Talking with Tara Lain with CONTEST

  

Please Note: CONTEST INFORMATION IS AT END OF INTERVIEW.

Can you tell us a little about how you started writing; was it something you have always wanted to do?

Like so many novelists, I’ve always been a writer. I wrote my first book at five – the hero was a snake named Peter (hmmm. Is that Freudian?). I went on to get myself through college by writing so well I could cram far too many things into my schedule and still come out with good grades. After college, I began making my living as a marketing and promotional writer and I’ve been doing it ever since. But I never wrote a novel. When you write all day, it takes a real passion to get you to write at night and on weekends. And passion is what did it! I started reading erotic romance a few years ago and fell in love with it. Then I read my first male/male romance and decided this was what I wanted to write. I had a favorite older woman/younger man romance fantasy, so I added another man to it. Voila. I wrote Genetic Attraction and, after a lot of work learning craft, I contracted that book with Loose Id. It came out last January.

What do you consider to be the key elements of a great story?

It all starts with characters for me. If I love the characters, I’ll forgive a lot of other things. I also love books written in deep point of view that take me on the characters’ journey through their eyes and heart. After that, I enjoy clever dialogue that sounds like real people say it. A great story will also have a tight plot with believable conflict. While I’ll forgive a lot for great characters, I get real annoyed with conflicts that go on and on when they could be resolved with one good conversation.

Could you tell us a little about how you develop your characters? Who has been your favorite character to write? The most challenging?

I always start with heroes. Of course, a lot of my books are M/M or M/M/M so they are all about the heroes. I get inspired by an idea for a man – wouldn’t it be fun to have a serious scientist meet a man so different from him he can hardly relate? How about a supermodel? Wouldn’t it be great if I wrote a hero who is a ballet dancer? Then all the other characters arise from that central idea. The idea character isn’t necessarily even the main POV character. I did write a book about a ballet dancer – my romantic suspense, Golden Dancer, coming out on September 27. But the ballet dancer, while the heart of the story, is actually secondary in POV to the news reporter who falls in love with him.

My favorite characters? A toss-up between my wonderful supermodel, Roan Black, in The Scientist and the Supermodel, Genetic Attraction, and later in the year, Deceptive Attraction. I adore him. He is my baby. But I also love my hero David Underwood from Volley Balls. I describe him as a “flaming gay boy from Laguna”, but he is gutsy and wonderfully original and I totally loved writing him. My most challenging character? Mac MacAllister in Golden Dancer. He was difficult because he is torn between his love for his reporter’s craft, “getting the story”, and his love for the art collector billionaire who he is investigating. It puts him in a terrible conflict of trust and honor and it was very challenging to write.

Have you ever found that you didn’t like your Hero or your Heroine? If so, what did you do to change that?

Not so far. I had a beta reader tell me that my hero in one of my books wasn’t likable and I rushed to rewrite scenes so that the reader would understand him as well as I do.

Can you tell me a bit about your most recent/upcoming release?

My most recent release is The Scientist and the Supermodel from Loose Id. This book is the prequel to Genetic Attraction which came out this past January. Genetic Attraction is a M/M/F menage and when I finished writing it, the two heroes yelled at me until I wrote their story. The Scientist and the Supermodel tells about a serious young geneticist, Dr. Jake Martin, who harbors a secret love for his older female boss, a renowned researcher. He isn’t having much luck falling for any of the appropriate females he knows, but on a trip to Los Angeles, he gets passionately involved with a famous supermodel. A MALE supermodel. Though Jake had one homosexual experience in his past, he thinks of himself as straight and struggles against developing feelings for the beautiful model, Roan Black.

What do you do to unwind and relax?  

I love to read erotic romance. I watch a little television that has no redeeming social significance. I used to go to movies, but don’t see that many since I’ve been writing. And very occasionally I collage which is a favorite hobby that I have little time for anymore.

Is there a genre you haven’t done that you would like to explore in the future?

I’m currently writing my first paranormal romance which is fun although it is contemporary so I’m only doing a bit of world building. I’ll be working on a more serious paranormal next year. Also, I started a scifi once and think I might like to go back to it. But I’m all romance all the way. I love HEA endings.  :  )

Tell us about your favorite restaurant. 

I love fish (I don’t eat meat) and my favorite restaurant serves many varieties of very fresh fish simply grilled with a yummy vegetable and, maybe for decadence, some garlic mashed potatoes.

Do you listen to music when writing? Do you feel like some stories write themselves a soundtrack with specific music? If so, what book and what kind of music influenced it?

No, I’m one of the few writers that can’t listen to music. I think I’m so right brained that I clog up the pathways with music and can’t hear my story in my head.

Does your significant other read your stuff?

He doesn’t read it since he’s not much of a novel reader, but he is my chief plotting assistant. I sit down with him and discuss my plots and story ideas and scenes and he helps me work out plot points. Of course, he always wants me to add more women to my books!

Plotter or Pantser? Why?

I’m a plotser – part of each. Before I write a book, I work out a story premise and a simple arc in my mind. I usually have an idea how it might end. I know who the main characters are and I have a few highpoints in mind. I seldom write them down unless I’m pitching a book on a proposal in which case I do an actual synopsis. After I have the basic story in mind, I start writing and every scene is a revelation. So I get the fun of pantsing without losing my way.

What is your favorite meal?

So boring. I love beans. Black beans, Navy beans, pinto beans. So I love a fresh tostada with lots of beans and cheese and lettuce and tomatoes and guacamole and black olives. I also love that fish meal I described above.

What are your thoughts on love scenes in romance novels, do you find them difficult to write?

I adore writing my love scenes because they are such a wonderful opportunity to reveal character and forward plot. I go into them with an idea of what I want the reader to feel and know at the end and make sure the scene does that. And I love to get deep in point of view so the scene is an emotional and sensory experience for the reader. Of course, I’m just writing my seventh book right now. Ask me again after seventeen.  :  )

What do you have coming up next for you? Care to share any details with us?

I think I blabbed a lot about my future plans up above. My M/M/M summer romance, Volley Balls, comes out July 1, followed by Golden Dancer on September 27. Later in the fall, Deceptive Attraction will be released. I’m hoping to have a story out for the holidays, plus I’m working on the paranormals I mentioned. It’s an exciting year!

Who are some of your favorite authors, and if we were to visit your home, what books would we find on your bookshelf, end table, floor or e-reader?

I read a lot in my own genre and subgenre – contemporary M/M and menage. My big influences have been Jet Mykles, Lynn Lorenz and Z A Maxfield. Beyond them, I have a lot of favorites and I wouldn’t want to leave anyone out by mentioning only a few. Outside of  EROM, I love Jane Austen, a lot of plays by Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams, Bertold Brecht, poetry by e.e. cummings and Emily Dickinson.

If you could be any character of any book or movie, who would you be?

I love being who I am so it’s hard to decide. I think Audrey Hepburn in a movie like Funny Face.

Where can readers find you on the web?

E-mail:                   tara@taralain.com

Website:              http://www.taralain.com

Author blog:       http://taralain.blogspot.com

Book blog:           http://beautifulboysbooks.blogspot.com

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

Savvy Authors:  http://www.savvyauthors.com/vb/member.php?2398-Tara-Lain

Twitter:               http://twitter.com/taralain

Facebook:           http://www.facebook.com/people/Tara-Lain/100001514105686

Thank you so much, Dawn for inviting me to the blog. I had a ball answering the questions. I’d also like to invite your readers to participate in a contest for Free Books!

8 BOOKS THIS MONTH! 4 Books Next Month.

Here’s the first simple step:

Comment on this blog and leave your email address. I will copy it and enter it in the drawing for the 2 books being given away during this week.  One copy of The Scientist and the Supermodel and one copy of Genetic Attraction.  You’ll be notified by email if you win. Comment and email, simple.

Here’s MORE CHANCES TO WIN! (more complicated so read closely LOL)

·      Go to my Book blog http://beautifulboysbooks.blogspot.com. Leave a comment and follow the blog (if you already do follow, it counts). You will be entered in EVERY drawing until the end of the month. Two books will be given away every week and you’ll be entered in all those drawings.

·      Go to every blog on my blog tour and leave a comment on the day of the post (or at least in the same week) and you will be entered again during the week in which the post is made.

·      The entire blog tour is listed on my website http://www.taralain.com/blog_tour_schedule.html  and updates will be posted regularly so check it out. There will also be Yahoo Group chats where I will be giving away other books so watch for those!

Whew!! Remember, you can take each one of these steps and have a bunch of chances to WIN! (You just have to enter, the logistics are my nightmare!  LOL) Got it? Comment and leave your email. And thank you for visiting!

  Sneak Peek into The Scientist and the Supermodel

Available at Loose Id

Jake has a mad hidden passion for his older boss, Emmaline Silvay, so why is he getting all hot and bothered when he sees this gorgeous man in a bar? Though Jake thinks of himself as straight, he's been having a lot of trouble getting excited about any of the girls he's dated. He doesn't have any such trouble with the supermodel, which throws his whole world into confusion. Roan Black knows better than to fall for some straight guy, especially a PhD scientist who couldn't possibly be interested in a high school dropout, could he? Well, maybe they can just have sex ....

Excerpt R The Scientist and the Supermodel Tara Lain M/M Contemporary

Buy Link:  http://www.loose-id.com/The-Scientist-and-the-Supermodel.aspx

Book Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0glXEW3_fM

Roan grinned. “So tell me something about you nobody else knows.”

Jake turned his head and spoke into the chair cushion. “I guess I could tell you about Tom.” What the fuck did I just say? That straightened him up in a hurry.

“Who’s Tom?”

“Nobody. Don’t know why I said that. Must be drunk.” He hauled himself from the chair and paced to the minibar for another bottle.

“Sounds like Tom is someone you want me to know about.”

Shaking his head, Jake sat on the edge of the bed with his water bottle then realized where he was and jumped up. “Naw. He’s just somebody I think about sometimes.”

“And why did you think of him now?”

Jake cleared his throat. “He was gay. Or is gay. I haven’t seen him for a while.”

“And he was your friend?”

Sitting back in the chair, Jake stared at his hands. “Yeah. He was so damn good to me, and I think I took bad advantage of him. I used him like he was nothing, like he wasn’t a kind and good guy who really cared about me.” He jumped up again. “Oh shit, why am I talking about this?”

Roan stood and took Jake’s hand and led him to the couch to sit beside him. “Because I’m a stranger, and I’m gay, and you can’t talk to Tom to say you’re sorry, right?”

Jake let himself be guided onto the couch. “Yeah, I lost track of him. No idea where he is. But I hope he’s happy, ’cause he deserves it.” Jake was shocked to feel tears prickle behind his eyes. “Shit, I’m sorry. I’m still drunk.”

Roan leaned back so he was just a deep, soft voice behind Jake. “Want to tell me about Tom?”

Jake put his face in his hands for a minute. “He sucked my cock.”

There was a beat of time before Roan said, “Why’d he do that?”

Jake looked up sheepishly. “To relax me?”

A soft chuckle. “Now that’s a great line I’m gonna have to try.”

“No, seriously, I was trying to get my dissertation done, and I was freaking out, running out of time, trying to prepare for the orals. I never had time to date, so I wasn’t having any sex. I guess I was moaning about it one day, and Tom was there. He’d been my friend since undergraduate school. I knew he was gay, he knew I was straight, and we just got along. Basically, he offered to suck my cock. Said it would get me off better than my own hand. I was shocked, but he was so cool about it. Said I should try it before I condemned it.”

“So did you?”

“Not right then. But the days passed, and I got more tired and hornier, and I was wearing the skin off my hand. One day I said yes. Tom said I should just close my eyes and pretend it was the head cheerleader sucking me.”

“Another line I’ve got to remember.”

“He undid my pants, and I broke out in a cold sweat. But then he started to suck me. Shit, I gotta admit, it took me about ten seconds to not care that he was a guy. Jeez, could he suck cock. I’ve never had a girl before or since who was so good.”

“For girls it’s a frill; for us it’s a main event. It pays to get good at it. So that’s why you wanted to know about cock sucking?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Anyway, so what’s the problem? You enjoyed it; I’m sure he enjoyed it. Nobody got hurt.”

“That time.”

“Oh.”