Sunday Snippet: Shine One On

Well, the first week of 2023 is in the books and we're off to a wild start. Here's hoping the weird and bizarre world stage eventually settles in to what's supposed to be the Age of Aquarius. I have my fingers crossed.

Had a busy work week with multiple projects being added to my schedule. I'm excited to get started on them! The weather did it's usually mild temperatures dropping down to cold ones. I'm okay with the cold … if it stays cold.

Had an okay viewing week. I'm still continuing my rewatch of Batman: The Animated Series. I think I'll have it completed before HBOMax removes it from screening. Then I'll probably start back on my usual schedule.

I finished up the second season, which had a strong finish with "The Terrible Trio," "Showdown," "Catwalk," "A Bullet for Bullock," and "The Lion and the Unicorn," which is one of my favorites because it dives into Alfred's backstory.

Season three begins with "Holiday Knights," which is a favorite holiday-themed episode. I do wonder and can't remember if it ended up being shown out of order in the original run. I'm too lazy to check Imdb to find out.

I have some feelings about the drastic change in animation style for season three. There are a few things I really enjoy, but I'm not a fan of the reimagined villains or the complete total makeover they gave Bruce. I am fond of the updated storylines, moving Dick Grayson to Nightwing and adding Tim Drake. I left off on "Joker's Millions" and should finish that episode this week.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Shine One On, a novella set in an alternate universe with a noir flair.

Here's the mini-blurb:

In a prohibition era, Maxine Wynne provides speakeasy owner Drake Kestleman premium moonshine to keep his customers happy. When a corrupt revenuer goes after Maxine, Drake launches a plan to get her out of danger and out from under the shadow of the government bureaucrat.

And a preview snippet…

Maxine put the case of honey—her secret ingredient for the best-tasting moonshine—into her cart beside her bags. "Thanks, Lulu. The guys go through a ton of this stuff." And made a ready excuse for her to keep the amber syrup on hand to make the premium hooch.

On the way to the exit, she bumped into Saul Ludlow, best friend to her former husband and a nasty, corrupt revenuer.

He narrowed his eyes. "Maxine. Sure is a lot of honey." His gaze searched her other bags. "Whatdaya do with all that gloppy goop?" He rocked back on his heels giving a sly look.

She played a little coy because she felt frisky. "Gee, Saul. I run a boarding house. I wonder what goes good with the biscuits we have with every meal." She rolled her eyes.

Like she'd ever confirm the man's suspicions. Just because she made the stupid mistake of marrying Ashford, didn't mean she hadn't learned a hard lesson. Don't trust the assholes of the universe.

Saul didn't like the fact she ran a business and didn't need his assistance after Ashford died. He'd been all ready to swoop in and save her after the funeral. When Beau told Saul they'd bought the boarding house with Ashford's life insurance, Saul threw down the gauntlet. He'd been hounding Maxine ever since.

He jabbed a finger at her. "I know you're earning coin by illegal means." He spat the words at her. "No way your little boarding house keeps you in such svelte style." His gaze did a slow once-over, from the tips of her low-heeled pumps, up along her stockinged legs, to the princess neckline of her shirtwaist dress.

She pushed back at him. "You're welcome to sign a lease as soon as I have an opening…" She checked an imaginary watch on her wrist. "Which should be the day after never."

He sneered. "How many hours do you spend on your back, Maxine? You've got a large group of men living there." He folded his arms over his chest. "You probably charge a pretty penny to dive between your thighs."

A passing woman gasped and ducked her head before hurrying off. Saul snorted, unbothered by being rude and crude in public.

Maxine squared her shoulders. "I sleep with no one but myself. Sex is not a transaction at my place. Everyone pays for room and board and three square meals a day." At least her books showed income from those sources.

Saul huffed out a breath. "Who does the cooking? Ashford said you couldn't figure out how to work a stove to save your life. And you couldn't tell a pot from a skillet." He shook his head.

Maxine got up in Saul's face. "Kind of hard to cook when you're taking blows from the pots and pans." She stepped back. "Something else Ashford shared with you." She turned and exited the store, dragging her cart behind her.

Maxine can give as good as she gets but usually steers clear of Saul … she might wish she'd walked away sooner from their confrontation.

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Shine One On

Ugh. What a rough week. I've been battling some wicked-bad insomnia lately and I hate walking around like a zombie and trying to catch some much needed rest whenever I can. Not a fun time.

I did have a wonderful revelation on Thursday, which was my youngest's eighteenth birthday. To date, the husband and I have successfully raised three offspring to adulthood. Now to get her through prom and graduation then off to college. LOL

Slow week for television, mainly due to the insomnia. I caught a full arc of Classic Who and had a thought… the Daleks have been around for a long, long time. Just saying.

Got back into Gargoyles and watched a couple of episodes. The second season is super long and it'll be a while before I get through all of the various stories.

Watched a few episodes of Danger Man. This is pretty much a rewatch of the series for me, but it's nice to have a thirty-minute show to sink into while I'm doing dishes or cooking dinner.

Caught an episode of Murdoch Mysteries and finally discovered what would happen with the neighbors. I'd forgotten about the hotel detective and his mad vendetta against Murdoch. All in all, a satisfying wrap-up to the storyline. Sadly, the widow might end up rearing her vengeful head at some point in the series. That should be interesting.

I watched another episode of Arrow and I can honestly say I'm impressed with Stephen's performance. He brings the emotional element to the screen every episode. That said, he mentioned in an interview that Emily's decision to not be involved in most of season eight made the show feel kind of wrong (absolutely paraphrasing here) because Felicity is the heart of the show and no Felicity means no heart. I totally get that. But… it's kind of cool to see the reunions Oliver is having with people from his past. Talia and Thea teaming up could be a show on its own, especially if Nyssa got involved at some point. Just saying. Also really interesting to see what's going on in the futurescape, especially with the twist at the end of the episode.

Getting ready to start an episode of Riverdale and watch the premiere episode of Strike Back's final season. I also plan to watch the Passionflix original, The Will sometime this week. Looking forward to some great screen time.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Shine One On, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Against state regulations, Maxine Wynne braves the revenuer to provide speakeasy owner, Drake Kestleman, enough moonshine to keep his customers happy. When Maxine is caught, Drake launches Operation Shine One On to get her out of danger and back in business.

And a preview snippet…

"Get off her!" Drake grabbed a patron in a chokehold and flung him across the hall.

A guilty flush stained one of his dancer's cheeks. While Lily Tyler had a ripped bodice, her short skirt had been tucked into the wide belt of her showgirl costume. A sure sign she hadn't been attacked.

The customer grabbed Drake's shoulder. "Hey, she offered me a poke for fifty dollars. I paid up front, just like she asked." He huffed out a breath. "I'm owed my piece."

Drake shook off the hammy fist. "I run a speakeasy not a brothel." He peeled two fifties off his roll of cash. "Take this—double what you paid—and try Pennyweathers down the block." He pointed toward the exit. "Never accept an offer from one of my showgirls again."

The man buttoned and zipped up. "Maybe you should tell them not to lure hardworking men back here for a little fun." He sent a glare in Lily's direction.

Drake stepped between the man and his dancer. "I'll handle my business, don't you worry." Just as soon as the guy left.

Which he did by spinning on his heel and muttering about crappy women and getting shortchanged.

Drake turned and met Lily's gaze. She had the grace to flush and look away. Damn right, she should. He didn't have a license for sex work and didn't want the hassle of having one.

He shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it to her. "Cover yourself up." They'd have to go out to the main floor.

She draped the suit coat around her shoulders and untucked her skirt.

He pointed down the hall. "My office. Now." He barely kept the growl from his voice.

Lily shot him a scathing look but preceded him down the corridor to his office.

Drake shut the door and crossed over to his desk. "What the hell did you think you were doing?" He had a solid idea… but he wanted to hear it from her.

Lily rolled a shoulder, letting the jacket fall to the floor. "You're not interested… or so you said." She tilted her head to one side.

And he'd been right. She'd lured on of his customers in as an attention-getting stunt. All because Drake had spurned her desire to become more than a showgirl to him. Did she think he'd be jealous?

Lily sent him a coy smile. "But perhaps you are now…" She made a show of puffing out her chest.

Drake barely kept from rolling his eyes. "I'm not. You know I don't mix things up with my employees." And he never would.

Lily's shoulders slumped. "Then at least I would've been fifty bucks ahead." Her tone indicated he'd ruined her fun.

Well, she could have all the fun she wanted… just not here.

He shook his head. "Oh, you'll be ahead." Reaching for his cash, he snagged a hundred and pressed it into her palm. "Consider this severance pay." Combined with the fifty she still had, it doubled what she made dancing three nights a week. "Won't take you long to triple this at Pennyweathers." If she wanted to earn on her back, he wouldn't stop her.

Lily's eyes went wide. "You're firing me?"

Drake nodded. "Absolutely. There's nothing wrong with brothel work, but it's not what I do here." And every last one of his employees received that information on their hire date.

Lily's mouth worked for several moments. "B-bu-but, I don't want to be a Pennyweather trollop." The nickname trembled from her lips.

Drake tsked. "You played a losing hand, Lily… and this is the fallout." He brushed past her and opened the door. "Don't come back."

Lily squared her shoulders and sashayed out with a huff. "You'll regret getting rid of me." Glancing back, she lifted her chin. "I could've rocked your world."

Drake bit back a snort. "I doubt that."

It took a special kind of woman to rock his world. An image of Maxine Wynn filled his mind. Independent, fiercely loyal to her employees, and so curvaceously gorgeous Drake's head spun.

Lily definitely didn't fit that mold.

I love playing with something of an alternative history. If I achieve my goal, this will have a twenties feel mixed with a contemporary vibe.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Shine One On

Well, the beginning of April is here and I've been bitten by the spring cleaning bug. This is not a bad thing. House, garage, and computer files are getting spiffed up and decluttered.

The Walking Dead finale is tonight and I'll be there. Not sure I'll pay a lot of attention, but I can't not watch.

The Flash introduced an irritating villain. Can't say I'm sad to see him go. Also really frustrated with the whole Savitar storyline at this point. I'm ready for the final end game and season finale.

Legends of Tomorrow rewrote reality and kept me entertained. Looking forward to the season finale to see how they resolve everything. Mick remains one of my favorite characters and it better stay that way.

Arrow's deft mastery of weaving Oliver's past into his present life will be missed. This isn't to say the writers won't continue churning out excellent fare. In fact, I'm looking forward to seeing how the story continues. Something tells me Oliver's past will still come back to haunt him in many other ways.

Riverdale had a new episode and, wow, I wanted to get a better read on Alice Cooper… I got it. A little sad it's at the expense of Hal, but the interesting wrinkle might be worth it. FP's playing a sly game. He doesn't get near enough credit for being a true mastermind. Come on, people. He's Jughead's dad. The kid had to get his smarts from someone. Just saying.

I'm still binge-watching City Homicide, working my way through season three. The first season is probably my absolute favorite but I do enjoy the later seasons also.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Shine One On, a novella that got a writing community prompt start; prohibition, one character owns a speakeasy, one is the moonshine supplier. I decided to go urban noir with this and make it an alternative universe. I'm hoping for a twenties / thirties / forties feel with some nice twists.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Against state regulations, Maxine Wynne braves the revenuer to provide speakeasy owner, Drake Kestleman, enough moonshine to keep his customers happy. When Maxine is caught, Drake launches Operation Shine One On to get her out of danger and back in business.

And a preview snippet…

Maxine Wynne wiped down the kitchen counter and kept an eye on the oven. Dinner time would see seven hungry men climbing the stairs from her basement, ready to fill their bellies full of home-cooking. Not that Maxine cooked. She had a woman who prepped everything and left Maxine with the minimal responsibility of taking it out at a specified time.

Thank the world for small favors.

The phone rang right when Maxine put the last pan on the table, the clump of boots on the stairs right on cue.

She answered the line. "Wynne's Rooming House. You've got Maxine on the line." Waving for the guys to help themselves, she took the call into the front parlor for some quiet.

"Hey, Maxine." The whiskey smooth voice caressed her eardrums. "Let's shine one on, honey, say sometime on Wednesday, the twenty-seventh?" Drake Kestleman, her best and favorite customer, never failed to adhere to her carefully constructed code for placing an order.

Drake also never failed to make her pulse thrum, set her imagination on fire, and yearn for something she could never have.

A man in her life.

Never again.

Poking her head into the kitchen, she motioned for Beau Lamont, her right hand man, to join her. "Drake, love, you know I'll do anything to see to your needs. Let me check my calendar." Translation. She had to find if she could fill his order for premium alcohol. She quickly did a few calculations on the notepad on her side table then turned the page for Beau to read. He shook his head and held up two fingers. He'd need at least a couple of days to make a batch of premium moonshine, the only kind Drake bought.

Maxine purred into the phone. "But I'm sorry, hot stuff, I won't be free until Friday. Can you hold out that long, handsome?" She could barely keep up with orders, but Drake would definitely get his.

Drake sighed. "It'll be a rough wait, Maxine." He paused. "But only because you're my best girl."

Translation. He'd hold out for the good stuff. No one made better 'shine than Maxine.

She purred. "I'll make it worth your while, Drake." Meaning she'd provide a few extra cases of hooch, free of charge.

Drake played along and added a sexy hum of approval. "You never disappoint, Maxine. Until Friday." He cut his end of the call.

Maxine shook her head and handed the phone to Beau who returned the handset to the receiver.

Flirty banter with Drake always got her revved up. But the need for encoded conversations and constant vigilance required the subterfuge. They never knew when a revenuer agent might be listening in on the line. The revenue office liked to get their pound of flesh and didn't always use legal means to get their due. The nationwide ban on alcohol consumption and manufacture meant anyone caught paid hefty fines, legal fees, and usually bribes to stay out of jail.

Didn't help the hot and steamy images from filling Maxine's head though. Beau came back into the parlor and picked up a fan, waving it in front of her face.

He let out a low whistle. "Easy there, Maxie, or the booze will combust if you get too close."

Considering her production took place in the basement two buildings over, she didn't find his observation amusing.

But she ignored his teasing. Beau got away with things no one else did, like calling her Maxie. He came up with the idea of using her grandmother's recipe to supply the lower half of the state with moonshine.

She fronted the real moneymaker by turning the house, left by her not-so-dearly-departed husband, Ashford Wynne, into a room and board business. She didn't grieve the loss and she definitely never asked Beau if he'd forgotten to fix Ashford's car or if he purposefully left the brakes in terrible condition so Wynne could take his place in hell sooner rather than later.

She didn't care. Beau had her back. He always did, from the moment they'd landed in the same group home at age six. Raised like siblings, they left at sixteen and moved into a low-rent flophouse, making ends meet by running numbers. She dressed as a boy and together they set Beau's reputation on fire by claiming the most bets.

They had a great thing going until Ashford discovered her true identity. He put her to work as a hostess in his nightclub and tried to keep other men away from her.

At twenty, Beau had left for a stint upstate to handle a book maker's numbers. She'd married Ashford, even after Beau warned the smooth-talking racketeer reeked of ill intentions.

Beau snapped his fingers. "Maxie? Geez. Why don't relieve some of that tension with Kestleman?" His tone dropped, keeping the conversation between them.

Maxine quirked an eyebrow. "You know why. Drake is very easy on the eyes, but he's also a strong personality." She squared her shoulders. "I won't be under any man's thumb again." Or behind his fists or trampled by his wingtip shoes.

She's worked too hard to make her way on her terms to let her life and her money fall out of her grasp.

She didn't have to explain. Beau had nailed Ashford's character on the head. When Lamont returned from his sojourn he took one look at her bruises and set Ashford straight. If Wynne physically harmed Maxine again, Beau would make sure Ashford regretted the action. Within a month, her husband tested the boundaries and two weeks later he crashed going around Wylie's Run.

Beau shook his head. "I'm not saying you have to marry the guy. After your ass of a husband, no one would blame you from steering clear of matrimony." He lifted shoulder. "But Kestleman's a different breed, Maxie. He's straight and solid."

She'd love to go with Beau's instincts, but refused to take a chance. "You don't know that for a fact. You don't live with him." A lesson she learned the hard way with Ashford.

One she wouldn't forget.

Beau held up his hands. "Okay. Backing off and shutting up now." He waggled his eyebrows. "But you still need to get laid."

Maxine slugged his shoulder. "I thought you were shutting up now." She pushed him into the kitchen, waving off any more commentary.

She settled down onto the small wingback chair. Beau nailed her dilemma. She needed to blow off steam and wanted to get down and dirty to do it. Drake tempted her, seriously tugging at the demons she'd long thought buried. After her marriage, she withdrew from the seedy underworld of backroom trysts with nameless men.

She missed the powerful high of sexual release, never achieved anything close with Ashford. Every cell in her body screamed Drake Kestleman would be her undoing.

So… she'd stay firmly in supplier mode, thank-you-very-much-Beau.

Longer than usual preview. I'm hoping the scene flows as well for readers as it does in my head.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye