Showing posts with label Anything Goes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anything Goes. Show all posts

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Sunday Snippet: Anything Goes


We're entering week … eh, I'm not even sure … of the social distancing and I'm truly hoping we start to see the case numbers come down. We're doing what we can to stay inside and away from others. We do try to order from our local restaurants a night or two a week to help support the establishments.

Had a slower than normal week of television viewing. I started out by finishing up Strike Back's third episode. I'm very excited for the rest of the season. I also caught the declassified short for this episode.

I started a new episode of Blue Heelers and hope to finish it this upcoming week. So far, I'm truly enjoying this show.

Watched the end of a Gargoyles episode and got two more in. I don't remember Xanatos being such a cheesy villain when I watched this show with my oldest. Man, he is one though.

Started the first season of The Witcher. Gotta say I'm intrigued. Here's hoping the rest of the season measures up.

For fun, I watched the blooper reel for Dirty, Sexy Saint and laughed out loud a couple of times. I love how much behind the scenes Passionflix shares with its members.

Caught another episode of Arrow. I'm not sure if it's because I know it's ending or if the writing has just kicked it up a notch but I can honestly say I end up getting all choked up with tears in every episode so far. We're getting to the home stretch so I don't expect that to change.

Also watched another episode of Murdoch Mysteries and thoroughly enjoyed it. Having the ladies take center stage was much appreciated. I'm a little intrigued by Violet showing her sharpened teeth, which probably won't bode well for William and Julia in the next two episodes. That said, I'll be happy if Miss Violet Hart ends up going down in flames. I'm not a fan.

And that's pretty much it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Anything Goes, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

On the eve of Olivia Barton and Luke Johnston's wedding, their friends and coworkers at the twelfth precinct throw a rehearsal 'roast' for the couple. Their unconventional courtship is chronicled for everyone to enjoy and none of the names are changed to protect anybody.

And a snippety peek…

Hiro's chuckle brought Olivia out of the memory. "I gotta say, that day goes down as one of the most interesting ever…" He launched into the results of the target shoot.
Olivia's lips quirked. Interesting might be an understatement. Especially with the outcome of their competition. And the reveal of whom her partner happened to be.
Her partner removed his headset and poked his head around the corner of the booth. "Shall we?" His gaze flicked to Teague, who controlled the retrieval system.
Olivia, confident and certain, nodded. "Absolutely. If I didn't beat that Luke guy's score, I came damned close." She placed her firearm on the counter and barely caught the frown marring her witness's face.
She shrugged off the sour look and chalked it up to his fear she'd done better than he had.
Hiro printed out the results and brought them down, handing the pages to the competitors.
Olivia fist-pumped the air. "Ha! I did it! I beat Johnston's score." Her hips wiggled in a victory dance.
Teague cocked his head and pinned her witness with a cagey stare. "She doesn't know, does she?" His lips twitched briefly.
Her partner shrugged. "Didn't see the need to put undue pressure on a cadet." He handed her his sheet … with a score that matched hers.
Olivia's shoulders slumped. "Crap." Her face brightened. "But, hey, we both beat the record holder." She'd love to see the look on Johnston's face when he found out he'd been dethroned.
Hiro laughed. "Ah, man. You're gonna be disappointed, Burton." He all but slapped his leg with glee.
Olivia frowned. "What are you talking about?" She kind of hated not being in on the joke.
Her witness held out a hand. "Cadet Burton, I'm—"
Teague cut in. "No, no. Let me." He sobered and got all serious. "Cadet Burton, it's my great pleasure to introduce you to Luke Johnston, the reigning range champion." He paused. "Correction, the reigning cochampion now, at least for the single target test."
Olivia's mouth dropped open. "Ah, hell." Her face burned and heated with embarrassment. "You could've told me." She'd just made a complete idiot of herself.
Luke flashed a megawatt smile. "And ruin your fun? No way. Besides, I didn't want to throw you off your game. Knowing who I was might've altered the outcome."
She couldn't deny the truth of his statement. "Okay, that's a valid point." She stuck her hand out this time. "It's nice to meet you." And share the new record with him.
Luke grasped her palm. "I look forward to seeing how many of my other records you smash through." His eyebrows rose with the challenge issued.
She grinned. "Me too."
A round of applause and Hiro's parting shot pulled her from the memory.
"To date, they're still competing and playing on-up with each other."
He left to take his seat and John hurried to the podium.
Olivia shot Luke a quick glance. "I'm pretty sure we made Teague's entire week back then." She leaned into him, happy to revisit that day.
Luke nuzzled her temple. "More like his entire decade. He tells that story to all the new recruits now."
John took over again, leaning forward conspiratorially. "Guys, I can safely say Luke went down in flames that day. He came into the bar that night, singing the praises of the new recruit." He sent Luke a knowing smirk. "I knew that moment my friend had it bad for Cadet Burton … but Olivia … well, she took quite a bit longer to fall under Luke's spell. Especially when the next time they met, she ended up in a holding cell for almost twelve hours."
Olivia groaned. "Oh, he would go there."
Luke grimaced. "Not my best moment, that's for sure."

I love writing the courtship of Olivia and Luke. This couple is unconventional and fun.



That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Sunday Snippet: Anything Goes

October 8, 2017

And so the crazypants onslaught begins. October starts the official launch of "let's go Mach II with our hair on fire" season. Homecoming is this weekend and my daughter is hosting nine other couples for pictures and dinner. Then we slide into Halloween, followed by the fall sports banquet, Thanksgiving, Christmas, the New Year, and starting January 11, birthdays for all but one of my immediate family. LOL See… crazypants.

So, moving on to what calms me… television. The Last Ship proved, once again, it's never a good idea to mess with a wolf. Seriously, a few nice reveals were dropped and the episode let Fletch redeem himself… kind of. I'm probably in the minority but I'm not quite ready to forgive his transgressions yet.

Still need to watch Teen Wolf's finale. The past week got crazy busy so I didn't have time.

Finished up The Defenders and, yeah, I pretty much loved it. Looking forward to more from the individual series and also to The Punisher whenever it arrives. Heh, if it hasn't already because I'm that far behind right now.

Almost finished with Hawaii Five-0. Truly can't see how season eight is going to be decent without Chin or Kono. I guess I'll play it by ear.

I'm all caught up on Gotham and I love this show. The soft intro of Bruce's alter ego ended up being exactly perfect. Penguin raining havoc is a joy to watch. And poor Jim is getting ready for another round of the absolute wrong woman for him bingo. Falcone's daughter is probably not what the doctor ordered for the guy. Just saying.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Anything Goes, a novella that started as an exercise to write a story via flashback and keep it interesting.

Here's the mini-blurb:

On the eve of Olivia Barton and Luke Johnston's wedding, their friends and coworkers at the twelfth precinct throw a rehearsal 'roast' for the couple. Their unconventional courtship is chronicled for everyone to enjoy and none of the names are changed to protect anybody.

And a snippety peek…

Luke stopped by a cadet whose attention focused on the wall of academy records. She had her dark hair pulled back in a standard issue ponytail and her profile showed determination and a not a little arrogance. Her finger pointed to a name and tapped it.

He recognized the name.

She slid her gaze sideways, her hazel eyes intense. "This guy has the top score in every category." She pursed her lips then let a slow smirk cross her face. "But not for long."

Luke inclined his chin. "Really? Why is that?" He'd arrived at the shooting gallery for some practice and wore his civilian clothes.

She rocked back on her heels. "Because I intend to beat his record." Her voice oozed confidence.

Enough that Luke wanted to her to try, just to see if she could.

He tilted his head to one side. "You know, I'd like to see that. Mind if I join you in the range?" She narrowed her eyes and he quickly amended. "Just for fun on my part. Besides, you need someone to witness your achievement, don't you…" He glanced at her name tag. "Cadet Burton?" She filled out her uniform with a fit frame that had plenty of curves.

He couldn't wait to see how well she handled a weapon.

Cadet Burton nodded. "Actually, yeah. What's the point, if I don't have someone to back up my claim when I win?" She did a slow once-over of him from head to toe and a hint of heat filtered her gaze. "I think you'll do." Directing her head toward the end of the corridor, she motioned for him to precede her.

Luke bit back a bark of laughter. Cadet Burton didn't lack self-assurance and he'd give her props… especially if she beat the record-holder.

Then again… she had no idea Luke held the top score in every category.

I'm really having a great time with this one. Can't wait to see how everything comes together.



That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Sunday Snippet: Anything Goes

Happy Father's Day to all the terrific dads out there.

This week in TV? Gotta talk about the Orphan Black finale. Holy crap. I swear, every time I think I've got everything figured out the curve ball smacks me in the face again. I LOVE this show.

Killjoys ended up being better than I thought. Definitely happy to add it to my Friday night lineup. Defiance is dark this season and I like it, a lot. Dark Matter followed its premiere with another great episode so I'm in. So happy to have good TV on Friday nights again.

Strike Back's episode provided the high octane adventure I crave. I will say I sincerely hope Mei gets her richly deserved reward in the very near future. Please and thank you.

Finished a few more episodes of Teen Wolf. Should be caught up in time for the premiere in the next week or so. Also started Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. What a kick ass show! Very much along the lines of The Murdoch Mysteries, which is one of my favorites. Looking forward to binge watching more soon.

The Last Ship premieres tonight! Can't wait to see what the crew gets into this season. Bring on the action.

Tonight's post is from Anything Goes, a novella featuring a rehearsal roast for the upcoming nuptials of my main characters.

Here's the tagline:

On the eve of Olivia Barton and Luke Johnston's wedding, their friends and co-workers at the twelfth precinct throw a rehearsal 'roast' for the couple. Their unconventional courtship is chronicled for everyone to enjoy and none of the names are changed to protect anybody.

And a snippety peek…

Luke bit back a laugh and grabbed Olivia's hand. "Don't I always have your back?" He squeezed her fingers. "But let John have his fun for now. You know he's dying to find his perfect person like I did."
Olivia rolled her eyes but didn't speak. She didn't have to say what she thought. Luke could practically see the words rolling around in her head. If John didn't meddle with everyone else, he might find his soul mate. Or… He's so damned busy fixing butting in he doesn't have time to be with someone else.
Luke didn't care what John threw their way. He and Olivia worked through their demons, how bad could John's little trip down memory lane be? Luke winced. Okay, it could be ugly. He and Liv had some less than stellar moments when they navigated the choppy waters to becoming a couple.
Shifting his position a little, Luke settled back ready for anything.
John slid his gaze their way and leaned toward the podium. "Without further ado, would Sergeant Teague come up and share the story of how Luke met Olivia." He stepped back and when Hiro Teague approached the dais, John made his way to the table, studiously avoiding Olivia's narrow-eyed look. He seated himself and took a long gulp of water.
The sergeant glanced in their direction then faced the rest of the group. "Well, now. This happens to be one of my favorite stories from the gun range…"
Luke's lips curved. If anyone would've told him he'd be getting hitched to the spitfire he met on the gun range, he'd have thought them crazy.
Gotta say, this one is so much fun. I'm having a total riot writing for these two.



That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Sunday Snippet: Anything Goes


Okay, Walking Dead has been great the last two weeks. This makes me very happy!

Now I'm rewatching all the eps of Arrow. I seriously love the show!!

But…a post needs to be made!

Tonight's blog is about another fairly new manuscript still in its infancy stage. Working out all the kinks and getting the story points all set is one of my favorite things to do. Anything Goes got its start with a two word prompt from one of my writing communities. I LOVE prompts. Really helps get the creativity flowing.

Here's the tagline:

On the eve of Olivia Barton and Luke Johnston's wedding, their friends and co-workers at the twelfth precinct throw a rehearsal 'roast' for the couple. Their unconventional courtship is chronicled for everyone to enjoy and none of the names are changed to protect anybody.

And here's the snippety peek…

John Layman tapped on the crystal goblet and called for everyone's attention. "All right, boys and girls, we all know why we're here, so let's hear it for Luke and Olivia." He started a round of applause and loud cheers soon followed.
Olivia Barton entered the executive lounge on Luke Johnston's arm, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Luke's best friend would have something hugely embarrassing planned. It wouldn't be one of his shindigs if he didn't. The man insisted on throwing a celebratory party a week before their wedding and Olivia couldn't say no. John had planned the entire matrimonial affair because Olivia didn't have the time or patience to deal with the details. The concept it would blow up in her face hit her just after she said 'go for it'. She had no idea what John had planned and according to Luke, he didn't either.
Luke nudged her with his shoulder. "I can kill him now and we can run, if you want."
Olivia barked out laugh. Leave it to Luke know what her thoughts were. Hadn't always been that way, but he could read her like a book now.
She shook her head. "Nah. Let's see what Mr Mojo has up his sleeve. I wanna know why he demanded we get dressed up when we wanted something super casual."
Luke's hand slid down and grasped hers and he led them around the long string of tables to the dais area where a smaller, more intimate set-up had been placed with three chairs surrounding a round tabletop.
Luke squeezed her fingers. "You know he hates that nickname." He draped an arm around her shoulders. "You should use it more often."
Olivia grinned and stepped up onto the dais. "I just might, depending on what he pulls tonight." She moved to stand beside John. "Okay, John. We're here. What's on the menu for the evening?"
John turned and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Something you're either going to love, or hate with an intense passion." He faced the gathering of their friends again. "All right. We have the happy couple held captive, so let's get on with the festivities." John dropped his arm and moved to stand between Luke and Olivia. "With the big day scheduled for next Saturday, I thought it would be a roaring good time if we all got together and shared our most interesting…and possibly insane…stories about how our two crazy kids got together."
John stepped back and wrapped one arm around Luke, the other around Olivia. "Without further ado…welcome to Luke and Olivia's Matrimonial Roast!" Ducking backwards, John dashed for the podium, dimmed the lights, and directed the spot to shine and capture Luke and Olivia.
A roar of laughter and applause sounded throughout the executive lounge. Olivia seriously considered making a run for it, but Luke shrugged, snagged her hand, and pulled out a chair. She plopped down and scooted close to his side. If she had to endure a retelling of their unconventional romance, she'd damned well need his support.
But looking out over the room, filled with their closest friends and colleagues, she decided it couldn't be all bad. Unless… John prompted everyone with which stories to tell.
And he would. The shit.
Olivia leaned in, nuzzling close to Luke's ear. "If I kill him, you'll help me hide the body, right?"


I think I'll leave Luke's response for when I get this one published. :D



That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin