Borderline excerpt-

I thought I'd give you an excerpt from the story I just finished over the weekend. :) Borderline features a Texas Ranger and a FBI profiler who are working on a serial killer case in Houston. Both men have secrets....and as soon as I write up a blurb, I'll post it for you...lol.

Excerpt: (unedited of course)

Macario devoured the man with his gaze, trying not to drool at the lust-inducing sight Tanner made. The agent wore faded jeans worn thin in spots and fit him like a glove. A long sleeved dark blue Henley graced Tanner’s upper half, showing off a well-muscled chest and a flat stomach.

“No one,” Macario muttered, keeping up his façade.

Tanner walked up to him and cradled his face with his hands. Shock held Macario still. No one touched him without his permission. Yet he had no inclination to yell at Tanner or back away from him.

“I promise to keep your secret, Macario, because God knows, I have my own. It might make you feel better to tell someone about her.” Tanner glanced down at the glass in Marcario’s hand. “Instead of drinking your problems into oblivion.”

If he was the kind of man who didn’t take responsibility for his actions, he’d blame what he did next on the alcohol. Macario set his glass down and rested his hands on Tanner’s hips. He leaned forward and brought their lips together.

Tanner gasped and Macario took advantage of it to sweep his tongue inside Tanner’s mouth, tasting the flavors. Spicy like Tanner had Tex-Mex for dinner and a beer. There was a unique flavor that had to be all Tanner. They moaned and stepped closer until their bodies pressed tightly together, chest to chest, knee to knee, and groin to groin.

In the back of his alcohol-addled mind, Macario knew what they were doing wasn’t smart, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He tugged on the hem of Tanner’s shirt, lifting it so he could run his hands over Tanner’s warm smooth skin. Tonight, he wanted to fuck and re-enforce the fact that he still lived. It was the emotion that often swept over him when catching a murder case. If it had been a different victim, he probably would have gone out to one of the bars and picked a guy up. Not the safest thing to do, but he didn’t care. He just wanted a body under him and around him.

Tanner eased back, breaking the kiss. “Where’s your bedroom?”

Macario grabbed the man’s hand and dragged him down the hallway. He didn’t speak, not wanting to break the mood. No coming to their senses until after they fucked. They could regret it in the aftermath.

You’re such a playboy. Marissa’s voice danced through his head and Macario skidded to a halt without warning. Tanner slammed into his back with a grunt.

“What’s wrong?” Tanner tightened his grip on Macario’s hand.

“We can’t do this.” Macario turned to look at him. “I’m sorry.”

Tanner laughed softly. “It might give me blue balls, but I think I can deal with it. You’re trying to reaffirm that you’re alive. Happens to those of us around death all the time. Are you the type to go to the bars and pick up a one-night stand?”

Macario dipped his head in embarrassment. More often than not, he’d done it, but not lately. Maybe his age was catching up to him, or after re-connecting with Marissa, he found he wanted more than quick anonymous sex.

He closed his eyes against the tears. Marissa, so beautiful and alive the last time he saw her. Teasing him about his revolving bedroom door. No more laughter. No more late night phone calls to talk about her day. Macario bit his lip to keep from sobbing. The alcohol hadn’t been a good idea. His control was slipping and he didn’t want Tanner to see him weak and emotional.

“Why didn’t you do that tonight?” Tanner led him back down the hall to the living room, and pushed him down onto the couch.

He laid his head back and stared up at the ceiling. “Because I couldn’t face all those people and the fact that they’re still fucking alive, and those five women are dead.”

When will it end?

When is winter going to be over? It's snowing yet again and I'm sure it'll be cold outside. Ugh!

I'm hoping things will flow today and I'll be able to finish Borderline today. I've got about 2-3k left to finish, which is the last half of a chapter. Then I'll be sending it out to my beta reader and my proofreader. Woot! Then on to Kissed by God, a story for another PAX at Amber Allure. As soon as I write up a blurb for it, I'll post it.

Well, I hope you all stay safe and warm today, and this weekend as well.

Happy Hunk Day

Today will be a busy day. I have edits to finish on Embrace My Reflection, my first of two releases in February. I'm getting close to the end of Borderline...just have one more chapter to do. And I have to write the next installment of Cafe on the Corner for tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll get all of it finished, but even if I just get my edits done and the next installment completed, it'll be a good day. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday.

Poetry Train....

Fingers stroke my skin,

Leaving a trail of warmth in their wake.

My heart races as you wrap your arms around me.

Every atom within me cries out

For the touch of your body against me.

If All I can have at this time in the world,

Is simply to be held by you once in a while,

I'll take it and offer to you whatever you need from me.

-T.A. Chase c. 2011

Oops

Well, I meant to post something earlier this morning, but got caught up in a bunch of stuff and completely forgot. :) Everything's good, just busy today.

But I'm home and ready to buckle down to work on Borderline and the edits for Embrace My Reflection. Woot!

I hope you all have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend.

Wicked Wednesday

Yesterday was a good day. I got 3k done on Borderline and got some ideas for the book I have to work on next.

Also, I found out I was nominated for two awards in the Love Romance Cafe awards. Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Romance with Soothe the Burn, and Best Book Overall with Bastet. I guess I'm always amazed when people like my books so much, they nominate them for awards...lol. :)

Well, back to work. Have a great day, everyone.

End of the week.

Yay...it's Friday. Not that it really means much for me in a way...lol. Working from home means every day is pretty much the same. At least during the winter. :) But still I'm happy to hit the weekend. I think we'll be going to see The King's Speech (if it opens in all theaters this weekend). I love Colin Firth and it looks like a really good movie.

I'm hoping to hit the halfway mark on Borderline today, if not go over it by the end of the day. But we'll see. I have to run some errands and I'm meeting a friend for dinner tonight. That'll be fun.

Well, I hope you all have a great Friday and a marvelous weekend.

Wednesday Hunk

I'm going to have to go shovel the driveway at some point today, I guess....though I don't plan on going any where today...lol.

Progress is being made on Borderline. I'm hoping to have it done by the end of the month, if not sooner. Also, I just got the okay to go ahead and write a four book paranormal series for Total e-Bound. Woot! So I'm going to have to start working on those as well. When I get blurbs and stuff written up for them, I'll post them.

Hmmm....other than that, I plan on staying inside where it's nice and warm. :) I hope you all are safe and sound wherever you are.

Have a wonderfully warm Wednesday.

Poetry Train reboot....

I thought I'd reboot my poetry train Mondays. I've forgotten how much I like to write poetry, so this'll help push me to do more of it.

I'm not sure if I shared this one with you yet, but I thought I'd post it anyway. Just in case I didn't.

Survive

As much as I long to spend time with you

I know deep inside it's not the right thing to do.

The world we find ourselves tied inside

Forces us to dream and hide.

Sometimes silence is the only way

To hear the depth of what you say.

Yet with each step we draw near,

Toe maybe finding our way clear

Of the doubt and pain,

To shield each other from the rain.

Knowing you love and dream,

Even if it's not with me.

Merely knowing you're alive

Allows me to continue on and survive.

-T.A. Chase c. 2011

Voice for the Silent coming this Sunday

Here's the blurb:

Investigating and busting dog fighting rings is what Julio Herendez lives to do. Defending the innocent and vulnerable from monsters makes his day, but when he meets Paine, Julio finds himself wanting to save the young man from the cruel world he’d been forced to survive.

Paine Addison exists in a world where the weak and innocent are exploited for entertainment. The men who use him and fight the dogs don’t care about the damage they inflict. He lives from day to day, doing what he can to heal the wounds suffered by others, but unable to help himself.

Julio and Paine meet, triggering a chain of events that rocks both their worlds to the foundations and brings justice for the silent victims.

Excerpt:

No way was he staying there any longer. Not when he had his uncle’s permission to leave. He headed to his beat-up truck and unlocked the door. Before he could climb in, he was grabbed from behind and dragged into the shadows by the side of the hotel. He kicked and fought, but screaming was useless because of the hand covering his mouth.

“BB, settle down. It’s me, Juke.”

BB froze, sure he heard that wrong, but the slightly accented voice whispering in his ear was familiar. He’d heard it several times before talking to the dealer earlier that night. He struggled to turn around, and Juke let him.

He stared up into the man’s dark eyes and swallowed. “What are you doing here?”

“I followed you after the fight.”

Oh, God! Embarrassment swamped BB and he ducked his head, letting his hair block Juke’s view of his face. The dealer knew what was going on. There wasn’t any way he didn’t know Caesar sold BB to that guy.

What did it matter what Juke thought of BB? The dude sold drugs for a living and got his jollies watching dogs tear each other apart for sport. What kind of man would do that? No, Juke was just another monster like his uncle. Yet BB didn’t remember ever seeing Juke stay all night at one of the fights, except tonight. He shook his head. Didn’t mean anything. No one cared about BB or the dogs. He had to deal with all of it on his own.

“What’d ya want? Uncle called. I gotta get back to his place.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Juke.

Juke checked around the corner before he faced BB again. He scrubbed his hand over his dark hair. BB tried not to stare at the tattoo that danced on Juke’s cheek just below his eye. He knew what that small black teardrop meant and it didn’t fill BB with confidence.

“Don’t go back to his place, BB. It’s not going to be safe for you there.”

BB snorted. “What makes tonight”—he looked up at the lightening night sky— “or I should say today any different? That place ain’t been safe for me in years.”

Juke huffed out a low breath. “Trust me, kid. You don’t want to be there when the shit hits the fan.”

“I ain’t a kid.” He didn’t know why he said that. It wasn’t any of Juke’s business how old he was.

“Fine. I don’t give a shit how old you are. Just don’t go home right now. Some shit’s going down in the next couple of hours, and you don’t want to get caught up in it.” Juke stuffed his hands in his front pockets like he was trying to keep from touching BB.

“Why should I trust you? Where would I go? I got no place else. No other family than my uncle. You think if I did, I’d be living with him, letting him do this shit to me?”

The way Juke eyed him made him nervous. It was like the guy peered into BB’s soul and saw all the dreams he’d buried deeper each year.

“Actually, I think you stay because of the dogs, kid. You could’ve run away a long time ago.” Juke pulled something from his pocket and handed it to BB. “If you need a place, call this number and tell the person who answers Julio told you to call. They’ll give you a place to crash. No questions asked. Nothing owed.”

“Julio?”

Juke’s laugh was harsh and low. “Do you seriously think my mama called me Juke?”

Okay. The man had a point.

“Fine. I’ll call and go there, but what’s gonna happen to Uncle Caesar? How do you know?” BB fidgeted as his nerves started zinging. “It’s got something to do with the dogs, don’t it? Damn, man, I can’t let anything happen to those dogs. It’s not their fault my uncle’s a bastard.”

“True, kid. Don’t worry about the dogs. They’ll be safe soon enough.” A beep came from Juke’s phone and he pulled it out to look at the screen. “I’ve got to go, BB. Please, just call that number. Oh, and Queenie’s going to be okay.”

Relief rippled through him at that knowledge. “Can I see her?”

“Once this all blows through, I’ll get a hold of you and take you to her. How’s that?”

“Dude, you’re not a drug dealer, are you?”

He didn’t dodge as Juke reached out and stroked a finger down his nose. Chuckling, Juke shook his head. “No, BB. I’m not.”

BB nodded, not sure he could speak with as dry as his mouth had suddenly gone. In all his twenty-one years, no one had ever touched him so gently. Not even his mother. Not that his mother had been around much during his life. She’d given birth to him and dumped him on his aunt and uncle before running off with her very own drug dealer.

Before BB’s mind adjusted to what happened, Juke slipped off into the shadows, moving like the predator BB had always assumed he was. He fingered the business card Juke had handed him. He wanted to go back to the kennels, to be there when whatever went down happened, yet he doubted he’d be any help to the dogs.

All his life, he did what he had to do to keep the dogs safe, and none of it mattered. Uncle Caesar continued to fight them. The dogs continued to die, and BB’s heart continued to break. Maybe it was time to step back and try to straighten out his own fucked-up life before he did any more for the dogs.

Juke had said Queenie was all right, and BB trusted the man not to lie to him about that for some reason. Whoever Juke really was, he seemed to be honorable about that. Some spark of hope burned in BB and he found himself thinking maybe God had finally answered one of his prayers. Maybe the abuse would stop and the dogs would be free to be dogs, though BB knew the odds against the canines were huge.

Being raised in an environment like his wasn’t conducive to hopes and dreams. A man survived as best he could and hoped he didn’t meet a bloody end at the hands of another human. He’d done what he had and lived to see twenty-one. At one time, he never believed he’d grow that old.

Snowy Thursday

Of course, it's snowing on the one day I plan to leave the house...lol. Having lunch with my mom and then going to have dinner with one of the ladies I used to work with. Yay!

Shades of Dreams was the #1 best seller at Amber Allure for December. Thank all of you who bought it.

I sent in a partial to my YA publisher this morning, so I'll be waiting to hear on that. Deepest Cut is a very emotional book, but I think everyone will fall in love with Charlie. :)

Voice for the Silent is set to come out on Sunday. I'll try to remember to post the blurb and an excerpt tomorrow for everyone.

Well, I have to go get ready to start my day. I hope you all have a great Thursday.

Wednesday Hunk

Here's a poem I wrote recently:

I want a darkened hallway

Or an empty room

So we can wrap our arms

Around each other

And I can lean into

Your warmth, knowing

In that space,

In that one moment of time

I am your whole world

Just like you are mine.

-T.A. Chase c. 2011

Happy Tuesday

Okay, so I'm thinking that I might be able to start a new blog story either next week or the week after that. It depends on how my other writing goes. :)

Carol and I are finishing up The Haunting of St. Xavier's for Total e-Bound and that is tentatively scheduled for a February release. (As you know all dates are subject to change...lol) Also, I just contracted a romantic suspense with Loose-Id which means I now have to finish writing it. I have eight chapters to add, and I want to get it done by the end of this month. I'll be moving it up to the top of my list for now. As soon as I get the signed contract back, I'll tell you more about it. :)

So far this writing full time thing is going pretty good. We'll see how I feel next week when C's gone all week, and I haven't seen a real person for three days...lmao. Then I might change my mind.

I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday.

First Day of New "Job"

Well, today is the true first day of my staying home and writing full time. I've been writing all weekend as well. :) So far it's felt like it was just a vacation. Now we'll see how well this goes...lol.

I added about 4k or so to my new YA book, Deepest Cut, over the weekend, plus I worked on the book I'm writing with Carol Lynne. We're hoping to have it finished by Friday. Actually that's a doable deadline. We're in the homestretch of the story now. :)

I hope you all have a great Monday.