Archive for Amber Allure
They Walk Among Us is available now…
I posted some places yesterday, but in case you didn’t hear, They Walk Among Us is now available at Amber Allure. Click here to go check it out. đ Or you can browse my website to see what else is coming out soon.
Anyway this weekend was a great writing weekend. I did two real-time writing sessions with Devon Rhodes (which meant I stayed up really late since she’s like three hours behind me…lol) but we achieve two 10k+ days in a row, and our book is now over 34k. Which is awesome because it means we’re actually going to be bumping the word count up to 50k+, and our book will be out in print. Since it’s the first in a series of six books, that means all of them will be in print as well. Woot!
I really can’t wait for you to meet my cricket player…and Devon’s Bollywood actor. I think they’re wonderful together. đ
Also, I got a good amount written on Home Sweet Home as well, and it’s moving along at a good pace. Hoping this week will get me even more words.
Well, it snowed last night and the world outside is snowy/icy. Might be a good day to stay inside and write, but I do have some errands to run. So I’m going to write for a little while, then head out into the cold world (lol) to get what I need.
Have a marvelous Monday, everyone.
Cover for The Whore of New Slum
Here’s the cover for my steampunk story, The Whore of New Slum, which comes out Feb. 17th from Amber Allure. đ I love this cover. I just wish it was long enough to go into print. Maybe I’ll have to write another story about Wendall and Abdur, so they can be put together and released in print. I’ll have to see how everyone likes them.
I finished the edits on They Walk Among Us, which will be out on Jan. 27th, and I’ll be doing my first set of edits on Leaving Home today. Then I’ll continue working on Home Sweet Home, and hope I make some more progress on it.
I hope you all have a great Friday…and a marvelous weekend.
Wednesday Work In Progress…
I thought I’d share another excerpt from The Whore of New Slum before I submit it. Next week I’ll be sharing a little bit from Leaving Home, Peter’s story. đ
Excerpt: (copyright 2012 T.A. Chase)
Wendall gritted his teeth as he pushed through the crowd of people. The search parties were disrupting everything in New Slum, and Wendall found it annoyed him. Maybe if they didnât put Abdur in danger, or keep Wendall from seeing his sister, he wouldnât mind them so much. It was good business for the brothel. Oh the soldiers wouldnât be using any of the whores, but they would be buying drinks, and so would others whoâd stop by to talk about what was going on.
He jogged up the front steps of the hospital. After shoving open the doors, he greeted the nun at the desk.
âIâm here to see my sister. Please tell the Mother Superior that I would like to talk to her.â
âYes, sir.â The sister reached for the messenger to contact the Mother Superior.
Impatient to see Molly, Wendall didnât wait for the elevator. He ran up all three flights of stairs, barely winded when he reached the terminal ward. Wendall stopped to take a deep breath before going into his sisterâs room.
Molly might be dying, but he didnât want her to see him panicked in any way. She was a smart girl, and had to know what was happening to her. Wendall simply didnât want her to worry about him, and how he might be handling her death.
âHowâs my favorite girl doing today?â He bounded into the room with a bright smile on his face.
She offered him a weak grin in return. âIâm your only sister, so I have to be your favorite girl.â
âNot true, my darling. Not true at all.â
He fought back the tears, trying hard to continue to look happy while he could tell the toll the disease was having on her body. Her ravaged face looked almost skeleton-like. He swore sheâd lost more weight in the twenty-four hours since heâd seen her last.
Leaning down to kiss her cheek, he wrinkled his nose at the odor coming from Molly. It was a sure sign that she was dying, and her human form was wasting away. Her skin was fragile and dry like all life had been sucked from her.
âYou are looking ratherâŚâ He paused, unsure how to continue.
âHorrid is the word youâre trying to find.â Her laugh turned into a harsh cough.
Wendall rushed over to the side table, then grabbed the pitcher of water to pour a glass for her. After sitting on the side of the bed, he slid his arm around Mollyâs shoulders.
âLean on me while you drink,â he suggested.
Molly took a few sips before she pushed the glass away. âThank you. I canât seem to get rid of this cough, and I havenât been feeling good today.â
âThen you must not wear yourself out, love. Would you like me to brush your hair?â He retrieved the brush set on Mollyâs dresser, then returned to the bed.
After settling back against the pillows, he helped his sister to rest against his chest. Molly sighed as he ran the brush through her dull hair. All the tension in her body disappeared slowly with each stroke, and Wendall started to hum softly.
Memories of so many nights where he would brush Mollyâs hair before she went to bed danced through his head. Their mother had died when Molly was only three, and while their father was alive, Wendall could stay home to take care of his sister. Being six years old, he didnât want to take care of his little sister. He wanted to be out playing with his friends, but he didnât have a choice.
He thought he did a good job, and then he turned eighteen and his father died. Wendall was left having to support Molly all on his own. It was one of the reasons why he chose to go into the sex peddling business. The money he could make on his back could keep Molly in a nice apartment, which being in the Slum didnât mean much.
Wendall knew Molly appreciated everything Wendall had done for her, but sheâd been swept off her feet by a man who promised her so much more than she had. Then he left her when he went off to war, and by then, she was sick. So Wendall had managed to get a pass to go to New Island where he found Molly and brought her home.
Unfortunately, she was so ill, the only place he could take her was the hospital. He did his best to make sure she was as comfortable as possible. Wendall glanced down to see that at some point, Molly had fallen asleep.
Wiggling slightly, he rested his head against the pillows and closed his eyes. He ran through his activities for the next several days to come. There were a lot of things he needed to do, not just for The Pink Carnation, but for other meetings as well.
Wednesday Work In Progress….
I thought I’d start doing this again. Giving you a glimpse of what I’m working on. đ This is the overall ‘cover’ for the steampunk PAX at Amber Allure. It’ll be out in February. I won’t have an exact date until all the stories are in. I’ll remind you closer to the release, but for any of the PAXs, you can get all five stories in the PAX for a great discounted price. đ
My story is titled The Whore of New Slum, and it’s my first try at steampunk. I’m hoping I get it right, and go totally off the rails with it…lol.
Here’s an excerpt:
As he reached the second floor landing, he heard shouting from down the hall. Usually, heâd ignore the arguing, and make his way up to Mollyâs room, but he found a reluctance to continue on that day. More than likely, it was because he knew Mollyâs time was growing near, and he hated watching his sister waste away.
So he wandered in the direction of the yelling, curious as to what-or who-was causing all the trouble. He approached the room, and someone burst out of it, running into him.
He grunted and stumbled back, arms flailing as he tried to keep his balance and not end up on his ass. Two hands came into his view, gripping his wrists long enough for him to get back on his feet. Wendall blinked, not sure heâd seen what he thought he had. One of the hands had been normal, well-formed with thick fingers and scars marring the darkly tanned skin. The other hand had looked like it was made out of metal; bright shiny silver skin with steel joints.
Wendallâs gaze shot up to look at the person standing in front of him. By his height and the breadth of his shoulders, Wendall deduced the stranger was male, but he couldnât tell anything else about him. The bottom half of the manâs face was covered by a leather mask, and a high-collared shirt and long leather pants hide everything else.
âSorry. I didnât see you there.â
Wendall thanked his experience in hiding his emotions when he heard the strangerâs voice. It sounded like heâd gargled with broken glass and tore his vocal cords apart to the point there was almost nothing left of it. Wendall kept his face bland, hoping he showed only a mild hint of curiosity.
âItâs all right. I wasnât paying attention and stopped at the wrong floor. Have too many things running around in my head at the moment.â Wendall flashed his best customer smile and bowed a little. âThank you for saving me from embarrassing myself.â
The stranger stepped back, holding his left hand behind his back, obviously forgetting that Wendall had all ready seen it. He dipped his head, turning so that the left side was hidden from Wendall. Scars cris-crossed the manâs face, and a deep furrow formed between the manâs eyebrows, making Wendall believe he was in pain.
âYouâre welcome.â
âAbdur, get back in here. I still need to make some adjustments and make sure youâre strong enough for the procedure.â
A doctor rushed from the door, skidding to a stop the moment his eyes landed on Wendall. His eyes went right to the brand on Wendallâs face, and Wendall braced himself for the scornful expression the doctor was sure to be sporting soon. A lot of people looked down on Wendall and his kind for the services they provided, yet if they didnât do it, there would be a lot of unhappy people doing terrible things to each other. Most people didnât see that, and thought they were superior to Wendall.
Getting in a groove…
I’m hoping to get some more writing done on The Whore of New Slum, which is my steampunk story. It’s coming out in February of 2013 from Amber Allure. I don’t have an exact date for it yet, but that’ll come probably when all the other stories for this particular PAX are turned in. I’ll announce it as soon as I get it.
Also, plans are in the works for another GRL anthology at Total e-Bound, featuring the same authors that were in the Unconventional…at Best antho. If everything comes together (like I know it will…lol), the antho will be out in August of 2013, and the print version should be available before GRL in Atlanta next October. Woot! I think everyone will get a kick out of this anthology. We’re doing something slightly different. I’m not going to say anything else because I don’t want to give anything away. When I get working on my story, I’ll let you know what the title is. đ
Okay…well, I better go get dressed and set down to get some writing done. I think there might be a big revelation coming in the blog story. đ
Hope you all have a great Monday.
Finally done
I love this man…he is so sexy…lol
The next blog installment will be up tomorrow. I spent yesterday finishing the last chapter on They Walk Among Us. I have to fill out two more forms and it’ll be subbed today. Yay! So I should have a release date for it soon…and I’ll let you all know as soon as I get it. đ Oh, it’s going to Amber Allure. Just so you know which publisher is getting it. And I added an extra chapter to it, so there will be new stuff in it.
Today, after the forms, I’ll do the installment and back to work on my steampunk story. đ
I hope you all have a thrilling Thursday. (I can’t believe it’s all ready November)
Quick note
We had to take our puppy into the emergency vet last night around 1…and we just picked him up a few minutes ago. He’s doing well, but he ate some stuff that he shouldn’t have last night, so he’d been throwing up and not drinking.
But like I said, he’s doing fine this morning, but we’re all going back to bed for a while…lol.
Cynthia, I think you were the one who asked about Amber Allure. I’m still with them…just haven’t finished any new stories for them. But the steampunk story I’m working on at the moment is for them, and I have a couple more almost finished that I just have to find the time to complete before I send to them. đ So don’t worry…there are a few series there that I want to finish up.
I hope you all have a great Monday. And those in the path of Hurricane Sandy, please stay as safe as possible. I’ll be thinking of you all.
April’s Over?
Hey check it out. I’m in Total e-Bound’s Author of the Week spotlight, which means if you haven’t picked up one of my books from them yet, they’re 20% off this week. Woo-hoo! Click here to see.
I can’t believe it’s the last day of April all ready. Where the heck has this year gone? I swear the years never seemed to go so fast when I was younger…lol. At times, it seems like I can barely keep up. I’ll be working on Tramps today and for the next week or so to try and get it finished asap. I’d like to get another story done in May, then start on the last two Home books. When those two are done, I have two stories to write for Amber Allure. After they’re finished, I can rearrange my schedule a little to fit in a couple of stories I’ve really been wanting to write. We’ll have to see if my muse cooperates with me…lol. He doesn’t always go in the direction I’d like him to go. Stubborn muse. đ
I hope you all have a great Monday, even if it’s the start of the work week.
Embraced in Gold Cover
This is the cover for the print version of Embrace My Reflection and Bring Him Gold. Isn’t it so pretty? It will be out some time in March.
Also, Bring Him Gold came out yesterday for those of you who haven’t heard. đ A happy Valentine’s Day story giving us a glimpse into what’s happening with Ronnie and Lucius. Click here to check it out.
I have three sets of edits to do this week, so the next installment of They Walk Among Us might not be available until Wednesday. I really want to get all the edits out of the way, so I can focus on finishing From Slavery to Freedom, work on The Deepest Cut, and two other stories I’d really like to get started and finished asap as well. đ It’s a tall order, but Slavery, DC, and one of the other stories are all halfway done, it’s simply a matter of filling in spots or writing the last few chapters. Only From Yesterday will be started from scratch. We’ll have to see. The new one I added to my schedule needs to be in by the beginning of May, so I might move it to work on in March along with Tramps.
Well, I guess I better get to editing. Yay! I hope you all have a great Monday. đ
New Cover…
Hal Sims runs a non-profit hospice named after his older brother. For ten years, heâs thrown himself into running the charity, and keeping his brotherâs memory alive. Hal doesnât have time for a relationship, especially with a rich golden boy like Tavis Komen.
Tavis Komen wants to change his life, and decides volunteering at Rupertâs Legacy is the first step to a better him. Meeting Hal Sims hits Tavis in ways he never planned.
When one of the hospice residents takes a turn for the worse, Tavis and Hal come together to comfort each other, and Tavis shows Hal there is joy to be found in a season that Hal has lost all interest in.
Also, good news. I finished Bring Him Gold, my Valentine’s Day story, which is a sequel to Embrace My Reflection. It’s a follow-up to see how Ronnie and Lucius are getting along. đ This one will be released on Feb. 12th from Amber Allure. Just in time for your loved one to buy it for as a Valentine’s Day present…lol.
Now I’m going to try and finish Death before the end of the month. Woot! That way all of the Horsemen books will be done, and I can start the next trilogy I have scheduled at Total e-Bound. My homage to Cher…or at least the titles are…lol
I hope you all have a great Wednesday. đ
