13 Works of Fiction That Rocked Me
Hi! I’m Tara Lain and I write the Beautiful Boys of Romance. I’m delighted to be here today celebrating the release of my new paranormal romance, Rome and Jules. New books are always a great excuse to look backward at other wonderful stories that have affected my life in some significant way. Here are a few in no particular order —
- Grimm’s Fairy Tales — I learned to read very early, and before I did, my mom loved to read to me. Fairy tales played a huge role in my childhood – but I only liked Grimm’s. Anderson’s were simply too dark and full of angst. That established a pattern that continues to this day. I rarely like heavy angst stories. I like optimism and I love my HEAs (and my new book pays homage to one of my favorite fairy tales.)
- Madeline – Even as a child, I loved Paris!
- Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides — Okay, totally cheating, but you get the idea. Greeks!
- Shakespeare, of course – The first line of Romeo and Juliet was the inspiration for this book. Two great houses alike in dignity. I just had to add werewolf.
- The Importance of Being Earnest – Many of my most influential books are actually plays. I studied theater in college and have read many, many plays. Oscar Wilde set such a bar – I dreamed about ever being so amazingly brilliant and clever.
- The Imaginary Invalid – I had to list one, but actually this should be everything Moliere ever wrote.
- A Streetcar Named Desire – It’s hard to choose one Tennessee Williams play. In my opinion, he personified theater. But Blanche is just too wonderful a character to pass by.
- Mother Courage – Love me some Bertolt Brecht. His amazing contributions to dramaturgy just blow me away!
- Dune – That book sucked me in so far I walked around on Arrakis for weeks in a fog of spice.
- Pride and Prejudice – No romance author would exist without our amazing Jane!
- Lord of the Rings – The War and Peace of fantasy, Lord of the Rings made me want to speak Elvish for the rest of my life.
- Atlas Shrugged – Don’t make that face! Ayn Rand’s philosophy is not my own, but oh man, can she write heroes. I fell in love at least three times in this book. Who is John Galt?
- Heaven by Jet Mykles – My first ever MM romance, Heaven blew me away with its passion, lack of gender roles, and wonderful fluidity. I started writing MM romance and never looked back.
I’m now somewhere around book 45 and don’t see any end in sight. My thanks to all these brilliant authors for their amazing inspiration.
Crawling through the balcony window wasn’t exactly nonconfrontational. He plopped on the grass and pressed his back against the trunk of a tree. Maybe pebbles on the window? And if it’s not his room, dumbass? It made sense he’d have the one balcony on this side of the house. Do I risk it? He’s probably still out with Asshole Anderson. Man, that idea nauseated him. He closed his eyes and bumped the back of his head against the scratchy bark.
Lights shone against his closed lids, and he flicked his eyes open. Somebody’s in that room. He rolled up to a crouch and stared at the french doors. Like he willed it, one of them opened and out walked Jules.
Whoa. Rome sucked a breath, and his alpha-advantage eyes focused clearly on the scene, even though he was many feet away. Jules’s fair hair hung onto his shoulders, shimmering in the moonlight. He’d left his shirt open, and the white fabric barely contrasted with his pale chest—the chest that showed off those surprising muscles. He leaned on the parapet and sighed. Though hardly a whisper, Rome heard it clearly. He slipped a step closer.
Jules’s head snapped up. “Is there someone there?”
Wow. Could he hear that? Think fast. “But soft. What light through yonder window breaks?” Rome stepped out from under the tree branches and stopped. If Jules was going to scream, he needed a head start on the pursuers.
Instead, Jules gave that head cock, full of curiosity and unselfconscious charm. “I’ve always liked the sun.”
Rome let his smile break free. “I thought when I saw you that your hair looks like a great fall of sunlight.”
“How poetic.”
Rome walked slowly to the foot of the balcony and gazed up at Jules. Wild overgrown vines grew on trellises, some of them hanging away from the wall with the weight of the unkempt greenery. Rome pointed toward the window in front of him. “Is there someone sleeping inside?”
“No. There’s no one else in my end of the wing on either floor.”
“How nice.”
Jules rested his forearms on the balcony rail and leaned his chin on them. “When you broke in the other night—and I still don’t know how you did that—you said you wanted to be my friend and that you were worried about me being a pawn in a political game.”
“Yes. That’s all true.”
“Umm. But I don’t have any friends who recite Shakespeare to me. At least not Romeo and Juliet.” He smiled ever so slightly.
Rome’s heart beat hard. “And what does that suggest to you?”
“That the youngest son of the rich, powerful, and very homophobic Siracusa clan… is gay.”
I like the title and blurb (I’ll also look at your list to see if there’s something I haven’t read before *wink*). Thank you for sharing excerpt from the book and congrats on your book, Tara.
So happy to meet a new Siracusa guy!
Thank you for sharing a little of yourself. My mother used to read to me also when I was very young. The excerpt sounds great, I will have to read this book.
I’m always happy to see Tara has a new book out, as I can be guaranteed to be cheered up by her combination of humor, heat, and romance!
Thank you for sharing the list of books that meant something to you. Congrats on your new book!