Sunday Snippet: Celebration at Midnight

Geez, halfway through the month already and I feel like I'm stuck in reverse. Not to say I'm not getting anything done. I am. Most of it is work related, which I'm not complaining about. But … I do need to do a better work-life balance. Even my daily oracle card draw is pointing me in that direction.

I'm still buried under multiple projects, and all are making solid progress. I've never had so many nonfiction manuscripts and I'm actually enjoying being able to switch back and forth between the variety of genres there and with my fiction manuscripts. I have a holiday horror story, a romance, and a mystery in fictional work.

Not a bad viewing week. I made it through my usual round of shows did get to add the new show. I enjoyed it and will add it to my current roster. There's one additional show I'd like to work in, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to.

Caught another episode of London Kills and, yep, the beginning of the showdown with David and Vivienne started. Can't wait to see what happens next. Rob and Billie should probably brace for impact.

The new show I started is Dark Winds. So far, really enjoy the premise and the pacing. The acting is top-notch also. I had a sneaking suspicion the new deputy would end up being more than met the eye. Glad I was right about that.

Watched another episode of Death in Paradise and enjoyed it. I'd seen most of this one at some point on Ovation and I liked having the full episode from beginning to end. I'm also enjoying Darlene a lot. Glad they added her to the team.

Enjoyed another episode of Beyond Paradise. It's so much fun watching Martha's mom going on dates. I'm also interested in how things shake out with the fostering situation. Very cool to have some Margo backstory also.

Caught an episode of Elementary and I'm kind of sad Kitty is headed for parts unknown for now. I do love that her story had a satisfying resolution. Also so happy we got to see how she kind of saved Sherlock from himself.

Watched another episode of Batman Beyond. Inque made another appearance and that was fun. Also kind of cool to see Bruce back in the field and how much Terry tried to protect him.

Finished up with an episode of Classic Rugrats. Enjoyed both vignettes and also discovered I have more episodes than I thought I had left. This isn't bad news.

And that's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Celebration at Midnight, a holiday novella featuring Presley, Gunnar, and Frazier from Merry and Bright.

Here's the miniblurb:

Presley, Frazier, and Gunnar finally have New Year's Eve off at the same time and plan to celebrate with a quiet evening at home. Two days after Christmas, Gunnar is shot trying to bring in a felon and Frazier's fire department gets the call. Presley is on duty in the emergency room when the men come in and the trio comes face-to-face with their personal lives mixing with their professional careers. Once Gunnar is in the clear, they have even more reason to celebrate at midnight.

And a snippety peek…

"Can't believe we've got a trafficking station in the heart of this old neighborhood." Gunnar moved into position between a wheelie bin and the garage of the unassuming colonial they were getting ready to raid.

He crouched and readied for the go order, taking in the formerly well-kept backyard. Shrubs and bushes were bare but also tangled together in need of a good pruning. A sitting area had wooden furniture with peeling paint and some of the bricks were covered with patchy spots of overgrown dead grass.

Gunnar frowned. "The decay is probably worse on the inside…"

A noise at the rear of the garage drew his attention. An unknown door opened, and a man walked out and caught sight of Gunnar. Everything crashed together at once. Why didn't they know about the door? Because it didn't look like a door existed. The timing sucked and the op would probably be blown.

Gunnar didn't have time to do much more than turn toward the guy before the man fired a round, catching Gunnar in the vest above his heart. A second bullet zinged toward him and ripped through his shirt tearing at the flesh in his shoulder and whizzing past his ear. Searing, white hot pain gripped him, but Gunnar returned fire, winging the assailant.

Shock and disbelief warred for dominance followed closely by the realization the shot knocked the wind out of him because he struggled to breathe. His hands tingled, no doubt a reaction to getting shot. He had the foresight to key his radio twice before he dropped like a stone and sank toward unconsciousness.

Through hazy vision, he noted the shooter grabbing his shoulder and the strike team moving in. Over the roar in his ears, he caught the sound of doors being smashed in and the shouts of the strike team announcing their presence. One of his fellow officers apprehended the fleeing man and they would end up getting the traffickers.

Gunnar finally succumbed to inky darkness … with one last thought.

Fraz and Presley are going to freak the fuck out.

I love this trio so much. They're the first throuple I wrote, and I'm happy they're still giving me ideas for their story.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin