Sunday Snippet: Open Dialog

Had a solid week ofgetting stuff done. This makes me happy. Got a garden planted. Okay, my husbandgot most of the planting done. I only did one thing, but I call that a winanyway.

On the work front,I did fairly well also. I'm hoping to launch a new venture in June, and Ifinally got back to setting that up. I also finished up a copy edit and starteda proofreading project.

Solid week ofviewing also. I'm in a bit of a groove and sticking with a cluster of shows. Istill have a weird urge to binge watch a marathon of something, but I'veresisted that urge. It's so easy to fall down a rabbit hole and not getanything done.

Ended up gettingtwo episodes of Death in Paradise watched. One featured a Day of theDead tie in, which is notable only because I'm watching a different show todaythat has a Day of the Dead tie in.

Also got twoepisodes of Elementary in. Started season two and got to meet Mycroft,which I enjoyed. Also got some additional Joan backstory and I'm glad to seesome of that.

Enjoyed twoepisodes of The Batman. Both were ones I remembered from my original runthrough the show. Season three is different as I don't feel as connected to thecharacters, but it's a pretty solid season so far.

Caught two episodesof Classic Rugrats. I've started season eight and I'd forgotten it's alead up to the Rugrats in Paris movie and all the episodes areinterconnected.

Watched two episodesof Suspects. I finished up season three and started season four. Thepremiere of four had a very twisty case and I really enjoyed that one.

Started season tenof Brokenwood Mysteries. I love this show so much. There's a terrific castof characters and I love that Frodo and Todd have found both bodies so far thisseason.

Also enjoyed thefinale of season twenty-six of Silent Witness. I'm finally one hundredpercent caught up with the series. Now I play a waiting game until seasontwenty-seven.

That's pretty muchit for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Open Dialog, anovella that brings a couple together after they finally learn to communicatewith each other.

Here's the miniblurb:

Life on a space station means there's nowhere to run whenthings get awkward. For Janeen Shore and King McMahon, working through theiroften messy personal relationships can sometimes take a toll and they have tokeep the lines of communication open or risk losing what's important.

And a sneaky peek…

"Are you seriously going todefend Malz Orwenson?"King McMahon closed his eyes alongwith the jacket open on his desk. "Shara, I advocate for whoever theyassign to me." He only got so many refusals per quarter.Shara snorted. "Bullshit. Youvolunteered for this one."His current girlfriend might know alittle too much about him.He sighed. "Okay, yes. I raisedmy hand when they asked if anyone would take on Malz's case." Because whynot?Shara huffed out a frustratedbreath. "What the hell, King? Orwenson is a known agitator. He's alwaystrying to drag others along when he bucks the system." She paced back andforth. "Do you have thing for the impossible? There's no way you'll winthis one." Pausing, she pinned him with a hard look. "Does that evenmatter to you anymore?"King couldn't say winning everycase mattered. He only advocated in his spare time to keep his qualification. Eventually,having the skill would be a nice feather in his cap once his stint in the militaryended.Shara tapped her foot on the floor."Well. I guess that answers the question." She rolled her eyes."So then, tell me please … what's the point of doing executive functionsas a solider if it's not to rise up through the ranks and help yourcareer?" She planted her hands on her hips. "I mean, there's gotta bean end to doing your duty, right?"King took a moment beforeanswering. "It's not just about duty. The point? I'm not doing this toadvance my career in the military. There's a quality of care involved withevery assignment I take on." He warmed up to the topic, gaining a clarityhe didn't have before she started busting his balls. "Each case becomesabout the experience of doing my best for the client. Possibly mitigating theirpunishment or limiting the punitive cost." He met her gaze. "Workingwith and learning about those aspects now gives me valuable knowledge forfuture endeavors." When he could no longer serve as a soldier.Shara's mouth snapped shut and hershoulders slumped. "Hadn't thought of that." She glanced around theroom, looking at everything but him.King swallowed a smirk. Obviously, Sharadidn't know him quite as well as she thought. Mainly because she viewed him asan extension of her, which, yeah, probably needed a discussion at some point.But not today.He reopened Malz's file thencleared his throat. "Anything else? If not, I've got work to do and not alot of time to get it done." Rude, but true.Shara huffed out a sigh."Fine. I'll make myself scarce until the hearing." She gathered up acouple of items and tucked them into a duffel bag. "I'm … uh … sorry forcoming in with guns blazing." Not waiting for a response, she ducked out,letting the hatch close behind her.King exhaled slowly. "And I'msorry for not being who you think I should be…"

This story is inthe very early stages, and I have no idea how things are going to shake out,but I'm having so much fun figuring it out.

 

That's it for thisweek. Catch everyone on the flipside.

 

ML Skye