Sunday Flash Fiction at SEx

I’m blogging today at the Liquid Silver Books blog about holiday decorations. The SEx blog features flash fiction Sundays, just a little exercise to get the imagination going. Stop by and cook up a teensy 50-100 (or less!) vignette to join the fun.

I’ve you’ve begun your holiday decorating, this is a great way to work out the frustration inevitably incurred by directing someone else where to drape the lights and hang the bulbs!

Thursday Thirteen Thanksgiving Edition

In no particular order, I’m thankful for…

1) Employment.

2) My husband, even though it irritates the hell out of me when he looks over at what I’m typing.

3) Elise, who is wonderful, a friend I’m glad I found.

4) The editors who’ve believed in my work and given me an opportunity to share it.

5) My mother’s health, which has improved rather than declined over the past year.

6) Victoria Dahl, for Molly and Lori (and Ben and Quinn).

7) Carolyn Jewel, for Xia and Alexandrine.

Yes, I do consider wonderful books something to be thankful for and not to be taken for granted.

8 ) Romance Divas, a community of good people.

9) My family, by blood and by marriage.

10) The opportunity I had this past summer to attend RWA’s National Convention.

11) My house.

12) My health, which is pretty darn good.

13) My continued interest in writing.

And a bonus: I’m very thankful to have thirteen people, places and things to list.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Thursday Thirteen – Things I love about working with Emily

She totally doesn’t know I’m doing this. But sometimes you just have to go with your gut and do the praise thing. So, here it is.

1. She’s honest. Feedback I get from Em is invaluable because of this.

2. I get to read her stuff! Em can be absolutely brilliant – Thumbelina, for example, is completely amazing. Even in rough form, her stuff is good.

3. Experience. She’s been at this longer than I have, and her experience has helped me a lot.

4. Brainstorming. Our brainstorming sessions are priceless. People should pay money to watch us brainstorm. It’s truly a thing of beauty and terror.

5. She’s skilled. Em isn’t just talented – she’s got the  skills to back it up. She works hard to improve her craft, and it shows.

6. Her sense of humor.  We don’t match in this area, but we do overlap. Em has a lovely droll sense of humor with flashes of slapstick. It’s quite entertaining. I’m sure you’d all be surprised to learn she’s a prankster.

7. She has the most astonishing ideas. This is part and parcel of the brainstorming and the brilliance, but she comes up with the most amazing ideas. Little bits of world-building that leave my jaw hanging.

8. She pushes me. Not in a heavy-handed way, but with gentle (and not so gentle) pokes. It helps.

9. Our strengths complement each other. Where she excels, I tend to be weaker. Where she’s weak, I excel. Together, at the risk of sounding a bit arrogant, we are pretty freaking awesome.

10. Her writing style and mine work well together. I’m not talking here about words on the page and voice, I’m talking about working style. We work really well together because when we do a joint project, we mesh. And that, people, is a rare and beautiful thing.

11. She keeps me grounded. I tend to go off on tangents, particularly when nailing down the particulars of world building or chasing the tail of a plot element. She brings me back with a simple “Is that really important?” – which is good, since otherwise I’d research until Doomsday and not finish things.

12. She’s fun. We’ll be working through a plot line for Mercy or some other project and  she’ll just throw something in there that makes the process more fun. I appreciate that.

13. She’s my friend. All of the above are wrapped into this, but it doesn’t cover it all. Em’s awesome. And I do love working with her.

Holiday Blog Tour

Since the Halloween Blog Tour was such a success, we thought we’d do another for the Winter Holiday Season. Christmas, Eid al-Adha, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, whatever you prefer to celebrate.* In honor of the winter holidays, we’ll be doing a Holiday Blog Tour December 11. Like the last one, if you visit the blogs on the tour and leave comments at each site, you’ll be entered to win the grand prize drawing. Also, like the last one, we’ll be doing a site contest in addition to the tour prize give-away.

The on-site contest will have two winners. This Fire (in Hearts Afire:December from Liquid Silver Books) releases December 7, so one contest (box of 20+ books) will be related to content of the book. The second prize will be a copy of the Hearts Afire anthology for those who haven’t yet read it.

We look forward to seeing you at the blog tour, and wish you good luck!

*If I missed a winter holiday in my alphabetical list, let me know and I’ll rectify the oversight.

FUBAR Part I

She wanted a drink. Or two. Maybe three.

What she didn’t want was to be sitting across this meeting table from Shawn Ellery while he told her how badly he’d fucked up.

Tania fought to keep her face blank as Ellery searched her features. She knew he was searching for any reaction, something he could use to justify his stupidity. She wasn’t going to give it to him. He’d screwed up in a major way by bucking the protocol and not reporting the information he had when he received it. Granted, she understood that his reticence wasn’t technically insubordination, but it was definitely poor judgment. And, in this case, it put her ship and her crew in danger.

Ellery pressed his lips together, his nostrils flaring.

Tania remained impassive. While she wasn’t up to Xu’s standards, she was better than most, and she’d been working on her technique. Nothing like a Crystal Graei as an executive officer to help you perfect the art of blank face.  Still, she was going to have to do something if he didn’t get here soon.

The conference room entry hissed open.  Xu entered, ignoring Ellery completely.

Tania watched him take up a post at the corner of the table, ramrod straight and inhumanly beautiful. Xu was rarely less than perfectly turned out when on duty, but right now his uniform was just slightly off – the seams not perfectly straight, the edge of one sleeve tucked under. His smooth, dark skin was more blue than usual, and the tips of his ears curled back on themselves instead of standing upright. Hmmm.

“I apologize for any delay. I came as quickly as possible.”

Tania raised a brow at him. She’d paged him only moments before, and the locator had placed him in the Pleasure Lounge. She had the impression he had been…busy. Between the slightly mussed uniform and his physical characteristics, she was surprised the line of his uniform pants wasn’t ruined.

Continue reading FUBAR Part I…

Thursday Thirteen – Chicken Soup Edition

Today is Chicken Soup For the Soul Day (I’m not making that up. It is.), so I thought I’d do a list of thirteen things that are good for my soul. This list, obviously, is personal to me, and what soothes my soul might not be what soothes yours. But hopefully, you’ll enjoy my list and get something out of it.

1. Cuddling with DH. When I’m tired, worn, or just stressed, cuddling up with DH and having him just rub my back and hold me makes everything seem more bearable.

2. Cuddling up with Munchkin. There is nothing, nothing, like cuddling up with the cuteness and adoration that is our Munchkin. It’s somehow affirming to hold your child and know that there is continuity and wonder in life.

3. Petting my cats. Something about the repetitive action of petting, the softness of the fur, the strong rumble of a cat’s purr that just relaxes and soothes me. My cats are like fuzzy Valium.

4. Nature. As mentioned last week, our backyard is like Wild Kingdom, so there’s always something to watch. The uncomplicated beauty and simplicity help me put things in perspective.

5. A long, hot shower. I’m not much for baths, I don’t particularly dig sitting in water. But a good hot shower – steam curling through the bathroom, the water beating the tension from your shoulders – that’s a thing of beauty. Sadly, I rarely get a chance for these between other people showering and scheduling constraints. When I do, though, I enjoy the way they help me recharge.

6. Music. Music helps me hit those inner emotional notes – which is one reason I find it so necessary when I write. What music I find soothing varies with mood. Sometimes it’s kind of mellow pop/vocal stuff like Natalie Merchant, Melissa Etheridge, or Adam Ant’s Wonderful CD (which is about as far removed as the jumpy, jive-filled riffs of  the Adam Ant of my youth as Rod Stewart’s Rat Pack jazz is from his rocker roots). Other times, I need the complex and layered instrumentals of classical orchestral pieces (I am a big Vivaldi fan, but Bach often works, too), or the visceral sensuality of classical guitar (Jesse Cook, Christopher Parkening, Paul Galbraith). My music collection is wide and varied, so I can always find something that works.

7. Sleep. I often don’t get enough sleep, so being able to sleep until I’m ready to wake is a great luxury. I think we sometimes forget the simple pleasure of being well-rested.

8. Sunshine. Nothing lifts my spirit quite the same way as seeing the sun come out from behind the clouds – it is the ultimate symbol of hope and affirmation.

9. Stargazing. The very vastness of the heavens is at once belittling and uplifting. Belittling in the sense that you have a sense of scale that confirms you as a tiny part of an infinite reality, but uplifting in the sense that it keeps everything in perspective.

10. Food. I’m not gonna lie here, sometimes chicken soup is chicken soup. Or, in my case, ice cream or really excellent chili. Or a batch of brownies. Or mashed potatoes. Why is comfort food so bad for you? *sigh*

11. Escapist entertainment. Again, I’m not gonna lie. I’m not all classical music and dissertation. I am a CSI junkie and a recent addict of Dancing With the Stars (and, btw, why didn’t anyone ever tell me about the hot pro dancers? Louis and Maksim hit both ends of my hot spectrum, with Derek nailing the goofball portion of the program. And no one should ever, ever let Maksim shave again.).

12. And that points up another one. Hot eye candy. Which sounds painful when phrased in just that way, but you know it isn’t. My tastes in eyecandy are perhaps less wide and varied than my musical tastes, but they cover a lot of territory. As a result, I can usually find something that catches my eye.

13. A good book, particularly a romance. I don’t think I’m alone in wanting to lose myself in a good book when I’m stressed or overwhelmed. There is something ridiculously satisfying about reading through the trials and tribulations of characters I learn to love, knowing they will find happiness at the end, but walking with them through that journey. It is at once hopeful and affirming, and that is very, very good for my soul.

What about you? What’s good for your soul?

Chili: The art and science of Texas Red

So, due to a Twitter conversation yesterday involving DC Charles (bridgemama), Jared James (count_01), Victoria Dahl, Keri Ford, and who knows who all else, I am compelled to defend the bowl of Texas Red.

First, let me refer you here to the International Chili Society (linked on my links page, too), which states, unequivocally, no beans or pasta in chili. Please take note. Competition chili is expressly and explicitly NO BEANS. I don’t understand why this is such a difficulty, since beans (and pasta)  are no more than filler. Also, chili should be spicy. I don’t just mean hot – though it should be that, too. I mean spicy in the sense of many spices involved in it’s creation.

I’ll cop to being a chili snob. I make my own chili powder (and if you think you’re getting that recipe, you’re dead wrong), and I’m pretty much unbending in my definition. If you want chili with beans, you go on ahead. But it’s chili WITH BEANS. It’s not chili. You can have venison chili, antelope chili or perhaps elk (though neither Jared nor I has tried that – sounds like it should be good, though).

In the interest of fairness, I’ll also say that I don’t really have a “recipe” so much as a general procedure. The proportion of spices varies with the acidity of the tomatoes and the flavor of the beef.  If the tomatoes are a bit bitter, we’ll adjust with some allspice, but that’s not usual. We use grass-fed beef, so the flavor is sweeter and a bit gamier than corn-fed, and that affects the overall balance of the dish, so I don’t need as much sweet in the rest of the recipe. Also, this recipe can be done campfire style, stovetop, in the oven, or in a crockpot. I’ll give crockpot directions here, since that seemed to be the consensus.

Texas Red

1.5-2 lbs stew meat (beef), cut in bite sized pieces
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 fresh jalapenos, chopped
2-3 whole chipotles (I prefer dried to canned for this. Canned are sweeter, though)
1-2 chipotles, snipped into pieces
2 cans rotel tomatoes w/ chilis
1 can crushed tomato (the big sized can)
1 can tomato paste (useful for adjusting consistency, may or may not be necessary)
cumin
chili powder
onion powder
garlic powder
oil (pepper oil, garlic oil, olive oil, something like that)

In cast iron skillet, brown beef in oil. remove to crockpot.

sautee half of onion and jalepeno in same skillet until onion soft and slightly caramelized. Add half of garlic. Sautee additional minute. Dump in crockpot.

Add remaining ingredients (excepting tomato paste) to crockpot. I generally start with around 5 TBSP chili powder and 2-3 TBSP cumin, 1 TBSP each garlic powder and onion powder.  The mixture WILL LOOK like there is not enough tomato. I PROMISE it will loosen up.

Mix well, put crockpot on low. Allow to cook in crockpot 8-12 hours (depending on heat of your crockpot), stirring occasionally. At about hour 3, you should be able to get a sense of the flavor. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly. I often find that I will need to adjust at this point.

At around hour 6, check consistency. If the chili is too soupy, add tomato paste as needed and adjust seasoning again (tomato paste has a very bright flavor, so you are probably going to want chili powder, cumin, and onion powder).

Start checking around 8 hours to see if it’s done. When done, the “graininess” of the spices will be gone, and the flavor will be completely melded. At this point, you can salt if necessary.

Serve as you like. I eat mine straight, with a side of corn chips. DH adds cheese on top.

Note that this is a very loose guide. Proportions can be varied depending on personal preference. I hope y’all enjoy.

Excerpt Monday November – Thumbelina!

Once a month, a bunch of authors get together and post excerpts from published books, contracted work or works in progress, and link to each other. You=2 0don’t have to be published to participate–just an writer with an excerpt you’d like to share. For more info on how to participate, head over to the Excerpt Monday site! or click on the banner above.

The voice called Frog said, “Take that end and we’ll get it on wheels. Mike, we’ll need a ramp to get it up the stairs.”

Shit! It wasn’t time for moving! They only moved me for recitals, and recitals didn’t happen in summer!

Frog and another man lifted the piano and the keys trembled. A steel string came close to dividing me in half. I dodged and grabbed hold of a tuning pin as the old Steinway tilted and trembled. The wheeled board groaned beneath the piano’s weight, and the wheels themselves squeaked as the men rolled my house out into the hall.

Men! They always screw up my life! I was perfectly happy—thrilled!—with my walnut shell before the toad’s meddling mother tossed me onto a lily pad, and I would’ve found my own way in the grass if that milky-eyed mole hadn’t dragged me down into the rodent tunnels. And if it hadn’t been for the swallow and his blasted flowers, I never would have run into the vain prince who decided to give me wings, and the witch never would’ve been jealous enough to lock me up in a Steinway of all things. I didn’t even rank a baby grand.

Men.

I clung to the tuning pin and fumed as the latest batch of jerks pushed me down to the fire stairs. What pissed me off the most was I couldn’t even do so much as bite one of them due to the curse. Futile fury is the worst, and I stewed in it while the piano movers jostled and banged me up the stairs.

”Hold the ramp—”

“God damn it!”

One second, the Mike voice was grunting and muttering curses. The next—the next, I was sliding out of control. My shoulders gave out and I lost my grip on the tuning pin that decorated a jagged stake.

I expected to hit the floor hard, but I tumbled into a soft pocket lined with lint. The piano mover’s heart trotted recklessly, tearing off toward its finish line. His blood blossomed near my aching shoulder.

The church bell’s flinch rang in my ears long after the snap and crunch of splintering wood, the thunk and twang of snapping wires stopped echoing in the stairwell.

One of the men muttered, “We are so fucked.”

Another—Mike—said, “You’re bleeding, man.”

I held my breath and tried to make myself invisible as my pocket crinkled and gaped away from the warm, solid chest wearing it.

“Fucking piano stabbed me.”

Frog. His shirt sagged back to his chest. Beneath my left foot, his nipple hardened.

“You’re bleeding all over the damn place.”

“I’ll live.”

“You’ll get stitches. Get out of here.”

The men argued over the necessity of treatment while I tried to climb up Frog’s pec. I had to get out of his pocket before he left the church. I didn’t know how to live outside the musty basement.

“Whatever. You do the paperwork. I’m going home.”

Dizzy with panic, I scrambled for the opening of the pocket. I’d almost gained the top hem when a huge hand swatted across my cover, stunning me and knocking me back to the bottom.

Trapped—but free. Frog had exited the church. Over the warm, spicy scent of his body, I detected the crisp freshness of open, under-a-big-sky air. I knew it wasn’t spring for the world, but it was for me and I suddenly, inexplicably, craved a man.

A thousand fantasies overcame me, all featuring the man whose heart beat beneath my cheek. I spread my fingers against his chest to test the firmness of his muscle. He must have felt my groping because he nearly squashed me a second time. I learned my lesson and held still for what seemed like forever even though I desperately wanted an orgasm. Maybe if I was very careful…

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Thursday Thirteen – Lazy Writer Edition

So, this morning I realized I hadn’t pre-written anything for today. Oops. I meant to. Really. But I had a busy week and I won’t bore you with the details.

I got this idea from other T-13 blogs that I’ve seen where the blogger lists things on their desk or things they can reach from their couch. But I wanted to give you a little taste of the weirdness of my backyard. So here it is: Thirteen random things- some weird, some not so weird -  in my backyard. Keeping in mind I live in suburbia.

1. Cats. Lots of cats. Big fat house cats, lean and frisky kittens, domestic cats of all colors and sizes. This is probably because we have lots of

2. Birds. A sampling of our bird population includes: chickadees, robins, cardinals, blue jays, wrens, hummingbirds, titmice, sparrows, doves, mockingbirds, blue birds, catbirds, finches (including goldfinch), and various migratory species. Oh. And woodpeckers – redheaded, red bellied, and downy woodpeckers. And occasionally a pileated.

3. Chipmunks. At last official count, I was sure I had three, because I have seen three together at once. I have seen, in previous years, as many as five. And let me tell you that there’s little as hysterical as watching chipmunks race around your yard in a fierce chipmunk fight for dominance.

4. Squirrels. I like squirrels, mostly. Except the one that evidently has pica and wants to chew on my house. Not chew THROUGH to get somewhere, just… nibbling on the edges of the siding. Weirdo.

5. Raccoons. They are usually either after the water in our heated bird dish (it’s often the only non-frozen water around in winter).

6. Opossums. Same deal – usually after the water.

7. Deer. We don’t see these often, but we find tracks often enough. The most memorable occasion for this is me walking out onto our back deck at around 2pm, looking over and staring into the startled face of a doe – one of three standing in my yard in the middle of the afternoon. That was odd.

8. Hawks. I didn’t include these with “birds” because they are usually hunting said birds. In winter, particularly, it can be rather spectacular when a red-tailed or red-shouldered swoops down and takes out a dove. So far as we can tell, we have red-tailed, red-shouldered, Coopers, and sharp-shinned hawks.

9. A bear. Yeah. A bear. It knocked down our biggest bird feeder and made a bit of a mess. The park service people came up from a (relatively) close state park and relocated the bear into the state park.

10. Turtles, mostly box turtles. For some reason, our yard is a turtle highway. The turtles just emerging from hibernation and those looking for a place to hibernate truck through our yard at (for turtles) breakneck speed. It’s like Turtle Talladega out there.

11. Ants. Lots and lots of ants. Golden ants, carpenter ants, sugar ants… you name it, we’ve got it. Okay, no fire ants, thank Heavens.

12. Butterflies, moths, dragonflies, mayflies – bugs. Just bugs. A lot of pretty bugs, but some not so pretty. We’ll get the luna moths which like our sweet gum trees, and they’re rather spectacular.

13. Bald eagle. Yeah, that one just gets me. Every time I see one, I get all gooshy and patriotic. So when I see one soaring over my house, well, that’s just all kinds of awesome.

There you go. So… what have you seen in your backyard?