T.A. Chase on Writing, Influences and her new release Blindsided (International Men of Sports #4) by T.A. Chase and Devon Rhodes

Blindsided (International Men of Sports #4)

 

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have T.A. Chase here today talking about her latest release Blindsided with Devon Rhodes.  Welcome, T.A.

 

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Hello there! I’m T.A. Chase and I’m here to chat with you. 🙂 My new re-release, Blindsided, came out on May 8 at Dreamspinner. It was written with Devon Rhodes. I’m sure some of you have read it, or at least heard about it and the whole series. We did add some new scenes. I hope you might be interested in checking it out. I thought I’d answer some questions, so you can get to know a little about me and my writing process.

I think there’s a little bit of me in every character I write. I use one piece of my personality or experience to build upon. A starting point that I can expand upon. I think a lot of authors do the same.

Choosing a genre is more about what I feel like writing at that moment then how much research I feel like doing. I will admit there are times when I will write a fantasy because I can write the rules of the world as I want them instead of what they need to be in the ‘real’ world. Researching a book is important when you set it in certain places. Our Men of Sports series takes place in different countries and we did our best to use the right slang or where the cities are in the country. Also, the terms for the sports we wrote about had to be right, or as close to it as we could.

I have put aside a few stories because the problems I gave the character(s) were so emotional that I needed to: either think whether or not I should continue or whether the characters can make it through all the trouble. Angel’s Evolution is just such a book. I hurt poor Angel so badly throughout the whole story that I wasn’t sure he’d ever survive, yet I gave him the perfect hero to save him. I have a Young Adult story that I ended up splitting in two stories, which is another one that’s really emotional. I haven’t finished the second half of it because I need to recover from the rough beginning.

Do I like HEA or HFN endings? There’s no real answer. I like both. HFN endings are fine as long as I’m allowed to believe the couple will stay together. Don’t make me doubt their relationship or I won’t be happy with the entire story.

I had two major writing influences: Mercedes Lackey and Tamora Pierce. I read these ladies when I was a teenager and I still read their books today. They wrote strong characters who understood sacrifice, but also how to be strong for themselves. Tamora Pierce’s female characters especially are some of the strongest characters I’ve ever read. They don’t give up their power/strength to the male characters. They work with the men to help save their country or world. Mrs. Pierce’s books are definitely ones I recommend to young girls to read and learn how to remain true to themselves.

Do I have a favorite among my own books? Hmm…I guess at the moment my favorite would be Cold Truth. It’s the last book in the Delarosa Secrets trilogy. It’s about Victor, who is a drug lord and his second in command. Victor is a character that I worried about making too ‘real’. He had no qualms about having people killed. He didn’t feel guilty about selling drugs to people. I introduced him in the first book, and when I did, I thought that maybe how he looked after his brother softened his edges a little. I did that, knowing I was going to write his story eventually and I wanted people to care about him, even though he was this evil guy. I was happy the way his story turned out. Helped me believe that I could take a ‘bad’ guy and turn him into someone readers could root for.

I have started several stories then put them away because they weren’t working at that moment. Scarecrows and Devils (which is out of print) is one of those books. I tried to give the book a 40s/50s noir feel and I included journal entries by my main character, Ace Castle, who is a detective in the Detroit Police Department. I wrote a couple journal entries, then set it aside for a month or two because I just wasn’t sure where I was going with the story or how to keep it in the vein of that noirish feel. I think I ended up doing a good job. I’m actually working on expanding that book, adding some stuff that happened before the events in Scarecrows and Devils. Hopefully, it’ll mesh together well.

Okay…I think I rambled on enough. I really do hope you all take a moment to check out Blindsided by Devon Rhodes and me. It’s available at Dreamspinner.

Thank you so much for having me today.

Blindsided

(May 8, 2018)

Blurb:

A Men of Sports Story

Love can hit you hard before you even see it coming….

When rugby player Liam transfers to Melbourne, he’s blindsided by his attraction to the hottest lifeguard on the beach. Luckily Matty knows mouth-to-mouth….

Liam’s left his friends and family—everything comforting and familiar—back in Canberra. He knows it all comes with the job, adjusting to a new city and a new team, but he’s lonely. Maybe it’s time to find something outside his career to fulfill him.

Working as a lifeguard and being by the ocean is Matty’s dream come true. The big, blond, blue-eyed hottie new to his beach catches his attention right away. When he runs into Liam again at the pub, he takes the shy league player under his wing and into his group of mates, and they become fast friends.

But when they go from friends to lovers, the emotions that come with their deepening romance catch them both off guard. Can two men without any experience at relationships navigate their way to steady ground?

 About the Author

T.A. Chase lives in the Midwest with her neurotic but still wonderful senior cat. She believes there is beauty in every kind of love, so why not live a life without boundaries? Experiencing everything the world offers fascinates T.A., and writing about the things that make each of us unique is how she shares those insights. When not writing, she’s watching movies and reading. She’s also a part of a line-dancing group that takes over a bar on Tuesday nights and entertains at assisted living homes. It’s all about living life to the fullest.

 

She loves hearing from fans. But don’t be too upset if she doesn’t get back to you right away. Life has a way of making her lose track of days and hours. Don’t worry, though. You will hear back at some point. 

http://www.tachase.com