Sunday Snippet: Judge a Book by Its Cover

Still battling the generalized blah left over from the flu. The good news is that I got lots of sleep with naps and getting to bed earlier. The bad news is I'm behind on work projects but I should be able to make up my lost time this week. Fingers crossed anyway.

Had a decent week with television. I caught two episodes of Chicago Med and the second one made me sad. It's kind of the first time I've been hit a little sideways by one of the plot lines.

Enjoyed a holiday episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries. I always find it cool to see how the holidays look in the middle of summer for shows set in New Zealand and Australia. Also started the fourth season of the show and, once again, I love seeing recurring characters pop up when I least expect them.

Caught the second part of Silent Witness and actually enjoyed how it ended. It's another one I'd forgotten.

Watched another arc of Classic Who. I'll be honest, Teegan rather annoys me but I think the character will end up growing on me. I do like Five a lot.

UFO Conspiracies had an interesting episode focused on fireballs. I enjoy seeing how other countries handle sightings.

Caught two episodes of The Muppet Show. Elke Sommer and Sylvester Stallone were the guest stars. I enjoyed the Stallone episode more than I thought I would.

Skated through the season two finale of Prime Suspect. I'd forgotten how awkward and messy that episode ended up being.

Watched the season four finale of Peak Practice. I'm getting into the new partners and I'm glad Andrew is sticking around. Looking forward to starting season five.

Caught another Master Class with LeVar Burton. He talked about podcasting during this lesson and I have an interest in starting one at some point. I got some great information about how to approach the idea.

Enjoyed another episode of Inside the Episodes: The Witcher. Episode ended up being one of my favorites and I loved the behind the scenes insight.

Watched London Live: Jennifer Hudson. I think I like Berlin Live better, but I enjoyed the music from Jennifer.

Caught some New Rugrats episode shorts and a special cast episode. Oddly, there was some footage from episodes I haven't seen yet so I'm hoping that means new ones are on the way at some point. I'll be starting a rewatch of the classic show in the next week.

That's pretty much it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Judge a Book by Its Cover, a novella that has my main characters falling for each other while trying to solve a mystery and avoid a scandal.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Zeth Herrickson has to catch the culprits in a cheating scandal at the academy. Coorah Blair normally sits at the top of his list when things aren't right—except she's the one who brings the matter to his attention. They work together to track down the participants and go after the ringleader, who is much closer to both than they'd believe.

And a preview snippet…

Zeth didn't want the jealous kick when Coorah mentioned dating Alistar McCabe. None of his business who she went out with. Or didn't.

He shuffled his mug on the tray. "The gossip mill is going to have a wild time with speculation about us. Apologies in advance for that." He grimaced.

Coorah waved off the concern. "The grist can only improve my rep. More likely to damage yours though." She smirked.

Zeth huffed out a breath. "Maybe it's time I started to live a little dangerously." Add a little excitement in his life.

Coorah laughed. "We'll see how you feel next time we meet."

Zeth quirked a brow. "Coffee, again?" Might get boring in a hurry.

Coorah shrugged. "Sure. Or we can mix it up a little. I mean, we both have to eat. Why not lunch or dinner?"

Zeth got a jolt at the mention of dinner. An image of her sprawled on his couch after eating takeout took residence in his mind. And stayed there.

He shook his head. "Uh, sure. Either works for me." As long as he didn't get more erotic imagery.

Coorah's lips curved. "Let's try lunch at the Ivy? Day after tomorrow?"

They'd have time to do more digging.

Zeth nodded. "Yeah, that works. They've got the best—"

Coorah finished. "Chicken salad." She closed her eyes in bliss.

Zeth grinned. "Absolutely."

So … they both liked the chicken salad at the Ivy. He wondered what else they had in common. Surprisingly, he couldn't wait to find out.

A bit of a wicked idea hit and he couldn't resist not acting on it. "Coorah, don't flip out on me, but I'm going to kiss you before I leave—just to cement our ruse."

She huffed out a breath. "Nice of you to ask, but not necessary." She leaned across the table and captured his lips in a hard kiss, catching him off guard. "Feel free to pay me back whenever…" She slid off the chair, scooped her coffee cup into her hand, and tossed it in the trash on her way out the door.

Zeth blinked and shook his head. "One of these days, I'll learn." He got up and walked out of the coffee shop in a daze.

Coorah and Zeth are so much fun and having them work together to solve a mystery is a joy to write.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye