Sunday Snippet: Follow Instructions

Geez, I'll be really glad when the back and forth weather is over and done. Snow days in March, man, haven't really seen those since the 80s. At least not that I can remember. The year after I graduated, we had a big storm in March and I almost didn't make it back for spring break. Planes weren't flying out of Atlanta to go north. Fun times.

This week, I played catch up with some of my television shows. Got Legends of Tomorrow up to date. Looking forward to Constantine being added as a regular. At least I hope he gets added. He's so much fun. And I really like Wally as a team member.

Gotta say, I'm kind of "meh" with this season of The Flash. I've grown to really like Ralph but I'm rather bored by the uber-smart Devoe and the constant body swaps. Here's hoping next season has better flow.

I'm not sure I'll be able to catch up on Gotham. Gotta find the first episode when it returned at the beginning of March. I hate it when on demand and the station websites remove the episodes before I have time to get caught up. Grrr.

I'm caught one of my missed episodes of Riverdale. I'm still a little on the fence about the whole mafia-style intrigue. Hiram buying the paper? Yeah, seriously, not down with that plot point. I'd rather watch Kevin and Josie deal with their parents and Cheryl deal with hers. Also, Chic. Ugh. I have no clue what to even think about that storyline. I want to love it, but I don't. I did love the Jughead rundown about how tangled their relationships are with their friendships. Too true, my man, too true.

I'm down to one episode left on Murdoch Mysteries. I'm a little heartbroken for William and Julia and I'm almost afraid to watch the next episode.

I took a week off from Jessica Jones. I'll be trying to catch more episodes this week.

Chicago Fire has some great crossover episodes. I'm excited about finishing up season five, but then I'll have to wait for season six—see not being available on demand or website. Bleh.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Follow Instructions, a sexy short with a fun spin on following instructions.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Risa Pym and Ford Thrummond, fellow paramedics, enjoy playing one-upmanship with each other, using sexy banter to bank the fires of their attraction. A slight mishap occurs when Ford exits their squad, and Risa decides it's time he learns the ins and outs of how to use the grips properly… and not so properly.

And a snippety peek…

Ford exited the shower and removed the plastic cover protecting his ankle wrap. "Damn, that's a pain in the ass." He hobbled over to the lockers using the wall as a support.

He should be using his crutches but, geez, he hated the stupid things. At least he could go to a boot next week. And hopefully a brace soon after that. Maybe being mobile would cure him of his shitty mood.

Bracing a hand on the row of lockers, he used his other one to yank open the metal door. Wobbling to one side, he got his clothes out and sat down to dress. When he reached for his t-shirt, a piece of paper fluttered to the floor. After pulling the garment over his head, he snatched the paper up and unfolded it.

Let's see if you can follow simple instructions—you know, unlike not making sure your footing is solid before exiting the medic—and make it to the kitchen in one piece.

Your mission… if you choose to accept it… will garner you a sweet, creamy reward.

No, it's not what just popped into your head. Geez, get your mind out of the gutter, Ford.

~R~

Only Risa would rightfully assume his brain would go to the dirtiest place possible. And totally call him out for it. Considering she planted the idea, he should probably think of a snarky comeback when he managed to crutch his way to the kitchen.

But… for the first time all week, Ford laughed out loud. He'd have to give her bonus points for making that happen. He still had a smile on his face when he finished dressing.

Grabbing his crutches, he headed for the kitchen, the note tucked into his shirt pocket. Once he entered the space, he found Risa huddled over two bowls filled with peanut butter chunk ice cream—his favorite. His mood ticked up another notch.

He reached into his pocket, retrieving the note. "As you can see, mission accomplished. Made it here in one piece." He waved the paper under her nose. "You're something else, Reese."

She cracked a smile. "Good to see simple instructions aren't lost on you." Nodding toward the table, she picked up the bowls and headed over. "Too bad you need help with the common sense stuff." A bubble of laughter escaped when she made it to the table.

He followed, slowly. Stupid crutches. And he kept his mouth shut. He wanted the reward.

Risa settled into a seat and placed the ice cream at an empty chair. "Okay, that was a low blow and I'm sorry." She almost managed to pull off a contrite look.

But not quite.

Ford maneuvered onto the seat and propped his crutches against the table. "Yeah, well, the ice cream helps." He snagged the spoon and dug in, savoring the combo of chocolate, peanut butter, and vanilla.

After a few spoonfuls, Ford tilted his head to one side. "What made you think of doing this? Not that I'm complaining, obviously."

Risa is going to pull Ford out of his funk then take him on a wild ride… once she admits she's got it bad for him.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Five Minutes

Ugh, what a week. The crazy weather has me completely out of sync and my sleep patterns are trashed. Here's hoping spring gets here and I find my footing again.

I missed Legends this week and need to catch up. Same goes for The Flash, Black Lightning, and Riverdale. Seriously, my head wasn't into it at all. Gotham is also still on my catch up list.

I did watch two more DVDs of Chicago Fire. I'm really loving season five, through every heartbreaking moment even. And, man, there's been a lot this season. LOL

Also up to episode six of Jessica Jones. Gotta say I'm pretty happy with how the season is progressing. It's good to get the backstory of Jessica became "super". I will say I'm not quite sure about Griffin, friend or foe? The whole engagement think might be a red herring, yeah?

Got to catch the latest Passionflix movie The Matchmaker's Playbook. Loved it! I'm excited for the next installment, especially with W. Tyler Johnson. While I enjoyed him in Afterburn / Aftershock, he truly rocked in Matchmaker. Now if they'd only cast a few of my other fave actors, I'll be thrilled to death.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Five Minutes, a novella built on the idea that one of the main characters has to give up something important to them because they lost a bet.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Remy Deeds never welshes on a bet, until she loses to Eli Rogers, who can't understand why she backs out. But a five-minute kiss, with tongue, isn't something she wants to risk because giving up her last pack of coffee is so much easier than possibly losing her heart.

And a snippety peek…

Eli Rogers accelerated around a slow driver. "Damn. Hate it when I oversleep." Not like he wanted to linger where he'd been.

On cue, his phone rang. Felicity. It figured. He might as well get placate her while he could.

"Hello." The Bluetooth picked up the call.

"Eli? Where are you?" Her sleepy voice purred over the line.

"Driving down the interstate, babe. Headed home."

She made a tsking sound. "You crawled out of bed and left… without even saying goodbye?"

Eli rolled his eyes. He actually did say goodbye. Not his fault Felicity slept like the dead.

He tried for a quick, strategic explanation. "Yeah, sorry. I had to go. I'm already running late and I still need to pack."

She pounced. "Pack? For what?"

Shit. He should've kept the last part to himself. Too late now.

He sighed. "For the training exercise. You know, thirty days out in the wilderness with my team." He braced for impact.

"Thirty days! I thought the training was only a weekend thing." Her voice screeched over his speakers. "What am I supposed to do for a whole month?"

Frustrated, Eli said the first thing that came to mind. "Look, Felicity, you're welcome to find someone else to fill in. I don't expect you to sit around and wait."

She snarled. "Don't think I will, Eli." The abrupt cutting of the call made static burst through his vehicle.

Eli shrugged and passed another slow-moving car. The breakup didn't bother him. He and Felicity had been winding down anyway. His gut-check didn't even register the loss. What did bother Eli? The lack of connection. Felicity became one of a long line of exes that didn't affect him on a deeper level.

What did that say about him?

Did it matter right now? He'd be expected to set the tone for the training excursion. Which meant looking the other way and participating in the standard round of convenience flings during the month.

He sighed. "Not sure I want to do the whole hookup bingo this time around." At twenty-eight, he'd grown a little tired of the whole deal.

Then again, if he missed the briefing, it wouldn't matter. Because he wouldn't have a job.

Jamming his foot on the accelerator, he shaved several more minutes off his commute.

I hope this ends up being as funny and heartfelt as I'm going for. I love Remy and Eli.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Fits and Starts

Well… I'm coming off a bittersweet week. I got to spend my birthday with almost my entire family, which is terrific, but the reason not so much. We buried my beloved Gram on Wednesday and, being in Ohio, the weather ran the gamut from rain to snow to a sleet / hail mixture. Finally, the sun came out toward the end of the day.

Television had a good week. Legends had a great episode even if I can't quite decide if I actually like Damian's campy antics or if I really hate them. It's pretty much a toss-up.

Tuesday's shows are on my list to catch up on. The draining day left me with little to no brain power to watch television. The same goes for Riverdale on Wednesday.

I did catch Arrow and, as always, I enjoyed the episode. I rather like how they keep changing up the versions of Laurel. And having Roy back is always kick ass. I've missed him. I'm also interested in seeing how things play out with Dinah and Oliver. In all honesty, I'm a little on the fence about the Dinah character. Her thirst for vengeance isn't one I bought into, but I'll finish watching to see what happens.

I need to catch up on Gotham also. Totally forgot it returned at the beginning of the month.

Watched a little more of season five of Chicago Fire and still love the show. Looking forward to another DVD this week to see what else happens.

Started Jessica Jones this weekend and season two feels like it's going to be a wild ride. Can't wait to see what else the show has in store for me.

I'll be playing catch up on Murdoch Mysteries again, but I did see episode fifteen and thoroughly enjoyed.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Fits and Starts, a novella that got a writing community prompt start with the words "get out".

Here's the mini-blurb:

After escaping from a madman's clutches, Pru Stark can't quite find her footing again. She pushes her man, Dane Callaway, away and refuses to see the little girl she saved. Dane can give her space, but he won't stay on the sidelines, not when Pru needs him the most, even if she can't quite admit it.

And a snippety peek…

Dane slammed his hand on the desk. "It's been two weeks. Why the hell aren't we combing the district for her?" He glared at the phone, waiting on a response.

A room of twelve board members collectively cleared their throats.

Only one had the balls to verbally reply. "Given Stark's penchant for going off book, pulling resources to search for her isn't warranted. Not yet." Blaine Kudrow… it figured.

Pru's blunt style often annoyed others. And, of course, Blaine topped the list. Dammit.

Dane heaved a sigh. "Then when? The longer we wait the more damage control we could get into." Seriously… someone had to put a stop to the escalating break-ins, before word got out.

Nagy Harnish jumped into the conversation. "Look, Callaway, give it two more weeks. Unless the thefts escalate further." A general consensus sounded in the background.

Dane tamped a flash of anger down. "I'm going to commit everyone not on an active operation to trolling for intel. I trust no one's gonna have a problem approving the overtime." Considering he signed the paychecks, the board could kiss his ass if they did.

Kudrow snorted. "Like you'd care or let that stop you. By all means, use your people however you see fit. You certainly take advantage of having your lover as one of primary agents." The room hissed their disapproval of her blatant insult. "Fine, fine. I'll shut up now. If your people don't turn anything up within two weeks, we'll revisit allocating personnel from the other divisions."

Dane tersely thanked the group and cut the call before he threatened to blast the lot of them. His relationship with Pru rarely interfered with ongoing missions. Hell, he'd waited a full week before bringing his concerns to the board so he wouldn't be accused of playing favorites.

Sitting down at his desk, he drummed his fingers on the smooth surface. "Something isn't right. My gut's screaming Pru's in danger."

This one end up being moved to my science fiction romance pseudonym but I love how the story is coming together.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Feeling Alive

My incredible and awesome gram left the world at around 1AM this morning. She gave me the very best adventures while I grew up and I'm going to miss her something fierce. As she said the last time I had the chance to be with her, "It's no picnic getting old." But she aged with beauty and grace. Considering I'm pretty much the spitting image of her, I hope I have the same experience.

It was a pretty great week for television. Legends of Tomorrow had a great episode. I loved having Wally and Rip together for an adventure and the whole pirate scenario kicked ass. I'm always sad when the show gets nitpicked to death. That said, it's not perfect, but I like that it isn't.

I missed the new episode of The Flash, but I'll catch up soon. Black Lightning turned out a good hour. I like having more of the pieces and outing the new kid on the block to her parents ended up being way better than I expected.

Arrow broke my heart. This is still one of my very favorite shows and having the two teams battling each other kills me. I'm not sure where the whole Laurel storyline is going, but I'm interested in seeing how it plays out. I'm really excited to have Roy return even if he'll probably get tortured… again.

I'm almost finished with season four of Chicago Fire. Still pretty thrilled with the overall arcs of the characters and I loved Mouch and Trudy's wedding. I have a new DVD to watch tonight and then I think it's on to season five.

I finished the first season of The Punisher. Gotta say I thoroughly enjoyed it. The guy I actively wanted to die at the end is still kicking but I'm okay with that. The other one I wanted to see die a horrible death got what he had coming, so there's that. Here's hoping there's a season two.

I have to play catch-up with Gotham's newest episode. I'm also getting a few of my foreign shows lined up. Murdoch Mysteries and Marcella are on tap when I can find a few spare hours. Looking forward to both!

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Feeling Alive, a novella featuring main characters that experience and emotional high together but have to face the hurdle of losing someone close to them.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Maddox loses her partner in a bomb explosion and shuts down emotionally. Wakefield arrives to interrogate Maddox about his brother's death, but she refuses to discuss the trauma. She ends up in another explosive situation and Wake finally breaks through Maddox's defenses, but he also opens the floodgates, which may get both killed.

And a snippety peek…

Wakefield Bigelow dragged his weary ass into the base camp and checked his weapon at the storage locker. He'd been in the field for two weeks and needed a shower, sleep, and whatever passed for food right now. A large deep dish pizza would invade his dreams but he'd settle for anything that didn't resemble an MRE. His quarters looked like home about now.

A bravo team member poked his head inside the barracks. "Yo, Bigs, the CO wants to see you ASAP. Something about your brother."

Wake went on alert. "Avery?" Why the hell would his brother contact him?

Jason quirked a brow. "Dude, you've only got one brother, right?"

A sick ball of dread dropped in Wake's stomach. "Shit. Yeah, just Avery." He nudged Jason out of the way and double-timed it to the CO's office.

Colonel Griffin Ames, retired military now heading up the civilian security operations, didn't demand strict discipline but he usually got it anyway. The man commanded a clean unit and garnered everyone's respect.

When Wake entered, the dread turned to anxious alarm. Colonel Ames's face delivered the news before he opened his mouth.

Wake gripped the back of the seat in front of the colonel's desk. "What happened?" His knuckles went white while waiting on the answer.

The colonel didn't pull his punches. "Your brother died in the line of duty a week ago. We received word this morning." He came around and clasped Wake's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Bigelow. I've arranged emergency leave for you. A military plane is standing by, waiting on your arrival. They'll fly you home so you can make arrangements for him." He directed Wake toward the exit.

Numb, Wake's feet moved but his brain took a moment to catch up. "He'll already be buried. We each left instructions with our folks' attorneys." Considering their professions, Avery had made the suggestion.

Almost like he assumed Wake wouldn't be around if something happened to his brother.

And he hadn't been.

Ames squeezed Wake's shoulder. "You have our condolences, Bigelow. Take whatever time you need. We're wrapping up here. I'll forward our new orders when I get them."

Wake blinked when he discovered the colonel had led him to the barracks. "Uh, yeah, thank you, sir." He entered quarters and grabbed his go bag.

Turning, he left and made his way to the waiting SUV. Food could wait. A shower could wait. He'd grab some sleep on the plane. Maybe when he woke up the nightmare of losing his brother would recede long enough for Wake to focus.

He wanted answers and he needed to be clear-headed when he started asking questions.

I'm rather happy with how this Wake scene came together. I wanted a specific tone and I feel like I got it the way I hoped for.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin