Sunday, September 29, 2019

Sunday Snippet: Automatic Failure

September 29, 2019

Had a crazy busy week with multiple projects coming due and, thankfully, I made the deadlines. I'll freely admit there might have been some wine to help along the way. More as a reward at the end of the week than during the actual crunch time.

I made a lot of progress on the three shows I'm currently watching. This means I haven't seen any of the premieres of the new seasons yet. I'm weirdly out of sync with everyone else and I'm not eager to dive into the new stuff yet.

I continued with season three of Peter Gunn and have a handful of episodes left to watch. Season three marks the end of the run and I'm not sure what I'll replace this show with, but I think I'd like to go with another classic television series. We'll see what I can find.

I'm through season seven of Classic Who and have a start on season eight. I'm in the Mind of Evil arc. The Master is now a nemesis and it's fun to watch how the long-standing rivalry started between the Doctor and the Master.

I've also finished up series eighteen of Midsomer Murders and should start nineteen soon. That leaves about twelve or so episodes left before I finish up the entire run. Not sure what I'll replace this one with either. I might finish The Coroner if it's still available.

That's pretty much it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Automatic Failure, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Piper Kemp, a flight instructor, moves aside to avoid letting her personal feelings influence a decision about whether to pass one of her students. But when he crashes and almost loses his life, Knox Petruci steps up to defend Piper and opens a can of worms because her student happens to be his brother.

And a sneaky peek…

Sometimes Knox wanted to punch his younger brother in the face. This counted as one of those moments he would cheerfully do so. His brother's insufferable treatment of his flight instructor—who for all intents and purposes Abel didn't deserve—rubbed Knox the wrong way. He shouldn't be surprised Abel tried to play an angle with her—she definitely had the beauty and brains factor going on—but the disappointment burned hot anyway. One of these days his brother would get his. Knox hoped he'd be there to see it happen.
He stared Abel down. "You're a dick." Folding his arms over his chest, he added one more insult. "And an asshole."
Abel lifted a shoulder. "Love you, too, bro." He frowned. "Why are you here? Didn't we have enough happy family time this morning?"
Again, the urge to smash his fist into Abel's mouth almost won out. But Knox liked a fair fight, so he resisted the temptation. Wouldn't be sporting when Abel had two broken legs and a busted hip. Not to mention bruised ribs. But, hey… adding a broken arm to the mix might not be a bad idea.
Abel snapped his fingers. "Knox. What brought you back to the hospital? Aside from the need to call me names?"
Knox bit back another sarcastic reply. "You got a call from cryptology and counterintelligence. Don't ask me why, but they want you for their program." Actually, Abel would be better suited for spook work than flying any day.
Abel snorted. "News travels fast. I haven't been out of surgery for a full twenty-four hours yet." He swept a hand back and forth over his legs. "Hope they're not expecting me to report anytime soon."
Knox shook his head. "Look, Abel, I suggest you at least get back to them right away." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the paper with the phone number on it. "It's an opportunity for you to excel in a field suited for your particular skill-set." He put the information on the bedside table and started for the door.
Abel stopped him with a question. "Hey, what's my particular skill-set?"
Knox glanced over his shoulder. "Being a dick and an asshole." He pulled the door open. "So get your head out of your ass and make the call before they realize you might be too good for the work." Exiting the room, he ignored the barrage of expletives his brother unleashed.
He had another person to visit, a nice, amicable veteran who had served with his grandfather.

I loved writing the exchange between Abel and Knox. Siblings are so much fun to portray, especially when they're not afraid to call each other on their bullshit.



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

ML Skye

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