Sunday Snippet: Lost in Translation (Crystal Shard Brotherhood book one)

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 Lost in Translation, a Crystal Shard Brotherhood book.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Lost in Translation 10263 / 15000 A body dumped outside a fortress. A scroll located in twelve different locations. A trap sprung. But the Brethren are too smart to take the bait. Jackson Alexander and Jacey Durham have to turn the tables on the nemesis trying to dismantle the Crystal Shard Brotherhood.

And a preview snippet…

Blessed warmth.

Jacey thanked the heavens above. Then added the goddess to the mix. The next thing she registered was the quiet. The shrill whistle of the wind no longer screeched in her ears.

But the fuzzy echo, distorted roar was still there. And a throbbing ache screamed along her hairline.

Not pleasant.

She lifted a hand to rub at the offending spot and felt a twinge of pain. It zinged up her arm and made her eyes pop open. Her blurry vision noted the needle inserted into her vein and the tubing that wound around to a bag full of fluids.  

Hospital?

No. She didn't think so.

Her eyes scanned the room, taking in the richly colored décor done in blue and bronze.

Definitely not a hospital.

Somewhere nice though.

Her head still ached and her throat hurt, so she tried to call out. "H-hel-lo." It sounded like a croak, raw and scratchy.

She swallowed and made another attempt. "Hello." Jacey went to sit up but the throb in her head made her stay put. "Anyone? Hello?" Using her free hand, she massaged her forehead, trying to put her jumbled thoughts in order.

What did she know?

She wasn't cold anymore. Bonus for that.

Out of the elements. Big plus there.

She was getting medical attention, but not in a hospital. No points.

And she had a kickass headache that would not quit. Minus one hundred.

Her location topped the list of what she didn't know. And how she got there.

Did she have any other injuries? Probably a big yes since her body felt like one massive bruise. Not knowing the extent and severity had her slightly fearful.

Because the worst thing? She had no clue who helped her. The person or persons she'd gone to meet? Wait. Gone to meet? Okay, score another answer she had now.

Except she couldn't remember who.

Or someone else entirely could have offered the assist.

Captive or refugee?

Jacey had no idea which.

Great. Outstanding. Just perfect.

What she didn't know far outweighed everything.

She needed to get it together.

Jacey remembered a phone call, but not who made it. No… wait. A piece slid into place. The call was coded. She wouldn't know the caller, but she'd trust whoever placed it.

Not good… considering her current state.

Helplessness grabbed hold of her and Jacey decided to brave the pain and get some answers. Sucking in a deep breath, she forced herself to sit up. The room swam and everything went gray-black for a second but she leveled out pretty quickly.

Jacey waited a good thirty seconds before she opened her eyes again. The color was back. Blues and burnished bronze. It made her laugh. Which made her body ache.

Where the hell was she?

Time to find out. She reached over and peeled the tape off her hand. Got ready to take the needle out when a voice startled her.

"Whoa."

Her head swiveled around toward the speaker, the dull throb kicking back in again.

"I don't that's such a good idea. You probably shouldn't remove that just yet."

As far as first meetings go, Jacey could do worse than Jacks. I love these two together and can't wait to really sit down and plot out the rest of this series.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Consortium of Chaos

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 Consortium of Chaos, a Chaos novella with a steampunk flair.

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 preview snippet…

Esme listened intently when Ash related the tactics of Baron Morbid while eating his light meal. The stalling and outright ham handedness had most of the council scratching its collective head. Not even the studious Smithers had answers for how Mobride rose to power so quickly or how the man managed to maintain such a tight rein on the proceedings.

Ash didn't expect Smithers to have solutions, but sometimes he saw things at their simplest, which usually helped. The citizens needed advocacy and Ash did his best to make sure they had a voice. Smithers and Esme helped behind the scenes, knee deep in the trenches.

Esme, in particular, walked a fine line. A fringe noble by birth, she chose to work in the service class instead of living in genteel poverty. Her father, the musician laureate for the crown, didn’t come from money. He'd lived and raised two children on the stipend granted by the Ministry of Arts, which ceased to exist when the monarchy lost control.

His older son already lost to him, Hamish Von Staunton sent his daughter off to train as a pilot for the newly developed zeppelins, something that set the peerage on its ear. Once she completed her first year, Hamish ended his existence with an overdose of unrefined Olympus. Alone, Esme completed her training and Ash recruited her at the commencement.

Her piloting skills were not only handy for transporting goods and equipment; they provided a nice cover for their more covert activities. Namely, trying to stay abreast of what the common people went through. As a pilot, she became one of them and folks opened up to her.

She'd been busy today, browsing the shops and keeping an ear to the ground. She added her observations to the conversation.

"I'm telling you, the people are tired." She picked at the crust of bread on her plate. "Tired of worrying about where their next meal is coming from. Where their loved ones are. And how they'll make ends meet." She rose and gathered the remnants of their meal. "And they're more than tired at the lack of anything resembling progress since the fall of the monarchy." Picking up the plates, she made her way to the counter.

Smithers shot her a withering look, which she ignored. Things were never more right in the world unless she found a new way to needle him. Doing something he felt was his domain proved a great way to do that.

And it had been a shit day so she'd take a small measure of enjoyment where she could.

Dumping the dishes in the wash basin, she turned to head back toward the table but caught movement in the small window off to the side of the kitchen. Peering out into the darkness, she couldn't make anything out, but a short series of knocks followed by two thumps on the side entrance had her quickly moving to the door.

"Es, hold up." Ash shot to his feet, reaching for the blade tucked into his boot. "Okay, go."

Esme pulled the door open and the heavy weight of a man collapsed against her, almost dragging them to the floor. "Argh. Ash! Gimme a hand here." She caught the guy under his arms and tried to keep him upright.

I'm very excited to put this series together. With a total of four books, the progress is coming along nicely.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Choice to Make

March 11, 2018

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 Choice to Make, a novella that started as rewriting the ending to a favorite show.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Hallen and Will never get the timing right until the Fates step in and give them a chance. But each has a choice to make and cosmic irony may rear its ugly head… again.

And a preview snippet…

Will looked over the plan for seven individual settlements, trying to make sure they'd get it right.

Hallen watched the tension build in his shoulders. "Bold move. Leaving the tech behind." She entered the conference room and moved up beside him. "Worried about problems?" As if she couldn't tell.

His lips turned up. "When am I not?" The large chart disappeared into his hands as he rolled it up.

Her question had the desired effect of distracting him and she chuckled. "Good point." She eased up onto the table, taking the spot recently vacated by the settlement plans. "What tops your list?" She wanted to see his rigid posture relaxed… at least a little.

Will shoved the pages into a protective tube. "Right now? Everything is jockeying for number one." He sighed and shook his head. "Got a massive headache at the moment. So many things can go wrong."

Hallen reached out, grabbed his hand. "Look, the peace will hold. Survival trumps old rivalries." She squeezed his fingers. "I think we proved that on the way." Pulling him closer, her hands slid up to his shoulders. "And starting from scratch, learning from the past is hard, but everyone agreed this pristine, rugged wilderness needs careful study. Everyone." Her eyebrow lifted, because no one had expected a unanimous vote. "They all want to find a way to live in harmony with the planet. Balance growth with replenishment. Avoid what happened to the old world."

Will nodded. "I know you're right. That this is right." He touched his forehead to hers with a sigh.

Hallen reached up and cupped his face. "Then what? Something still has its teeth in you."

Will frowned. "We have a future to plan. I can't quite wrap my head around it."

Hallen smiled. "Damn right you do." She didn't notice her word choice, but she felt the weird vertigo vibe. The one making her feel out of step.

Will drew her close. "God, Hallen. We ran so long, fought so hard… finally being here… it's almost… anticlimactic."

She got it. And chalked up the strange, eerie feelings she'd had up to not having to look over their shoulders any more. It would take some getting used to.

Hugging him, she slid off the table. "Come on. Time to get started on that future you can't wrap your head around."

Will laughed. An honest, genuine laugh. Her heart warmed and she snagged his hand. Maybe they'd finally got their timing right.

I've got so many pieces of this one and need one long writing session to tie them all together. Fingers crossed I can make that happen in the near future.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Casting Spells (A Lantern Jack Short)

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 Casting Spells, a sexy short featuring witches and warlocks along with Lantern Jack.

Here's the mini-blurb:

The Lantern Jack is back to right another wrong. Celia Carmichael is overwhelmed by her new role as coven head and she's determined to learn all she can about the familiar who chose her, the cat named Haven. Nyx Nolan is on a mission to discover where the remains of his ancestor, the warden of warlocks is buried. The man disappeared over a century ago and left a signet ring and a photo for Nyx as the only clue to his whereabouts. Celia and Nyx discover their histories are entwined and they have the power to lay the animosity between the witches and the warlocks to rest.

And a preview snippet…

Another Samhain and another chance to put some wrongs to right. This year, Lantrien Jacquard, aka Lantern Jack, would further ease his curse by putting another notch in the solved column. He'd be one step closer to finding peace. And no longer being forced to live his days as a jack-o-lantern.

My love, my queen, I long to be with you again.

Over the past two Halloween seasons, he'd successfully ended a long-standing feud between the wizards and the sorcerers and managed to bring the werewolves and the keepers back together. This year, the stars had aligned to give Jack the opportunity to ease the discord between the witches and the warlocks. The Carmichael coven used to be strong and prolific, creating powerful witches who communed with the elements for the greater good of their chosen communities. The Nolan warden managed to become a sprawling empire, with warlocks taking prominent positions in industry and local politics.

Long ago, Jack sowed the seeds of discontent and broke up the ruling families. The Carmichael women once dominated the community with a coven that numbered in the hundreds. Jack winced. "Now you're down to a little over two dozen in Paradise Valley." They had other far-flung members, but their power receded as more moved away. "Your numbers have waned, but you're still fierce and productive, aren’t you, Celia?"

The Nolans had the opposite concern. The warden's membership stayed strong and centrally located in Bluff's Peak. But they were tetherless, without a true leader. Nyx Nolan had staked a claim as the defacto head of the Nolan warden. He kept the warlocks in check for the most part and his business acumen kept the pockets lined. But Nyx's patience wore thin and the pushback he got from the more vocal factions bordered on causing a rift that would set the warlocks on a destructive path to their downfall.

Jack cringed. "Also my doing. But I aim to fix that situation."

Jack only needed to do one thing. Bring Celia Carmichael and Nyx Nolan together around Samhain and put the proper clues in their hands. A signet ring and photo along with a familiar in the guise of a cat should get the ball rolling in the right direction.

The he could add another checkmark in the win column.

I'm excited to have another Lantern Jack book to work on. These are fun little stories and I enjoy weaving Jack's backstory into the tales.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye