Skye Ritchey's Blog, page 6

Sunday Snippet: It's Always the Same Show

The end of Octoberis nigh and, man, it's been a month. Between work projects and personal life stuff,time flew by fast. Helped my oldest kidlet move some things from their oldplace to their new one and also took him for a job interview. Happy to say hegot an offer and should start sometime soon. Also looking forward to trick ortreat night and then gearing up for the holidays.

Happy to say theareas where I had my extractions are finally healed up enough that I can eatmost types of food. I'm still careful with anything hard and crunchy butotherwise normal intake isn't a challenge anymore.

Stayed busy withwork. Have a tricky manuscript that's kind of giving me fits with continuityand consistency concerns, which makes the edit slow way down. Sent off a coupleof quotes for upcoming projects and look forward to getting started on those.

Had a decent weekof viewing. I made it through a full round of my shows but kind of in backwardorder. Will probably have the same thing this week.

Started off with anepisode of Elementary and thoroughly enjoyed it. Nice to see Lastradeget back on track. Interesting twisty case also.

Caught an episodeof The Batman and enjoyed it. Always like seeing the Flash in action. Iremembered most of this episode also.

Enjoyed an episodeof Classic Rugrats and only remembered one of the vignettes. The othertwo were either new to me or memory holed.

Watched anotherepisode of Mr. and Mrs. Murder. I do remember bits of this one and I’m gladI got to see the whole thing from start to finish.

Caught another episodeof London Kills and I like how the new cases play into the overall caseof the disappearance of David's wife. Looking forward to seeing how this seasonends.

Enjoyed anotherepisode of Death in Paradise. Loved the case because it's fun to see abit of Ruby's past mixed in with the present. I enjoy her interactions with CommissionPatterson. Gotta say, I'm not sure I enjoy Neville Parker. I appreciate thefact he's very different from the previous three DIs but … the constantafflictions are, well, annoying.

On a side note, Idiscovered there's a second spinoff of this show that's set in Australia. I'mlooking forward to seeing it when it's available in the US.

Started a new two-partSilent Witness and it's terrific to see Jack's niece take a role in theLylle. Looking forward to the second half of this episode.

Another side note …most of the cast from Battlestar Galactica is in Chicago for the twentiethanniversary of the show. I've been poking around all weekend to stay up to dateon what's happening at the convention. My mind is completely blown that it'sbeen twenty years since the premiere of the series. It's still probably myall-time favorite show.

That's pretty muchit for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from It's Always theSame Show, a novella that reunites a couple that can't help but push eachother's buttons.

Here's theminiblurb:

Lanie Beck and Titus Berkley are tasked with whipping anew class of cadet mages into shape for the Academy of Light. The biggestproblem they face is never agreeing on how to make it happen. The cadetsquickly learn to tune in and enjoy the show.

And a preview snippet…

"Great mage. Could I be moreof an idiot?" Lanie walked up the path to Titus's cottage.She shouldn't have agreed to meet him.But she wanted to set the record straight between them. Standing outside hisdoor, she pushed down the nervous tremble in her stomach down, then knocked.Two seconds later, Titus's facegreeted her, and she crossed the threshold into his home. Half a second later,her back hit the wall and her lips were caught in a steamy kiss. Oh … she'dmissed his mouth. Not that she hadn't indulged in a few liaisons, but no onegot her revved and going like Titus.And, ugh, she didn't come here forreunion sex. She couldn't. Not when her whole future rode on getting her classprepared. She pushed against his chest, and he took the hint, stepping back togive her some breathing room.Titus sighed. "Well, Iwould've said we answered the where-we-stand thing, but you'd disagree,wouldn't you?" He wiped the corner of his mouth with his thumb.Lanie shrugged. "I didn't comehere to pick up where we left off, no. I just want to avoid a lot ofawkwardness if we can." She willed her heartrate to slow down.Titus snorted. "Lanie, we'venever been awkward. Passionate, volatile, on opposite sides of too much stuff,but never awkward." He paused. "Why are you really here?" Hefolded his arms over his chest.Lanie eased away from the wall."To make sure you know I'm back to stay. I finally found my niche.Discovered something I'm very good at." She slowly walked into the livingroom then turned to face him. "The rest? You and me. Has to take abackseat until I get this semester out of the way." She couldn't do moreat the moment. "And, even then, I have no idea if there can ever be anus." As much as she really wanted him.Titus grunted. "So, basically,you're here to yank my chain."She growled right back. "No,dammit, but if you need to see it that way, I won't try to change yourmind." She dashed past him and pulled the door open. "Let's try tostay out of each other's way." Better yet, she'd completely avoid him ifpossible.Titus followed her to the thresholdwhen she exited the house. "Sure, we can try." He closed the doorwith a loud bang. "Not gonna be easy." His muffled response reachedher ears.Lanie stalked away from his cottageand walked toward the visiting-instructor residence—her home until she made thecut. Why on earth would Titus think they'd have a hard time avoiding eachother? She'd go out of her way to give him wide berth. The less she let himdistract her from her goal the better.Unlocking the door, she steppedinside the warm interior of the house. She did her nightly ritual, then headedto bed. Room 322 would greet her early in the morning.Hopefully she wouldn't have anysexy dreams about Titus…

I'm not much of anangst fan, but this story definitely has some between Lanie and Titus.

 

That's it for thisweek.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: It's Academic

Had a less thanproductive week after having two teeth extracted. It's strange because theyreally weren't difficult to remove—well, one of them ended up being a littleharder than the other—but it still threw me off. I think because they were on oppositesides with one on top and the other on the bottom, which made eating a tadchallenging.

I also took timeaway on Friday to meet my daughter so we could do early voting. Very happy tohave that done! I voted to raise my taxes for the school and emergency serviceslevies.

Work stayed busywith some cleanup on two drafts and two copy edits. I also checked changes ontwo proofreads. Those were kind of dropped in on the fly.

Didn't quite make afull round of my usual shows this week, but I did get through about half.

Watched anotherepisode of Mr. and Mrs. Murder and it was one I'd seen at least part of.Thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Caught another LondonKills and I'm liking this show. The overarching mystery of what happened tothe DCI's wife folded into the two cases is interesting to me. I'm a littleworried about the trainee DC. Things could go really sideways for her if she'snot careful.

Enjoyed another Deathin Paradise episode. I kind of feel like this is the season where CommissionerPatterson gets a lot more screen time. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Ienjoy him.

Finished the secondhalf of Silent Witness and, whoo boy, what a ride this two-parter was.I'm going to be very interested in seeing if there's any fallout fromeverything that went down.

That's pretty muchit for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from It's Academic,a novella that brings polar opposites together as a couple.

Here's the miniblurb:

Chaos and control don't mix, but Kari Pride and ThornSummers must find a way to balance the two or drive each other mad when theybecome roommates. By the end of the semester, Thorn tempers Kari's sloppyhabits and she makes him yield his ruthless organization for some much-neededspontaneity. When their relationship gets personal, they have to figure out howto navigate new territory.

And a preview snippet…

Thorn narrowed his eyes when hisroommate retreated out into the hall.He turned and met Markum's gaze."Thanks for personally showing me to the dorm." A nice gesture evenif the elder wanted to impress Thurston more than anything else.Arnold inclined his head."Your stuff will be arriving any moment." He looked upward thenaround the room.Sure enough, Thorn's neatly packedboxes and suitcases appeared in the space.Markum chuckled. "That wordyour grandfather asked for before he left?" He lifted his chin toward theitems. "That's what it was about." With a bow of his head, he turnedand left Thorne to get settled.Happy to have his personal itemswithout having to make several trips, he started organizing. He hung clothesand put them in the built-in dresser along the wall then broke the boxes downand stashed them in the closet to use at the end of the semester. He made thebed up and folded his towels and added them to the cubicles above the drawersalong with his shower stuff. His books and other belongings were precisely laidout on the coverlet.Taking a moment to study theshelves next to the cubicles, he rearranged a few of the stacks. "Let'ssee if I can do this…" And not get caught.Practicing magick before classesbegan could get him into trouble. But he might as well take advantage of beinga legacy student. If Thurston Summers could break rules by conjuring Thorn'sboxes to his dorm, why shouldn't Thorn push boundaries also?He pictured where he wanted thingsto be and uttered an incantation. Opening his eyes, he made a quick dash tokeep one of his books from falling off the edge of the shelf. He placed theheavy tome on top of the dresser.Moving back, he gave a nod. "Okay,not quite perfect but damn close." And he really shouldn't be practicing."My roommate could've returned at any moment." But he'd saved a lotof time by taking the chance she wouldn't.Satisfied with everything, he saton the edge of the bed. "I'm rooming with a woman." The idea didn't fazehim, but he wondered how they'd get along.And he didn't know what to make ofhis roommate—other than thinking she had striking features. "Especiallyher eyes." The color reminded him of the dense forest surrounding hisgrandfather's house.She also had a slightly pointedchin, high cheekbones, and a mane of dark hair that framed her face. Herclothes were functional, which intrigued Thorn. A pair of olive-drab cargoshorts, a red tank top, and a long-sleeved multicolored cotton shirt tiedaround her waist. A pair of flip-flops rounded out the outfit. His mother wouldfeign a stroke before being caught wearing anything like Kari's ensemble. ThelmaSummers had a preference for boring monochromatic clothes.Thorn grinned. "Gonna be niceto have some color in my life now." If nothing else, having Kari as hisdormmate would challenge his status quo, which he welcomed because he'd come toStonebridge to escape the trappings of normal life.Kari definitely piqued hiscuriosity. She claimed to be showering after moving all the boxes, but shedidn't have a drop of perspiration on her.He huffed out a breath."Interesting." Leaning back on the mattress, he viewed his side ofthe room again—very happy with the pristine state of his stuff.A couple of knocks sounded on thedoor and Kari entered, her hair still damp and tousled. "Figured we shouldhave a two-knock warning until we figure out comfort levels." She tossedher damp towel on the footboard of the bed.Thorn grunted. "Probably agood idea." He got up and thrust his hand out. "Nice to meet you, bythe way."She slid her palm against his andgave a firm shake. "Same. Sorry I cut out earlier." She let go andwalked over to one of her boxes. "I'm a little lost in this huge building.Wanted to explore a little and get my bearings." Pulling out a pair ofcapri-length leggings, she went back to the container and grabbed another tanktop in a turquoise shade.Turning her back to him, sheslipped the leggings on then dropped her robe and slid the shirt over her head.Thorn did his best not to stare andfailed. Sleek muscles and rounded curves drew his gaze. If he had a type—and hedidn't think he did—he might have to consider her.She sat on the edge of her unmadebed. "So … Thorn? Unique name. When I first saw it on the check-in list, Iwondered if you had siblings?" Her mouth twisted in a wry grin. "Andif they had interesting names, too. Like Briar or Bramble."Thorn laughed. "Uh, no. I haveone sibling, and his name is Thrace. The whole T-H thing started with mygreat-grandfather Thrummond. My grandfather is Thurston. My mom's name isThelma."Kari leaned forward, putting herelbows on her knees. "A tradition. That's kind of nice."Thorn rolled his eyes. "It'skind of pretentious." A lot like his pompous grandfather.Kari chuckled. "Sounds like youdon't take it too seriously."Thorn shrugged. "Not really,no. How 'bout you? Any siblings or weird familial quirks?"

I'm enjoying this soon-to-becouple. I love writing forced proximity when the duo doesn't have a lot incommon with each other.

 

That's it for thisweek.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Into the Fray

A weird week ofchilly weather and lots of cleaning projects. I'm at that place where the clutteris driving me bonkers, but I don't have enough hours in the day to really focuson a good cleanout. So … I'm tackling small areas to at least make a littleprogress.

Lots of workprojects landing in my inbox. A few have been quick turnarounds, which I enjoy.I love having a project that I can finish up in a few hours. That type of workhelps when I also have three difficult manuscripts that challenge my brain andone that requires a lot of focus.

Had a solid week ofviewing. I'm still trying to finish up an episode of Peak Practice, butI made it through a full round of shows.

Started with Mr.and Mrs. Murder, an Australian mystery series. I've seen several episodesbut not in order and I'm looking forward to watching this one from beginning toend. Thoroughly enjoyed the first episode, which I had not seen.

Also started anew-to-me British crime drama called London Kills. Loved the first episodeand look forward to watching this series.

Caught another episodeof Death in Paradise introducing the new DI. Enjoyed the interactionbetween the commissioner and his new lead detective. Interesting to havesomeone Patterson doesn't particularly like as part of the team.

Started a newtwo-part Silent Witness. I'm intrigued by the premise of this one. Ithought the episode felt a little disjointed and I'm hoping the initial murdersomehow ties into the other two. Kind of happy to be guessing on this one.

Watched a funepisode of Elementary with the return of Lestrade. I love the actor, soI love the character. Plus, he's much less annoying than Mycroft.

Enjoyed an episodeof The Batman. Finally got a return of Batgirl. I'd forgotten Fireflypowered up in a big way and almost blew up Gotham. Great episode.

Caught another new-to-meepisode of Classic Rugrats. I'm not a great fan of the three-vignetteformat but I do have a lot of love for this series.

That's pretty muchit for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Into the Fray,a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's theminiblurb:

Hex Harrigan usually gets Wiley Star out of trouble. WhenHex goes against a council decision and gives the go to rescue a group ofbounty hunters, he lands on the hot seat and is stripped of his authority.Wiley cuts a deal to get him reinstated and then takes the heat because shecan't and won't work without him.

And a preview snippet…

"You did what?" Wiley rana hand through her hair. "Are you insane? We're down eight people and youstrip Hex of his privileges?" Her brain spun with ways she could fix thisact of stupidity. "And you want me to take over as lead?" No way.She didn't want the responsibility.Not when the council couldn't agree on anything, up to and including the colorof the damn sky. Or pretty much anything else … hence the reason Hex shoulderedthe burden to bring their coworkers and friends back.The council head arched his brows."He went against protocol and came back alone. There has to be consequencefor his action."Wiley bit back a curse. "So,basically, if he had brought everyone home, we wouldn't be having thisconversation." She snorted. "You know how fucked up that is,right?" Did the guy work at being obtuse?Probably just came naturally.The council head shrugged. "Itis what it is." He folded his hands on the desk.Wiley wanted to smash his face intothe wall. "No, it is what you want it to be. Because you're nownine people down. We're spread too thin, and the whole reason Hex went off onhis own is because you sent me out to deal with a nothing problem that couldhave waited." She had no doubt if they'd gone together, they'd be flushwith bounty hunters again.The head council narrowed his gaze."You knew then? That Harrigan planned to attempt a rescue?" Censurelaced his tone.Hell, no. She didn't have a clueHex decided to go rogue, but she fully supported his doing so. But she wouldn'tgive creep-face the satisfaction of the truth.Instead … she might just salvagethe entire shitshow.Wiley folded her arms over herchest. "I not only knew, I planned the whole damn thing." A whopperof a lie, but she didn't care. "Give Hex his privileges back and I'll turnmine in when we get our hunters out." Creep-face would get to save faceand garner his pound of flesh while doing so.The head pursed his lips again."I suppose that's agreeable. You have forty-eight hours to enact yourrescue mission."Wiley grunted. "You don't askfor much." They'd be hard-pressed to pull anything off now, especiallywithout the element of surprise.The head's lips curved in a thinsmile. "I'm confident you'll do your best if only to leave the service ona high note." He pushed away from his desk and stood. "Clock startsat midnight."Wiley lifted her chin. "Byyour leave." She spun around and stalked to the exit.Hex would lose his shit when shetold him what she'd done.

Just getting this onestarted and I can't wait to see what the sages come up with.

 

That's it for thisweek.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Intersecting Angles (Urban Grit novella)

October is startingoff on something of a down note. But it's spooky season and that makes me veryhappy.

Received some sadnews this morning about one of my current authors. He had a rare form of brain cancerand passed peacefully yesterday. I'm so glad I got to know him and his story,which I hope we'll be able to share with others.

I ended up having adecent week with work projects and managed to get some other things done alongwith a good bit of writing. Have one manuscript almost finished up and I'mexcited to get it out in the world.

Pretty good week ofviewing also. I managed to make it all the way through my current roster ofshows and got one that simmers on the back burner most of the time mostlywatched.

Started the weekwith the season finale of My Life Is Murder and thoroughly enjoyed theepisode. So great to kind of have some closure for Alexa's cycle of grief. Iloved how the two-part episode played out.

Caught DI Jack'slast episode of Death in Paradise. Really enjoyed his sendoff and lookforward to the new DI's introduction in the next episode. Really have to thankmy sister-in-law for recommending this show.

Finished up thesecond half of Silent Witness. The episode took a turn I didn't expectand that always makes me happy. For a show that's been running for twenty-sevenseasons being able to surprise the audience—or at least me—is excellent.

Watched an episode of Elementary andquite liked it. It's fun to watch Sherlock and Joan navigate their living togetherand it's really awesome to see Joan stepping out and solving some of Sherlock'scold cases.

Enjoyed an episodeof The Batman with Green Arrow featuring as the Justice Leaguecharacter. This ended up being a pretty decent episode even without anappearance by Batgirl again.

Caught an episodeof Classic Rugrats. Some more new-to-me vignettes. Enjoyed all three.

Also got most of theway through a Peak Practice episode, which is the one that simmers onthe back burner when I don't have time to do a full cycle of shows. Lookingforward to finishing this one up.

That's pretty muchit for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Intersecting Angles,a novella that carries on with the characters from Urban Grit.

Here's the miniblurb:

Keeley Fitz and Holt Matterworth are back in action andexploring a series of caves for their web drama, Urban Grit. Local legend saysthe caverns are haunted by a smuggler that won't let anyone near his stash ofbootleg rum, which is a challenge too good to pass up for the duo. But … whatthey discover has nothing to do with rum and everything to do with something mucholder and more sinister.

And a preview snippet…

Holt flung his arm outward. "That'sa terrible idea. You're really not helping." They either stuck together ornothing.Keely swung her gaze toward Holt."What. Ever. You do what you think is best. You always do." Sherolled her eyes and spun away.Holt snapped back at her. "Andyou don't? Geez, Keels, I can’t win here. You think you could cut me someslack? This decision is impossible." And who the hell knew trolls actuallyexisted or that they'd be such a pain in the ass.Keeley snorted. "Then don'tmake one." She turned and started to walk away.Don’t make one. The lightbulb went off in hismind. Why should he make an impossible choice? As long as he made adecision, right? He played the trolls words over again. This could actuallywork.

He reached out for Keeley."You know what? I won't." He glanced at the other couple. "I'mcalling bullshit. Let's go. We're all walking out of here right now." Hewrapped an arm around Keeley's waist and hoisted the equipment pack over oneshoulder.The other couple blinked and askedin unison. "Have you lost your mind."Keeley laughed and shook her head."Aw, hell, of course. He's right. This is bullshit." Shehooked a finger onto one of his beltloops. "The only answer to animpossible decision is to not choose at all. Not picking between two fucked-upthings creates a … what's it called?" She snapped her fingers. "Aparadox. That's it. If Holt rejects the options, he creates our way to get outof here, because he's making a choice to ignore shitty outcomes." Sheangled her head and met his gaze. "By choosing to forge a new path. Achoice is still a choice, right? This just happens to be something else."Her head jerked toward the first tunnel. "Come on. Let's get outtahere." Reaching down, she grabbed the backpack with the food and waterinside.The other couple picked up theirgear and fell into step behind Holt and Keeley. They barely cleared theentrance of the tunnel before a loud voice boomed overhead."Stop right there! Don't eventhink about going any further!"

This one is in thepreliminary stages but I'm excited to see what the sages come up with for Keeleyand Holt.

 

That's it for thisweek.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Insanity Personified

What an end to themonth. Our weather has been wet and drippy for most of the week. Notcomplaining because we needed the rain. Of course, the dreary stuff hits theweek of our county fair, which is my husband's favorite time of year. Thenagain, a little water falling from the sky won't deter him from going orenjoying himself.

Work finally sloweddown a little and I had some time to catch my breath. I have a new copy editand proofread combo I'm working on and should have a new project starting thisweek. I'm also expecting more on the developmental edit I've been working on.And … a project I had a hand in is finally uploaded for proof … after almostfour and half years of rewrites and revisions. I'm so excited!!

Had several reallygreat conversations with my daughter this week. I love hearing her ideas ofwhat she wants from the future. This young woman has a good head on hershoulders and I'm so proud of her. Graduate school is opening her mind and eyesand I'm excited to see what she does.

Not a bad week ofviewing. The time to catch my breath also gave me a bit of freedom to catch upon my slate of shows. I made almost a full round this week!

Caught twobehind-the-scenes vignettes for Signora Volpe. I always enjoy seeing andhearing how things work and what the actors think about their show.

Watched an episodeof Death in Paradise and enjoyed it. This is one I hadn't seen before,and I loved the way the mystery played out.

Started a newseason of Silent Witness. Very interesting premise and I'm looking forwardto the conclusion next week. I'll be starting Beyond Paradise after I finishthe new season.

Enjoyed an episodeof Elementary. It's interesting to watch Sherlock serve as an AA sponsor.And I really like Watson kind of stepping out on her own to solve a cold case.

Finished up thesecond part of the season four premier of The Batman. Kind of forgot Batgirldidn't really feature in these opening episodes. I think she makes a returnlater in the season.

Also caught anepisode of Classic Rugrats. I only remembered one of the vignettes, so Ienjoyed seeing the other two.

And that's prettymuch it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from InsanityPersonified, a novella that tests the connection between a couple after theysuffer a personal loss.

Here's theminiblurb:

Karren Burnette and Vito Neilson work for a veryspecialized detective agency—one that tracks down preternatural beings thatcommit crimes. When Karren gets hit with a personal loss, her superior officerpulls her off the streets because she's taking too many chances with her lifeand everyone else's. Vito steps in to act as a buffer, which doesn't makeKarren or their boss happy.

And a preview snippet…

Karren Burnette crouched over thebody of her best friend, Lorie Scott. "I'm so sorry, Lorie. I didn't gethere in time." Her hand curled into a fist. "But I will find yourmurderer. I promise on my life." She got up and dragged in a deep breath.I will not cry. Not until I findthe bastard who killed Lorie.Footsteps on gravel had Karrenslowly turning around. Vito Neilson entered the dead-end alley, his handsshoved deep in his pockets. Karren closed her eyes briefly then moved to blockVito's path.She put up a hand. "You don'twant to see her." Hell, Karren didn't want to have the image of her deadfriend burned into her brain … but she didn't have a choice.Lorie had reached out to Karren.Lorie confessed fear for her life, had begged Karren to meet at theneighborhood bar they all hung out at, and all but predicted her own murder.Someone or something had avery bad, no-good, terrible day coming in the near future. Karren would makesure of it.Vito narrowed his eyes. "Right.Like you didn't want to see Nico?" He bit the words out, but they hittheir mark.As he'd known they would. Nico Cuadied in a fiery car crash coming to see Karren from the university he attended.They were two months away from getting married. Vito had been tapped as thebest man and Lorie as the maid of honor. Back when Vito and Lorie had been anitem … and Karren and Nico were engaged.She stepped to the side."Fine. Just remember how that turned out." Not well … at all.Vito started forward but paused."I need the closure. Just like you did." His voice went raspy andgruff.Karren gave a nod … because she gotit. The need to confirm reality no matter how much it sucked. And, damn, did itever suck. Even though Vito and Lorie had been apart for more than two years,they'd stayed friends. They kind of didn't have a choice because Karren workedwith Vito for a very specialized detective agency. One that dealt withpreternatural beings that often preyed on the average joes of society.Lorie hadn't been an average joe,but Karren would bet everything she held dear—including Vito—she'd been avictim of a being with otherworldly power.And Karren would dive into thedepths of hell to bring Lorie's killer to justice.

I just started thisone and I'm having fun going a little dark and broody for the opening of thestory.

 

That's it for thisweek.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Infernal Madness

September has beensuch a weird month. Our weather is all over the place—again—and we're baking inhigh temps. Also have a drought at the moment. I mean the grass crunches when Iwalk on it right now.

I think we have ourcar issues solved. Mine is back with a new computer and we did end up with atotal loss on the CR-V. Found one to replace that and we're getting everythingin order to finalize the purchase. Here's hoping that ends our car drama for a good,long time.

Another super busywork week. Finished up a project and started a new one. I'm in a holdingpattern for two more and I may have a new client for some writing coaching.Very excited about my calendar right now!

Did not have agreat week of viewing. Too many things distracting me and needing my attention.I might have to start doing playlists instead of television shows. If I do theplaylist thing, be forewarned, I have very eclectic taste in music.

I did get an episodeof The Batman watched by starting the fourth season. This introducedSuperman to the roster, which also means Lex Luthor put in an appearance alongwith Lois and Jimmy.

Caught an episodeof Classic Rugrats. All three vignettes were new to me, which is fun. Ifeel like I must have skipped several seasons though because I don't rememberwatching or rewatching several episodes that really stand out in my memory.Might have to check to see if I did.

Also started anepisode of My Life Is Murder. This is a two-parter and looks to end thefourth season. Looking forward to finishing this one up and waiting patientlyfor a fifth season. Fingers crossed!

And that's prettymuch it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Infernal Madness,a novella that puts an established couple through an unsettling experience.

Here's theminiblurb:

A dreamweaver is wreaking havoc on a fae community withvividly disturbing waking nightmares. Tressa Epps and Monroe Headrick—usuallyin complete sync—are arguing over everything, but they're tasked withdiscovering who or what is behind the infernal madness the small village isexperiencing … if the insomnia doesn't get to them first.

And a preview snippet…

Tressa Epps shifted restlessly inher bed. Dark images swirled in her mind. The room spun in dizzying rotations.It's not room, Tress. It's you.She managed to slow down and focusedon the shape of the floor. An octagon with alternating black and silver stripesthat started in the center and flared out to the baseboard. The walls wereopposite colors with the darker shade meeting the lighter shade of the trim andvice versa. One single door accompanied each wall. Shadows played along the surfaces,bending and twisting the minimal light from … somewhere.There are no windows. Why aren'tthere any windows?Tressa fought the urge to spin incircles again. She trudged forward, her feet moving slowly, kind of likewalking through water. Her fingers grasped the doorknob, twisted, and openedthe door.She walked through and entered …the room she'd just tried to leave. Whirling around, she headed for a differentexit. The lack of equilibrium kept her off-balance and she stumbled and lurchedtoward the next doorway.Taking a deep breath, she pulledthe panel open and crossed the threshold … only end up back in the same room.Frustration drew a harsh cry from her throat. And she made another attempt witheach different door … and garnered the same results.She gave a low growl. "Whatthe hell is going on. I can't be trapped. There's gotta be a way out." Thespinning sensation engulfed her again and she closed her eyes, trying to makeit stop.But closing her eyes made theimbalance worse and she leaned against the closest surface and slid down to acrouch. Then she got down on her hands and knees and slowly crawled to thecenter of the floor. She sat where the points met in the middle of the roomwith her legs pulled up to her chest and her head bent forward.Overwhelmed with a sense ofhopelessness, she looked inward trying to find a logical reason she couldn'tget out of the space. The floor shifted beneath her and her head snapped upwhen a screeching sound surrounded her.The walls were literally closing inand she scrambled to get to her feet. But she couldn't move. Something held herfast while the room collapsed in on itself. The black and silver streaksrumbled toward her with increasing speed.Tressa's eyes went wide, her hearthammered in her chest, and her mouth opened on a silent scream … then a flashof light blinded her…And she jerked bolt upright in bed…

I just got startedon this story and I'm so excited to take this journey with my characters.

 

That's it for thisweek.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: In Enemy Territory (a Black Raven Banner novella)

Once again, Ohioweather is all over the place. But at least it hasn't been sweltering hot. Hadsetbacks with our cars. Mine is still not quite ready. The new engine computer thegarage ordered didn't work so they got another one. Hopefully this week. My husbandhad a deer literally jump on top of his CR-V, shattering the windshield,knocking the rearview mirror off, and sending the driver's side mirror clearover to the passenger side floor. It even dented the top of the car up to thesunroof. I'm pretty sure it's a total loss. Luckily my husband is okay, asidefrom having a ton of glass all over him. He found glass all the way in the backof the vehicle.

Really busy workweek. I finished up a copy edit and continued work on a developmental edit.Also started a new project that's not quite a developmental edit, but it iscleaning up a lot of formatting in a manuscript to get it ready for a copyedit, which a colleague is going to do. Had an exchange with a new author andhope to work with her in the future.

Semi-decent week ofviewing. I didn't quite make a full round, mainly because I spent a lot of timeon the phone trying to get the insurance sorted and line up a rental until we knowfor sure what's going on with the CR-V.

I did get anepisode of My Life Is Murder in and thoroughly enjoyed it. Lots of twistsand turns in this one. Once again, Madison stole the show. Also really cool tohave indigenous representation for the storyline. And … more hints aboutAlexa's family. Here's hoping we'll see more of them.

I think I watchedthe finale of Signora Volpe, and it might have set up a future episodefeaturing Sylvia's ex. That would be a lot of fun. So awesome to see her niece againand getting to know her dad. Isabelle ended up stealing this episode. Going towatch the behind-the-scenes stuff next.

Finished up Bestin Paradise with the first of the two-parter that set up Florance's exit. Itwas a great episode and very bittersweet as the actress mentioned when she introducedthe episode.

Also caught anotherDeath in Paradise and enjoyed the mystery. It's also fun to see Jacktrying to move on from the loss of his wife. The awkward but awesomecommunication with Anna is lovely to watch.

Started an episodeof Elementary but need to finish it this week. Too many distractions toget all the way through the show. It looks like a good one though.

That's pretty muchit for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from In Enemy Territory,a Black Raven Banner book.

Here's the miniblurb:

Verity Jones and Emory Cavendish welcome a new CO underthe Black Raven banner. Lawrence Worthington hits the ground running and getsup to speed quickly. He has to—the mission rate doubles when a group of resistanceteams get ambushed simultaneously. He needs every member—including Verity—atthe top of their game and he has to find out how the enemy got their hands onthe base locations.

And a preview snippet…

"Jones should fly out to getthe lay of the land."Verity's head snapped around atPercy's suggestion. Had he gone starking mad? Mission launch would be sometimein the next few hours.She shook her head. "AfraidI'll have to decline, Longfellow." Facing forward again, she blinked whenWorthington quirked an eyebrow. "Er, I'll be happy to fly out if you orderit, sir. But I've got several irons in the fire with those two downed birds andfinishing the upgrades on the last five stingers." She also wanted to testthe new tracking device she'd designed.She itched to be back in the air,but she also wanted the guys she worked for to have an edge.Worthington agreed. "That doestake priority, but I do want to see you fly soon." He glanced out thewindow. "Maybe we can go up together after you complete the repairs."Verity bobbed her chin. "I'dlike that. I'll let you know when I've got it all finished." She'd welcomethe opportunity to match wits with one of her dad's rivals.Worthington nodded."Cavendish, Longfellow, get two four-man teams together. I want two in thestingers to act as escorts and a two-man team in a cargo plane to moverefugees." He flipped his notebook shut. "Wheels up in two hours forone team and the other is on standby. You decide who goes out first." Hedismissed the group.Verity made a beeline for the BerthaJay. She wanted to install the device she'd been working on for a trialrun.Emory caught up with her when shemade the final adjustments. "Not like you to turn down an opportunity tofly out. Everything okay?" A note of concern entered his voice.She smiled. "Yeah, nothing'swrong." She pulled him in close to the plane. "I've been working on anew project." Pointing to the tracker, she explained its concept."This works like a homing beacon and internal tracker. When planes are on theground, they don't show up on radar. This gives us coordinates when they're notflying." At least she hoped it would.Emory's eyes widened. "That'sbrilliant." He gave her a long look. "You don't want Worthington toknow?"She jerked her head back and forth."Not yet. It's untested and I'd like to work out anything buggy before Ishow him." She lifted one shoulder. "He's a progressive guy. If thisworks, he'll want all the planes to have them." And she'd probably have topull Emory and Percy in to help her with building and installation.Emory didn't argue. "What do Ihave to do?"Verity grinned. "Nothing.That's part of the functionality. Pilots won't need to add anything to thepre-flight checks." She bumped her fist on the hull of the plane."I'll monitor from the hangar while I install the upgrades to the stingersand work on the repairs."Emory nudged her shoulder."This could be a tide turner."Verity gave a nod. "I'mhopeful." She'd love to give Blackraven the upper hand.

I have so much lovefor this series. I'm still not completely settled on the actual name yet, butBlack Raven is edging out anything else.

 

That's it for thisweek.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Illustrious Curse (a Lantern Jack tale)

As usual, we'rehaving bizarre weather. Got hot again then a stormfront moved through and nowwe're back down to the sixties. I'm not complaining about the cooler temperaturesor anything, but I'd rather stick with one range for longer than a week.

Still loaded upwith work projects and I'm making solid progress on all of them. Sometimes it'slike spinning plates and trying to keep them all going at the same rate, but Ilove the variety of the stuff I'm working on right now.

Not a bad week forviewing television. I did the taking a break from wall-to-wall words thingagain and got pretty much a full round of shows in this week.

Started off with Bestin Paradise and enjoyed the rewatch of "Dark Memories." I haveone more episode left for this series then I'll be switching over to BeyondParadise. I'm looking forward to starting that one.

Caught anotherepisode of Death in Paradise with the ninth season premiere. I thinkthis is Jack's last season and the new guy takes over for the next one. Enjoyedthe episode a lot.

Watched anotherepisode of Elementary and enjoyed it. Not a huge Moriarity fan, but Ilike the layers and back and forth between Holmes and Watson with Moriarity.

Finished up the thirdseason of The Batman and I'm getting ready to start the fourth. Ihonestly can't remember if I ended up liking the fourth season or not.

Also caught anepisode of Classic Rugrats and the three vignettes were ones I don'tremember seeing before so nice to have something new to me.

That's pretty much itfor the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Illustrious Curse,a Lantern Jack novella.

Here's theminiblurb:

Lantern Jack is back to right his final wrong. Inara Ivesis a distant descendant of Jack's wife, the former banshee queen. Her royalblood is diluted, but still strong. Taben Tarrah can trace his ancestry back tothe cursed goblin king, Lantrien Jacquard, but his noble blood is tainted bythe lineage. Jack brings the two together to finally put his past to rest andjoin his deceased bride in the afterlife. The duo won't make it easy … butJack's success over the years means he won't be thwarted.

And a preview snippet…

Taben jerked in his sleep and wokeup, a piece of the tattered parchment stuck to his face. "Damn." Hecarefully peeled the milled page from his skin. "Gotta be morecareful." The files were the only thing he had to go on if he had anychance to figure out how to remove the horrible hex on his family bloodline."You're not going to find theanswers you want in those old pages."Taben startled at the voice comingfrom the corner of the table. Then he blinked, not at all certain he hadn'tlost his mind. A grizzled-looking carved pumpkin stared back at Taben. Pumpkin?Shit. The lightbulb went off in Taben's mind then just as quickly went off.He shook his head. "No. Noway." His gaze went back to the creepy gourd. "Tell me you're not mycursed ancestor Lantrien Jacquard, the dethroned goblin king."The pumpkin wobbled back and forth."You already know I am. And I go by Lantern Jack now. I no longer use myformer name." Jack edged closer to the scattered papers on the table."You won't find the answers you seek, because you're missing more than afew pages."Taben breathed out on a longexhale. "Then fill me in. What do I have to do to remove the stench ofyour misdeeds?" He cocked his head. "Wait. You're the one who's beenhealing rifts, aren't you?" Maybe things would actually get better now.Jack rolled back and forth."Don't get ahead of yourself. I've done penance and, yes, I've healed oldwounds, but the final chapter has yet to be written." He paused and shrankin on himself a little. "I can't interfere with you as much as I did theothers."Taben jerked his chin up."Because we're the same bloodline?" It would make sense, based onwhat he'd read so far.Jack wobbled again. "That'sthe main issue. But there's another one." He moved to the parchment andnudged it closer to Taben. "The missing pieces are the key. And you don'thave them."Taben sighed. "Okay, where canI find them and what, exactly, am I looking for?" At this point, he'dscale mountains to get what he needed.Jack snorted. "You don't needto climb anything. You have to go down. Deep in the archives." He pausedagain. "And I can't tell you, exactly, what you're looking for, but you'llknow when you find it…" He trailed off.Taben met his ancestor's gaze."How?" Murky answers annoyed the hell out of him.Jack's mouth thinned to a straightline. "Because you're looking for the murderers responsible for my queen'sdeath." In a blink, he disappeared from the table.Taben sucked in a harsh breath."Well, fuck." No pressure or anything then.Rising from his chair, he headedfor his room. He'd throw some clothes in a bag and pack up some food and headfor the archives."Nothing like crawling aroundin a huge crypt … especially close to All Hallow's."

 

This will be theend cap to the Lantern Jack series and I'm excited to get this one finished up.

 

That's it for thisweek.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Ill-Timed Case

Hello, September.Here's hoping you're not as maniacal as August. I'd love for the weather tomake up its mind and hold for a while. I don't imagine that will actuallyhappen.

Had a lovely dayoff to travel to the Hocking Hills area to meet up with my cousins on my mom'sside of the family. We're hoping to make it an annual event. I couldn't takethe whole weekend, but it was so much fun to spend time with them. Bonus pointsfor being close enough to my daughter's location for grad school that I couldtake some of the things she forgot.

Still insanely busywith work and I'm happy for the new projects coming my way. Also kind ofthrilled they're all a bit different so it's not the same thing for eachmanuscript.

Had an okay week ofviewing. I got to watch a few things when I needed a break from wall-to-wallwords. Sometimes it's nice to have a minivacation to reset my brain.

Caught an episodeof The Batman and enjoyed it. It's a two-parter so I'm hoping to watchthe second half this week.

Enjoyed an episodeof Classic Rugrats. I don't really remember this one, but the laterseasons of the show weren't watched quite as many times as the earlier ones.

Got an episode of MyLife Is Murder watched and loved it. Again, Madison really stole the show.And the wink-wink-nod to Xena at the end was fun and awesome.

Started an episodeof Signora Volpe and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens when Sylvia'sundercover assignment is discovered.

That's pretty muchit for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Ill-Timed Case, anovella that brings a couple together for a bit of cat-and-mouse fun.

Here's the miniblurb:

Rex Van Adder, private investigator, has more cases than hecan handle. Enter Gracie Lee, along with a dead body, and Rex scrambles to keephis head above water, especially since he knows Gracie is involved but can'tfigure out how.

And a snippety peek…

The first gray streaks barely litthe sky before Rex ended up back in the alley where his mystery womandisappeared.After a careful look in the shadowynooks and crannies, he huffed out a breath. "Think I finally figured outhow she disappeared." She had to be using one of the old storefronts as anaccess to the underground system.He went back to check more footageto be certain his hunch panned out. "I'll be damned. That's a genius-levelmove." He got up to pour some coffee, mentally planning how to surveil thecity block she'd used as her access point.He'd narrowed her route to downfour stores and wanted to get back to see if she'd left a trail he could pickup.He started for his desk and got acall. This time from Avery.He didn't both with pleasantrieseither. "If you want to see the evidence, you can come down to theprecinct. Maybe you can make sense out of some of the things we found."Rex's lips quirked. "What'swrong, Marlow. The gray skies and rain making it hard for you toconcentrate?" A little needling never hurt, especially when Marlowdeserved it for dragging Rex out of bed in the wee hours.Marlow snorted. "More likezero sleep for over twenty-four hours and a dead body with your name onit." He huffed out a sigh. "Seriously, nothing about this murder fitsnormal parameters. And you always have your nose in weird shit nobody understands."Yeah. Thanks to his professor dad.Rex tsked. "Marlow, you're notwrong about that. But why the rush? You've barely had time to get the autopsyresults." Not that they'd probably learn anything new.Marlow grumbled something under hisbreath before responding. "Look, Rex. Someone got to this guy when prettymuch no one was supposed to know he was in the city. Either your information iswrong, or there's a clue we're missing in McGuinness's stuff. Whichever it is,the trail's going cold and not just from the fucking rain." He paused thenadded. "I'll be here for another hour then I'm being forced to takemandatory downtime for the next twenty-four hours, which means…"Shit. "Barkerson's taking overuntil you're back." While Marlow reluctantly worked with Rex and otherprivate detectives, Stu Barkerson absolutely refused to consider anyone outsidethe twelfth precinct as an ally and regarded all of them with suspicion.Marlow chuckled. "Yep."Rex grimaced. "Be there inten." He ended the call.Damn. He'd hoped to buy some timeto track down the mystery woman. Then again, if he didn't want to deal with hiscranky old man on an hourly basis, Rex needed to get a jump ahead on Dougray'scase. Except … his mystery woman and McGuinness's murder were connected. And hewould find out how.His gut never steered him wrong.

I'm having such aterrific time writing this one. Rex and Marlow are a hoot, and Rex is nudgingme to set Marlow up in a future story. Stay tuned!

 

That's it for thisweek.

Cheers!

Skye 

Sunday Snippet: Hush

Another crazy week withrecord low temperatures for August. I'm talking wear a jacket because it dippedinto the low forties at night. This week we're supposed to be back up in themid to high nineties. Weather is wild.

 

Seriously jammedwith work projects right now and I love being busy. I'm at the point where I'dlove to have another four hours added to each day, so I don't feel like therearen't enough hours in the day. Also had to figure out a few things for my daughter'sgrad school, like how to drop a class and add a new one before the semesterstarts, which is Monday. As mentioned last week, she was in Ontario Canada fora theater festival and didn't have a lot of downtime. The good news is, she'sset to go. Yay!

 

I didn't have a lotof viewing time this week. The verdict on my car is still out and that's beenhovering in the back of my mind and distracting me. My work projects also needmy full attention.

 

I did get to watchan episode of Elementary and ended up enjoying it. I skipped the onethat I struggled to get through. I'd rather have forward momentum than getstuck and drop the show.

 

And that's prettymuch it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Hush, anovella where a hex makes it impossible for a couple to speak without wantingto inflict harm on each other.

 

Here's theminiblurb:

 

Kia Bleu and Chip Strachey have a powerful connection andfinally give in to their attraction. When Chip's former flame hexes the couple,they have to learn to communicate without words.

 

And a preview snippet…

Kia reviewed Chip's written scrawland paced the floor in her apartment. Chip's plan bordered on genius. Theywould be using Sadie's hex in the upper room sports arena at The Cave. If Marioagreed—and he would—he'd put the word out she and Chip had entered into a bloodmatch, their sudden intense and rabid dislike of each other spurring them toinvoke a battle of wills and first blood won the pot.Kia's lips curved. "Sadiewon't be able to resist coming, even though she loathes The Cave." And shewould suffer for the effort.Kia and Chip would build up a gooddose of rage then create a feedback loop with an incantation that sent the hexback to its maker, strengthening the bond and increasing the outcome.Kia rocked back on her heels."And it'll be a bitch when it hits." A karma spell intensified by nothaving a specific object or person to bind the hex with.Any man Sadie decided she wanted wouldautomatically despise her and seek to get away from her presence as quickly aspossible.Kia snorted. "Karma sucks,babe." But it would be a fitting result for her treachery.Sadie would suffer the consequencesof her brazen disregard for the ban on using magick against fellow students. Kiaand Chip would sidestep any repercussions. They'd done their due diligence. Thelaw of the mage allowed the injured party or parties to seek retribution. Andthe focus of their spell would go directly to the source, offering the burdenof proof.Kia's phone pinged. "Marioput the word out. Tonight at seven." She smiled.The past week had brought themcloser than ever. Learning to communicate—and have sex—without words somehowgave her a deeper understanding of Chip. She'd bet Sadie didn't factor thatlittle side effect into the grand scheme of things when she'd placed her hex.Kia could almost feel sorry for the sultry beauty—if Kia hadn't been on thereceiving end of the spell.Then again, she could see howChip's reputation as a great guy and general attractiveness might inspirea desperate measure. No, actually, Kia didn't really get it. Sadie should thinkbetter of herself. Maybe Kia would get a chance to share that idea once the bigblood match did its work.If nothing else, she wanted Sadieto realize mages should work to build each other up instead of trying to trashtheir lives.

I'm having a lot offun with this story. Kia and Chip are an amazing couple to write.

 

That's it for thisweek.

Cheers!

Skye