Sunday Snippet: Exit Stage Left

The Olympics are almost over and we'll be back to regular television viewing again. I'm looking forward to my shows being back on the screen.

I thoroughly enjoyed Legends of Tomorrow 's take on Groundhog Day. The end definitely intrigued me. Looking forward to seeing how that plays out.

I finished up another episode of The Punisher and I'm really trying to figure out what's going on with Lewis. I'm not very familiar with the comics versions of Frank's story so I like not having any information to pull from.

Caught several more episodes of Chicago Fire and I'm getting close to the end of season four. Oddly enough, I wasn't all that upset to see Chili go. I did like the reach out to Severide even if that particular thread got rushed.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Exit Stage Left, a novella where the main characters strive to make their drama stay on the stage instead of off.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Sage Winesboro, the new production director of his local playhouse theater, doesn't always see eye to eye with his current set designer, Georgie Freed. When she proves her worth, but decides to exit stage left, he realizes he's missing out on what could be a great working and personal relationship.

And a snippety peek…

Who is this gorgeous creature?

Sage ignored the question from his inner voice. Although he couldn't fault his subconscious taste. The woman before him looked photo-shoot ready, with the exception of her mortified appearance. Probably about five-nine, she had shoulder-length raven hair and warm brown eyes. High cheekbones, a straight nose, and a charming blush from her earlier outburst. She also had killer curves, something Sage had a strong appreciate for. Admit it, you're already picturing her naked. He squashed the inner monologue and continued to wear a frown.

The woman finally responded. "Um, no. Wasn't asking you to shut up." She shifted restlessly under his scrutiny.

He lifted his head, looking around for someone else. Considering no one else had been speaking, he couldn't imagine who she wanted to be quiet.

She tucked a case under her arm and strode forward, her palm outstretched. "Georgie Freed, set designer." She gave him a firm handshake. "No, I'm not crazy. Yes, I talk to myself. And frequently have to say 'shut up', just usually not out loud." She stopped short of full apology.

Set designer? No way. Too perfect, too beautiful to be behind the scenes. Would she angle to be front and center? Sage hated dealing with wannabe actors who took on jobs and responsibilities only to abandon them for being in the spotlight.

Sage inclined his chin. "As you've probably already assumed, I'm Sage Winesboro, the new director. If you're finished with your internal diatribe, I'll get back to going over what my hopes are for this season."

Georgie's cheeks colored but she nodded. "Of course." Stepping back, she all but melted into the background.

Sage finished up his list of goals and expectations, then announced the name of the first production they'd start the following day. Pleased to see the troupe of actors and stagehands wearing smiles, he thanked everyone for coming and dismissed the group with a promise to have the sides available the following morning. Excitement and energy buzzed through the stage area when the members filed out into the auditorium toward the side entrance.

Sage frowned when he spotted his set designer duck backstage. He had serious doubts about her. You shouldn't make snap judgments, especially when you're trying to avoid the same being done to you.

Sage shook his head. "Excuse me for being skeptical. Her pretty face isn't going to win her any bonus points with me." He'd give her a week to prove herself.

If she didn't pass muster, he'd have to scramble to find someone who could design the sets needed for the production and have it done in time for the set manager to get them built. He didn't have a lot of confidence.

"First day out and already seven days behind schedule."

Wait and see, you moron.

The inner voices of the characters are so much fun to write. Sage and Georgie have some terrific internal debates.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: The Ex Files

Slow week in television due to the Olympics, but that's okay. I enjoy being a casual viewer of the coverage and there have been some terrific events. Watching Virture | Mior during ice dancing is such a joy. They're unmatched by anyone else.

Legends of Tomorrow returned on Monday and while I'm kind of "meh" about the move to a new night, I did love the episode. Nice to see the group dealing with Firestorm being gone. Also kind of cool to see Mick step into something of a leadership role, even if he'd never own doing it. LOL

I had the chance to catch up on my period dramas. Murdoch Mysteries is having some fun with Julia's pregnancy and I kind of like how she's dealing with everything. Frankie Drake Mysteries keeps getting better. I love the varied types of cases Frankie and Trudy get involved in.

Also caught another five episodes of Chicago Fire. Season four is diving into things on a much deeper level and I like where the characters are right now. It's been fun watching Severide pull himself back up from his demotion. I even sort of enjoyed Patterson figuring out what really matters at fifty-one. Not sure I'm totally down with him becoming a battalion chief but, yeah, I can live with it. LOL

I didn't get the chance to watch more of The Punisher, but I'll be catching some episodes this weekend. Also still need to watch the latest Riverdale before the show returns after the Olympics.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from The Ex Files, a novella that started with the story idea of writing a situation where an ex makes things awkward.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Effie Stone helps Reed Rettos avoid an ugly scene with his ex-girlfriend and halfway falls for him over coffee. When an old flame contacts Effie, she asks Reed to return the favor. Reed hesitates, not sure he wants to get tangled up in more drama, but he's very smitten with Effie and agrees to make it clear she's got a new man in her life… even if only for a night.

And a snippety peek…

Reed Rettos tensed the moment he caught sight of his ex-girlfriend, Gianne, entering the diner. He didn't need a confrontation today. Seriously. He'd spent the night responding to emergency calls, back-to-back-to-back, and only had about two hours of sleep. He loved working on the medic with his fire department, but sometimes—like now—he cursed stupid people doing stupid things that made nights like the last one long.

And left him ill-equipped to deal with his drama queen ex.

Flashing a smile, he thanked the waitress for his to-go cup of coffee, left a big tip, and tried to sneak out the side entrance.

"Reed! Hold up a minute. I need to talk to you." Gianne's voice sounded like gunshot in the otherwise quiet restaurant.

He paused, trying to decide if he should just make a run for it and met the gaze of a lovely blonde, stirring a mug of coffee while she picked at the remnants of her breakfast platter. A cross between humor and commiseration lit her eyes and her lips twisted in an understanding smirk. She seemed to get the entire picture without a word needing to be said. Finally, someone who understood, even if a complete stranger.

With a shake of his head, he started for the door but the brief exchange with the unknown woman lasted long enough for Gianne to catch up and she latched on to his coat sleeve, her fingers fisting the fabric. Reed braced for whatever shit storm she wanted to unleash this morning.

She didn't disappoint. "Reed. You're not answering my calls. Just because we split up doesn't mean you can't be civil and speak to me when I need something." She swung around to stand in front of him. "It's like you're trying to avoid me. Is that what you're doing? Because you said we'd always be friends."

He'd lived to regret that promise. Offering a platitude to avoid a teary-eyed goodbye had totally blown up in his face. Gianne considered friendship one tiny step away from still being a couple.

So not his intention.

He inhaled, counted to three, and slowly exhaled. "Gianne, we're not a couple anymore. You've called me ten times in the last two days." His grip tightened on his coffee cup. "That's more than you contacted me when we were together."

Her eyes narrowed. "Did it occur to you it might have been important?"

He fought the urge to roll his eyes. "You and I don't define the word 'important' the same way." They didn't define anything the same way.

The blonde in the booth bit back a grin and her action distracted him. Gianne's mouth flattened into an angry slash and a stab of irritation throbbed behind his eyes. Two months after breaking up and Gianne hounded his every move. She needed to move on… if only to save his sanity.

Gianne squared her shoulders and opened her mouth, no doubt to blast him for being a dickhead.

The blonde stranger rose from her spot and pushed the side door open far enough to make the bell jingle. Then she saved Reed's life.

Lifting her hand in a wave, she called out. "Reed. Sorry I'm late." Making her way around Gianne, the stranger angled in close, brushing her lips over his in a lingering kiss.

Shocked, but grateful, he responded, drawing the kiss out by capturing her mouth under his for another moment before he spoke. "No problem. Glad you could make it."

His lifesaver stood by his side, wrapped her arm around his waist then faced Gianne. "Hi, I'm Effie Stone." She stuck out her free hand. "And you are…"

A myriad of emotions crossed Gianne's face. Surprise, understanding, hurt, and finally humiliation. She blinked and stepped back, ignoring the outstretched palm.

Her gaze flew to Reed's, angry and calculating. She tilted her head to one side and glanced toward Effie, whose friendly smile slowly faded. Gianne gave Effie a once-over from head to toe, then side-eyed Reed. Instinct kicked in and Reed made a quick decision.

Nodded toward Gianne, he tugged Effie closer. "Effie, this is Gianne Morse."

Effie inclined her chin. "Ah, right. Former girlfriend." Her voice lowered. "And awkward moment. I'm so sorry." She looked in Reed's direction. "Do you two need a moment?"

Gianne opened her mouth, but Reed shook his head. "No. Since you made it, let's find a seat, maybe order some breakfast." He waved to the waitress from earlier and she shot him a wink before indicating he could sit wherever.

He slid into an empty booth and Effie sat across from him. Gianne gaped a moment, then snapped her mouth shut, her nostrils flaring when she inhaled an angry breath. Turning on her heel, she stormed toward the side entrance and pushed her way outside. Reed didn't breathe until the door closed with a quiet swoosh.

His shoulders slumped with relief when Gianne crossed the street and stalked out of sight.

He met Effie's gaze. "I have no idea why you just saved my life, but thank you." His hand shot out. "Reed Rettos. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Effie laughed and clasped his palm. "Nice to meet you, too. And you're welcome." She lowered her gaze. "Sorry for taking liberties with your lips, but it seemed like the quickest way to avoid a major meltdown." She glanced back up. "Great kisser, by the way." Her lips curved upward.

Reed barked out a laugh. "Back at you. And, yeah, as you just saw, she's not as ready as I am to move on."

The waitress brought two mugs and filled them. "Coffee's on the house, Reed. Well-deserved by the looks of it." She nudged Effie's shoulder. "Nice save. You're welcome in here anytime." She bustled away and poured more java for other customers.

Effie chuckled. "I need to get up early more often."

I'm having a lot of fun with this one. Effie and Reed come together under bizarre circumstances but discover they have a spark.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Enforced Confinement

Greetings! Ohio has crazy weather patterns rolling through the state again. I'm at the point with winter where I'd be happy if it made up its mind and either stayed cold or got warmer. The back forth is hell on my sinuses.

Great week in television. The Flash had a good episode and I'm interested to see where things go now. In all honesty, the slow reveal of evil plans is getting to the point of annoyance. Get on with it already.

Black Lightning, on the other hand, is staying on form. I like the world building of this show. Keep on keeping on.

Riverdale is going down another dark road and I like it. I have to watch this week's episode but I caught up on last week and Archie continues to fail in spectacular fashion. I love all the bad decisions he makes.

Arrow did not go where I thought it might and I'm happy about that. I'm thrilled with the left turn the plot made. It's always the quiet ones people need to watch out for.

I'm moving along on Chicago Fire and I've started season four. I'm slowly but surely getting caught up to the current season. I love having the crossover episodes on the DVDs and following the storyline all the way through. Nicely done.

I'm caught up for the most part on Murdoch Mysteries. I loved the cooking competition episode. One of my favorite things about Murdoch is taking a modern trend and making it a trope in the show's setting. And it's always fun to have the spy versus spy episodes.

Need to catch up on Frankie Drake Mysteries and I might have time later today. Legends of Tomorrow returns this week and I'm excited to see what's next for the legends.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Enforced Confinement, a novella that started with a prompt to write two characters in a confined space.

Here's the mini-blurb:

After a break-up, Baylee and Noah get trapped in a confined space and neither is happy about the situation. But the enforced intimacy gives them a chance to meet their issues head on in a place they can't take each other for granted.

And a snippety peek…

Baylee jumped when a coworker called her name. "Geez, Anna, you scared me to death." She took the phone Anna handed over.

Anna grimaced. "Sorry, Baylee. I thought you heard me come in." Water dripped from her umbrella, which she propped against the wall. "I stopped by party, Noah had already left." She frowned before she met Baylee's gaze. "From all accounts, he wasn't happy when he took off."

Baylee sighed. "No. He's probably worried." She scrolled through her contacts and thumbed Noah's name, bringing up his number. "I'll send a text. Let him know I'll be headed home soon." She glanced up when Anna made a questioning sound. "What?" She fired off a quick message. "Emergency call. Forgot phone. Headed home soon."

Anna lifted a shoulder. "Why didn't you call him? After you got a hold of me to bring your phone… which was actually darned lucky by the way."

Baylee hesitated a moment, but answered. "Honestly? I didn't realize I'd forgotten my phone until I'd arrived here. And once I got in, they dragged me directly to the dispensers and begged me to figure out why they weren't working. I didn't call you until I'd found what happened and finally flagged down one of the caterers to ask if they had a phone I could borrow." Not the whole truth, but close enough. "I didn't want to keep her from serving, so I returned the cell and finished up the job." And tried to get finished before Ben's party got underway.

Anna tilted her head to one side. "Yet you're still here. What else happened?"

Baylee rolled her eyes. "Well, the fix didn't last long. I ended up sticking around for the entire dinner to make sure they didn't run out drinks. I've got the units tagged so I can rebuild them when they're returned to the warehouse." Which she had to let the head caterer know about, hence still being here.

Anna clasped Baylee's shoulder. "Look, why don't I stick around and let Marie know?" She nudged Baylee toward the exit. "Go on home. Be with your man."

Baylee almost refused. She'd bailed on Noah and didn't feel very good about doing so.

Anna didn't pick up on Baylee's hesitation. "Where're you parked? Hopefully not too far. It's coming down in buckets out there."

Baylee shuddered. "I'm around the corner. Didn't bring an umbrella in so I'll have to make a run for it." The drive home in horrible weather didn't appeal either.

Anna confirmed the terrible traffic. "The idiots are out in full force. Drive safely." She pushed the door open and held it for Baylee.

She made a mad dash for her car, hitting the key fob to unlock it. Prying the door open, she slid behind the wheel, drenched from the brief exposure to the elements. She started the engine and got the defroster going, then reached in the back seat to grab a spare t-shirt.

Wiping her face, she heaved a sigh. "Better get moving or I'll never make it home." Throwing the shirt in the passenger seat, Baylee hit the wiper switch and eased out of her parking space.

Visibility for crap, she merged into traffic and played the start and stop game until she reached the interstate. She thought about going to her place to grab a shower, but Noah only lived two exits off the loop. She'd head there first. Head aching, she could already picture him, standing at the window, waiting on her. No doubt angry and ready to give her a scathing piece of his mind.

Her grip tightened on the steering wheel. "Why the hell can you never remember to grab your phone?" The bad habit bit her on the ass more than she cared to admit.

Thirty-five minutes later—traffic sucked balls—she exited the ramp to Noah's street and finally made it to his house.

Cutting the engine, she dragged in a deep breath. "Here we go." Exhausted and fatigued, she popped the door open and slammed it shut then ran up the sidewalk to the front porch.

Noah greeted her, pacing back and forth like a caged tiger.

Well, hell.

I'm kind of enjoying putting the pieces in place for this story. Noah and Baylee have a lot of issues put the big one is fear of letting down their guards.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Elective Campaign

Hello, February! We've got snow and slushy ick outside today. Perfect weather for the big game I won't be watching. LOL

So… The Flash definitely got Barry out his regular cell, which is terrific. Sadly, he ended up in a much worse predicament. Nice that he got to do a good deed before landing there.

Black Lightning continues to make me happy. I need a few hours to binge watch all the eps together so I can truly immerse into the universe. Looking forward to that.

I'm behind an episode of Riverdale. Need to catch up this week before the new episode.

Arrow… wow. I have so much love for this show. The dueling teams sadden me but I like where everyone is for the moment. I have a truly bad vibe that I won't share just yet but it's going to make me really angry if I'm right. Not mad in a bad way so maybe disappointed is a better word. Stay tuned. LOL

Got through another four episodes of Chicago Fire and I'm so glad the almost lethally lame fill-in chief is gone. Nice to see Welsh do something terrific for once.

I'm almost through season one of The Punisher. Gotta say this show pisses me off to no end but for all the right reasons. I'm kind of interested and waiting to see where they take the Lewis storyline. Right now it's not meshing well with the other parts. We'll see how it goes.

Also need to catch up on my period dramas. Hopefully, I'll have something for next week.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Elective Campaign, a novella built on the idea of having a couple navigate a new relationship while on is up for reelection as mayor of their small city.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Mac is running for reelection and needs a logistical planner on his roster to win. Yancy has the training and background but she presents a problem… Mac is very attracted to her. They fight the pull but give in and once it's discovered, he might lose more than the election.

And a snippety peek…

Yancy Malloy settled in behind the wheel and glanced toward her daughter. "Ready, Viv?" She needed to know the sixteen year old could handle leaving on such short notice.

Vivian flicked Yancy a sideways glance and a quirky grin. "Bring on the adventure, Mom. Let's blow this town." She hooked her phone to the auxiliary cable and music started. "This is my road trip playlist. A good mix of your music and mine." She adjusted the volume then settle back in her seat.

Yancy thanked the universe for giving her a resilient kid. They'd practically grown up together, Yancy giving birth at sixteen. Life hadn't been easy. God knew. But the time to move on gained urgency. Vivian's dad, Yancy's ex, had a parole hearing in the next month. Yancy didn't want to throw her daughter's life into chaos if he got released.

But maybe she should wait and let Viv decide if she wanted to meet the man.

Vivian turned the volume down. "Mom? What's going on?" She angled in her seat to engage in conversation.

Yancy blew out a breath. "Nothing, Viv. No… not nothing. Are you sure you're okay with this? Moving to another state? Leaving all your friends behind?"

Vivian snorted. "Mom… I'm not leaving them behind. We'll stay in touch with social media. Not like we're moving to a different planet."

True, but they didn't know where they'd end up. Yancy just wanted to put some distance between her and Vivian's dad. Pete Anderson hadn't asked about his daughter once during his fifteen year stint for aggravated robbery and involuntary manslaughter. Until last month. Yancy's shock at hearing from him quickly morphed into concern. She didn't want Vivian dragged into Pete's world. But Yancy didn't hide the letter from Vivian. Instead, she'd had a frank conversation with her about Pete, giving Viv the option of meeting him. Her daughter flatly refused. Why on earth would she want anything to do with a guy whose sole contribution to her life had been the donation of sperm and nothing else?

Yancy had to hand it to her daughter. She didn't mince words.

Vivian snapped her fingers. "Hello? We're wasting daylight, Mom. Put it in gear or let me drive." She waggled her eyebrows hopefully.

Yancy snorted. "Oh, no. You know it's not a good idea for you to be driving across state lines. It's only an hour to the border." Out of Illinois and into Indiana, then on to Ohio.

Vivian accepted her fate. "Yeah, yeah. I'm just along for the ride." She brightened. "And to act as the music coordinator." She turned the volume back up and faced forward again.

Yancy put the car in gear and eased out into traffic. "Let the adventure begin."

This one is giving me some challenge. The sages are a little stingy with how they want the story to unfold but I love what's on the page so far.

That's it for this week. Happy reading.

Skylin