What, Where, When, Why, How with Silver James

Welcome to Silver James...my new BFF. Why? Because she is both silly and sarcastic!! We could be twins. Give her a great big howdy -- AND, she's giving away a $10 gift certificate to The Wild Rose Press to one commenter today! So read, talk, share with a friend! :-)

So, Silver, do tell: what is your favorite beverage?

Caffeine. Liquid. Solid. Filleted. Fried. Stewed. Fricasseed. Whipped. Wait! What? Whipped? But mostly liquid. In coffee flavors or Diet Coke with Lime®. Iced tea is good and the beverage of choice when dining out. Unless it’s the Super Bowl. Or the World Series. I fall off the wagon then and have a Killian's or Harps beer, or three, on special occasions. For REALLY special occasions, I prefer light, sweeter wines or single malt Scotch like Glen Fiddich or Glen Livet. Are you bored yet? When it’s just for fun and I’m not the designated driver, Margaritas on the rocks with lots of salt rock my socks. Pay no attention to those rumors. I swear I never sang “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” in public. Srsly.

When did you start writing?

I can remember, at the age of four, lining up my stuffed animals for Story Time, telling them tales I made up. At thirteen, I committed my first “novel” to paper – in a spiral notebook with a black and white plaid cover. “The Talisman” had a decent plot along the lines of “Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” though processed through the brain of an adolescent girl. Needless to say, it was abysmal. There were boys. And kissing. And time travel. Did I mention kissing? No petting. Life was much more innocent back in the dark ages. My BFF at the time and I were the heroines and I believe Davy Jones (The Monkees) and Peter Noone (Herman of Herman’s Hermits) were our love interests. I have mentioned that I’m older than dirt, right? Technically, I suppose it would have been considered fan fiction, if the term had been in use at the time. Trust me, the whole thing was truly cringe-worthy.

In the story, our intrepid teen exchange students were whisked back in time to medieval England where they saved the kingdom, fell in love, and then got shuttled back to the present, where they met their teen heartthob rock stars. Said stars looking, talking, and kissing suspiciously like our two medieval heroes.

Wait! That plot sounds vaguely familiar. In my novel, Faerie Fate – to be released in 2010 by The Wild Rose Press – my heroine is sent back to 10th century Ireland to "get it right" with the love of her lives, clann chief Ciaran McDermot. Yes. You read that right. Lives. The books in my Tír Nan Óg trilogy deal not only with the Tuatha De Danaan (the faeries of Irish mythology), but with reincarnation and finding true love life after life.

Where is the best tourist spot in your town?

This is Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plains. A lot depends on your tastes. Many people are drawn to Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial downtown. We have wonderful museums – art and historical, a water park and a theme park, the venerable Frontier City. In the fall, we have football. In the spring, we have…tornadoes. Srsly. Tourists pay money to chase tornadoes. I mean…dude! How stupid is that? We have wonderful historic districts, too. And restaurants. Bricktown is the place to be for nightly entertainment, plus we have Triple A baseball and the OKC Thunder, our NBA team. The Oklahoma Museum of Art has an incredible collection of blown glass by the renowned glass artist, Dale Chihuly. The Western Heritage Museum houses an extensive collection of western art and sculpture. The Oklahoma Heritage Center provides a glimpse into the state’s past. I could go on and on. The Zoo. Remington Park Race Track. The Firefighters Museum. ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, home of the Women’s College World Series.

Did I misread that question? I did, didn’t I? You asked about the best tourist spot. Singular. Sorry. Take your pick. Considering our rather red-neck and unsophisticated reputation, Oklahoma City offers amazing sights, sounds, and tastes.

Why does "I" come before "E" except after "C"?

Wait. Is this a trick question? You know, like “There is no I in TEAM”? Or, shall we sing it altogether now? M-I-C “See you later” K-E-Y “Why? Because we like you!” M-O-U-S-E. That doesn’t quite fit either. *blink* What do you mean you have no idea what that song is? Didn’t you ever watch the Mickey Mouse Club? With Annette Funicello? Oh. Right. We’re back to that “older than dirt” thing.

Okay. Best answer. “I” comes before “E” except after “C” because some old dude in robes and a long beard (who faintly resembles Richard Harris as Dumbledore) decided to play with our minds and create English as a first language. English is such a mongrel of other languages I am absolutely amazed on a daily basis that we can write anything at all and make sense. All the synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, homophones, and other grisly creatures of language usage are designed to drive writers, editors, and readers completely bonkers. As an example, you might check out this Language Lesson. I actually have a "100 Things To Do Before I Die" list and number 42 on that list is "Learn to spell 'ridiculous' without having to look it up." (Yes. I spelled it right, but I had to look it up to be sure I'd spelled it right.)

Still, as a writer, I find language to be a delicious feast for the imagination. Alliteration, adjectives, and adverbs! Oh, my!

How do you drink your coffee?

I came to truly appreciate coffee late in life – my thirties, in fact. Newly married at the time, my husband was a coffee drinker. Back then, I drank it with a lot of milk and sugar. Accompanying him on a business trip to New Orleans, I spent a morning at Café du Monde drinking café au lait and pigging out on beignets while he was in meetings. It was…orgasmic. Really. *points to answer to first question* Coffee is now my preferred drink of choice. Year round. In the summer, I’ll add crushed ice. And chocolate. Mmmm. The rest of the time, café au lait with a bit of Splenda® is my IV drip of choice from my first cup of the morning throughout my day. Being a lazy sort, I simply put my light soy milk in a large, plastic travel cup, zap it in the microwave, add sweet and coffee. I sip while I write, guzzle when I’m blocked, refill often. My husband teases and says the only exercise I get is trudging back and forth from my computer to the kitchen for refills. Coffee is my BFF. Truly, madly. *nods*

You gotta, just GOTTA go read Silver's bio. It's a hoot. Srsly.

http://www.silverjames.com
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Silver James at Live Journal