We're thrilled here at the Divas of Desire to have Tara
Lain with us today. She's an award-winning author of MM, ménage, and most
recently MF romance. Her most recent release is Snow Balls, part of the Balls
to the Wall series from Etopia Press. She's also published with Loose Id. Thanks so much for joining us, Tara,
and for letting me ask you five nosy questions. Let's get started!
1. Most of your titles are male/male
romance. What about that particular genre appeals to you?
There are very few gender roles in MM
romance. All the expectations we place on women in love aren’t present. So for
both a writer and a reader, MM gives lots of unexpected combinations. I write
tiny, flamboyant men who are tough alphas at heart, and big, football players
who are more queen than quarterback. I love mixing it up. Plus, men in love
have fewer societal expectations--marriage, family, etc--so that too can be
inventive. And because there is no female character with which women feel they
must identify, readers like me can choose which of the men they want to relate
to. I also love crawling into the minds and hearts of men. They’re just as
sappy and sentimental when they’re in love as women are and I love expressing
that from a male POV. Of course, gay men still bear huge burdens of
discrimination in our society and that provides a source of conflict in a book
even if that discrimination isn’t the subject. Sigh. I love men. Two is
better! LOL
2. I never thought about how writing romance featuring two men could enhance one's freedom as an author. That's fascinating. You also recently took the plunge into m/f
sensual romance and self-publishing with your holiday release Be Bad, For
Goodness Sake. Have you any words of wisdom for authors considering
self-publishing?
I purposefully self-published that book so I
could get the experience. I’m not at all technical and I would never trust
myself as an editor of my own work, so I called in the experts. I hired a
freelance editor, a cover artist, a proofer and a formatter who prepared the
documents for Amazon and Smashwords and guided me through the uploading
process. I don’t think people should do all that themselves no matter how good
they are at editing. You need an outside viewpoint to create a good book. I guess
you could do it with an excellent critique group. But seriously, these experts
don’t cost a lot. So find good people to help. With that said, I think
self-publishing is great for established authors who want to take control of
their backlists or for authors who are really willing to work at their craft
and put out professional quality regularly. I fully appreciate all the hard
work my publishers put into my books and I plan on staying with traditional
publishing, at least for the short term.
3. You've certainly put a great deal of work and thought into it. You've had a career as a nonfiction
writer and you've fed your creative side as an author of erotic romance. But
you're also a painter [several of Tara's paintings appear at her website]. How
long have you been painting and does that type of creativity differ from
writing?
I started painting and doing mixed media collage only about
eight or nine years ago. I’ve always been a writer, but never thought I would
have any proclivity for visual arts. One day I just decided I wanted to try it
and found some great teachers. I love painting though I don’t have great skill
and started rather late to acquire it. My real love is mixed media collage. I
adore the free-form, “can’t make a mistake” quality of it. It’s a very
non-judgmental art! LOL. Extremely left
brain. I don’t have a lot of time for it since my writing career heated up, but
I still make presents for friends.
4. A black cat named Aloysius figures
prominently in your paranormal romances Spell Cat and Brush With Catastrophe.
Do you have any animals in your own life?
I am a cat adorer. I
grew up with cats but I don’t have one these days. My husband is allergic to
cats. So instead I have a very catlike dog. I have a papillon named Jolie.
Papillons are the only toy breed of dogs on the list of the top ten smartest
dog breeds. You’ve got border collies, Dobermans, German shepherds and this
itty bitty furperson. She weighs 9 pounds. She is very finicky about food,
washes her face with her paws -- very catlike. I actually love animals. I’m
enjoying creating my Aloysius in the paranormal series and my next new series
will feature animals as well. I’m already starting to plot the first book in my
head.
5. She's adorable! I had no idea Papillons were so smart. It's been so much fun talking with you, Tara. Before we finish up, would you like to share any information
on current or future releases with us? We're all ears!
My
next book after my current release, Snow Balls, will be Hearts
and Flour. It comes out Feb 1st for Valentine’s Day and
tells the story of a passionate raw food fanatic who falls in love with a
cupcake baker. BTW, it has a great cat in it. I’m currently writing a MM family
and wedding drama, and then, of course, there is another Aloysius tale in the
offing. And it will be fun! Plus two more Balls books at least -- also fun. And
the new series. Oh my, so many books, so little time!
Thank you so much for inviting me! It’s
been a treat to be here. : )
Excerpt: SNOW BALLS by Tara Lain;
MM Romance -- The Cop and the Creampuff
Big,
handsome and hunky, JJ LaRousse looks like an alpha male but acts like an
interior decorator. And he’s trying to be happy about it -- until a robbery at
the famous Laguna Winter Fantasy brings JJ face-to-face with tough cop, Ryan
Star. JJ hears Ryan likes guys who are manly men, so he drops his voice an
octave, colors over his pink hair, and tries to pass as a football fan. Ryan
Star may be tough but he hides in the closet at work since he learned in New
York that being a gay cop can cost you your life. His attraction to that big,
handsome kid threatens his anonymity, but he can’t seem to resist. JJ is just
his type. But then JJ goes skiing and comes face to face with his greatest
nemesis-- and all the secrets come out of the closet. Can Ryan love JJ for who
he really is? More important, can JJ?
JJ turned to Ryan. “OK, why don’t you go
off and have fun while I learn? No sense you wasting time here.”
Ryan shook his head and with every shake
JJ’s stomach flipped. “No, I’d rather be with you.”
Well hell, how could he argue with a
sweet rationale like that?
How
hard can it be? How hard can it be? Following the
instructor to the beginner’s area, JJ fell back into the litany. Three other
people waited where they stopped. An older woman and two men who looked like
they drove trucks. Very big trucks.
Their instructor who turned out to be
named Bronson—seriously?—gathered them together. He spoke with an indeterminate
accent that would have been great saying, “I’ll be back.” The woman introduced
herself as Michele and proudly announced she was sixty-three. The two guys, Ron
and Paul, turned out to be a stockbroker and an English teacher.
Bronson pointed at his boots. “Okey
dokey, we’re going to fit our boots into the skis. Be sure you remove all snow
from the boots before inserting.”
Instant problem. JJ stood on one foot
and tried to wipe the snow, which threw him off balance and he had to put his
foot down which introduced yet more snow. Damn, he felt like a leaning tower.
Ryan stepped up beside him and provided a shoulder to lean on. JJ tried to
smile. “Uh, thanks.” Jeez, he was such a klutz. Finally—last out of the
group—he got his boots in his skis, locked them on, and stood up. His skis slid
forward, his ass flew into the air, and he fell instantly to his butt with skis
crossed. “Oh no!” He clutched his hands in the snow to keep from shaking them.
This didn’t portend well.
Bronson walked over and looked down at
him. “No problemo. You just leaned back too much. Keep that weight distributed
and slightly forward. Okey dokey?”
JJ nodded, and Bronson offered an arm.
OK, but what in the hell did you do with the skis when you’re trying to get up?
After thirty seconds of pure slapstick comedy, JJ finally got the skis
separated, his weight arranged, and made it to his feet. Heat flushed his
cheeks. At least the cold could explain that.
God, who knew it would be so slippery?
Bronson stood at the center of their
circle. “Now, plant your poles by your sides and slide your skis back and
forth.”
JJ planted. He slid one ski, the other,
back to the first. OK. Working. One more slide. He slipped, caught himself with
the pole, and stayed upright. Yes. He glanced at Ryan who was following the
directions too, with perfect balance and symmetry. Ryan gave JJ a smile.
Bronson held up a hand. “Good, everyone.
Now, we’ll cover some ground. Put your hands through the pole straps.”
JJ did it but he felt wobbly. That must
be normal.
“Now plant your left pole and slide your
right ski forward.”
JJ followed direction.
“Now plant your right pole and slide
your left ski.”
Wow. He did it. Maybe he could make it
on those trails after all.
“Keep doing that, everyone. Good. See,
you’re skiing.”
Cool. Yes, he was skiing. Left. Right.
In front of him, a little dip in the snow curved downward. In his boots, it
wouldn’t have been noticeable, but suddenly he was sliding. Sliding without
trying. His arms came up like a helicopter, poles flying. Vaguely, he saw
Michele duck as his skis flew out from under him. It felt like he actually rose
in the air, suspended for a second, and slammed onto the snow on his ass. His
head flew back and smacked hard, throwing ice up into his eyes. Ouch. Shit that
hurt.
“JJ, are you OK?” Ryan sounded really
worried. JJ must look bad. Damn. He’d like to cry. Probably not a wise
decision.
He tried to smile. “I’m fine. Just
clumsy.” He looked down and found one ski lying beside his leg and the other
crossed over his thigh. What a mess. Dying sounded good. Or sinking into the
snow.
Bronson stared down at him, hands on his
hips. “Okey dokey. Let’s get organized.”
Find Tara here:
What an awesome interview and excerpt, Tara! Thanks so much for joining us today.
Have a wonderful weekend, all!
Thank you all so much for inviting me! I had a blast answering the questions. It's a beautiful blog and i'm honored to be a guest. : )
ReplyDeleteGreat interview. It was fun to learn more about you, Tara. And I still say you have one of the best names for an erotic romance series :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Allie. And i kind of blundered into it! LOL : )
ReplyDeleteSo great to have you here, Tara! I enjoyed the answers to your questions and learned a lot, too! I hope you, your family, and Jolie all have a Happy New Year!
ReplyDelete