Sunday Snippet: A Rockin' Yule

We're having unseasonably warm weather for January. The temperature hit seventy degrees today. I'm pretty much planning on having a blizzard during prom season and possibly during my daughter's graduation in May. Just saying.

I've had the unique experience of being project-free for a whole week. I can honestly say it's actually been kind of nice to have the downtime. It's good to catch up on mundane things like clearing my inbox and deleted items files.

Had a semi-decent week of television viewing. I finished up the episode of Frankie Drake and watched a new one. I really love this show.

Caught an episode of Midsomer Murders and finished out the twentieth series. I have a behind the scenes thing to watch then off to series twenty-one. Looking forward to starting it.

Finished the Sapphire and Steel series. I can honestly say the way ended surprised me but not in a bad way. The unique spin on how time functioned ended up being fun to watch.

Also caught the Three Doctors arc of Classic Who. Very interesting to go watch this one because I didn't get to watch during its original run.

Watched two more episodes of Gargoyles. Started the second season, which is a lot longer than I originally thought it was. I've also discovered I'm pretty sure I missed the entire third season of this show. New stuff!!

Started a new episode of Murdoch Mysteries and I'm enjoying it so far. I feel like fans are on borrowed time because sooner or later the shoe is going to drop on William and Miss Hart will be the one to wield it. Not sure how I feel about that, to be honest.

Finished up a Blue Heelers episode and started a new one. Still enjoy this show so much. I love getting a look at how law enforcement works in another country, even if it's fictionalized.

Finally, I've been waiting and waiting for a very long time for an old British show to make its way to the streaming services. It's finally here! I watched the first episode of Peak Practice and I can't wait to watch the episodes with one of my favorite actors. Of course, he doesn't show up until the final season and it's a solid bet I won't be able to wait to watch his episodes, but I'm trying to view in chronological order. We'll see what happens.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from A Rockin' Yule, a Holiday Spirit short.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Saffron Sapienza is in trouble with her hellhound pack for being wild and overindulgent. She's looking for an escape in the hopes of letting her latest scandal die down. Gabriel Gabor has a big decision to make—become nobleman of the nymphs or give the job to his arch rival, a man who tries to take everything Gabriel has. A holiday spirit, Jolly Jingleman, brings the duo together at a secluded bed and breakfast over Yule and works his magick to help the couple find their holiday cheer along with some direction for their future.

And a preview snippet…

Jolly Jingleman, a holiday spirit in the nether realm, put a log on the fire and settled back onto the sofa. He had a new book he could read but he opted for a deck of cards instead. This close to the Yule holiday taught a very valuable lesson...

"Never make plans, start a new book, or go on vacation because, inevitably, the spirit forces will wreck all of the above."

He'd been around long enough in the afterlife to always be prepared—especially during the cheeriest time of the year.

He took a nip of his hot toddy. "So many people lose their holiday happiness." Hence the reason spirits had busy schedules during the last month of the year.

Sure enough, halfway through his third game of solitaire, the low burn of energy buzzed through his system. He scooped the cards up and put them away then retrieved the fluttering notification from the mantle. Settling down on the couch again, he perused the orders to bring two wayward souls together for the holiday.

Leaning back, he set the parchment aside. "Well, well, well. I have my work cut out for me." He brought out the Book of Everything and found the background for Gabriel Gabor, a wood nymph in an ancient glade. "Let's see, Gabriel is up for the nobleman position. His problem?" Jolly read through the lengthy description. "Ah, he's not sure he can get the nymphs on board to integrate into the human realm. Doesn't help his archrival wants the position and likes to spread dissent." Jolly shook his head. "Tyson Truman is a piece of work."

The man didn't care how much nymphs disliked strife. He fanned the flames of fear, wanting to rule over the masses and keep them under his "protection".

Jolly rolled his eyes. "More like control thinly veiled as protection." Truman only cared about lording himself over the other nymphs.

But the nymphs were slowly dying out. Gabriel recognized the need to spread out and gain new blood. If it didn't happen soon, the species would cease to exist.

Jolly turned his attention to Saffron Sapienza, an extraordinarily beautiful hellhound. Tall, darkly exotic in human form, and deadly, but gorgeous in her hound form.

Jolly chuckled. "Whoo, boy. She's a fire cracker."

Saffron tilted the world on its axis no matter where she went. She didn't do anything on purpose. In fact, she rarely enjoyed the attention she received or the havoc it caused within her pack of shifters.

Jolly snorted. "She's a perfect storm of brains, beauty, and unrestrained hellhound blood."

Too bad the DNA limited Saffron's options. Hellhounds had a high sex drive but they mated with one person and they had a switch that flipped when they found their match.

Jolly laughed. "No wonder the spirits needed help on this one."

With the nymphs rarely leaving the glade and Saffron's pack issues, the two wouldn't have met under conventional circumstances.

Jolly rubbed his hands together. "Okay, let's find a place for my charges to explore new possibilities with no distractions."

He thumbed through several locations. The city penthouse would have too many diversions for the potential couple. And the chalet, while lovely, lacked the romantic ambiance Saffron deserved when she finally met her mate. The next location pinged as exactly right.

"Ah... here we go. This will be perfect." Goodacre Bed and Breakfast.

The secluded inn, situated in the nether world, would provide privacy and a charming locale for the duo to discover their future.

Jolly got up and shifted between the veils separating the spiritual realm from the supernatural nether world. "I have a stage to set."

I love writing the holiday spirit sexy shorts. It's fun to come up with ridiculous names for the spirits and create conflict for the fae / supernatural characters.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye