Rhani D. Chae Author – Fiction Favorites

As a member of Rave Reviews Book Club, I am proud to showcase several exceptional writers. All are members of the literary section of the club titled Rave Writers – International Society of Authors. RWISA.

Today I want to welcome Rhani D’ Shae with an excerpt from her book Winter of the Drill.

EXCERPT FROM UP COMING NOVEL, “WINTER OF THE DRILL”

By Rhani D’Chae

***

Decker leaned against the hood of his car, talking to JT in a low tone of voice. His face wore a pleasant expression, and a casual observer would have had no clue as to the seriousness of their conversation.

“Second floor, third from the left?”

JT nodded without turning, keeping his eyes focused on Decker’s face. “That’s what Hunt said, and it does make sense.”

“Are you sure?”

The boy closed his eyes, remembering Hunter’s words immediately after the shooting.

“I think it came from that window over there!” Hunter’s eyes zeroed in on a building across the street. “Second floor, three in, left.”

JT nodded his head, confident that he had given the correct information. “Third from the left. I’m sure.”

Decker dipped his head almost imperceptibly, flicking his eyes quickly over the row of windows on the second floor of the nondescript building. Nothing seemed to be out of place, but he had not expected to find anything. However, the address of the building, as well as the location of the window and anything of interest nearby, went into the small notebook that he always carried with him.

“Well?” JT’s voice held a touch of impatience. “Do you see anything?”

“Yes.” Decker laid one hand on JT’s shoulder. “I see a boy who needs to learn that some things take more than a minute.”

The addition of a friendly smile took most of the sting from his words, and JT responded with a smile of his own.

“Okay.” Decker rose from his perch and stepped on to the sidewalk. “I’m hungry, and you never got to the Olive Garden. Let’s find some food.”

* * *

From his vantage point at the front window of the Greyhound station across the street, the man known only as Rhegan, watched them head toward a small cafe. He had returned to the strip in search of street gossip but had surprisingly heard almost none. And what he did hear was not worth listening to.

As he watched the pair walk slowly along Pacific Avenue, he thought back to when he had sighted on the boy and pulled the trigger. He had aimed carefully, not wanting to kill, but even so, he was surprised to see JT back on the street so soon.

After the shooting, he had taken a few minutes to watch the fireworks, knowing that the police would not be called.

His victim had fallen hard, his panic obvious as he managed to scrabble behind the nearest parked car.

His companion had reacted with cool precision, slipping one arm behind the boy’s shoulders and speed-dialing his cell phone with the other hand.

Even from a distance, Rhegan could see that the man was scanning the street. When the steel-blue eyes passed over the window that he looked through, he felt a sudden chill, as if those eyes had looked directly into his and issued a challenge.

A few passersby stopped to offer assistance, but Rhegan could tell that the man was dismissing each with a plausible excuse, for there was none of the panic that usually accompanied a public shooting.

Within minutes a car had pulled smoothly to a stop, collecting both men before exiting at a sedate speed that would not attract attention.

Rhegan had expected the part-time bouncer to run crying to Valdez, resignation in hand. Hopefully, the news that another person had taken a hit in his name would force a desperate Valdez to sign his club, the Toybox over to Malone, at whatever terms had been typed above the signature line.

Malone had told Rhegan that desperation was the only thing that would put a pen in his rival’s hand and had given him a list of potential targets. Malone had laid out his plan of attack, and Rhegan had no problem with any of it.

But, instead of running, his first victim had returned to take care of business. Head high and shoulders straight, he walked the sidewalk that still bore spatters of his blood, not even glancing down when his boots passed over the red splotches.

He was doing what Reagan himself would have done, and the hard-eyed gunman respected that, even while he planned when and where to take the boy out for good.

∼∼∼

Thank you for supporting this member along the WATCH “RWISA” WRITE Showcase Tour today! We ask that if you have enjoyed this member’s writing, please visit their Author Page on the RWISA site, where you can find more of their writing, along with their contact and social media links, if they’ve turned you into a fan.

We ask that you also check out their books in the RWISA or RRBC catalogs. Thanks, again for your support and we hope that you will follow each member along this amazing tour of talent! Don’t forget to click the link below to learn more about this author:

Rhani D’Chae RWISA Author Page

Please welcome Rhani D, Chae to Fiction Favorites. She is here to discuss her book Shadow of the Drill and give some insights on her character Decker. Rhani you have the floor.

The character of Decker came about in a sort of left-handed way. I was working on a different novel (I can’t remember a thing about it now), and I called a friend for help with a character’s name. I wanted a one-word name that readers would associate with that character, kind of like when people hear the name ‘Rambo,’ a specific image comes to mind. I told her that the character was very tough, very macho, and I wanted the name to somehow reflect that. She gave me a couple that just didn’t click with me, and I think it frustrated her that her suggestions didn’t work with what I was trying to do. She finally shouted ‘Black & Decker’, and that was pretty much the end of the call.

It wasn’t remotely what I was looking for – wasn’t even a name – but the more I thought about it, the more it started to take shape. Black & Decker made power tools, including drills. An electric drill is efficient, getting the job done quickly and with no wasted effort. An enforcer who handled business the same way might be nicknamed the Drill – especially if his name happened to be Decker.

And so the character of Decker was born. A blend of the enforcers that I had known in my younger days, he’s a man who has no time for what he considers ‘high school’ methods of getting a message delivered. Instead, he primarily uses torture to gain information, make a point, or as a form of retribution. Not because he enjoys it, but because people tend to fear prolonged physical pain more than almost anything else, which makes it a highly effective tool. His way of doing things has made him a legend on the streets that he calls home, which greatly increases his value to an employer.

Of necessity, Decker keeps his heart protected behind thick walls. He loves rarely but with unconditional devotion. He would not hesitate to kill to protect someone that he loves, and he would willingly die for the same reason. He is also a man ruled by logic in a world where emotion has no place. His actions and decisions are calculated with an analytical precision that leaves little to no room for an emotional response, no matter what situation he finds himself in. As the Drill, his loyalty is to those who pay him to get his hands dirty, and to the people who make ‘his’ streets their home. Powered by his personal code of ‘right and wrong,’ he does his best to protect the vulnerable from those who prey upon them.

Though he occasionally thinks about what his life could have been had he been dealt a different set of cards, he has earned his living through violence for more than a decade and doesn’t know how to be anything other than who and what he is.

Shadow of the Drill centers around a man whose life was destroyed by violence, who then embraced violence as a means to a very brutal end. It follows Decker and Rudy as they come face to face with their oldest enemies and attempt to close that chapter of their lives. The book contains graphic violence as well as sexual situations and is not intended for young or easily offended readers. Shadow of the Drill is the first in the Drill series and the second book, Winter of the Drill, will hopefully be completed in the next month or two.

Thank you all so much for allowing me to share a bit of my journey with you today. To follow the rest of my tour, please visit 4WillsPublishing. John, you were a great host and thank you so much for having me!

BIO:

RHANI D’CHAE spent her teen years bouncing between WA, OR, and OK, but has lived her adult life in Tacoma, WA. She likes to read, though she doesn’t read as much as she used to due to diabetic vision loss and is a fan of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Brian Lumley, and James Clavell. She loves The Walking Dead, and any zombie film with a high-body count. Ms. D’Chae enjoys connecting with people on social networking sites and loves getting feedback from those who have read her work, so please don’t leave without sharing your comments.

PURCHASE LINKS:

“SHADOW OF THE DRILL” by Rhani D. Chae www.amazon.com/dp/B00GBHQZZU

CONTACT INFO:

Twitter: @rhanidchae

Facebook: www.facebook.com/rhani.dchae

Google +: http://google.com/+RhaniDChae

Website: www.rhanidchae.com

Review of Shadow of the Drill at NONNIE’S “RAVE” REVIEWS
***This tour was sponsored by 4WillsPublishing.wordpress.com To book your own tour, please contact us.***