Sunday Snippet: Red Tape

Happy Halloween to those who observe. We had our trick or treat last night and it was nice to be outside with semi-decent weather to enjoy fall. For me, it was wonderful to take a break from some renovation in the bathroom. I'm not twenty-five anymore and I'm definitely feeling that right now. LOL

Not a bad week for television, I started with another episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries and quite enjoyed it. I love the quirkiness of the characters and the cases. Such a great show.

Watched a two-part Silent Witness and I vaguely remembered this one. It's odd how a season from a decade or so ago holds up so well. What goes around comes around.

Caught two arcs of Classic Who, which brings me close to the end of season twenty. Pretty sure the Master is going to show up again around the final arc.

Enjoyed two episodes of The Muppet Show. Liza Minnelli and Phyllis George were the guest stars.

Finished up season six of Prime Suspect. I'll be starting the final season this week. I'm not sure what I'll move on to after this series but I'll find something.

Watched two episodes of Roswell: The Final Verdict. I kind of like the use of AI truth detection they're using to determine whether witness accounts about the crash are true or not. Interesting viewing.

Caught another episode of Peak Practice. I'm coming up on the last few episodes of season five and I'm still enjoying the series. Slowly but surely making my way to season twelve with one of my favorite actors in an early role.

Got some great information from MasterClass with Brandon McMillan. I'll be coming back to this lesson in the near future.

Started the new-to-me series Glitch and got rather hooked on the first episode. My sibling highly recommended this one and I look forward to discussing it with him.

Watched Pop Profile: Demi Lovato and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm not overly familiar with her career and the profile was interesting to follow along.

Caught another episode of Star Trek: Discovery. Things are definitely heating up and I can't decide if I'm really down with what's going on with Ash or if I need to shake my head over it. Either way, I'm so invested in what happens I can't wait for the next episode.

Great Chicago Med episode with Halsted, Rhodes, and Reese learning some lessons. I always find the episode names interesting and I love how they almost always end up fitting the theme.

Watched another Midsomer Murders episode and thoroughly enjoyed it. After twenty-two seasons that's saying something. I have one more episode of this season then, hopefully, a new season in the near future.

That's pretty much it for this week's viewing update. Tonight's post is from Red Tape, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Noelle Phame and Dirk Santias are given a temporary duty assignment to a new space cruiser and quickly realize how different the traditions are on an admiral's flagship. Once they figure out the red tape, they're free to fraternize all they want.

And a sneaky peek…

Noelle stopped the battle formation sim, their final for the day. "Any questions?"

Dirk adjusted the lighting then moved back to stand beside her.

One of the pilots in the front row, Bartleman Jones, raised his hand. "Yeah, are you free for dinner tonight?" He waggled his eyebrows.

Noelle slid a sideways glance to Dirk then rolled her eyes. "Do you really think I'm going to fall for that? You want inside information, don't you?"

Jones laughed. "Maybe I want to test the waters with a beautiful woman."

The rest of the class responded with a collective groan.

Noelle chuckled. "Nice try. Just because I'm from a different ship doesn't mean the frat regs don't apply." Not that the rules really tripped her up.

Bartleman rolled a shoulder. "Can't blame a guy for trying. And, hey, there's a way around everything. Just saying." He smirked.

Noelle gave him a long look. "Maybe so, but don't waste your time. You don't need to tax your brain trying to figure something out." She retrieved the disc with the sim runs and tucked it into her case.

Another pilot, June Lampkin, laughed out loud. "And he goes down in flames."

The guy next to her arched a brow. "What does that make, Jones? Ten consecutive crash and burns?"

Jones snorted. "I'm not in double digits yet. Give me some credit."

Dirk stepped up to the podium. "Duly noted. Now, all of you, get out of here."

The class started leaving and Noelle gathered up their files. When she glanced up, Dirk waggled his eyebrows much better than Bartleman could. "So … there's a way … we just need to figure it out." He moved behind her and cupped her ass.

Noelle lifted her chin and spoke quietly in his ear. "The sooner the better. We're almost up to a week since we've been together."

Dirk gripped her hips. "Copy that. I'll see what I can find out." He eased away from her and gathered up his case, slinging it over his shoulder.

Noelle followed him out of the room, discreetly admiring the flex of his butt under the blue fabric of his pants.

This is a fun little story and I love Noelle and Dirk trying to be sneaky.

 

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Quick Fast Dirty

It's so weird we're almost to the end of the month. One more October Sunday after this one. Had a decent work week and made a lot of progress on my cleaning project.

Also had a solid viewing week. Started with The Muppet Show and ended up getting four episodes watched. Beverley Sills, Kenny Rogers, Lola Falana, and Dizzy Gillespie were the guest stars.

Watched Prime Suspect and finished up season five and started season six. Six is proving to be very interesting. I can't remember how it ends up playing out but I'll find out this week.

Caught two episodes of Peak Practice and liked both. Sometimes the bickering between the partners gets a little wearing but I do like this mix.

Ended up watching two episodes of MasterClass with Brandon McMillan. I like this guy and I'm getting some good tips on how to work with my doggos.

Finished up Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Man. "Summer" and "Fall" hit me in the feels in a really big way. At some point, I want to rewatch the four episodes and do a recap on my fictional universe blogs. I can honestly say the revival had everything I would've wanted and only a few things I didn't. Which means I'm left with a feeling of completeness. This isn't to say I wouldn't welcome another year in the life that would pick up at the present time. That could be a lot of fun.

I enjoyed two musician spotlights. Dolly Parton: Queen of Country turned out to be an enjoyable look at the amazing woman and her long career. Pop Profiles: Christina Aguilara shed some facts about her career that I didn't know. As a casual fan, I found it interesting.

Watched an episode of Star Trek: Discovery and loved the mirror universe. Those kinds of episodes always make me happy. I'm looking forward to the next installment so I can find out how things play out.

Caught two episodes of Chicago Med. The second one ended up blowing me away. Understated but really strong performances all around. I love this show.

Weirdly enough, I watched an episode of Midsomer Murders and it featured scarecrows. I say weirdly because the final episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries had a scarecrow feature also. Anyway, nice to see Winter get some backstory and lovely to see Betty again.

Finished up the second episode of Silent Witness. I vaguely remember this one and enjoyed getting caught up in the cases again. Looking forward to starting the next two-parter.

Caught another four-episode arc of Classic Who. Nice to see the brigadier again. Interesting episode with a potential new companion in the mix.

Finished up UFOs over Earth. This one focused on mass sightings in Mexico. I'll be starting a new series this week and I think it's going to be about Roswell.

Last but not least, I watched two more episodes of Classic Rugrats. The first season had some great standalone episodes and two were in the set I watched. The second season of the new version is streaming now but I'm waiting until all episodes are available before diving in.

And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Quick-Fast-Dirty, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Vixen Arz and Josh Baldwin like their sex quick, fast, and dirty. In the middle of a war, they don't have time for sensual pleasantries, and they can't do the hearts and flowers things anyway—Vixen is Josh's superior officer. If caught fraternizing, both will face brig time—or court-martial!

And a sneaky peek…

Josh focused on the radar screen in front of him. "Quiet shift for once." He occupied one of seven stations with long-range monitors and none of his fellow crew members marked any kind of movement in the outer edges of their protected region.

One hour left and he'd head down to the captain's office to offer some much-needed stress relief. Did he worry about getting caught with his literal pants down? Sometimes.

His lips twitched. "Not often enough to ever say no." Why the hell would he?

He needed her as much as she needed him. And to be fair, they'd been the same rank when they started their mutually beneficial arrangement. The reason for their initial hookup also became the cause for her bump up to captain. The loss of their former CAG during an intense battle.

A blip appeared on his screen. "Contact. Radar two. Zero mark four." He waited for the transponder signal, hoping it would be one of theirs. "Galliway Hopper 245, returning." Thankfully, no need to send out the alert fighters.

No doubt the crew from the hopper would have an update on how the latest skirmishes were playing out. The Galliway rotated out from the front line for repairs and a reprieve from the battle but they'd be due to head back soon—if the fight didn't come to them first.

Josh leaned back in his seat, keeping his gaze on the monitor. "The nebula offers some protection, but how much longer before it's discovered?" Probably not much.

If they were lucky, they'd get a few more days before shifting to another location. He'd take the time. And hope he got a few more rounds in with Vixen before their schedules went to shit and he went back to one-handed one-offs.

He didn't care how quick, fast, and dirty the sex with Vixen ended up being. Those stolen moments topped anything his imagination came up with and definitely gave him something to look forward to. Forty-five minutes to go…

The sages are feeding me little bits and pieces on this story but I like where things are going. Here's hoping everything comes together the way I hope it will.

 

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Questionable Vision

Wow. The month is half over already. October is flying by. Not complaining because I'm super busy with work projects and that makes me happy. I'm also making steady progress on the whole clean and organize project.

Had a solid week of television viewing again. I watched two lessons of Master Class with Brandon McMillan. I got more valuable insight in dog behavior and I hope I can translate that to working with my doggos.

Caught two episodes of Gilmore Girls: Year in the Life. Winter and spring were each enjoyable. I didn't know how they'd handle Richard's death, but I like what they did. I'm very curious how summer is going to play out, especially with Loralie's therapy deal.

Enjoyed two specials about Cher. Artist to Icon and Life in the Spotlight both had great footage and details. I remember watching Sonny and Cher and her solo show on television when I was a kid. I sometimes miss that type of variety show. I'm so not into the idols and voice-type shows.

Watched another episode of Star Trek: Discovery. I thoroughly enjoy how the plotlines are playing out. I have to admit I really didn't think they'd go where they went with the Tyler storyline but I love that they did. Took me back to Farscape a little bit.

Caught two episodes of Chicago Med and liked both. Rhodes keeps growing on me and I like how he stumbles every once in a while. I need to go back and do a crossover watch at some point also.

Thoroughly enjoyed an episode of Midsommer Murders. Old school in so many ways with being trapped on an island and having the case be about tabletop gaming. All in all, an excellent episode.

Finished up the second part of Silent Witness and started a new two-parter. Great to have Leo back in the morgue and out on cases. I also remembered how much I love Nikki and Harry's bantery conversations.

Started season twenty of Classic Who and, hello, Tegan's back. I watched two four-episode arcs and actually loved both. The second arc brought the Maya back and I'd forgotten they did that sometimes in the original series.

Began a new series with UFOs Over Earth. The first two episodes were fun. Fayetteville and Bucks County were the areas MUFON investigated. I've seen bit and pieces about both sightings but got some new information about each. Always enjoy when that happens.

Watched two episodes of The Muppet Show. Dudley Moore and Arlo Guthrie were the guest stars. I'm enjoying season four so far.

Started the fifth season of Prime Suspect and I'm pretty sure I remember how this one plays out. I love how fallible Jane is and watching that unfold on screen.

Got another episode of Peak Practice watched. This one ended up being a lot calmer than the last one. I'm really enjoying the trio of partners.

Watched two episodes of Classic Rugrats. The first season has so many great moments and I love revisiting them.

Also got in another episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries and finished up season four. I'll be starting season five this week. I still truly love this show so much. I miss Jared a little but I think he might be in at least one more episode and I'm hoping to actually get to meet Roxy at some point.

That's pretty much it for the weekly television update. Tonight's post is from Questionable Vision, a sexy short that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Park Danielson doesn't want to fight anymore. Stuck in a warzone, he has one burning question. Why bother sticking around? Darby Young has the answer. He's not allowed to leave.

And a sneaky peek…

The conversation with Park left Darby shaken. Recriminations pinged in her brain. And maybe a little guilt.

"I've led Park on a merry chase." Up, down, forward, back, and hell, sometimes sideways and upside down. "No wonder he'd given up hope."

She needed to own part of the responsibility. She always taken it for granted he'd always be there, hovering in the background. She … they … didn't have to rush things for that reason, right?

But she'd misread all the signals. And damn near missed the forest for the trees. Well, she sure had a fire under her ass now. Whatever Park needed, she'd find a way to make it happen. And that included her.

She shivered a little. "Even though commitment terrifies me." Okay, a promise of time didn't bother her. She'd signed on the dotted line for military service.

Letting someone in, really in, freaked her the hell out. After watching her mother pine for a philandering man, why wouldn't she have concerns? The guy loved them, but couldn't keep his dick in his pants and every affair, each one-night stand, broke her mom's heart a little more until only a brittle shell remained.

Darby vowed she would never love someone enough to make putting up with affairs seem like a normal thing. She couldn't be like her mom and beg for any scrap of love her dad might be willing to share. But would she really have to?

Park represented the polar opposite of her wayward father. Honest, sometimes too much so, loyal, honorable … Park didn't have it in him to cheat like her old man had. Shouldn't she consider making a leap for him? He'd always, always been there. Good, bad, ugly … didn't matter. Park came back for more and usually gave as good as he got.

Darby snorted. "Considering I dish out bitch pie on a semi-regular basis and he still sticks around … well, maybe that should tell me something."

And maybe she should listen and pay attention to what mattered most.

I love writing Darby and her internal journey to what matters most. Park might need to get prepared for some amazing revelations in the near future.

 

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Quality of Care

October is starting out really well and I hope it's a sign of things to come. My work projects have picked up again and I'm so happy! I'm also making progress on the great clean out again. I've also taken to spending fifteen to thirty minutes before I go to bed reading something that interests me. I've got a ton of new research books and I love digging into them.

Pretty decent week for television viewing. I watched four episodes of The Muppet Show. The guest stars were Shields and Yarnell, Dyan Cannon, Victor Borge, and Linda Lavin. Pretty good episodes all in all.

Caught two episodes of Prime Suspect, which finished out season four. So far, the episodes are standing up and I like revisiting them.

Watched two episodes of Peak Practice. Will said good-bye and headed for Bristol and the newly formed trio is finding their footing. The second episode ended up being quite dramatic with explosions and emergencies all around.

Enjoyed the second lesson of Master Class with Brandon McMillan. He focused on variables that make dogs unique. I already have some good information based on the two types of dogs I have.

Caught Making the Witcher and liked diving deep into how everything gets put together behind the scenes. I'll probably be starting a new show this week.

Enjoyed Artist to Icon: Madonna. She came onto the music scene in my early adulthood and I've always enjoyed her music. Nice to see some new information about her long and storied career.

Watched another episode of Classic Rugrats. As usual, I get sucked right back into the past when my oldest was a tiny baby and watching the show with my husband in the evenings.

Caught an episode of Chicago Med and thoroughly enjoyed it. I like how the relationships and friendships work on the show and even when the characters make me angry, I can see where they're coming from.

Loved the latest episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries. Breen's discomfort whenever he tangled with the abrasive Trudy proved valid even if she ended up not quite fitting the mold most, including me, cast her in.

Watched the first part of Silent Witness. I remember this one but not how it turned out. I'm always interested when the characters end up on opposite sides of a case. Looking forward to seeing how this one plays out again.

Enjoyed Classic Who's finale arc of season nineteen. Looks like Teegan won't be returning for the twentieth season, leaving the Doctor with one companion. Should start the new season this week.

Finished out the season of UFO Conspiracies. I'll be starting a new UFO show this week and I'm kind of hoping it will be a good one.

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

Here's the mini-blurb:

Stuck on the fringe of space, cut off by an enemy blockade, Phoebe Point and Dane Moragson keep their ragtag crewmembers from going stark, raving mad. When food rations become non-existent, Phoebe and Dane plot a daring plan to improve the quality of care for their comrades—even if it means going against orders and risking court martial.

And a sneaky peek…

Noell Bartof skirted by the latest altercation Captain Moragson and Lieutenant Point got in the middle of. The CAG and deputy CAG spent way too much time keeping the peace between hungry, cranky pilots.

Ducking into a recessed alcove, he waited for the two superior officers to march the bickering pilots in the direction of separate decks. "With food sources being low, everyone's on edge." And with an enemy blockade between the space station and supply lanes, tempers would only get worse. "Ha. Try frayed beyond anything." Stepping out, Noell followed along behind Dane and Phoebe.

He got a good look at each and both looked dull and down. Then again, the duo had been making sure the other pilots got taken care of first—on top of playing babysitter and nanny along with maintaining some semblance of a flight roster. Noell hadn't seen either smile in over a week. Other than the morale boosting kind that didn't quite reach their eyes.

And even they'd been surly and snappish, but only with each other, and in such a quiet way it freaked everyone out. If Moragson and Point reached their breaking point, the whole station would be screwed. Noell doubted the top brass had any kind of clue how much the lower ranks relied on the CAG and deputy CAG to keep order and calm below decks. Or the toll it took on both.

He stopped. "Screw that." Time for someone to take care of the caregivers and Noell would start the process.

He ducked into the small gym on D-deck and glanced around. Empty. Good. He made his way to the heavy bag and peeled back the duct tape covering a torn section. Reaching inside, he withdrew a small pouch and opened the bag. He shook two small candy bars into his palm from the secret stash he'd hidden in case rationing got even worse.

Closing the pouch, he tucked it back inside the heavy bag. "This isn't enough. I gotta get more." Resealing the tape, he stuffed the candy into his pocket and retraced his steps.

First stop … pilot quarters. He'd bet his next full meal—if he ever got another one—he'd find others who had a little something squirreled away. And he wasn't above using blackmail and extortion to get it.

"Everyone's gonna give a little of what they have."

Or look like an ass if they didn't.

This story is set up a little differently from what I usually do and I'm enjoying the challenge of writing from a somewhat unique perspective by adding a third party POV.

 

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Pushing Buttons

Welcome, October. It's been a week with a lot of ups and downs. Work went well and I got a bunch of projects close to being finished. My middle kid needed some help navigating a challenging week of appointments and mild setbacks with health care.

Not a bad week of television either. I caught two episodes of Prime Suspect. Finished up season three and started season four. Four begins single episodes and I'm looking forward to diving in.

Watched two episodes of Peak Practice. Both were pretty interesting and I like where season five is going.

Finished up Master Class with LeVar Burton and started a new course with Brandon McMillan about training dogs.

Completed Inside the Episodes: The Witcher and I'm looking forward to season two so much right now. To tide myself over, I'm going to watch the making of the series next.

Enjoyed watching Adele: Homecoming. I loved getting some insight into how she got her start and how she creates her music.

Started watching Classic Rugrats with the first episode about Tommy's birthday. I'll look forward to getting back into this show for the sheer nostalgia.

Watched two episodes of Chicago Med. Both ended up making me emotional and all teary-eyed. I love this show!

Enjoyed another The Brokenwood Mysteries. Poor Mike being out of commission made an interesting dynamic change.

Started season thirteen of Silent Witness and vaguely remember the episode. The insurance adjuster woman is the reason. Her obnoxiousness rubbed me wrong the first time around also. I mean I literally want to slap her, she's that annoying.

Also began a new episode of Blue Heelers. This one should prove to be interesting and I have a feeling helicopter parents will be the reason.

Caught a two-part arc of Classic Who. Actually enjoyed it for the most part, even the hints about a possible return of the Master.

Watched another episode of UFO Conspiracies. This one had a focus on cold-climate sightings. A neat spin on the usual fare.

Got two more episodes of The Muppet Show in with John Denver and Crystal Gayle as the guest stars. Season four is officially underway.

Caught another episode of Star Trek: Discovery. A lot going on in this one and I liked getting some additional insight in the second in command. I don't have all the names down yet.

Enjoyed an episode of Artist to Icon. This one featured Whitney Houston and I learned a few things I didn't know about her career. I'll probably stick to musicians for this series.

Finally, I caught an episode of Midsommer Murders. Hannah Waddington guest-starred and the episode ended up being such a good one.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Pushing Buttons, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Chet Vondallson hates complications—integrating two crews when a space cruiser goes down sits at the bottom of his list of fun things to do. Parson Browd, one of Chet's top pilots—and his lover—likes to push his buttons and get a reaction, something Chet knows but finds hard to resist.

And a sneaky peek…

Chet Vondallson stared at his recently promoted superior officer, the new admiral of the small fleet protecting a mining operation. "You know how this is going to look, sir." If he didn't, he should.

The newly appointed admiral gave a short grunt. "Yeah, I do. Don't have time to care." He leaned forward. "Right now, I gotta combine three crews into two and assume command of both. Who else can I trust to coordinate this and get it done the way it needs to be happen?" He pinned Chet with his gaze.

Chet sighed. "Dammit, Dad. It still reeks of nepotism and it'll make the job harder." How could he not see the problem? "There're half a dozen officers with the rank to do this. You could go with one of them and use me in the background."

Frank Vondallson narrowed his gaze. "You're saying you're not up for the job?" His eyebrow arched in the annoying way Chet hated.

Chet ground his teeth together. "Of course not. I'm saying this is gonna bite you on the ass in ways you haven't even thought of yet." Argh … why do I always let him push my buttons?  

Frank's lips twitched. "You think? Trust me when I say I already have. Don't for one moment assume I don't know what I'm doing." He slid a folder across his desk. "This is the starting roster of who I want where. Everything not filled in is your choice." He tapped the file. "There's gonna be some controversy. If anyone tries to be difficult, send them my way."

Chet opened the folder and briefly scanned the names. "Geez, Dad. We won't have time to even engage the enemy if we're fighting battles within the fleet." At least five of the new posts would be in immediate contention.

Frank gave Chet a grim smile. "I'll deal with it. You keep the planes in the air and integrate the crews. Everything else, all the bullshit jockeying and jousting is mine to handle." He pushed away from the desk and stood up.

Chet followed suit, tucking the roster under his arm. "Yes, sir. You can expect the first onslaught by end of first watch tomorrow." He started for the hatch.

His dad got in a parting shot. "Make sure Parson's not one of them. Use her where she works the best … leading the charge in and out of the cockpit."

Chet exited into the corridor and closed his eyes. "Like that won't blow up in my face." As much as he loved Parson Browd, he couldn't use her blunt-object style to get this project off the ground.

He needed a straight-edge razor wielded with finesse.

I have a lot of love for the father-son dynamic in this story. Frank and Chet don't always see eye-to-eye but there's no mistaking they trust each other to do what needs to be done.

 

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

ML Skye