Sunday Snippet: New Year's Nip (an Organic Nature short)

Ugh. Turning the clock back is a bummer. I've been reading arguments for staying on standard time or making daylight saving time permanent. I think I'm coming down on making DSL permanent, but either way, it would be nice to not have to turn the clocks in any direction.

Had a busy work week and hit my daily goals to stay on target for project dates. I also got a lot of writing in and updated some completed manuscripts for my new venture. I truly hope to launch it before the holidays.

Not a bad week of watching television. I'm debating on how many streamers I'm going to keep because they keep raising their prices. I'm okay with paying more if it's not all going into shareholder pockets. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of deal SAG-AFTRA can make with the studios. That might also help me decide which streaming platforms I'll be keeping.

I ended up starting a new Silent Witness two-parter and struggled a little with this one. Domestic violence is a hard watch and there aren't many clues to who the culprit is. I'm hoping to finish the second half later today.

Caught another Death in Paradise and enjoyed it. I'm a big fan of Humphrey and can't wait to finish his run so I can watch the spin off Beyond Paradise.

Watched another episode of Only Murders in the Building and enjoyed it even if a lot of the scenes were goofy. It's kind of nice to have the comedic skills of the cast on display.

Got another episode of Battlestar Galactica in on my rewatch. This one had some good moments with a lot being left unsaid, which ends up biting a few people later.

Enjoyed another episode of The Batman, which finished up the two-part origin story of Clayface and put Yin on the tentative side of the Batman.

Watched another episode of Classic Rugrats. I remembered the first part with the submarine imagination scenario but forgot about the one where they discover Chuckie is left-handed. I love going back to these episodes and seeing them again.

Caught another episode of VIP and enjoyed it. It's fun to see the characters out of their element. It's also fun to see Val figure out what's actually going on.

Enjoyed another episode of My Life Is Murder. Nice to have a bit of Alexa backstory about her husband and how his death still affects her.

And that's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from New Year's Nip, an installment in the Organic Nature shorts series.

Here's the miniblurb:

Eppie Collins has a terrific guy, one who gave her a wonderful Christmas holiday. She's returning the favor on New Year's Eve, making surprise last-minute plans to watch the midnight fireworks in the city. Vin's not the only one who can pull out all the stops.

And a snippety peek…

Eppie glanced toward Vin for the third time in twenty minutes and laughed. "Stop pouting." She had no doubt he hated not being behind the wheel. "We took the edge off before we left." And so not the reason he all but twitched with restlessness in the passenger seat.

Vin didn't like not being in control.

Vin slid his gaze sideways and put a smile on his face. "I'm not pouting." He snorted. "Not really." He shifted again, adjusting the seat.

Eppie bit back another laugh. "At least you know we're going to the city." She'd more than make it worth his while though. "The whole not knowing anything is hard, isn't it?"

Vin gave her a sheepish look. "I hate that you're right but, yeah, it's a pain." He finally relaxed a little. "I now know how you felt when I took you to Holly Hollow."

Eppie put her hand on his thigh. "Not much longer. We're about ten minutes out." Which would give him a general idea of where they'd be in the city.

She merged onto the outer belt then took the exit for the downtown loop. Traffic heading in moved slowly but they'd beat the mad rush. In less than an hour, the vehicles heading to the stadium and riverfront would be bumper to bumper.

She eased over a lane, getting in line to make her turn. "Trust me, Vin. It'll be worth it."

He picked her hand up and brushed his lips over her knuckle. "I have no doubt. Just anxious, I guess."

Vin's frustration would end soon. Eppie carefully timed their arrival. She wanted to avoid the frustration of fighting to get through the congestion but also preferred to get to their location around dusk. Maj had everything waiting for them in the suite. Dinner, champagne, a decadent dessert. Eppie had packed bath salts—a new scent she wanted to try for couples—an earthy blend of pine, citrus, and a hint of vanilla.

A nice long soak in the garden tub would be amazing.

Eppie turned onto Riverfront Drive, the street running along the main entrance of the Chamberlain. Sliding her gaze sideways, she caught the moment things started clicking for Vin.

I love writing Eppie and Vin and it's so much fun to have Eppie pulling out all the stops to surprise him.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin