Wednesday Words: Fish or Cut Bait

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Silver James

And here we go with our first #1linWed prompt of 2022. Whoppee! Up north, it’s cold enough to go ice fishing. Down south, there are fish to fry. Back east there are some big fish, or least they think they are. Out to the west, especially in Hollywood, they fish for compliments. Have I offeneded everyone? Whatever. Idioms, people. It’s all about the idioms. Now, where was I? Oh, yeah. Our first THEME of the year is **FISH**. In today’s snippet from the Boston Wolves, Mick needs to fish or cut bait before Shannon goes after other fish in the sea…
****
“What’s up with you and Mick?” Fiona asked. She sat cross-legged o the floor, her back leaning against Maura’s chair.

“Yes,” Maura agreed. “What’s going on there?”

Shannon chugged a long drink from the bottle of beer in her hand. “I’ve no clue what you’re talking about. Mick runs Clancy’s. I work there. That’s it.”

Bridget had just taken a drink from her lass of wine and snorted some through her nose. She hasitly grabbed a napkin and wiped her face and the front of her sweater. “That’s it? The hell you say.”

Another sigh huffed from between Shannon’s lips. “You tell me.”

Fiona rolled her eyes and uttered an exaggerated snort. “He stares at you when you’re workin’ at Clancy’s. Constantly.”

“And he flirts,” Bridget added. “I’ve seen him. Granted, he’s subtle but the flirt is there.”

“You can’t prove any of that by me. Jeez, I’ve tried, but anytime I suggest gettin’…well…together, he shuts me down. Cold. Like walks away and ignores more for days.” Shannon swallowed some beer. “And, yeah, I’ve seen him flirt with lots of girls. And despite what you all think you see when it comes to him an’ me, a girl knows when she’s not wanted. Trust me on that.” She stared at the women sitting around her. “It doesn’t matter. I won’t sweat the small stuff.”

That declaration was greeted with snickers. “Small stuff? Is there anything small about these guys?” Bridget asked, batting her lashes and making a kissy face..

“Like I would know,” Shannon groused.

Fiona peered at her. “And why would ya not? Bowie does nothing small. He’s…insistent that I’m his. I mean, Mick O’Connor is a big boss. You’d think he’d be right on top of things.” She grinned, pink coloring her fair skin, causing her freckles to glow. “Bowie certainly is. On top of things.”

“Shush, Fee. That’s m’brother you’re goin’ on about,” Shannon ordered. “It’s bad enough we live in the same apartment. I don’t need t’know what the devil m’baby brother is up to.”

Fiona’s grin turned cheeky. “He’s up to mmphhmmph.” Shannon smushed her palm against Fiona’s mouth.

Chugging the rest of her beer, Shannon pushed off the couch. “Well, I’ve had enough waitin’ around. Big or small, if Mick O’Connor is too dense to get the message that I’m interested in goin’ the next step with him, then he’s not man enough for me. I’m tired of bein’ celibate and there are other fish in the sea.”

“What about Brendan?” Bridget asked, smirking.

“Ewww. M’brother’s bestie? No.” She gave an exaggerated full-body shudder. “Just…no.”

The sound of what could only be a masculine throat clearing tugged all the women’s eyes to the doorway. Mick O’Connor himself stood there, stony-faced and glowering. His gaze flicked across all of them before coming to a stop on the one with black hair. He pinned Shannon in place with the force of his stare.

She blanched. “Oops.”

“Come with me.” Mick’s voice left her no choice.
****
There you have it. What do you think Mick is gonna do? Yeah, me too.😉 So, writers, do you have any fish in your WIP? And readers, tough question today. What’s your favorite fish? Mine’s a toss up between lobster and crab. What do I have in my house? Canned tuna. What can I say?

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Tuesday Treats & Titles: Bacon Crack Candy

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Silver James

I don’t have a picture of this particular treat to share. Frankly, I haven’t made it. Yet. And the batch I scarfed down was a treat from a friend. And yeah, I didn’t stop eating long enough to think about taking a pic to use. I suspect there’s a few of you out there who want to try this if you don’t already have a recipe in your box. It’s got to totally be a Southern thing but also a hit for anyone who likes bacon!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 16-inch x 111-inch tray yields apprximately 40 pieces

Ingredients
1 1/2 sleeves saltine crackers
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 lb Bacon

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a greased or sprayed rimmed baking sheet (16″ x 11″) and cover with foil or parchment so it also comes up the sides.

2. Chop the bacon into bits and cook in a pan until crispy. Drain on some kitchen paper, pat down to remove as much grease as possible, then set aside.

3. Put down a single layer of crackers to cover the pan

4. In a saucepan, add the sugar and butter and heat until it has all melted and begins to boil. Be careful because this mixture is HOT. Give it a stir and when the syrup is boiling, continue to boil for 3 full minutes.

5. After 3 minutes, pour the mixture, CAREFULLY (It is hot remember!) over the crackers and place in the oven for 5 minutes.

6. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the bacon all over. Allow to completely cool then break in to pieces.

I have no tips though I’ve heard a rumor that there’s a version with melted chocolate chips,* for those of you who are adventurous. Me? I’m just happy with the sweet and the bacon. I’m not the only one. Celina Monaghan is a Texas girl and EMT. You can bet every time she walked in with a box of this, her ambulance crew thought she was the bomb. Now, after mistaken identities, a harrowing experience involving a Blood Moon, and other mayhem, she jonly whips some up for her mate, Rhys Kendric. You can explore their story in BLOOD & FIRE, a Moonstruck Wolf novel. This book is currently going wide and is available (or will be soon!) at a variety of online booksellers. You can find your favorite store by clicking on Books2Read, the title or either cover pic. What about y’all? Are you bacon fans?

*Okay, I KNOW there is a version that’s chocolate and pecans (I have that recipe too because this stuff really is crack) and it’s the bomb. But I’m tellin’ ya, the bacon version is pretty darn tasty! Can you say Superbowl snack?

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

2022’s First Monday

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Silver James

I almost feel like there should be a fanfare of trumpets and beat of drurms. Or something. Maybe not. Monday is just Monday afterall. So. New year, new month, new week, new day. I should feel all productive and raring to go. Or something. I’ll work on that, after another cup of coffee. Baby, it’s cold outside and I just want to curl up with a good book and snooze. However, new new new so…whatever. Coffee, don’t fail me now. So much for my word for the year. I used to do that. A lot. Pick a word as my theme for the year. I got out of the practice a few years ago. Then someone reminded me and I said to myself, “Self, we should do that. Good idea, right?” And it came to me. Balance. I need balance in my life. And I mean that in every sense of the word–physical balance, life/work balance, procrastination/productivitiy… Basically, every corner of my world needs some balance. Does this mean I made resolutions? Oh to the hell no. Did I set goals? Not really. That said, I have some hopes for the coming year that I’ll discuss as we go along. If I remember. Heck, maybe I should order some of that Prevergin (or whatever–also spelling) they advertise on TV. Or that sleep thing. Both would help. Moving on.

Does anyone else find the week between Christmas and New Year’s to be…weird? Like you should be both introspective and proactive, reflecting on the past year and predicting the coming one. Me? I just procrastinate and try to figure out what needs to get done before the calendar flips over and what I can put off until it does. I also stare at the new calendars I got for Christmas and try to decide when I should actually put them up. I waited until Jan. 1.

Writing. I did a little. Very little. Mostly, I edited and updated two books–MIDNIGHT CAFE and BLOOD & FIRE–and got them uploaded to D2D. I also added some updates to the website with the new links as both books are going wide. I have five more books coming up this month. Speaking of writing, I’m hoping to get out of my rut. I’d dearly love to complete a book in each of my series. I figure fans of each one will be happier with me if I do. I wonder if there’s something I can take to boost my creativitiy? Besides coffee, I mean. Anyway, Nightriders, Penumbra Papers, Moonstruck Wolf (which will be the Boston Wolves), Hard Target, Red Dirt Royalty, and the Christmas story/maybe the novel in the new anthology series with other authors. That’s 6 books. That’s a book every two months. I used to write a book a month, or close to that. Then I got old and procrastination moved in and made itself at home. We’ll see what happens. I need that balance between lethargy and creativity and I need to balance out the series with new releases. Heck, I’d love to throw the Cajun Wolves in there, but that’s probably pushing it.

On the homefront, I want to finish decluttering my office. I’m making a little progress but I desparately need some organizaiton in here, and in my life. At least half the stuff in here belongs to Only. This was her room before she married and moved out. Thing is, they don’t room eithe. So, I’ll box it up for her to take a box home to sort. Hopefully. I have a floorplan in my head but the execution is complicated. This has to move there so I can move that to this’s spot, but another thing has to be cleared and shuffled around before this can move. See? Complicated. Small bites, as a friend likes to remind me. This where that some of that balance comes in–balancing sitting at my computer working (or playing mindless games) and beling lazy or getting up and sorting through shitstuff. That gets me up and moving, getttin on a two-step ladder to reach a high shelf, and improving my physical balance by climing, bending, reaching, etc. See what I did there?

Speaking of decluttering, I DID clear out three shelves in my built-in clothes pantry. The closet is next. I’ve got stuff in there I haven’t worn for at least 10 years. Why the fuckfrack am I keeping it? I doubt much of the stuff shoved to the back even fits anymore. And again, that whole balance thing–mentally and physically. I will not talk about a balanced diet. Nope. Moving on.

In other news, my OSU Cowboys beat Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl! Pistols firing! I have no fingernails left because the Cardiac Cowboys were riding the range on Saturday. Argh! But they came back and then held on. OU also won, beating Oregon. College football is mostly over now. There’s one last bowl game tomorrow night, Kansas State against LSU and then I guess Georgia and Alabama square off in the national championship game on the 10th. *yawn*

I did cook for New Year’s. I fixed a brisket, my home-made BBQ sauce, baked beans, deviled eggs, and I thawed the extra pan of rolls I made for Christmas. All was yummy. I haven’t done brisket in a loooong time. The pan is still soaking in the sink. I’ll get around to scrubbing it. One of these days. 😉

I’m in a real reading slump and it’s killing me. I spent literally hours going though the list of paranormal romances on Audible. I found a couple I thought might hold my attention. I didn’t feel confident to spend the money to buy them. I’m cheap when it comes to new-to-me authors and/or book/series. I don’t want to be that customer–you know, the one who buys the book, reads it, is bored, and returns it. I do that a lot, which is why Audible Plus, my library and Hoopla are all friends of mine. Any suggestions?

Nothing new on TV. I do enjoy THE OSBORNES WANT TO BELIEVE and FRIGHT CLUB on the Travel Channel. Listening to Sharon and Ozzy makes me giggle. Poor Jack. Jack Osborne is also on FC, with the Ghost Brothers, 3 black dudes from Texas(?) who are paranormal investigators and made of all kinds of awesome. They share clips of the paranormal and try to freak each other out. Fun times. Yes, I am warped. Shut up.

So, that’s it for this first Monday of the first week of 2022. Let’s just hope that this year isn’t all “2020, too.” (Say it out loud and you’ll get it if you don’t have it already.) Do you have goals for the year? Wishes? Aspiratitions? Do you have a word of the year? Share!

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Friday Sinema: Christmassy New Year’s Eve

Posted on December 31, 2021 by Silver James

Happy New Year’s Eve! If you get out and about, celebrate wisely. Designated driver or ride share, people! Just sayin’. In the meantime, I didn’t see this video until after Christmas and it made me giggle a little. Plus, Blake Shelton* in if tux? What’s not to like? Also, stick around for the “outtakes” at the end. Just sayin’! See y’all next year.

*This was filmed 3 years before Blake and Gwen tied the knot this summer.

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

Thursday Thoughts: Universal Present

Posted on December 30, 2021 by Silver James

2021 is quickly drawing to a close. I’m not making plans for 2022. Not until I see what it brings, at least. That might sound rather negative but hey…2021 was supposed to be all “Yay! 2020 is over! 2021 is gonna be great!” Yeah. Right. I saw a meme the other day that said “I just realized that 2022 is pronounced 2020 too.” With that in mind, I’m not truly in a bad headspace. I’m really not. Promise. By the end of January, all of my books will be in wide distribution. (That’s over 50, people! FIFTY!) Not resting on those laurels, though. I have more books in me. And without making promises, I do see better writing days ahead. Anyway, when this message from the Universe popped up in my inbox, the lightbulb went on.

Silver, all that you need, to have all that you want, lies inside of you, right now.

Everything,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

Silver, what a package.

I’m not sure about that last bit. What you see is pretty much what you get with me. The rest of the message? Totally. I get it. The power to be me lies inside. The power to become what and who I want to be, to do and go where I want. My happiness is up to me. My success is up to me. I just have one thing to say back to the Universe. I got this! Because I do. Or will. I’m a work in progress and 2022 is a new year to build. I can add to my foundation. I create new. I can do and be and laugh and cry and love and yeah, I can even get angry. Damn but it’s good to be alive. Life belongs to me and I’m going back to living it to the fullest, despite…stuff.* So Happy New Year, my friends. Be all you can be–or want to be. It’s all right there inside you for you to do what you want.

*I try to stay apolitical here but it gets harder and harder.

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

Wednesday Words: Fly, You Fools!

Posted on December 29, 2021 by Silver James

Ten points if you get the title reference for today’s #1lineWed THEME. Will you fly south? Fly like the wind?  Are you a fly on the wall? Can you guess the prompt? Why yes, it’s **FLY**.Hey, I’ve been updated and uploading books. Give me a break. I did find a scene that works with the theme from the Boston Wolves. Sean Sullivan rescued a young woman. This is what happens later…
****
Sean had to be out of his mind. People milled about the place and some warm-up band played on the stage. He glanced down at Bridget. Her face still showed the bruises McCarthy had put there. The gobshite was dead and she wasn’t and that was the whole reason they were here in this crowd.

A concert. Her eyes lit up when she’d heard that Dropkick Murphy was playing here at the Pavilion. And he had the clout to get tickets so he had. Without a thought. Now he wanted to drop-kick himself.

Bridget took his hand and squeezed it. “Oh, Sean,” she breathed and he felt her excitement all the way to his toes. She wasn’t one for talking and he was still—over a week later—trying to drag the details out of her. Finding her in McCarthy’s back room, beat all to hell and back, had done something to him. Then McCarthy’s goons tried to shoot him. Which was why old man McCarthy and all his goons were dead. He took Bridget with him and she hadn’t said a word. Not for a few days. Not a feckin’ peep. The chit was about to drive him batty when she finally said, “Bridget.” That and nothing more.

“What?” he’d responded, shocked at the sound of her voice.

“My name,” she’d said.

And then she’d not said another word until he caught her dancing a jig and singing along with the radio—if a body would call it that—I’m Shipping Up to Boston. She didn’t know he was watching and when the radio announced the concert, her face went all soft and sad. So he wangled the tickets and here they were.

The warm-up band finished and he led Bridget closer to the fence that separated the stage from the crowed. It was a writhing mass but he’d sent a few of the boys in early. And there they were, front and center. He shoved through the mass of bodies, and none too gently, keeping a firm grip on Bridget’s hand as he tugged her along hin his wake. When they got to the fence, the boys surrounded the two of them to give them breathing room. At least until the band came out and started playing. He had to nudge Bridie and remind her to breathe.

When they played her favorite song, she jumped up and down until he hoisted her up onto his shoulders. She spread her arms wide, threw back her head, and screamed the words of the song along with almost everyone else in the audience. When she finally slid down off his shoulders, Bridget turned into his arms. “I always wished I could fly,” she told him. “With you, I can.”

She still had stars in her eyes after the last encore. Him? He figured he’d be deaf for a few years at the very least but seeing the joy on her face? Nothing else mattered. It was all worth it.
***
There you have it. Sean had no clue he was a romantic at heart. 😉 Writers, do you want to fly along with some words? Readers, when’s the last time you felt like flying?

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

Tuesday Treats & Titles: Chickasaw Grape Dumplings

Posted on December 28, 2021 by Silver James

This year is fading into the New Year. It’s a time to look back while making plans for the future. There comfort in tradttions and this recipe is an old one handed down generation to generation. Grape dumplings were traditionally made from the wild “possum grapes” that hung from vines on trees throughout the Chickasaw Homeland of Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee. This traditional Chickasaw dish continues to be favored by many.

GRAPE DUMPLINGS RECIPE
Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg
1¼ cups water
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
64 ounces grape juice
Sugar to taste

Let’s Make It

Place flour in a bowl. Make a well in center of flour and crack an egg into center. Using your fingers, begin mixing the egg into the flour and add water as you go. Form the dough into a ball and roll out very thin. Cut into 1-inch squares.

In a large pot place grape juice and sugar to taste. Bring to a rolling boil. Drop dumplings into boiling grape juice. Mix 1 Tablespoon cornstarch in 1 cup water. Add to hot grape juice. Cook for a few minutes so it thickens a bit and serve hot.

Kitchen Tip:

There are two different versions I’ve seen. One uses water for the dough. They other uses grape juice. Next time I make them I’ll be trying it with the juice!

Serve warm in a bowl. You can top with whipped cream or ice cream or just eat them plain.

There’s a video of how to make these on Chickasaw-TV. THIS VERSION uses grape juice to make the actual dumplings. You should check out the video just to hear the wonderful reminiscenses by the tribal elder. She’s all kinds of awesome! Since this is a tradtional Chickasaw recipe (though most of the Five Civilized tribes have their own versions), y’all know I got this recipe from Amy Rouse, the heroine of BRIDE’S MOON. Amy’s crush on Joshua Harjo was a deeply-held secret. His crush on her was an even bigger secret. Good thing Harjo’s grandfather Atosi could read between the lines. If you want to read their story–including a road trip, kidnapping and amnesia!–grab a copy of BRIDE’S MOON from your favorite online book seller. It should be wide almost everywhere now. Check out BOOKS2READ for the link to your fave store or click on the cover photos or title to get there.

I have to admit, now I’m hungry for these. I might have to add grape juice to my grocery list and make a batch of these to go with the brisket I’m planning for New Year’s Day. What about y’all? Any ethnic recipes that are traditions in your family?

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

Last Monday

Posted on December 27, 2021 by Silver James

Wow. How is it even possible? This is the last Monday in 2021. I am sooo ready to leave this year behind. It feels like time has been interminable. Yet, at the same time, days and weeks and months have zipped by. As the Doctor would say, “People assume time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it’s more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff”

So, there was a week and a holiday weekend. I was busy but managed to get most of my Christmas shopping and wrapping done last Monday. Then Baseball Boy tested positive (despite being vaxxed) and there was a scramble to change plans. Instead of the James Gang being all together Christmas Day, we split into our 3 subgroups and celebrated separately. That meant three separate pans of cinnamon rolls. It was still a nice, laid-back day, though we missed getting to watch Stormy open his gifts. The good news is, Only and Stormy have tested negative so far. 🤞🏼 We had turkey sandwiches and pecan pie. I’d bought 3 Butterball turkey breasts in a bag, to cook for the entire gang. Now I have two left for later. Yay. I like turkey sammiches! After all is said and done, Santa was good to me this year. I got lots of goodies. I hope he was good to you and yours as well.

In writing news, my books continue to come off Kindle Unlimited. Last week, it was BRIDE’S MOON. I got ready to open and update the backmatter and that’s when I discovered a big ol’ OOPS! I could NOT find a .doc version of the manuscript. I had the Amazon uploads that was a web version (boy, the hoops we had to jump through back in the earlys of self-publishing. Anyway, it was basically starting from scratch with formatting. And then I discovered that the italics didn’t transfer. Resigned, I set it asside until I had time and mental space to reread the whole thing. I got done and then discovered where I’d saved copies–to my computer hard drive in an obscure file folder, NOT Dropbox in the cloud WHERE EVERY OTHER BOOK IS LOCATED. 🤦🏼‍♀️ So, just to be sure, I pulled up the original .doc and compared. It’s all good and now uploaded. Updated version on the ‘Zon and the wide version uploaded to Draft2Digital. They’ll be back in the office tomorrow so it’ll start popping up in other on-line bookstores over the next few days. I have two more books coming up this week–CAFE MIDNIGHT tomorrow and BLOOD & FIRE on Wednesday. Hopefully, no SNAFUs with either of them. 🤞🏼

Since it was a busy week with lots of together time, I didn’t get much book listening in. Looking for something fun and keeping with the season, I’m delving into Kristen Painter’s Jayne Frost/Nocturnal Falls series. They are fun paranormals and Jayne is Santa’s niece. I still need three more books by Friday midnight to meet my yearly reading challenge. I should be okay.

Discovered a new-to-me show on Discover: The Repair Shop. It’s British. It’s a thatched barn converted to a multi-function repair shop for family heirlooms. It’s amazing to see the items and learn the stories. If you can catch it (it evidently streams all the time on Discovery+), give it a look-see. It’s perfect for this time of year. I’m also attempting to clear out the DVR’d shows so we can start the new year fresh.

Sports. It’s bowl season. One game was canceled, one scrambled to get a replacement team. Stupid panic on this version of the beer flu. OU plays Wednesday and OSU (the REAL OSU, not that other place that insists on using “the” in front of their name) plays on New Year’s Day. I’m thinking NYD is going to be a brisket kind of day.k

LG and I have come up with a new TV “game”– BBQ&B or W&C (Bar-b-que & Beer or WHINE & Cheese). If someone comes on that you’d like to sit down and talk to, they’re a BBQ & Beer person. Someone else hits the screen (like certain talking heads in the mainstream media), they’re pretty much automatically WHINE & Cheese–meaning you wouldn’t be caught dead in the same room because they’re just that irritating. Yeah, we’re weird but at least we’re weird together.

That’s pretty much the stuff in my world. Did y’all have a good holiday? Good company? Good food? Good presents? Good times? Any books or TV shows that’ve caught your eye? Enjoy your week as we roll towards the new year. Question of the day: New Year resolutions? Yay or nay?

Posted in Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Friday Sinema: Christmas Memories

Posted on December 24, 2021 by Silver James

Christmas Eve Gift!

My first car was a 1969 Chevrolet Impala convertible. Mine was yellow with a black top and back interior. I remember heading out Christmas night after my dad hooked up my brand-new 8-track player that Santa brought. I picked up my friends, we put the top down despite the frigid temps, and we cruised the strip in my hometown, the 8-track blaring. When I saw this commercial? Well…lots of Christmas memories. Warning: Tissue Alert.

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

Thursday Thoughts: Universal Knowing

Posted on December 23, 2021 by Silver James

Tis the season, y’all. Today is Christmas Eve’s Eve. People are scurrying to get those last minute things done. Family and friends are gathering. And yet there is so much…wrong out there in the world. It seems like the darkness is closing in. But look! There are smiles. There are Christmas lights. There are people greeting each other. There’s hope, and what a shining light it is admidst the darkness. I fount this message from the Universe perfect for today.

Met up with the dearest, little angel over the weekend, Silver, but she was really sad.

She asked, in the sweetest of angel voices, how there can be so much love in the world, yet so few feel it. How there can be so much beauty, yet hardly anyone sees it. And how there can be so many miracles, yet most are ignored.

So, Silver, I reminded her of something far more important. I reminded her that whether or not one knows of the love, they are still bathed in it. Whether or not they see the beauty, they still add to it. And whether or not they recognize the miracles, they still perform them, every single day.

Then we both just beamed.

Tallyho,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

And Silver, whether or not these things are now known, they will be.

Time to know, folks. Look for the love. Look for the beauty. Look for the light.and the joy and the every-day miracles. They’re there. Thanks for being little miacles in my life. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. No matter what you celebrate, CELEBRATE with a happy heart.

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