Sunday Snippet: First Time Laid Eyes on You

Whew. What a week. Ohio got a lot of the smoke from the Canadian wildfires, and it was kind of eerie seeing the hazy gray skies for most of the week. Good time to stay inside due to the high danger air quality alerts.

The weather at least stayed just under sweltering. My garage cleanout went much smoother since the temperatures weren't as high as they have been. Going out very late at night and only staying there for under an hour also helped.

Work projects moved along. I finished up a few odds and ends and started a new copy edit. I also touched base on a few back burner projects. I got to review some back cover copy and book blurbs, which is always a fun change of pace.

Had an okay viewing week. Didn't quite make it through all of my usual shows but made a decent stab at them. Between the cleanup and a lengthy run with my own writing, my watching took a back seat.

Started with another bonus episode of Foyle's War behind the scenes. An interview about the details of the final episode with the writer and the show historian. Very much enjoyed it.

Also finished up Tales of Irish Castles. Really liked this series and its deep dive into the seriously large number of castles in Ireland.

Caught an episode of Silent Witness and made it about halfway through. I'm going to take a break, I think. This season is kind of dark, which I enjoy most of the time but, in all honesty, I kind of need something lighter right now.

Watched another episode of Poirot and really enjoyed it. It's always fun when familiar people pop up in these movies. And this one was very twisty, which I enjoy.

Elementary ended up being really good. I really like getting backstory and even though Marcus's is full of strife and pain, it tied into the current happenings really well. Also loved Sherlock being there for Marcus at the end.

That's all for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from First Time Laid Eyes on You, a novella about opposites attracting each other.

Here's the miniblurb:

Nadia Blunt takes one look at Bart Uppermark and decides they'll make a great team in the air and on the ground. But when Bart shows zero interest in working together—she takes too many risks for his comfort zone—Nadia pulls out all the stops and proves him wrong.

And a sneaky peek…

Stunned, Nadia relaxed and tried to keep her mouth from falling open. "Um, yes, sir." She followed his suggestion and settled across from him. "You're really choosing me as your wingman?" She had to be dreaming.

He nodded. "I am." He flipped her file open and got down to business. "But I'll be perfectly honest. You scare the hell out of me." He thumbed through her fit reps. "You've been cited for reckless maneuvers over a dozen times." He glanced up. "That's about ten times more than I'm comfortable with."

She considered his statement. "May I speak freely?" Did she really want to mount a defense?

He inclined his chin and rested his forearms on the desk.

She exhaled slowly, then went with the first thing that popped into her head. "If you feel I'm too reckless, why did you even pick me as a choice?" He had to have a reason.

He snapped off a response. "Delta roll double dive." No hesitation, no time needed to think.

Her lips twitched, but she didn't speak.

He shrugged. "Aside from myself, I only knew of two other pilots who can pull off the maneuver." His voice held a note of amazement.

She flashed a brief smile. "And now me." Pride filled her.

He agreed. "And now you."

She relaxed even more, sliding down in the chair a little. "I managed the delta roll double dive on my fifth attempt." She lifted her gaze to his. "If rumor is true, you got it in seven." His reaction here would make or break her decision to trust him.

He quirked an eyebrow. "The information is accurate." His lips curved in a wry smile.

She straightened and leaned forward. "I'll admit I push harder and farther than I should sometimes. But I firmly believe we, as pilots, have to test not only our limits, but the limits of the crafts we fly." Her tone edged on passionate, and she cleared her throat. "If you'll note, I have one citation involving another pilot and that occurred one month after I graduated. The other occurrences only put myself at risk." She learned a valuable lesson about never pulling others into her hijinks.

Bart countered. "Yourself and a multimillion-dollar space craft." He leaned back again, waiting on her response.

She mimicked his stance. "Touche. I promise to keep that in mind." A finger shot up. "But … I can't always fly by the book. It goes against my nature and my instincts." And would absolutely be a deal breaker. 

Bart placed his forearms on the desk again. "I'll give you some leeway, but if you endanger my life or any other pilot, I'll have your wings." He held her gaze.

Nadia weighed his stipulation. "I wouldn't expect anything less." And she would do her best not to let him down or give him an opportunity to find fault with her.

He reached across the desk, his palm extended. "Welcome to active flight status as my wingman, Lieutenant."

Nadia cracked a wide grin and shook his hand with a firm grip, holding on longer than necessary. "Thank you, Captain." She'd done the impossible and landed her dream position.

Bart walked her to the hatch. "Expect your transfer papers by the end of the day." He flashed a quick smile.

Nadia exited the office with her mind filled with one specific thought. One hurdle down. Another one to overcome. Her attraction for the man raged hard.

But his by-the-book stance would be a challenge to sway.

Except … he kind of gave her something of a free pass. Or maybe it's a trap. He'd give her some room in the cockpit but if she mis-stepped elsewhere, he'd start a new search.

Gah! Too many thoughts crowded her head. She'd get settled, find her footing, then worry about the attraction and how to manage the hot pull she didn't want to resist.

Having a lot of fun with this one. Nadia and Bart are going to do a delicate balancing act and really enjoy it.

 

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Fireworks

Another long week and part of it has been spent wondering exactly how many US senators are still with us. One passed last night and another appears to be not recovering. I've been alive long enough to acknowledge how bananapants it is that we don't know for sure. I mean, when an elected official can take four months off and still get paid by taxpayers, not explain what's going on, or be seen in public, there's something wrong. The FMLA allows for twelve weeks without a threat to employment. Sixteen weeks is not cool. Just saying.

Weather cooled down enough to not be miserable. I have to make space in my garage for some things my daughter needs to have stored, and it's been cool enough at night that I can make headway. We were supposed to have rain most of the week and didn't get as much as predicted.

Work continued to be steady. I'm moving along on two ongoing projects, and I finished up a proofread and started a new copy edit. Also touched a back burner project and hope to dive in a little more this week. Writing is also going well right now and I'm happy about that.

Had a fairly decent viewing week. I made it through my usual list of shows and also did a binge marathon of Death in Paradise on Ovation.

Started out with a bonus episode of Foyle's War with the writer and creator along with the show's historian. Very interesting conversation.

Caught another episode of Tales of Irish Castles and moved into a more modern age. I think I have one episode left and have to say I've enjoyed this series.

Watched a new episode of Death in Paradise. Gotta say, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Mervin interact with his brother and loved how everyone, including Catherine, came together to find Mervin. Seeing the punk-ass faux commissioner again kind of put the icing on the cake, even if he's still a punk-ass policeman now.

Enjoyed another episode of Poirot. The later movies are fun to watch but I do miss Hastings and Miss Lemon. And, of course, Japp. But it's also entertaining to dive into mysteries that have an intriguing premise.

Elementary had a great episode. Loved seeing Marcus put everything together with his girlfriend's ex. Really hated the ending though. I have a feeling all will not be as it seems.

Watched an episode of Young Justice and kind of liked seeing Connor and Megan in their regular joe roles. Also rather enjoyed Red Arrow asking Aqua Lad for help. And it looks like the overall mystery is starting to fall into place, with the behind the scenes machinations being revealed.

Also caught another episode of Star Trek Lower Decks. Really loved seeing a different vibe with Rutherford and Mariner teaming up and Boimler and Tendi being together.

That's it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Fireworks, a novella that features a sibling rivalry and family drama before things work out for the couple.

Here's the miniblurb:

Military pilots Adelle Lizt and Zander McKibbet are a volatile mix—neither gives quarter when they know they're right. But with two sides to every situation, they find some common ground in a very interesting place—the guest quarters on base.

And a sneaky peek…

Adelle entered her office and got the immediate sense someone else had been there.

She moved toward her desk. "That's not where I left my calendar." She always had it on the left side for a quick glance when needed.

The daily log sat in the center of the surface with a piece of notepaper sticking out from under it.

She pulled the page out and her eyes narrowed as she read the scrawled missive. "Lieutenant Lizt, you are hereby ordered to report to base guest quarters, room 225 at your earliest convenience after eighteen hundred hours to discuss the situation regarding Cadet Keith McKibbet." The signature had her seeing red. "Captain Zander McKibbet. Son of a bitch." Keith followed through on the threat to use his pull.

Adelle didn't know what pissed her off more. The fact that a clearly unqualified candidate decided to use his family connections to get something they didn't deserve or being ordered, ordered, to report to the fucking guest quarters on base by Captain McKibbet.

She yanked her chair back and dropped down onto it. "Who the hell does he think he is?" Crumpling the note, she tossed it into the trash bin, very tempted to ignore the captain.

Instead, she retrieved Keith's file and made a copy of his test scores. After making sure she didn't have a hair out of place, she left her office and made the trek over to the guest quarters on foot. Zander McKibbet better be ready to get a piece of her mind. She didn't care if he didn't want to hear how annoyed and angry he made her.

Arriving at the assigned room, she rapped twice on the door and stepped back, squaring her shoulders just as he opened the barrier. "Lieutenant Lizt reporting as ordered even if pulling rank in such a shitty way is beyond abuse of authority." Then she shoved Keith's test scores into his chest. "I should tag you for harassment, but I'd rather not escalate this situation." She folded her arms across her chest and met the elder McKibbet's gaze.

Zander apologized. "Yeah, sorry about that. It was a dick move." He moved to the side and waved his arm, inviting her into the room. "But … I've run the gauntlet myself. My old man didn't rise through the ranks without pissing people off sometimes. And I had a few instructors who used that against me." He closed the door behind her and nodded toward the sofa. "I wanted to gauge your reaction to the request." When Adelle perched on the edge of the cushion, he flipped the file open and started reviewing Keith's scores.

Adelle took that time to study the older McKibbet brother. He wore his dark hair in a standard military cut, high and tight on the top. There were many who couldn't pull off the style, but Zander had the features to do so. His eyes were intensely brown, and she could imagine them snapping and crackling with anger or in softer moments going deep liquid chocolate. He clocked in at six foot or little over, which fit her five ten well. Neither would have to suffer getting kinks in their neck by having to look too far up or down. All in all, he rated higher in the looks department than his brother. Then again, Adelle hadn't seen Zander sneering or pouting … something Kieth did on a regular basis.

A terrible thought hit her. Gah. Zander is exactly my type.

Followed by rational thinking. No, bad idea. Very bad.

Zander let out low whistle. "I gotta agree with your assessment. My brother isn't pilot material." He tucked the scores into a case on the coffee table.

Adelle relaxed. "I don't have it in for Keith. Or any of my students for that matter." She met his gaze again. "If I feel like there's going to be a conflict of interest, I ask to have cadets moved to another class with a different instructor." She didn't know why she offered her personal code of ethics, other than a need for Zander to understand she checked her baggage at the door.

Zander took a seat in the chair perpendicular to the sofa. "To be honest, I didn't think you did. My brother suffers from … what's the opposite of imposter syndrome?" He snapped his fingers. "Toxic overconfidence. He's used to sailing through challenges and when he can't, he…" Zander paused a moment.

Adelle filled in the statement. "Uses his family influence to get what he wants?" She didn't doubt Keith played that card before her class.

Zander snorted. "Yeah, let's go with that. I mean he's actually quite intelligent and I think he thought flight school would be a slam dunk." A sigh escaped before he continued. "It's not like Dad and I didn't warn him. Not everyone is cut out to fly."

Adelle blinked in surprise. "Gotta admit I didn't think this conversation would go as smoothly as it has." Which pleased her more than it should.

Zander's lips curved. "In that case, and at the risk of being inappropriate again, do you have plans for tonight that weren't in your calendar?" He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees.

Adelle shook her head. "Um, no."

Zander's mouth widened into a grin. "Then maybe we could have dinner together?"

Adelle laughed. "Really didn't expect that one either." She shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

This story gets very twisty and turny and I love how the vibe between the couple is so carefree at the moment.

 

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Finding Calm

Well, July is off to a banging start. Heat wave, the holiday weekend, and a lot of things converging at once. I've been a little off also. Not sure if it's menopause hormones or just general fatigue, but it's been a long week.

We should get a bit of relief from the extreme temperatures when some rain moves through over the next few days. I'll welcome the lower heat indexes.

Work is staying busy. I had a couple of great calls with potential author clients, and I'm excited to see where those go. I have project that shifted to the back burner that needs attention this week, hopefully tomorrow. I also had a project that might be coming back … again. It's the one that won't die, but thankfully, the revisions are all author requests and nothing concerning the edits. Whew. Moved a few smaller things in and out, which is always fun to break up the week. Almost finished with a manuscript proofread of a thriller that has a lot of twists and turns. I need to finish a written assessment on a read through of the opening book to a five-book series sometime this week also.

Had an okay viewing week. Didn't quite make it all the way through my usual shows but didn't do terrible either. I think the heat makes it hard to focus on more than one thing so the entertainment took a back seat to my work projects.

Started the week with another behind-the-scenes bonus episode of Foyle's War. This one focused on the historical recreations for the final episode and I thoroughly enjoyed the interviews.

Caught another episode of Tales of Irish Castles. We're into the seventeenth century, which apparently saw a lot of upheaval.

Finished up the second half of Silent Witness. Again, very interesting how closely related to reality this season has been. I also think I'm liking how there seems to be an overarching thread that's following through all the episodes. That's not really standard or hasn't been for this series.

Watched another episode of Poirot and enjoyed the twists and turns. I love it when Poirot questions what he sees with his own eyes to solve the mystery.

Elementary had a great episode. Seeing the fallout from Shinwell's actions is interesting and I kind of hope there's some redemption there. The case itself ended up being really twisty and wildly bizarre as well.

That's all I had time for this week and that's it for the life update. Tonight's post is from Finding Calm, a novella that explores a character's journey to discover their happy place.

Here's the miniblurb:

Hank and Sunny have danced around finding happiness together so many times. Sunny botches it and learns a hard lesson at the hands of a crazed kidnapper. She finally wants to meet Hank on equal footing, but the timing never seems right. Surely her cosmic bad luck has to take an upswing sooner or later.

And a sneaky peek…

Hank patiently awaited the transpo's landing. Okay, not patiently, but he attempted to display something close. At least the gnawing pit in his gut couldn't be seen.

"Thank the universe for small favors."

He'd go straight to the gym and work out all the deeply coiled tension—as soon as Sunny landed. He welcomed the kick of anger thinking of her brought. It took the edge off the horror of finding her on the planet and wanting to forget everything she'd done, to rush forward, gather her close, and never let her go.

The kid had stopped him.

Hank had no idea who the little girl belonged to, but Sunny could be her mother. The similarities in facial structure made him look twice. The only problem? Sunny didn't have a daughter. Hank had known Sunny too long and had too much history with her for a child to have been hidden away.

"Whoever that kid is, she's got her hooks into Sunny."

The transpo entered the landing bay and slowly lowered to the hangar deck. The knots in his shoulders grew taut and Hank braced for impact. The bird would sit for less than five minutes before deboarding would start.

Whether he liked it or not, Sunny Gage would soon be back in his orbit.

Had there ever been a time when she didn't affect him? He scrolled through his memories and decided there hadn't been. At times he'd hated her.

His head jerked back. "No, not her. I hated what life did to her." And what life did to them.

Because underneath everything … each step forward, every slide back, and all the moments in between … he loved her more than anything.

Even if he couldn't have her.

His heart rate increased when the transpo grew closer with its slow-motion descent. The whirr and hiss of the hydraulics drowned out the thumping pulse in his ears. And his gut churned with trepidation and yeah, the dark anticipation of setting eyes on her again.

His mouth twisted in a grimace. "When am I gonna stop doing this to myself?" Soon … very soon.

For his peace of mind, he planned to see her make it off the ship. After that, he'd walk away and let her figure out where she fit with her return. He'd done his bit when they found and freed her from her high-end prison.

Anything else would have to come from her.

This story is a journey that I love writing. Sunny is such a challenge but also a joy.

 

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

ML Skye