Sunday Snippet: Feeding the Fury

The school year is officially over and now the summer fun begins. My daughter leaves for Disney next week to perform with the band and choir at the theme park. She's been organized and semi-packed for almost a full week already. I have no idea where she got that gene… it definitely didn't come from me.

Not a bad week for television. I caught another episode of Endeavor, which I thoroughly enjoy. Ended up with two episodes of Midsomer Murders. I'm winding down the last series or so of John Nettles's tenure.

Caught two episodes of Constantine. Again, I'm enjoying the high levels of quality snark bandied about by John. And I like how his inner demons weigh even heavier than the actual demons he has to thwart. Truly excellent fare.

Getting closer to the season finale of Gotham. Jerome's brand of crazy reaching out beyond the grave to completely encompass Jeremiah is great entertainment. And I truly do love how the other evolving villains continue to percolate their plans behind the scenes.

Chicago Fire and Blindspot are still holding my interest. I am still a little iffy on the whole Roman plan, but I'm invested enough that I want to find out what his actual master plan is.

Caught a few more episodes of Classic Who and should finish up the Dalek storyline soon. Also caught the second episode of Sense 8 and I'm pretty much hooked. I definitely want to find out what the hell is going on with this group.

The Flash season finale ended up being better than I hoped. That said, there could have been about five fewer episodes in this season and the story would have unfolded better. Riverdale threw a blindside or two into their finale and I'm there for whatever happens next. Hopefully it'll be Hiram's head on a pike parading through town. Just saying.

Krypton continues to make me happy. I kind of enjoy the intrigue and seeing how the alliances are constantly shifting because the ground keeps fluctuating under everyone's feet. Very interested in seeing where next season goes… if there is a next season.

Part one of Ghost Squad's season finale ended up being pretty terrific. I do wish there was more information on how the big boss lady gets her cases. I'll honestly not be surprised if she isn't as dirty as the cops she's trying to bring down. We'll see how that plays out.

Started a new to me show on the Roku Channel app. Archangel, I think, originally aired as TV movie, but it's billed as a three episode season. The first show ended up being pretty terrific. I also caught another episode of The Sarah Conner Chronicles on Crackle.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Feeding the Fury, a novella that started with a prompt about writing a story featuring a new commanding officer. The sages decided it would be better to write how a new command structure came to be. They also wanted a paranormal story instead of a science fiction one.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Larue and Wade displease the Fury and she orders them to battle each other in the pyre. But the two top mages decide they won't kill each other for her pleasure, instead they'll invoke the Rite of Phoenix and if they survive, the Fury will have to abdicate her throne.

And a preview snippet…

Wade sensed her presence the moment he completed his punga praeparabit routine. His raging hard-on quickly dissipated and a burst of disappointment swept through him. Wade enjoyed releasing the sexual tension and friction that naturally occurred during the hour-long workout session. He usually stroked his rigid dick to a hard come within minutes of completing the arduous and controlled period of mental and physical training. His balls ached with the break in his daily program. And his mind wanted the enhanced visions that came with spewing his seed.

He'd discovered many important clues and hints regarding his future, including his perfect match—who had yet to recognize their future intimate connection.

But Helena's appearance left him cold. And his body responded by dispelling the magickal energy replacing the kinetic force with frustration. He slowly inhaled, smelling her arousal and put a scent blocker in place to avoid the cloying aroma. No doubt she wouldn't notice, her talent being manipulation, seduction, and subterfuge to get what she wanted. Using the brute force of her lesser mages—with the promise of a liaison or even a full night in her bed—kept her in power as the Fury.

Wade had leeway. Being her top mage saved him from most of the mundane bullshit she heaped upon the novices, adepts, and masters. Helena didn't encourage higher brain function in her acolytes. Their lack of intelligence suited her and she kept them happy with magickal battles on the pyre.

Helena slithered into the room, impatience oozing from her. "The day has finally arrived. I'll wait no more." She didn't verbalize the words and probably didn't realize she'd telegraphed her thoughts directly into Wade's mind.

Gliding to his side, she turned on the seduction, touching, feeling, trying to get a rise out of Wade. His self-control won the day. He showed no outward sign of reaction, which irritated Helena who expected him to fawn over her preening.

Sorry to disappoint. I won't be performing stud service today.

She stamped her foot when he remained impassive. "Why did you ignore my order? And why are you not responding to me?" Her pointblank questions indicated her level of frustration.

They also gave him cause to provide an honest answer. "My mind and heart are elsewhere." He stirred the pot a little more. "I've gone through the beginning of the binding rite."

The slap of her hand against his face resounded in the alcove. "I didn't give you permission to bind with anyone." She snarled, spitting each syllable out between clenched teeth.

Wade kept his anger in check, responding with cool aplomb. "As the Fury, you know the rite isn't always in your control." The Fates trumped all, answering to no one in the realm. "The mystical change overtook me unexpectedly and I'm now bound to the path." And he'd gladly walk wherever fate led him, especially if it led him far away from Helena.

Her chest heaved with rage. "Who? I demand to know who you're bound to." No doubt so she could immediately attempt to break the bond.

Fat chance he'd let her. And he had a layer of protection here, too. One that would buy some time to figure a way out from under her thumb.

He shook his head. "I have to refuse. The other person isn't aware yet." When Helena discovered who his life mate would be, she'd lose her collective shit.

Helena leveled a cold stare on him. She tried to take the information from his mind, but he blocked her, slamming a shield in place to keep her from extracting the name. She growled, pissed off he managed to cut her off. She didn't lack skill and he fought to maintain the protective veil when she redoubled her effort.

She gave up, lashing out with a hard kick to his groin. He managed to stay upright, barely.

She whirled and stalked to the exit. "We'll just see if you end up completing the rite. I'm not done with you yet. I want you in my bed and I'll make it happen."

Wade pushed the pain aside and delivered a parting salvo. "You can't control or force the Fates to do your bidding. You know this."

She sent a nasty, frigid glare over her shoulder. "We'll see about that, Wade. We'll see." Leaving the chamber, she snapped her fingers and grabbed the nearest two minions—one male and one female.

Wade limped to the doorway in time to witness how Helena planned to work through her rage.

She barked an order. "Strip." Dropping her robes, she waited for Mack and Dinah to remove their garments. "Get behind me, Mack. I want you in my ass." She grabbed Dinah's arm and pushed her to the floor. "And you will worship my pussy. Now." Cupping her breasts, she ordered the other acolytes to watch and observe only. "No one else receives pleasure until I'm satisfied."

Wade rolled his eyes and left through a conjured portal. A shower would wash away the stench of dealing with Helena and give him time to plan his next careful move.

In all honesty, this story intrigues me and the sages have a very specific idea of how they want the characters to interact. Here's hoping everything comes together!

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Fancy Meeting You Here

A great week with a busy schedule. The end of the school year is always jammed up with concerts, graduation parties, and last-minute final projects. Never boring.

Good week in television. Watched a little more Classic Who with The Daleks: The Dead Planet and The Survivors. Also caught another episode of Midsomer Murders. Watched the second episode of Constantine and, honestly, I'm enjoying the show. Definitely a good thing to get a better feel for the character since he'll be on Legends this fall.

Gotham continues to be a super-great pleasure to watch. I'm almost caught up and can't wait to see how this season ends. I'm a little on the fence about R'as, but we'll see what happens.

Watched Chicago Fire and Chicago PD. I'm still loving Chicago Fire. Chicago PD not so much. The whole Woods going after Hank thing is too contrived and using one of Hank's people as a mole has been done. Also, the never heard of before sister is too damned convenient. Right now… I'm done. I'll catch up on marathons later. Blindspot, however, is holding my interest. Even if I'm kind of "meh" on Roman being the new instigator, I love the team's new interactions.

The Flash is almost over for the season and I'm ready. DeVoe is becoming my least favorite villain of all time. I'm ready for them to move on and get someone new to be the bad guy. In contrast, Arrow's season finale ended up being one of my favorite episodes. I'm a little bummed Diaz got away. Seriously, I wanted him to either die in a fire or end up behind bars.

Started a new-to-me show on Netflix with Sense8. I'd started this a long time ago and finally finished watching the first episode. I'm now hooked and can't wait to follow the series. I also caught the next to last episode of Riverdale's second season. The reveal of the Black Hood was incredible. Cheryl and Betty teaming up made me happy. I'm ready for Hiram to get what's coming to him in a big way. I'm curious about who the hell attacked Archie and Fred and have a sneaking suspicion Hiram's dirty handprints will be all over that deal. FP carrying Jughead broke my heart. I'm so ready to watch the finale now!!

Caught another episode of Krypton and, holy hell, the maneuvering and shifting allegiances is kind of fun to watch. I'm excited to see how the rest of the season goes.

Started The Batman season three and thoroughly enjoyed the show. Also caught another episode of Ghost Squad and still enjoy how fine a line Amy has to walk to get to the truth of corruption. Her interaction with Pete is also a lot of fun to watch. On tap for today is another episode of Endeavor and probably some additional Classic Who.

Whew! That wraps up television for this week. Tonight's post is from Fancy Meeting You Here, a novella that started with a writing community prompt of write a scene or story where the main characters end up in the same bar looking for hookups and find each other instead.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Jonni Mars and Val Janison are enforcers for two opposing mage families and have a friendly rivalry. When Val, a member of the ruling house, shows up at Jonni's favorite underground dive, she's both infuriated and intrigued, and more than a little surprised to meet him under almost normal circumstances.

And a preview snippet…

Jonni Mars balled her hands into fists. "Philan Vellas needs to die." She stood over her best friend's body, Rochelle's neck twisted at an odd angle. "I know that bastard killed her."

And Jonni shouldered the blame. Rochelle called and begged Jonni to meet her at the waterfront. Rochelle wanted to come home, return to the gray way of living.

Jonni almost refused. Rochelle chose to go and embrace the black. The Vellas clan practiced the dark ways and ruthlessly policed their members. They also recruited heavily from the gray, the fringe dwellers that didn't have a chosen preference for either the white or the black.

Jonni bent down, careful to avoid moving her friend. "I should've been here." Instead, Jonni decided to let Rochelle wait it out a little.

And it cost Rochelle her life.

So what if Rochelle let a guy come between their friendship? Yeah, but the guy in question leads the Vellas clan. Big deal. True friends watched out for each other, even when they made shitty decisions. Not that Rochelle stood much of a chance once Philan set his sights on her. Rochelle succumbing to the black had everything to do with Philan's seductive ability, both physically and mentally.

Jonni sighed. "Look where it got you." Sprawled on a dock, pale and lifeless.

Rochelle couldn't or refused to do the things Philan requested of her. I can't do what he asks me to do. And he's angry all the time. Jonnie had tried to tell Rochelle. Philan burned through companions on a regular basis. None lasted long and if they didn't prove useful, he cut ties.

Or throats.

Jonni made a quick call to her handler, Butch Nelson, and explained what happened. He reacted pretty much as expected, only slightly more violently because of who it involved. Rochelle had blood ties to the second son of the ruling Marsoni family, illegitimate though they might be. The Marsoni clan claimed relatives from both the black and white factions, but always maintained their powerbase on the fringe, firmly in the gray.

Butch growled. "I'll send a cleanup crew. Don't even think about leaving until they get there." As if.

Jonni snorted. "You know I won't." She had enough rage to keep anyone at bay.

Butch lowered his voice. "Keep your schedule clear. I'll find out where the bastard is and give you free rein."

Jonnie like the sound of Butch's plan. She didn't have a lot of use for dark arts practitioners. Hell, she didn't care for the do-no-harm crowd either. Jonni's healthy dislike for both sides made her popular as an enforcer for the gray's ruling family. Her loyalty stayed with them. But taking out a clan leader would need a sanctioned warrant from the Marsonis.

Considering the blood tie, Jonni didn't doubt Butch would get one.

Jonni shook her head. "Daddy's not going to be happy, Rochelle." Mario Marsoni would want someone's head on a pike for the death of his daughter.

Jonni intended to deliver Philan Vellas's to him.

I'm excited to see where this one goes. The sages have a fairly clear idea of what's going to happen, but they sometimes decide to veer off into the unknown. LOL

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Fan the Flames (Cupid's Bow)

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. Whether you have offspring, fur babies, or play a surrogate parent role for someone, you're awesome!

My weekly television roundup is kind of jammed with goodness. I caught two episodes of Krypton and I'm completely sold on this show. I'm hoping it gets another season.

Also caught two episodes of Endeavor. Finished up the first series and started the second. I rather enjoy this show and really like the actor in the lead role of Endeavor Morse.

My DVDs this week were movies. Blackhat and Red Dawn. I didn't finish Red Dawn but I'll catch it at another time. For me, the original Red Dawn is going to be hard to top.

Finished up the first arc of Classic Who with "An Unearthly Child". I also started "The Daleks" and watched about half of the first episode. Over on CW Seed, I started the live action version of Constantine and enjoyed the first episode. I'm hoping to get through the whole season before new episodes of Legends of Tomorrow begin.

I still love Gotham. The totally batshit craziness brings me a ton of joy with each episode. I'm so happy this show truly found its footing and delivers great viewing with each new week.

Also caught some additional season six episodes of Chicago Fire and another from season five of Chicago PD. I'm a little miffed they're making a mole of one of my fave characters but I'll see how it all plays out. I truly hate Woods though. Just saying.

Arrow and The Flash both had great episodes. I like seeing the two couples work through their roadblocks. That said, I honestly can't wait to see both villains go down. I'm pretty much done with being patient.

Riverdale brought more crazy and I'm still an episode behind. I do like how much tension simmers below the surface and how quickly alliances have to be made and discarded. Kudos to Mark Consuelos. He makes me totally hate Hiram. I also have a small suspicion about who fired the shots at the mayoral debate but I'll refrain from saying… in case I'm completely off my guess. LOL

I got another episode of Blindspot in and, well, I'm trying to figure out Roman's goal. I really don't want him to be another Shepherd so here's hoping that's not the direction they're going in.

Quick mention for Ghost Squad. Caught two more episodes and seriously enjoy the hell out of this show. The emotional toll is interesting to watch and the slow erosion of trust in anything also packs a punch. Great stuff.

Brief shout out for The Sarah Conner Chronicles. Rewatched the pilot episode and, damn, I forgot how awesome that was.

Last but not least… some thoughts on Jessica Jones. I finished the second season and honestly hate Trish with the passion of a thousand burning suns. I have no idea where they'll take her if the show has a third season, but off a tall building in Manhattan wouldn't bother me one damn bit. If they can redeem her, I'd be on board, but I'm honestly not all that interested in seeing a redemption arc for her. I hate her that much right now. I do hope Malcolm and Jessica end up back on good terms and I was happy to see Jessica stop by to see Oscar and the kid. I'd welcome a third season if we get one.

And that's it for my jam-packed week in television. Tonight's post is from Fan the Flames, a Cupid's Bow tale.

Here's the mini-blurb:

A modern day cupid discovers a couple with matching auras and thinks he'll have an easy time matching them up. Right... not so much. While Jamie and Alix definitely have the hots for each other, one big obstacle stands in their way—Jamie's job.

And a preview snippet…

"Hey, Joe. I'm on my way. Got a slow start this morning."

Jamie O'Riley hated being late. And he loathed leaving voice mails when he really needed to talk to a live person. But at least he'd called in a head's up to one of his coworkers.

Known as Jammer to his friends, Jamie had a thing for punctuality. Given his profession, that sometimes seemed odd. Emergency calls ran long, shifts went into overtime, and buildings burned at no one's convenience.

Jamie gave up arguing the logic of being on time whenever possible a long time ago.

Another thing he hated? Getting roped into sitting on committees. Especially when it involved him losing a bet.

Just because he had an interest in architecture and design didn't mean he wanted to sit through endless meetings about the building and interior work of their new fire station.

And okay, Mojo owed Jamie the payback for letting it slip Mojo had started dating the monster truck rally girl… woman… whatever, for which the rest of the crew spent way too much time ribbing him over. But the guy didn't have to volunteer Jamie, did he?

Mojo's little prank stuck Jamie directly on the stupid approval committee. The one who decided today would be the day to finish up the presentations and make a choice for interior designer.

Of course, no one anticipated it would be the worst of the worst days for him. He hadn't been scheduled for a double shift. And he certainly hadn't expected to lose a victim—a kid, no less—to what appeared to be vehicular manslaughter.

Not the best circumstances to work with—zero sleep and not enough coffee in the world to get rid of the monster headache he had going on.

He should get a double espresso, but no, he didn't have time to duck into the coffee shop. Besides, he couldn't stomach the flirty barista today. Her double entendres usually amused him, but not after the forty-eight hours he'd just had.

And yeah, he'd considered taking her up on the blatant, in his face, wanna get busy innuendo more than once. He'd started relationships with less to go on. Not that any of them lasted long.

He'd have to be satisfied with the steaming mug he'd brewed while he showered to wash the stench of the last few days off this morning. Getting ten hours of sleep first would have been nice. Hell, five hours would've been great.

Coffee would be served at the presentation. At least he hoped so. He might have to maim or kill someone if there wasn't any available.

Pulling into the parking lot, he cursed at the time. Ten minutes late. He rolled to a stop and cut the engine. Glancing in the rearview mirror, he hastily ran his fingers through his hair, trying to tame the too long length. His plan had been to get it cut yesterday, but that didn't work out at all. Later today, if he had to do it himself.

Popping open the door, he grabbed his coffee and slid out of his truck and locked the vehicle. Pocketing his keys, he strode toward the station. With any luck, the three designers would get their ideas out of the way in short order.

If not… there might have a good chance of being treated to the sound of his snoring.

Jamie's going to wish he'd been able to catch some sleep once he gets into the meeting. He won't know which way is up when he meets Alix.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Events in Motion

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 Events in Motion, a novella that started with a writing community prompt of creating a scene with whispering, a temple, and a totem. I liked the challenge.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Fate has a plan for Drury, one she's not all that certain she wants to follow. Porter doesn't believe in destiny, but when Drury sets a chain of events in motion, he has to change his perspective or risk losing her to chance.

And a preview snippet…

We're not a couple anymore… why am I here?

Because Drury proved hard to quit. And I'm a sucker for lost causes. Obviously.

Didn't help she'd ended their relationship. If he'd had a choice, he would've tried to work out their differences. Yeah, she had a heavy burden. Had been through a life-altering experience—one he didn't believe in or understand. But she didn't even try to explain, choosing to cut him out of her life instead.

Love wore many layers and he hadn't been able to shed more than maybe the top tier. The one that acknowledged they weren't together anymore. Didn't stop him from wanting her or keep her from taking up space in his head or his heart.

Dammit. What an idiot.

Dru put her hand on his chest. "Porter, you're overthinking things again." She sat up and maneuvered around to straddle his lap.

His body reacted, same as always whenever her succulent ass got within contact range. His dick went hard and nudged up against the apex of her thighs. Exactly what she wanted.

Her mouth twitched into a sexy smirk. "Mmm. See what happens when your brain shuts down?" She leaned in, meshing her lips with his, her tongue seeking entrance.

Porter groaned and gave her access, which she took full advantage of. Her hands grabbed the hem of his shirt, lifting the fabric up and over his head, barely breaking the kiss to do so.

This is not a good idea.

Dude, as if you're putting up a fight.

Seriously? Have you met Dru? She won't let anything keep her from what she wants.

She wants your dick, man.  

Yeah, she did. She had his pants undone and her palm wrapped around the heavy length. Her thumb worked over the sensitive tip and Porter swallowed down a moan. Ground rules. They needed some ground rules before this went further.

He eased away, cupping her face. "Dru… we should probably—"

She cut him off. "Please, Port. Please." A wobble of desperate need quivered in her plea.

And… Boom! Screw the rules. He dropped right into giving Dru whatever she needed mode.

Gotta say the challenge of writing Dru and Porter is an enjoyable one. Making sure the conflict doesn't overshadow their connection is fun.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye