hair. He focused his attention on Duke.

“You are the American.”

Duke offered his hand. “We’re here to help.”

“Good.” He gestured toward the civilians with a sweep of his arm. “As you can see, we need all the help we can get.”

“Especially with Russian tanks coming up your ass end.” Tank was nothing if not blunt.

“Yes.”

“What is it you want us to do?” Duke asked.

“To do a favor for me so I can get back to fighting, I want you to airlift all these people to safety.” The man let out of huff of air that spoke volumes. “Now, ask me what it is you can do?”

The smile on Duke’s face didn’t reach his eyes. “ That one’s easy. Blow up the bridge.”

The Ukranian comander’s grin stretched every muscle in his face. “You are a soldier after my own heart.”
****
And there you have it. Kindred spirits. 😉 Writers, any snippets to share? Readers, fill in the blank on the prompt and let us know if you think doing it would be a bad thing. 😉

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tuesday Treats & Titles: What’s in a Name?

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Silver James

Or in this case, a title. First, a little good news, at least as far as I’m concerned. I’m about 1/4 of the way through revisions on UNDER THE ASSASSIN’S MOON. I have every intention of remaining diligent and getting it finished by the end of the week. Then I’ll double-check the formatting and my “final check list” and get all the books up to go live and/or pre-order. In the meantime, someone asked about how I come up with titles for my books. Now, that’s a process! 🤣 And it depends. Sometimes, I have full control over titles. Sometimes, a publisher wants final say. Oh, I can make usggestions, but other that COWGIRLS DON’T CRY, none of my Harlequin Desires come close. Which is fine.

See, it all comes down to branding. And marketing. That’s true for both publishing houses and self-publishing authors. Keeping titles “bunched” together makes it easier for readers to find and relate. Yeah? If you disagree, chime in! For me, the book titles in the various series in my Moonstruck world make sense. BLOOD MOON. BAD MOON. HUNTER’S MOON. Etc. Same with the Nightriders–NIGHT SHIFT, REMEMBER THE NIGHT, NIGHT MOVES. Etc. The titles for the books in the Penumber Papers are a mixed back. Some are song titles, some just sort of popped up.

Going back to the beginning of the first books I published, I actually wrote FAERIE FIRE first, then went back and wrote the first book in the series, FAERIE FATE. Then there was the 3rd book, FAERIE FOOL and finally, FAERIE FAITH. See the pattern there? They were pretty easy, given the stories in each one.

So, how do I pick a title for a book? I often keep a list of titles that fit the series–usually created by me sitting and staring out the window while doing word associations. Then, while writing the book, the plot and characters grow into a theme and I either find a title that fits, or I go back to the drawing board. I will admit that SEASON OF THE WITCH didn’t have a title until I was about 3/4s of the way through the writing process and then I heard the Donovan song and voila! THAT OL’ BLACK MAGIC started out with that as a working title. THE DEVIL’S CUT had three differen titles, all with the word devil in them. GHOSTS AND THE ANCIENT STONES? Man, that one took forever–to write the book AND to come up with a title. Hint: I “borrowed” the title from the lyrics to a song. For most of it’s existence, it was WHERE IN THE WORLD IS SADE MARQUIS.

I’ll also admit here that I have a random title file. I’ll hear a phrase, catch a song lyric, or get stabbed with some other inspiration and think to myself, “Self, write that down! It might be a title.” When inspiration hits, I’ve learned not to waste it.

So, that’s my inept attempt at blogging today. I totally need to get these for books ready and out there so I can go back to my regularly scheduled Tuesday Treats and Titles. Quick question: IF you are going to buy a revised copy of the book (and I totally get why you might not!), would you rather I space them out a week apart or release them all together? As mentioned previously, I currently plan to release them one a week for four weeks, the first one going live, the rest going up for pre-order. And now for the fun question of the day: What is the coolest, craziest, or most memorable title that still stickes with you? On that has stuck with me since the 70s: THE WARLOCK IN SPIRE OF HIMSELF by Christopher Staseff. And I’ve just discovered that it IS available from Audible. Yippee! FYI, yes, I loved this irreverent blend of starships and sorcery. I’m thinking popcorn for a treat while I listen to it. There ya go: Title and a treat, leave your suggestions.

Posted in Craft, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

May Your Monday Be Mundane

Posted on May 23, 2022 by Silver James

It’s just another Monday and I don’t have a whole lot to relate. I was a slug most of last week and over the weekend. Ah, well. It happens. I’m old. And sadly, I’m really starting to feel it both physically and mentally. It’s a little scary but hey, definitely beats the alternative, if you know what I mean.

Softball. There was a bunch of it! OU, as #1 in the nation, came through their regional with only one tiny scare–beating Texas A&M 3-2 in the early games. TA&M came back through the loser’s bracket and OU beat them by the biggest margin in NCAA Regional history. Ouch. TA&M is a good team. My #7 OSU Cowgirls also came through regionals without a hitch though there was a pitcher’s duel against North Texas University in the championship game. The Cowgirls won it 2-0 and move on to host Clemson at the super-regionals this coming weekend. OU hosts University of Central Florida.

In baseball news, the Cards had two totally crazy games–one against the Giants (last Sunday night) and one against the Pirates, yesterday.. In the Giants game, the Cards were so far ahead, the Gaints put in a position player to pitch. To save their own bullpen, the Cards asked for volunteers and Albert Pujols volunteered. It was historic to watch! Same thing yesterday. Cards were up 18-0 in the middle of the 9th. So, who volunteered to pitch? Yadier Molina, the All-Star and shoo-in Hall of Fame catcher, who was on the bench for this game. He gave up 2 home runs and two runs before he scored his 3rd out but he was having a ball. I got to see video. I didn’t get to watch the game because stupid MLB has decided to let YouTube, Apple TV, and Peacock have a slice of the pie. Apple is a pain because you have to sign up for the app but you get to watch the game free. YouTube is free. Peacock? NOT free. You had to sign up and pay their monthly fee. Forget that. Anyway, I got see at least one part of Cardinal and baseball history live. I’ll settle for watching Yadi in a clipped video showing his first pitch strike, followed by a home run. Ah well.

Our weather finally cooled off. Saturday was too cold to open windows but I opened them yesterday and there was just enough honeysuckle still blooming to scent my office. There are perks to living in the south.

Let’s not talk about writing, um-kay? (Refer to the first paragraph.)

I did listen to a lot of books, including the Night Prince series of 4 books by Jeaniene Frost set in her Night Huntress world. Vlad is on my Top Ten Book Boyfriend List. Just sayin’. And while I’d like to shake Laila from time to time, she adores the Prince of Vampires. You don’t have to read the Night Hundress books to get into this spin-off.

In other news, there’s nothing else going on. Lawyer Guy is probably going to stop in to visit with animal control this week to report the people down the street. Zeus (the husky) and the black pit bull have been loose off and on all week. They tore up one gate yesterday and the day before tried to tear up the other. It’s getting old. Maybe if they get fined, they’ll figure out some way to corral the two. I hate to be mean but they get into MY yard and freak out Boone and Jake. Not cool, peeps. Not cool at all. Luckily, LG got the new cat door installed in the garage so Pete and sometimes Shylock can get in. Not sure if Lucifer sneaks in or not but it’s a place where the dogs CAN’T get to them.

Stormageddon comes after school tomorrow and his last day is Wednesday. LG is picking him up at noon (half-day on the last day) and plans to take him to the grill at a nearby public golf course then they’re going to hit a bucket or two of balls at the driving range. They’ll have fun. I’m doing Wallyworld today. Not so much fun but necessary. It’s a scavenger hut to see what’s in stock and what’s not. But hey, according to TPTB*, this is all transitory and temporary. Yeah. Right. Thanks, Uncle Joe.

Okay, signing off before I climb on my soapbox. Hope y’all had a fun, productive, and/or good week and weekend and have the same this upcomiing week. More new words and revisions on my agenda. We’ll see what happens. Later, taters!

*The Powers That Be

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Friday Sinema: Rabbit Holes

Posted on May 20, 2022 by Silver James

Okay. So, yes, I’ve been chasing that white rabbit probably too much this week, but this is a trail I’m glad I followed. First, if you are familiar with Eurovision, raise your hand. I sort of am. I have an acquaintance who is hooked on it. It’s been around since 1956. Basically, each country submits an original song that best represents their country and then it’s performed with costumes and staging and all sorts of stuff. Evidently, it can get crazy. Hence, my not following that trail because I have enough distractions, thank you very much. That said, I did search YouTube for this video. Why? Because Ukraine won this year. And because the band slipped across the border into Poland to perform and once the show was over, they slipped back over the border to fight. Yeah, my nose is burning and I’m fighting tears. Anyway, cheers to Ukraine and her heroes! Have a great weekend. I’m chasing softball rabbits for the duration. What are you chasing?

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Thursday Thoughts: Universal Spook

Posted on May 19, 2022 by Silver James

When this message from the Big U crossed my monitor, it hit me two ways. First, because I often struggle with my writing, I tend to focus these tidbits of wisdom on that. And this one definitely fits. I’ve talked before about POV (Point OF View), and how difficult it is sometimes to decide whose should be prominent in a scene. Even when using a “cinematic” POV, I tend to have a lead character who observes/tells/opines the main thread, with other characters chiming in with their two cents worth. Sometimes, I know automatically who has the main POV. Sometimes, I have to figure it out by looking at things through both pairs of eyes. There are several authors who write scenes–and sometimes entire books–from the POV of the heroine and then the hero. Jeanne Frost recently released a version of her first Night Huntress series, HALWAY TO THE GRAVE, told in Cat’s POV, with a version of the very same events in Bones’s POV, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GRAVE. I find such exercises fascinating.

Sometimes, Silver, finally seeing things from someone else’s perspective can totally change your life.

Which, sometimes, explains exactly why they’re there.

Spooké,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

Like in the song, Silver, you know, “Spooky,” but it sounds like Spoo-kay.

And that’s the writing portion of today’s post. The other thought I had is a bit more…I don’t want to say political because my thoughts aren’t really about politics. It’s about civility and open-mindedness and communication. There’s too little of that in the world right now. Sadly, the side that touts how open and inclusive they are remain the most close-minded. They drown out any viewpoint but their own and often go to extremes to do so. I got caught up in one of those situations and it broke my heart. I had to walk away from something very near and dear to my heart. I can’t say more than that because I have both personal and professional ethics but it still hurts to this day. As I watch what is happening in the world today, I despair. And I realize even more how important it is to have a place to escape to, a place where people overcome the obstacles and who find their Happy Ever After. Yes, I’ve often said this is why I write romance. And it remains even truer today than ever.

Posted in Craft, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Wednesday Words: Double Shares

Posted on May 18, 2022 by Silver James

Once again, I’m doubling up on my share of writing this week. Twice the prompts, twice the words. That’s my new motton. Today, it’s **DOUBLE** (#1lineWed) and “I did my share.” (#ThursdayThreads) Warning, this scene is totally a first–and VERY rough–draft and totally needs a lot more work and a lont more details for it to make total sense but at the moment, I’m just happy to get new words down for CROSSFIRE while I’m also revising UNDER THE ASSASSIN’S MOON. Priorities, don’cha know. This scene takes place after last week’s scene. Sort of. Hopefully, you don’t get too lost and makes some semblance of sense.
****
Meg was on a mission. Kin avoided her all day and she was sick and tired of whatever stick he had up his arse. It wasn’t her fault she’d been stalked by a wolf and had to be rescued by Duke and Loch. So what if Kin wasn’t the run to ride in like a white knight? She didn’t make the duty roster. If he wanted to get pissy, he could take it up with Duke.

Luckily, they’d chased off the wolf rather than shooting him. Sighing deeply, she admitted that the animal was magnificent and yet he didn’t seem to be freaked out by humans. Curious that. In fact, he acted a lot like the wolves at the sanctuary where she’d been volunteering when the war broke out. So far as she was aware, that was on the only wolf sanctuary in Ukraine. Maybe he’d been part of a catch and release program? A dilemma for another day, she decided after giving Kin’s bedroll a kick. He’d probably volunteered for patrol duty again just to avoid her. Well, she’d put an end to that.

When no one was looking, she slipped out of camp and headed in the direction she’d last seen the maddening man. She was maybe a quarter of a mile from camp when she heard rustling in the bushes. Creeping along, she thought she’d managed to catch Kin. Then a branch snapped beneath her feet. Forgetting about stealth mode, she rushed into a small clearing—only to find Dalton and Loch standing there, their hands behind their backs.

She stared at Dalton before shifting her gaze to Loch for an equally long look. Neither man spoke. They weren’t stupid. When confronted by a woman with hands on her hips, pursed lips, and fire in her eyes, a smart man invoked the right to remain silent.

She finally rolled her eyes and grimaced. “You two are nothing but trouble.” She pivoted and headed back toward camp.

“Double the trouble, double the fun,” Dalton murmured as Meg marched away.

“You were supposed to distract her,” Loch said.

“Hey, I did my share.” Dalton dug through a bush and snagged the boots he’d stashed there. “Here. He’ll need these.” He held up the combat boots and scrunched up his nose. “Jeez. A little baking soda would help.”

Loch had squatted and was fishing out a pair of combat pants, a T-shirt, and other items. “Try sniffin’ yer own, surfer boy. Yers smell of spoilt onions.”

“Dude, seriously? Why the hell are you smellin’ my boots?” A low growl raised the hair on Dalton’s arms. He glanced toward a dark patch of shadow between two new-growth trees. “Oh hold your horses, dude. You should thank the gods that we came along when we did. Otherwise, you’d have been caught with your pants down and your fur on.”

The large silver wolf stalked onto the path. Dalton held up his hands and backed away. “Fine. Your feet don’t stink.”

A cleared throat froze men and wolf alike.

“Who is that?” Meg was back. And pointing at Kin’s wolf.
****
Writers, snippets to share? Readers, which is more fun, double trouble or doing your share? 😉

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Tuesday Titles: Play It Again, Sam

Posted on May 17, 2022 by Silver James

So. Due to cirucmstances and on account of becuase, I fell down a YouTube rabbit hole yesterday. Boone kept LG up most of the night and when he got me up at 4:45 (Boone, not LG), I just stayed up. After dealing with the outdoor critters, making coffee, and two potty breaks for Boone and a bark break for Jake, I got Boone settled under my desk. LG managed to fall asleep on the couch so I postponed my Wallyworld trip (I’m probably there as you read this) and settled in with coffee and my blog roll. I have certain blogs and sites that I visit when there are fresh posts. One of them was a cat video, which is how I ended up on YouTube. I really liked the underlying instrumental so I went to check if the poster had listed the music. Turns out it’s a song called “Hooky and Sloane” by Bird Creek and it’s part of the YouTube Audio Library. I have no clue what that means but I’ll be checking it out. Anyway, the next video that popped up was a compilation of The Voice blind auditions from around the world. Who knew The Voice is in like EVERY country!

Time to backtrack. I use music for inpisration. A lot. COWGIRLS DON’T CRY was written after listening to Reba McIntire’s song of the same title. All the books of my Penumbra Papers series has a soundtrack. I have a whole list of possibilities in a file and I carry a little notebook around to jot down songs and artists when they strike a chord. No pun intended.

So, to the present now. I’m watching this 2-hour long video of all these singers in all these countries. Surprisingly, there were quite a few from Ukraine. And I got to wondering. There was some female Ukrainian star (TV or movie, I think, not a singer but it’s been a while) who died in the bombing of Kyiv. So I wodered about the Ukrainian judges and the contestants and figure I’ll never really know until the war is over and there’s new vidoes uploaded that were filmed AFTER the war. But my brain went there. I think most of you know that CROSSFIRE, the current Hard Target WIP is set in Ukraine. The team and the kids they are rescuing have a few run ins with good guys and bad along the way. Well, one of the good guys is going to be a famous Ukrainian singer who is with a military unit. As an English teacher once told me, don’t ever let a good inspiration go to waste. And for your treat today, here’s the video that kicked my brain into gear. Do you listen to music when you read or write? Pssst I dare you not to fall down the same rabbit hole. 😉

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Flower Moon Monday

Posted on May 16, 2022 by Silver James

I’m always fascinated by moon names, for obvious reasons. Last night, most of the world got to see the Super Flower Blood Moon. Technically, that’s a total lunar eclipse during a “super” moon, which means the moon is closer than normal so it shows up bigger. Okay, so that wasn’t totally in technical terms, but whatever. Also, there’s some local history attached to the Flower Moon. There’s even a book, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, THE OSAGE MURDERS AND THE BIRTH OF THE FBI. There’s also a movie that, while based on the book, is highly fictionalized. Who stayed up to see the eclipse?

In other news, MY OSU COWGIRLS WON THE BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP! The Big 12 conference is weird. A team can win the “regular season” championship and they can also win the Tournament championship. OSU won the old Big 8 conference regular and tournament, one each, back in the mid-90s. This is their first Big 12. And they beat #1-rainked OU to do it. The Women’s College World Series selection show was only last night but at the time I actually wrote and pre-posted this, no regional or super-regional sites and brackets had been announced. 🤞🏼 that OSU gets both and gets a good bracket. They should since the were ranked #7RPI by the NCAA BEFORE they beat OU. We’ll see. [EDIT] Well, I’m disappoint. Other teams switched places ahead of OSU but OSU remained at #7. Grrr. No respect but we have a regional and I think a super-regional so it’s all good.

In other sports news, my Cardinals have been streaky but the last couple of games, their bats came alive so woohoo! I do love me some “boys of summer.”

I actually spent some time watching TV yesterday. The DVR was stacking up so I cleared some series off. I hadn’t watched “Portals to Hell” before, with Jack Osbourne. It was pretty interesting so I’ll keep taping it. I also caught up on some “To Catch a Smuggler” series–a mis of US-based and foreighn based police/customs and border patrols. Intersting stuff. I’m amazed at what people try to bring in or take out of the country.

I finished my marathon relisten of Jennifer Estep’s Crown of Shards/Gargoyle Queen series. LOVE these books, including the last one, TEAR DOWN THE THRONE. There should be one more book in this character arc and then I suspect at least one more trilogy focusing on another character. Sadly, these books tend to come out a year apart so that’s like…fou years. Ugh. I’m currently listening to Jeanine Frost’s THE OTHER HALF OF THE GRAVE. This is a retelling of the first book in her Night Huntress series, told through eyes of Bones, the heroine’s main squeeze. It’s been a few years since I read the series so it’s interesting to “see” things from Bones’s POV. Once I finish it, no idea what I’ll pick up.

In writing news, I finished updating and revising ASSASSIN’S MOON. YAYAYAYAYAY! It’s a relief. Still, the book was better than I remembered because…I’m a writer. We never think our books are all that good. Anyway, the Hard Target team makes cameos and there are expanded scenes and just over 3K new words. Next up is UNDER THE ASSASSIN’S MOON. Once it’s done–this week, hopefully–I’ll do a final formatting/backmatter check of all the books and then I’ll get them uploaed back to Amazon and Draft2Digital to go wide. I plan on setting them to release a week apart so anyone who wants to buy them doesn’t have to spend a chunk. They’ll be $2.99 so not a huge amoutn for each but yeah.

Not much else is going on. Today is Wallyworld day. There’s Starbucks at the end of the ordeal so thee’s that. No softball until the end of the week. There’s baseball, which is always good. I’ll come back to update this with OSU news, unless I fall asleep. Which is always a possibility. 🙄

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Friday Sinema: Summer Love

Posted on May 13, 2022 by Silver James

Happy Friday the 13th. We aren’t going to be supersitious today because I’m not really superstitious about Friday the 13th. But you can bet if I’m out walking with someone and we pass on opposite sides of a pole, I’m gonna say, “Bread and butter.” Instead, here’s this because we’ve hit temperatures in the mid-90s with lots of humidity (everyone in the South knows it’s not the heat, it’s the humity!), I have to admit that my AC is runningrunningrunning. And this It’s A Southern Thing video is once again dead perfect! Have a great weekend and stay cool!

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment