A warm welcome to author Tara Lain joining us today for her blog tour on new release “Cowboys Don’t Come Out”.
Tara talks about writing about kids , shares an excerpt and their is a giveaway to participate in!
Welcome Tara 🙂
Writing Kids for Fun and Profit –
Hi. I’m delighted to be here today. I’m Tara Lain, I write the Beautiful Boys of Romance, and I’m here celebrating the release of my new novel, Cowboys Don’t Come Out. This is a story of a mainland cowboy, Rand McIntyre, who owns a small horse-breeding ranch in California, who travels to Maui for the holidays and meets Hawaiian cowboy, Kai Kealoha. Kai has a ton of secrets, most of which revolve around his younger brother and sister, Aliki and Lani.
It’s funny. Before this year I had written only one short story that included kids as important characters. That’s not surprising. My heroes tend to be young – generally under 30 – and both gay and unmarried, so kids just don’t come up. This year, however, I’ve written three books, which include children – the very popular Lord of a Thousand Steps, a new book that will be released next year called High Balls, and this story, Cowboys Don’t Come Out.
In my new book, Kai takes care of his younger brother and sister and they’re the focus of his entire life. He’ll do anything to protect them. Their wellbeing is also one of the main reasons Kai has never come out as gay. He thinks they’ll be mistreated by other kids.
This line of thought highlights one of the reasons authors like using children in books. Children inspire powerful emotions and deep devotion and provide very exciting causes for conflict in stories. Very often single parents don’t like their children to get attached to someone who may be just a passing crush and they often base their choice of partners on the person’s ability to relate to the children. In Cowboys Don’t Come Out, Kai knows that Rand is leaving in a week and he doesn’t want his brother and sister to get too fond of him.
The down side of writing children is getting their voices right without making them too twee. I love giving children unexpected and unique qualities and sometimes giving them wisdom beyond their years, which children who’ve been through hard lives can well have. Children can also take over a story and since they’re so fun to write, it’s hard to guard against that. In my new book, Kai is a cool and distant character and I got to used his siblings to teach him important lessons in love of life and other people.
I hope you enjoy my kids and my book, Cowboys Don’t Come Out.
He stopped and tried to hear over the rushing of the surf out beyond the reef if anyone else hid in the dark. No sounds. Fortunately, no big water hit this beach, so he didn’t have to worry about getting swamped. Actually, between the lapping waves and the brilliant moonlight, the scene resembled some fairy-tale romance. Fuck that.
Right where the dry sand verged on the wet, he flopped on his butt. What she’d said—that he settled for a good-enough life. That he wasn’t happy. Don’t I get to decide that?
He leaned back on his elbows. Yeah, but she’s right. I created a whole life—as if I was somebody else. Most people find “the one” and build a future so it suits them both. I imagined a cowboy and slid into his boots—Rand McIntyre. Say that with a drawl, son. Just one problem. I’m gay—always have been—and cowboys don’t come out. Where does that leave me? A-fucking-lone, pardner. Always will be.
You’re not the only gay cowboy.
Have you seen Brokeback Mountain? Shit.
Phosphorescence sparkled on the tops of the waves farther out. Pretty. Guess there could be all kinds of weird man-eating shit in that water.
Do you think more sharks and barracudas swim at night than during the day?
Yeah, right.
He sprang up, stripped his Hawaiian shirt off and tossed it on the sand, then pulled off the shorts his mom had given him. Commando. What would it feel like to have fishes nibbling at his balls? Not like anybody else was doing any nibbling. He strode into the water. Whoa! Not cold, just startling.
When he waded out past his thighs, his penis and balls started to float. He chuckled. Kind of like being a kid in the bathtub. Endless hours of fun playing with your own built-in toys. A few more steps, and he submerged to his shoulders. He gave a tiny shiver. Weird being sunk in inky blackness. Still, the water felt good. He kicked off and swam a few yards out, turned, and stroked back towards shore. He wasn’t a good enough swimmer to push his luck alone at night.
After treading water a couple of minutes, he pulled himself back into the shallows and sat on the hard wet beach. He glanced down. Some shrinkage, but his balls still lay on the sand. Remember to rinse them off or you’ll itch. Slowly he released his breath. What was he going to do? Answer? Same as always. Nothing. He couldn’t risk all the great shit he’d made to try to make it better.
Thanks for the excerpt!
Most welcome Lisa! : )
Thanks for the excerpt Tara. The book got an interesting blurb with catchy cover! <3
Thank you, Didi. Reese Dante did the wonderful cover. : )
Thank you so much, Love Bytes, for having me on the blog! Always love being here. : )
Great cover. Thanks for the post.
Reese does wonderful covers, doesn’t she? : )
Congrats on the release! You hit on the head about kids in books – I love it when done right, but it is a tough balance.
So true, Jen. People sometimes say my kid characters are too advanced for their years — but so many readers love them, i keep writing very precocious kids. LOL. : )
Thanks for the post, Tara. I love stories with kids in them or have family as a major theme. Some writers do get the voices of the kids wrong–too young sounding for their age, sometimes too mature–but overall, many get it just right. Congrats on Cowboys Don’t Come Out! Maui sounds great right about now : )
I do love Maui! It’s been a few years since i was there but remember Hana with great fondness. ; )
I’m so eager to read this!
Hope you love it! : )
Loved this book!!!!
Thank you! I’m so glad you did! : )
great excerpt and the blurb sounds intriguing
It looks great and the blurb is intriguing.
You had me at Cowboys! Gorgeous cover and an intriguing excerpt! Thanks so much for sharing!
I think the blurb and the excerpt sounds like a great read.
Macho. I wish the word could be struck from our lexicon! Why can’t sensitivity and love replace it? No one should have to deny who they are or who they love. We have so far to go…
Thanks for the excerpt. It sounds great.