Sunday Snippet: Underbelly
Happy Father's Dayto the dads out there, including fur dads and mentors. We've got beautiful weatherafter a very soggy week.
My work projects arebringing me so much joy right now. The books are so amazing! Also heard fromone of my authors on two new stories he's got percolating right now. And I got atext message from one of my current authors that completely made my weekend. So… work is awesome right now.
Had a very goodviewing week. I ended up doubling up on a couple of shows because the moodstruck.
Ended up catchingtwo episodes of the Brokenwood Mysteries. Both were pretty great. Ithoroughly enjoyed meeting another one of Mike's ex-wives. And my heart kind ofbroke for him by the end of that episode. I'll probably finish out season ninethis week.
Finished the completerun of available Classic Who episodes. Have to say in retrospect, it'sweird how there have been seven doctors and only one master. That said, I'mactually kind of happy with how Seven's tenure ended. Not sure if I'll watchthe movie with Eight or just skip over to New Who. It might be a few weeksbefore I start that.
Caught the secondpart of Silent Witness. This two-parter ended up being very twisty and Iliked it. Looking forward to starting a new one this week.
Watched two episodesof Death in Paradise. I'm enjoying watching from the beginning inchronological order. It's nice to see how the original group came together.
Enjoyed thepenultimate episode of Only Murders in the Building. What a cool twistor three. Can't wait to watch the finale this week.
Caught anotherepisode of Classic Rugrats. This is my nostalgia show. I have so manygreat memories of watching this when my kiddos were little.
Watched an episodeof Peak Practice. Joanna breaks my heart sometimes. And we're nearingthe end of season nine when things don't go so well for her.
Continued my rewatchof Battlestar Galactica with a double-header of "Home Part I and II."These are two of my favorite episodes of season two. The fleet is brought back together,and the acting is stellar.
Enjoyed anotherepisode of Madame Blanc Mysteries. Very interesting development at theend. I have a feeling I'll either love or hate the twist.
That's pretty muchit for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Underbelly, anovella with an urban noir vibe and characters who get to pull off a heist.
Here's themini-blurb:
Jarrod Steele is a private investigator who deals withthe weird and the unknown and can find anything his clients want. Hissuper-efficient assistant, Maylin Rose, along with her unique skill set, makessure of it.
And a preview snippet…
Jarrod reached out through alooking glass spell. As predicted, his harpy of a grandmother ignored his callattempts for a full hour.
When he finally got through, SopharellaWhetstone snapped and sniped. "You know I don't appreciate being summonedvia a spell. If you want to speak to me, you can come to the estate." Hertone oozed censure.
Jarrod bit back. "ConsideringI don't know where you are twenty-four hours a day, which estate should I tryfirst?" It could take him days to figure out which home she happened to bestaying in.
She snarked. "If you botheredkeeping in touch, you'd know where I am."
Jarrod shot back. "Yet, youdon't answer calls or spell-casts until it suits you. Kind of makes it hard tofind out where you are." He arched his brows. "See the problem?"He bit his tongue to avoid saying more.
She harrumphed. "Touché. Whatdo you want?" Her image wavered a little then grew stronger.
She'd added her considerable powerto the spell.
Jarrod got to the point. "Whatdo you know about Aston Pemburke?"
Her lips puckered. "Bah! Nouveauxmagick. Bought and paid for by the Pemburkes. Not worth my time." She senta piercing stare his way. "Why are you wasting yours with him?" Hertone had curiosity laced through it.
Jarrod didn't answer, instead hereplied. "He almost got me killed tonight. And I know there's somethingnot showing in his background."
Her visage softened a little."Are you hurt? Did he cause harm to you?" She couldn't quite keep theconcern from her voice.
Jarrod grunted. "I'm fine. Butif he didn't set me up, I want to know who did."
Grandma Sophie demanded a fullaccount. "Start at the beginning and tell me everything."
Jarrod shook his head. "I'm boundby my contract to keep the details under wraps." His reluctance to sharewent deep with her.
She snapped. "If I don't haveall the details, I can't provide the right information."
Jarrod snorted. "Meaning youcan't give out the crumbs you choose to like ammunition if I don't provide abig enough target." No way would he give her cannon fodder to use againstanother family.
She waved her hand. "Not thistime. Whatever you say goes to my grave. I won't have your life threatened."
Unless she did the threatening.
Jarrod gave her the rundown. She listenedwithout interrupting—for once—and nodded several times.
Leaning forward, she asked onequestion. "Did the Pemburkes purchase this cube or steal it?"
Jarrod lifted his chin."According to my research, they bought it. There's a transfer of ownershipin the archives."
She settled back in her chair."The short answer is Aston has a sister whose relationship has beenexpunged from the family records. She married an up-and-coming magick mongernamed Jayson Barrowman." Her face twisted in distaste. "The cubeworks on a blood imprint, meaning anyone with the family DNA can wield thepower." She paused a moment. "And the power could be astronomical. Barrowmanwill, no doubt, want to use it for nefarious purposes."
Jarrod growled. "Son of abitch." He wanted to smash Aston Pemburke in the mouth.
His grandmother huffed out anexasperated sigh. "What on earth are you doing with a group of lowlifeslike them?"
Jarrod matched her biting tone."Getting paid. Thanks for the help, Grandmother." He cut theconference off with a wave of his hand.
He'd pay later. The next time heneeded help.
Rising from the table, he hissedout his frustration. "Stupid class wars." But, damn, the hierarchy aspectexplained a thing or two.
I love this couple!There might be a possibility of more adventures if the sages cooperate.
That's it for thisweek.
Cheers!
Skye
