May the Fourth be With You

Posted on July 4, 2022 by Silver James

To those here in the USA, Happy Birthday, America. My flag is flying though I am not too happy with the idiots shooting off fireworks until after midnight and starting up again at almost the butt crack of dawn today. People, you don’t need the freaking noise to celebrate. Besides, it’s as hot as a firecracker, even early in the morning. Better to sit inside under the AC and drink your beer while it’s still cold. Yeah?

Our neighbor two doors down was smokin’ yesterday and last night. Now I’m craving BBQ ribs. Just sayin’…

No Wallyworld today. Holiday. Everyone who forgot something will be there. I’ll wait until tomorrow, thank yoiu very much.

Guess what?!?! I actually revised three–count ’em 1 – 2 – THREEEEE–chapters on UNDER THE ASSASSIN’S MOON. Go me. Now to keep it up. I’m also making an effort to be more sociable and you know…actually respond to comments on social medis.

I finished up the Psy-Changling series, including the anthologies and short stories in multi-author anthologies. Sadly, there’s been a delay of almost a month on the new release so that means a delay on starting and finishing the follow-on Trinity series. I did see a review for a book that intrigued me but sadly, it isn’t available in audio. By the time I get off the computer, I can barely see the TV much less a printed page/ebook. Anyway, for those interested in light-hearted paranormal,you might check out A LITTLE TOO FAMILIAR by Lish McBride. There’s a witch/mage and a werewolf. I favorited it on Hoopla so I can find it again once I have adjustable eyesight again.

My Cards are driving me crazy. They do things like hit 4 (FOUR) back-to-back homeruns in the first inning, then lose the lead, then finally get it back and win by one. 🤦🏼‍♀️ Lately, when they win, it’s been big and they lose small, except for Satruday. Anyway, a win is a win, right?

Weird and odd thoughts:

Who in their right mind acquires an actual human skeleton and installs it in their home? (my thought during pisode of “Portals to Hell” with Jack Osbourne.

I hate the new KDP author’s dashboard. Hate. It. It’s depressing and hard to see much information at a glance.

Computer “pop” games are addictive.

So is watching compilation videos from The Voice.

Trust me, it really IS the humidity.

On that note, I will return your attention to your regularly scheduled lives. If you have sensitive pets, a veteran, or anyone else suffering PTSD, you understand my frustration with neighborhood fireworks. Save your money people and just go watch the community shows. Have a safe and sane holiday, US peeps. Have a safe and sane day, everybody else, too. It’s a crazy world out there.

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Friday Sinema: Southern Summer Camp

Posted on July 1, 2022 by Silver James

I just have two things to say: “It’s always chicken nuggets and French fries” and “Legos.” Also, been there, done that, still have the T-shirt. While technically, this is #SoTrueY’all it’s the same cast as #ItsASouthernThing so enjoy. Also, I want pickles now.

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Thursday Thoughts: Empty Head

Posted on June 30, 2022 by Silver James

Uhm…

Once again, I thought I’d set up a blog for today only to wake up to realize that I had, in fact, not done so. Yeah. As a result, I fear there is not enough coffee in the world today but I’m going to make an effort. Anyway, considering the state of the world, I leave you with something a little lighthearted to maybe make you smile. As for me, I’m hoping for all the things! Also, #ThisMadeMeLaugh…

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Wednesday Words: Say What?

Posted on June 29, 2022 by Silver James

Hey, look at me! I’m totally posting on time. (A day early, actually.) Go me! So, today’s mixed prompts are diverse. Which is a good thing. Makes one stretch the ol’ creativity muscles, yeah? Here’s the #1lineWed prompt, verbatim: MISINTERPRETED ‘Mute point.’ ‘One in the same.’ ‘Nip in the butt.’ (ie. MOOT point, One AND the same, Nip in the BUD. LOLOL). The #ThursdayThreads prompt is “He wants something.” Below is the scene the popped into being after I spent a great deal of time trying to find an “original” example of mishearing a phrase and giving up, used one of the examples, but given this scene? I think it works. Again, they’re still in the forest trekking through the Carpathian mountains on their way to Moldavia.
***
Meg huffed out a frustrated sigh as she lightly banged the back of her head against the tree she sat propped against. “He wants something.”

“He does.” Loch’s voice remained flat, his attention elsewhere.

Unable to give up, she pushed. “I’m not sure I can give it to him.”

“Why not?” The man still sounded bored.

“He’s so…so…” Meg shrugged when no words would come. How could she explain? Kin was intense. Fierce. Terrifyingly so. If she allowed, he’d overwhelm her. Take control of her. Never let her go.

Loch continued shaving small slivers off the piece of wood he held. His control of the combat knife he used fascinated her. When he didn’t speak, she added. “I don’t know what to do.”

They sat in silence for almost an hour before Loch stood. Meg glanced up at him. He handed her the small figure he’d carved—a wolf in a play bow. He walked away before she could respond.

Five minutes later, he located Kin. “Well, lad, you’ve gone and done it now.”

“Done what?”

“You’ve confused the poor girl enough. Ya better nip this in the butt, and soon.”

Kin growled. “I’m thinkin’ ya meant t’say nip it in the bud, for I’m fair certain ya wouldn’t be mentioning Meg’s very lovely ass t’me.”

“I meant what I said, man. Nip her in the butt. Mark her.”

“She has a choice in this.”

“Does she? Really?”

The penetrating look Loch pinned on him made Kin back up a step. He considered before speaking.

“The woman always has a choice.”

“Not when the bond is already there. I can all but smell it stretchin’ between the two o’ya. Go claim yer mate.”

Good advice that. Smart man, Kin decided. Just then, Duke announced the break was over. Time to hit the trail again. His claim would have to wait. He rounded up the kids he was in charge of that day and kept a wary eye on Meg as she did the same. He stood downwind of her and the acrid tang of an old-fashioned sulfur match lighting bit his nostrils. Well, she wasn’t the only one frustrated, though his was deeply rooted on the physical level.

Fate was a bloody bitch to throw his mate at him in the middle of a war zone while they were surrounded by a small herd of children. Nosy children. And that included his feckin’ teammates. They were all as bad as a mob of old biddies, all gossip and tut-tuts. Besides, he couldn’t just take her up against a tree. Or in a sleeping bag. He wanted to court her proper. Give her champagne and chocolates and silk sheets.

“Are you just going to stand there?”

He glanced down into brown eyes sparking with angry gold. Meg glowered another few seconds then pushed past him. He watched her stomp away, her hips doing the rumba in her cargo pants. He couldn’t help tilting his head to watch, fascinated.

“Loch’s right,” he said aloud. “I do need to bite that in the butt.”
****
There you have it. Writers, feel free to grab the prompts and run with one or both in your own WIPs, and feel free to share now or later. Readers, what phrase(s) have you misheard/misinterpreted?

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Tuesday…Seriously?

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Silver James

It’s Tuesday. I forgot to write a blog for today. Because yesterday was Monday. All day. And it’s primary vote day and the phones, and life and…here. Have a meme that I find totally apropos re: my current writing life.

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Monday Mehs

Posted on June 27, 2022 by Silver James

It was summer last week. I mean, like Neil Diamond “Hot Augut Night” summer. We had back-to-back heat advisories and energy emergencies. And then yesterday returned things to comfortable. Yay. We hit mid-80’s with low humidity and the forecast for today is about the same. FYI, I’m at Wallyworld early today. There’s less chance of having to interact with people–other than the few associates and brand stockers that Jake and I like.

The world is insane. LG and I are totally considering becoming hard core hermits. The crazies are out there and don’t you dare hold a different viewpoint.

I had fried catfish for dinner Saturday night. It was yummy! I LIKE catfish and it’s perfect for dinner on a hot night. I do wish that Golden Chick had hushpuppies, though. Ah well.

Trying to decided whether to buy a new laptop. I have a fairly early edition Macbook Air. I haven’t used it in at least a year because it’s memory is so small I can’t update it to whatever operating system number is current with Apple. I’ve also gotten spoiled by my desktop’s touch screen. I found a HP Pro-Book 360 touchscreen, Grade A refurbished for really cheap! I’m torn because I usually only use a laptop when traveling and I darn sure ain’t doin’ any of that lately (or in the past 3 years). Yes, there are times when it would be nice to move awsay from my office becaue…Boone. But…$$, even on the cheap. Still thinking about it. Book sales are taking a hit so there’s that too. I can buy a week’s worth of groceries or about 3 tanks of gas for the price. Still thinking.

Depression is a bitch and I let the world get to me last week. Hell, the last couple of months, truth be told. I need to get over myself.

Baseball was crazy this weekend. Weird plays, crazy scores.

I’ve mostly finished my marathon relisten of Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changling series–well, “cycle one” anyway. The first plot arc pretty much closes out at book #15 and she expands the series with her follow-on Trinity arc. New book releases in 30 days. I’ll be finished with ALL the books well before then if I push on through the 5 Psy-Changeling Trinity books. The next book that is dropping in a series I auto-buy arrives in 14 days. I recently did a marathon of two interelated series but stopped before moving into the spin-off but there’s only 2 previous books. That’s like…4 days worth of listening. 🙄 I do plan on hitting the 2 Psy-Changling anthologies before decided where to go next. I’ll probably grab a a couple of standalones to tide me over. Decisions, decisions.

In case you can’t tell, life is pretty boring these days, so long as I ignore the news and avoid people. FYI, I love the LG Zero Cord vacumm commercial. It uses one of my all-time fave songs–“In the Air Tonight” by Phill Collins. The scene from “Miami Vice” that made that song so iconic is my favorite 4 minutes of TV. Here. I’ll share becaues I’m all nice like that. You’re welcome. How’s your life?

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Friday Sinema: You Aren’t From Around Here…

Posted on June 24, 2022 by Silver James

So, I had a whole different video picked out but whoever uploaded it to Youtube said no sharing. So, since it’s that’ time of year and it so totally IS the humidity not the heat, here. The first day of summer (or Midsummer, which I’ve never figured out but whatever) was just Tuesday, I figured this was apropos… Stay cool!

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Dreaming

Posted on June 23, 2022 by Silver James

So. I’ve been having weird dreams lately. When I dream, I’m a fairly lucid dreamer who remembers the dream in good detail. Or at least I used to. Here lately? Weird dreams. Disjointed. With odd people. Odd places. Odd circumstances. And none of them long enough to really get a feel for whatever my brain is trying to get across to me.  As a result, I sort of wish the Universe was right on this one.

Silver, oh Silver… you’re dreaming-g-g-g.

Dreaming of lavender fields, turquoise seas, and emerald isles. Mountains that rise and fall, oceans that heave and sigh, and jungles that give and take.

You’ve dreamed up heaven and earth. All of the people and all of the places. What’s “good” and what’s not. What you like and what you don’t.

You’ve dreamed of me, and of yourself, and of things you no longer remember, yet they, too, carry on.

Yet as meticulous as you’ve been, there are some things, I dare say, that are too often forgotten, Silver: that you’re dreaming, that you’re free, and that the dreamer is always greater than their dream.

Z-z-z-z-z-z-z,
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®

Go on, Silver, look around you. Seems pretty real, doesn’t it? That’s how good you are.

I’d prefer to go back to the lucid dreaming. That’s were a lot of scenes for my books come from. The realer, the better. Wait. Is that even a word? Technical, I think it’s supposed to be more real but that messes up the rhythm. What about y’all? Do you dream vividly?. 

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Wednesday Words: Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

Posted on June 22, 2022 by Silver James

We’ve come to the mid-month Hump Day. Which means I had to tax my brain to come up with a new snippet. I fear the Twit folks who took over #1lineWed are running out of inspiration. Which happens. To all of us. On the other hand, #ThursdayThreads is still going strong. Today’s blened prompt is *AS A* and “We always could.” Here’s the scene that popped out using those two things as inspiration. Again, the scene doesn’t need a lot of explanation. Either I’m getting better, or I’m getting boring.
*I***
As a leaden sky dropped flakes of winter white, Meg leaned back against the man she’d tried so hard to resist. This was not the time. This was not the place. And this should not be the man. She’d grown up in her mother’s shadow. Alana North might be a fabulous actress but her taste in men ran to extremes. Six marriages, the first to Meg’s father, the very stiff-upper-lip British army officer. While Major General David Muir was stand-offish and cold, he was also a man who could be depended on. In her teens, she’d figured out that the poor man was baffled by a little girl who bounced from pink tutus and Hello Kitty to climbing trees and wanting a polo pony. She smiled at the memory. She’d turned out to be a pretty decent polo player, much to her father’s surprise.

Her five step-fathers included a drugged-out rocker and a movie mogul with many ex-wives, mistresses and a slew of messed-up kids. He was followed by a tortured-soul of a struggling actor, a Hollywood real estate czar, and the pool guy. She rolled mental eyes at the cliche and wondered how her own life had devolved into the same.

Frasier Kincaid. Enigma. Hot. Cold. Intense. Laid back. Man. Except he wasn’t. Not exactly. That’s what he’d said. “I’m not exactly human.” And she’d seen his wolf.

“What?” Kin’s question whispered across her ear.

“What what?” she countered.

“You are thinking so hard I can hear you in my head.”

“Oh.” She thought some more, decided he didn’t need to follow her down the rabbit hole of her early life. Instead, she picked a topic that she was curious about and figured she was entitled to some explanations.

“The change. How does it work?”

“It just does. My kind, we always could shift.” Which was a lie. Sometimes, having the gene wasn’t enough and a Wolf couldn’t shift. Sometimes they died trying. He’d been one of the lucky ones. A survivor. Until now. Without Meg, he wouldn’t survive.
****
And there you have it–a brief peek into Meg’s backstory. Progress. Writers, any words to share today? Readers, would you want to be a shifter? I’m kinda torn. Part of me could be a wolf. At least part of the time. I mean, I like my steak medium rare, but I’m too lazy to chase it down. 😉

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Solstice Style

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Silver James

Today is the summer solstice.. That’s the longest day in the year in the sense that thee is way more light than dark. I did a lot of research on solstices and equinoxes for the first book I sold to a publihes, and it was published not long after. So, today, we’re going back in time for our titles, in this case FAERIE FATE, FAERIE FIRE, FAERIE FOOL, and FAERIE FAITH. They’re all still available digitally and maybe in print because I think Wild Rose did POD, though it might take awhile to get a print copy.

I have to admit, I wrote FAERIE FIRE first. Only it wasn’t FAERIE FIRE. Nope. It was “Highlander” (the TV show with Adrian Paul playing the immortal Highlander.) I wrote a screenplay/;story about one of his previous loves being reincarnated and him having to protect her.  Then I heard publishers were looking for time travel romances again based on Karen Marie Monings continued success. So I came up with the idea of FAERIE FATE. And it occurred to me that I could convert the :fan fiction into an actual book with the hero sort of based on Duncan McLeod, though Duncan Ross was not immartal. He was sort of cursed by the Fae, though, to repeat his lifetimes until he found his true love. Then Abhean, the Fae Harper, takes things into his own hands and hurls Rebecca Miller back in time.

Both FIRE and FOOL carry on the theme of lovers reincarnating until they figure it out, get it right, and find their Happy Ever After. In the final novella, Abhean gets his when Mannan Mac Lir gets a little PO’d at the Harper’s interference and hurls him into the human world, as…*GASP* a human! On, noes! This is me doing a Muppet Flail. Anyway, those were fun books to write and while they aren’t the first I wrote (trust me, those won’t see the light of day), I’m pretty proud of them.  I’ve linked the covers and titles to the FAERIE REIGN page on my website. You can find buy links there if you’re interested in checking them out.

I also have to admit that I I tended to munch–a lot–while writing all of those books. I wrote most of FATE during my lunch breaks as I was working full-time back in those days. Wendy’s. Taco Bell. A Greek place that’s no longer in business. So that’s our treat today. Fast food. What’s your favorite fast food place?

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