Hey! I’m T.A. Chase and I’m so happy to be here chatting about my re-release, Blindsided. I wrote it with my amazing co-author, Devon Rhodes. It came up on May 8th from Dreamspinner.
I thought I’d give you all a little insight into how Devon and I came up with the idea for our Men of Sports series. Devon and I were roommates during GRL in Albuquerque. We got talking one night about sports stories. A lot of them tend to be more American based, either in the US and sports played here. Or it takes place in another country with one of the characters being an American.
We thought it would be more fun to set the story in a different country. We made a list of different countries around the world we’d like to see a book set in. Then we researched which sport was the most popular for each.
Our characters had to be native to the country we wrote about and for the most part, we achieved that. It was fun to research each sport. In Australia, rugby is one of the more popular sports, so we decided to make one of the characters a rugby player. Also, the lifeguards on the Australian beaches are rather well-known. Who better to hook our player up with?
I thought I’d share a small excerpt from Blindsided with you. I hope you enjoy it.
Blindsided
T.A. Chase/Devon Rhodes
Copyright May 2018
At the moment, though, he decided to go for a swim, cool off a little and try to get into the right frame of mind. Training would start in a day or two, and Liam would have to prove himself all over again to his new teammates. Since he lived so close to the water now, maybe he could add swimming to his routine. He’d have to talk to one of the team trainers to see if it would help or hinder his game.
His pulse raced for a moment at the thought of getting in the water, but he took a deep breath. It had taken a couple months of therapy to get him to the point where being near the ocean didn’t freak him out. Now he could actually swim without worrying about sharks and getting attacked. He still couldn’t get on a surfboard, which disappointed him because he used to love surfing. Liam shrugged. That obstacle could be worked on later.
Pushing to his feet, he ignored the appreciative glances several women and men threw his way. He hid his grin when he saw a few boyfriends and girlfriends poke the ones looking and frowning at them. It seemed like not everyone appreciated his hard work. Liam wasn’t arrogant, but he knew that all his working out and training gave him a body most men didn’t have. Along with his dirty blond hair and bright blue eyes, he was a magnet for both sexes…. Or at least, that’s what his cousin told him often enough.
Liam didn’t see it, but then again, he never spent time staring at himself in the mirror either. He was just Liam Holmes, rugby player and all-around normal bloke. Oh sure, his looks helped when he wanted to get laid, but they weren’t the most important thing in his life.
No, that would be rugby. He grunted softly. He’d worked his way into the number eight position in his club back in Canberra, and he loved being the big guy in the scrum. But the Melbourne club had a very talented number eight already in Tommy Barbella, so Liam wasn’t sure what his role would be, or even why he’d been traded to them.
As he made his way to the water’s edge, one of the lifeguards walked by him. He glanced over at her, taking in her yellow rash guard and red shorts. The uniform didn’t really flatter her, but no woman looked good in board shorts and a rash guard in Liam’s opinion. But something about her confident stride caught his eye and made him look closer. He squinted. Was that…? Nah. It couldn’t be Caroline Sinclair. She wouldn’t be working as a lifeguard. Not when she could be using her fame to sell surf equipment. Could be her twin, though. Lifeguarding, while a noble profession, would be an unlikely place to find the person she resembled, making a living.
She continued toward the tower, where a similarly clad guard was scanning the crowds—the male lifeguard who had been up on the tower when he’d arrived. It was the same guy who had been there nearly every time Liam had come to the beach this week. Liam hadn’t seen the guy close up yet, mostly because he couldn’t figure out a way to check him out without being obvious about it.
Liam had always been an equal-opportunity lover. Men or women, it didn’t matter to him as long as there was an attraction and he could get off, but he tended to go for the guys more than the girls. Lately, he hadn’t been going for anyone because his career took up too much of his time. His refusal to do so had been driving Shelly crazy. She wanted him to find someone special, and had decided that he needed to date more.
Thank you so much for having me here today. Please check out Blindsided at Dreamspinner. While it is a re-release, we did add additional scenes. 🙂
Blurb:
A Men of Sports Story
Love can hit you hard before you even see it coming….
When rugby player Liam transfers to Melbourne, he’s blindsided by his attraction to the hottest lifeguard on the beach. Luckily Matty knows mouth-to-mouth….
Liam’s left his friends and family—everything comforting and familiar—back in Canberra. He knows it all comes with the job, adjusting to a new city and a new team, but he’s lonely. Maybe it’s time to find something outside his career to fulfill him.
Working as a lifeguard and being by the ocean is Matty’s dream come true. The big, blond, blue-eyed hottie new to his beach catches his attention right away. When he runs into Liam again at the pub, he takes the shy league player under his wing and into his group of mates, and they become fast friends.
But when they go from friends to lovers, the emotions that come with their deepening romance catch them both off guard. Can two men without any experience at relationships navigate their way to steady ground?
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T.A. Chase lives in the Midwest with her neurotic but still wonderful senior cat. She believes there is beauty in every kind of love, so why not live a life without boundaries? Experiencing everything the world offers fascinates T.A., and writing about the things that make each of us unique is how she shares those insights. When not writing, she’s watching movies and reading. She’s also a part of a line-dancing group that takes over a bar on Tuesday nights and entertains at assisted living homes. It’s all about living life to the fullest.
She loves hearing from fans. But don’t be too upset if she doesn’t get back to you right away. Life has a way of making her lose track of days and hours. Don’t worry, though. You will hear back at some point.
www.tachase.com