Sunday Snippet: Yellow Fang

Man, I can't believe August is almost over. It's been a chaotic month between work, unexpected challenges, and other factors crowding each other out for attention. Geez. Between the road construction everywhere, my car needing a new alternator, and the dogs needing their check-ups but unable to go because of the car issue … yeah, wild week.

I did have a solid work week. I finished up some projects and started new ones. I got a surprise turnaround that happened a lot sooner than I expected. I'm filling September and some of October, which is great.

Had a pretty good viewing week. I made it through my regular shows and finished up one of my back burners. I get to start the second season this week!

Watched an episode of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and enjoyed the rewatch. Again, this show is such a comfort view for me.

Enjoyed another episode of Madame Blanc Mysteries. I've got a weird feeling all isn't great between Dom and Jean, and that makes me a little sad. I loved the split mysteries even if Gloria's dad irritates the crap out of me. So much fun watching the team take down the con artists.

Caught the holiday episode for season fourteen of Death in Paradise. Not sure if I like the new guy, especially since he, like the actor who played Neville, has already been featured on the show. We'll see how it goes.

Watched another episode of Poirot and ended up enjoying more than I thought I would. It's fun to see Hastings get a moment to shine.

Elementary had a very fun episode. Thoroughly enjoyed Sherlock going head-to-head with the imposter. Also quite liked Joan and her stepdad's interactions.

Caught another Batman Beyond and it's one I didn't remember much, but I ended up enjoying.

Enjoyed another episode of Lower Decks. One thing I absolutely love about the show is the theme song. I know. Weird. But it's actually perfect for the show.

Finally, I watched the season one finale of Reacher, and it did not disappoint. I'm very satisfied with the season overall. I'm thrilled Picard ended up being part of the counterfeiting ring because there's no other explanation for how Charlie and Roscoe were found. Also loved that Paul ended up not being dead. Basically, the first season rocked. And … great to finally see adult Joe, but I didn't quite get the whole brothers looking so much alike thing as grown-ups. The flashbacks to their childhood, I definitely saw how they could be mixed up. I would really, really like to find out why the brothers hadn't talked much. Who knows, maybe season two will have more on that.

That's pretty much if for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Yellow Fang, a novella about a couple that gets reunited after one has been in enemy hands.

Here's the miniblurb:

Yancy the Yellow is Palmer Gump's only childhood friend—a stuffed toy from her dad. Missing and presumed killed in action, an auction is held for Palmer's personal items. When she returns, she gets everything back … except for Yancy, which leaves her feeling a little lost and unsettled, until it finds its way back to her via Dannon Bennett.

And a sneaky peek…

"Aw, fuck. Of course reinforcements showed up."

Dannon typed an order into his arm unit. "Contingency plan is a go." He waited for the five seconds it took for his teams to respond then pulled out the first IED to set and arm.

The backup plan—blow everything to hell and send up a flare beacon—meant he'd still get as many people out as possible. The evacuees could escape through the chaos with the secondary unit. But his team would likely go down.

Bravo team, a six-person squad, would hold off as many incoming assailants as possible. Alpha team, another six-person, including him, squad started a room-by-room search and planted the explosive devices. So far, they were clearing the area in good time.

He met his group at the end of the building. "We have to finish the last corridor of this wing and then blow everything." He got nods from everyone and they fanned out.

He moved halfway down the hall and kicked open the door to the room. A wild tangle of limbs came flying in his direction, snarling and slicing at him with a scalpel.

"Die, you son of a bitch. Die!"

Palmer's voice.

Shock filled him, but he grabbed hold of his assailant and gave her a hard shake. "Palmer! Stop. It's Dannon." Sure enough, the woman who'd haunted his dreams fought against him.

Her gaze, wild and frenzied, flew to his. And immediately filled with relief when she recognized him.

She collapsed against his chest. "Thank whatever rules the universe." She dragged in several deep breaths then put her head on his shoulder. "It's good to see you."

Overwhelmed with having her in his arms, Dannon blinked and shook his head. She's alive. I have her back.

His hand cupped her face. "We thought you were dead. I thought you were dead." He stepped back, noting her bruised cheekbone.

The smeared blood on her face.

The ragged gash along her hairline.

And the red liquid dripping from her fingertips.

Fuck. She's hurt. "You're injured." He unwound the tactical scarf from his neck and used his teeth to tear it into two strips.

Palmer looked down and swayed on her feet. She had never liked the sight of her own blood.

He grasped her shoulder and steadied her. "Easy there." Wrapping an arm around her, he lowered her to the floor. "Let's get this dressed and clear out." He started wiping away the blood and bound the wound. "Clock's ticking."

Really damned fast.

I'm kind of happy with how this scene came together. This is a high and low kind of story and I love the challenge of writing both.

 

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Yellow Fang

Greetings to the month of September. I'm kind of not ready for it yet, mainly because once the calendar changes to the ninth month, it seems like October, November, and December zoom by super fast.

Had a great work week and made some progress on my new venture. I'm crossing my fingers I'll be able to launch sometime between October and December. Another reason I'm not quite ready for the new month.

Decent viewing week. I'm not quite caught up on everything, but I'm getting there. I did make a full rotation of my usual shows but I'm off schedule, which confuses my weird brain.

Got two episodes of Only Murders in the Building watched and I'm kind of loving this show. Had a great conversation with my daughter, who also loves it.

Caught an episode of Blue Heelers and kind of thought a couple of the characters were acting unlike themselves. But I did like the mystery.

Enjoyed another MasterClass lesson with Roxane Gay. She did another workshop and talked about finding your voice as a writer. Very good stuff.

Finished up The Babysitters Club and I'm so bummed there aren't any more episodes left. I'll be starting a new show this week but haven't decided which one yet.

Watched two episodes of Classic Rugrats. The Chanukah episode is one of my favorites and I always enjoyed watching it with the kiddos. The Mother's Day episode is also up there even if it's a little bit of a downer.

Started Resisting Roots, a Passionflix original. So far, I'm enjoying it. Looking forward to finishing up this movie.

Caught another episode of Chicago Med and struggled to stay interested. I liked two of the storylines and didn't really have much invested in the other two. Season five might be my last one.

Enjoyed another episode of Batman: The Animated Series. This one introduced the Joker and my major appreciation for Mark Hamill's portrayal of the iconic bad guy started all over again.

Watched the Christmas episode of Ted Lasso and thoroughly enjoyed it. Ted having Rupert's number made me happy. Also loved Roy in this one. And I'm finding a deep appreciation for Keeley. I really love the dynamic she has with Rebecca. Jamie … I absolutely dislike with an intense passion. Just saying. Coach Beard is awesome. And so is Nate.

Caught another episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries. I'm kind of bummed I only have one more left of the season. This show makes me happy.

Finished up the second part and final episode of Silent Witness's season nineteen. Looking forward to starting the new one next week.

Watched another episode of Classic Who. I'm a little lost with what's supposed to be going on but I had a few distractions while I was watching this episode. Looking forward to the final two for this season.

Enjoyed another Strangest Things. This one had several fun artifacts. One happened to feature in a middle grade book I edited a few years ago. Very fun to see a breakdown of the item the author wrote about in his book.

Caught another episode of The Book of Boba Fett. I actually love this show a lot. It's right up there with The Mandalorian. I'm hoping there will be another season of this one.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Yellow Fang, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Yancy the Yellow is Palmer Gump's only childhood friend—a stuffed toy from her dad. Missing and presumed killed in action, an auction is held for Palmer's personal items. When she returns, she gets everything back … except for Yancy, which leaves her feeling a little lost and unsettled, until it finds its way back to her via Dannon Bennett.

And a sneaky peek…

Palmer guided the manned drone over the enemy outpost. "There you are. Finally hit pay dirt." Snapping images, she hit upload on her console. See … I can totally handle this solo operation.

Less than a second later, she regretted getting cocky. Her drone-ship took a hit from an electro-magnetic cannon. Everything went dead and the light-weight craft dropped like a stone, skimming over treetops then going lower to knock against branches.

Struggling to control her trajectory, she braced for a hard landing. "Dammit, this definitely didn't get covered in training." Why didn't they add an ejection method?

The ship's underbelly bounced hard when it hit the ground then tilted forward before flipping over onto its top. The canopy shattered around her and she went flying when the craft twisted onto to its side. Palmer dangled by whatever remained of the restraint system and she worked to get herself loose.

Grasping the edge of the drone, she wriggled her shoulder free of the harness and made the small drop to the ground. Pain shot up her leg and she swiped blood from her brow. A piece of the canopy stuck out from her forearm.

Giving it a tug, she winced when it came free. "Damn, that stings." Tearing a strip of her shirt, she applied pressure then limped for cover.

Wouldn't take long for a search party to track the whereabouts of her ship.

Scrambling into some underbrush, she crawled to the nearest tree and propped her shoulders against it. "Fine mess I've landed myself into." She wouldn't let her mind hear Dannon's warning.

Instead, she heard his last words to her. You and me both, Palmer. You and me both. Regret could be a right bitch sometimes.

Grabbing her hem again, she tore another strip from her fatigues and staunched the blood along her hairline. She couldn't sit and wait. She needed to get her supply bag from the drone and find a place to lay low until she could think straight again.

A snap behind her made her heart sink. The barrel of a gun over her shoulder started her stomach churning. When she glanced up, she met the dark and angry eyes of an enemy soldier.

Damn, that was fast.

The realization came too late that she'd pretty much been led into a trap. Especially when five more soldiers came drifting out from the trees. She quickly squashed the idea of fighting her way out. Not even she would take the odds she'd survive if she tried.

Instead, she slowly put her hands up and used the tree to get to her feet.

The first soldier grunted and turned, leading the way. The other five flanked her on all sides while she limped behind him. Definitely not her best day.

Her one fleeting hope would be that at least some of the data made it back to base.

I'm having a little fun with this story. Regret plays a role but so does reunion and I can't wait to get to that part.

 

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Yellow Fang

It's been a crazy week. Our county had severe flash flooding in the far eastern end and many of the people affected are still trying to dry out. Then there was a terrible barn fire that took three teenagers, most a little younger than my daughter. And to top it off, a beloved coach and teacher lost his battle with cancer. So… yeah. Rough and crazy week. Also… it can quit raining whenever it wants to.

A little light on television fare, but I did get some shows watched. Caught an episode of Durham County and, honestly, it's insane how dark this show goes. Not in a bad way either. But it's super-twisted and seriously messy. I can't wait to see how Ray Prager, Sr. tries to keep the upper hand he gained this week. I also can't wait to see him go down really hard. Please make that happen.

Midsomer Murders had a great episode featuring astronomy. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and figuring out the why and how.

Watched two more episodes each of Peter Gunn and Classic Who. I'm nearing the end of the first doctor's tenure and should be starting Two's in the near future.

Caught another episode of Painkiller Jane and enjoyed it. I like the episode the first time around because it opened up some questions about whether all neuros really needed to be chipped. I think this show was a little ahead of its time.

Blade had a decent episode where Krista needed to detox and Blade had to find a serial killer vampire. Not a bad hour's worth or so of entertainment.

Started another episode of Blue Heelers. I'm still enjoying this Aussie drama.

Watched another episode of Banshee. It took me three days to get through the entire episode due to several interruptions and a number of work deadlines. But I loved this one from the original watch and didn't want to miss anything.

Caught Chicago Fire penultimate episode of season seven. Excellent showing. I kind of love where all the characters are right now… which means they'll all be upended in the finale. LOL

Started Daredevil's third episode of season three. I'm really liking this final season. I'm so disappointed with all the consolidation and shifting of assets and how it affects terrific television. I'm not a huge Disney fan because they keep snapping everything up.

That's pretty much it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Yellow Fang, a novella that started with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Yancy the Yellow is Palmer Gump's only childhood friend—a stuffed toy from her dad. Missing and presumed killed in action, an auction is held for Palmer's personal items. When she returns, she gets everything back… except for Yancy, which leaves her feeling a little lost and unsettled, until it finds its way back to her via Dannon Bennett.

And a sneaky peek…

Dannon couldn't shake the sense of foreboding that gnawed at his gut. He had to take one last stab at getting Palmer to change her mind about the mission. Every instinct screamed this would turn into a shithole situation.

He entered the ready room. Made a silent promise to stay calm. Settled into the seat beside her.

He grasped her hand. "Palmer, you're not ready. I'm not trying to be a dick when I say that either." When she tugged her palm free, he didn't try to get it back.

She challenged him. "Would you say the same if we weren't sleeping together?" Her voice stayed low but had a hard edge.

He took a moment to consider the truth. "I wouldn't order you to do this even if we weren't." But a small seed of doubt wormed its way into his tone.

He'd never tried to maintain a relationship with someone under his command. Doesn't matter. She's not ready. No one is.

Yet… he couldn't say why. He didn't have anything tangible he could take to their CO. And if he went in with nothing, Colonel McKara would assume the worst—that Dannon didn't want his bed warmer too far away.

And maybe he didn't.

Palmer rolled her eyes. "Bullshit." She got up and planted her hands on her hips. "And the colonel outranks you so you're trying to influence me to buck the order." She leaned in close to him. "Don't. Your dick doesn't make me jump through hoops like a magic wand." Straightening, she flicked her gaze to the incoming group for the briefing.

Dannon hissed out a breath and got to his feet. "You'll regret going out solo. Mark my words." He started for the back of the room.

Palmer called out. "That's not the only thing I regret. Sir." Her arms folded across her chest and the pointed stare and arched eyebrow left no doubt to what she meant.

Dannon tossed back a biting reply. "You and me both, Palmer. You and me both." He sat down, hard, in the first seat of the last row.

The gaze of every pair of eyes in the room pinged back and forth between Palmer and Dannon. Luckily, no one jumped into the heated space between the two. McKara entered the room and the taut moment snapped with everyone scrambling to get seats.

Dannon listened with half an ear. He couldn't be one hundred percent certain about anything.  He didn't doubt Palmer's skill. But he also couldn't shake the feeling the enemy waited for this opportunity. The chance to pick off one of the best soldiers in the unit.

No one's ready for solo recon. But the damage had been done.

Palmer pinned Dannon with her gaze when she addressed the room. "I'm looking forward to bringing back some great intel. No matter what anyone else thinks."

I'm actually excited to finish this one. I like where the story is going and need to fill in the blanks and get it finished up.

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Yellow Fang

Okay, not exactly a super strong week of viewing pleasure, but pretty good for the shows that were on.

The Walking Dead is amping up the tension and the group is going to take on Neegan. I hope the hype is worth it. He's apparently a BFD in the comics so I'm reserving judgment. I'd rather he not gobble up screen time from my fave characters.

Gotham returned with a terrific episode. I'm quite curious to see where they're going to end up taking Gordon. But I like that his squeaky clean armor is getting tarnished. The Magicians continues to intrigue me but I'm also wondering where things are going. There seems to be something of an overlying arc yet I can't quite figure out what it is. As always, Lost Girl and Bitten make me happy. I can't stress enough how much I'll miss both when they're gone.

Agent Carter ended with a terrific bang. I'll sadly miss the show if it doesn't return. That said, what a great two season arc.

Legends of Tomorrow surprised me again. I missed the first fifteen minutes but got caught up quickly. Looking forward to this week's episode.

Teen Wolf is coming together for the big battle. Looking forward to seeing how it ends. I also caught up on Murdoch Mysteries and have to say, I love this show so much. And that's it for this week's update.

Tonight's post is from Yellow Fang, a novella that came from another prompt. Loss, a character loses something dear to them. The sages loved this one.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Yancy the Yellow is Palmer Gump's only childhood friend—a stuffed toy from her dad. Missing and presumed killed in action, an auction is held for Palmer's personal items. When she returns, she gets everything back… except for Yancy, which leaves her feeling a little lost and unsettled, until it finds its way back to her via Dannon Bennett.

And a sneaky peek…

Palmer Gump rifled through her storage box, digging way down to the bottom until her fingers brushed against the soft fur of Yancy, the yellow-fanged wolverine her dad, Peter, had given her so long ago. Grabbing the worn, plush animal, she removed him and shoved the container aside. Smoothing her fingers over the wiry, synthetic mane, she smiled.

How many rough moments, bad times, and terrible days had Yancy seen her through?

Too many to count.

The fact her dad never gave her anything after Yancy definitely played into why she loved the stuffed toy so much. Then again, dads couldn't give their daughters gifts from beyond the grave. He left for his final mission the night he'd given Palmer Yancy, the story he'd told her etched permanently in her mind.

"Palmer, my girl, there's gonna come a day when some handsome, young lad will try to make you his princess. And I may not be around to give my approval." He reached into his pocket and withdrew the small wolverine. "You know my unit is called the howling wolverines, right?"

Palmer nodded. The scary animal represented what her dad and his platoon could do in action.

Peter took her hand and placed the miniature version in her palm. "Well, this is Yancy and he's our mascot. He'll always be here, even if I'm not. And he'll keep you safe, no matter what. And any man who's worthy of you will receive Yancy's approval." He gave her a wink. "Think of him as acting in my stead if I'm not around, okay?"

Palmer nodded, but didn't completely understand.

Her dad leaned in and whispered. "Anyone who wants to be your prince will have to love the wolf, too." He gave her hand a squeeze then tucked her into bed. "I have to roll out later tonight and it might be a while before I get back home." His fingers brushed her bangs out of her face. "But you know I love you more than anything, don't you?"

Palmer smiled and nodded, letting out a big yawn. "I know, daddy. I love you, too." She cuddled her gift, her most favorite new toy ever. "Good night."

Her dad had kissed her cheek and paused in the doorway before turning out the light. Palmer remembered the look on his face, a wistful mix of love and sadness. Two months later, when the chaplain had come to deliver the news of her father's death, Palmer ran to get Yancy and didn't let the last connection to her dad out of her sight for weeks. The wolverine went everywhere with her, traveling from base to base after her mom married another military man. Then Yancy came along to each and every post Palmer had been assigned to.

Now he provided a measure of comfort and calm when she needed each the most. The shuffle of feet drew her attention and she tucked Yancy under her pillow then braced for an argument. Sure enough, Dannon Bennett strolled through the door and braced his shoulders against the wall before crossing his arms over his well-defined chest.

He met and held her gaze, his blue eyes serious and solemn. "You're not ready, Palmer." His glance darted downward. "If it were anything but solo recon, I wouldn't be so concerned. But it's solo recon, Palmer."

His lack of confidence stung more than it should. Dannon spoke up when he didn't agree with decisions and he definitely didn't think their CO made the right call. But Palmer paid attention during her training. She might be a novice at solitary operations, but she wouldn't shirt her duty.

She squared her shoulders and stood. "You're wrong, Dannon. The colonel thinks I'm ready and I am." Backing away, she closed her locker and grabbed her rucksack. "I'm mission operational and I leave at dusk." Dannon's lack of faith be damned.

Brushing past him, she left quarters and strode toward the ready room. He didn't make a move to follow and she actually thanked the universe. If he said anything else negative, she might have to punch him in the face. Just because they shared a bed more often than not didn't give him the right to hold her back.

She'd do her recon, come home, and then they could hash out the difference of opinion. Right now, she had a job to do.

I've put something of a twist on the loss angle and I love how it's all working out. Long way to go on this one, but the brainstorming / outline is complete. Just need time to sit and finish.

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

ML Skye