A very warm Love Bytes welcome to our next GRL featured blogger author stopping by on our blog Miss Tara Lain!
Tara talks about GRl , shares an excerpt of her new upcoming release and she offers a giveaway to a lucky commenter.
Welcome Tara 🙂

Love in San Diego!

Hi everyone! I’m Tara Lain and I’m delighted to be a Featured Author at GRL this year. Actually, I’ve been attending since GRL’s first year in New Orleans – which was also my first year as a published author. That was the year of the ghosts – ghost tours and the famous pair of ghosts that visited a bunch of us authors in Lynn Lorenz’s suite – but that’s another story.

This year, I’m especially excited because GRL is close to me in San Diego. I live about an hour north of SD in Orange County, CA. so I’ll be able to drive. This is so rare for us west coast authors it’s really a luxury. Now, I must confess I’ve never been to a gay bar or club in San Diego, but I have been to a bunch of its other main attractions, so I thought I’d share.

A must for any SD visitor is the world famous San Diego Zoo, which is a two part experience — the zoo itself and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park that I’ll tell you about in a minute. I love zoos and have literally visited them all over the world and I can attest that SD is right at the top of the heap. It’s one of the global centers for the breeding and preservation of endangered species and you’ll see animals here you’ve barely heard of. I go to either the zoo or the Safari Park every year, usually for my birthday. Because I’m a freak who loves slithery critters, I usually head to the reptile house first and my poor, long-suffering husband runs through in 15 minutes and then waits outside for 45 more while I linger over cobras and pythons. If you happen to share my love of snakes, they have some amazing ones. I also spend time with the meerkats, koalas, and my faves, the lesser or red pandas. The regular pandas are pretty cool too. And all the cats. You know I loves me some felines.

The Safari Park is in another location. As with many things in southern California, you’ll need a car. The park is built on hundreds and hundreds of acres of open land in Escondito and is created for the animals well being – the people are secondary. It’s as much like going to Africa or India on safari as you’re likely to get in the US. If you plan ahead, you can make reservations to go out into the vast enclosures in a truck where herds of animals run free. (It costs extra). You’ll get to feed giraffes and rhinos. Truly an unforgettable experience because animals are unpredictable and every visit is totally different. We had two rhinos runs straight at our truck at full speed down a hill, only to veer off at the last second and laugh all the way to the apple treats we had for them. If you really plan ahead, you could even see the Cheetah Run where you stand a few feet from an off-lead cheetah running at top speed after its favorite toy. I’ve seen it once and can still remember the sound of that cat’s paws hitting the grass!

Of course, you’ll be near the beach at the GRL hotel, and if you want to travel a bit north, you can see wonderful beach towns like La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya for those who don’t have a Spanish language dictionary in their pocket). If you go further north, you can stop by the town I’ve included in so many of my books, Laguna Beach. You won’t be there in time for the art festivals, but it’s still a fun town to visit (except for the parking! LOL) It’s about an hour and a bit north – up the freeway and then in toward the ocean.

I can’t wait to see everyone at GRL in October. Meanwhile, let me share my excitement about a new release coming up really soon on August 3^rd. It’s called Knave of Broken Hearts and it’s the second in my Love in Laguna Series (see, there’s that town again). I’ve included an excerpt for you. As a prize, I’d like to give one person who comments an ecopy of the first Love in Laguna book, Knight of Ocean Avenue or if you already have it, take a choice of books from my backlist. See you at GRL!

 

Melanie’s question for Tara Lain:  Tara, I would love to hear about your writing space!  Do you have an office or a special place set aside to write?  Or is it your laptop on the kitchen table or while propped up in bed?

Melanie Hansen asked me about my writing space. I’m happy to share. I have this fabulous office with a desk, big massage chair, couch, soft rug for
exercising and a TV so I can watch between chapters if I want. I love this room and feel so spoiled getting to work in it. I have multiple surfaces on which I write — sometimes at my little stand-up desk and sometimes on my ball chair — to try to save my back. The room is big enough that I’m having two writer pals over next weekend to brainstorm and we’ll all be able to comfortably hang out in here. I’m lucky. (The picture attached is
before the room was completely finished, but you get the idea.)

Before I go, here’s a question for the next GRL Blogger at Love Bytes, Zathyn Priest:

Hey Zath, where did you acquire your amazing artistic interest and skill?

 

KNAVE OF BROKEN HEARTS by Tara Lain

(Book 2 in the Love in Laguna Series but completely standalone)

Pre-order Here:

Dreamspinner press eBook

Dreamspinner press Paperback

Amazon

Blurb:

Jim Carney has a full time job—running from himself. Since he walked out on his wealthy family at sixteen because he’d wrecked his best friend’s life over some yaoi graphic novels, Jim has lived a macho, blue-collar existence of too much booze and too little responsibility. Then Billy Ballew, the man Jim most admires, gives Jim a chance to come through as his construction supervisor. For once, Jim is determined to make someone proud. Then Jim goes in for a physical for his new job and his yaoi dream comes to life in the form of cardiologist Ken Tanaka. Jim discovers he has two heart problems—a wonky mitral valve and a serious attraction to his doctor. But Ken is a major player, and Jim might be just a notch on the doc’s stethoscope. To Ken, Jim is unforgettable—but the living embodiment of his traditional family’s worst nightmares.  How come the minute Jim decides to be responsible, he finds himself taking care of his kid brother, getting a proposal from a wealthy woman, making a deal with the devil, and winding up in the hospital—when all he really wants is the Knave of Broken Hearts?

 

The line for the bars had shortened as people gathered to dance with the grooms, so Jim made it to the bartender pretty quick. He popped a couple of bucks into the tip jar and carried one soda bottle and two beers toward the table. Somebody cat-called, and he glanced up in time to see Shaz spin and dip some blond guy. He laughed along with most of the spectators.

Jim took one more step. His foot caught on the edge of the wood dance floor, the slippery shoe slid, and—whoa! He stumbled forward, his arms flailing. Beer sloshed in a big gold arc. Shit, the tux! He raised the bottles high in front of him to keep the beer away, slid into a half circle, and timbered toward the floor face-first. “Damn!”

Strong hands grabbed him from behind and he twirled into a tight, warm embrace, his feet tangling but his body upright. “Got you.”

“What? Jesus!” He tried to twist his feet back and lurched again, but the hands held. Finally Jim planted himself steadily and looked up into eyes so shiny black they practically reflected his face. Wide and almond-shaped. Yaoi man. Hellfire. About 100 percent more beautiful up close than from a distance. Skin like beige marble, hair like midnight. Eyes straight from his fantasy.

The guy smiled. “How fortuitous. I was just coming to ask you to dance.”

“What?”

Dimples popped out in places where lean hollows had been. “I’d love to dance with you.” Shit if he didn’t just start dancing, holding Jim’s hands, which in turn held the bottles. Dance or fall? That was his position, so he moved his feet. Jesus. He couldn’t resist without spilling the beer down the guy’s expensively dressed back, but every movement rubbed him in places that really needed rubbing and were getting a very embarrassing reaction.

Wake up. “Uh, sorry. I’m, uh, I mean, I don’t normally dance with guys.”

Gorgeous smiled again, and it made Jim want to smile back. “You’re doing fine.”

Sweet Jesus, the guy smelled like something spicy. Grapefruit and cinnamon. Real subtle but sneaky. It kind of tiptoed in Jim’s nose and attacked—lower. “What?”

“The dancing. You’re doing fine.” He spun, holding Jim in his arms gracefully, and for a weird second Jim felt almost graceful too. That didn’t happen often. Between the smell and feel, Jim’s head spun and his heart hammered. His eyes closed on their own. He was floating like some gently moving leaf. Could move this way forever.

The silky voice whispered, “Want to deliver the beer to your friends and be hands free?”

Friends. He dragged his eyes from the man and looked toward the table. Charlie and Raoul stared, full-on, no smiles, amazement written all over their faces. Behind them in line, the women stared too, but they were laughing. Except for Peggy. She looked half pissed. Hell, it was okay for her to dance with gay guys, but not him? What the hell am I thinking? He stopped moving and tried to take a step back out of this person’s arms. Every inch away felt cold.

Mr. Beautiful cocked his head and dimpled again. “Oh dear, he’s come to his senses. Why do all the gorgeous ones have to be straight?”

Gorgeous? “Man, you’ve got some seriously bad taste.”

His face sobered just a little. “Quite the contrary. I’m known for my exceptional discernment.”

What the hell could he say to that? “Thanks for catching me.”

“Any time, dear. Any time.” Yaoi man turned and walked like some jungle cat back onto the dance floor, grabbing a handsome guy from the line as he went. By the time Jim’s heart started beating again, the guy was dancing and laughing with someone else.

Charlie and Raoul both rushed up. Charlie waved a hand toward the beautiful one. “What was that all about?”

Jim frowned. “The guy caught me when I nearly fell flat on my face.” He shoved the beer bottles at Charlie. “Here, take these.”

Raoul grabbed one of the beers. “Looked more like a tango to me, man.”

“Cut me a break. The guy was just joking around.”

Peggy’s voice came from behind him. “Oh, I don’t know. That dude is prettier than me.”

Jim turned and slipped his arm around her. Don’t force me to agree.

Charlie stared out at the dance floor, where pretty-face rested his head against a handsome blond’s shoulder. “Looks like you don’t have to worry, Peg. That dude’s got a guy for every night.”

True, and Jim fucking wished he didn’t feel jealous.

_____________________________________

Tara Lain writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in LGBT erotic romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her first novel was published in January of 2011 and she’s now somewhere around book 25. Her best-selling novels have garnered awards for Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Paranormal Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance, Best Gay Characters, and Tara has been named Best Writer of the Year in the LRC Awards. In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm. She often does workshops on both author promotion and writing craft. She lives with her soul-mate husband and her soul-mate dog near the sea in California where she sets a lot of her books. Passionate about diversity, justice, and new experiences, Tara says on her tombstone it will say “Yes”!

You can find Tara HERE:

Website:             http://www.taralain.com

Blog:               http://www.taralain.com/blog

Goodreads:       http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4541791.Tara_Lain

Twitter:               http://twitter.com/taralain

FB Page:         http://www.facebook.com/taralain

As Tara mentioned one person who comments on this post has a chance to win an ecopy of the first Love in Laguna book, Knight of Ocean Avenue or if you already have it, take a choice of books from my backlist.