M.L. Skye's Blog, page 37
December 9, 2018
Sunday Snippet: Under a Crescent Moon
Ugh. The saying when it rains it pours definitely applied to me this week. All three of our vehicles ended up needing something crucial and important RFN. Luckily, one of our local car dealers is a friend and he let us borrow a car. Yes, I said borrow. Saving the expense of renting a car helped a lot! Then… I ended up with a nasty cold. The kind where I literally couldn't be more than an arm's length away from a box of tissues because my nose wouldn't stop running, my eyes wouldn't stop watering, and I coughed and / or sneezed every few minutes. Thankfully, I’m at the stage where my voice is gone and my throat is a little scratchy, but otherwise, I'm tissue-free. Whew!
I'm so behind on my regular television shows. Arrow is probably my favorite and I'm at least two episodes behind. I'm hoping to catch up this weekend.
I did get to watch Penny Dreadful and I'm one episode away from the end of the first season. I kind of like the jagged direction this show takes sometimes.
Wynonna Earp continues to be a favorite. The "Undo It" episode ended up being way better than I expected. This show is so good.
Watched another episode of The Dresden Files and I think I'm close to being at the end of the one season we got. So much promise for this show.
Started a new season of Underbelly: Razor. 1920s Australia is a great setting.
And that's pretty much it for television this week. Between dealing with all the car drama and the cold symptoms, my brain took a vacation. LOL
Tonight's post is from Under a Crescent Moon, a sexy short that started with a writing community prompt of someone tells your main character a secret about another main character.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Tyra Blanc, a top military pilot, harbors a secret love for classic old romance movies. When she's not paying attention during a briefing, her superior officer, Dev Dravenish, reveals her weakness and Tyra is caught between wondering how he discovered the information and how to deal with the all-out ribbing coming her way.
And a sneaky peek…
Tyra rolled out of bed at 0555. She'd barely make the briefing but every last moment of sleep counted.She used a dry toothbrush with a minimal amount of paste and a bottle of water to get rid of the sticky morning mouth she hated with a passion. Swallowing the remnants, she vowed to get one of those personal one-shot coffeemakers to get rid of the minty aftertaste and jolt her system into go mode.Dragging on her uniform, she muttered curses. "Stupid effing morning briefings. They oughtta be outlawed." She jammed her feet in her boots and exited quarters to make a semi-mad dash for the briefing room.She skidded in at 0558. Not bad if she had anything to say about it.Manny Ramsey blinked at the sight of her. "Damn, Tyra, who'd you tangle with last night?" He nudged Natalie Janis who chuckled when she got a good look at Tyra.Tyra rolled her eyes. "Obviously it wasn't you." As if she'd share any details of her sex life with the leading male gossip on the ship.Nat quirked a brow. "At least you made it on time. Bleary eyes and bedhead are a good look on you." She winked and added a smirk for good measure.Tyra got off a shot at the duo. "You two are on a roll. Did you come up with this stuff before or after you hooked up on the hangar deck?" She pushed another round into the chamber. "No, wait. It was during, wasn't it?" The guilty flush staining each pilot's cheeks almost made Tyra's day.Nothing like confirming a rumor about the notorious Manny, and having a little dirt on Natalie could be useful the next time Tyra needed a favor. All in good fun, of course.She dropped into the first seat in the last row while Manny and Natalie headed toward the front. Dev entered and called the briefing to order, giving the rundown on the previous night's watch. Tyra yawned and settled back in the seat, listening with half an ear. They were flying through a neutral part of space and aside from a malfunctioning craft every once in a while, not much changed in the reports.She yawned again and propped her head on her hand. I'll close my eyes… just for a moment. Bad idea. Vivid imagery of her night with Dev played out in her head. Damn… she loved the terrific sex. Morning briefings after, yeah, not so much.Her chin dropped and she jerked upward. Shit. Power nodding through the briefing would get her in trouble.Her eyes closed again after another yawn. Never again would she encourage a triple round of bed romping when they had an early briefing. Yeah, right, who am I kidding? I wouldn't trade a full night with Dev for anything.Her chin dropped off her hand again and she slumped further down in the seat. She'd only leave her eyes closed for a few more moments.
Writing the scene where Tyra can't quite keep her eyes open ended up being loads of fun. I can't wait to writes Dev's response.
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
I'm so behind on my regular television shows. Arrow is probably my favorite and I'm at least two episodes behind. I'm hoping to catch up this weekend.
I did get to watch Penny Dreadful and I'm one episode away from the end of the first season. I kind of like the jagged direction this show takes sometimes.
Wynonna Earp continues to be a favorite. The "Undo It" episode ended up being way better than I expected. This show is so good.
Watched another episode of The Dresden Files and I think I'm close to being at the end of the one season we got. So much promise for this show.
Started a new season of Underbelly: Razor. 1920s Australia is a great setting.
And that's pretty much it for television this week. Between dealing with all the car drama and the cold symptoms, my brain took a vacation. LOL
Tonight's post is from Under a Crescent Moon, a sexy short that started with a writing community prompt of someone tells your main character a secret about another main character.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Tyra Blanc, a top military pilot, harbors a secret love for classic old romance movies. When she's not paying attention during a briefing, her superior officer, Dev Dravenish, reveals her weakness and Tyra is caught between wondering how he discovered the information and how to deal with the all-out ribbing coming her way.
And a sneaky peek…
Tyra rolled out of bed at 0555. She'd barely make the briefing but every last moment of sleep counted.She used a dry toothbrush with a minimal amount of paste and a bottle of water to get rid of the sticky morning mouth she hated with a passion. Swallowing the remnants, she vowed to get one of those personal one-shot coffeemakers to get rid of the minty aftertaste and jolt her system into go mode.Dragging on her uniform, she muttered curses. "Stupid effing morning briefings. They oughtta be outlawed." She jammed her feet in her boots and exited quarters to make a semi-mad dash for the briefing room.She skidded in at 0558. Not bad if she had anything to say about it.Manny Ramsey blinked at the sight of her. "Damn, Tyra, who'd you tangle with last night?" He nudged Natalie Janis who chuckled when she got a good look at Tyra.Tyra rolled her eyes. "Obviously it wasn't you." As if she'd share any details of her sex life with the leading male gossip on the ship.Nat quirked a brow. "At least you made it on time. Bleary eyes and bedhead are a good look on you." She winked and added a smirk for good measure.Tyra got off a shot at the duo. "You two are on a roll. Did you come up with this stuff before or after you hooked up on the hangar deck?" She pushed another round into the chamber. "No, wait. It was during, wasn't it?" The guilty flush staining each pilot's cheeks almost made Tyra's day.Nothing like confirming a rumor about the notorious Manny, and having a little dirt on Natalie could be useful the next time Tyra needed a favor. All in good fun, of course.She dropped into the first seat in the last row while Manny and Natalie headed toward the front. Dev entered and called the briefing to order, giving the rundown on the previous night's watch. Tyra yawned and settled back in the seat, listening with half an ear. They were flying through a neutral part of space and aside from a malfunctioning craft every once in a while, not much changed in the reports.She yawned again and propped her head on her hand. I'll close my eyes… just for a moment. Bad idea. Vivid imagery of her night with Dev played out in her head. Damn… she loved the terrific sex. Morning briefings after, yeah, not so much.Her chin dropped and she jerked upward. Shit. Power nodding through the briefing would get her in trouble.Her eyes closed again after another yawn. Never again would she encourage a triple round of bed romping when they had an early briefing. Yeah, right, who am I kidding? I wouldn't trade a full night with Dev for anything.Her chin dropped off her hand again and she slumped further down in the seat. She'd only leave her eyes closed for a few more moments.
Writing the scene where Tyra can't quite keep her eyes open ended up being loads of fun. I can't wait to writes Dev's response.
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
December 2, 2018
Sunday Snippet: To V or Not to V (A V-Word novella)
Hello, December. Per usual, the weather in Ohio is crazy back and forth. Super cold for several days then sixty degrees then back to super cold again. And rain. Lots and lots of rain. Bleh.
It's been another busy workweek with a rush job for a holiday release and finishing up another manuscript. Throw in car trouble on Friday with not one but two vehicles and, yeah, lost the whole day. LOL
Television was a mixed bag of viewing pleasure. I finished out last week with Pensacola Wings of Gold watching a pretty interesting episode where one of the marines got set up by another government worker. Lexx's second season is at the wobbly part where one episode is great and the next is not so much. Also caught a Hallmark movie, An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving, which has three of my favorite actresses. Should be following up with the Christmas movie this week if my schedule doesn't blow up again.
I have to take a moment and rave about The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. This show always ends up making me smile, even when the storyline is somewhat sad. The fifth episode ended up making laugh out loud and I needed it this past week.
I followed up the funny with some serious emotional drama in Strike Back. Almost through season five, which should catch me up for season six. I gotta say this show does a great job at not letting the members of section twenty save the day in an easy fashion. Two steps forward and five steps back is things usually go for them.
Chicago Fire is kind of losing me with this whole deputy commissioner bullshit. Kind of like Chicago PD lost me with sticking someone in just to put a leash on Hank. I'll finish out this season but if there isn't a big change, I'll be skipping the next with the exception of crossover episodes. I love crossovers.
I'm almost finished with Luke Cage's second season. I'll be honest, I'm really disappointed there won't be more and supposedly it's because of the whole Disney + streaming service that's not even launched yet. I'm all for choice and options, but when services get overly proprietary, they sometimes shoot themselves in the foot. I hope that doesn't happen here.
Passionflix debuted another Quickie with Dry Spell and it was funny and sweet but not sugary. I enjoyed it.
I also caught Murdoch Mysteries and liked seeing Terence back again. Finished out the night with a Christmas Belle, a holiday spin on Beauty and the Beast.
Not a bad week of viewing. Tonight's post is from To V or Not to V, a V-World novella that dives in the world of virtual reality and puts my main couple in danger.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Mallory Biden and Surge Tempest work side by side to police crimes in V-World, a virtual reality recreation area where anyone can live out their wildest fantasy. But when Surge goes rogue to track down an old nemesis and enters the Void Zone, a dangerous, untraceable place he helped create, Mallory will risk getting trapped inside to pull him out.
And a sneaky peek…
"Hey, Mal. We got him." The voice came from outside the office and Mallory Biden looked up from the report on her desk expecting to see her brother Rex in three, two, one…He burst through the door, winded, and skidded to a halt. "You tracked Surge?" Rex nodded, breathless. He must've hauled ass from the monitoring station, two floors down. "Where the hell is he?" God, they'd been trying to find Surge for days. She'd been so prepped for bad news she didn't know how to respond to the good. Rex sucked in air and gave a quick shake of his head. "Uh, you're not gonna like it." He pulled out a chair and collapsed in it. Okay… not so good then. At least she knew how to deal with that. Then it hit. "Dammit. He's in V-World, isn't he?" Virtual World could take him anywhere and her job, hell… their job... gave him jurisdiction to do whatever he wanted. Shit. Shit. Shit.Rex grimaced. "Worse. Surge is in the VZ." The urge to punch something took hold of her. "Son of a bitch." What the hell, Surge? Did the man want to drive her mad?Her best friend, fellow soldier, and lover couldn't just go off the grid in V-World for a few days. Nope. He had to really screw shit up by hitting the Void Zone—something he had no business doing. Not when he recently battled with an old employer—the Nemesis and hadn't quite recovered yet. "Stupid, stupid man." Mal got up and paced the area behind her desk, worry mixed with anger, and concern merged with frustration. She stopped abruptly and looked at Rex. "Wait. How did you track him in the VZ? That's not possible." Her brother's smile was grim. "It is now." Well… hell. Rex had finally done it. Cracked the wall that made it so bleeding hard to find anyone once they hit that particular virtual setting. In V-World, they traced people via their log in… not an easy thing. Back tracing took time. Lots of it. But the VZ didn't use a log in… users entered via hacks. And once in, they could go anywhere, either by jumping on someone else's stream and splitting off from it or by simply hi-jacking it out from under them when they stayed idle too long. If that happened, the hi-jacked user only had to log back in, none the wiser to the theft of their data. The process made it very, very hard to trace or monitor anyone's activity in the zone. And the VZ users wanted it that way. They didn't want to be tracked or watched… it defeated the purpose of the Void Zone. But her genius brother found a way to do it. Shit. She'd have to deal with that crisis later. They had some time… but not much. Once word got out, everyone, everyone would be after Rex for the knowledge. The government. Corporations. Criminal gangs. And word would get out. Somehow it always did. Right now though? Surge came first. Mallory put her hand on Rex's shoulder. "Okay… show me where he is."
I'm having fun with this story. I started it over five years ago and I'm loving how far VR has come in those five years!
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
It's been another busy workweek with a rush job for a holiday release and finishing up another manuscript. Throw in car trouble on Friday with not one but two vehicles and, yeah, lost the whole day. LOL
Television was a mixed bag of viewing pleasure. I finished out last week with Pensacola Wings of Gold watching a pretty interesting episode where one of the marines got set up by another government worker. Lexx's second season is at the wobbly part where one episode is great and the next is not so much. Also caught a Hallmark movie, An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving, which has three of my favorite actresses. Should be following up with the Christmas movie this week if my schedule doesn't blow up again.
I have to take a moment and rave about The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. This show always ends up making me smile, even when the storyline is somewhat sad. The fifth episode ended up making laugh out loud and I needed it this past week.
I followed up the funny with some serious emotional drama in Strike Back. Almost through season five, which should catch me up for season six. I gotta say this show does a great job at not letting the members of section twenty save the day in an easy fashion. Two steps forward and five steps back is things usually go for them.
Chicago Fire is kind of losing me with this whole deputy commissioner bullshit. Kind of like Chicago PD lost me with sticking someone in just to put a leash on Hank. I'll finish out this season but if there isn't a big change, I'll be skipping the next with the exception of crossover episodes. I love crossovers.
I'm almost finished with Luke Cage's second season. I'll be honest, I'm really disappointed there won't be more and supposedly it's because of the whole Disney + streaming service that's not even launched yet. I'm all for choice and options, but when services get overly proprietary, they sometimes shoot themselves in the foot. I hope that doesn't happen here.
Passionflix debuted another Quickie with Dry Spell and it was funny and sweet but not sugary. I enjoyed it.
I also caught Murdoch Mysteries and liked seeing Terence back again. Finished out the night with a Christmas Belle, a holiday spin on Beauty and the Beast.
Not a bad week of viewing. Tonight's post is from To V or Not to V, a V-World novella that dives in the world of virtual reality and puts my main couple in danger.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Mallory Biden and Surge Tempest work side by side to police crimes in V-World, a virtual reality recreation area where anyone can live out their wildest fantasy. But when Surge goes rogue to track down an old nemesis and enters the Void Zone, a dangerous, untraceable place he helped create, Mallory will risk getting trapped inside to pull him out.
And a sneaky peek…
"Hey, Mal. We got him." The voice came from outside the office and Mallory Biden looked up from the report on her desk expecting to see her brother Rex in three, two, one…He burst through the door, winded, and skidded to a halt. "You tracked Surge?" Rex nodded, breathless. He must've hauled ass from the monitoring station, two floors down. "Where the hell is he?" God, they'd been trying to find Surge for days. She'd been so prepped for bad news she didn't know how to respond to the good. Rex sucked in air and gave a quick shake of his head. "Uh, you're not gonna like it." He pulled out a chair and collapsed in it. Okay… not so good then. At least she knew how to deal with that. Then it hit. "Dammit. He's in V-World, isn't he?" Virtual World could take him anywhere and her job, hell… their job... gave him jurisdiction to do whatever he wanted. Shit. Shit. Shit.Rex grimaced. "Worse. Surge is in the VZ." The urge to punch something took hold of her. "Son of a bitch." What the hell, Surge? Did the man want to drive her mad?Her best friend, fellow soldier, and lover couldn't just go off the grid in V-World for a few days. Nope. He had to really screw shit up by hitting the Void Zone—something he had no business doing. Not when he recently battled with an old employer—the Nemesis and hadn't quite recovered yet. "Stupid, stupid man." Mal got up and paced the area behind her desk, worry mixed with anger, and concern merged with frustration. She stopped abruptly and looked at Rex. "Wait. How did you track him in the VZ? That's not possible." Her brother's smile was grim. "It is now." Well… hell. Rex had finally done it. Cracked the wall that made it so bleeding hard to find anyone once they hit that particular virtual setting. In V-World, they traced people via their log in… not an easy thing. Back tracing took time. Lots of it. But the VZ didn't use a log in… users entered via hacks. And once in, they could go anywhere, either by jumping on someone else's stream and splitting off from it or by simply hi-jacking it out from under them when they stayed idle too long. If that happened, the hi-jacked user only had to log back in, none the wiser to the theft of their data. The process made it very, very hard to trace or monitor anyone's activity in the zone. And the VZ users wanted it that way. They didn't want to be tracked or watched… it defeated the purpose of the Void Zone. But her genius brother found a way to do it. Shit. She'd have to deal with that crisis later. They had some time… but not much. Once word got out, everyone, everyone would be after Rex for the knowledge. The government. Corporations. Criminal gangs. And word would get out. Somehow it always did. Right now though? Surge came first. Mallory put her hand on Rex's shoulder. "Okay… show me where he is."
I'm having fun with this story. I started it over five years ago and I'm loving how far VR has come in those five years!
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
November 25, 2018
Sunday Snippet: Top Honors
I hope everyone who observes Thanksgiving had a terrific one. The fam and I went to my dad's for a very low-key dinner and quality time together. It's been a few years since we've been able to do that, which is weird because he only lives two miles away from me. LOL
I can honestly say this year I'm so thankful that my family and work life is on an even keel and I some majorly great ideas popping for both my writing and a business venture I hope to pursue in the new year. My editing work keeps me busy and I get to read new books all the time. For a book nerd, there's nothing better.
Television took a back seat to some work commitments and the holiday. I caught a bunch of Classic Who episodes. I'm in season two during the Rome arc. Thoroughly enjoy watching the first doctor.
I’m almost finished with season one of Penny Dreadful. There are times when the show seems to plod along a little. I hope that smooths out with the next season.
Legends of Tomorrow had a great Thanksgiving episode. I kind of like Nate being with the time bureau. Of course a huge showdown with his dad is inevitable. Sadly. I also kind of love Ray getting a little tarnished and being so uncertain about some of his decisions. Makes him a lot more interesting.
Wow. Wynonna Earp keeps getting better. They never quite do what I expect them to do and I love it. Messy relationships playing out on screen is highly entertaining.
Got in another episode of The Dresden Files and I remember watching this one. I hope the new incarnation stays with some of the interesting details of how Harry became a wizard. Also got the last episode of Underbelly's first season. Gotta say it started out pretty slow but ended up being pretty decent.
I watched Midsomer Murders while getting caught up on folding laundry. The entire episode… so yeah, I had a crap ton of clean clothes to fold. Also got an episode of Babylon 5 in on the same day.
To round out the week, I caught episode seven of Birds of Prey on CW Seed and then followed up with The Flash's All Doll'd Up. While I like Nora, she can be a little whiny sometimes. Hope that changes soon.
And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Top Honors, a novella that started with a writing community prompt of "academy graduation". So many possibilities for that topic.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Katie Beal and Hilton Hillion have a very messy breakup after she fails him from basic flight. Two years later, Forbes Hillion bumps into her at Hilt's graduation from the academy and sparks fly, but Katie won't go down the same road again… after all, her career can't withstand another setback from Forbes's dad.
And a sneaky peek…
"Nothing like a late transport flight to almost miss graduation." Forbes Hillion arrived just in time to see his brother accept his certificate and receive his rank insignia. "Way to go, Hilton." Tucking his cover under his arm, he added his applause to the others in the auditorium.Glancing to his right, his gaze landed on a woman lieutenant standing in the shadows clapping for his brother. She looked familiar but Forbes couldn't quite place where he'd seen her before. Before the admiral announced the next name, she stepped out of the darkened alcove and started for side exit, the one Forbes had entered through. The dim light illuminating the aisles gave him a better look and recognition hit Forbes.His brother's ex.Forbes automatically leaned to open the door at the same time she put her palms out to push the handle. She stumbled a little and shouldered into Forbes's chest. Startled, she glanced up with a quick muttered apology before ducking out into the hallway.Forbes followed her into the corridor. "Hey, sorry about that. It's Katie, right?" He'd almost forgotten then name… over two years had gone by.Her head whipped around and she paused a moment then nodded. "Yeah, um, hello, Forbes." A wary note crept into her gaze.Forbes frowned. Maybe she didn't want anyone to know she'd been here. He could understand; the breakup had been rather public.But what better time to get reacquainted. He'd always liked her.Moving to the side, he let the door to the auditorium close. "What brings you here today?" He shouldn't assume she came for Hilt's ceremony.Katie's lips kicked up in a brief smile. "Despite our somewhat spectacular breakup, I wish nothing but the best for Hilton."Forbes propped a shoulder on the wall. "I never got to thank you." Her confused look had him clarifying. "For failing him. He never had the will to fly but he let Dad push him into enrolling in the program." Something Forbes tried to talk Hilton out of.Katie shrugged. "I only did what Hilton asked. He's got a good head on his shoulders and he's scary smart. He'll do well in intelligence."Forbes snorted. "Unless he goes with cryptography. They're in a bit of a battle to see which one can offer the most incentive to get Hilt to sign on with them." His brother had serious skill when it came to languages and codes. Sadness drifted into her gaze, but she covered it quickly. "It's good to have options. And he's got plenty." She gave a small nod and started down the corridor toward the main lobby.Forbes didn't want to let her leave. Where did the balls-to-the-wall instructor go? He'd like to find out.He caught up with her. "Are you busy this evening? I'd love to have dinner and catch up with you." And maybe discover what took the fire out of her eyes.Katie blinked and shook her head. "Aren't you celebrating with family?" She moved to the side of the corridor, staying out of the flow of traffic.Forbes chuckled. "Nope. Hilt's got a late flight out to meet with a base commander. One of the ones pulling out all the stops to impress him." No doubt there would be a veritable feast provided on his brother's flight.Katie gave him a long, studied look. "Dinner sounds great. What time—" She broke off the question when his dad rounded the corner from the main auditorium doors.Walsh Hillion cut an authoritative figure. He strode forward with confidence, gave a curt nod to Katie, and clapped Forbes on the back.Walsh directed his gaze toward Katie. "Lieutenant Beal. Did you have students graduating today?"She schooled her features into a pleasant mask. "No, admiral, only a former one."His dad's eyes narrowed and a long moment passed in silent exchange. Forbes didn't have a clue what the hell pinged between the two of them but the vibe took an awkward turn.Walsh glanced away and turned toward Forbes. "Glad you made it. What kept you?"Forbes kept his gaze on Katie but answered his dad. "Late getting in. The transport had a delay waiting on a colonel to make the connecting flight." Katie fidgeted and looked ready to bolt.Because of his dad? But why?She made a move toward the door. "If you'll excuse me. I'll let you two catch up."Forbes stepped away from his dad. "Where can I meet you? What time?" He wouldn't let her get away without nailing down the details.She gave his dad a quick side eye, named a restaurant and time, then pushed through the exit. Forbes stared after her. His head spun from her hasty retreat.His dad cut through the fog. "There'll be trouble if you take up with her." His voice had a warning edge to it.Forbes quirked a brow. "For her? Really?" He faced his dad. "And why is that?"Walsh's brows furrowed. "You don't think your brother will have a problem with you starting something up with his ex-girlfriend… the one who failed him?"Forbes rolled his eyes. "He might if he hadn't started dating his current girlfriend ten minutes after he publicly split with Katie." Something else had the admiral in a twist. "It's been two years, Dad. Why are you making an issue?" Seriously, what the hell had he missed?Walsh backed off. "It's your life, son. But you could do better."Forbes opened his mouth to respond but Hilton came around the corner, his arm wrapped around Margo James, the current girlfriend.Walsh moved away and greeted his youngest son, leaving Forbes to ponder exactly what his dad meant by the comment about Katie. Personally, Forbes rather hoped Katie wouldn't think she could do better than her ex's older brother.Maybe he'd find out at dinner.
I'm pretty pleased with how this scene came together. And Forbes? Well, dinner might not go the way he wants it to. LOL
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
I can honestly say this year I'm so thankful that my family and work life is on an even keel and I some majorly great ideas popping for both my writing and a business venture I hope to pursue in the new year. My editing work keeps me busy and I get to read new books all the time. For a book nerd, there's nothing better.
Television took a back seat to some work commitments and the holiday. I caught a bunch of Classic Who episodes. I'm in season two during the Rome arc. Thoroughly enjoy watching the first doctor.
I’m almost finished with season one of Penny Dreadful. There are times when the show seems to plod along a little. I hope that smooths out with the next season.
Legends of Tomorrow had a great Thanksgiving episode. I kind of like Nate being with the time bureau. Of course a huge showdown with his dad is inevitable. Sadly. I also kind of love Ray getting a little tarnished and being so uncertain about some of his decisions. Makes him a lot more interesting.
Wow. Wynonna Earp keeps getting better. They never quite do what I expect them to do and I love it. Messy relationships playing out on screen is highly entertaining.
Got in another episode of The Dresden Files and I remember watching this one. I hope the new incarnation stays with some of the interesting details of how Harry became a wizard. Also got the last episode of Underbelly's first season. Gotta say it started out pretty slow but ended up being pretty decent.
I watched Midsomer Murders while getting caught up on folding laundry. The entire episode… so yeah, I had a crap ton of clean clothes to fold. Also got an episode of Babylon 5 in on the same day.
To round out the week, I caught episode seven of Birds of Prey on CW Seed and then followed up with The Flash's All Doll'd Up. While I like Nora, she can be a little whiny sometimes. Hope that changes soon.
And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Top Honors, a novella that started with a writing community prompt of "academy graduation". So many possibilities for that topic.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Katie Beal and Hilton Hillion have a very messy breakup after she fails him from basic flight. Two years later, Forbes Hillion bumps into her at Hilt's graduation from the academy and sparks fly, but Katie won't go down the same road again… after all, her career can't withstand another setback from Forbes's dad.
And a sneaky peek…
"Nothing like a late transport flight to almost miss graduation." Forbes Hillion arrived just in time to see his brother accept his certificate and receive his rank insignia. "Way to go, Hilton." Tucking his cover under his arm, he added his applause to the others in the auditorium.Glancing to his right, his gaze landed on a woman lieutenant standing in the shadows clapping for his brother. She looked familiar but Forbes couldn't quite place where he'd seen her before. Before the admiral announced the next name, she stepped out of the darkened alcove and started for side exit, the one Forbes had entered through. The dim light illuminating the aisles gave him a better look and recognition hit Forbes.His brother's ex.Forbes automatically leaned to open the door at the same time she put her palms out to push the handle. She stumbled a little and shouldered into Forbes's chest. Startled, she glanced up with a quick muttered apology before ducking out into the hallway.Forbes followed her into the corridor. "Hey, sorry about that. It's Katie, right?" He'd almost forgotten then name… over two years had gone by.Her head whipped around and she paused a moment then nodded. "Yeah, um, hello, Forbes." A wary note crept into her gaze.Forbes frowned. Maybe she didn't want anyone to know she'd been here. He could understand; the breakup had been rather public.But what better time to get reacquainted. He'd always liked her.Moving to the side, he let the door to the auditorium close. "What brings you here today?" He shouldn't assume she came for Hilt's ceremony.Katie's lips kicked up in a brief smile. "Despite our somewhat spectacular breakup, I wish nothing but the best for Hilton."Forbes propped a shoulder on the wall. "I never got to thank you." Her confused look had him clarifying. "For failing him. He never had the will to fly but he let Dad push him into enrolling in the program." Something Forbes tried to talk Hilton out of.Katie shrugged. "I only did what Hilton asked. He's got a good head on his shoulders and he's scary smart. He'll do well in intelligence."Forbes snorted. "Unless he goes with cryptography. They're in a bit of a battle to see which one can offer the most incentive to get Hilt to sign on with them." His brother had serious skill when it came to languages and codes. Sadness drifted into her gaze, but she covered it quickly. "It's good to have options. And he's got plenty." She gave a small nod and started down the corridor toward the main lobby.Forbes didn't want to let her leave. Where did the balls-to-the-wall instructor go? He'd like to find out.He caught up with her. "Are you busy this evening? I'd love to have dinner and catch up with you." And maybe discover what took the fire out of her eyes.Katie blinked and shook her head. "Aren't you celebrating with family?" She moved to the side of the corridor, staying out of the flow of traffic.Forbes chuckled. "Nope. Hilt's got a late flight out to meet with a base commander. One of the ones pulling out all the stops to impress him." No doubt there would be a veritable feast provided on his brother's flight.Katie gave him a long, studied look. "Dinner sounds great. What time—" She broke off the question when his dad rounded the corner from the main auditorium doors.Walsh Hillion cut an authoritative figure. He strode forward with confidence, gave a curt nod to Katie, and clapped Forbes on the back.Walsh directed his gaze toward Katie. "Lieutenant Beal. Did you have students graduating today?"She schooled her features into a pleasant mask. "No, admiral, only a former one."His dad's eyes narrowed and a long moment passed in silent exchange. Forbes didn't have a clue what the hell pinged between the two of them but the vibe took an awkward turn.Walsh glanced away and turned toward Forbes. "Glad you made it. What kept you?"Forbes kept his gaze on Katie but answered his dad. "Late getting in. The transport had a delay waiting on a colonel to make the connecting flight." Katie fidgeted and looked ready to bolt.Because of his dad? But why?She made a move toward the door. "If you'll excuse me. I'll let you two catch up."Forbes stepped away from his dad. "Where can I meet you? What time?" He wouldn't let her get away without nailing down the details.She gave his dad a quick side eye, named a restaurant and time, then pushed through the exit. Forbes stared after her. His head spun from her hasty retreat.His dad cut through the fog. "There'll be trouble if you take up with her." His voice had a warning edge to it.Forbes quirked a brow. "For her? Really?" He faced his dad. "And why is that?"Walsh's brows furrowed. "You don't think your brother will have a problem with you starting something up with his ex-girlfriend… the one who failed him?"Forbes rolled his eyes. "He might if he hadn't started dating his current girlfriend ten minutes after he publicly split with Katie." Something else had the admiral in a twist. "It's been two years, Dad. Why are you making an issue?" Seriously, what the hell had he missed?Walsh backed off. "It's your life, son. But you could do better."Forbes opened his mouth to respond but Hilton came around the corner, his arm wrapped around Margo James, the current girlfriend.Walsh moved away and greeted his youngest son, leaving Forbes to ponder exactly what his dad meant by the comment about Katie. Personally, Forbes rather hoped Katie wouldn't think she could do better than her ex's older brother.Maybe he'd find out at dinner.
I'm pretty pleased with how this scene came together. And Forbes? Well, dinner might not go the way he wants it to. LOL
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
November 18, 2018
Sunday Snippet: To Create a Spy
Geez… what a week. I can honestly say I've never worked harder on a copy edit than I have for the past twelve days. I've actually never taken twelve days to complete a copy edit before. TLDR… it's a long manuscript and there were a crap ton of glitchy little things that needed review. My brain kind of hurts right now. LOL
To top the long work week off, my daughter had three nights of after-school events. National honor society inductions on Tuesday, golf awards banquet on Thursday, and the holiday parade on Friday, which we made five gallons of hot chocolate for the choir kids to drink and keep warm while riding the float. Seriously… it's not as easy to make five gallons of a hot drink as one might think. And… my daughter's also in band so she doesn't even ride the float with the choir. She marches and misses all the chocolaty goodness.
Needless to say, I'm now behind on my television viewing. I actually couldn't watch the finale of The Last Ship. I'm not ready to say goodbye to this show yet. I'm going to miss that damn ship and its sailors so much.
I do have brief rundown of what I did get to see. Caught another episode of Strike Back's fifth season. I'm starting to like this group a lot. I do miss the instant chemistry the previous cast had, especially the leads. That said, the dynamic is different enough with this group that I'm interested in where things go. And they're completely pared down, carrying on with how the previous incarnation ended. The commander is rebuilding and restoring the reputation of Section Twenty. So… they get lots of wiggle room.
Caught the Chicago crossover event with Fire, Med, and PD. Thoroughly enjoyed all three shows. I've lost some love for Chicago PD. The fifth season kind of lost me with all the sneaky snitchy bullshit. I really want to watch Chicago Med from the beginning. Here's hoping that happens in the near future.
I'm almost finished with Luke Cage. Disappointed there won't be a third season but maybe we'll see the character is something else. Who knows.
Got an episode of Murdoch Mysteries in. I like how this show weaves current topical events into the storyline, showing how often history tends to repeat. Not necessarily a great thing, but it's fun to see how they work it all out.
Watched a couple episodes of Classic Who. I'm behind on the new season but should get caught up soon. Started a new episode of Penny Dreadful and should finish the first season by the end of the month.
And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from To Create a Spy, a novella that pays homage to one of my favorite shows, La Femme Nikita.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Mariah St. James isn't what she appears to be when she's recruited by a covert black ops group hell bent on using her supposed skill set. But when she finds an ally in Matthew Jamison, she thinks she might actually survive the rigorous and deadly training… until he betrays her by leaving her alone in a dangerous situation.
And a sneaky peek…
The nightmare had her snared in its tangled depths. Thrashing on the cot, trying to fight the onslaught of images crashing through her mind, Mariah St. James battled physical restraints, too. But she didn’t know that. Caught up in the terror, she had no idea she was strapped to a cot wearing only thin cotton clothes drenched with sweat. Twisting, writhing she flinched with pain and memories. The horrific flashes tumbled around, churning, pushing her deeper into the darkness.Flash!She answered for made up transgressions on the receiving end of her mother's pounding fists and verbal tirades. Flash!Forced out and abandoned at age sixteen, living on the streets, scraping by however she could. Flash!Enjoying her freedom, making her home with people in similar circumstances. A made up family, when it suited their purposes. Flash! Dragged out of a rave, doused with chemicals, and held against her will. Flash!Lights and darkness. On and off. Faces obscured by shadows and masks. Cruel eyes and garbled voices.And pain. Excruciating and torturous pain. Each new image a tether, which held fast and wouldn't let her go. Then came the swirl of color and numbing calm, followed by droning voices humming with suggestions, elusive and out of reach.And then the worst. The screams of agony, her own and many, many others. Trapped inside herself, a living hell filled with brutal killing, senseless violence, and gripping bloodlust. Drowning in the depths of her own depravity, Mariah had been leg go, set free, dumped in an alley and left to her own devices. Still in the thrall of an altered state, she had no concept of real and imaginary anymore. No idea of anything she'd done. Dragged in for questioning by the police, she babbled incoherently, trying to tell them what happened to her, but couldn't get the words out. By the time her head cleared, it became too late. She'd been charged with seventeen counts of murder. The evidence against her irrefutable, everything happened so fast she barely had time to breathe before—Clang! The cell door closed on her new home. The one her mother swore she'd live in one day. Not even she would've believed her daughter would go down for murder—not in Mariah's nature. But the right cocktail of psychotropic drugs could alter anyone's make-up. Force them do unimaginable things at a whispered command. In the time it took Mariah's body to expel the last traces of the drug, she'd only begun to weave together tiny bits and pieces of the things she'd done. The nightmarish specter of her dreams had, in reality, been her. She watched the undeniable proof of her actions in court, throwing up afterwards. Not that it made a difference. Convicted. Sentenced. Life in prison, no chance for parole.A death sentence would have been better. Once word of her horrific misdeeds got out, she became an open target in the detention center. Everyone wanted to take down the crazy, insane killing machine known only as Mariah. The courts and prison system stripped her of her last name to protect her family. She'd tried to tell them it wasn't necessary… she had no one who claimed her. Her mother had written her off years ago.She suffered a vicious beating her first week on the cell block. Someone—she had no idea who, her eyes were swelled completely shut—dragged her to the infirmary for treatment. The nurse kept her overnight then released her to go back to her six by nine home. The fact she peed blood for the next week either deemed unimportant or overlooked. The second week, she got stabbed in the arm with a shiv. Fourteen stitches, another overnight stay and a refusal to take any kind of pain medication saw her back on the block. Keeping a low profile didn't work. She had to fight back. Engaging her attackers failed miserably. Her third week resulted in a trip to the prison hospital ward. A cracked skull and fear of brain matter swelling kept her out of reach for forty-eight hours. Mariah didn't know how much more she could take and not end up dead. Worse, she didn't know if she cared. The fourth week, tactics changed. No one touched her, snarled at her, or messed with her. She ate alone—for once—and actually finished all her meals. But by the third day she understood why. Sluggish and out of sorts, her ears hummed and her brain revved at ninety miles a minute. Her hands shook and she couldn't focus on anything. By day five, she started hallucinating, seeing the violent images of her handiwork everywhere she turned. Rocking in the corner of her cell, Mariah prayed for death, if only to escape the terror of not having control. When the nurses came for her, her mind saw the men in white, cruel eyes flashing behind the protective goggles they wore. She fought, kicking and screaming, refusing to go back to that place. Terrified they'd make her do more horrible and destructive things to others. A prick against her skin and everything went black. She sank blissfully into the ether.
I'm truly enjoying this story and fleshing out the other two or three books that should follow. Mariah and Matthew are doing a slow, dangerous dance toward something terrific. I hope.
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
To top the long work week off, my daughter had three nights of after-school events. National honor society inductions on Tuesday, golf awards banquet on Thursday, and the holiday parade on Friday, which we made five gallons of hot chocolate for the choir kids to drink and keep warm while riding the float. Seriously… it's not as easy to make five gallons of a hot drink as one might think. And… my daughter's also in band so she doesn't even ride the float with the choir. She marches and misses all the chocolaty goodness.
Needless to say, I'm now behind on my television viewing. I actually couldn't watch the finale of The Last Ship. I'm not ready to say goodbye to this show yet. I'm going to miss that damn ship and its sailors so much.
I do have brief rundown of what I did get to see. Caught another episode of Strike Back's fifth season. I'm starting to like this group a lot. I do miss the instant chemistry the previous cast had, especially the leads. That said, the dynamic is different enough with this group that I'm interested in where things go. And they're completely pared down, carrying on with how the previous incarnation ended. The commander is rebuilding and restoring the reputation of Section Twenty. So… they get lots of wiggle room.
Caught the Chicago crossover event with Fire, Med, and PD. Thoroughly enjoyed all three shows. I've lost some love for Chicago PD. The fifth season kind of lost me with all the sneaky snitchy bullshit. I really want to watch Chicago Med from the beginning. Here's hoping that happens in the near future.
I'm almost finished with Luke Cage. Disappointed there won't be a third season but maybe we'll see the character is something else. Who knows.
Got an episode of Murdoch Mysteries in. I like how this show weaves current topical events into the storyline, showing how often history tends to repeat. Not necessarily a great thing, but it's fun to see how they work it all out.
Watched a couple episodes of Classic Who. I'm behind on the new season but should get caught up soon. Started a new episode of Penny Dreadful and should finish the first season by the end of the month.
And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from To Create a Spy, a novella that pays homage to one of my favorite shows, La Femme Nikita.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Mariah St. James isn't what she appears to be when she's recruited by a covert black ops group hell bent on using her supposed skill set. But when she finds an ally in Matthew Jamison, she thinks she might actually survive the rigorous and deadly training… until he betrays her by leaving her alone in a dangerous situation.
And a sneaky peek…
The nightmare had her snared in its tangled depths. Thrashing on the cot, trying to fight the onslaught of images crashing through her mind, Mariah St. James battled physical restraints, too. But she didn’t know that. Caught up in the terror, she had no idea she was strapped to a cot wearing only thin cotton clothes drenched with sweat. Twisting, writhing she flinched with pain and memories. The horrific flashes tumbled around, churning, pushing her deeper into the darkness.Flash!She answered for made up transgressions on the receiving end of her mother's pounding fists and verbal tirades. Flash!Forced out and abandoned at age sixteen, living on the streets, scraping by however she could. Flash!Enjoying her freedom, making her home with people in similar circumstances. A made up family, when it suited their purposes. Flash! Dragged out of a rave, doused with chemicals, and held against her will. Flash!Lights and darkness. On and off. Faces obscured by shadows and masks. Cruel eyes and garbled voices.And pain. Excruciating and torturous pain. Each new image a tether, which held fast and wouldn't let her go. Then came the swirl of color and numbing calm, followed by droning voices humming with suggestions, elusive and out of reach.And then the worst. The screams of agony, her own and many, many others. Trapped inside herself, a living hell filled with brutal killing, senseless violence, and gripping bloodlust. Drowning in the depths of her own depravity, Mariah had been leg go, set free, dumped in an alley and left to her own devices. Still in the thrall of an altered state, she had no concept of real and imaginary anymore. No idea of anything she'd done. Dragged in for questioning by the police, she babbled incoherently, trying to tell them what happened to her, but couldn't get the words out. By the time her head cleared, it became too late. She'd been charged with seventeen counts of murder. The evidence against her irrefutable, everything happened so fast she barely had time to breathe before—Clang! The cell door closed on her new home. The one her mother swore she'd live in one day. Not even she would've believed her daughter would go down for murder—not in Mariah's nature. But the right cocktail of psychotropic drugs could alter anyone's make-up. Force them do unimaginable things at a whispered command. In the time it took Mariah's body to expel the last traces of the drug, she'd only begun to weave together tiny bits and pieces of the things she'd done. The nightmarish specter of her dreams had, in reality, been her. She watched the undeniable proof of her actions in court, throwing up afterwards. Not that it made a difference. Convicted. Sentenced. Life in prison, no chance for parole.A death sentence would have been better. Once word of her horrific misdeeds got out, she became an open target in the detention center. Everyone wanted to take down the crazy, insane killing machine known only as Mariah. The courts and prison system stripped her of her last name to protect her family. She'd tried to tell them it wasn't necessary… she had no one who claimed her. Her mother had written her off years ago.She suffered a vicious beating her first week on the cell block. Someone—she had no idea who, her eyes were swelled completely shut—dragged her to the infirmary for treatment. The nurse kept her overnight then released her to go back to her six by nine home. The fact she peed blood for the next week either deemed unimportant or overlooked. The second week, she got stabbed in the arm with a shiv. Fourteen stitches, another overnight stay and a refusal to take any kind of pain medication saw her back on the block. Keeping a low profile didn't work. She had to fight back. Engaging her attackers failed miserably. Her third week resulted in a trip to the prison hospital ward. A cracked skull and fear of brain matter swelling kept her out of reach for forty-eight hours. Mariah didn't know how much more she could take and not end up dead. Worse, she didn't know if she cared. The fourth week, tactics changed. No one touched her, snarled at her, or messed with her. She ate alone—for once—and actually finished all her meals. But by the third day she understood why. Sluggish and out of sorts, her ears hummed and her brain revved at ninety miles a minute. Her hands shook and she couldn't focus on anything. By day five, she started hallucinating, seeing the violent images of her handiwork everywhere she turned. Rocking in the corner of her cell, Mariah prayed for death, if only to escape the terror of not having control. When the nurses came for her, her mind saw the men in white, cruel eyes flashing behind the protective goggles they wore. She fought, kicking and screaming, refusing to go back to that place. Terrified they'd make her do more horrible and destructive things to others. A prick against her skin and everything went black. She sank blissfully into the ether.
I'm truly enjoying this story and fleshing out the other two or three books that should follow. Mariah and Matthew are doing a slow, dangerous dance toward something terrific. I hope.
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
November 11, 2018
Sunday Snippet: Ties Don't Bind
As someone with family and friends who have served or are serving in the military, I'd like to thank all of our service members for their courage, sacrifices, and efforts. Thank you.
It's been a rough week with two difficult manuscripts and the end of daylight savings. Seriously, I've been all out of sorts and my internal clock hasn't caught up yet. LOL
I didn't get a lot of television in this week—see above for why—but I did stay current on usual shows. The Last Ship killed off another of my faves, which means I'm trying to prepare for a high body count in the finale. A box of tissues and alcohol might be involved. Just saying.
Arrow kicked some butt. I'm kind of liking the flash forward stuff, especially because the flashbacks are a thing of the past for the most part. I'll give kudos to Stephen, Emily, and Katie because I think they're doing some stellar work. The rest of the cast is on point also. Riverdale's Midnight Club episode rocked. The more batshit this show gets the more I seem to enjoy it. And it's definitely over the top.
Legends of Tomorrow keeps delivering great episodes. I'm always excited to see who's going to interact with whom. The constantly changing dynamic of the cast is so much fun.
I did catch an episode of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and, honestly, I love this show. It's going to go down as one of my favorite viewing experiences. I also caught an episode of Classic Who and finished up an episode of Midsomer Murders.
That's it on the television front. Tonight's post is from Ties Don't Bind, a sexy short that will hopefully feature in a new magazine that might launch early next year. Fingers crossed.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Gemma Neal, a soldier, shares a past with Tripp Macintosh and wants to reconnect with her former friend and lover. But when Tripp gets elected to a parliament position, trading fatigues for a suit and tie, she's not sure how to proceed… a foreign concept for the take-charge lieutenant.
And a sneaky peek…
Gemma Neal entered Tripp Macintosh's quarters, her mind noting the difference between her ship and his. Privacy ranked as the biggest bonus, but she'd trade it for being able to see him more often. She missed him. More than she thought she would."Flying escort is something we used to do together."Now she flew for him as a newly elected member of parliament.She never thought he'd leave the unit… or her. Not that she didn't deserve it. She'd told him it would be the only way they'd ever be together. And when he'd left? She'd said she wouldn't be with a man who'd mustered out."Geez, I'm such a bitch sometimes."Of course, Tripp left anyway. He wouldn't be led by his dick.And damned if she didn't respect the hell out of him for that reason.Her fingers trailed over the personal belongings he'd taken with him. The items on proud display invoked memories. "Wow, it's like wading through the past." Each piece represented a stage his life. And hers.They'd spent so many years together.The honors cords hanging from his mirror—their graduation from the military academy.The wings sitting on his bureau—the nightmare of flight qualifications and getting their first posts.A patch from each ship and base, many the same as her collection, took her on a stroll down memory lane of their building friendship and random hookups."Man… we had some seriously good times."She came to a framed photo and picked it up. "Oh, Tripp." Her breath caught in her throat.The image captured them together, her sitting in a cockpit with Tripp on the ladder, their gazes locked in a shared moment of intimacy. They were always on the same wavelength when it came to flying. Their wires got crossed when it came to the personal stuff.Okay, mostly hers did. Tripp never waffled back and forth.She moved on to the desk where his new life spread out in the form of files, notes from the delegation sessions, and his formal representative sash. She'd listened to his rebuttals today. Everything he said made so much sense. As much as she hated to admit it, he belonged in government.But being there meant leaving her behind.She shook her head. "No, dumbass, trying to bed him while drunk—after you kicked him aside—is why you're not high on his list right now." Stupid move when she truly wanted to reconnect with him.She took a chance coming aboard, hoping to get a few minutes with him. Her instinct to turn and leave got trumped by her need to see him. Maybe find a way to forge a new, different relationship.She snorted. "Right. Because I'm so good with change." But for Tripp, for a potential future, she'd sure as hell put her grown-up panties on.
Oh, Gemma, it's hard to face the past and the future at the same time. LOL I love this little story so much.
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
It's been a rough week with two difficult manuscripts and the end of daylight savings. Seriously, I've been all out of sorts and my internal clock hasn't caught up yet. LOL
I didn't get a lot of television in this week—see above for why—but I did stay current on usual shows. The Last Ship killed off another of my faves, which means I'm trying to prepare for a high body count in the finale. A box of tissues and alcohol might be involved. Just saying.
Arrow kicked some butt. I'm kind of liking the flash forward stuff, especially because the flashbacks are a thing of the past for the most part. I'll give kudos to Stephen, Emily, and Katie because I think they're doing some stellar work. The rest of the cast is on point also. Riverdale's Midnight Club episode rocked. The more batshit this show gets the more I seem to enjoy it. And it's definitely over the top.
Legends of Tomorrow keeps delivering great episodes. I'm always excited to see who's going to interact with whom. The constantly changing dynamic of the cast is so much fun.
I did catch an episode of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and, honestly, I love this show. It's going to go down as one of my favorite viewing experiences. I also caught an episode of Classic Who and finished up an episode of Midsomer Murders.
That's it on the television front. Tonight's post is from Ties Don't Bind, a sexy short that will hopefully feature in a new magazine that might launch early next year. Fingers crossed.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Gemma Neal, a soldier, shares a past with Tripp Macintosh and wants to reconnect with her former friend and lover. But when Tripp gets elected to a parliament position, trading fatigues for a suit and tie, she's not sure how to proceed… a foreign concept for the take-charge lieutenant.
And a sneaky peek…
Gemma Neal entered Tripp Macintosh's quarters, her mind noting the difference between her ship and his. Privacy ranked as the biggest bonus, but she'd trade it for being able to see him more often. She missed him. More than she thought she would."Flying escort is something we used to do together."Now she flew for him as a newly elected member of parliament.She never thought he'd leave the unit… or her. Not that she didn't deserve it. She'd told him it would be the only way they'd ever be together. And when he'd left? She'd said she wouldn't be with a man who'd mustered out."Geez, I'm such a bitch sometimes."Of course, Tripp left anyway. He wouldn't be led by his dick.And damned if she didn't respect the hell out of him for that reason.Her fingers trailed over the personal belongings he'd taken with him. The items on proud display invoked memories. "Wow, it's like wading through the past." Each piece represented a stage his life. And hers.They'd spent so many years together.The honors cords hanging from his mirror—their graduation from the military academy.The wings sitting on his bureau—the nightmare of flight qualifications and getting their first posts.A patch from each ship and base, many the same as her collection, took her on a stroll down memory lane of their building friendship and random hookups."Man… we had some seriously good times."She came to a framed photo and picked it up. "Oh, Tripp." Her breath caught in her throat.The image captured them together, her sitting in a cockpit with Tripp on the ladder, their gazes locked in a shared moment of intimacy. They were always on the same wavelength when it came to flying. Their wires got crossed when it came to the personal stuff.Okay, mostly hers did. Tripp never waffled back and forth.She moved on to the desk where his new life spread out in the form of files, notes from the delegation sessions, and his formal representative sash. She'd listened to his rebuttals today. Everything he said made so much sense. As much as she hated to admit it, he belonged in government.But being there meant leaving her behind.She shook her head. "No, dumbass, trying to bed him while drunk—after you kicked him aside—is why you're not high on his list right now." Stupid move when she truly wanted to reconnect with him.She took a chance coming aboard, hoping to get a few minutes with him. Her instinct to turn and leave got trumped by her need to see him. Maybe find a way to forge a new, different relationship.She snorted. "Right. Because I'm so good with change." But for Tripp, for a potential future, she'd sure as hell put her grown-up panties on.
Oh, Gemma, it's hard to face the past and the future at the same time. LOL I love this little story so much.
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
November 4, 2018
Sunday Snippet: Threshold
We're entering the next to last month of the year… how did ten months already fly by? I got some scary news earlier in the week. My younger sibling had a major heart attack while at work and ended up having surgery to put stents in. He's actually doing terrific, considering it's one of the worst types of cardiac infarctions. I'm so very grateful I still have him around.
Needless to say, television viewing ended up being limited this week. The Last Ship killed off one my favorite characters and I’m still mourning that loss. Thankfully, The Flash had a pretty terrific episode and I love the introduction of meta-tech. Arrow is doing a great job of keeping me interested. I didn't know how I'd end up liking the whole prison angle, but I'm very satisfied with how it's playing out. Legends of Tomorrow remains excellent. I'm always surprised by how fast the hour flies by when I'm watching.
I caught another episode of The Sarah Conner Chronicles. I'm about halfway through the season and the end is being shaped. I truly forgot how much I loved this show. Also caught another episode of Birds of Prey. Stylistically, I love how this series plays out on the screen. Caught another episode of Lexx and completely forgot about Stan's trial. I actually enjoyed this one.
Doctor Who's episode with spiders ended up being pretty good. I'm never sure how I'll take to episodes with creepy-crawly things. Somewhat disappointed there won't be a Christmas special this year but having a New Year's show could be fun. We'll see.
Got another episode of Pensacola Wings of Gold in. Enjoyed seeing how that one played out. I'm almost finished with the first season and I'm not sure if I'll continue on because it seems like the second series has an almost entirely new cast. I'll watch a few episodes and see what happens.
Caught another Hallmark movie, Hannah's Law. Ended up being pretty decent. I watched mainly for Greyston Holt, a favorite actor of mine.
Rounded out the week with some classic television marathons. The Saint throughout the week and Burke's Law this weekend.
That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Threshold, a novella that started with a two-word prompt of "not yet". The sages jumped on this one and I had the brainstormed story idea written out in record time.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Satin Welch takes one look at the gorgeous Blade Killian and has to have him. She purchases his slave contract and grants him freedom. Blade doesn't trust the beautiful woman or her idea to make him a partner on the Threshold, a pleasure ship traveling throughout the galaxy, but he can't quite resist the chance to make his own choices after a decade of sexual servitude.
And a sneaky peek…
Blade Killian had three women close to the edge of orgasm. The first rode his cock, rocking her hips hard and fast. The second poised above his face, his tongue working magic over her clit. And the third had three of his fingers scissoring deep within her dripping pussy. All were gasping and moaning their pleasure, begging him for more.Blade hated the multiple partner bookings, but he kept his clients satisfied and tended to get stuck with at least two per day. He'd grown so tired of being a stud. Of being used as a fuck toy for both sexes. His owner lavished the best clothes, products, and food upon Blade, but he'd rather be free. Ten years of servitude with no way out. He'd been taken at the age of sixteen by a gang of slave traders and didn't see any end in sight.The woman riding his dick shuddered through a powerful orgasm, her nails raking his pectoral muscles, drawing blood. She leaned forward and licked a droplet, grinding her hips a few more times before dismounting.She grasped his erect length. "Well, my goodness, look at you, still rock hard and ready to go." Her hand fisted around his girth and she gave it a painful squeeze. "Don't think I'm enough woman for you? Too good to drain your balls inside me? Maybe I should—"The woman riding his face cut off the other's tirade. "Great universe, Fenley. Can't you see he's busy and can't respond?" She made a low moaning sound. "If you're so damned worried about his balls, why don't you stuff your mouth with his dick and try your luck that way." She huffed out a gasp. "Mmmm, lover, keep sucking my clit. Feels soooo good." Her knees tightened, pinning his head between them, limiting his movement.Fenley snorted. "Not a bad idea, Bidgie. I'll suck him dry." Her head lowered and she enveloped his cock between her lips.She'd be sorely disappointed when she couldn't get him to come. He never did with multiple partners. Not lately. Something about the mix of herbs his owner forced down his throat when he had two or more clients kept him from finding his release, usually for several hours. And when he did finally get off, he had so much semen it sometimes hurt to expel the creamy fluid.The third woman shuddered and writhed, grabbing hold of his wrist and lifting her hips up and down. She gasped and moaned, then collapsed, spent and sated. Blade withdrew his fingers, flexing the digits to relieve the cramping.Bidgie finally stiffened then trembled with her release. Her knees dug into the sides of his head, making his ears pop with the pressure.She rolled sideways and planted a wet kiss on the third woman's lips. "Mmm, Marcia. He's deliciously skilled, isn't he?"From the corner of his eye, he watched the women maneuver into a position where they could orally pleasure each other.Fenley continued to suck and slaver all over his cock. The grip of her mouth and sting of her teeth on the sensitive skin had him bucking to get her away from him. She grabbed hold of his balls, twisting them hard and he shot up, growling in pain.She spit his shaft out and slapped him. "You insolent bastard. Who do you think you are?" Flinging herself from the bed, she stalked across the room, her chest heaving with anger.Bidgie and Marcia stopped their sexual exploration and slanted glances between Blade and Fenley.Bidgie frowned. "Fenley, why don't you join us? We still have thirty minutes." She nodded toward Blade. "He can do all three of us round robin style."Fenley snarled. "I don't think so, Bidge. This stud for hire needs to be taught a lesson."Her hand pulled one of the inset drawers open. She fished around for a moment, brought out a riding crop and slapped it against her palm.Taking a menacing step forward, she sneered. "I'm going to whip his cock into a frenzy and beat the cum from his balls."A red haze of rage settled over Blade and he snapped, leaping from the mattress and putting his hands around Fenley's throat. "You won't lay a hand on me." He'd snap her neck before she could succeed.Marcia squeaked with fear and pulled the long bell cord, signaling his master's security force. Fenley got one blow in, striking his shoulder with the split end of the whip before he pinned her to the wall with one hand and stripped the crop from her with the other. The doors burst open and a brief shock stung him between his shoulder blades, the jolt sending Fenley and the torture device to the floor. Blade had a flash of satisfaction, knowing the bitch of a woman got a jarring zing from the contact.A set of hands pushed him to his knees. "Dammit, Blade. Makesh isn't going to ignore this insubordination." Jaym Dervish, the closest thing Blade had to a friend, slipped a collar over his head and tightened the restraint. "You've got to tell him about the side effects of those damned herbs."The other security agent corralled the women and did his best to soothe the raging beast Fenley turned into, while clucking over Marcia and Bidgie. Jaym dragged Blade toward the door and he met Fenley's angry gaze, holding it until Jaym made the turn into the corridor.If Blade never saw the shrewish female again, it would be too soon. He didn't care if Makesh beat him or sold him to another master. He could not deal with any more raving madwomen.
I'm very excited about this story. Satin and Blade are damaged by their pasts but also fun to write.
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
Needless to say, television viewing ended up being limited this week. The Last Ship killed off one my favorite characters and I’m still mourning that loss. Thankfully, The Flash had a pretty terrific episode and I love the introduction of meta-tech. Arrow is doing a great job of keeping me interested. I didn't know how I'd end up liking the whole prison angle, but I'm very satisfied with how it's playing out. Legends of Tomorrow remains excellent. I'm always surprised by how fast the hour flies by when I'm watching.
I caught another episode of The Sarah Conner Chronicles. I'm about halfway through the season and the end is being shaped. I truly forgot how much I loved this show. Also caught another episode of Birds of Prey. Stylistically, I love how this series plays out on the screen. Caught another episode of Lexx and completely forgot about Stan's trial. I actually enjoyed this one.
Doctor Who's episode with spiders ended up being pretty good. I'm never sure how I'll take to episodes with creepy-crawly things. Somewhat disappointed there won't be a Christmas special this year but having a New Year's show could be fun. We'll see.
Got another episode of Pensacola Wings of Gold in. Enjoyed seeing how that one played out. I'm almost finished with the first season and I'm not sure if I'll continue on because it seems like the second series has an almost entirely new cast. I'll watch a few episodes and see what happens.
Caught another Hallmark movie, Hannah's Law. Ended up being pretty decent. I watched mainly for Greyston Holt, a favorite actor of mine.
Rounded out the week with some classic television marathons. The Saint throughout the week and Burke's Law this weekend.
That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Threshold, a novella that started with a two-word prompt of "not yet". The sages jumped on this one and I had the brainstormed story idea written out in record time.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Satin Welch takes one look at the gorgeous Blade Killian and has to have him. She purchases his slave contract and grants him freedom. Blade doesn't trust the beautiful woman or her idea to make him a partner on the Threshold, a pleasure ship traveling throughout the galaxy, but he can't quite resist the chance to make his own choices after a decade of sexual servitude.
And a sneaky peek…
Blade Killian had three women close to the edge of orgasm. The first rode his cock, rocking her hips hard and fast. The second poised above his face, his tongue working magic over her clit. And the third had three of his fingers scissoring deep within her dripping pussy. All were gasping and moaning their pleasure, begging him for more.Blade hated the multiple partner bookings, but he kept his clients satisfied and tended to get stuck with at least two per day. He'd grown so tired of being a stud. Of being used as a fuck toy for both sexes. His owner lavished the best clothes, products, and food upon Blade, but he'd rather be free. Ten years of servitude with no way out. He'd been taken at the age of sixteen by a gang of slave traders and didn't see any end in sight.The woman riding his dick shuddered through a powerful orgasm, her nails raking his pectoral muscles, drawing blood. She leaned forward and licked a droplet, grinding her hips a few more times before dismounting.She grasped his erect length. "Well, my goodness, look at you, still rock hard and ready to go." Her hand fisted around his girth and she gave it a painful squeeze. "Don't think I'm enough woman for you? Too good to drain your balls inside me? Maybe I should—"The woman riding his face cut off the other's tirade. "Great universe, Fenley. Can't you see he's busy and can't respond?" She made a low moaning sound. "If you're so damned worried about his balls, why don't you stuff your mouth with his dick and try your luck that way." She huffed out a gasp. "Mmmm, lover, keep sucking my clit. Feels soooo good." Her knees tightened, pinning his head between them, limiting his movement.Fenley snorted. "Not a bad idea, Bidgie. I'll suck him dry." Her head lowered and she enveloped his cock between her lips.She'd be sorely disappointed when she couldn't get him to come. He never did with multiple partners. Not lately. Something about the mix of herbs his owner forced down his throat when he had two or more clients kept him from finding his release, usually for several hours. And when he did finally get off, he had so much semen it sometimes hurt to expel the creamy fluid.The third woman shuddered and writhed, grabbing hold of his wrist and lifting her hips up and down. She gasped and moaned, then collapsed, spent and sated. Blade withdrew his fingers, flexing the digits to relieve the cramping.Bidgie finally stiffened then trembled with her release. Her knees dug into the sides of his head, making his ears pop with the pressure.She rolled sideways and planted a wet kiss on the third woman's lips. "Mmm, Marcia. He's deliciously skilled, isn't he?"From the corner of his eye, he watched the women maneuver into a position where they could orally pleasure each other.Fenley continued to suck and slaver all over his cock. The grip of her mouth and sting of her teeth on the sensitive skin had him bucking to get her away from him. She grabbed hold of his balls, twisting them hard and he shot up, growling in pain.She spit his shaft out and slapped him. "You insolent bastard. Who do you think you are?" Flinging herself from the bed, she stalked across the room, her chest heaving with anger.Bidgie and Marcia stopped their sexual exploration and slanted glances between Blade and Fenley.Bidgie frowned. "Fenley, why don't you join us? We still have thirty minutes." She nodded toward Blade. "He can do all three of us round robin style."Fenley snarled. "I don't think so, Bidge. This stud for hire needs to be taught a lesson."Her hand pulled one of the inset drawers open. She fished around for a moment, brought out a riding crop and slapped it against her palm.Taking a menacing step forward, she sneered. "I'm going to whip his cock into a frenzy and beat the cum from his balls."A red haze of rage settled over Blade and he snapped, leaping from the mattress and putting his hands around Fenley's throat. "You won't lay a hand on me." He'd snap her neck before she could succeed.Marcia squeaked with fear and pulled the long bell cord, signaling his master's security force. Fenley got one blow in, striking his shoulder with the split end of the whip before he pinned her to the wall with one hand and stripped the crop from her with the other. The doors burst open and a brief shock stung him between his shoulder blades, the jolt sending Fenley and the torture device to the floor. Blade had a flash of satisfaction, knowing the bitch of a woman got a jarring zing from the contact.A set of hands pushed him to his knees. "Dammit, Blade. Makesh isn't going to ignore this insubordination." Jaym Dervish, the closest thing Blade had to a friend, slipped a collar over his head and tightened the restraint. "You've got to tell him about the side effects of those damned herbs."The other security agent corralled the women and did his best to soothe the raging beast Fenley turned into, while clucking over Marcia and Bidgie. Jaym dragged Blade toward the door and he met Fenley's angry gaze, holding it until Jaym made the turn into the corridor.If Blade never saw the shrewish female again, it would be too soon. He didn't care if Makesh beat him or sold him to another master. He could not deal with any more raving madwomen.
I'm very excited about this story. Satin and Blade are damaged by their pasts but also fun to write.
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
October 28, 2018
Sunday Snippet: Therapeutic Recuperation
Well… we're almost to November and I'm really not ready for the month yet. Seriously, I'm wondering where 2018 went. Then again, it's been a bit of a bum year so maybe getting to 2019 sooner rather than later won't be a bad thing.
Had a busy week but got some good television watched. The Last Ship had a great episode. If they end up going where I think they will, the last few episodes could get interesting. Doctor Who's "Rosa" ended up being better than I thought it would be. I read an interesting article about the music of the new incarnation and while I appreciate the opinion of the author, I kind of miss Murray Gold's audible cues. Then again, I'm very much drawn in by musical cues in television shows.
I finished up Driven on Passionflix. I'll be honest, I'm not thrilled with where they left it. I totally get it had to end on a cliffhanger because there are two more books being made into this limited series. So… I'm ready for more. Looking forward to the holiday movie Mr. 365 when it launches in November.
Murdoch Mysteries had a fun episode centering on Henry's wedding. Also caught another episode of Peter Gunn's first season. Penny Dreadful revealed how Vanessa became embroiled with Sir Malcolm and, wow, dark waters run really deep in that relationship. I'm in the middle of a Midsomer Murders episode that usually keeps me company when I'm folding laundry. LOL
Arrow pulled off another amazing episode. I'm truly ready for Diaz to go down. That said, I'm totally onboard for the never-thought-it-could-happen team-ups of Dinah and Laurel and Felicity and the FBI agent chick. I'm also really wondering what the hell is going on with William and Roy. Legends of Tomorrow had a great premiere. This show is just fun, fun, fun. Yet it's also balanced with serious issues. If you're not watching you should be. Just saying.
I'm almost finished with this season of Killjoys. Meeting Dutch's mom turned out to be an interesting stroll through history. I'm also totally there for the RAC shenanigans. Pree and his man mixing it up with them is terrific. I caught another episode of The Dresden Files and had forgotten how terrific Claudia Black's character ended up being. Also watched an episode of Babylon 5 and another episode of Classic Who.
Riverdale… brings the crazy like no other show I'm watching right now. My head almost hurts with how they take things to the edge of unbelievable but somehow stay just shy of actually crossing over into total no effing way. Kudos to the writers!
I watched the second episode of Underbelly Files. Infiltration featured Sullivan Stapleton in what I'd assume would be one of his first roles. Actually turned out to be a great episode. I have one more left before moving on to a new season.
That's it for television this week. Hallmark Channel is gearing up with their holiday movies and I'll probably end up getting sucked in the vortex soon. LOL
Tonight's post is from Therapeutic Recuperation, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt of writing a hurt / comfort story where the hurt—injury, kidnapping, trauma of author's choice—is only a gateway to the comfort—snuggles, talking about feelings, helping with recovery or physical therapy.
Here's the mini-blurb:
An accidental blast on the hangar deck lands Nadine Hewes and Hall Pullion in sickbay. The ship's doctor gets them stable then puts them in the same alcove so they don't drive everyone else nuts while they recuperate, leading the pilots to discover all kinds of interesting things about each other.
And a sneaky peek…
Year 3952Base Hangar DeckMoments before the blast
Hall handed the Chief Ben Warden a blown fuel line. "Look, I understand about needing some time for everyone to get with the program, but too many slipups are happening." He should've let Nadine go on with her tirade the other day. "Rooks or not, we can't keep having so many errors." He paused. "Someone's gonna get hurt or killed." And they didn't need to lose anyone else.The chief couldn't argue. "I know, Lieutenant, believe me. I'm not sure who decided to send a buttload of newbs to my deck, but it sucks." He held the fuel line up to the light and shook his head. "It's not their fault. They're trying to keep up." Tossing the hose into the recycling bin, he grabbed a marker and put Hall's bird out of commission.Hall sighed. "I know, Chief. But I'm worried about the damage if a big mistake is made." Only a matter of time until it happened too.Ben's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, I hear you. I'm working on it, slowly but—"A pop followed by a hiss echoed behind them. Dread seeped into Hall when his gaze tracked the sound to the compression station. A pressure valve had burst and air from the lines leaked in a visible rush.The chief shouted. "No, no! Don't light the torch—"Hall barely heard his name before a hand wrapped around his arm, dragging him to the deck. His gaze locked with Nadine's milliseconds before a ball of flames erupted and a deafening explosion followed. His ears ringing, Hall caught the sight of Ben ducking down but not soon enough to avoid injury. The fire singed his hair and a piece of metal lodged in his arm.And still the chief shouted orders. Get the fire out. Cap the valve.Hall shook off the dizziness and struggled to his feet. Pain shot through his leg and hip.Nadine snagged his pants, yanking him back down. "Don't stand. Stay low." She crawled forward, favoring her arm.Concern shot through him. He rolled to his belly and made his way toward her, using his arms to make progress. Nudging her shoulder, he nodded for her to grab hold of him and together they dragged themselves to relative safety.Once clear, Hall assessed the damage to the deck and issued his own orders. "Get the chief clear and disconnect the fuel lines. And for fuck's sake, start moving the ravenwings off the deck." Deck crew scurried to carry out their tasks.Nadine chimed in. "Get the medical teams down here." She worked herself into a sitting position. "Anyone with free hands get busy with triage. Now." She grabbed a tie line from the deck and turned toward him. "Strap my arm to my chest." She winced when he put pressure on her shoulder. "Damn. Hurts like a bitch."He got the makeshift splint secured but his vision blurred red. Blood. From a wound?Nadine swiped her good hand over his face, running her palm over his head. Her fingers came away crimson colored.She frowned. "Hmm. You've got some bleeding from a nasty wound on your head." She stuck the hem of her shirt between her teeth and tore a strip away.She helped him apply it to the gash, holding pressure with her free hand while he tied the bandage securely.Nodding, she pinned her gaze lower. "How's the leg?"As she'd said earlier, it hurt like a bitch.He slumped against the wall, keeping an eye on the deck crew. "It doesn't feel right, but I’m okay for now." Now that his adrenaline tapered off, his hips throbbed and his knee screamed in agony.He exchanged a glance with Nadine, who huffed out a short laugh. Neither had full use of their limbs. What a pair.In unison, they spoke. "Or not."The humor ended up short-lived. His lungs began burning with each breath and his vision swam again. His eyes dropped and Nadine's voice reached him but sounded like it came from across the deck. "Yeah, shit. The fumes. We forgot about the fumes." Her voice drifted off to the sound of her labored breathing.Everything went gray then black and he tilted sideways.
I'm having fun with this setup. I like having a traumatic event to push a couple into facing or admitting how they feel.
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
Had a busy week but got some good television watched. The Last Ship had a great episode. If they end up going where I think they will, the last few episodes could get interesting. Doctor Who's "Rosa" ended up being better than I thought it would be. I read an interesting article about the music of the new incarnation and while I appreciate the opinion of the author, I kind of miss Murray Gold's audible cues. Then again, I'm very much drawn in by musical cues in television shows.
I finished up Driven on Passionflix. I'll be honest, I'm not thrilled with where they left it. I totally get it had to end on a cliffhanger because there are two more books being made into this limited series. So… I'm ready for more. Looking forward to the holiday movie Mr. 365 when it launches in November.
Murdoch Mysteries had a fun episode centering on Henry's wedding. Also caught another episode of Peter Gunn's first season. Penny Dreadful revealed how Vanessa became embroiled with Sir Malcolm and, wow, dark waters run really deep in that relationship. I'm in the middle of a Midsomer Murders episode that usually keeps me company when I'm folding laundry. LOL
Arrow pulled off another amazing episode. I'm truly ready for Diaz to go down. That said, I'm totally onboard for the never-thought-it-could-happen team-ups of Dinah and Laurel and Felicity and the FBI agent chick. I'm also really wondering what the hell is going on with William and Roy. Legends of Tomorrow had a great premiere. This show is just fun, fun, fun. Yet it's also balanced with serious issues. If you're not watching you should be. Just saying.
I'm almost finished with this season of Killjoys. Meeting Dutch's mom turned out to be an interesting stroll through history. I'm also totally there for the RAC shenanigans. Pree and his man mixing it up with them is terrific. I caught another episode of The Dresden Files and had forgotten how terrific Claudia Black's character ended up being. Also watched an episode of Babylon 5 and another episode of Classic Who.
Riverdale… brings the crazy like no other show I'm watching right now. My head almost hurts with how they take things to the edge of unbelievable but somehow stay just shy of actually crossing over into total no effing way. Kudos to the writers!
I watched the second episode of Underbelly Files. Infiltration featured Sullivan Stapleton in what I'd assume would be one of his first roles. Actually turned out to be a great episode. I have one more left before moving on to a new season.
That's it for television this week. Hallmark Channel is gearing up with their holiday movies and I'll probably end up getting sucked in the vortex soon. LOL
Tonight's post is from Therapeutic Recuperation, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt of writing a hurt / comfort story where the hurt—injury, kidnapping, trauma of author's choice—is only a gateway to the comfort—snuggles, talking about feelings, helping with recovery or physical therapy.
Here's the mini-blurb:
An accidental blast on the hangar deck lands Nadine Hewes and Hall Pullion in sickbay. The ship's doctor gets them stable then puts them in the same alcove so they don't drive everyone else nuts while they recuperate, leading the pilots to discover all kinds of interesting things about each other.
And a sneaky peek…
Year 3952Base Hangar DeckMoments before the blast
Hall handed the Chief Ben Warden a blown fuel line. "Look, I understand about needing some time for everyone to get with the program, but too many slipups are happening." He should've let Nadine go on with her tirade the other day. "Rooks or not, we can't keep having so many errors." He paused. "Someone's gonna get hurt or killed." And they didn't need to lose anyone else.The chief couldn't argue. "I know, Lieutenant, believe me. I'm not sure who decided to send a buttload of newbs to my deck, but it sucks." He held the fuel line up to the light and shook his head. "It's not their fault. They're trying to keep up." Tossing the hose into the recycling bin, he grabbed a marker and put Hall's bird out of commission.Hall sighed. "I know, Chief. But I'm worried about the damage if a big mistake is made." Only a matter of time until it happened too.Ben's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, I hear you. I'm working on it, slowly but—"A pop followed by a hiss echoed behind them. Dread seeped into Hall when his gaze tracked the sound to the compression station. A pressure valve had burst and air from the lines leaked in a visible rush.The chief shouted. "No, no! Don't light the torch—"Hall barely heard his name before a hand wrapped around his arm, dragging him to the deck. His gaze locked with Nadine's milliseconds before a ball of flames erupted and a deafening explosion followed. His ears ringing, Hall caught the sight of Ben ducking down but not soon enough to avoid injury. The fire singed his hair and a piece of metal lodged in his arm.And still the chief shouted orders. Get the fire out. Cap the valve.Hall shook off the dizziness and struggled to his feet. Pain shot through his leg and hip.Nadine snagged his pants, yanking him back down. "Don't stand. Stay low." She crawled forward, favoring her arm.Concern shot through him. He rolled to his belly and made his way toward her, using his arms to make progress. Nudging her shoulder, he nodded for her to grab hold of him and together they dragged themselves to relative safety.Once clear, Hall assessed the damage to the deck and issued his own orders. "Get the chief clear and disconnect the fuel lines. And for fuck's sake, start moving the ravenwings off the deck." Deck crew scurried to carry out their tasks.Nadine chimed in. "Get the medical teams down here." She worked herself into a sitting position. "Anyone with free hands get busy with triage. Now." She grabbed a tie line from the deck and turned toward him. "Strap my arm to my chest." She winced when he put pressure on her shoulder. "Damn. Hurts like a bitch."He got the makeshift splint secured but his vision blurred red. Blood. From a wound?Nadine swiped her good hand over his face, running her palm over his head. Her fingers came away crimson colored.She frowned. "Hmm. You've got some bleeding from a nasty wound on your head." She stuck the hem of her shirt between her teeth and tore a strip away.She helped him apply it to the gash, holding pressure with her free hand while he tied the bandage securely.Nodding, she pinned her gaze lower. "How's the leg?"As she'd said earlier, it hurt like a bitch.He slumped against the wall, keeping an eye on the deck crew. "It doesn't feel right, but I’m okay for now." Now that his adrenaline tapered off, his hips throbbed and his knee screamed in agony.He exchanged a glance with Nadine, who huffed out a short laugh. Neither had full use of their limbs. What a pair.In unison, they spoke. "Or not."The humor ended up short-lived. His lungs began burning with each breath and his vision swam again. His eyes dropped and Nadine's voice reached him but sounded like it came from across the deck. "Yeah, shit. The fumes. We forgot about the fumes." Her voice drifted off to the sound of her labored breathing.Everything went gray then black and he tilted sideways.
I'm having fun with this setup. I like having a traumatic event to push a couple into facing or admitting how they feel.
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
October 21, 2018
Sunday Snippet: Taken By Surprise
We're past the halfway mark of October already? Geez, this month is flying by fast. Then again, it's been a somewhat difficult month for me workwise. Brain-draining would be an apt description.
So… television has been an important escape this week. Sunday night shows Doctor Who and The Last Ship ended up being terrific. I'm so happy to be excited for New Who again. The Last Ship kept things interesting. I'm a little confused why the guy got executed at the end, but I have a suspicion it'll be a turning point of some sort.
Arrow's premiere actually blew my mind a little. The fight scene juxtaposition of Oliver in the prison and Felicity in her apartment with Diaz is probably the best choreographed scene I've witnessed to date. Seriously, it's amazing. And, honestly, the rest of the show followed suit, leading right up to the surprise end. I'm excited to see what happens next.
The Flash remained good. Nice to see Cisco, Kaitlyn, and Ralph bonding and helping each other out. Looking forward to more of that. Riverdale… well… went full-on batshit with a whole new twist that I actually can't wait to watch unfold. The thing with Archie in detention isn't bad. I love the whole Veronica getting around her dickhead dad with Cheryl's help. Speaking of Hiram the 'Hole. Does anyone else want to smack the smarm out of him? Every time he's on screen I want to punch him in the face. That's some good acting by otherwise nice guy Marc Consuelos.
In other show news, I caught the first episode of Underbelly Files and enjoyed it. Caught Babylon 5, The Sarah Conner Chronicles, Birds of Prey, and Lexx in sci-fi fare. Pensacola Wings of Gold had a great episode where I wanted to bitchslap the billionaire dude who wanted his daughter saved at all costs. I also caught Strike Back, which had a great episode featuring Grace and her badass skills. And finally, I caught another episode of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. I have a lot of love for that show.
That's it for television this week. Here's hoping my work and sleep schedule get back on track and I can enjoy even more during the near future.
Tonight's post is from Taken By Surprise, a sexy short that got a start with the prompt of writing a short scene or story about one of the main characters forgetting their birthday and the other one remembers it.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Thompson has a new man, Herrick Edwards, in her life and his birthday is coming up, but they're stuck on a ship with no R&R passes available. Pales isn't great at maintaining a relationship, but she'll take Herrick by surprise and plan a spectacular day.
And a sneaky peek…
Herrick Edwards placed his tray on the table. "Mind if I sit here?" His eyebrow quirked.Pales Thompson glanced up, her mouth going dry. "Um, yeah, go ahead." She took her feet off the opposite seat, giving him room to sit.Herrick settled onto the chair and dug into his breakfast. Pales didn't know how to react and didn't like being skittish. Her number one rule after hooking up involved not interacting with her partner one-on-one outside of flying or standard military operations. Her wild night with Herrick remained fresh in her mind and having him blast through her usual wall of protection sent her off kilter. What the hell should I do? Ha. She almost wanted to drag him back to the bunkroom again.Almost. But doing so would mean getting personally involved and she didn't do relationships. Because she sucked at them.Herrick swallowed a bite of food. "Relax, Pales. We're in the mess hall." He took a drink of orange juice. "How intimate can we be with fifteen people surrounding us?" His lips curved into a half-smile.Good point. But still scary. And the fact he acknowledged her absolute trepidation definitely shouldn't make her happy. Because her track record when it came to being part of a couple couldn't be worse.Pales took a drink of coffee. "Right." Scooping up some scrambled eggs, she shoveled them into her mouth.Herrick's grin went wide, but he didn't comment. Like he expected her to make the hastiest exit possible. Fine. He could think whatever he wanted. She did not care.Crunching through her remaining slice of toast, she kept one eye on Herrick while he calmly ate and drank, savoring each sip and bite. Ugh. She shouldn't be so fascinated by the way his mouth worked… except she had firsthand knowledge of what his lips, tongue, and teeth could do.Her face flamed and Herrick tried to hide a smirk behind his glass of orange juice. Damn the man. She finished her meal quickly because she hated being jumpy, jittery, and jumbled up. Gathering her tray, she rose, ready to dump the contents at the wash station. She only made it two steps before Herrick cleared his throat."So… later?"Her body went hot, a zing of heat shooting straight to her core. She didn't often make promises for future dates, preferring a grab-and-go approach to sex.Making a quick decision about breaking her number one rule, she didn't look back but nodded. "Sure." She didn't say anything else.He'd find her. Or she'd find him. They'd slake a need and go their separate ways.Unless he joined her for breakfast again.
Pales is fun to write because she's so twitchy and Herrick being aware of how utterly freaked out she is also a treat.
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
So… television has been an important escape this week. Sunday night shows Doctor Who and The Last Ship ended up being terrific. I'm so happy to be excited for New Who again. The Last Ship kept things interesting. I'm a little confused why the guy got executed at the end, but I have a suspicion it'll be a turning point of some sort.
Arrow's premiere actually blew my mind a little. The fight scene juxtaposition of Oliver in the prison and Felicity in her apartment with Diaz is probably the best choreographed scene I've witnessed to date. Seriously, it's amazing. And, honestly, the rest of the show followed suit, leading right up to the surprise end. I'm excited to see what happens next.
The Flash remained good. Nice to see Cisco, Kaitlyn, and Ralph bonding and helping each other out. Looking forward to more of that. Riverdale… well… went full-on batshit with a whole new twist that I actually can't wait to watch unfold. The thing with Archie in detention isn't bad. I love the whole Veronica getting around her dickhead dad with Cheryl's help. Speaking of Hiram the 'Hole. Does anyone else want to smack the smarm out of him? Every time he's on screen I want to punch him in the face. That's some good acting by otherwise nice guy Marc Consuelos.
In other show news, I caught the first episode of Underbelly Files and enjoyed it. Caught Babylon 5, The Sarah Conner Chronicles, Birds of Prey, and Lexx in sci-fi fare. Pensacola Wings of Gold had a great episode where I wanted to bitchslap the billionaire dude who wanted his daughter saved at all costs. I also caught Strike Back, which had a great episode featuring Grace and her badass skills. And finally, I caught another episode of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. I have a lot of love for that show.
That's it for television this week. Here's hoping my work and sleep schedule get back on track and I can enjoy even more during the near future.
Tonight's post is from Taken By Surprise, a sexy short that got a start with the prompt of writing a short scene or story about one of the main characters forgetting their birthday and the other one remembers it.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Thompson has a new man, Herrick Edwards, in her life and his birthday is coming up, but they're stuck on a ship with no R&R passes available. Pales isn't great at maintaining a relationship, but she'll take Herrick by surprise and plan a spectacular day.
And a sneaky peek…
Herrick Edwards placed his tray on the table. "Mind if I sit here?" His eyebrow quirked.Pales Thompson glanced up, her mouth going dry. "Um, yeah, go ahead." She took her feet off the opposite seat, giving him room to sit.Herrick settled onto the chair and dug into his breakfast. Pales didn't know how to react and didn't like being skittish. Her number one rule after hooking up involved not interacting with her partner one-on-one outside of flying or standard military operations. Her wild night with Herrick remained fresh in her mind and having him blast through her usual wall of protection sent her off kilter. What the hell should I do? Ha. She almost wanted to drag him back to the bunkroom again.Almost. But doing so would mean getting personally involved and she didn't do relationships. Because she sucked at them.Herrick swallowed a bite of food. "Relax, Pales. We're in the mess hall." He took a drink of orange juice. "How intimate can we be with fifteen people surrounding us?" His lips curved into a half-smile.Good point. But still scary. And the fact he acknowledged her absolute trepidation definitely shouldn't make her happy. Because her track record when it came to being part of a couple couldn't be worse.Pales took a drink of coffee. "Right." Scooping up some scrambled eggs, she shoveled them into her mouth.Herrick's grin went wide, but he didn't comment. Like he expected her to make the hastiest exit possible. Fine. He could think whatever he wanted. She did not care.Crunching through her remaining slice of toast, she kept one eye on Herrick while he calmly ate and drank, savoring each sip and bite. Ugh. She shouldn't be so fascinated by the way his mouth worked… except she had firsthand knowledge of what his lips, tongue, and teeth could do.Her face flamed and Herrick tried to hide a smirk behind his glass of orange juice. Damn the man. She finished her meal quickly because she hated being jumpy, jittery, and jumbled up. Gathering her tray, she rose, ready to dump the contents at the wash station. She only made it two steps before Herrick cleared his throat."So… later?"Her body went hot, a zing of heat shooting straight to her core. She didn't often make promises for future dates, preferring a grab-and-go approach to sex.Making a quick decision about breaking her number one rule, she didn't look back but nodded. "Sure." She didn't say anything else.He'd find her. Or she'd find him. They'd slake a need and go their separate ways.Unless he joined her for breakfast again.
Pales is fun to write because she's so twitchy and Herrick being aware of how utterly freaked out she is also a treat.
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
October 14, 2018
Sunday Snippet: Table of Lies
October 14, 2018
Wow, what a difference a week makes. The crisp feeling of fall has definitely arrived and I'm actually a little chilly at the moment. We'll probably have at least one more warm up before we settle into the true briskness of autumn in Ohio. Or… we could have one more nice week and then have a blizzard by Halloween. It's always hard to say. LOL
Got quite a bit of television watched this week. Some shows premiered their new seasons and I'm excited to settle in for the ride.
The Last Ship is crazy good and crazy wild. I'm always stunned when the credits roll because it doesn't seem like an hour should have gone by.
For premieres, I caught the new episodes of The Flash and Riverdale. Gotta say I ended up really enjoying both. Having Nora around could prove pretty interesting. And the whole situation with Archie is way over the top but, honestly, a ton of fun. Can't wait for Arrow this Monday. Also watched Chicago Fire and have mixed feelings on the episode. Maybe more on this next week.
And, of course, the Doctor Who premiere with Thirteen! What a great launch of the new doctor. Can't wait for more. After the disappointment with the last two seasons of Twelve, I'm excited to see where the show goes now.
I continued my rewatch of Babylon 5. The first season is so hit and miss but it also plants a lot of seeds for the following seasons. I'm always finding something new that ties into a future episode.
In other science fiction fare, I watched The Sarah Conner Chronicles, Birds of Prey, Lexx, Wynonna Earp—a Christmas episode, and The Dresden Files. Also caught Luke Cage and Penny Dreadful.
In military fare, I caught another episode of Pensacola Wings of Gold and Strike Back. I'm starting to gel with the new cast of Strike Back and I also need to go back to season two and do some sleuthing. I have a feeling there's a connection that's deeper than I realized. More later on this too.
Caught some mystery shows with The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Murdoch Mysteries, and a couple of episodes of Peter Gunn. I started an episode of Midsomer Murders but didn't get to finish it yet.
I also watched episode five of Driven. I'm actually thrilled with this series and I'm so excited for more from Passionflix.
On a final note, I finished up Canal Road and what a satisfying ending. I'll be starting a new Australian series in the very near future. Looking forward to it!
That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Table of Lies, a novella that started with a writing community prompt of writing a scene or story involving a lie and set it in one of the character's apartments.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Nichelle Stohl finally has her life on course—she's an instructor at the coveted academy of military science and she's testing the relationship waters for the first time since a truly horrible break up. Then she meets Garth Fillion—her boyfriend's brother—and her world tilts sideways.
And a sneaky peek…
Nichelle Stohl opened the final file she needed to grade. "Saved the best for last." She'd chosen to grade Quint Fillion's after she completed the rest of the class's essays.Dating one of her students might not be the wisest decision she'd ever made, especially since she'd landed a coveted position teaching for the academy of military science, a prestigious branch of the ministry of defense. Being an instructor at her age rarely happened.Her lips curved. "And most of my students don't know what to do with a twenty-seven-year-old professor." The dean insisted she use the academic title since her rank as lieutenant only listed two grades above the ensigns in her class.She wouldn't qualify for military promotion until she reached thirty. A stupid rule. Quint's filled his paper with silly notes in the sidebars, which brought a smile to her face. But the additional commentary didn't distract her from catching the errors on the paper. Quint tended to be sloppy with his answers and left out key details, probably assuming she'd know what he meant.The problem? As his instructor, she couldn't assume facts not on the page. Fully aware she wouldn't, Quint continued to push the boundaries anyway.Nichelle marked his errors and filed the test. He wouldn't be pleased with his score, but she couldn't allow him to cut corners. In the field, the chemical compounds they used required precise measurements and focused steps. Leaving one out could potentially wipe out an entire regiment… of their own men.Quint's lackadaisical approach to his classwork fit directly in to why she so enjoyed being with him. He loved life and lived it to the fullest. Not even the less than stellar score on his essay would keep him out of sorts for long. She grinned. "And he makes me laugh." So much and very often.Nichelle needed the humor. She'd decided to test the relationship waters after being cheated on by not one, but two men. Quint affably stated if he ever looked at another woman with lust in his gaze, she should shoot him where he stood—because death by stupidity would take too long.Her personal and professional life intersecting didn't always sit well with her. Quint sometimes lacked in maturity, but he always treated her with respect. And when she grew frustrated with his antics, he dialed back the joviality and put in the effort needed.And the man had charm by the truckload. Starting something with him while he took her class… probably a bad idea. But she really liked him. And she tried hard to keep some balance between her head and her heart.Just in case everything blew up in her face.She hoped her concerns with his sometimes unfocused answers would be unfounded. But if they proved not to be, she'd deal with the fallout.
This one is coming along. The story is brainstormed and outlined and hopefully the sages won't decide to throw random plot bombs my way when I dig back in to writing.
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
Wow, what a difference a week makes. The crisp feeling of fall has definitely arrived and I'm actually a little chilly at the moment. We'll probably have at least one more warm up before we settle into the true briskness of autumn in Ohio. Or… we could have one more nice week and then have a blizzard by Halloween. It's always hard to say. LOL
Got quite a bit of television watched this week. Some shows premiered their new seasons and I'm excited to settle in for the ride.
The Last Ship is crazy good and crazy wild. I'm always stunned when the credits roll because it doesn't seem like an hour should have gone by.
For premieres, I caught the new episodes of The Flash and Riverdale. Gotta say I ended up really enjoying both. Having Nora around could prove pretty interesting. And the whole situation with Archie is way over the top but, honestly, a ton of fun. Can't wait for Arrow this Monday. Also watched Chicago Fire and have mixed feelings on the episode. Maybe more on this next week.
And, of course, the Doctor Who premiere with Thirteen! What a great launch of the new doctor. Can't wait for more. After the disappointment with the last two seasons of Twelve, I'm excited to see where the show goes now.
I continued my rewatch of Babylon 5. The first season is so hit and miss but it also plants a lot of seeds for the following seasons. I'm always finding something new that ties into a future episode.
In other science fiction fare, I watched The Sarah Conner Chronicles, Birds of Prey, Lexx, Wynonna Earp—a Christmas episode, and The Dresden Files. Also caught Luke Cage and Penny Dreadful.
In military fare, I caught another episode of Pensacola Wings of Gold and Strike Back. I'm starting to gel with the new cast of Strike Back and I also need to go back to season two and do some sleuthing. I have a feeling there's a connection that's deeper than I realized. More later on this too.
Caught some mystery shows with The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Murdoch Mysteries, and a couple of episodes of Peter Gunn. I started an episode of Midsomer Murders but didn't get to finish it yet.
I also watched episode five of Driven. I'm actually thrilled with this series and I'm so excited for more from Passionflix.
On a final note, I finished up Canal Road and what a satisfying ending. I'll be starting a new Australian series in the very near future. Looking forward to it!
That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Table of Lies, a novella that started with a writing community prompt of writing a scene or story involving a lie and set it in one of the character's apartments.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Nichelle Stohl finally has her life on course—she's an instructor at the coveted academy of military science and she's testing the relationship waters for the first time since a truly horrible break up. Then she meets Garth Fillion—her boyfriend's brother—and her world tilts sideways.
And a sneaky peek…
Nichelle Stohl opened the final file she needed to grade. "Saved the best for last." She'd chosen to grade Quint Fillion's after she completed the rest of the class's essays.Dating one of her students might not be the wisest decision she'd ever made, especially since she'd landed a coveted position teaching for the academy of military science, a prestigious branch of the ministry of defense. Being an instructor at her age rarely happened.Her lips curved. "And most of my students don't know what to do with a twenty-seven-year-old professor." The dean insisted she use the academic title since her rank as lieutenant only listed two grades above the ensigns in her class.She wouldn't qualify for military promotion until she reached thirty. A stupid rule. Quint's filled his paper with silly notes in the sidebars, which brought a smile to her face. But the additional commentary didn't distract her from catching the errors on the paper. Quint tended to be sloppy with his answers and left out key details, probably assuming she'd know what he meant.The problem? As his instructor, she couldn't assume facts not on the page. Fully aware she wouldn't, Quint continued to push the boundaries anyway.Nichelle marked his errors and filed the test. He wouldn't be pleased with his score, but she couldn't allow him to cut corners. In the field, the chemical compounds they used required precise measurements and focused steps. Leaving one out could potentially wipe out an entire regiment… of their own men.Quint's lackadaisical approach to his classwork fit directly in to why she so enjoyed being with him. He loved life and lived it to the fullest. Not even the less than stellar score on his essay would keep him out of sorts for long. She grinned. "And he makes me laugh." So much and very often.Nichelle needed the humor. She'd decided to test the relationship waters after being cheated on by not one, but two men. Quint affably stated if he ever looked at another woman with lust in his gaze, she should shoot him where he stood—because death by stupidity would take too long.Her personal and professional life intersecting didn't always sit well with her. Quint sometimes lacked in maturity, but he always treated her with respect. And when she grew frustrated with his antics, he dialed back the joviality and put in the effort needed.And the man had charm by the truckload. Starting something with him while he took her class… probably a bad idea. But she really liked him. And she tried hard to keep some balance between her head and her heart.Just in case everything blew up in her face.She hoped her concerns with his sometimes unfocused answers would be unfounded. But if they proved not to be, she'd deal with the fallout.
This one is coming along. The story is brainstormed and outlined and hopefully the sages won't decide to throw random plot bombs my way when I dig back in to writing.
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
October 7, 2018
Sunday Snippet: Submit
October 7, 2018
Well, hello, October! This is one of my favorite months. The weather usually gets cooler.The leaves start changing. And Halloween is just around the corner! It also means the holiday season is looming fast and furiously. Ugh. I'm not ready this year. LOL
Rough week with work and unexpected scheduling conflicts. I did get to watch some good television though. Caught the third episode of Strike Back's fifth season and had a surprise visit in the form of pictures from Stonebridge and Scott. I'm definitely intrigued! I also think I finally made the connection I needed to make. I'm slow sometimes.
The Last Ship seriously keeps me on the edge of my seat. I'm so sad and angry over a certain loss, but I totally called plot point even if it's a little disappointing. Caught the finale of Chicago Fire just in time for the new season to begin. I'll be behind per usual, but I'm glad I got to watch it.
Luke Cage is pulling some interesting things out of the woodwork. I'll admit I'm a little confused with where they're planning to take this season. That said, I love this show. And there's no Trish to really muck things up. Just saying.
Passionflix's Driven is so good. I watched the fourth episode and thoroughly enjoyed it. Can't wait for the new holiday movie they have planned.
Murdoch Mysteries started their twelfth season with a fun episode. I always look forward to this series and the new twists and turns Murdoch and Julia and the rest of the cast face.
Caught a few more episodes of Peter Gunn's first season. The noir feel of this show never fails to make me happy. Penny Dreadful is seriously creepy sometimes and I'm kind of on the fence about whether I like it or not. LOL
Caught another episode of The Dresden Files and it was one I remembered liking a lot when it originally aired.
Rounding things out for the week, I caught an episode of Killjoys and love where things are going. I'll be so sad to see this show end next season.
I started the final episode of Canal Road and didn't have the chance to finish it yet. It's on the agenda for tomorrow.
That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Submit, a novella with a tie-in to Furlough 99.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Lena Stoll and Welles Abernate work security on a large space station. While the job pays well, the stress level can quickly skyrocket, but Lena comes up with a great solution—she acts as a dominatrix in her downtime—much to Welles's surprise.
And a sneaky peek…
"Uh-uh, no way. I'm not working a double shift."Lena Stoll shook her head and turned to leave the communications center of Furlough 99.Her boss cleared his throat. "Care to tell me why?" He moved to block her path to the door.Lena blew out a long breath. "Because I pulled two doubles last week and I'm not doing it again this week." She'd reached the end of her patience.Her coworker, Welles Abernale picked that moment to walk in, stopping behind their CO.Lena grabbed her opportunity. "Make Welles work the extra time." She walked around both men. "I'm taking a mental health break as of right now." Breezing out of the comm center, she waited until she hit the end of the corridor before making a run for the closest elevator.Pushing the button, her foot tapped an impatient cadence. She wanted to get to quarters as soon as possible.Her lips twitched. "I've got someplace to be, dammit." And a month's work of stress to relieve.Her home away from home and work never failed to rejuvenate her mind and soul. Boarding the lift, she punched the number for the staff residences. The short ride ended and she exited the enclosure. She only lived three doors down and didn't waste time getting into her quarters and grabbing a shower.Putting the finishing touches on her wardrobe, she added a long black duster and made sure it covered her outfit. She never left anything to chance. Leaving her quarters, she made her way up to the fifth level of the luxe quadrant. Already, the tension from the past month started to drain away.She made her way to the private chambers of the Marionette and signed in under her pseudonym.The matron gave Lena a wide smile. "Ramos is ready and waiting for you."Lena flashed a grin. "And no doubt followed my instructions to the letter." She loosened the buttons of her duster, letting the cover fall off her shoulders. "Time to get to work." On her side gig.One that could get her fired from her actual job… if she let the matron pay her.Good thing she didn't.
Honestly, this one is pretty fun to dive into. I'm excited to see where it goes.
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
Well, hello, October! This is one of my favorite months. The weather usually gets cooler.The leaves start changing. And Halloween is just around the corner! It also means the holiday season is looming fast and furiously. Ugh. I'm not ready this year. LOL
Rough week with work and unexpected scheduling conflicts. I did get to watch some good television though. Caught the third episode of Strike Back's fifth season and had a surprise visit in the form of pictures from Stonebridge and Scott. I'm definitely intrigued! I also think I finally made the connection I needed to make. I'm slow sometimes.
The Last Ship seriously keeps me on the edge of my seat. I'm so sad and angry over a certain loss, but I totally called plot point even if it's a little disappointing. Caught the finale of Chicago Fire just in time for the new season to begin. I'll be behind per usual, but I'm glad I got to watch it.
Luke Cage is pulling some interesting things out of the woodwork. I'll admit I'm a little confused with where they're planning to take this season. That said, I love this show. And there's no Trish to really muck things up. Just saying.
Passionflix's Driven is so good. I watched the fourth episode and thoroughly enjoyed it. Can't wait for the new holiday movie they have planned.
Murdoch Mysteries started their twelfth season with a fun episode. I always look forward to this series and the new twists and turns Murdoch and Julia and the rest of the cast face.
Caught a few more episodes of Peter Gunn's first season. The noir feel of this show never fails to make me happy. Penny Dreadful is seriously creepy sometimes and I'm kind of on the fence about whether I like it or not. LOL
Caught another episode of The Dresden Files and it was one I remembered liking a lot when it originally aired.
Rounding things out for the week, I caught an episode of Killjoys and love where things are going. I'll be so sad to see this show end next season.
I started the final episode of Canal Road and didn't have the chance to finish it yet. It's on the agenda for tomorrow.
That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Submit, a novella with a tie-in to Furlough 99.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Lena Stoll and Welles Abernate work security on a large space station. While the job pays well, the stress level can quickly skyrocket, but Lena comes up with a great solution—she acts as a dominatrix in her downtime—much to Welles's surprise.
And a sneaky peek…
"Uh-uh, no way. I'm not working a double shift."Lena Stoll shook her head and turned to leave the communications center of Furlough 99.Her boss cleared his throat. "Care to tell me why?" He moved to block her path to the door.Lena blew out a long breath. "Because I pulled two doubles last week and I'm not doing it again this week." She'd reached the end of her patience.Her coworker, Welles Abernale picked that moment to walk in, stopping behind their CO.Lena grabbed her opportunity. "Make Welles work the extra time." She walked around both men. "I'm taking a mental health break as of right now." Breezing out of the comm center, she waited until she hit the end of the corridor before making a run for the closest elevator.Pushing the button, her foot tapped an impatient cadence. She wanted to get to quarters as soon as possible.Her lips twitched. "I've got someplace to be, dammit." And a month's work of stress to relieve.Her home away from home and work never failed to rejuvenate her mind and soul. Boarding the lift, she punched the number for the staff residences. The short ride ended and she exited the enclosure. She only lived three doors down and didn't waste time getting into her quarters and grabbing a shower.Putting the finishing touches on her wardrobe, she added a long black duster and made sure it covered her outfit. She never left anything to chance. Leaving her quarters, she made her way up to the fifth level of the luxe quadrant. Already, the tension from the past month started to drain away.She made her way to the private chambers of the Marionette and signed in under her pseudonym.The matron gave Lena a wide smile. "Ramos is ready and waiting for you."Lena flashed a grin. "And no doubt followed my instructions to the letter." She loosened the buttons of her duster, letting the cover fall off her shoulders. "Time to get to work." On her side gig.One that could get her fired from her actual job… if she let the matron pay her.Good thing she didn't.
Honestly, this one is pretty fun to dive into. I'm excited to see where it goes.
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
