Hello all! Thank you for joining me for my monthly column here at Love Bytes. I can’t believe it’s almost time for another THIRDS release. On July 7^th, Hell & High Water was a year old. Yep, a whole year since a blond Cheesy Doodle crunching menace was unleashed upon the world. And now we’re releasing book five.

I’ve had readers ask why Against the Grain doesn’t follow the same title style as the rest of the series up to this point. This is a very good question. It was a tough decision to make, but I felt that books five and six needed to stand apart from the rest of the series, and here’s why.

Hell & High Water, Blood & Thunder, Rack & Ruin, and Rise & Fall, are all told from the points of view of Dex and Sloane. It focuses on their relationship from the moment they meet until they fall in love, or in one jaguar Therian’s case, admit that he’s in love. With this being a long series that follows a continues timeline—with plots and events spanning over several books—it didn’t make sense to me that in the time since Dex joins the team through to where he and Sloane get their happily ever after, that only his and Sloane’s relationship would progress. It might have worked out differently if the series focused solely on Dex and Sloane, but these guys are part of a team, a team that includes family, friends, and teammates, all of whom are in each other’s hair day in and day out.

When I write, I like to leave room for my characters to develop naturally. The more I write them, the more they reveal about themselves. Some of them take the stage fully fleshed out in all their karaoke singing, Cheesy Doodle crunching glory, while some are a little shyer. From Hell & High Water, the guys had already bonded with their romantic interests. It happened organically, with characters such as Ash surprising even me. It was clear in Hell & High Water from Ash’s interactions with Cael that there was more than friendship under the surface of their relationship. Even Dex notices something’s up with these guys early on.

I felt very strongly that while Dex and Sloane were doing their thing, saving the world, and having sexy-times, that I would allow the other characters’ relationships to evolve. Much like in real life, the story arc for each member of Destructive Delta continues to move forward. I couldn’t wait until Dex and Sloane’s story arc was complete for Ash and Cael to make progress, or Calvin and Hobbs. I didn’t want to torture the poor guys and stretch out the tension for six books—seven in Calvin and Hobbs’s case—until it was their turn. Then there was the fact that certain plot elements developed from these growing relationships.

With my decision made on how the series was going to go, I had to think about the titles of the books along with the books focusing on the other couples. Since the books landed smack in the middle of the timeline and the series, I needed to set them apart from Dex and Sloane’s books.

I decided that Ash and Cael’s book and Calvin and Hobbs’s books would have a different style with titles fitting the character with the most internal conflict, as well as the one who faced the biggest challenges in their potential relationships. I decided on Against the Grain for Ash, and Catch a Tiger by the Tail for Hobbs. Book seven takes us back the previous books titling style and you can find out what the title for book 7 is here during my interview at Rainbow Con with the fabulous ladies from Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy!

Against the Grain
THIRDS: Book 5

Genre: M/M Contemporary,Shifter, Alternate History Romance
Length: Novel, 220 Pages
Published: Aug 3rd, 2015
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: L.C. Chase
Ebook ISBN-13: 978-1634763752
Paperback ISBN-13: 9781634763745

As the fiercest Defense Agent at the THIRDS, Destructive Delta’s Ash Keeler is foul-mouthed and foul-tempered. But his hard-lined approach always yields results, evident by his recent infiltration of the Coalition. Thanks to Ash’s skills and the help of his team, they finally put an end to the murdering extremist group for good, though not before Ash takes a bullet to save teammate Cael Maddock. As a result, Ash’s secrets start to surface, and he can no longer ignore what’s in his heart.

Cael Maddock is no stranger to heartache. As a Recon Agent for Destructive Delta, he has successfully maneuvered through the urban jungle that is New York City, picking up his own scars along the way. Yet nothing he’s ever faced has been more of a challenge than the heart of Ash Keeler, his supposedly straight teammate. Being in love isn’t the only danger he and Ash face as wounds reopen and new secrets emerge, forcing them to question old loyalties.

AVAILABLE AUG 3rd.
Now available for Pre-order.

Dreamspinner Press eBook | Dreamspinner Press Paperback | Amazon | All Romance eBooks | Barnes & Noble

Charlie Cochet is an author by day and artist by night. Always quick to succumb to the whispers of her wayward muse, no star is out of reach when following her passion. From adventurous agents and sexy shifters, to society gentlemen and hardboiled detectives, there’s bound to be plenty of mischief for her heroes to find themselves in, and plenty of romance, too!

Currently residing in Central Florida, Charlie is at the beck and call of a rascally Doxiepoo bent on world domination. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading, drawing, or watching movies. She runs on coffee, thrives on music, and loves to hear from readers.

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