First of all, thank you for having me here at The Novel Approach. I appreciate you giving me a chance to talk about my books.
My newest book out is Barefoot Dancing, book six of my Rags to Riches series. It’s the last one (so far) of the series and features Kendall, who we met in Walking in the Rain.
Kendall and George meet on a beach, and their story comes full circle to a beach. Why? Because the beach is a place where I love to spend time. Of course, I don’t swim in the water. (There are fish in that water—among other things—and thatweirds me out. I’ve watched too many episodes of River Monsters not to realize how dangerous the water can be. :) )
Yet there is something soothing about walking along the beach while the water caresses the sand, plus staring out to the horizon and not seeing land. I often end up thinking how vast the oceans and seas are. Or heck, even the lakes I live around are big enough to give you the impression of the world falling away at the horizon.
Being on the beach gives me a feeling of smallness compared to the water. But also it makes me wonder about all the creatures that live underneath the surface. Creatures we have no idea even exist because of how vast the oceans are. So many fascinating beings swim among the waves and we’ve only scratched the surface in finding them.
Unfortunately, I think we won’t ever discover all of them and some of the most interesting ones are being decimated. But this isn’t the place to discuss that depressing topic.
Also the idea that those grains of sand deposited on the shore could’ve come from a hundred different places. Imagine all the other people who walked along those beaches to look out at the water and what they were thinking at the time. Were they thinking how small an atom they were in the huge scheme of the world?
It’s that feeling of smallness that I think George is looking for when he goes to the beach. He’s looking for a reason to feel like what’s going on in his life is insignificant in the overall universe, even though it is important to him.
And it seems like all the best things in his life start happening to him when he meets Kendall. He falls in love and his world gets back on track. The beach and ocean might not have quite that magical a power in the real world, but that’s why we love to read fiction, right? Because in a book, meeting a man and falling in love can happen in an instant. As quickly as a wave can wash away the sand from a thousand shores.
Do you find the sounds of the waves on the beach soothing? Do you feel small when you look out over the surface? Or do you have a different place that you go visit to relax?
Blurb for Barefoot Dancing: A moment in time can be the most pivotal one in our lives.
Kendall VanHooren is happy with his life. He works as a corporate lawyer in his father’s firm and does as he wishes on the weekends. He used to be a partier, but as he’s matured, he’s settled down and figured out that sometimes quiet is a good thing.
George Bowie is working a minimum wage job, which is barely keeping him off the streets most days. He lost his job in the banking crisis and has learned the hard way that pride has no place when it comes to survival.
Dancing barefoot on the beach might seem an odd thing to do, but it brings two men together at just the right moment for their worlds to collide.
Like the sound of Barefoot Dancing? Buy it here.
About TA Chase: There is beauty in every kind of love, so why not live a life without boundaries? Experiencing everything the world offers fascinates TA and writing about the things that make each of us unique is how she shares those insights. When not writing, TA’s watching movies, reading and living life to the fullest.
