Sunday Snippet: Rise of the Son

Happy Easter to those who celebrate. Happy regular Sunday to those who don't. After three days of lovely temperatures, we're back to mid-forties and chilly. I'll take the cooler weather because the warm-up seemed to bring the ticks out. Pulled three of them off my spouse yesterday. That's usually a May through October problem.

Got to enjoy a wonderful Friday with my daughter at an art walk. She's a project manager for a county arts council and knows many of the artists. So much fun!

Had a busy work week. Finished up a copy edit and proofread for one of the publishers I edit for. Also finished a proofread for a memoir. Continued work on two other proofreads. I have a developmental edit to start this week and hopefully another copy edit.

Ended up with an okay viewing week. I got through most of the shows I watch. I ended up skipping two because I didn't feel well and couldn't concentrate on more than one thing at a time. I did get some cleaning and decluttering done when I needed a break from work projects.

Started off with My Life Is Murder and quite enjoyed the mystery. I love Alexa and Madison's friendship, especially when Madison pushes Alexa out of her comfort zone.

Caught another Foyle's War and ended the eighth season. Loved Sam's good news and kind of felt sorry for Miss Pierce. There are several behind the scenes episodes that I hope to watch this week.

Watched another Return to Paradise and I'm almost finished with the first season. Not sure when the second will be available to me, but I'll look forward to it.

Also enjoyed another episode of Poirot. A holiday episode with a truly distasteful antagonist that thankfully didn't last long. I loved Poirot coming to Japp's rescue once the singing started. If you know, you know.

Elementary ended up being very good. I'm kind of interested to see where Joan's story goes with Shin. Also enjoyed Sherlock's chess match with Shin.

I binge-watched some Brokenwood Mysteries. The new season starts this week and I'll dive into it as soon as I finish up My Life Is Murder.

That's it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Rise of the Son, a follow-up novella to Dawn of the Son.

Here's the miniblurb:

After surviving several trials and tribulations to find the Book of Pythia, Aleina and Alston—imbued with the essences of Apollo and Aurora—have to follow the scrolls to lead their people to a new home. Their journey isn't without danger and the map isn't easy to follow, but Aleina and Alston have the advantage of being on the same page and trusting each other to see their path to its end.

And a preview snippet…

Alston yawned and rested his head on the back of the sofa. "They're not making it easy on us, are they?" He referred to the gods and oracle that set them on this journey.

Aleina's lips quirked in a twist. "Nope. I'm gonna start on the next scroll. See if Pythia dropped any clues there." Leaning forward, she grabbed the text from the table.

Alston nodded and closed his eyes. He needed a small breather from reading the ancient prophecies. At least he and Laney figured out the translation. Now they could read through the material without constantly consulting a language guide.

"You can read the translations because I gave you the power to do so."

The voice echoed in his mind and could only be from one source.

Pythia.

"I guess we owe you our thanks. Would it be too much to ask for you to provide a map to get through the asteroid system?" He might as well go for broke.

Pythia responded. "I can't. But I can make it easier to find."

An image appeared in his mind. The table, cluttered with scrolls, zoomed inward and three words appeared on a page beneath several others.

Light the way.

Alston jerked awake. "Damn." He shook his head, trying to dislodge the unsettled feeling of receiving a message from beyond the veil.

Laney arched her brows. "It's a wild trip, isn't it?" She set the scroll aside and focused her attention on him.

Of course, she figured out exactly what happened while he'd drifted off for several moments.

Because she usually ended being on the receiving end of communications from the beyond.

Alston shuddered. "It's fucking creepy. But aside from feeling like I've been violated, pretty sure I got the assist we might need." He rifled through the pile on the table and found the one he wanted.

Laney scooted forward. "Light the way." She met his gaze. "Any clue what this means?"

He snorted. "Not yet. But it's a place to start." He eased back and held the parchment out so Laney could read it with him.

The passage described two vessels that would chart a route through a mire of obstacles using their power to light the way. The path wouldn't be completely clear, but the faith of the mappers would guide the fleet to safety on the other side. There would be a toll paid … but nothing indicated what the price would be.

Alston sighed. "Better than nothing. But this is gonna suck." He rolled the scroll up and put it aside for safekeeping.

Laney rubbed her chin in contemplative thought. "I have an idea of the how, but it's not fully formed." She turned toward him and moved to straddle his lap. "Think we'd better sleep on it … but first, I think we need to regroup and recharge a little." Her lips caught his in a fierce kiss.

Alston cupped her ass and toppled them sideways. "Now that's a plan I can get behind…"

Alston and Aleina have quite a journey ahead of them. I'm having a lot of fun writing it.

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Rise of the Son

Whew. November is almost over and I'm not sure where the month went. Crazy weather continues. It warms up then plunges into the cold depths. We've had a dusting of snow twice. I don't mind the cold, but I like it better when it gets chilly and stays that way. The back and forth makes me cranky.

I did finish up one of my work projects and have a brief break on the second one. I thought I'd get some things accomplished around the house but I ended up having two new works projects land in my inbox. Definitely not complaining but I think one of my new goals will be trying to create better balance.

I, again, didn't get a lot of anything watched this week. I started an episode of Ted Lasso but put it on hold when I got the new projects.

I plan to view as many episodes of Batman: The Animated Series as a memorial to Kevin Conroy, as I can. I can honestly say, Kevin is my Batman. He's the first voice actor I ever looked up online because I loved his work in the animated series so much.

One bit of great news is I'm three-quarters of the way done with my holiday shopping. I might even start getting the gifts wrapped and bagged. Then it's off to gather stocking-stuffers.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Rise of the Son, the second book in a yet-unnamed series.

Here's the mini-blurb:

After surviving several trials and tribulations to find the Book of Pythia, Aleina and Alston—imbued with the essences of Apollo and Aurora—have to follow the scrolls to lead their people to a new home. Their journey isn't without danger and the map isn't easy to follow, but Aleina and Alston have the advantage of being on the same page and trusting each other to see their path to its end.

And a preview snippet…

Images crashed through Aleina Foyle's mind, huge rocks swirled slowly around her blocking her path no matter where she turned. Pounding sounds drew her attention and she feared the boulders were tightening the circle, ready to crush her under their weight. She tried to run but her feet were tangled in something unseen and she started to fall—

"Laney! Wake up. Someone's knocking on the hatch."

Aleina's eyes snapped open and she found herself snuggled up close to her nearest and dearest, Alston Saddington. "It'll be Frank. He's got news." She sat up, shaking the imagery of her dream away.

Alston narrowed his eyes, but got up and undogged the hatch. "Frank. What brings you at this unholy hour?" He swung his gaze toward Aleina. "Laney said you've got news."

Frank Bollen ducked inside their quarters and quickly dogged the hatch again. "She's not wrong. We've got a potential minefield brewing. Literally." He propped his hip on the edge of their small sofa.

Alston ran a hand through his hair and settled back on the bunk. "Political or otherwise?" He yawned and reached for a bottle of liquid caffeine.

Aleina took the container and nodded for Alston to grab another. "Otherwise with potential to become political. Is that right, Frank?" Her dream played some kind of role and she almost had a clear picture.

Frank shook his head. "Pretty much." He grabbed their hand-held monitor and pulled up a screen. "Long-range scans show a huge block of debris that's just out of scope. We don't know what it is, but it's directly in our path to the next signpost." He widened the view and handed the device to Alston.

Aleina took a quick look and a vision flashed in her mind. "Asteroid field. Too big to jump, too wide to go around, and too dense for a clear path through." She met Alston's gaze. "We're also not going to be able to go over or under it." Not if they wanted to conserve the fuel they had.

Frank huffed out a breath. "Please tell me there's a solution."

Alston didn't hesitate. "We go through." He held up a hand when Frank started to protest. "There isn't a clear path, I know. But it's the only choice."

Aleina gave a nod. "We'll have to find a way to navigate a safe path for all the ships." No easy task with a fleet of a hundred-plus crafts in various sizes.

Frank arched his brows. "How do you propose to do that?"

Alston rolled a shoulder. "We consult the Book of Pythia and hope we can figure it out." He got up and went to retrieve the scrolls. "Give us some time and we'll check in with you before the end of the day."

Frank frowned. "Do I brief anyone yet?"

Aleina lifted her chin. "Only the bare minimum. Keep it to our small circle for now."

Frank gave a nod and exited their quarters.

Aleina heaved a sigh. The group that helped retrieve the book could be trusted not to sound the alarm. The one thing they didn't need … a stampede of terrified captains banging on the door.

They needed time to formulate a plan and pull off a major miracle.

I'm on quite the journey with this series. I love the characters and mixing a bit of sci-fi in with the mystical elements is something I enjoy so much.

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye