Sunday Snippet: To V or Not to V (a V-World novella)

Winter blast is lingering for at least another week. Our low is supposed to minus eight on Tuesday. And I'll probably have to go out when it's that low. I can't wait.

Lighter than normal work week, but I had come copy editing on my plate. Finished one project and started another one. I also have some new stuff floating in the wings and will hopefully start that soon.

Had an okay week of viewing and made it through the full slate of shows. I'll be starting a new one this week and I'm pretty sure I have the show picked out.

Finished up the series run of Mr. and Mrs. Murder. I quite enjoyed this show. Sometimes I got annoyed at the antics but mostly loved the interactions between the characters.

Caught another episode of London Kills and loved the twisty turns in the episode. I'm loving the vibe between the characters and I'm happy to see Billie become a full detective constable. Looking forward to the next episode.

Loved the Christmas episode of Death in Paradise. The beginning of season eleven is off to a great start. Really cool to see Dwayne again.

Enjoyed another episode of Beyond Paradise. My favorite actor showed up and I'm very excited to see what happens. Still not sure about the mom. Can't quite figure out if she's going to be an anvil between Humphrey and Martha or supportive.

Watched another episode of Elementary and quite enjoyed. I'm not really sure about Joan's new love interest. I actually think he's a bit annoying.

Caught another episode of Batman Beyond and loved it. I remembered this one and possibly caught an easter egg related to Batman: The Animated Series and the Gray Ghost character. Fun times!

Enjoyed the last episode of the eighth season of Classic Rugrats. I'll be starting the final season this week. Very much looking forward to picking back up with new episodes once my rewatch is complete.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from To V or Not to V, a V-World novella.

Here's the miniblurb:

Mallory Biden and Surge Tempest work side by side to police crimes in V-World, a virtual reality recreation area where anyone can live out their wildest fantasy. But when Surge goes rogue to track down an old nemesis and enters the Void Zone, a dangerous, untraceable place he helped create, Mallory will risk getting trapped inside to pull him out.

And a sneaky peek…

Mallory entered Rick's workspace and sat on the chaise recliner. Her leg bobbed up and down with nervous tension while she waited for her brother to finish his computations.

Rick rose from his seat, grabbed a pair of V-Goggles and handed them to Mallory.

She swung her legs up and settled back in the recliner. "Okay. You're sure you can track me?" The goggles dangled from her finger, and she spun them around a couple of times.

Rick turned toward her. "Yes, Mal. I'm sure." He fiddled with the second set-up, matching it to the one he had monitoring Surge's movements. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." He focused back on the screen in front of him. "You are my fave sibling, you know."

Mallory snorted. "I'm your only sibling, you idiot. But I'll take the compliment." She pushed out a nervous breath. She trusted Rick, sibling jokes aside. He wouldn't let her get trapped or stuck in the grid with no way out.

In short, he wouldn't let her down. He never had.

Lifting the goggles, she adjusted them to fit her head. "You'll drop me in, right? No matter where Surge is or what he's doing?" Her anger had settled into a cold ball in the middle of her stomach. It actually helped. Enabled her to be as calm as she could be about the situation.

V-World and some of the things that went on there made her queasy. The work took her to the less desirable places, the sex rooms, the shoot 'em galleries, the speed zones, where seasoned participants often took advantage of newbies who didn't know the ropes. But she got to nab those abusers.

The VZ, almost impossible to police, had a lawless atmosphere. The speed zones in the VZ thrived on high speed, adrenaline charging chase and pursuits. The shooting galleries didn't get progressively harder. Participants dropped in both sections and if they got pegged … game over. The hackers couldn't enter the ranges again and they had to find a new form of fun. The sex rooms in V-World had a racy, raunchy vibe. The VZ went ten steps further, adding a darkly twisted depravity to the acts available.

She'd grown up around violence and mayhem, they tended to not faze her. And she had a bit of a kinky side, but most of what transpired in the VZ made her want to heave. The outer fringes she could handle, they inclined toward the deeper sections of V-World. The rest of the zone, though, like virtual reality hopped up on syntho, the latest highly addictive narcotic. Insanity ruled the streams in the VZ.

Rick cleared his throat, and Mallory snapped her attention back where it should be. He glanced in her direction. "Mal. I know how important this is to you." This being Surge. "I'll slide you into whatever scenario he's got going on. First as an observer—you'll have a thirty second window before you can actualize—after that, you decide when to go hot."

Mallory frowned. "Why the delay?"

Rick shook his head. "Jesus, Mal. This isn't like V-World where we can see what's going on once we have the trace. If Surge is in the middle of a fire fight, you could get killed. Literally." He stopped short, took a breath and continued. "I don't mind covering your ass while you're in the zone, but I'll be damned if I'm taking over on a permanent basis."

Mallory didn't say anything. She couldn't have if she tried. He'd hit on the topic she didn't want to think about. Rick would pick up the slack if anything happened to her, but he'd be hard pressed to hold everyone together the way she did.

Her brother liked lurking in the background. Liked just being there to cheer, egg, and urge everyone else on, to save the day with a slick program or to pick up the pieces and put her back together when she occasionally shattered under the strain of being the HBIC of their covert little group that monitored and played oversight for the sprawling virtual scene.

If she got lost or couldn't make it out, he'd do his best to step up and lead even though they both knew it would never be enough.

Giving him a curt nod, she sat back, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "Okay. Hook me up and send me in."

She heard the keystroke—the last thing she'd hear of the real world until Rick pulled her out or she left of her own accord—and opened her eyes. The blue-green-red of the goggles reflected off her irises, and she was in.

Oh. My.

This series is so much fun to write. I'm very excited to see where it goes with Surge and Mallory.

 

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: To V or Not to V (a V-World novella)

Whew. It's been a week, right? I finished up several projects and got a couple of new ones lined up. My workload is changing in a lot of ways and I'm happily adapting to the new lineup. Change is good, even when you (meaning me) don't like it. At least that's what I've discovered lately.

Had a very solid week of television viewing. I have something of a pattern and I watch shows on a bit of a schedule. This week everything kind of seemed to speed along.

I ended up getting in three Snoopy in Space: The Search for Life. I'm enjoying the second season of this show. The episodes are pretty short and fun to watch.

Finished up the Queens of Mystery second part and thoroughly enjoyed the episode. I'm a little frustrated by the overarching mystery of Mattie's mom but I'm very willing to give this show a lot of leeway.

Watched three episodes of Silent Witness. The second two-parter ended up being pretty enjoyable. I like the vibe of having the forensic science mixed in with the pathology. After fifteen seasons, it's probably past time to introduce that into the mix.

Enjoyed two more Classic Who episodes. I actually kind of like the format for this season with Six being on trial. It's a nice change of pace and something a little different from the norm.

Caught two more episodes of The Muppets. Weirdly, the show really started to gel for me in the last couple of episodes. It's more inclusive and somewhat similar to the older format. And it's fun.

Watched two more episodes of The Alaska Triangle. I'm very much into the unknown mysteries that haven't been discovered there yet. Dinosaurs, UFOs, weird paranormal encounters. This show has everything.

I'm loving Harrow. I got two more episodes watched and the walls are kind of closing in on the bigger arc of who killed Robert Quinn. I'm kind of excited to see where it ends up.

Caught another episode of Peak Practice and the characters said good-bye to David. It's about halfway through the seventh season and I'm interested in what will follow and what the fallout will be.

Enjoyed two more MasterClass lessons with Es Devlin. She discussed mazes and patterns and the audience and both classes were very interesting. If nothing else, she's given me a new way of looking at projects and I'm here for that.

Got two episodes of Paranoid in and, wow, things are heating up. This is a very twisty and turny mystery and I like how things are playing out. I also love that the three leads are kind of a total mess but still get the job done.

Caught two episodes of Classic Rugrats. While none were my faves, they were great to watch as I'd kind of forgotten them. Nice to be reminded.

Watched two episodes of Chicago Med and I really, really don't like the COO person. As a foil for Sharon, I get the need to have her but, yikes, she's awful, terrible, and rage inducing.

Enjoyed two bonus episodes of The Brokenwood Mysteries. A behind-the-scenes short and an interview with the two leads. I finished out everything that's currently available and I'll have to find a new show to start this week to go along with Queens of Mystery.

Got the first of a two-part Blue Heelers watched. I have a sneaky feeling this might be Wayne's swan song. The episode ended up being better than I expected. Can't wait to finish it next week.

Star Trek: Discovery once again kind of blew my mind. I love the interaction with Spock and Michael. The same goes for Michael and Ash. Actually, all the relationships on this show are amazing. Seriously, amazing.

That's pretty much it for this week's update. Tonight's post is from To V or Not to V, a V World novella.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Mallory Biden and Surge Tempest work side by side to police crimes in V-World, a virtual reality recreation area where anyone can live out their wildest fantasy. But when Surge goes rogue to track down an old nemesis and enters the Void Zone, a dangerous, untraceable place he helped create, Mallory will risk getting trapped inside to pull him out.

And a sneaky peek…

Surge Tempest battled his way through the murky depths of code. "Geez, you'd think I had a death wish." He'd put himself in dangerous territory.

To right a wrong and fix a past mistake.

An old friend—now enemy—had lured Surge into a showdown in V-World. Surge didn't see it coming, didn't expect anything out of the ordinary. A new recruit, a green kid, paid the price, his mind forever lost, no chance of recovery. Surge barely made it out and wouldn've suffered the same fate as Nathan, the new recruit, if Mallory hadn't found Surge sprawled on the floor—unconscious and hanging by a thread. His habit of dancing close to the flame had finally landed him in the fire.

"I probably deserve to be burned." But those who worked with and loved him—the few there were—did not.

And he definitely didn't want Mallory caught in the crossfire. She'd want to kill him if she knew where he'd gone.

The VZ. His old stomping grounds.

Slipping between servers, he grimaced. "It's worse than I remembered." Back in the day when he helped set the place up.

At the time, his hacking skills went to the highest bidder. And Surge decided to never be picky about the work he acquired. If someone would pay, he'd set up the play.

He didn't care if the job skirted legal boundaries. They changed so frequently and so fast that Surge made it a priority to be five steps ahead. Christ, life had been so much easier then.

Until he couldn't be five steps ahead anymore.

Because he got out—after meeting Mallory. She'd come thisclose to nabbing him. No one had ever gotten as far as she had.

What else could he do but join her outfit? He helped Mallory track down people similar to him, ones who lacked the knowledge and skill he had. He'd got out of the creating game and didn't regret it at all. Mallory's band of motley mercenaries turned do-gooders had given him a home. And a purpose.

For five years.

And then he got sucked back in.

By his arch rival and sometimes former employer, Nemesis Sisemen.

"Now, it's game on." Cat and mouse. Hunter and hunted.

Surge didn't want to be in the VZ. But he'd keep going until one of them ended up dead or out of commission.

Nemesis wouldn't shred anyone else Surge had a connection to, or get near anyone he loved.

Nemesis had scored first blood, but he wouldn't win.

"Not if I can help it."

I'm honestly loving how this story is coming together. I wanted something with a bit of a cyberpunk feel but with a futuristic vibe also. So far, I'm pleased with how this is shaping up.

 

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: To V or Not to V (A V-World novella)

Hello, December. Per usual, the weather in Ohio is crazy back and forth. Super cold for several days then sixty degrees then back to super cold again. And rain. Lots and lots of rain. Bleh.

It's been another busy workweek with a rush job for a holiday release and finishing up another manuscript. Throw in car trouble on Friday with not one but two vehicles and, yeah, lost the whole day. LOL

Television was a mixed bag of viewing pleasure. I finished out last week with Pensacola Wings of Gold watching a pretty interesting episode where one of the marines got set up by another government worker. Lexx's second season is at the wobbly part where one episode is great and the next is not so much. Also caught a Hallmark movie, An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving, which has three of my favorite actresses. Should be following up with the Christmas movie this week if my schedule doesn't blow up again.

I have to take a moment and rave about The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. This show always ends up making me smile, even when the storyline is somewhat sad. The fifth episode ended up making laugh out loud and I needed it this past week.

I followed up the funny with some serious emotional drama in Strike Back. Almost through season five, which should catch me up for season six. I gotta say this show does a great job at not letting the members of section twenty save the day in an easy fashion. Two steps forward and five steps back is things usually go for them.

Chicago Fire is kind of losing me with this whole deputy commissioner bullshit. Kind of like Chicago PD lost me with sticking someone in just to put a leash on Hank. I'll finish out this season but if there isn't a big change, I'll be skipping the next with the exception of crossover episodes. I love crossovers.

I'm almost finished with Luke Cage's second season. I'll be honest, I'm really disappointed there won't be more and supposedly it's because of the whole Disney + streaming service that's not even launched yet. I'm all for choice and options, but when services get overly proprietary, they sometimes shoot themselves in the foot. I hope that doesn't happen here.

Passionflix debuted another Quickie with Dry Spell and it was funny and sweet but not sugary. I enjoyed it.

I also caught Murdoch Mysteries and liked seeing Terence back again. Finished out the night with a Christmas Belle, a holiday spin on Beauty and the Beast.

Not a bad week of viewing. Tonight's post is from To V or Not to V, a V-World novella that dives in the world of virtual reality and puts my main couple in danger.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Mallory Biden and Surge Tempest work side by side to police crimes in V-World, a virtual reality recreation area where anyone can live out their wildest fantasy. But when Surge goes rogue to track down an old nemesis and enters the Void Zone, a dangerous, untraceable place he helped create, Mallory will risk getting trapped inside to pull him out.

And a sneaky peek…

"Hey, Mal. We got him."

The voice came from outside the office and Mallory Biden looked up from the report on her desk expecting to see her brother Rex in three, two, one…

He burst through the door, winded, and skidded to a halt.

"You tracked Surge?"

Rex nodded, breathless. He must've hauled ass from the monitoring station, two floors down.

"Where the hell is he?"

God, they'd been trying to find Surge for days. She'd been so prepped for bad news she didn't know how to respond to the good.

Rex sucked in air and gave a quick shake of his head. "Uh, you're not gonna like it." He pulled out a chair and collapsed in it.

Okay… not so good then. At least she knew how to deal with that.

Then it hit.

"Dammit. He's in V-World, isn't he?" Virtual World could take him anywhere and her job, hell… their job... gave him jurisdiction to do whatever he wanted. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Rex grimaced. "Worse. Surge is in the VZ."

The urge to punch something took hold of her. "Son of a bitch." What the hell, Surge? Did the man want to drive her mad?

Her best friend, fellow soldier, and lover couldn't just go off the grid in V-World for a few days. Nope. He had to really screw shit up by hitting the Void Zone—something he had no business doing. Not when he recently battled with an old employer—the Nemesis and hadn't quite recovered yet.

"Stupid, stupid man." Mal got up and paced the area behind her desk, worry mixed with anger, and concern merged with frustration.

She stopped abruptly and looked at Rex. "Wait. How did you track him in the VZ? That's not possible."

Her brother's smile was grim. "It is now."

Well… hell.

Rex had finally done it. Cracked the wall that made it so bleeding hard to find anyone once they hit that particular virtual setting. In V-World, they traced people via their log in… not an easy thing. Back tracing took time. Lots of it.

But the VZ didn't use a log in… users entered via hacks. And once in, they could go anywhere, either by jumping on someone else's stream and splitting off from it or by simply hi-jacking it out from under them when they stayed idle too long. If that happened, the hi-jacked user only had to log back in, none the wiser to the theft of their data.  

The process made it very, very hard to trace or monitor anyone's activity in the zone. And the VZ users wanted it that way. They didn't want to be tracked or watched… it defeated the purpose of the Void Zone.

But her genius brother found a way to do it.

Shit.

She'd have to deal with that crisis later. They had some time… but not much. Once word got out, everyone, everyone would be after Rex for the knowledge. The government. Corporations. Criminal gangs.  

And word would get out. Somehow it always did.

Right now though? Surge came first.

Mallory put her hand on Rex's shoulder. "Okay… show me where he is."

I'm having fun with this story. I started it over five years ago and I'm loving how far VR has come in those five years!

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

ML Skye