My name is Rhani D’Chae, and I am a visually disabled writer from Tacoma, WA. I’ve published two novels and a short story, and I’m currently finishing up Winter of the Drill.
I enjoy writing about Decker, the lead character in the Drill series. With 260 pounds of muscle packed onto a 6′-5″ frame, he truly is larger-than-life. After failing to save someone close to him when he was 25, he built his body into a weapon and learned how to use it. Now, 15 years later, he tries to keep his streets as clean as possible while working as muscle for hire.
The following is an excerpt from Shadow of the Drill, after Decker had come face-to-face with the man who put him on the path to becoming the Drill. The outcome was not in Decker’s favor, resulting in our hero being tied to a chair in a burning building. I hope you enjoy this moment with Decker.
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The fire was gaining ground, and he knew that time was very short. He tried to stay calm, to ignore both the heat and the ache of his burned wrists, but the horror of his predicament momentarily overwhelmed him. Panic raged and he thrashed against the ropes, losing his balance and falling face first to the ground.
But the ropes held.
The fire was close enough for Decker to feel the heat on his face no matter which way he tilted his head. His struggle had winded him, and he panted cautiously, each ragged breath searing his lungs regardless of how carefully he inhaled. He could sense death hovering, just out of sight, but he was not done yet.
He inched his way across the floor, coughing and choking from the smoke that billowed around him in suffocating clouds. Breathing was torture, but he managed to keep going, his watery eye fixed on the dirty pane of glass.
I can do this. I can make it!
However, it soon became apparent that he could not. He did not have enough freedom of movement to propel himself along the floor with the necessary speed. He was going to die, alone and most likely screaming, but even though he acknowledged that fact, he continued to fight for his life.
His fingers dug into the floor as he tried to scoot along on his back. When that failed to accomplish much, he rolled onto his side, still trying to crawl. The window was barely visible, but he was not sure if it was the smoke or his own failing eyesight that obscured it.
His pants began to smolder, and he felt panic rise again. He was not sure how easily the denim would ignite, but if it did, he would be unable to put out the flames.
I write darkly psychological suspense thrillers, which draw heavily on my experiences as a police officer and child protection social worker. I guess, given my career, the genre chose me. I’ve written five books to date, and I’m currently working on the sixth, which I hope to finish by the end of the summer. I wrote a multi-agency child protection procedural manual, and articles for local newspapers and a national social work magazine during my working life, but White is the Coldest Colour was my first work of fiction.
I had a lot of time on my hands after leaving my post heading up child protection services for the county of Carmarthenshire in beautiful West Wales, and one day I decided to sit down and give it a go. I felt driven to complete it once I’d started, although I have to admit that it was a steep learning curve. I seriously considered deleting the entire manuscript more than once. The book took two years to complete with the able assistance of two professional editors, the second of whom understood what I was trying to achieve and made a valuable contribution to the end result. Writing it was somewhat cathartic in the main, although it did sometimes engender vivid memories that were, perhaps, best left in the past. By far the hardest thing was conveying such a brutal plot line without including any gratuitous or graphic detail. Achieving that end was very important to me, and I wouldn’t have published the book unless satisfied I’d succeeded in that regard. Fortunately, the majority of reviewers seem to agree.The book is intended primarily as an entertaining and tense thriller, but I also hope it conveys an important cautionary message to readers: be careful who you trust. Be very careful whom you trust. It contains content that some readers may find distressing from the very first page, and is dedicated to survivors of child abuse everywhere. It won’t be a book for everybody.
My third book, Portraits of the Dead, is a serial killer thriller full of twists and turns. Like my other two books, it’s set in Wales, which I think makes sense given that I spent the majority of my career working in my home country. I find it easier to write from experience, and I hope it gives the books an authentic air of gritty realism. Like all my books, it’s available as an ebook, paperback and audiobook. It’s also due to be published as a paperback and hardback in Hungarian in the near future.
My fourth book, Bully boy Blue, is a high tension novella that tells the story of a woman who goes to extreme lengths to escape her violent police officer husband. I’ve been incredibly lucky in that sales of my books have been better than I could have hoped. Each have become Amazon international bestsellers, reaching # 1 in multiple categories in the UK, Spain, France, Australia, Canada and the USA. I’d encourage anyone who’s considering writing a book to give it a go. The publishing world is changing fast and it’s never been easier to make your book available for purchase. Produce a quality product, send it to potential reviewers, and let the reading public decide if your book is worth buying and reading. You may well surprise yourself.
My new novel, A Mind To Kill, is available on Amazon now, with a 5 August release date. It’s a female revenge thriller: A ‘Death Wish’ for the modern world. They kill innocence. She wants revenge. When Rebecca’s childhood abuser escapes justice it sets her on path to revenge. Revenge on any man who preys on the innocence. Early Goodreads reviews have been better than I could have hoped.
