Sunday Snippet: Rack and Ruin

I'm not quite sure where the month of September went but it's almost over. The weather in Ohio is currently fall-like. Not sure how long that will last. I could actually get behind having it stick around for a while.

Pretty decent week of viewing. I'm back on my usual schedule for the most part. I'll be starting a new show on one of my streamers, but I'm not sure if I'll stick with it or give up that slot for now.

Watched another episode of Ted Lasso. Gotta say, I definitely see the appeal and how so many people have utter undying love for the show. I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

Caught another episode of the Agatha Christie Hour. I loved the twists and turns in this one. Good intrigue without being a full-blown mystery.

Enjoyed the first part of Silent Witness. There's a good mysterious vibe in this two-parter and I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out this week.

Started season twenty-six of Classic Who and loved seeing the colonel back again. I'm looking forward to the next episode.

Watched another Strangest Things episode and learned about desert glass. Well worth the view for that alone.

Caught an episode of The Book of Boba Fett. Geez, a lot happened and I'm still trying to process everything. Definitely need to catch up on season two of The Mandalorian to fill in the missing blanks. Looking forward to doing that.

Only Murders in the Building is such a terrific show. The pacing is excellent and the reveals are pretty much perfect. Hat tip to all involved in the writing and acting.

Enjoyed another episode of Blue Heelers and it actually ended up breaking my heart a little. One of the scenes hit a little too close for comfort involving a pet that had to be put to sleep.

Caught another MasterClass lesson with Roxane Gay. She discussed finding an agent and what to pay attention to when dealing with contracts.

Watched another Umbrella Academy episode. I'm definitely getting hooked on this one. I love the characters and how they interact with each other and outsiders. Klaus is a wicked-fun gem. Also nice to see Luther before his transformation. Felt horrible for Diego and my heart really goes out to Vanya. Loved the scene with Allison, though. Great stuff.

Enjoyed two more episodes of Classic Rugrats. Two of my favorites were in this bunch. Anytime Angelica is foiled by Susie is worth the watch.

Also caught another episode of Batman: The Animated Series. This ended up being a good one. I like the episodes when there isn't a major villain from the rogue gallery for Batman to deal with.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Rack and Ruin, a novella where the characters know a secret about each other and how they come to an understanding about keeping them.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Vespa Thorn, a maintenance adept for the Mage Ministry of Defense, is an addictive gambler—whenever, wherever, she'll go all in. Hale Walterson, a special forces soldier has a problem with sex—he can't get enough of it. Vespa wants Hale, but he's the one thing she won't bet on … until he challenges her to keep up with him.

And a preview snippet…

Hale bent over his stun-winder cleaning the parts, as recommended. Okay, more like threatened. He could hear Vespa's voice in his head, giving him hell for not taking care of her equipment.

His lips quirked. "She'll kick my ass if I bring the gun back to her in crappy shape." Temptation itched to make him do it—just to get a reaction.

Instead, he dabbed more oil on the charging station.

Footsteps paused beside him. "Hale … do my eyes deceive me or are you being a very good boy and cleaning your weapon?" The low purr of Vespa's voice surrounded him.

Wouldn't it be his luck? She came to him instead of the other way around.

Hale shot her a glance. "If you're going to chew my ass, I'd rather it not be over work." Heh, let her dissect that statement.

Her eyes widened. "Exactly what should I chew your ass over?" She waited a beat. "Or where should I chew it?" A thread of humor laced her words.

Hale glanced up. "Off the top of my head I can think of several things, but a bed comes to mind first." With vivid clarity.

Vespa let out a low whistle. "Well, now, that's an interesting proposition." She angled closer and lowered her voice. "Did the two honeyed-up ladies you shared a suite with leave any marks on your ass the other night?" Her finger trailed along the edge of the table.

He dropped the trigger mechanism and nodded for her to take a seat across from him. "How do you know about that?" His discussed ass could get sanctioned if anyone else discovered his arrangement with Tina and Nina.

Vespa reddened and glanced away. "By accident." Squaring her shoulders, she faced him again.

He responded with a quirked eyebrow. He couldn't wait to hear her explanation. How did she accidentally discover his standing appointment with the twins?

She sighed, her shoulders drooping. "Okay, my curiosity got the best of me." She met his gaze. "I followed you." She had the grace to flush a tender shade of pink.

Adding a pretty shade to her cheeks didn't score many points. But, even pissed off, he had to admire she owned following him? That took some stones.

Leaning forward, he pinned her down with a look. "Why the fuck would you do that?" She'd tailed him to the seventh floor, which didn't make any sense.

Vespa shrugged. "I have no idea. You were in civilian clothes." Her tone indicated chagrin.

For good reason. What the hell?

Hale frowned. "When did that become a good motivation to invade someone's privacy?" Okay, he pushed boundaries that didn't exist with that one.

Vespa snorted. "In a hotel lobby? Are you kidding?" She added a dramatic eye roll for effect.

Hale lifted a shoulder. "Doesn't explain how civilian clothes made you follow me." What did one have to do with the other?

Vespa waved a hand. "Look, I've never seen you dressed up—you've always been m-mod gear. Is that a valid reason to tail you? Probably not. And I didn't do it to be nosy or to bust your chops."

Hale tsked. "Then why mention it?" Seriously?

Vespa leaned in a little closer and pitched her voice low again. "Because you weren't exactly discreet. There are security cameras everywhere and you didn't even try to dodge them." The words hissed out between her lips.

Did she consider him stupid? He worked security. He knew the exact location of every camera in the Willow.

Hale frowned. "I always do an invisibility spell."

She gave him a pointed look. If he'd been invisible, she wouldn't have been able to follow him.

His head dropped back. "Shit. You're right. I didn't use one that night." Careless of him, for sure.

Vespa's posture relaxed. "I'm not trying to police your extracurriculars, but being careful might not hurt." She folded her arms on the table.

She had a valid point … but part of the reason he'd forgotten the spell lay at her feet. "While we're bringing up potential problems, you're not exactly Miss Perfection."

She frowned. "You're turning the tables on me?" She pushed away from the table, scooting the chair out.

Hale shook his head. "No. Okay, yes." He reached out to stop her from leaving. "But your concern is valid so I'm sharing mine with you."

Vespa crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, what did I do?"

Hale nodded to her work suit. "Do you always gamble in your work clothes?"

He scored a point there. Her eyes went wide and her shoulders slumped.

I love how this story is coming together. Vespa and Hale have some vices and they're going to find a way to make sure no one discovers them.

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Rack and Ruin

I have a new furnace! It's shiny and pretty and takes up a lot less space than our old one did. And it's amazing how nice and toasty the house is again. Here's hoping the much-improved energy efficiency pays off too.

My workload is still crazypants. Trying to get prepped for having the equipment going in and out of our house didn't leave me a lot of time the past week. I also have a goal of seriously getting rid of a bunch of stuff that's been collecting in odd, random places for the past two decades.

I did get some television watched, starting with another episode of Midsomer Murders. I think I might have found the show I'll be replacing Midsomer with, but I have made a final decision yet.

Caught a few more episodes of Sapphire and Steel and watched a full arc of Classic Who. Sapphire and Steel is actually pretty interesting with a different style.

Watched a Halloween episode of Murdoch Mysteries, which ended up being pretty fun. I love it when William has to deal with people and things he doesn't feel comfortable with. Pretty cool variation on the theme song also.

Also caught another episode of Frankie Drake Mysteries. I really do like this show and the friendship between Frankie, Trudy, Flo, and Mary. My favorite season is still the first one, but if this is going to be a long-haul show, I'm down with the changes to the style.

That's pretty much it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Rack and Ruin, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Vespa Thorn, a maintenance adept for the Mage Ministry of Defense, is an addictive gambler—whenever, wherever, she'll go all in. Hale Walterson, a special forces soldier has a problem with sex—he can't get enough of it. Vespa wants Hale, but he's the one thing she won't bet on until he challenges her to keep up with him.

And a preview snippet…

Hale Walterson bit back a groan. Just his luck the best tech pulled duty today because she always found a reason to bust his balls. Blowing out a long breath, he strode into the well-ordered workspace.

He placed his wrecked stun-winder in front of Vespa Thorn, the maintenance adept. "This needs fixing." Maybe he'd get lucky and the clipboard she held would keep her attention.

Nope.

She set the board aside and frowned. "Again?" Picking up the device, she began an inspection of the charred defensive weapon.

Hale slowly turned to make his way out of the workshop, hoping like hell the too-pretty-for-maintenance-work mage didn't put the pieces together before he made his escape.

Not his fault his M-MOD unit kept getting called out to break up disruptions.

Vespa growled. "Hold it right there, Walterson." She marched around the counter and brought the stun-winder with her.

Hale paused, a kick of guilt hitting him in the gut. He had abused the weapon, but not on purpose. His last eight-hour shift only had forty-five minutes of downtime. Probably wouldn't matter to her though.

She poked him in the chest. "What did I tell you about not giving the stun-winder enough time to recharge before amping up to a higher setting?" Her face expressed her disgust.

Hale shrugged. "It's a design flaw." He couldn't resist a small dig. "One you should work on fixing." Getting her wound might not be his best move, but the weapon did have too many limitations.

Vespa made a garbled choking sound. "No. It's user error. You abuse the device." She turned and headed for her workstation. "How can a hot guy who has brains and brawn not understand simple instructions?" She placed the stun-winder on the surface of her area and ducked down to get some spare parts.

She thinks I'm hot. Good to know.

Vespa continued with her tirade. "We're supposed to stun our targets as a last resort when spells can't contain them." She removed the burned out charging cartridge and replaced it with a fresh one.

Hale defended his side. "Yeah, well, in the middle of a melee it's not always possible to get an incantation out when fists are flying." A lame excuse, but still true.

Vespa rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Maybe you should use shorter spells so you don't overtax that big brain of yours." She checked the readiness of the stun-winder.

It charged but wouldn't fire. Hale glanced down and braced for impact. The compliment about his intelligence would definitely get called into question now.

She shot him a sideways glance. "What else did you do to my weapon?" The sputtered and died again.

Hale's head whipped up and he quirked an eyebrow. "Your weapon?" He folded his arms over his chest. "Last time I checked my name is on the registration."

Vespa dismantled the stun-winder piece by piece. "If you want your name to stay there, you need to take care of the stunner." She grabbed a cloth and started cleaning the gun.

Hale flushed because she had a point. "I'll apologize for the condition. I've been neglectful about proper cleaning." He'd own being lax… too many distractions that he needed to get under control.

He grabbed another rag and started helping—the least he could do, right?

Especially if he wanted to stay on her good side.

I love Vespa and Hale! They're terrific at what they do but not without faults, which they'll discover about each other soon.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Rack and Ruin

Okay, Riverdale, you have my attention. My high hopes were met and surpassed. Here's hoping the following episodes stay the course. My sister blog, Universes Altered, might pick up a weekly recap on this show. The acting and cast are a terrific mix and I look forward to seeing what this crew does.

Gotham's follow-up episode intrigued me. I'll lay money Leigh made a deal to stay away from Jim to spare his life. We'll see how long that lasts. Having Jerome loose in the city will be chaotic, to say the least. If the origin story I think is playing out continues, I'm in. I also love the other two prongs of the cold war between Ed and Oswald along with the mama drama between Selena and Bruce. Thoroughly love how the trio of plot threads are playing out.

The Flash returned and didn't disappoint. Future vibing is kind of cool, but something tells me the crew is going to have burnt asses before it's all over.

Legends of Tomorrow always makes me happy when they visit someone famous before they're, well, famous. Having George Lucas kind of made the show. While I rather enjoyed Malcolm and Damien's team-up, I'm not sure how much fun it'll be if it's overused. I don't, however, think Mick and Stein sharing screen time will ever get old. More of that, please.

Arrow rocked, as usual. I have some doubts about the district attorney really helping Oliver, but we'll see what happens. Having Earth 2 Laurel is an interesting twist. Looking forward to seeing what happens there. Loved the bonding moment between Curtis and Rene, too.

Finished up Strike Back through season three. Holding off on four, but should start it soon. Got caught up on The Librarians, Murdoch Mysteries, and Teen Wolf. I'm thrilled to be current on all three. Whew. Missed the premiere of The Magicians and hope to catch up on that one soon.

Decided to forego watching MacGyver for now. I might binge watch after the season is over. The show just isn't holding my attention like I want it to and the cast shake-ups aren't something I'm thrilled with.

And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Rack and Ruin, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt. Drugs, alcohol, whatever the vice of choice is, one character can't resist and can't dig out of the hole, but the other one will try. I liked the concept of having the main characters addicted to something and needing to work their way out of the bad decision angle.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Vespa Thorn, a maintenance adept for the Mage Ministry of Defense, is an addictive gambler—whenever, wherever, she'll go all in. Hale Walterson, a special forces soldier has a problem with sex—he can't get enough of it. Vespa wants Hale, but he's the one thing she won't bet on until he challenges her to keep up with him.

And a preview snippet…

Vespa cashed in her winnings and casually strolled out of the underground gaming den riding the euphoric high of coming out on top. Maybe she could find another game. Dice. It had been a while since she rolled the cubes. She sent a seek spell out to find a location. Eighth-floor laundry room.

Grinning, she stepped onto the escalator. Her eyes narrowed when she spied Hale. He couldn't be there on business; he didn't have the standard issue black on black attire the m-mods usually adopted when on duty. Instead, he wore civilian clothes, nice ones at that. And he'd passed the third level, which housed the security hub in the hotel. He must be headed toward the private rooms. Curiosity piqued, she stepped off on the seventh floor instead of staying on for the level above.

She followed him through the atrium but remained a respectable distance behind. She didn't get off to bust his chops, more to satisfy her inquisitive nature. He never gave her shit about her gambling, and his carnal pursuits were none of her business. But she often wondered how he managed to satisfy his cravings and not have the m-mod brass catch wind of them.

She might just find out.

He took a corridor to his left and Vespa slowed down, not wanting to cramp his style. Or get caught. She peeked around the corner of the wall and discovered Hale using a keycard to unlock a door. It opened before he could finish the action and two very curvy women greeted him in nothing but smiles.

Vespa's eyes went wide and she bit back a gasp when Hale hauled one of them close, his mouth closing over the painted, red lips of her mouth. The other female grabbed Hale's lapel and dragged him into the room. The door closed softly behind him but Vespa heard the tittering giggles of the women before it shut completely.

Shaking her head, she made her way back to the escalator, noting the security cameras placed strategically throughout the level. Heading up to the eighth floor, she made sure she stayed out of sight when she worked her way to the laundry area. Hale hadn't bothered when he went to his room, which concerned Vespa.

"Sloppy isn't usually his style."

She rapped on the door, two long, three short, and then whispered the incantation for entrance. The steel slabs swung open, giving her admittance. The hum of voices and the rattle of dice being thrown grabbed hold of her but not before she promised to have a casual chat with Hale… very soon.

I'm excited to see where I can take this one. I have a couple of ideas but the sages haven't settled on one direction yet.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Rack and Ruin

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. I've been watching a James Bond marathon on Cloo all weekend so yeah, I'm having an excellent Mom's Day. :D

Great week of television. Gotham had a pretty great finale. For a show with something of a wobbly premise, I actually enjoyed most of it. The Flash and Arrow, again, kicked major ass. I don't know, I've really enjoyed how both seasons have played out. Had some reservations about The Flash, but I'm quite pleased with the show.

Orphan Black continues to deliver quality episodes. I kind of love the addition of the Castor collective. Really creeped out by Virginia and Gracie's mom, though. I don't wish either of those ladies a happy day… ever. LOL

Looking forward to whenever Strike Back graces my screen again and patiently waiting for The Last Ship to return. Also about halfway through season three (part one) of Teen Wolf. If I thought the first two seasons were a little crazycakes, I'm totally blown away by the bat shit insanity of three so far. LOL

Tonight's post is from Rack and Ruin, a novella with my main characters give free rein to their vices only to discover they might need something else.

Here's the tagline:

Vespa Thorn, a maintenance tech for the United Prime, is an addictive gambler—whenever, wherever, she'll go all in. Hale Walterson, a UP special forces solider has a problem with sex—he can't get enough of it. Vespa wants Hale, but he's the one thing she won't bet on, until he challenges her to keep up with him.

And a preview snippet…

Vespa Thorn held court at a corner table, with smoke from her cigar hanging over her head. She drew two cards, clamped her teeth down on the stogie, and shifted it between her lips. Laying her cards face down, she used both hands to shove her pile of chips into the center of the table.

Glancing up she met each player's gaze before declaring. "I'm all in, boys." She settled back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest.

Hale Walterson shook his head. Vespa never did anything on a small scale. But she could figure out what needed fixing on a piece of equipment, sometimes just by listening to the device run. Then she found the correct spell to make it hum.

Her blonde head tilted sideways when one of her opponents questioned her bet. She didn't say a word, simply quirked an eyebrow. The guy shut up and Hale went back to observing Vespa.

The woman fascinated him and she flirted up a storm, but Hale doubted she could keep up with him even if she showed a true interest. Not when the cards always seemed to call. Tonight, for instance, she didn't even change out of her coveralls, just yanked the top down and tied the arms around her waist. If the head of technical maintenance caught her, she could very well lose her job. Yet she couldn't resist a new game, usually held in some backroom in a high end hotel such as The Harley.

He glanced at the time. Shit. Speaking of hotels, he had a suite reserved and two extremely hot and ready women waiting for him. The entire reason he never called Vespa on her bad habit came down to the fact she didn't say jack about his.

As a special forces solider in the Mage Ministry of Defense, he had something of a code of ethics he should adhere to. But the driving need for sexual release held him in thrall and he used every pass he got to explore his wilder nature. Shoving away from the wall, he worked his way through the tables toward the exit.

Sending one last look over his shoulder, he bit back a smile when Vespa threw up her hands and stood, shaking her hips in a victory dance. Judging from the number of chips on the table, she scored a huge win.

Tugging the door open, he did a quick scan of the corridor and ducked out, quickly closing the thick panel to keep the noise and smoke at bay. Straightening his jacket, he walked out into the main concourse and took the escalator up to the seventh level, where his suite waited, stocked with two of his favorite things—whiskey and women.

The next forty-eight hours were his to indulge in both.

Vespa loves a good wager and Hale might just lose if he keeps betting against her interest. Should be fun to see where this one goes.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye