Sunday Snippet: Slip of the Tongue

The end of June came a lot quicker than I expected. This month flew by, and I'm not sure I got as much accomplished as I hoped to.

The weather is still fairly mild for June but the heat index for the upcoming week makes me want to weep. It's going to be so, so hot.

Continued to have a busy work week. Several new potential projects are waiting in the wings and I'm excited about them. One is a fiction project with a really intriguing concept. Two others are memoir life-story projects. I've been working on quite a few of those and they're a nice change of pace. I continued working on the developmental edit, pulling a few more files into the master document. Also finished up a copy edit and started a new one.

Had a less than stellar viewing week. I felt a little bit off all week and couldn't focus on viewing new stuff. I did several binge marathons of early seasons of Death in Paradise for background noise. I also got a considerable amount of writing done because the sages were banging on the door in my brain.

I did watch another behind the scenes bonus episode of Foyle's War. This one showed a day in the life of an episode. Some great interviews with the cast and crew.

Also caught another episode of Tales from Irish Castles. This one explored tower houses and it seems like there are a bunch of them dotting the landscape. Really love getting an inside look at some of these castles.

Started an episode of Silent Witness and made it about halfway through. The subject matter is really tough to view and, honestly, hits a little hard. I don't know who is writing the show at the moment but, man, they're dead-on with the stuff that makes people flinch.

That's it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Slip of the Tongue, a novella where the main characters have to work through a betrayal to find their way to romance.

Here's the miniblurb:

Sylvie Brown and Holden Baker are word alchemists, creating the strongest, most intricate spells in their realm. One slip of the tongue can bring catastrophic destruction … or it can garner surprising results. Sylvie learns two little words can hold a wealth of meaning.

And a preview snippet…

Holden grabbed Sylvie, hauling her up. "I didn't do this." He had no idea who the hell did.

The premier nodded. "No, dear boy, I did." He glanced over his shoulder. "A simple summoning spell worked nicely." His lips twitched a little.

Boone glared. "Depends on who you ask. I don't take kindly to being yanked out of my district."

Sylvie stiffened. "But why? Why bring him here when we've worked so hard to keep him out." Her voice went hoarse on the word.

The premier squared his shoulders. "To settle this once and for all. If he wants a war, he'll be sorely disappointed. If I can pull him to me at my will, he can't hope to keep his power … not when word gets out."

Boone snarled. "I won't stop, old man. You caught me off guard once, it won't happen again." An angry glare accompanied the threat.

The premiere tsked. "I figured as much. And you're wrong…" He snapped his fingers and Boone changed into a large, gleaming crystal. "I caught you a second time, too." He reached down and picked up the purple facet.

Holden blinked then laughed. "I'll be damned. We should've thought of that." A rather genius solution to the Boone problem.

The premier glanced in Holden's direction. "Sometimes, the old ways are the best."

Holden flushed under the scrutiny. "About that, I can explain." Or he'd at least try.

The premier waved off the idea. "No need. But you do owe us recompense. I think finishing the job you began will do to start. Mr. Thargren won't be the last to try force, but we will be opening a dialog to find a peaceful solution." He turned his attention to Sylvie. "I'll be relying on you for assistance, my girl."

Her head bowed. "Yes, sir."

Holden stepped up. "If I can be of help, please count on me." He'd do whatever he could to move things toward a good outcome.

The premier held Holden's gaze for several long moments. "Won't be up to me." He glanced toward Sylvie then back to Holden. "Prove your worth, son." He stepped back inside his chambers and closed the door.

Holden's respect for the man grew by more than one notch. No wonder his grandpa liked Angus so much.

He turned and faced Sylvie. "I'll be ready, bright and early, to start on the reinforcements."

She nodded and started to walk away, her movements stiff and weary.

She got to the end of the corridor before she paused, looking back over her shoulder. "Thank you. For tonight." She didn't wait for a response, continuing away from him.

Holden watched her with a heavy heart. "I have a lot of ground to make up. And it's not gonna be easy."

I love how this story is coming together. Holden has his work cut out and he'll rise to the challenge.

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye