Sunday Snippet: Guts and Glory

I can't believewe're at the end of June already. It's crazy how fast time is flying right now.Probably because of the whole respiratory yuck that ate up most of the month.Thankfully, that seems to have finally run its course. Feeling so much betternow.

Had a super busywork week. Playing catch-up isn't my favorite thing on the planet. But I didfinish a proofread and made solid progress on the other two projects on myplate.

Had a very limitedviewing schedule this week, mainly because I really wanted to make as much of adent as possible in my work. I had my usual background comfort shows playing inthe background with Perry Mason and Midsomer Murders. I love thechannels dedicated to one show, which is how I get Midsomer whenever Iwant. And Perry Mason is easy to find on the classic TV channels.

I did catch an episodeof Best in Paradise and enjoyed revisiting how JP got reacquainted withRosie. I'm enjoying the cast member introductions to each episode.

I also watched thefirst of a two-part Death in Paradise. I'd seen a bit of the episodebefore and knew what to expect but it's very powerful to watch from the beginning.Looking forward to the second part this week.

I started anepisode of Elementary and didn't make it all the way through. I'llfinish that one up later tonight.

And that's prettymuch it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Guts and Glory,a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's theminiblurb:

Ghosts, spirits, ghouls, and spooks are big business forRoyal McKnight and Gamble Preacher, who each head rival teams that deal withand sometimes get rid of the specters. Gamble fears Royal is in over her headwhen a nasty ghoul wreaks havoc on the city and can't be banished, but Royalhas an ace up her sleeve and doesn't need Gamble's assistance … until her teamis in danger and Gamble has to save the day.

And a preview snippet…

Royal McKnight entered herheadquarters and living space through sublevel two. "What a night."She shut and warded the door leading from the abandoned subway tunnel thenheaded for the first flight of stairs that would take her to sublevel one.She shrugged out of her long jacketand draped the garment over her shoulder before entering the small enclosurethat would take her to the first floor of the former First United Bank, whichnow operated as the base of operations for her team of ghost hunters.A side door opened and her secondin command, JJ Hardaway ducked into the hexagon-shaped landing from the parkinggarage that also doubled as their decontamination area. Clad only in a pair ofloose warmups, a sure indicator he'd tangled with something—ghost, spirit,ghoul, or spook—and ended up covered with ectoplasm … or something worse. She'dheard a call go out but couldn't respond, because she'd had her nose to theground following a possible lead.JJ shook his head and jerked histhumb behind him. "I recommend avoiding the decon area for at least anhour. It'll take that long for the smell to dissipate." He ran a handthrough his damp hair. "And I might need spend another thirty minutes inthe shower." A shudder rippled over him.Royal arched her brows. "Do weneed to debrief first?" She kind of hoped not … a ton of research beckonedher.JJ rolled his eyes. "Nah.Nothing special about the callout. Standard spook removal." His lipsquirked. "Except for the part where the spook went corporeal just as Isprayed the deterrent on it."Royal grimaced. "Ugh. You gotskunked." No wonder JJ warned about the stench.Spooks could manifest in solidifiedform for brief periods. If they were doused when they had a physical shape,they exploded in a barrage of congealed spookly bits. Yuck.JJ rolled a shoulder. "Happensto the best of us." He nodded toward the steps. "Heading up ordown?"She lifted her chin. "Up.Gotta hit the stacks and do some research." She paused a moment."Have you heard any rumblings about the old library?" She'd stakedthe place out based on a rumor she'd overheard at the Gilded Chalice, herfavorite watering hole.JJ grunted. "Only thatPreacher's crew has been sniffing around that area." He nudged the door tothe first floor open then held it for Royal.Royal bit back a curse."Figures. It's been a while since we bumped up against them." Notlike both teams didn't have enough work with sightings and subsequent removals.Gamble Preacher and his group werefriendly—for the most part—rival ghost hunters. Former military, Preacheremployed other fellow soldiers from all branches of the armed forces. Royal'scohorts all carried on a long-standing family tradition, each either inheritingtheir role or coming to the team after an otherworldly experience. She oftenput her instincts and knowledge of folklore and urban legends up againstGamble's precisely planned operations and often got better results. But … afterfifty years of dealing with the spectral population—because a group ofwell-meaning but seriously misguided novices accidentally opened a portal fromthe afterlife—no end to the spooky visitations seemed to be in sight. Whichmeant there should be more than enough room to work without a lot of overlap.JJ padded over to the monitoringstation and fist-bumped with his partner Marcus. "Need you to take abreak. Gonna need someone to scrub my back."Marcus covered his nose with hishand. "Yeah and hold their breath while doing it." He winced."Man, you reek."Royal chuckled. "I was tryingso hard not to point that out." She waved the guys off. "Go on, youtwo. I'll take the tablet with me and keep an eye on the panels." She startedunloading her tools of the trade onto the desk.The guys headed for the secondfloor where the living quarters were. Royal draped her jacket over the back ofthe chair and grabbed the oversized device, switching the feed from thecomputer monitors to the tablet. Keeping only one weapon tucked into herpocket, she headed for the elevator to take her to the third floor.Her gut all but screamed they had anasty ghoul on their hands, and she wanted to be one step ahead of Preacher andhis gang.  

I'm excited aboutthis story. I'm in the very beginning stages but the sages are feeding me a lotof great ideas.

 

That's it for thisweek.

Cheers!

Skye