A Different End

by Chris T. Kat

Thanks very much to The Blogger Girls for having me back on their blog! Dreamspinner Press published my new release, Tidal Change, on September 17th. Tidal Change is a shape-shifter story but it also has fantasy/fairy tale elements because the main character, Marty, is a merman.

When I started writing—which seems like a really long time ago nowadays—I never cut whole scenes from my stories. Even when I knew certain scenes didn’t move the plot, or were basically fillers, I couldn’t cut them. Sure, I’d cut sentences, or even a paragraph here or there, but never as much as a page.

After going through the editing process several times, I understand better why some scenes just don’t do a thing for the story, but that doesn’t mean I’m more likely to cut whole scenes. Tidal Change had a whole different ending in the first manuscript version. Right until my two beta-readers, Julie Lynn Hayes and Tali Spencer, wondered why I chose to end the story like I did. Wouldn’t a different end make much more sense? Not giving away how I changed the actual story, but after much grumbling, I had to agree with my betas opinions. With a heavy heart, I re-wrote the end, though I kept the original part. Please read the deleted scene below if you’re interested.

Readers, have you read books where you wished the end would’ve been different? Authors, how often have you changed the end of your books?

About Tidal Change

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.

Available at: Dreamspinner Press and Amazon

Deleted End Scene

Rick sipped his coffee, then patted Marty’s naked ass. “Come on, little fishy, either hop into the water or get back into your clothes. You don’t need to get sick.”

Shaking his head, Marty closed his eyes. He was still smiling when he re-opened them. Rick trailed his free hand along the shimmering scales on Marty’s tail. Marty moved into the touch, droning a contented hum. He lifted his head to receive another kiss from Rick, then pushed himself off the boulder and vanished into the dark sea.

Rick huddled deeper into his blanket while he sipped his coffee and watched Marty swim. Only a sliver of moonlight illuminated Marty’s nightly adventures, causing Rick to strain his eyes more than he liked.

Marty swam for a while, occasionally lobtailing his fluke hard on the water surface, the hard smacking noises echoing like explosions. Marty emitted trills and thrums, something Rick had become accustomed to, but this time it was different. At first he frowned, unsure why the hairs on the nape of his neck reared up.

Something answered Marty’s call—something much bigger. Rick’s heart skipped a few beats, when he discovered a huge fluke breaching the surface, very close to Marty. A whale.

Rick’s eyes widened. A huge whale surfaced next to Marty, who seemed tiny and fragile next to the large animal. The whale thumped his fin onto the surface, creating a huge wave that pressed Marty underneath the water. Rick jolted upright, his mug clattering onto the boulder and splintering into pieces. He scanned the sea for Marty while his heart thundered away.

Rick’s knees buckled in relief when Marty’s head appeared above the surface again. He expected Marty to swim back to him as fast as he could. He should have known Marty’s tendency to do things his own way would come to pass in this situation, but he still gasped when Marty leaped high into the air, his laughter carrying over to Rick.

Usually, Rick loved watching Marty jump, but the gigantic animal next to Marty tarnished his enjoyment into non-existence. He flapped his hands in the hope of drawing Marty’s attention. Either Marty didn’t see him, or he was ignoring Rick’s frenzied waving.

Rick tried again and again to catch Marty’s eye, but it didn’t help. He spent the next hour rooted to the spot, staring wide-eyed and dry-mouthed at the spectacle at sea. In a weak moment, he admitted to himself how fascinating it was to watch Marty and the whale, but mostly he feared for Marty’s safety and life. The huge animal could easily knock Marty out. What would happen in this case? Would Marty drown?

“Oh, you are so going to get a piece of my mind!” Rick muttered to himself.

After another half an hour, just about when Rick’s thighs began to cramp, Marty tired of playing with his new friend and swam toward Rick. The whale gave a short trill, then breached the water surface and threw himself backward, splashing water in huge waves. Rick jumped and almost lost his footing on the slippery boulder.

Marty jumped out of the sea, a dazzling smile on his face as he looked up at Rick. He exuded so much happiness and enthusiasm that Rick’s fear evaporated in an instant. He all but fell on his butt and pulled Marty’s dripping frame into in a crushing embrace.

Marty’s voice was muffled because he rambled into the folds of Rick’s blanket, “Wow! Did you see that? I was eye to eye with a blue whale! A real giant! I’ve never been that close to one of them before. Oh, maybe I’ll meet this one again! That would be fantastic, don’t you think?”

Marty’s excitement was almost contagious. Still, Rick couldn’t shake off the trepidation from the last couple of hours. Holding Marty’s naked body against his didn’t help him focus either. In a hoarse voice, Rick said, “If that… monster ever shows up again here, I’ll put you on a leash.”

Marty pulled away from Rick and tilted his head sideways, clearly puzzled by Rick’s choice of words. “Why? It was fun! Hey, you know what? Next time you could come with me. If you’re not comfortable in merman form, we could rent a boat for you.”

Rick shuddered. Clutching Marty’s shoulder, he replied in a voice that sounded incredibly calm and collected given the circumstances, “No thanks. Did it maybe cross your mind that playing with a whale could be dangerous?”

Marty laughed. “Dangerous? Are you kidding me?”

Rick couldn’t decide whether Marty was teasing him, or if he really didn’t see the potential danger he’d been in. Rick cupped Marty’s ass cheeks in his hands and grumbled, “That monster could have knocked you out.”

Marty wound his arms around Rick’s neck and whispered, “Were you worried? I’m sorry if you were, but I assure it wasn’t dangerous, just a really marvelous experience.”

“That’s not the kind of marvelous experience I like.”

Warm gray eyes observed him, and Rick loosened his grip on Marty’s shoulders. A moment later he disentangled himself from the blanket and lifted Marty to sit between his open thighs. Marty guided one of Rick’s hands to the front of his tail, shivering when Rick caressed it.

A low hum emerged from Marty’s throat. He had trouble forming words instead of , but at the third attempt Rick understood his question, “Do you want me?”

“Yes” Rick croaked.

Rick gasped when Marty’s nimble fingers opened his fly and freed his erection. His gasp turned into astonished wheezes when Marty shifted partially. From his knees downward, the tail remained, while the rest of his body shifted into his human form. Marty squirmed into the position he wanted, and Rick slid inside him.

Neither man said a word during their unique love-making. Marty’s fluke slapped onto the boulder rhythmically while Rick moved inside him. Needy thrums accompanied their tender act of love, sending rippling sensations through them both. It was like nothing Rick had ever experienced. Rick’s yell of pleasure echoed in the bay while Marty keened when they both tumbled over the edge.

Afterward, they stayed in a tight embrace for a long time, snuggled together under the blanket, watching the waves pile up and break in a steady, mesmerizing flow. Smiling, Rick listened to Marty quietly trilling, telling the world how he felt about them.

About 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.

Check out more about Chris on her Blog, Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook and Amazon Author Page.

Chris has kindly offered up an eBook copy of Tidal Change to one lucky winner!! The giveaway starts now and ends September 30, 2014 at 11:59 pm. To enter, just click the link below!

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Please be aware that the only way to enter the giveaway is to click the Rafflecopter link above. Any comments on this post will not count towards entering the giveaway, except to verify your Rafflecopter entry.

Don’t forget to check out Nikyta’s review of Tidal Change to see what she thought of it!

Good luck!