I’ve Always Loved Women By Rhani D’Chae

3/16/2019

Multi-volume, multi-genre author, Rhani D’Chae, introduces us to her short story I’ve Always Loved Women:
"Danny's life is changed when he begins a relationship with Kat, a woman trapped in an unhealthy marriage. When she decides to give her marriage another try, Danny realizes that his mission in life is to save women like her from the men who abuse them."

Cover on Amazon

Cover on Goodreads

This is a quick read when you have a short amount of time. It’s romantic, all about a guy who loves women. It’s horror, all the women he loves are abused in their current or previous relationships. Their pain and suffering causes him much sorrow and grief. His solution to protect them from the abuser is unorthodox and unacceptable in normal society.
I love Rhani’s writing, she has mastered wordsmithing and scene building. Her stories really draw me in and this is no exception.
I am not a fan of horror, some will take me to task for classifying it as such. Anytime human life is extinguished it is a horrific act in my mind. Yet, I loved this story, a testament to the author’s skill.
I give “I’ve Always Loved Women” a score of 5 stars, so well written and no spelling errors! Congratulations, Rhani!

You can buy the book:
https://smile.amazon.com/Always-Loved-Women-Rhani-DChae-ebook
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Always-Loved-Women-Rhani-DChae-ebook
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40698180-i-ve-always-loved-women

You can follow Rhani D’Chae:
https://twitter.com/rhanidchae
https://rhanidchae.wordpress.com/

Tags: romance, horror, 30-minute stories, short stories

Other reviews of books by this author:
https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/shadow-of-the-drill-by-rhani-dchae
https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/one-dyke-cozy-by-rhani-dchae

Copyright 2019 by Mark Schultz, except for the author’s introduction

30 Comments

Rhani D'Chae link

3/16/2019 02:29:44 pm

Thanks so much for the awesome review, Mark. I am SO glad you liked the story. 😃

Mark

3/16/2019 04:04:12 pm

You are most welcome, Rhani. I enjoyed the story even with the creepy factor, some very good writing.
Thank you for joining me in this interview. The last time we chatted in a review it was for your book "One Dyke Cozy" which I enjoyed quite a bit also. The links to the reviews of your other two books are just above, at the bottom of the review of this book.
For new visitors, please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Rhani D'Chae

3/16/2019 06:54:01 pm

I'm not sure what people would find interesting. Lol I live in Tacoma, Washington, part of the beautiful Pacific northwest.
I like to set my writing projects around here, because It's familiar to me. Zombie Dawn takes place on my street, and I've Always Loved Women is set fairly close to my block, as well. Readers who live in the Tacoma area will probably recognize some of the landmarks.
I have lost the majority of my sight to various vision issues, which does make writing a little more frustrating than it used to be.
I deal with this maturely, as befits one of my incredibly advanced years. Loosely translated: I drink, I swear, and I throw things. On a really bad day, I open up a writing project and start killing characters. 😄

3/16/2019 07:03:57 pm

You have an inimitable talent at making me laugh! I am glad you are so mature in your actions!
I have reviewed two other of your books previously. Would you please tell our friends a little about those books and any others you have written.

3/16/2019 08:08:39 pm

Oh, I will be most happy to do that! I love talking book, especially my own. Lol
Shadow of the Drill is my first published novel, centering on an unrepentant enforcer and the violent life that he leads. This book is not for young or easily offended readers as it contains violence, profanity and sexual situations.
#Shadow brings Decker, the Drill, face to face with the men whose random act of violence had changed his life.
#Cozy tells the story of Gabby and Shy, two girls from very different worlds who form a friendship that lasts from childhood until Shy's untimely death.
The book spans the years between their first meeting and final goodbye. It touches on amusing adventures like prom, as well as the more serious issue of Shy's gayness in a time before being gay was "acceptable."
Zombie Dawn is a short story about the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. At some point, it will probably be expanded into a full length novel.
A Perilous Thirst is a unique little short story, set in the early days of the AIDS crisis. The main character is a gay vampire who is concerned about the possibility of drinking tainted blood.
This story takes place at the 24th Street tavern, a Tacoma show bar that closed it's doors 20 or so years ago. It's told in 1st person, and the only voice the reader hears is that of the vampire. It's very different from anything else I've written, and it was one of my favorite books to write.
Yes, I'm chatty, and when I start talking book it's hard to stop. Hopefully, I didn't put anyone to sleep, and if I did, I apologize. 😃

3/16/2019 08:21:53 pm

There are no sleepers here. That was perfect! Thank you.
New questions.
Are you a full-time or part-time writer?
Does writing have a spiritual or healing component for you, does it energize you or make you feel tired?

3/16/2019 09:23:50 pm

Full or part-time... That's a tough question to answer. I guess it depends on your point of view. I'm not one of those who has to fit writing around a work or class schedule, so in that sense I'm full time. But I'm not one who spends 6-8 hours a day in front of my laptop, either. At least, not when it's on. So I don't know what the answer is. Not really.
Writing is exhausting, for me. I put so much emotion, so much intensity into my work that it drains me.
I do work through some of the negativity in my life by writing. Aside from the frustration resulting from my vision loss, I have other health issues that are a constant source of pain. So, when things get rough, I open a WIP and start giving people a VERY bad day! 😁
I'm a firm believer in "This too shall pass," and writing often distracts me until whatever "this" is does exactly that.
Sometimes, I share my health issues with my characters. We're supossed to write what we know, yes?
I'll give a little spoiler here, for those who have read #Shadow: keep an eye in Rudy. Lol

3/17/2019 07:50:53 am

You sound like a full time writer to me. You have the opportunity to write when you want to. Even if you are working through writer's block or plotting a new WIP, you are writing. Just saying.
A lot of characters do have a bad day in your books.
You call that a spoiler? That barely classifies as a hint in my book. ;-) I can hardly wait for the sequel of "Shadow of the Drill" to come out. That ending was shocking!
New questions.
What inspired you to write this book? You mentioned to me, off stage, that you felt it was a character study. Do you think you will ever expand on the story?

3/17/2019 11:31:36 am

Okay, maybe it wasn't much of a spoiler. Lol But the main characters in a series often skate through without enduring any of the damage that they would have received if the situation was real. They certainly don't die. I follow The Walking Dead line of thought - NO one is guaranteed survival. Certainly not anyone in the Drill series.
The line, "That didn't change when I began killing them." came to me out of the blue, as ideas and plotlines often do. The first paragraph quickly followed, giving me both the title and the basic skeleton of the story.
I guess I consider it a character study because it follows Danny's path from average good guy to well-intentioned serial killer. It may be an uncommon process, but I don't think it's overly unrealistic.
#Women was written for a short story contest and there was a word count limit. I don't think I will ever make it into a full length novel but I will probably go back in at some point and expand the story that currently exists.

3/17/2019 02:07:56 pm

I watched an episode or two in the first season of TWD. That was it. So I didn't know about that mantra. I do recall a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth at one time or another, when a major character bit the dust. There are a lot TWD fans on twitter.
I could see how interesting the character of Danny could become in an expanded version of IALW. The development of his psyche and perspective would make an interesting story in a longer format.
New questions.
Who designed the cover of your book?
Why do you have two different covers?

3/17/2019 05:49:55 pm

The Walking Dead is one of my favorite shows. I know it doesn't seem like someone with my sweet and innocent little personality would be into all of the ripping and chewing that happens on TWD, but I am a HUGE fan of their #zombieverse. 😄
As for the covers of IALW, the Goodreads cover was the original. I found the graphic and then let Amazon cover creator make it into a cover. Let's be real - I'm a disabled indie author, so I've pretty much forgotten what money looks like. The first cover was free so I thought it would work as well as any. To me, that title over a picture of a dead woman on a slab was intriguing. But a lot of people in my circle didn't like it.
The Amazon cover was made by my brilliant cover-creating friend, Ellie Douglas, @authorellie on Twitter. I like it much better than the first one.
The reason there are still 2 covers is because I can't figure out how to make Goodreads change the one they have. They still have the original cover for #Shadow for the same reason.

3/17/2019 06:06:18 pm

I could say I am really shocked to hear that. After reading One Dyke Cozy my consternation would have been unchanged. However, I have already read Shadow of the Drill, so I know you much better in your glorious, multi-faceted personality. So, I will not say that I am shocked, not even surprised. ;-)
Ellie did a nice job on that cover. Thanks for giving her the shout out. I like to support the people who write and support authors as I do.
New questions.
Have you entered any writing contests? If not, have you thought about doing so in the future?
Have you won awards of any kind for your writing?

3/17/2019 06:37:29 pm

Ellie does AMAZING work! Anyone looking for a cover should contact her.
I have entered a couple of contests sponsored by Rave Reviews Book Club. I have placed a few times but have not won any of them. I would like to enter more contests, but I'm not sure of how to find them. I have a very hard time navigating websites so I am limited in how much I can do on the Web.

3/18/2019 08:29:08 am

That's a great testimonial for Ellie!
You are a member of the Rave Reviews Book Club. I know several people who are members also. How do you benefit from being a member?
New questions.
There are many unethical practices in publishing, which one is the most unbearable in your mind?
You self-published this book. Did you do the same for all your books? Why or why not?

3/18/2019 10:45:13 am

#RRBC is a group of AMAZING people who help each other with all steps of the writing/publishing process. They also read/review/promote each other's books. I can't begin to list the benefits that I have received since becoming a member. I think that anyone who is either a reader or an author should join this group!
What infuriates me the most in this game are the people/companies that sell "marketing services" that do nothing. I have been sucked into a few of these, spending money I really didn't have because the program sounded SO good. These companies take advantage of the fact that most indie authors don't know much about marketing. Of course we want to sell books, but we lack the knowledge to make it happen on our own. The worst one that I have encountered is a group called Publishing Push. I spent a few hundred dollars on their program and received ONE blog post and NO sales. Not one. They talk a great deal about their huge army of bloggers but I kept getting told that there were no bloggers intrested in the type of book (Shadow) that I had hired them to push. And no, I didn't get any kind of refund.
I had originally self published #Shadow, in paperback. By that, I mean I bought Pagemaker, formatted & printed the pages, then cut and assembled 1000 books. I got a friend to pose for the cover, then drove it all up to Seattle to be perfect bound. I hated almost every minute of that process! Lol
When I realized the 1st edition was total crap and rewrote it, I decided to send it to a publishing company. I went to Xlibras, not knowing that it was part of the Author House/Author Solutions racket. I spent almost $2000 for a pretty book that I could have done for almost nothing, had I known how. But I didn't, so I was nicely taken advantage of. Xlibris did nothing to market the book, and took the vast majority of profit from any books that were sold. I stayed with them for a year and then began publishing my books on my own. I have been approached by some indie publishing companies and have looked into others, but none of them do much in the way of marketing, aside from listing books on their website and posting a few tweets. I have no problem whatsoever splitting profits with a publisher but they need to do more to sell my book then the things that I can do myself. 😀

3/18/2019 02:20:13 pm

Thank you for shedding a little light on the RRBC!
That is awful how they took advantage of you! You went to a lot of work to put out 1000 paperback copies of "Shadow of the Drill". What did you do with all those copies of Shadow?
You make a good point about marketing. I think that's the hardest thing for authors. Most, if not all authors are pretty solitary creatures, or at the very least writing a book is quite a solitary endeavor to begin with. So, hitting the pavement and pounding the streets is a big flip of the mind, to become the gregarious salesman or saleswoman.
Now, with shrinking profit margins, legitimate publishers are taking fewer chances on new authors. Many of the publishers expect an author to already have a built-up fan base, a mailing list of at least a thousand or two. They see this as mostly guaranteed sales. If they cannot make a profit on every book they won't be around long.
New questions.
Do you have a favorite book by another author or authors?
Did you have a favorite book as a child?
Which of your books is your favorite, and why?

3/18/2019 05:04:32 pm

#RRBC is definitely the most beneficial group that I have connected with since becoming an author. No matter what my question or issue, there is someone in the group who has been there or done that and is willing to help.
I had sold a little over three hundred copies of the 1st edition of Shadow before realizing it was crap. I immediately stopped selling the book and rewrote it, but those copies are still floating around out there. I see them on Amazon or eBay sometimes, and I always cringe when they go by. Lol, I suppose, if I am ever well known enough, that they might become collectable. They're not just 1st additions, they are 1st editions that were assembled by hand in my living room. 😄
I read a lot of books as a child, but didn't really have a favorite. I pretty much loved them all.
As an adult, some of my favorite authors are Stephen King, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and Paul Monet.
Since joining #RRBC, I have come across some absolutely phenomenal indie authors! These people are amazing and I can't sing their praises loudly enough! Beem Weeks (Jazz Baby), Bette Stevens (Dog Bone Soup) Suzanna Burke (Acts Beyond Redemption), and Jan Sikes (Flowers and Stone), to name just a few of them.
Jan was a guest on my little podcast a few weeks ago, and I can't tell you how riveted I was to what she had to say. Her series is a fictionalized telling of her marriage to county musician Rick Sikes, and it's a must-read.
As for my own books, they are all my favorites fore one reason or another. Lol But, gun to my head, I would probably say Shadow. Because a lot of it was drawn from my own life, I have a special bond with that book, and with the series as a whole.

3/18/2019 05:14:10 pm

The RRBC has been very instrumental in your writing career. That is really cool.
I have to agree with you about phenomenal indie authors. I have not read any of those books or authors, but I am amazed at the depth of talent out there.
I suspected that Shadow was your favorite. But, I am not surprised that they are all your favorites, for different reasons.
New questions.
Why is it important for writers to tap into the emotions of the characters?
Danny is both protagonist and antagonist in the book. What is one thing about him you hate and one thing about him you love?

3/18/2019 05:47:39 pm

I think it's important to tap into a character's emotions because if the author can't feel them then I think it's very hard for the reader to feel them. I have read several books that just seemed flat to me because there was a depth of emotion that was definitely missing.
I love books that suck me in, hold on tight, and don't let go until the last page. For that to happen, I have to feel what the characters feel. I have to understand what motivates them to do what they do, even if I don't agree or can't relate. For me, understanding is easier when the character's emotions are a big part of the picture.
Your question about Danny is a poser. Lol I love that he wants to be the proverbial knight in shining armor for these women. I would love to have someone in my life whose main goal was to make my life more beautiful, and I think most women would agree. I also enjoy his creativity when it comes to preventing his women from going back to abusive men. I don't agree with it, of course, bet he gets an A for effort. I also like that he honestly wants to avoid causing any more pain to these women, even as he's killing them. In Ellie's original cover, the man is holding a machete in his other hand. I asked her to please remove it because Danny would never kill with that type of weapon. It would bring fear and quite a bit of pain to his victims, which is exactly what he wants to avoid.
I don't think there's anything that I hate about Danny. I think a lot of people have felt at least a passing desire to kill someone who has hurt someone that they love. They just don't go there.For whatever reason, Danny has chosen to cross that line, and it works for him. Danny may be a fictional character, but I'm sure he has actually existed at one time or another, and probably will again.

3/18/2019 06:11:47 pm

Some books got it, and some books don't. That ability to grab you and carry you along, so you can't bear to to put the book down. I have had more reading marathons than I care to count.
Danny has good intentions, but his actions are reprehensible for normal people. I guess that is a big part of insanity. He is a sweet guy. New questions.
The big issue in the book, besides murder, is physical and emotional abuse. As Danny observed, the women couldn't stay away from their abuser. You wrote quite knowledgeably about abuse. Have you ever been through similar abuse? If the statistics are to be believed, a lot of women have been abused.
How were you able to break away from the abusive situation?

3/18/2019 10:05:54 pm

They say to write what you know. Lol
I seem to draw emotional abusers to me like fleas to a cat. The worst was David, my alcoholic, lying, lazy sack of crap 2nd ex-husband who couldn't keep a job to save his life and put his hands on me whenever he got drunk. Which was often. The slightest thing would set him off, and it would get ugly.
At first, I just took it. Like many abuse victims, I believed it was my fault. Had I done this or not done that, he wouldn't be angry.
But, after about four years, I started getting tired of it and began putting up my hands to protect myself.
A year or so after that, I started fighting back. Nothing major, just some slapping and arm punching, but I realized that I didn't have to be his punching bag.
Why didn't I leave? Because he threatened to tell my family that I was a prostitute, to tell CPS that I abused my son, and to kill our animals in front of me and my son. I felt I had no choice but to stay.
By the time we'd reached our seventh and final year, I was done waiting for him to come after me. He'd beaten out the love I'd had for him, so there was no reason to be nice.
I started hitting first, for such major offenses as looking at me, talking mean to me and breathing my air.
At that point, we lived on five wooded acres, with no close neighbors.
His abuse continued, and so did my refusal to accept it. I have a very clear memory of chasing him around the outside of our house with a butcher knife in my hand. I honestly don't know what would have happened if I'd caught him, but it's a safe bet I would have ended up in jail.
I finally realized that I was spending way too much time planning how to kill him and hide the body. I realized then that things had to change.
Fortunately, he was tired of sleeping with one eye open and checking the level of drain cleaner in the bottle before eating his food. He left me for another woman, and I beat feet for the courthouse to hit him with a restraining order.
I wish I could say that David was the last of my abusive partners, but he wasn't. I needed to believe in myself, find my own strength, and it took a few more years, a few more bad experiences, before I was able to do that.
Wow, I guess I had a thing or two to say on this subject. Lol I have no desire to be in a situation like those again, but I'm who I am today because of them.

3/19/2019 07:54:21 am

He certainly didn't deserve you in the first place. Grizz and I are glad you found your strength and your voice. Your story certainly resembles that of many other women. Thank you for sharing so candidly.
New questions.
Have you ever used other acquaintances as the basis for a character, to the point they have recognized themselves in your book?
Your books don't have a well-defined protagonist and antagonist, so this next question might be hard to answer. Which is more fun to write, the protagonist or the antagonist?

3/19/2019 10:59:04 am

I have often put people, or variations of people, that I know into my books. So far, no one I've used has picked up on it. There is a character making his 1st appearance in Winter of the Drill who is based on a friend of mine, at his request. It will be interesting to see if he can pick himself out of this new cast of characters.
I much prefer writing the bad guys, even if they're not all that bad. "Nice" tends to bore me, so I avoid it as much as possible. Sometimes there's no way around it, but it's definitely not my first choice. 😄

3/19/2019 01:25:50 pm

I think a lot of writers do that whether they will admit it or not. I can imagine it's easier to use a composite of two or more people for a character, than to create a new character.
Recently, I have been informed that I am going to be a character in a story. I won't have to guess, she told me the character's name. It should be fun.
I am not surprised that you enjoy writing the bad guys and gals. I have heard that many actors relish playing the antagonist. They say it's so much fun to be bad. Is there a chance your nice characters are too nice? None are wholly good or bad, we are all a mixture to one degree or another. Especially in desperate circumstances.
New questions.
Did your writing process change much from your early books to your current book or did it stay the same?
I know you are dealing with very limited vision, how long has that been the case?
What is your writing routine now, when you sit down to write?

3/19/2019 01:58:53 pm

It's so fun that you will be a character in a book! You will have to tell me the name of the book so I can read it and try to figure out which one is you.
I don't think any of my characters are too nice. If you think one is, please let me know so I can have them run out and slap a baby or something. 😄
I don't really have a writing process to speak of. I just sit down and try to make the words come. Sometimes they leap onto the page willingly, and sometimes I have to drag them out, kicking and screaming. I never know how it's going to go.
My vision started to go in about 2005. I was diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy and started getting laser work to control the bleeding in my eyes.
Since then, I have been diagnosed with Glaucoma, Ischemia and macular degeneration. I have been getting shots in my eyes for the last several years and though they haven't improved my vision any, I do believe they've helped keep the vision that I do have from getting too much worse.
These days, I write whenever the spirit moves me. Sometimes that's in the morning, sometimes not until early evening. I am often up most of the night, if I'm on a roll. It kind of depends on what I'm writing and whether or not my characters are cooperating.

3/19/2019 06:16:55 pm

Veronica Cline Barton is writing her fourth book in the "My Almost Royal American Cousin" series, I think it's going to be called Seasons of Change. It's a delightful cozy murder, well written and pretty funny at times. I have reviewed all three of the books in the series.
If I spot one of those weirdos, I will definitely point them out to you.
At this point, it sounds like your vision is pretty stable. My wife developed cataracts, I think, she was able to have laser surgery and they were able to insert a new lens to counteract her astigmatism. Now, she only needs reading glasses from the dollar store, those darn things are scattered all over the house.
I have heard similar stories from other authors about how recalcitrant the muse can be.
New questions.
What is the one thing you hope readers will remember from your book?
What else are you writing these days?

3/19/2019 09:26:01 pm

I had cataracts also, and I was thrilled to hear it! I thought I was going blind, so cataracts were very welcome. Lol
I want readers to see IALW as a different take on the serial killer plotline. I'd like them to remember that Danny's situation with Kat, what pushes him over the edge, could actually happen. To me, the fact that Danny is such a normal guy, who genuinely loves these women UNTIL his button gets pushed is what makes him scary. I want them to realize that anyone they meet could be Danny, and take that realization with them.
Sadly, I am still working on Winter of the Drill. I don't know why I'm having so much trouble, but it may be because I have to kill off a character from #Shadow. It's not an easy death and I do feel badly about it.
I'm also working on a short story that I'm hoping will bring a Stephen King level creep factor to the table. 😁

3/20/2019 10:23:42 am

That is a really good point about Danny. He was pushed over the edge by the abuse Kat experienced at the hands of her husband. It could happen to anyone. Abuse makes my blood boil, I have to limit how much I think about a person being abused, because I care. That's a very scary thing to me.
I hope you can solve that issue with Winter, because I am looking forward to it after reading "Shadow of the Drill". Maybe if you write a completely ludicrous death the path will become clear.
New questions.
Are you a plotter, a pantster, or a hybrid?
How do you keep track of all the characters and events in your books?

3/20/2019 11:32:15 am

I guess I'm a hybrid. I do plot the basic bones of a story, but from that point on I'm a total pantser. I turn my characters loo se and just hang on! 😄
As for keeping track, I don't have a method for that. When I 1st started writing, I would make a list of the people in a story and their personal characteristics. Now, not so much.
I do keep track of some things, sort of. Rudy Valdez, from the Drill series, has a collection of guns. I do have a list of those guns and which ones have been mentioned in the books so far, but I don't know where it is. Lol
Physical characteristics are easy for me to remember. When I write someone, they are very real to me, and I know everything about them. Top to bottom, I can see and hear them as clearly as if they were standing next to me. If a character is or becomes fuzzy, then something's wrong and I will go back and strengthen him/her until the fuzziness has cleared.
It's not a perfect system, by any means, but it seems to work for me.

3/20/2019 12:14:01 pm

If it works for you, then that is what matters! People who insist there is only one way to write a book are not to be trusted. They are usually selling a course or a method. Now, I do think it's a good idea to try different methods, especially if you are a beginning writer. But that is just to accelerate the process of finding out what works for you. I do believe it's wise to know more than one way to perform your craft. You can never have too many tools in the tool box.
I know some writers who draw pictures of what the characters look like, others find photos of people who look like what they imagined.
New questions.
Action, dialogue, or narration; which is easiest to write?
Of the five senses which is the easiest to write and which is the hardest?

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I’ve Always Loved Women By Rhani D’Chae

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