Sunday, October 14, 2018

Sunday Snippet: Table of Lies

October 14, 2018

Wow, what a difference a week makes. The crisp feeling of fall has definitely arrived and I'm actually a little chilly at the moment. We'll probably have at least one more warm up before we settle into the true briskness of autumn in Ohio. Or… we could have one more nice week and then have a blizzard by Halloween. It's always hard to say. LOL

Got quite a bit of television watched this week. Some shows premiered their new seasons and I'm excited to settle in for the ride.

The Last Ship is crazy good and crazy wild. I'm always stunned when the credits roll because it doesn't seem like an hour should have gone by.

For premieres, I caught the new episodes of The Flash and Riverdale. Gotta say I ended up really enjoying both. Having Nora around could prove pretty interesting. And the whole situation with Archie is way over the top but, honestly, a ton of fun. Can't wait for Arrow this Monday. Also watched Chicago Fire and have mixed feelings on the episode. Maybe more on this next week.

And, of course, the Doctor Who premiere with Thirteen! What a great launch of the new doctor. Can't wait for more. After the disappointment with the last two seasons of Twelve, I'm excited to see where the show goes now.

I continued my rewatch of Babylon 5. The first season is so hit and miss but it also plants a lot of seeds for the following seasons. I'm always finding something new that ties into a future episode.

In other science fiction fare, I watched The Sarah Conner Chronicles, Birds of Prey, Lexx, Wynonna Earp—a Christmas episode, and The Dresden Files. Also caught Luke Cage and Penny Dreadful.

In military fare, I caught another episode of Pensacola Wings of Gold and Strike Back. I'm starting to gel with the new cast of Strike Back and I also need to go back to season two and do some sleuthing. I have a feeling there's a connection that's deeper than I realized. More later on this too.

Caught some mystery shows with The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Murdoch Mysteries, and a couple of episodes of Peter Gunn. I started an episode of Midsomer Murders but didn't get to finish it yet.

I also watched episode five of Driven. I'm actually thrilled with this series and I'm so excited for more from Passionflix.

On a final note, I finished up Canal Road and what a satisfying ending. I'll be starting a new Australian series in the very near future. Looking forward to it!

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Table of Lies, a novella that started with a writing community prompt of writing a scene or story involving a lie and set it in one of the character's apartments.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Nichelle Stohl finally has her life on course—she's an instructor at the coveted academy of military science and she's testing the relationship waters for the first time since a truly horrible break up. Then she meets Garth Fillion—her boyfriend's brother—and her world tilts sideways.

And a sneaky peek…

Nichelle Stohl opened the final file she needed to grade. "Saved the best for last." She'd chosen to grade Quint Fillion's after she completed the rest of the class's essays.
Dating one of her students might not be the wisest decision she'd ever made, especially since she'd landed a coveted position teaching for the academy of military science, a prestigious branch of the ministry of defense. Being an instructor at her age rarely happened.
Her lips curved. "And most of my students don't know what to do with a twenty-seven-year-old professor." The dean insisted she use the academic title since her rank as lieutenant only listed two grades above the ensigns in her class.
She wouldn't qualify for military promotion until she reached thirty. A stupid rule.
Quint's filled his paper with silly notes in the sidebars, which brought a smile to her face. But the additional commentary didn't distract her from catching the errors on the paper. Quint tended to be sloppy with his answers and left out key details, probably assuming she'd know what he meant.
The problem? As his instructor, she couldn't assume facts not on the page. Fully aware she wouldn't, Quint continued to push the boundaries anyway.
Nichelle marked his errors and filed the test. He wouldn't be pleased with his score, but she couldn't allow him to cut corners. In the field, the chemical compounds they used required precise measurements and focused steps. Leaving one out could potentially wipe out an entire regiment… of their own men.
Quint's lackadaisical approach to his classwork fit directly in to why she so enjoyed being with him. He loved life and lived it to the fullest. Not even the less than stellar score on his essay would keep him out of sorts for long.
She grinned. "And he makes me laugh." So much and very often.
Nichelle needed the humor. She'd decided to test the relationship waters after being cheated on by not one, but two men. Quint affably stated if he ever looked at another woman with lust in his gaze, she should shoot him where he stood—because death by stupidity would take too long.
Her personal and professional life intersecting didn't always sit well with her. Quint sometimes lacked in maturity, but he always treated her with respect. And when she grew frustrated with his antics, he dialed back the joviality and put in the effort needed.
And the man had charm by the truckload. Starting something with him while he took her class… probably a bad idea. But she really liked him. And she tried hard to keep some balance between her head and her heart.
Just in case everything blew up in her face.
She hoped her concerns with his sometimes unfocused answers would be unfounded. But if they proved not to be, she'd deal with the fallout.

This one is coming along. The story is brainstormed and outlined and hopefully the sages won't decide to throw random plot bombs my way when I dig back in to writing.



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

ML Skye 

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