Sunday Snippet: Chasing the Sun

Week number four! I'm honestly thrilled to have an entire month of posts completed and posted on the blog. I keep hearing how important it is to maintain a presence and have content for readers to peruse if they want.

The Sunday Snippets are fun and, in a stroke of unforeseen luck, a great way to poke the sages into action. Someday I need to do a post about those pesky little imps.

But not today. Instead, it's time for a little preview of another work in progress. Tonight's feature is from Chasing the Sun, a tightly focused short story about the fallout the male character experiences when he's ordered to do something that goes against what he believes in.

Here's a tag line:

Chance Martin and Rena Chavez are best friends, and maybe something more, if their work will stop getting in the way. But when Chance can't deal with a set of orders to remove an admiral with lethal action, he starts a downward spiral he can't stop. Rena has to pull him back from the edge, no easy task because she always follows orders.

And here's the wee sneaky peek…

Chance Martin shut the water off and stepped out of the shower stall. He scrubbed a towel over his face and head, mopping up the rivulets before they could drip any further. The end to a very shitty month in sight, he finished drying off, wrapped the towel around his waist and grabbed his kit.

Rack time in ten. God, he actually looked forward to it. He had to be tired enough to sleep tonight. If he didn't get some solid, honest to goodness rest soon, he'd lose his mind.

Right. Chance figured he'd already pretty much lost it. How he'd managed to keep it from everyone else kind of amazed him.

When had his life become such a mess? Okay, okay. He knew when. Hell, he even knew how. But everyone had a crap life, in general. War had a nasty way of sucking the joy out of everything.

He just wished he knew why. He had no idea what they were even still fighting for anymore. And that bothered him. Once upon a time, he'd had a solid grip on the answers.

Now?

Not so much.

The freedom he held dear—to choose between right and wrong—no longer seemed black and white. The line between good and evil no longer straight, a murky shade of gray emerged and the division blurred beyond recognition.

It's a good thing Chance has Rena in his corner. He's got some major issues to work through and she'll hopefully push him to a better place.

Until next week, catch everyone on the flip!

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Boyfriend's Brother

Greetings! Week number three and still on target. Seriously, it sounds stupid, but I'm deliriously happy the posts are becoming a habit.

Snippet Sunday this week features a scene from a manuscript thisclose to being finished. A few more scenes and off to the beta readers it goes.

I'll be honest, the story for this could be a little triggerish for some, but it does have a great conflict, if I do say so.

Here's the tag line:

Mix a potential marriage proposal, a close call, and her boyfriend's hot brother and Chloe Timmons might possibly come away with something very wonderful.

And now a wee sneaky peek at Boyfriend's Brother…

Jason envied his brother. Marc could be an immature brat, but he'd found the woman of his dreams. And Jason actually liked her, even after a completely bizarre introduction where he mistook Chloe Timmons for an exotic dancer.

In his defense, she had been practically giving Marc a lap dance at the time.

Jason winced when he remembered the scathing set down he'd delivered to Marc and the 'dancer'.

He'd roughly pulled the woman straddling his brother's legs off and gave her a nasty look. "I'm not sure what he paid you, but he's not gonna get his money's worth. Unless you want to finish with me." He raked his eyes over the prettier than expected dancer. "I'm always up for lewd displays in public."

Turning, Jason glared toward Marc. "As for you…I come here to meet your latest and greatest and instead you've got a hot piece of ass gyrating on your lap." He shook his head. "Are you stupid…or did the woman of your dreams finally wise up and dump you?"

The dancer laughed. "Wow. I would have been insulted enough to punch you if you hadn't gone all chivalrous at the end." She stepped in front of him and stuck out her hand. "Chloe Timmons. You must be big brother, Jason."

Jason automatically shook her hand, a hot flush of heat burning his face.

She looked in Marc's direction, whispering with exaggeration. "Your brother thinks I have a hot ass. I like him already." Glancing back, she raised a brow. "Woman of his dreams? Is that Marc's description or yours?"

Honestly? Chloe is so much fun to write. Here's hoping I can get this one finished up and submitted soon.

123RF Stock Photos

Up next week? A snippet from another almost completed manuscript.

Catch everyone on the flip side,

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Bomb's Away

WooHoo! Another week, another post. Two weeks closer to my goal (50 weeks to go…LOL)

So, for this Snippet Sunday—and I think I have to call it something other than Six Sentence Sunday because I don't always follow the rules very well—I'm posting a bit from one of my favorite WIPs, Bomb's Away. It's not a really long story, but the characters are two of my faves.

Let's get started with a tag line:

A power struggle, an explosion and communication breakdowns. Sometimes it takes a really big boom to move things in the right direction.

And here's a wee sneaky peek:

Kiara Ungaro strode down the steps heading toward the private sector of the base compound. Coming off shift, she wanted a shower and her rack, in that order. The rising tensions over the moon everyone wanted rights to, despite peace talks, took their toll and she'd had more on her plate than she liked lately. Exhausted didn't begin to describe her state of mind. Bone weary, dead dog tired, and very pissy defined her state of mind.

Cutting through the private residential area saved time and kept her out of the main hub. Ronan Sidwell had watch this shift and running into him would not be at the top of her list of fun things to do.

Sadly it used to hold the number one slot.

But with the mood she found herself in…good chance blood would be shed if they crossed paths. Especially since her current level of irritation tied directly to the nasty bit of gossip she'd overheard about the former love of her life. If one more person weighed in about her split with Ronan her head would implode.

Breaking up with someone in a very public manner had made her the object of way too much speculation. It had been two months…people should move the hell on already. If they didn't do it soon, she might have to start maiming anyone who opened their mouth in earshot range.

What can I say? Kiara doesn't appreciate the amount of time her fellow soldiers spend talking about her break-up with Ronan. :D

Maybe she should have a cuppa and calm down a little. :P

123RF Stock Photos

Stay tuned for more…

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: An Answer to Fate

Happy 2013!!

Starting things off right with a weekly post and hoping to keep the momentum going. My good intentions for December got derailed by the entire family battling the flu and a kidney stone flare to finish things off for my husband.

Seriously, I truly believe the adage that kidney stones are the equivalent of giving birth for men. That may have to go in a book sometime. LOL

Anyway, let's get to the good stuff and post a couple of sentences from a work my progress, An Answer to Fate.

First, a tag line: Quillan Jaymes and Jeb Paladino finally get their act together and declare themselves a couple. Too bad that's when everything goes wrong.

And now the snippet...

Jeb Paldino stepped out of the shower and snagged a towel from the rack. He used deft, efficient movements, drying off and wrapping the towel around his waist. Padding over to the mirror, he ran his fingers through his damp hair, quickly smoothing down anything sticking up. He had to look somewhat presentable when he met with his father. Not that it would help. His physical appearance wouldn't stop the argument they'd have over Quillan. Again.

But the looming quarrel wouldn't stop Jeb from trying one more time. Sooner or later, he'd convince his old man to let him conduct a search. The guy missed Quill as much as Jeb did.

Quillan couldn't be dead. Jeb would know, deep in his gut, if she were. He'd do whatever it took to convince the old man.

Funnily enough, there's a sequel to this that's almost further along. LOL Honestly, the sages love to mess with me. :D

Until next time...catch everyone on the flip!

ML Skye