Sunday Snippet: The Baracas File

Hello!

Okay, no Arrow episode this week and I missed my favorite show. L But, we did have new Walking Dead and Bitten, which made me super happy. I love reading the speculation about Daryl and whether he'll fall in with those rogue survivors or play nice until he can track down Beth. I'm rather hoping for the latter. It would make a nice bookend to the episode where he more or less sent his past life up in flames.

Bitten's episode for this week has me full of anticipation. I cannot wait to see Elena's worlds collide. J Orphan Black is gearing up for next month and I'm following their instagram page with an obsession. My twitter feed is rife with speculation… to the point I'm pondering a blog post with my wish list for the season. I'll just add that to my ever growing pile of stuff that needs attention. J

Tonight's post is from The Baracas File, a novella featuring danger and intrigue and my two main characters get sucked into the vortex of trying to figure out why the contents keep getting people killed.

Here's the tagline:

Briggs Felderzon, an investigative reporter, will stop at nothing to discover what's in the Baracas File, the contents of which results in his brother's death. Myrrh Gold, his brother's partner in the Inter-Stellar Police, decides to help him… but Briggs isn't sure he trusts her.

And a sneaky peek…

Briggs asked a point-blank question. "Were you sleeping with my brother?"

Myrrh blinked, but answered. "It's none of your damned business, but no, we never had sex." She got up and paced the floor.

Briggs noted her agitation before pushing harder. "Why not? You're exactly his type. Zell wouldn't let working together keep him from going after what he wanted." One of his brother's lesser-known faults.

Myrrh snorted and spun around. "He might not, but I would." She resumed walking back and forth in front of the fireplace. "Look, Zell and I were tight, but as partners, not lovers. I loved him because he became my best friend." She stopped and pinned Briggs with her gaze. "I know you like to dig deep for the truth, but you can put your shovel away. There's nothing buried here."

Briggs tilted his head and searched for any sign she held back. Finding none, he nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Myrrh chuckled. "Frustrating to be wrong, isn't it?" She crossed the small distance separating them. "Now it's my turn."

Briggs frowned, confused.

Myrrh rolled her eyes. "Quid pro quo. I can either take you in for interrogation or…" She jerked her head toward the wingback chair. "You can have a seat and we can chat, off the record, about the Baracas file."

Briggs roughly grabbed her arm. "What do you know about it?" His suspicions went to maximum overload. "Tell me now."

Myrrh yanked out of his grasp and jammed her finger into his shoulder. "Don't ever put your hands on me again." She shoved him back then nudged him toward the chair. "If you want more information, you can sit your ass down and I might be willing to discuss the file. But you get nothing unless you understand the stakes." She paused, meeting his gaze again. "Am I clear?"

Briggs gave a curt nod and sat. He needed answers. He'd play nice until he had a better idea of where and how she fit into the murky picture.

But… if she had anything to do with Zell's death, Briggs would make sure she paid a very high price.

This novella is still pretty much in the planning and conception stage, but this part spurred the idea in the first place.

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

ML Skye

A Gift from the Stars – The SFR Brigade Presents #sfrbp Shyler: Finding Home

Welcome to the Science Fiction Romance Brigade Presents, a weekly sneak peek sampler hosted by the SFR Brigade.

Readers: enjoy brief glimpses of currently available, soon to be released books, or works in progress. Authors are sharing short excerpts for your enjoyment. Please have fun and spread the joy.

~*~

My post today features the first snippet from Shyler: Finding Home, a Furlough 99 novella available from Ellipses Press, Ltd. I'm introducing Marshton Grey.

Tagline: Inspector Shyler Lumen always gets her man—even if she has to go through Marshton Grey to do it.

~*~

Greyswell Industries—Head Office—Queen City, Mars

"What's the death toll?"

"One hundred and fifty-seven as of ten a.m. this morning."

Marshton Grey nodded curtly, accepting the information and his chief of security quickly exited the plush office. The man had gone above and beyond by keeping Marsh informed of the situation. Now Marsh had to do damage control and nip the problem in the bud. He'd already laid the building blocks to make that happen.

Marsh stood up from behind his desk, gathered his travel documents and pressed the intercom to his admin.

"Lucy, I'm unavailable until further notice."

"Have a safe journey," her soothing voice answered. "I'll see you aren't disturbed, Mr. Grey."

Marsh trusted her to do exactly that. Super-efficient, his admin would block, handle, or delegate whatever came up while he had to be off planet. He peeled off his suit and tie, and threw on a pair of comfortable dungarees. Didn't worry about an overnight bag, he had plenty of wardrobe options located where he'd be headed.

Furlough 99.

Ass end of the universe.

~*~

Available at Amazon 

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~*~

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Sunday Snippet: Banter and Brawling and Sex, Oh My!

March 9, 2014

Whew. Crazy weather week of back and forth between frigid temps and snow and a lovely little warm-up that didn't last very long. LOL At least I had good television to watch.

As predicted, Arrow's episode fifteen, The Promise, proved to be seriously bad ass. I almost think they crammed too much into the hour—I would have loved to see a little more detail. I'm just not quite down with Slade being so uber-pissed at Oliver over Shado's death. Yes, I'm aware the Mirakuru IS the reason he's not particularly rational. But Ivo's manipulation seemed a little conveniently heavy-handed. Of course, Oliver's guilt doesn't help so there's that. LOL I'm also really interested to see if the rumor mill speculation about who Felicity's father is proves correct.

Bitten is still eating my brain. Seriously, the final episodes of the season should be mega-uncomfortable for the characters. And if Daniel Santos doesn't die a horrible death like he did in the books, I'm gonna lose my mind. J

Only one episode of Banshee left and I'm actively praying Rabbit gets his due. Then I'll probably have to wait for next season to see what the fallout will be from Proctor, but I can deal. Something to look forward to. J

Tonight's post is from a bonus story in the Top Dog Pilots 'verse, Banter and Brawling and Sex, Oh My!, featuring Cutter and Maggie and set between Surviving the Trap and Bucking Convention.

Here's the tagline:

Max Cutter always goes along for the ride with Maggie Harper. He pretty much has to… she always gets into the most interesting situations and someone has to cover her ass.

And a sneaky peek…

A commotion drew Maggie's attention away from the conversation. A fellow military man, probably a grunt patrolling the mine, got caught in the crosshairs of a two groups of rowdy miners having a major disagreement.

The guy should've known better than to hit a watering hole filled with the people he kept in line all day. But it sucked to be off-duty and not really have any place to go. Cutter had a notion of how important blowing off steam could be—he and Maggie certainly figured out a way during the flight qualifications and readiness training. His lips quirked, but he focused hard to not get too caught up in the memory.

Maggie nudged his arm and shot him a look.

Cutter shook his head. "Oh, no. You don't really wanna get involved in this, do you?" He leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. "After the week we just had?"

Maggie shrugged. "How can we not? A dozen to one? Not very good odds, Cutter." She turned her attention back to the ruckus. "The guy needs some help."

Max did a quick scan of the bar. Two crewmen from other ships sat over in the corner and about twenty more miners filled the place. Once he and Maggie got involved, the odds were sure to go from bad to beyond fucked. But what the hell. The lone guy didn't stand a chance otherwise.

Cutter sighed, dropped his arms, and scooted his chair away from the table.

Maggie grinned. "Knew you'd see it my way."

She got up and spun her chair around, grabbing the backrest and lifting it off the ground. She charged forward and jabbed it into the first beefy guy she came across.

Cutter followed her into the fray, punching the miner in the face and watched him drop like a stone.

Maggie glanced back, a wide smile splitting her face. "Nice one, Cutter." She jerked her head to the left. "Let's even things up a little and take out the giant over there."

She didn't wait for a response. She hefted the chair over her head and brought it crashing down on the shoulders of the second biggest guy in the room. His head whipped back and forth and he turned, cocking his arm, the muscles bunching up under the flesh. Cutter made a flying leap and kicked out, catching the man under the chin with his booted foot. The burly guy went sailing back into the wall and dropped to the floor.

Maggie let out a whooping yell. "Holy shit, Cutter. That was beautiful!" Her laughter rang out and she ducked, a pool stick narrowly missing her head by an inch or two.

Ahhh. Nothing like a good brawl to bring my couples together. J

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

ML Skye

A Gift from the Stars – The SFR Brigade Presents #sfrbp

Welcome to the Science Fiction Romance Brigade Presents, a weekly sneak peek sampler hosted by the SFR Brigade.

Readers: enjoy brief glimpses of currently available, soon to be released books, or works in progress. Authors are sharing short excerpts for your enjoyment. Please have fun and spread the joy.

~*~

My post today features the final snippet from Boyfriend's Brother, available now from Silver Publishing. I introduced Jason in last week's offering. Today we see some interaction between Jason and Chloe.

Tagline: Chloe Timmons mixes a potential marriage proposal, a close call, and her boyfriend's hot brother. She can walk away… but she may lose everything.

~*~

Chloe smiled. "To apologize. Marc and I get carried away sometimes in the name of so-called fun. Occasionally, someone gets hurt. I'm not proud of that fact."

Jason didn't accept or reject her apology. Instead, he asked a question. "Okay, tell me this. Was the lap dance your idea, or did Marc put you up to it?"

Chloe pondered a moment. "He thought it would be amusing to see the look on your face." She grimaced. "I kinda agreed."

Jason blew out a heavy breath. "Well, that's just great. You two are perfect for each other." The light finally turned green, and Jace stepped toward the curb.

He couldn't wait to get the hell back to base.

Chloe's strong grip stopped him. "Look, it was a shitty thing to do." She let go of his arm. "Let's start over. Come to dinner tomorrow." She shrugged. "I can't cook for crap, but I know the best takeout places in town."

Jason didn't know if it would be a good idea to spend time with Marc right then, but he found himself relenting and accepting her invitation. "I like spicy ethnic foods."

Chloe's laughter rang out. "The kind Marc hates. Good choice. Stop by around seven. You know the address, right?"

~*~

Available Now

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Get Hooked: Reel in a Great Book—Boyfriend's Brother #MFRWHook

Welcome to Book Hooks, the weekly smorgasbord sampler hosted by the MFRW Authors Blog.

Readers: get hooked and reel in some great books. Authors are sharing short excerpts from their work. Please enjoy and consider picking up the full book by clicking on the buy link.

Today I'll be sharing a glimpse of Boyfriend's Brother, my brand new release from Silver Publishing.

Tagline: Chloe Timmons and Jason McIvey are at a crossroad. The only thing in their way is Jason's brother.

~*~

Chloe ducked and looked up in Jason's direction. "Little help here?" She stood back up, and Max's fist connected with her jaw, her head smacking back against the wall.

Stars burst behind her eyelids, but she shook it off. Jason sucked in a breath and winced.

He kept his tone light. "Thought you'd never ask."

He stepped into the fray, grabbing one of the guys and spinning him around to meet his fist. The guy went down, but Jason got grabbed by the arm and Max got a solid punch in, splitting Jason's lip in the process. Jason landed his own jab and knocked Max backward to land on a pool table. Max didn't get back up, and Jason's face showed more than a little satisfaction with laying the guy out.

He made his way over to Chloe, and with their backs together, they slowly made their way out of the bar. Only two of Max's friends made an attempt to follow, but the crowd more or less swallowed them up when Jason and Chloe stumbled out the door.

Once outside, Chloe leaned up against the exterior, slowly sliding down until she crouched close to the sidewalk. Still seeing stars, she figured she hit her head harder than she thought. Looking over toward Jason, two of him hovered in her line of sight, but she attributed that to the alcohol. She let out a chuckle that ended on a groan.

Jason sucked in the cool night air, then turned to check on her. Her cheek burned, and she'd lay odds she'd have a big purple bruise along her cheekbone. Bet that would look really lovely tomorrow.

He used his thumb to wipe the blood off his lip. "Well, that was fun."

~*~

Blurb: Chloe Timmons and Jason McIvey are each at a crossroads.

On what may be her last weekend as 'just a girlfriend', Chloe quells her restlessness by hitting the town and runs into her boyfriend's brother, Jason, a fellow pilot in the area for an air show. A barroom brawl brings them together.

Chloe thinks her boyfriend Marc may propose, and she's not sure she's ready for marriage. Jason McIvey has to decide if he's staying in the military or going civilian. When Chloe and Jason spend the night together, it doesn't make either decision easier.

Buy Link: Available at Silver Publishing

Please stop by my website

Reel in more great books! Visit the other participating authors.

Sunday Snippet: Automatic Failure

Holy jeezits. Arrow blew my mind this week. My twitter feed was full of a bunch of not so great comments, but I loved, loved, loved everything about fourteen. And episode fifteen is supposed to be filled with even more bad-assery. And Bitten just keeps getting better and better. I seriously can't wait each week for the next episode. My fingers, and all other appendages, are crossed for a second season. Also read about the Flash pilot being filmed. Currently, that's the show I'm most looking forward to for next season.

I've also been enjoying seeing Jamie Bamber on my screen in The Smoke. He's so good at roles he can sink his teeth into, and playing Kev definitely gives him room to flex his acting chops. J

Tonight's post is from Automatic Failure, a novella with lots of family drama, something of a personal favorite writing kink for me.

Here's the tagline:

Piper Kemp, a flight instructor,  steps aside to avoid letting her personal feelings influence a decision about whether to pass one of her students. But when he crashes and almost loses his life, Knox Petruci steps up to defend Piper and opens a can of worms because her student happens to be his brother.

And a sneaky peek…

Ken whirled around and faced his oldest son. "You betrayed our family by taking up with the woman who ruined your brother's career."

Knox bit back an angry retort—they never worked on his dad. "Really? I see things a tad differently, Dad." He met the older Petruci's gaze. "Piper saved Abel's career. And probably his life. So what if he doesn't fly planes?"
Ken made a strangled choking sound. "Petrucis for four generations have flown, that's what."

Nice. "Gee, thanks, Dad." Knox made the fifth, so his father's argument made a moot point.

Apparently Knox didn't rate.

Ken waved a hand between them. "You know what I mean."

Knox shook his head. "No, Dad, I don't. Abel is a damned fine officer." He turned away and paced. "Hell, he's got a thing for cryptology. How many codes did he crack in his first six months?"

Ken snorted. "You're missing the point, Knox." He sank down into the leather wingback chair.

Knox moved to stand in front of the fire. "No, I'm not. You can't blame Abel for being incompetent. That would hit too close to home, so you lay the responsibility at Piper's feet." Knox sighed. "She risked her career and did the right thing by taking herself out of the equation, but you won't cut her any slack." He shoved his hands in his pockets, clenching his fists. "Instead, you’re pissed Abel didn't cut it as a pilot, even when he's got a shot at the admiralty because he's extraordinarily good at what he does." Knox angled his head and pinned Ken with his gaze. "I guess having only one son qualify as a pilot isn't quite good enough." He glanced away again, gazing into the fire.

Several long moments passed before Ken cleared his throat. "Look, Knox…" His voice trailed off.

Knox closed his eyes, willing his dad to continue. When a full minute went by, Knox's shoulders slumped and he admitted defeat. He removed his hands from his pockets and smoothed the creases from his uniform pants, giving the elder Petruci more than enough time to finish his thought.

Exhaling slowly, Knox turned on his heel and strode toward the foyer. He shouldn't have hoped his dad might actually open up.

Ken rose, following behind Know. "Son, wait. You don't have to leave. At least stick around to see your mother when she gets back."

Knox paused with his hand on the door. "I don't think so, Dad. I'll call her tomorrow before I ship back out." He glanced back over his shoulder. "Piper and I have dinner plans."

The way his dad's mouth thinned to a slash across his face gave Knox all he needed to walk out and not look back.

I always love exploring the relationship between parents and offspring, especially when it interferes with the hero and heroine in some way. J

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

ML Skye

A Gift from the Stars – The SFR Brigade Presents #sfrbp

Welcome to the Science Fiction Romance Brigade Presents, a weekly sneak peek sampler hosted by the SFR Brigade.

Readers: enjoy brief glimpses of currently available, soon to be released books, or works in progress. Authors are sharing short excerpts for your enjoyment. Please have fun and spread the joy.

~*~

My post today features another snippet from Boyfriend's Brother, available March 1 from Silver Publishing. I introduced Chloe in last week's offering. Today we meet Jacon McIvey, aka Marc's brother.

Tagline: Chloe Timmons mixes a potential marriage proposal, a close call, and her boyfriend's hot brother. She can walk away… but she may lose everything.

~*~

Jason McIvey stretched and buried his head under the pillow on the bed. Five more minutes, then he'd get up, grab a shower, and meet the guys in his squadron for breakfast before boarding their transport.

Until then, he could pretend he didn't have a huge decision to make and that he enjoyed the sometimes stupid and lame tripe that went along with flying—because he'd always love being in a cockpit.

A cool hand settled on his hip, and his eyes blinked open. Shit. Last night's 'hangar' hadn't left yet. He winced at the crude name his fellow test pilots gave the bevy of females that always came cleared for action—ready, willing, and able to accommodate any of the guys—especially if the men looked hard and hot. The names and faces might change, but the women never failed to appear whenever a civilian air show rolled through their towns.

Bitta… Bitsy… hell, he couldn't remember the woman's name, probably wanted a repeat performance from the previous night. Her fingers trailed up and down Jason's thigh, and he scrambled for an excuse to make a quick exit. Would she believe he'd choose grabbing something to eat over sex? Did he care if she didn't?

~*~

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Visit the other participating authors