A warm Love Bytes welcome to author Chris T . Kat

who joins us today to talk about her new release Tidal Change

Welcome Chris!

 

Trope: Friends to Lovers

Hi, I’m Chris T. Kat and happy to be a guest on Love Bytes Reviews. Dreamspinner Press published my new release, Tidal Change, on September 17^th. Tidal Change is a shape-shifter story, but it also has fantasy/fairy tale elements because the main character, Marty, is a merman.

Tidal Change is written in third person limited, and it’s told from Rick’s POV. Rick is Marty’s best friend, although there’s quite an age difference. Even before they enter a romantic relationship, Marty and Rick know each other very well. They spend a lot of time together and share a lot of interests. They know how they tick, how to get a certain response from the other, or that one of them likes to sleep in on the weekends while the other one gets up early. That’s what good friends know about each other.

My best friend lives in the USA, and although we can only visit each other once per year for a week, I know her far better than I know my other friends. Equally, she knows me better than most of my other friends know me too, which doesn’t mean she won’t tease me, for example with my fear of cable cars. But that’s a whole different story.

I haven’t written a lot of stories that follow the trope of friends-to-lovers so far. I’ve written a lot of books with the love-at-first-sight trope, mainly because that’s what I believe in (and because it worked for me). It was interesting to write about Rick and Marty’s struggle to get past their platonic relationship and on to a romantic one. Marty would’ve taken Rick’s offer earlier, if there wasn’t a secret he’s carrying…

 

 

Blurb:

Something draws history teacher Rick Grady across the school hall to German teacher Marty Lindson. Maybe it’s their shared love of the ocean. Maybe it’s just that Marty is so hot, but maybe it’s something more—something mysterious. All Rick knows is that every time he gets close, Marty pulls away. After another cancelled date, Rick goes to Marty’s apartment to demand an explanation. And what Rick discovers blows his mind.

The ocean calls to Marty because he’s a merman. He’s been afraid to get close to Rick, not just to keep his world a secret, but because Rick is his mate. And to claim his mate would change everything about Marty. No matter how much he loves Rick, he doesn’t know if he’s ready to alter his entire life.

 

Excerpt from Chapter Four:

The drive to Marty’s apartment took thirty minutes. When he arrived, lights illuminated the interior. Relieved, he let out a long sigh. Only a minute later, relief turned into something else, and he frowned. Why the hell didn’t Marty pick up the phone if he was home?

Right on cue, scenarios of Marty lying unconscious on the floor assaulted Rick. He shoved those images aside as he climbed out of his car. After walking up to Marty’s condo, he rang the bell. No one answered. As he pressed his ear against the front door, sounds of running water reached him. But there was another noise, almost a melody. Creasing his forehead even more, Rick tried to pinpoint the vibrating buzz.

When it came to him, his eyes widened and he hastily withdrew his ear. That was the same odd humming sound he’d caught in school earlier today, when Marty had stood staring out into the rain. The sound he could swear had emanated from Marty. What the heck was going on?

Rick glanced around to make sure no one saw him pulling a lock pick from the depths of his jacket. It would give people the wrong impression, which would complicate matters a lot. A few seconds later, the door opened and Rick let himself into Marty’s condo. He closed the door softly, trying to calm his thundering heart. He could never have become a burglar; that much was clear.

He cocked his head to listen but didn’t call out for Marty. For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to break the silence. No, not silence. The humming went on, and it almost seemed as if the floor vibrated in tune with the hums. Rhythmic knocks accompanied the sounds, as if someone was beating a well-known rhythm. Rick found himself enthralled and barely able to breathe.

The knocks became sharper, more insistent, and when Rick concentrated on them, they sounded as if something wet and heavy thrashed against tiles over and over again. Rick forced his muscles to obey and walked toward the bathroom. There he cracked the bathroom door open, aware the hum and thrashing increased in volume and intensity while the vibrations reverberated through him.

Plucking up his courage, he peered through the crack.

Thick tendrils of mist hung in the air and swirled around Marty. He reclined in the bathtub, his head thrown back, his hair slick from the bathwater. A low hum rumbled in his chest, sometimes swelling in volume, sometimes ebbing away to barely audible, before starting all over again.

Marty’s eyes were closed; he obviously hadn’t heard Rick enter. Rick’s gaze traveled from Marty’s blissed-out face, over his throat and clavicle, to a well-sculpted chest and abdomen. Rick swallowed heavily—for the first time he was seeing Marty, or part of him, in the nude—and his cock perked up with interest. Marty was beautiful, no doubt about it. There was just… just a long fish tail, leisurely slung over the side of the bathtub, knocking against the tiles.

“What the hell are you?” Rick rasped out.

Buy Links:

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon

Amazon.uk

About the Author:

Chris T. Kat

Chris T. Kat lives in the middle of Europe, where she shares a house with her husband of many years and their two children. She stumbled upon the M/M genre by luck and was swiftly drawn into it. She divides her time between work, her family—which includes chasing after escaping horses and lugging around huge instruments such as a harp—and writing. She enjoys a variety of genres, such as mystery/suspense, paranormal, and romance. If there’s any spare time, she happily reads for hours, listens to audiobooks or does cross stitch.

Author Links:

Blog: http://christikat.blogspot.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/christi_kat

GoodReads:http://www.goodreads.com/ChrisTKat

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChrisTKat

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Chris-T.-Kat/e/B008FQQH2Q

 

Chris is giving away a digital copy of the winners choice between “Unicorn Rescue”, “Secret Energy” or “Tidal Change”.

Good luck!

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