Sunday Snippet: Glutton for Punishment

Terrific week on the great office cleanout! I got a ton of shredding done and cleared out from under my table and desk. I got a great hand-vac that did an awesome job of getting the carpet cleaned up. The cabinet I got to put under my desk fits really well and I'm closer to being sorted and organized! One more cabinet for under my table and three bookcases to go. Okay, not quite true. I still have a major amount of shredding to do and then I have the rest of the finding where to put everything phase. But … I can already notice a big difference in having a semi-clear area to work in. It's amazing!

Kind of a slow week for television. I'm working on a developmental edit that requires a lot of focus so I don't use anything as background noise.

I watched a lot of Silent Witness. I'm well into the third season and I like the cast changes.

I also caught several more rune videos. They're actually quite relaxing as well as informative.

Last but not least, I watched the first season finale of The Witcher. Gotta say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I rather liked getting a small bit of backstory about Geralt. Also quite impressed by the mages and Yennifer's role in the battle. I've been a little on the fence with her character but she's definitely growing on me.

That's pretty much it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Glutton for Punishment, a novella that puts coworkers at odds with each other even though they have a spark of a lot more.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Willa and Karl have issues. She acts out to keep him at bay and he finally calls her on the destructive behavior, stepping into the ring so she can work out her aggression. A glutton for punishment, Karl pushes Willa into making a choice between risking her heart or losing him for good.

And a sneaky peek…

 

Harv poured Willa into her bed. "Geez, Willa. This has gotta stop. One of these nights I'm not gonna be around and you'll end up in jail or dead. Do you always have to pick a fight with the biggest guy in the joint?" He shoved her feet up and unlaced her boots.

Willa fought the urge to throw up. "Take out the biggest, the rest back off. That's a Dane Radcliffe direct quote." She rolled to her side but Harv nudged her back.

He tugged her boots off. "Man, I get that. But you're way past your expiration date for being a pain in the ass. Damn good thing you're wheels up in twelve hours." Dropping her boots beside her rack, he shook his head. "Karl called this. I'm all for helping one of my best friends out, but I've got limits, Willa. You're pushing up next to the final one."

She propped up on her elbows. "Don't do me any favors, Harv. I didn't ask you for a single damned one." Then again, everyone else gave her wide berth, probably because of puppet-master Karl. "And tell Karl to fuck off. He can manipulate someone else's life and you can join him." God, she just wanted to make the pain go away.

Harv crouched down beside the bed. "Look, Willa, I'm sorry—"

She snorted. "Whatever, Harv. I'm outta here in twelve. You'll have at least a week of peace and quiet." She paused a moment. "Maybe longer. I won't come looking for you when I get back." She flopped back down and waved him off.

Harv stood up and shook his head. "Good hunting, Willa." He gave her one last look and backed out of her quarters.

Tears pricked behind her eyelids. Only a true friend would wish her well after she verbally bitchslapped him. Squeezing her eyes to stave the flow, she turned to her side. A ball of anger exploded in her gut. Why didn't they understand? She'd made a promise and they made her break it. Just once, she'd like to come out on top when she gave her word.

Heaving a sigh, she punched her pillow. "Anyone named Radcliffe can rot in hell."

Willa's on a downward spiral and, honestly, it's been fun to write. She'll eventually get herself back together but not before she almost goes completely scorched earth on her life.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Glutton for Punishment

Hello, May! I'm having a momentary freak-out because we're a month away from June, which means half the year is almost gone. Seriously, time goes fast sometimes. Jeez.

Busy week for television. I caught the third episode of Krypton and, yeah, I'm hooked. I love this show. Also caught another episode of Ghost Squad and enjoyed it more than the second one. Started watching episodes of Classic Who too. My Roku is working overtime right now. LOL

Tuesday's viewing included Endeavor, more Classic Who, Midsomer Murders, and the CW Seed original Freedom Fighters: The Ray, A Hero Rises. I also caught up on an episode of Gotham and seriously… I've said it before but season four is kicking so much ass. This show is rising on my list of favorites and entering the top tier. It's awesome.

Wednesday ended up being a little light on viewing. I caught The Flash a little late because I missed it Tuesday. Not a bad episode. That said, I kind of don't care at all about how DeVoe arrived at his batshit crazy decision to "enlighten" the rest of the world. Thankfully there aren't many more episodes to get through. Just saying. Also caught an episode of Chicago Fire and Jessica Jones. At this point, I'm totally done with Trish. Season three will have a long way to go if they want me to ever like that character again.

On Thursday, I caught Arrow in real time and ended up loving the episode. The twisty turns were terrific and I'm truly thrilled Oliver and Rene arrived at a better place. Watched two episodes of Blindspot and almost finished the second season.

Friday included the last episode of Blindspot's second season and an episode of Chicago PD. I'm so excited to start season three of Blindspot and can't wait to see what happened to get Jane in Nepal and covered in bioluminescent tattoos.

Saturday's viewing included the first episode of Blindspot's season three. Getting the team back together with a completely new dynamic is great. I'm very interested in what the hell Roman is doing. I also caught episode twelve of Jessica Jones. No, I haven't changed my mind about Trish. I'm still really pissed off at her. I did rather like the intimate takedown Jeri pulled. That was actually kind of brilliant. Finally, I started to get caught up on Riverdale.

Whew. What a week! Tonight's post is from Glutton for Punishment, a novella that began with a writing community prompt of getting the main characters into a sparring session to work out their issues.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Willa and Karl have issues. She acts out to keep him at bay and he finally calls her on the destructive behavior, stepping into the ring so she can work out her aggression. A glutton for punishment, Karl pushes Willa into making a choice between risking her heart or losing him for good.

And a snippety peek…

Karl Radcliffe finished the initial debrief for their failed operation. "Not the best outcome, but we cut a significant blow to their labor force by evacuating the refugees and have the diamonds as proof of what they're doing." He shot a glance toward Willa.

She'd been detached and shut down since she got back to base about twelve hours ago. Something happened out there… something she hadn't revealed. Her secretiveness bothered him. She almost always dumped whatever baggage she collected in the field directly on his doorstep. Not this time. He hadn't seen her since she unloaded from the extraction.

Gathering up his notes, he delivered one final message. "The board is still reviewing information, but unofficially, we're done in that area. We won't be making any return trips." He closed the file and made a move to stand.

"They can't do that. We have to go back." Willa shot to her feet, all but breathing fire.

Karl jerked his head toward the door. "Everyone else is dismissed." He focused on Willa. "This is out of my hands, Willa. They're basing this one your report. What is there to go back to?" She'd blown the entire encampment.

Willa threw an arm out. "I don't mean we go back to the camp, but we could return to the general area, look for more refugees." She folded her arms over her chest, her gaze angry.

Karl cocked his head to one side. "What's really going on here? You know we can't return. Too many people know what happened now. It's not feasible. We'd never get back in." Why… why did she want to go back?

Willa heaved a sigh and turned away from him. "We left people hanging. I left people hanging. Everyone didn't make it out." She paced back and forth.

Her keyed-up energy hid something deep and Karl needed to dig down and find out what. She'd left people behind before. The nature of their work often required making hard choices. What had her twisted up now?

Maybe the length of the operation played into her mindset. Normally, they moved quickly. Maybe some initial back and forth to cultivate assets, a few weeks in then back out for recon. Schedule mission, execute action plan, get the hell out, all as covertly as possible. Willa spent almost six months deep undercover, working the field and gathering intel.

Karl finally clued in. "This isn't about everyone, is it? Someone didn't make it out and you're wrecked over it." When her shoulders went rigid, he got his answer.

Well, damn. He almost dropped the topic. No way he wanted to hear his suspicions confirmed.

Willa turned around, her gaze tortured. "Yeah, okay. I made a promise to my asset, alright?" She glanced away, probably realizing she'd given him more information than she meant to.

Maybe he'd been wrong…

Karl kept his voice steady. "What did you promise Akbar, Willa?" Her penchant for writing checks her ass couldn’t cash landed her on the hot seat more than once.

Something his dad, the head of Pygmalion Enterprises, railed about often. Then again, Dane Radcliffe hired Willa because she had a gift for recruiting long-term assets. When they asked for the moon, she'd try to deliver.

Willa snorted. "Nothing you need to bring Dane into." She rolled her eyes.

Karl lifted his chin. "Ah… so it was that kind of promise, then." Not wrong.

Willa lifted a shoulder. "Not specifically. Thought I might test the futility of starting a relationship with someone again." She met his gaze. "Won't happen now." She waited a beat. "Unless we go back."

Karl shook his head. "I can tell you now, it won't happen. We sanitized the location for a reason." Meaning Akbar would've been lucky to get out.

Willa's features hardened. "Yeah, I just wanted—" She cut herself off. "Doesn't matter what I wanted." She stormed out of the briefing room.

Karl sighed. He could almost picture exactly what happened. Willa got close to Sorrel. Why wouldn't she? She'd spent half a year working day after day with him.

The bite of jealousy, when it came, didn't last long. Willa would never give Karl a shot. He didn't fit her criteria of hopeless cause, never gonna go long-term, not long for this earth kind of guy. The woman had three dead exes… a sad pattern if he thought about it too much.

Which he didn't.

"Yo, what crawled up Willa's ass and bit down hard?" Harvey Mendat propped his shoulder on the doorjamb. "She nearly took my head off and all I said was hi."

Karl blew out a harsh breath. "Expect more of that, Harv. You know her last mission went sideways and she's pissed." He tucked his files under his arm and moved to stand beside Harvey. "Keep an eye on her and be there when she needs someone." He kept his voice pitched low to avoid eavesdroppers in the corridor.

Harvey nodded. "Always, man. But what about you? You planning on not being around?"

Karl snorted. "Oh, I'll be around. In a different capacity. She'll target most of her hostility on me, which I'll deal with, but she'll need someone to act as a buffer for everyone else." He slapped Harvey on the shoulder. "That job is yours, my friend."

Harvey crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine. I can be Willa's buddy and manage her moods, but why do you have to take the brunt of her latest rage fest?" He pushed away from the doorjamb. "I get acting in Willa's best interests. We all love her. But you gotta start acting for your own benefit sometime."

Karl frowned. "When do I not?"

Harv rolled his eyes and strolled back out in the corridor.

Yeah, okay. The non-answer went further than a verbal slap would any day.

I like where this one is going. I'm a huge fan of having a character not see the forest because of the trees. LOL

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Glutton for Punishment

January 24, 2016

Well… Winter Storm Jonah, or whatever its name is, missed my part of Ohio. I'm not complaining in the least. For everyone else dealing with the massive snow dump, I hope you're all safe, warm, and enjoying the blizzard as much as possible. J

One thing though… why are we naming winter storms now? I mean I was alive for the Blizzard of '78 and referring to it the Blizzard of '78 works just fine for me. Is there a reason we have to give names to snowstorms? I get naming hurricanes and tropical storms, typhoons, etc., but eh, giving monikers to snowstorms seems like something a bored Weather Channel employee decided to cook up to brighten their day. Just saying. LOL

Let's see… big X-Files revival premieres tonight. I'm super-excited! One of my all-time favorite shows is coming back and I don't even care if it sucks huge ones. LOL I'm watching a marathon on Chiller right now, so my day is going really great. J

The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow had kick ass episodes. I kind of love Legends, the snarky banter makes me happy. I could watch an hour of nothing but the characters trying to out snark each other. That said, the jury's out on how well this group with mesh together, but I'm all in to see what happens.

Agent Carter's two episode premiere didn't disappoint. I've got some hopes for what happens with the New York contingent. I also loved meeting Jarvis's Mrs. Very cool and awesome character. J

Last, but not least, Teen Wolf's episode entertained, as usual. It might just be me, but the last few episodes have something of a choppy feeling, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just a little confusing.

That's it for television this week…

Tonight's post is from Glutton for Punishment, a novella that started with a scene prompt of boxing.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Willa and Karl have issues. She acts out to keep him at bay and he finally calls her on the destructive behavior, stepping into the ring so she can work out her aggression. A glutton for punishment, Karl pushes Willa into making a choice between risking her heart or losing him for good.

And a snippety peek…

Willa Troy closed her eyes to the chaos playing out in front of her. The simple extraction went sideways the moment her team arrived on site. Almost like someone leaked the date and time of their planned op.

Snapping her head around, she shouted over the din of gunfire. "Sorrel! What the hell happened?" She trusted her asset, but Sorrel Akbar's people lived on the razor's edge of torture, destruction, and death every day.

The tall, striking man dodged across the space separating them. "Willa, I don't know what's going on or who gave up the intel, but you've got to get as many of these folks out that you can." He motioned for another group to come forward. "At least the kids and as many parents as you can load up." A dozen refugees zigzagged back and forth, making their way to the large transport trucks that would take them to freedom.

Willa shook her head. "We were supposed to get all of you out." No way would a full extraction happen now.

If lucky, her team might leave with a third of the refugees. Which meant Sorrel would stay behind. Unless she could get permission to stick around with half a team and try to get the rest out in a few days.

She waved her comm officer, Brynn Schuler, over. "Get me base." Glancing at Sorrel, she voiced her thoughts. "How long would it take to get everyone else rounded up again? Best guess." Brynn tucked the sat-phone between Willa's chin and shoulder.

Sorrel frowned. "Willa, you can't stick around here. I might be able to get another group together within forty-eight hours, but the rebels are heavily armed and on the prowl now. This attempt only stirred their bloodlust even more."

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the tactical assessment, Sorrel. Not like I'm unaware." Hell, she'd taught him how to make those gut-level calls. "Base, this is Granite One."

What followed, the back and forth between the extraction zone and operations, filled Willa with a gut-clenching anger over botched opportunities. She tossed the phone back to Schuler.

Willa met Sorrel's gaze. "New orders. We're scrubbing the op and sanitizing this location." In short, leaving and never coming back.

Sorrel cocked his head to one side. "By sanitizing, you mean—"

She cut him off. "Yeah. Exactly what you think. If you don't come with us now. You're on your own." She wouldn't put voice to the final directive she'd been given.

Blow the place to hell so the incursion forces couldn't gain an advantage.

Damn Karl for making that call.

Sorrel turned, facing her. "So, this is it, then." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a leather pouch.

Willa took a step back. "Uh-uh. No way. You keep those." She referred to the hefty stash of diamonds he'd taken from one of the labor camps he'd liberated.

He shook his head. "No, Willa. You need to take these back to your base so they have the evidence of what's happening out here." Reaching out, he grasped her hand, placing the sack in her palm. "And don't you look back. You didn't fail here. We got people out, not everyone, but enough to make a difference." His free hand cupped her face.

Willa leaned into his touch. "If I can find a way to come again, I will. I made a promise and I want to keep it." He'd asked her to get all the labor refugees to a safe zone.

She didn't mention all the assurances she'd made and broken in the past. She'd tried to put those manipulations to rest and leave them behind. All part of the job and she'd become very good at her work.

I have a feeling this one may end up being longer than novella length, which isn't a bag thing. Willa's got a lot to say. LOL

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Glutton for Punishment

May 26, 2013

Hi!

Post is going up a little late tonight, mainly because the show Orphan Black has been eating my brain. Only one more episode left before a hiatus and I'm already gearing up to have at least one full rewatch to catch any and all nuances I might have missed. :D

Tonight's post is from Glutton for Punishment and the main hero reminds me a little of Paul from Orphan Black. He's got a very Mr. Nice Guy demeanor until he's pushed a little too far and when he lays it on the line, he's not afraid to cross the boundaries of propriety. J

Here's the tagline:

Willa and Karl have issues. She acts out to keep him at bay and he finally calls her on the destructive behavior, stepping into the ring so she can work out her aggression. A glutton for punishment, Karl pushes Willa into making a choice between risking her heart or losing him for good.

And here's the snippety peek…

The door to the gym swung open and Willa turned, expecting to see Harvey. Her eyes narrowed when Karl walked in instead.

He threw his duffel bag in front of a weight bench, sat down, and unzipped it. Reaching in, he pulled out a roll of tape.

Oh, hell no. Willa cocked her head. "What the hell, Karl. Where's Harv?"

Karl didn't look up from his task of unrolling a long strip of tape and tearing it off with his teeth before tossing the roll back into the bag. "Harvey couldn't make it. I volunteered to come in his place."

Willa snorted. "God, you're a glutton for punishment, aren't you?" He did not wanna go a round with her right now. Hell, part of the reason she needed to get rid of some tension had to do with him.

Karl shrugged. "Not really. I just think you need to do something constructive instead of destructive." He glanced up. "For a change."

MmHmm. Willa shot back. "Wailing on you is constructive?"

Karl's jaw tensed, but he hopped up and down, rolling his shoulders. "I don't know, Wills. Let's find out."

I know, not a lot to go on, but hopefully a tantalizing morsel to whet the appetite. This is short story and will hopefully be in the to-be-finished stack ASAP. J

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin