Sunday Snippet: Lie to Me

Whew. It's been a week.I'm under the weather and not enjoying that at all. I'm behind on my two workprojects and we're getting a buttload of snow at the moment. Also … I'm on coldmedication and it's making me loopy. Fun times.

I made a video forTip Jar and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I'm excited about thisnew endeavor and hope it gets some traction.

Really slow weekfor viewing. Between being under the weather and everything else going on in theworld, I didn't have the spoons to really dive into my shows.

I didn't end upfinishing the episode of One Lane Bridge. I'm hoping to get to it thisweek.

I did watch thefinale of London Kills and it ended up being pretty thrilling. I have abehind the scenes episode to watch and then I'll be starting the next season.

Caught an episodeof Death in Paradise and enjoyed it. I'm liking Neville a lot more this season.Very interested in how things play out with Florance's under cover job.

Started an episodeof Beyond Paradise and should finish it today. I ended up sleeping a lotover the weekend and just didn't have a chance to get the whole episode in. Idid get a chuckle that Humph named his duck Selwyn because that's thecommissioner's name from Death in Paradise. Not sure how I missed thatbefore.

That's pretty muchit for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Lie to Me, anurban fantasy romance.

Here's the miniblurb:

Jana Ricks has a target on her back, and she wants RhysMcPherson to help her get rid of it. Rhys loves Jana, but may not be able toprotect her, not if they want to stay alive, which he's determined to makehappen … even if it means giving up the future he wants.

And a preview snippet…

Several hours later, Rhys ruled outhex cat and hell hound. "It doesn't make sense." Plus, dammit,nothing he'd tried revealed the animal.And it had to be an animal.Frustrated, he ran a hand throughhis hair. "What other magickal being could it be?" Not many werecontrollable even by dark magick.A dark steed? Too big. Cloven goat?Too small and focused. Cloven goats only created havoc. Jinx rats weren'tparticularly useful except as annoyances because of the bad luck they brought. Thesame with pox hares. Crossing paths with the mangy rabbits could induceinsomnia and indigestion, but not much else.Another thought hit. "Maybe avex fox." Rhys shuffled some of the texts on the table to uncover the onehe needed. "Ah, no. Too rare." No sightings in the last severaldecades.Jana entered the living room,carrying a tray of bubbling concoctions. "Here's the next batch." Sheplaced the mixtures at his elbow.She'd proven to be extremely helpful.Spell casting and brewing potions were often tedious, but she plowed throughwith perseverance. She'd even labeled the containers to help him find the oneshe wanted quickly.He met her gaze. "Thank you. Let'ssee what these reveal." He waited until she sat across from him thenselected the first pot and worked successively through the batch trying tobring forth the nasty predator dogging Jana.The action took him back … to whenthey'd done this kind of thing a lot. He missed her—them. But they couldn'twork as a couple.He didn't blame her for Rand'sdeath, but she did hold responsibility. He couldn't get past that. Not yet.Maybe not ever. Especially withLindi and the kids as a constant reminder. But he loved Jana. Always would.When none of the new spell potionsworked, ideas and thoughts started shuffling in his head. "Let's go over theinfo again. Your gut said hell hound or hex cat, right?" She rarelymissed.Jana nodded. "But the spells aren'trevealing the beast."Rhys scraped a hand over his head."Why? Dammit. Why can't I figure it out?" This kind of situationshouldn't be beyond him.Jana rocked back in her chair."Maybe it's both." She shrugged one shoulder.Bingo! She might have just hit thejackpot.Profound inspiration smacked him inthe forehead. "Holy shit." Rhys went to a new book—one he'ddiscounted earlier. "You might be onto something." He thumbed throughthe pages. "A blended link with a side of cloaking." He read throughthe details and whistled low between his teeth. "That's some powerfulfucking magick." But the concept fit.Her chair thumped forward."Who's got the ability to pull that off?" Jana frowned.Rhys slid his gaze sideways."One brain teaser at a time. Let's see if we're right first."He transcribed the pages for thenecessary spells then helped gather the necessary ingredients.While filling the vials, he explainedthe process. "We'll need to work together. Uncloak first, break the link,then banish the creatures." Excitement to be working with her thrummed inhis veins when he filled the vials. "Are you ready?"

It took a while forme to figure out where this story wanted to go, but I'm so happy with whereit's headed now.

 

That's it for thisweek.

Cheers!

Skye