Sunday Snippet: Red Cap

I wish I could say it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but it's so not. LOL I'm hoping I can add some holiday cheer to the casa sometime this week. I think I'm going to make 2020 my year to finally purge a ton of stuff we no longer need or use.

Didn't have a great week of television, but did get a few things watched. We got a Disney + account through our wireless carrier so I did start a rewatch of the Gargoyles series. I have so many fond memories of this show when my oldest was little.

I finished the Gilmore Girls marathon and had some pretty intense feels. I watched sporadically when it originally aired, mainly because I had three youngish kiddos at the time. I really love the vibe of this show, even when I wanted to strangle the characters sometimes.

Caught another episode of Midsomer Murders and also realized series twenty isn't the last one. Yay!!

Caught a full story arc of Sapphire and Steel along with a full arc of Classic Who. I'd forgotten how much I truly disliked the Master way back when.

I finished out the week with The Trouble with Mistletoe, a Passionflix original. If you're not a member, consider signing up. I love the service!

That's pretty much it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Red Cap, an urban fairy tale that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Magan Drone, a red-capped tree nymph, is ordered to protect Cass Warrison, an earth sprite tasked with guarding the land from the wolf-shifter clan. Magan isn't thrilled with the duty—she and Cass share a complicated past—but her handy skill with a crossbow can stop an evil prophecy from coming to light. She'll do her job and save the day, but no way will she let Cass back into her life.

And a preview snippet…

Cass jogged down the steps and paused outside his grandfather's study. "I'm going to patrol the woods." There'd been a lot of movement on the fringe and Cass didn't like it one damn bit.

Cecil angled his head around. "Not sure that's a good idea." His gnarled fingers rubbed at his achy knee.

Cass launched a defense. "Because it's me? Too bad, Grandfather. I need to know what's going on out there." He pushed away from the door jamb and entered the room.

Cecil waved a hand. "Of course, I'll always worry when you're out there. But the reason it might not be a good idea is because we're due for rain." He quirked an eyebrow. "Hard to see when it's coming down in buckets."

Cass stopped short, thrown a little by the easy cave-in. "Er… I'll keep it brief then. Mainly want the others to know I'm out and about. If the weather turns, I'll head back in." He waited a beat, expecting more push back from his grandfather.

Cecil lifted his chin. "See that you do. Supposed to be a soggy night." He glanced out the window. "But it's nice out there right now. Try the western path through the glade. Always a nice walk in the late afternoon."

Cass blinked, a little surprised by the advice. "Uh, thanks. I'll do that." He turned and left the study, chalking up the amiable conversation to the fact the old man had starting handing over the reins of leadership.

Not that Cass wanted to rush into being the co-magistrate for the enchanted glade, especially since he'd share the position with Milton Drone. He made his way to the front door and left, heading in the westerly direction his grandfather recommended. Cass had a ton of respect for Milt and thoroughly enjoyed the man's sage wisdom as well as his company. What Cass didn't enjoy…

"His niece, Magan." Or, more to the point, her biting tongue.

Come on, Cass. You know exactly why she all but froths at the mouth when you're around.

Okay, yeah, he did. And he'd deserved her cool disdain after they parted ways almost a decade ago. But… it had been ten years.

He shoved his hands in his pockets. "No one holds a grudge like Magan." Even after he apologized numerous times.

She could cut him a break if she wanted to.

Instead, she'd rather slice him to shreds with well-aimed barbs—literally and figuratively.

I love to put a new spin on an old tale. The red riding hood vibe is fun to write, especially with the twist of gender-swapping the characters.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Fan the Flames

September 27, 2015

*sigh*

Sit back and get a little comfy. I'm going to blather on about my disappointment in the new season of Doctor Who, which feels almost sacrilegious, but necessary. Maybe if I purge myself, I'll enjoy the show more.

So… as mentioned before, I'm not a huge fan of Capaldi as the Doctor. This has nothing to do with his acting. I enjoy his work. But… here's the thing… I just can't get past the fact he's been two other characters besides the Doctor in the Whoverse—Caecilius in The Fires of Pompeii and John Frobisher in Torchwood: Children of Earth. But wait! What about Eve Myles? She played a character in Doctor Who before being in Torchwood. Why doesn't that bother me?

One simple reason. The character she played in The Unquiet Dead, Gwyneth, by rights, could have been an ancestor of Torchwood's Gwen, so… my brain has no problem wrapping around the idea. But Capaldi's characters? Not so much. Wanna know why?

Because THE DOCTOR doesn't have ancestors on earth. Even if I bought the idea Caecilius could be John Frobisher's ancestor, I can't buy the idea they're somehow related to the Doctor. EVER. It's just a big, fat NOPE.

Do I take this Whoverse stuff way too seriously? Oh, hell yes, I do. LOL But… I miss the continuity of the earlier Davies seasons. The sweeping emotional arcs we got in even a single episode. And Moffat is more than capable of writing that way. I mean Blink is one of the most emotional roller coaster episodes I've EVER watched on TV, so he's got the chops to connect with me on that emotional level… when he's not trying to be too quirky or clever or whatever the hell he's trying to be with the gimmicky shtick he's been throwing out lately, especially with the two opening episodes of this season. They were disjointed and messy and I'm honestly not sure what I was watching, but it's not the Doctor Who I love.

And no worries if anyone vehemently disagrees with me. I'm totally okay with the rest of the planet loving the Doctor as much as they always have. I'm just not quite there yet—maybe I never will be—but I'm hoping Moffat rises to the challenge of keeping me as a viewer.

Whew. I feel WAY better now. Thanks for letting me vent. LOL I think I'll rant a little more on my sister blog, or you know, copy this and post it there, too. :D

I could go on about having new episodes of Lost Girl to watch, but I'll save it for a later post.

Moving on… Tonight's post is from Fan the Flames, a novella with a very dapper cupid who has his work cut out getting the hero and heroine together.

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…

Alixandra Golden pulled into the parking lot of Station Ninety-Five and cut the engine of her brand new, previously-owned vehicle. Only three years old, it still had warranty left on it, but a price tag she could afford.

Especially if she left the design firm she'd taken a vacation from.

She exhaled slowly. "Here goes nothing and everything."

Popping the trunk, she slid out of the car and walked around to retrieve the portfolio that held her storyboards. She shouldn't be as nervous as she was. She'd worked on this project in her free time for several months and knew the design inside and out. The exterior of the new station house, situated behind the current one, only had to pass inspection before the work could begin on the interior living and working space.

The presentation didn't worry her. The outcome did. If she landed this, she'd be able to work for herself—one of her life goals—almost two full years sooner than she'd planned. 

Her dad, a battalion chief—though not with this station—could've probably paved the way for the job with a simple recommendation. The regular bidding process through the city didn't come into play for the project. The funds had been earmarked with an endowment from a very grateful citizen whose house had been saved by the department.

It didn't hurt he happened to be the fourth wealthiest person in the entire state.

Alix specifically asked her father to take a giant step back and keep his yap shut. Two of her four brothers, three of her dozen plus cousins, an uncle, a godfather and one of her best friends had all been sworn to secrecy as well. Thankfully not all of them worked for the city, but all were employed by the service.

Alix already had an inside track, growing up in and around the fire service. She spent her childhood crawling through and hanging out at station houses. The firsthand experience would be reflected in her design for the residential rooms.

Grabbing her oversized case and the wooden folding easel, she propped both against the bumper of the car and pulled out a small mirror from her handbag. She checked her makeup, smoothed on a bit of lip gloss, and made sure her mascara hadn't smeared. Then she slid her feet into a pair of mid-heel pumps, tossed her beloved flip-flops in the trunk and closed it.

One of the reasons she wanted to start her own design business? To shed the need to wear professional garments all the time. Of course she'd dress appropriately when dealing with clients, but while doing the actual design work, she favored casual, comfortable clothing.

She checked her linen skirt for wrinkles, took a deep breath, grabbed her stuff, and entered the building, a full thirty minutes early for the meeting. Her best friend, Joe, one of ninety-five's firefighters, met her at the door.

Alix gave him a quick smile. "Did you get it?" She hoped he remembered.

Joe nodded. "Of course I did. Five gallons of rocky road, stashed in the freezer, waiting for your grand gesture." He grabbed her easel and carried it into the conference room.

Alix hugged him with her free arm. "Thank you. You're the best." She wanted to follow custom and since she had the first spot for the presentation, she knew the drill… ice cream all around.

She might be cheating just a little, but showing the committee she had a strong grasp of how the firefighters and paramedics lived while on shift, should give her a leg up. Breaking the ice by using one of many traditions also boosted her confidence, which she'd take.

Joe flashed his lopsided grin. "You'll blow them all away, Alix." He gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek. "I'm gonna go guard the freezer until after you're done."

Alix chuckled and waved him off, looking forward to some quiet time to run through her plans one last time.

I've had so much fun writing this one. It's almost ready for beta readers!

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Embrace the Magic—A Magical Affair

Welcome to the weekly blog hop hosted by the Paranormal Love Wednesdays blog.

Readers: Embrace the magic, the mystical, the totally out there. Witches, werewolves, shapeshifters, magicians, wizards—the dearly twisted beings we all know and love. Or sink into a world with gods and goddesses, unearthly forces, or cupids, imps, and leprechauns. If it's otherworldly, bring on the fun. Authors are sharing short excerpts or blurbs from their books or works in progress.

Please enjoy and consider picking up the full book by clicking on the buy link.

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Today I'm sharing how Romy and Stacie plan the wonderful weekend for Heath in A Magical Affair, my fantasy ménage set around Halloween.

"You're sure about this?" Stacie Williams plopped down beside Romy Bludd. "Our friendship is more important than me having a weekend of super-hot sex with an awesome guy like Heath."

Romy smiled. "Stace, I'm okay because you're my best friend. Heath and I've had this fantasy for two years, and I had issues with bringing someone else in and not being able to control everything." She paused. "But I know you almost better than I know myself. You won't go over-the-top stalker, and you're not harboring any deep, unrequited love for Heath. You just appreciate his hard body and screaming good looks." Kicking her feet up onto the table, she shrugged. "You're not in a relationship at the moment, so no awkward trying to explain why you're traipsing off to a magical mansion for a Halloween weekend tryst—and don't want company."

Stacie grinned. "You're lucky I'm at loose ends and haven't had time to do more than look for a hookup." She propped her feet beside Romy's.

Romy frowned. "I can't believe you were gone for ten months. I missed you." She nudged Stacie's shoulder. "You're never allowed to take off for training abroad again."

Stacie laughed. "Think of it this way, you and Heath had plenty of time to work the kinks out and look at you now." She turned and faced Romy. "Rock solid and happier than I've ever seen you."

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Book Tagline: A mansion atop a wellspring of magic lets Romy, Heath, and Stacie live out their fantasies.

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Available on Amazon

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Book Blurb: Romy Bludd and Heath Graystone are very adventurous and happily explore the wilder side of sex. Romy meets Jarvin and Vivica, who give her an opportunity to spend Halloween weekend at Magic Meadows, a mansion sitting atop an ancient wellspring of magic. Romy accepts the offer because she and Heath want to add someone else to the mix and Romy's best friend, Stacie, is back from a ten month stay abroad. The timing couldn't be better for the trio to live out their lustful fantasies.

The mansion and its owners are capable of wondrous transformations, giving Romy and Stacie a wealth of choices to rock Heath's world. A character from his favorite urban thriller, a cougar on the prowl, the plain librarian who wants to hook up with her boss, a roller derby diva with aggression issues, and a reporting duo with blackmail on their minds are on the agenda for the romp-filled weekend.

Heath is thrilled, but he really wants one thing—for Romy to give up control and let him call the shots.

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Please stop by my website

Embrace more great reads! Visit the other participating authors.

Sunday Snippet: Fan the Flames

Week four…I think it's safe to say I'm getting in the habit now. :D

Seriously, I've read and seen that posting fresh content really helps when readers want to interact and/or check out an author they've discovered or grown to like. Thankfully, once I get into a groove, I tend to stay there.

Okay, for this week's Sunday Snippet, I'm featuring a preview from Fan the Flames. This story got a start almost twenty years ago. I know! What the hell, right? What can I say? Except I'm really glad I NEVER throw out anything I've started. LOL

In all honesty, this book needed the hook and that didn't come to me until recently. What's the hook? Lovejoy the Cupid, of course. :D He's what the story needed to mesh and gel…and get Alix and Jamie together.

Let's start with a tag line:

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 now for the preview snippet (featuring Lovejoy)…

Lovejoy felt the zing. The one indicating two potential matches were in the same vicinity. He closed his eyes and let his instinct guide him.

Up and over the high rise office buildings of the city, through the factory district, onward, across the river and down into the charmingly quaint suburb of Reese Woods.

It had been a long while since he'd found his quarry on the outskirts of the city. This must be a special case.

Lovejoy picked a wrought iron park bench and settled down to wait. He watched the humans go about their everyday lives and wondered which two unsuspecting people he'd be zapping with his arrow.

Time would tell. He'd see the auras of the couple and know.

Pulling a bag from his coat pocket, he figured he might as well feed the birds while he passed the time.

Does anyone remember The Avengers? Not the Marvel Comics heroes, but the BBC television show? Patrick Macnee and Diana Riggs? My inspiration for Lovejoy is Steed. Not in the super spy way, but more in the uber cultured man kind of way. :D

That's it for this week. Stay tuned for more.

Cheers!

Skye