Yesterday was tiring…

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I got the last part of my back tattoo done. Usually when I go in for a session, I’m whipped when I get back home. So I ended up kind of vegging the rest of the day. I didn’t get the installment done, but I do plan on doing it for Friday. 🙂

I hope you have had a great week so far.

It’s Friday….

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Sorry I haven’t been posting as much lately. Get so busy doing other things that I completely forget to post until it’s evening…lol. I’d promise to do better, but it won’t be happening next week for sure. I’m leaving on Sunday for New Orleans for the Romantic Times convention. I’m meeting up with Devon Rhodes a couple of days early so we can hang out and have some fun before the work starts. 🙂

But I’m going to do my best to at least get the next two installments of Bodyguards done and scheduled so you won’t have to wait on those. 🙂 And if I can, I’ll see about posting something at some point during the other days. Not sure if it’ll happen, but I’ll try.

I just signed my contract for No Bravery, which is my contribution to this year’s Totally Bound GRL anthology. This year’s antho was a lot of fun to work on and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that readers like it. 🙂 Can’t wait to see my cover for my story and the one for the antho.

Also, got the cover for another Totally Bound story, but I can’t share it yet. I know…that’s being kind of mean. I love the cover and hope you all love the book when it comes out. I have to wait until I get the okay to tell you anything else about it. 😉 And to be able to share the cover.

Well, I hope you all have a great Friday and an awesome weekend. I have to pack all my stuff and hope I don’t go over the weight limit. lol

New Cover

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Sorry about not posting the next installment today. I got working on Eye of the Hurricane and lost track of time. 🙂 But I promise it’ll be up tomorrow.

I thought I’d share the cover for Anywhere Tequila Flows, Book 4 of the Rags to Riches series. This story features Sidney Richardson, Adrien’s best friend, and Tito Perez, a bartender at one of Sidney’s clubs. 🙂 I think the guy on the cover looks a little like Leonardo DiCaprio. lol

Anyway, I have to get going. Have a few errands to run, then back home to get to writing. I hope you all have a great day.

 

New Book available…

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From Yesterday, Book 3 in the Rupert’s Legacy series, is available now at MLR Press and all 3rd party vendors. Yay! 🙂 Click here to check it out.

I had a wonderful time in Chicago, but now it’s time to knuckle down and get writing. Have a lot to accomplish and hopefully a few will be finished before I leave for RT in two weeks. 🙂

Not much else to talk about at the moment. Hope you all have a marvelous Monday.

Why I Love Bodyguards

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Why I Love Bodyguards copyright c. 2014 T.A. Chase

Part Thirty-

He climbed into his SUV then waited for Burke to get ready before he pulled out. When they reached Sunburst, they parted ways. He headed to the high school while Burke went to the grocery store.

Cathal parked in his usual spot then checked his emails on his phone. So far there wasn’t anything he needed to worry about. His assistant seemed to be handling all the issues that had come up. He saw Rebecca’s email address come up and opened it.

“Mr. Burke told me to send you these files. Hope everything is going well for you.”

When he opened the files, he saw it was about Burke’s parents’ deaths. He’d go over them later on that night after the kids went to bed. He really wanted to figure out how two wealthy people could be killed, yet nothing be done about it. Especially if the son of the victims believed without a doubt they were murdered.

He’d sensed someone approaching his vehicle, so when the knock on the window came, he wasn’t surprised. Turning, he studied the man standing outside the SUV. There was something vaguely familiar about him, but Cathal couldn’t place where he’d seen him from.

Rolling down the window, he said, “Yes?”

“Are you Cathal McKinley?”

Cathal wrapped his hand around the grip of the handgun he’d tucked under his thigh once he parked. “Yes, I am.”

“I’m Deputy Sheriff Mitchell. I was wondering if I could talk to you about your sister.” The man flashed a badge.

“Mitchell?”

“I was two years behind you in school, but I played on the varsity football team with you your senior year.”

Cathal let go of the gun and nodded. “Right. I remember now. Yes, did you want to meet up after I drop Randy and Elisa off at home or should I come in tomorrow?”

Mitchell pursed his lips as he thought. “I think we should talk as soon as possible if it’s all right with you.”

“No problem. My friend is at the house, so I can drop the kids off then meet you at the diner,” Cathal suggested.

“That will be fine. Your friend the guy who stopped by the hardware store and bought some new locks?”

He’d forgotten how news traveled in a small town. “Yes. That’s Hilton Burke. He’s my friend and boss.”

“Okay. I’m glad you’re taking steps to keep her from getting into the house.” Mitchell glanced over towards the high school where kids were starting to pour out. “I’ll see you in a few at the diner.”

“All right.”

Randy and Elisa climbed into the SUV, greeting him with smiles. He turned the vehicle on, but didn’t put it in drive. He looked over at Randy.

“Could you pick up the twins for me and watch them? I need to meet with a sheriff deputy about your mother and I’d like Hilton to come with me.”

Rolling his eyes, Randy said, “Yeah. I can do that. They’re used to me getting the twins on the days Poppa was sick.”

“What has she done now?” Elisa asked as she put on her seat belt.

“I don’t know. The deputy just came over to ask me to meet him.” Cathal moved the gun from under his thigh to the console. “You’ll take the truck.”

“There isn’t a gun in there,” Randy commented.

“Right.” Cathal paused then continued after a moment. “There shouldn’t be. I’ll ask Hilton about that. I’ve never seen him with a gun, but more than likely he knows how to shoot.”

Randy snorted. “I wouldn’t be surprised. He seems to be more than just a rich business man.”

Cathal chuckled. “You’re right about that, Randy. He’s constantly surprised me this entire week.”

“Do you think he meant it when he said he’d come in and talk to my class?” Elisa fidgeted.

“Yes. Let him know when you want him to come and he will. One thing you can count on with Hilton is he keeps his word.”

“Unlike a lot of people,” Randy muttered and Cathal knew his nephew was thinking about his mother.

Cathal put the vehicle in drive then drove to the house. Randy and Elisa went to take their things to their bedrooms while he wandered into the kitchen where Burke was busy putting dinner in the oven.

When Burke straightened, Cathal encircled his waist and pulled him close to him. He brushed his lips over Burke’s neck. Sighing, Burke rested back against Cathal.

“I’m glad you’re home,” Burke murmured. “Dinner’s in the oven. It should be done shortly after the twins get home.”

“About that. Randy’s going to pick the boys up while we meet a sheriff’s deputy. Something’s come up about Margaret.”

Burke turned to look at him. “When did you run into a deputy? Should we call the lawyer and have him come with us?”

“He came up to me while I waited for Randy and Elisa. He told me he needed to talk to me.” Cathal sighed as he rested his forehead against Burke’s. “I’m afraid to guess what she’s done now.”

Not letting go of him, Burke managed to get his phone out. “What was this deputy’s name?”

“Mitchell,” Cathal told him.

He listened as Burke called Chuck and asked him to check on a Deputy Mitchell in Montana. Something in his voice must have told Chuck it was important because Davidson didn’t argue or anything.

A smile crossed his face. Davidson might have been an Alpha male and an experienced homicide detective, but Burke was the ultimate male. He was the one all other men wanted to become.

“All right. Thanks. Try to keep Herb from freaking out over Jessie’s wedding arrangements.” Burke ended the call. “Chuck says that Mitchell is on the level. He really is a deputy, but he couldn’t find out anything about Margaret.”

“Thanks for checking.”

He trusted his instincts and they had told him Mitchell was who he said he was, but it was nice to know he was right.

Hey there…

Sorry I didn’t post an installment today. I wanted to finish Anywhere Tequila Flows by today, so I had to work on that all day. I got it done and turned it. Yay!  So today, I’ll write both of this week’s installments and get them scheduled.  You’ll have some more Bodyguards tomorrow and Thursday.

Also, I’d like to share the cover for the newest International Men of Sports series, A Grand Prix Romance. Isn’t it pretty?

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And here’s the cover for the last Fallen book, Saint Petersburg, if you’re interested. lol 🙂

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I hope everyone is having a great Tuesday.

Good Morning….

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I hope everyone had a marvelous weekend. 🙂

I wanted to let you all know that Following His Footsteps, Book 3 in the Rags to Riches series, is up for pre-order at Totally Bound. Check it out here.

 

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Also, the next book in my m/f Fallen series, London, is available for early download. Check it out here.

This week I have to finish Anywhere Tequila Flow, Book 4 in Rags to Riches, and get started on Eye of the Hurricane, which is my next Tiffany book (about a lady pirate). Devon and I will be starting the eighth book in our Sports series, An Ace in the Tiebreak (title subject to change…lol) with a Swiss tennis player and the chef hired to get him back to his winning form. 🙂

Plus if any of you live in Chicago, I’ll be at the Chicago Northern RWA Chapter Spring Fling this weekend. Here’s the information on it.  There’ll be a book signing on Saturday that is open to the public. If you can make it that would be awesome.

I think that’s it for now. I hope you all have a great Monday. 🙂

Bad News…in Real Life

A friend of mine passed away early yesterday morning, and I spent the day with my brother who was a close friend of hers as well.

Today, my uncle goes in for open heart surgery.

Have to say this week hasn’t turned out quite the way I wanted it to. 🙁

I just wanted to let you all know that Bodyguards will be delayed until next Tuesday. I just couldn’t focus enough to get today’s installment done.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We’ll start again next week.

RJ Scott’s Autism Blog Hop

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Autism Fact:

People with autism may also experience some form of sensory sensitivity or lack of sensitivity, for example to sound, touch, taste, smell, lights or color.

 

RJ Scott asked me to be a part of her Autism Blog Hop for Autism Month and I was more than happy to join in. Please stop by RJ’s blog to check out all the other stops along the way.

I have several friends who have children who are autistic and I’ve seen how difficult it can be for them at times to deal with a world that doesn’t understand their children.

In my experience, children with autism aren’t broken, slow or being difficult because they can be. For an autistic child, the world they live in is a whole different place than the one the rest of us reside in, but that doesn’t make it bad.

I truly believe they are able to see things that we, in our rush to get to work and do our jobs and live our lives, miss. Things we wouldn’t consider important or special become all consuming to them, yet it doesn’t make it a bad thing.

Autism creates a barrier between those with it and those without it, but there are many times when I think the children who have it are truly gifted with a precious ability to see.

We need to stop trying to force them into our world and start doing our best to accept them in their own way, and maybe work a little more at fitting ourselves into the awesome world they live in.

I’m giving away an ebook from my backlist (or upcoming release-if the winner already has my other books) to one commenter. The contest is open until April 13th. 🙂

Wednesday’s Work in Progress…

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It’s been a while since I shared one of these, but I thought I’d post a little snippet from A Grand Prix Romance, book 7 of the International Men of Sports series. 🙂  It’s what I’m working on right now and Devon and I hope to have it finished by the end of the week. Yay!

Hope you like it.

A Grand Prix Romance copyright c. 2014 T.A. Chase and Devon Rhodes

Excerpt-

A fleeting thought raced through Johann’s mind. What would happen if Paolo wanted to stay around after the race was over? Could he deal with that? No one else had ever wished to see more of Johann. He rolled his eyes. Sure there had been some who wanted more than Johann had been willing to give them. He’d never been able to imagine himself settling down with a woman, and those were the ones who tended to cling.

“Johann,” Paolo called his name.

Blinking, he shot a glance over at Paolo. “Were you asking me something?”

Paolo snorted. “I hope you’ve been paying better attention to the road than you have to me.”

“I could drive this with my eyes closed,” Johann bragged as he slowed down just a little.

“I’m sure you could, but there are mere mortals who use this road, and they’re the ones I don’t trust.”

He could flatter Johann all he wanted, but Johann knew Paolo wasn’t as confident about Johann’s driving skills when it was dark out and Johann was distracted. He didn’t blame him because the winding mountainous roads of Monaco really weren’t the places to not pay attention to the pavement in front of them.

“What did you want to ask me?” He brought the conversation back to whatever Paolo had been trying to ask him.

“Your friend doesn’t care if you use his place?”

Something told Johann that wasn’t the original question. He wasn’t going to push. “No. He had to go out of the country for a business emergency. Usually he’s around during Grand Prix week and he hangs out with me down in the city.”

The road leading to the house came up on his left and he slowed even more so he could make the turn. Johann drove along until he pulled in front of the stone home. He turned the car off and they sat there for a moment, staring at the facade of the building.

“Is your friend Prince Albert?” Paolo asked.

Laughing, Johann climbed out of the Maserati. “No. It’s a little ostentatious, isn’t it? It’s an ancestral home.”

After leading the way up to the large wooden doors inset with brilliant stain glass, he smiled at the older man who held one of them opened for them.

“Thanks, Jacques. I appreciate you being willing to let us in.” Johann motioned towards Paolo. “This is my friend, Paolo.”

“Sirs.” Jacques inclined his head to both of them as he accepted their jackets and Johann’s keys. “Master Benton informed us you would be coming tonight. Dinner is ready in the small dining room. I’ve opened the merlot you were fond of the last time you visited.”

“Marvellous.” He grabbed Paolo’s hand then dragged him down the hall. “Benton’s cook is as good as any five star chef I’ve ever met. You’re going to die when you taste his food.” He greeted the young lady standing by the door. “Hey Milly.”

“Monsieur Wetl, it is good to see you again. When you are finished with dinner, don’t worry about the dishes. We’ll take care of them.” She stepped out of the way to allow Johann and Paolo to enter the room.

The small dining room was aptly named. It held an oak table that seated only four at one time. It was covered with an antique lace tablecloth and set with light blue china plates. Crystal glasses and sterling silverware completed the elegant look of the dinner setting. A gorgeous teardrop crystal chandelier hung over the table, but it had been wired for electricity, letting them dim the lightning slightly to bathe the red roses in the centre in shadows.

Johann hoped Paolo didn’t think it was cheesy. He had a romantic streak and liked to treat his lovers to special moments. He didn’t get a chance to do it very often, and he admitted it was his own fault since he had a tendency to let them walk away. Yet he readily admitted that most of the problem was his because he hadn’t hung on to them. There was always another race in another country that he had to win.

He held out a chair for Paolo who cast him a speculative glance before sitting. After taking his own seat, Johan picked up the bottle of wine to pour out a glass for each of them. Right before he put any in Paolo’s glass, he paused.

“Do you like merlot?” He hadn’t thought about the fact that Paolo just might like red wine–or wine in general.