Sunday Snippet: Judge a Book by Its Cover

It's been a wild week. Between work and other commitments, I've been frazzled. My sleep schedule is all over the map and I'm not enjoying the fits and starts of trying to get rest. But … I'll adjust. Hopefully soon.

Our weather has been all over the place. We had a sixty-degree day followed by snow and thirty-four degrees. The day after Thanksgiving is supposed to be in the upper teens for the high. I'm side-eyeing Mother Nature right now.

Work projects are coming in and I think I'm booked through the end of the year. I'm pleased because December can be a sketchy month sometimes. I don't mind downtime, but I'm definitely not prepared to have limited income this year.

Had a terrible week of viewing. Too many distractions and said lack of sleep kept me from getting much watched.

I did catch an episode of Mr. and Mrs. Murder and kind of enjoyed it. Some familiar faces as guest stars this week. The mystery was a little lackluster but a good episode nonetheless.

I also caught some marathons of Midsomer Murders. I kind of love the streaming twenty-four hours of one show channels. It's fun to set a favorite and have a go-to comfort watch whenever I want.

I'm also looking at a few new shows but haven't decided which ones I want to pick up. I'm also hoping to get back to my rewatch of Battlestar Galactica. My viewing partner will help determine if that's going to happen. So much more fun to watch with someone else who loves the show as much as I do.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Judge a Book by Its Cover, a novella that brings a couple together when they bust up a cheating ring.

Here's the miniblurb:

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…

Coorah entered Black Satin Coffeehouse and sighed. "Of course, Zeth arrived early." She'd hoped to have a few minutes to collect her thoughts.

Zeth lifted his chin, acknowledging her arrival.

Whatever. I'm used to flying blind. Winging it had long ago become her default mode.

She ordered a coffee—black, one sweetener, no frou-frou crap—and carried it over to his table.

Settling across from him, she swung her legs under the surface and bumped her knees against his. "Sorry." She crossed her ankles under her chair and tried not to focus on the way their legs remained touching.

Zeth flashed a smile. "No problem. These tiny cafe tables are hell for normal-sized people." He swiveled on the chair slightly and stretched one leg out.

Coorah's lips curved. "Exactly." Considering the coffee shop originally served only fairies, the small furniture made sense…

But the place also made the best java on campus and finally caved in to pressure from the academy and lifted the ban on non-little folk. Didn't mean the management had to make any other accommodations, though. And they didn't.

Coorah popped the lid off her cup. "I did what we discussed. Made copies and returned the originals to the proper class folder." She took a long swallow of her drink. "I have the list of novices who participated, and I'll compare against the next set of tests." She had no doubt the names wouldn't change and figured she might end up adding more.

Zeth nodded. "Good. I've got some feelers out for who might be behind the whole deal." He named a few people.

Coorah grimaced. "I can eliminate one. Alistar McCabe. I went out with the guy." She held up a hand. "I know. What was I thinking?" Shaking her head, she shrugged. "Selling spells, yes, he'd totally try to make a buck that way. But he's not smart enough to come up with the test thing."

Zeth narrowed his eyes for a moment then bobbed his head up and down.

She rather liked he took her word for striking McCabe from the list.

Having a lot of fun with this one. Coorah's taste in men is going up a notch, and she's not sure that's a good thing.

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye