Sunday Snippet: Kings of the Con (A Black Unicorn Press Short Story)

So…apparently some kind of award show aired tonight. LOL

I ended up watching Doctor Who and The Walking Dead. Can't beat a time travel and zombie combo. Watching classic Who…wow…takes me back to my childhood. And no…I'm not even fifty yet, but I remember watching Doctor Who with my dad on our local PBS station. It's been fun revisiting some of those episodes. J

Tonight's snippet preview comes from the Black Unicorn 'verse. Set at a convention, we get a little glimpse into one of the more fun aspects of what Brian and Lucy do. Although…creating a comic can't be boring, so yeah…take that as you will. :D

The standard tagline for Black Unicorn:

Brian Wells and Lucy Sanderson are the creative duo behind the rising success of Black Unicorn Comics. Surrounded by a close knit group of co-workers they have fun and crazy adventures, keeping their relationship burning hot in spite of it.  

And here's a tag for Kings of the Con:

Brian Wells smells a rat when Lucy's brother Linus starts thinking he's not appreciated at Black Unicorn. He devises a plan to get to the bottom of Els's sudden turn about, but…Lucy's not going to like it.

Here's the snippety peek…

Brian almost made it to Lucy before the fans started pouring out of the room. He jerked his thumb toward the food court and changed his path when she nodded. Once Randy arrived, she'd join him for lunch.

After ordering, he found Zapf sitting at table by himself. Brian plopped down and heaved a sigh.

Zapf finished chewing a mouthful of food and shook his head. "Man, you've got a seriously unhappy face right now. What's up?"

Brian unloaded. "You know how Lucy's biggest fear is Chelle finding a way to hurt Els?" Zapf nodded and Brian continued. "It's not unfounded."

Zapf got a nasty gleam in his eyes and leaned back in his seat. "Dude, I knew it. Luce is rarely wrong. You better spill as soon as she gets here, but know this, no one is gonna let Miss Stiletto Heels get her hooks far enough into Els to do damage." Statement made, he picked up his sandwich and took another huge bite.

Bolstered by the support, Brian did the same, spying Lucy take a place in line to get food. His loosely formed plan took shape in his head and by the time she got her order and joined them, he had everything worked out. Lucy would hate it, but she'd go along. Anything for her brother. And he could count on Zapf to back him up.

 Lucy joined them, taking an empty chair at the table facing Brian. "Okay, panel update can wait. What's going on?"

Zapf chuckled and shook his head, but held silent. Lucy quirked a brow then met Brian's gaze.

He put his sandwich down. "How do you do that?" He grabbed his drink and took a long draw on the straw.

Lucy shrugged. "You have that 'I just ate something really nasty and want to puke' look on your face. Something went down and I'm not gonna like it, right?"

Brian blinked and blew out a sigh. "Your brain scares me."

Zapf jumped in. "I know, right? I tell her that every day." He leaned forward. "Seriously, Brian. Fill us in so we can help."

Brian repeated the conversation he had with Els. While Lucy picked at her food, he outlined his plan to get to the bottom of Chelle's machinations. Other than hissing out a harsh breath, Lucy didn't object to anything. A very good sign. But he needed to be sure.

He grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together. "You gonna be okay with this?"

She shoved her tray away and snorted. "Hell, no. But I'll deal." Her fingers drummed on the table. "Chelle's ego will let you get her right where you want her, but if she won't cough up answers, all bets are off." Her gaze went hard. "I hope you guys have some extra cash if I need bailed out of jail."

Zapf tossed his napkin on the tray and stood up. "Babes, I won't let you do anything stupid." He shot Brian a commiserating glance. "Dude, don't forget to shower after you talk to Miss Prissy Pants." He dug around in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Me? I'm gonna need some extra sustenance to keep the visual images outta my head."  He shuddered then turned toward Lucy. "Can you hold down the fort for a bit?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, Z. I think I can manage."

Brian leaned in close to Lucy after Zapf got back in line for food. "Are you really gonna be okay with this, Luce?" His hand cupped her face. "Because if you aren't…" He let his voice trail off, he truly couldn't think of a quicker way to get information from Chelle.

Lucy leaned into his palm. "I'm so not okay it's not funny, but…Els is the priority. Find out why she's trying to make him think Reg doesn't give a shit about him." Sitting back, she blew out a breath then grabbed her drink and rose from her seat. "I'm heading back to the booth. I'll be there when you've got the whole story." She started off, but stopped and turned back. "I trust you to get to the bottom of everything and promise to behave even if you don't." Her lips twisted in a smirk. "But it might take you and Zapf to keep me from doing bodily harm if she keeps it up."

Brian nodded. He didn't say anything, his mind already going over Chelle's schedule for the day. He had about ten minutes to find what he needed to pull everything off. Grabbing his tray, he stood up and dumped the contents in the closest trash bin then headed for the administrative hub of the convention center.

The sooner he found out what the hell Chelle had planned for Els, the sooner he and Lucy could really enjoy the con season.

Yeah, Chelle's in for a very big surprise in the near future. And hey…pray Brian gets the info, because no one wants to see Lucy go nuclear on Chelle.

Or do they? LOL

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Busted in Bubbles

February 17, 2013

Been catching up on the mountains of laundry I never seem to be able to knock back and watching Firefly all day. Oddly enough the combination worked wonders. I actually have empty sorting bins. LOL

For tonight's post, I'm using a snippet from a manuscript I'm going to submit to a publisher no later than tomorrow. I'll let you all know if Busted in Bubbles gets accepted. :D

Here's the tagline:

Emsley and Rayne turn up at the same conventions several times a year and Emsley always short sheets Rayne's bed. Imagine her surprise when she lets herself into his room to follow tradition and discovers Rayne soaking in a tub full of bubbles. Busted, she can flee the scene or…join a very hot man for some bath time fun.

And here's the snippety peek…

Emsley glanced in each direction before she used the master key card to let herself into Rayne's cabin. If she'd figured the timing right, shouldn't take longer than five minutes to short sheet his bed and another six to get the card back to the porter queue. Poor Ron had no clue she'd borrowed his all access entry key to pull a prank. Hell, he didn't have any idea she'd lifted the damned thing at all.

With a smug smile, she crossed the living area and started up the spiral staircase to the loft. About five steps up, she froze, carefully listening and hearing water sloshing in the bathroom. Shit. Rayne must've skipped the fancypants dinner. Okay, she could still pull off her traditional short sheeting of his bed and he'd be none the wiser. She loved a good challenge.

She started up the next step and stopped again. Wait… bath? What the hell? Curiosity ate its way through her intention of getting in and out. Rayne couldn't possibly be soaking in a tub. Hell. Yeah, he could… and he might have company. She hesitated. Indecision warred in her brain. She had zero desire to become a voyeur if Rayne had brought someone along for this trip and they'd decided to get kinky in the tub. She weighed her options.

Screw it. She made her way back down the steps, tip-toeing to the bathroom door.

She had to know if the do-it-all security expert liked to soak in a tub. Peeking around the corner, she bit her cheek to keep from laughing out loud. Sure as shit, Rayne McKinnon sat up to his shoulders in frothy bubbles. An open bottle of bubbly, nestled in a bucket of ice, sat beside the tub, a glass filled with the golden liquid held in one of Rayne's hands, dangling outside. His head rested on the rolled edge of the tub, eyes closed, his fingers lazily tilting the glass back and forth.

The humor died and Emsley's face heated up. God, he looked damned good, bubbles or not. A wave of jealous hit her…the relaxed pose, the hot water, the alcohol…geez, she could go for all three. Okay, four. She could go for Rayne right now, too.

This one literally came together faster than I've ever written before. The plot bomb hit and would NOT go away. LOL There's something about bubbles that makes me happy. :D

And that's it for now. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Blatant Affair

Just finished watching Blood and Chrome and switched over to Skyfall while I wait on the encore of The Walking Dead. So much good stuff to watch!

Tonight's post is from a just started manuscript that kind of popped into my head from a prompt left in one of my writer's groups. I love it when one sentence or hell, even a couple of words, can spawn an entire scene. Anything that nudges the sages when they're being stingy with words is a big bonus. LOL

Blatant Affair centers on a couple who really shouldn't be together due to their work situation. It's frowned upon and they fight their attraction for as long as they can. Up and down, back and forth, until they finally say 'screw it' we're going to be together. I have a feeling it's going to be very fun to write. :D

Here's a tagline:

Valley Cruz and Flynn Boatman fall for each other and don't hide their feelings. But when company policy dictates they can't be together, they'll start a blatant affair no matter the consequences.

And here's a snippety peek…

"Give me a reason, Valley. Because I'm this close to saying fuck it all and walking out the door." Flynn tossed his towel aside and reached for his clothes.

Valley grabbed hold of his arms, leaned in and kissed him, hard, on the mouth. "Is that a good enough reason?"

The shower area went silent. She'd just upped the stakes in a very big way. Naked or not, Flynn didn't care who witnessed his next move.

He cupped Valley's face and tilted her head back, his thumbs caressing her cheeks. "You'd better be certain. We start this, there's no going back."

Her lips curved in a wry smile. "Flynn, you're standing naked in the men's showers and I just kissed you in front of everyone. I'm pretty damned sure the blatant display speaks for itself." She swung her gaze around the space. "Give us the room, people. And pick your jaws up on the way out."

Valley makes her move in a big way and Flynn gets to play catch up. It doesn't take him long. LOL

That's all for this week. Happy Reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Academic Challenge

February 3, 2013

Okay, the big game is over. All the food consumed. And a nap sounds really great right now. LOL

But then I won't sleep and get up for work in the morning, so blog posts it is. J

Tonight's Sunday Snippet is from a just started manuscript, Academic Challenge. The sages are kind of hot for this one so we'll see how it goes. No idea where it'll go, but it's fun to write so far.

Here's the tagline:

Holly Patz, the newest TA for Professor Sam Ingali, wants to enjoy the experience. But when rumors start swirling about her relationship with the handsome instructor, she has to decide whether to stick around and become his latest conquest or turn the odds in her favor.

And here's the snippety peek:

Holly found the office she'd share with two other TAs and dropped her bag on a desk before taking a seat. She had an hour before Professor Ingali's lecture started and thought she'd get organized…or as organized as she ever got. Holly tended to let things unfold as they would, finding it helped to let whatever happened flow at will. Her plan at the moment would be finding some place to get coffee and then check to see if Professor Ingali had arrived.

Dropping her bag into the large bottom drawer, she pushed it shut and locked it. She'd use her university ID to get coffee and maybe get an extra cup for her new boss. Rising, she made her way to the door and exited into the hallway.

Lost in thought, she rounded the corner and slammed into a hard body. "Shit. Sorry."

Holly glanced up and met the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. Anger filled, but stunning nonetheless.

"No need for apology. I'm trying to find my new TA and I'm in a hurry. She's late."

Holly's pulse kicked up a notch. It figured. No way would she be lucky enough to have the primo specimen of manhood standing in front of her be her new professor. She still had at least forty-five minutes before her class started.

"I just came from the office. No one else was in there."

The professor frowned. "Dammit. I asked for someone who had experience. The administrative office assured me this Holly Patz had great references."

Holly's eyes widened. "Wait. You're Professor Ingali?" Apparently she had gotten lucky…or not, based on his surly expression. "But I'm Holly. And I'm not late. Class doesn't start for another forty-five minutes."

Professor Ingali took a step back, giving her a slow once over from head to toe, before speaking. "And I require my assistants to arrive an hour before class starts to set up whatever I'll need for the lecture." He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. "You're fifteen minutes late."

Holly fought back a heated flush from his frank appraisal. "Well, shit, again." She met the professor's gaze. "In my defense, no one told me about getting here early. I didn't know. Hell, I was even on my way to get coffee, as a get off on the right foot gesture." She snorted. "Totally blew that one." Pushing ahead, she nodded toward the lecture halls. "If you'll show me where to go, I'll get started on the set up."

Sam blinked and shook his head. "Actually, that won't be necessary. Your coffee idea sounds good. I keep a pot of freshly brewed in my office, you're welcome to join me and we can go over my expectations."

Holly nodded. "Sounds great." Her arm swept outward. "Lead the way." Score one for her. She'd taken him from frustrated to intrigued in under a minute. If her introduction indicated the way things might go, she'd never have a dull moment.

Exactly the way she liked things.

Honestly, there's not much more ready to go yet. But Holly will sort of shake things up for Sam. She's not the type of assistant he's used to dealing with even though they're both wildly attracted to each other. I can't wait to find out how she's going to rock his world. LOL

And that's it for this week.

Happy Reading!

Skylin