Sunday Snippet: Hot Rocks

June 11, 2017

Had a terrific weekend with great weather for my middle kid's graduation party. My boys were super easy. They're pretty much no muss, no fuss guys. My daughter, on the other hand, will be a sophomore and I think I'm going to start planning her party next week. LOL She's very much a social whirl and gets involved in tons of activities. I might need to rent a venue for hers. LOL

Gotham's finale rocked. I'm so glad the show seemed to find its footing in the third season. I'm pretty much thrilled with all the storylines and where they're leading into for the next season.

Friday brought some much-needed excitement back to my television screen. The double premiere of Dark Matter kept me glued to the screen. Then the follow-up with the Wynonna Earp premiere had me staying put. I'm so happy to have the shows back and can't wait to see where everything goes. Killjoys is up this week and I'm impatiently awaiting its return.

As mentioned last week, I'm just not into this season of Doctor Who. I wish I could sink into the storylines like I've been able to in the past, but I'm struggling. A lot. Very disappointing.

Orphan Black, by comparison, had a kickass return. The clones kicked Saturday night into high gear and I don't anticipate anything less than a wild and reckless ride. My one and only hope is I don't lose any of my favorites. But I'm not holding my breath on that one.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Hot Rocks, a novella that's coming together better than I'd hoped.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Ava and Walt are taken by the enemy and subjected to torture. They won't find a better time to examine their long and storied past, right?

And a sneaky peek…

Ava Frost struggled against her captors. "Let me go, you assholes." Getting dragged through a string of caverns? Humiliating. Totally and completely.

I hope Walt got free and hauled ass to report my capture.

So stupid. How could they have been so utterly rash? Because they still fought a war that ended recently. Walt Lookinland wouldn't leave his people behind. Not since losing his brother.

Ava followed where Walt led. She needed the stability and structure of a strong leader, especially when she'd grown used to life in the military. When that went away, she faced an existence drifting from job to job, town to town, planet to planet with no true purpose. No thanks. Not again.

"Hey, bitch, did you hear me?"

The beefy blowhard pinning her arms to her sides jerked her hard against his chest.

Ava growled and tried to kick out at the stocky man holding her feet. "Honestly? Stopped listening about halfway back." She twisted and turned, hoping to make it difficult for the henchmen to keep hold of her.

"I said you're not so smart. Me and Buggs thought you'd put up a bigger fight."

Buggs smirked. "Yeah. Lannis thought we'd have to chase you all over the caves."

They had been. For a while. She'd been caught on purpose to give Walt time to get out and get back to the port. The power grabs needed to be shut down with immediacy.

Or rebuilding and stabilizing their communities wouldn't happen. Everything they'd fought for and the people they'd lost would count as wasted effort.

Ava kept the wriggling movements up. "Yeah, well, I'm no match for you two." She managed to get a foot free and clipped Buggs on the chin with the toe of her boot.

He snarled and caught her ankle, bringing her back under his control. "You'll pay for that, red dog scum." His meaty gave her foot a hard twist.

She didn't feel the pain. His reference to her former platoon sent red flags up and alarm bells ringing. Her stomach roiled, dread clenching an icy fist in its depths. The trap she'd walked into with Walt took on a new, darker intent. They hadn't stumbled onto a kidnapping plot.

Lannis confirmed the certainty when he backed into an alcove covered with thick hides. "Guess what, he's no match for us, either." He nodded toward the corner of the space.

Ava bit back a nasty expletive.

Strapped to an x-frame contraption, Walt sported a swollen and puffy eye and a bloody gash across his cheek. His head lolled to one side, but he met her gaze, apology lighting his good eye. He hadn't made it out, which meant no one knew they'd been taken.

Ava put up valiant effort but lost the battle when Lannis and Buggs secured her to the other side of the metal frame. Back to back with Walt, she didn't hold out much hope of escaping. And didn't that suck big hairy ones.

"Well, well, well… my plan went better than even I imagined. Bagged exactly who I wanted." The speaker came into view and trailed a finger along Ava's cheek. "Hello, sweet, vicious lady. We've got some unfinished business, don't we?"

Ava groaned. Vince Woggins. The AP's top interrogator—torturer—had her back in his clutches. And she'd more or less handed Walt over on a pretty platter, too.

What the hell did I do to piss off the universe?

Ava is a treat to write. Her voice is very strong and Walt's is steady and certain. I'm going to have fun finishing this one up.

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye