Sunday, February 16, 2020

Sunday Snippet: Cupid's Folly

February 16, 2020

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 screentime.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Cupid's Folly, a novella that got a start with a brainstorming session with a fellow author.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Jinx Jersey just signed on as the XO of the Cupid's Folly, captained by Alrick Cates and he's given her fair warning she picked the worst time to start her new post and develop an attraction for him. The pleasure ship is booked solid for the Valentine holiday and they don't have time for romance.

And a sneaky peek…

Captain Alrick Cates read through the pre-flight memos concerning the Cupid's Folly.
He lamented this run. "Gah, I hate the couples' cruises." Actually, he disliked pleasure cruises in general.
He longed to be back on a military ship. Missed the rank and structure, the precise need for people to be in a specific location doing important work. Civilian passengers could be fun sometimes but often they were nothing more than a huge pain in the ass.
He picked up the last document and growled. "What the hell?" The civilian board assigned him a new member of staff for a couples' cruise. "And not just any new member… but an acting XO. Oh, no way." His XO picked now to have surgery?
Okay, an operation the man had been putting off for several months, but the damned timing had been on purpose. Paton Barrick abhorred couples' cruises worse than Alrick. Setting the notation aside, he dug down and pulled out the personnel file.
Quickly reading the information on his new second in command, Alrick slammed the folder shut. "Brand fucking new. They're sending me a barely graduated newb to act as my XO." Is the civilian board trying to send me over the brink?
Alrick got up and paced back and forth. He could call and demand someone with experience. Someone who could weather a shitstorm of on-the-prowl men and women with a sole purpose of finding true love in five ports or less.
Sitting back down, he grabbed the handset. "No way am I dealing with a green officer who has zero experience." He grabbed the file again and propped it open.
The name caught his attention first. Jinx Jersey. The rating hit him next. She'd graduated at the top of her class with off the chart marks. Frowning, he hung the receiver back in the cradle. He needed to dig into her credentials—
A rapid series of knocks sounded on the hatch.
Alrick closed the folder again. "Enter." Meeting with this Jinx Jersey couldn't hurt, right?

I'm enjoying this story. I might end up shifting this away from a Valentine romance, but the main thrust of the plot won't change much if I do. Alrick is still going to be cranky about having a new XO on one of the toughest cruises to get through.



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

ML Skye

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