Hopping Against Homophobia! With Some Hot Things for You!

Hi everyone--
Welcome to Beautiful Boys Books and the Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia! I'm Tara Lain and i write the Beautiful Boys of Romance. There are 178 authors participating in this Hop. You have a week to visit all of them. Each will have wonderful thoughts and books to share as well as something special for you.

Here are the prizes on my Blog. There will be three winners!

• One winner will receive an ecopy of Hearts and Flour, my love story about a passionate vegan and a cross-dressing cupcake baker. I will  *modestly* tell you that this book was just featured on the Happy Ever After Blog of USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyeverafter/2013/05/16/throwback-thursday-tbt-sugar-and-spice/2164599/
• Another winner (US readers only. If you are international we'll work something out) will receive a
  
  signed print copy of Sinders and Ash, my MM fairy tale romance 
• The third winner will receive a $5 Amazon GC

How do you enter to win these prizes?

• Leave a comment with your EMAIL
• Like my Author Page on Amazon
• This is not required at all, but i'm trying to reach 1000 Likes on my FB Page. So if you do like me, would you Like me? 

My heroes are gay men. I mean that in more than one way. I don't have to look far to find my idols and icons who are gay. Leonardo da Vinci  and Michelangelo (both arguably), Oscar Wilde, Nureyev, Nijinsky, most of the men who have ever designed a dress, Jean Cocteau, Tennessee Williams, Noel Coward, Alan Turing, Leonard Bernstein, all those beautiful young heartthrobs who captured women's hearts on the screen in the days before anyone asked much less told (Montgomery, James, Sal, Rock, Tab,etc.) and on and on. We would have no world, no culture, no civilizations without them.

I've had my personal heroes as well. You've heard me talk about my two friends in high school neither of whom knew they were gay. Or at least they never talked about it. One was my dearest friend and my date for the senior prom when i was a sophomore. He ended up being a male nurse in the military. Talk about your horror jobs in the days when admitting you were gay could get you killed with few objections from anyone. I used to attend his military balls with him. His real partner never got to go. 

My other friend was a hunky, bad-ass, athlete and man of few words. Think Clint Eastwood with red hair. He married and had kids. It wasn't until years later that he came to visit me with his partner -- a guy so flamboyant, effeminate, and full-on gorgeous he stopped traffic in department stores.

Today, i have a gay hero who was born and raised in Utah by a Mormon family. Wow. Handsome, with gorgeous silver hair, and a shined pair of cowboy boots, he's made a life for himself far from the constraints and almost unimaginable conflicts of his youth. He loves my books and i'm honored.

And  i get to pay homage to my gay heroes by writing my own Beautiful Boys of Romance. I try to capture all the variety and uniqueness of the gay men i've known and admired in my life. The tough ones, the flamboyant guys, the so-ordinary-they-could-be-your-uncle-Charlie men, all united by the extraordinary challenges of being homosexual in our world. I look forward to the day when these love stories will be shelved under just plain old romance. Don't you? 

Thank you so much for Hopping with us. Remember, leave your comment with your EMAIL, then hop on to the next Blog. Go HERE to Hop http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/

Get Ready to HOP! Hot and Heavy!

Hi everyone--

This is to get you ready. Friday, May 17th, right here on this blog, starts the Hop Against Homophobia. There will be lots of excerpts, sharing, and prizes for you plus the chance to share your thoughts on this important issue!

On Monday, May 20th at the Tara Lain Blog, we'll plunge into the Wet and Wild Blog Hop! There's a $100 GC to Victoria's Secret and an amazing Digital Gift Basket. Plus, i'll have some prizes for you too. So be sure and stop by both hops and be ready to comment WITH YOUR EMAIL to be entered.

See you at the HOPS! : )

Big Cats and Watermelon! Get Ready for Summer!

Happy Mom's Day everyone-

Summer is coming and i found this fun video of big cats eating watermelon. Yes, it's crazy, but i wanted to share. Have a great day and weekend.: )

The Stuff of Life!

Hi everyone--
I'm back from RT. Tired but happily so. It was a great conference, action-packed, with lots of readers and authors showing just how dynamic our profession is. One of the great things about conferences is spending a little time with other authors and getting to know them better. One of my faves is the fab Amy Lane. Amy is also a key member of the Rainbow Romance Writers Chapter of RWA. She has a daughter in film school and shares with us some of the great animations her daughter passes on to her.Here's one i think you'll enjoy. It made me tear up.


Thank you for coming by! Talk soon. : )

New Author Power and Books, More Books, and Snow! At #RT13

Hi everyone--
I'm dashing this off because RT 13 is soooo busy--and fun. Yesterday, Thursday, was the day that i got to do the Sell Fast, Sell Often! How New Authors Can Launch Their Career Like a Pro with Cassandra Carr and Daisy Harris. We had a big crowd and wonderful compliments. One man called it the best workshop at RT! It was useful reality check for the new authors in the

audience.

Then the afternoon was all about the Digital Expo. Three hundred authors gathered with snow coming down in buckets outside. But we still had a big crowd and tons of fun. I sold print copies of Spell Cat, Balls to the Wall, and Genetic Attraction/Scientist and Supermodel.And best of all, saw lots of friends!

The snow is still falling but not sticking much because it was 80 degrees here when i arrived on Tuesday. Busy day today but i'll tell you all about it!  : )

We Were Pimping and Conquering at RT 13 Today!

Hi everyone-- The first action packed day of RT13 is over and i am tired so this will be quick. I did two of my 4 workshops today. The first was Pimp My Badge, organized by the brilliant Caitlyn Willows. It was for readers and over a 100 folks came through to bling out their badges and answer a fun questionnaire about our 10 sponsoring authors. Ten goody bags full of swag and books were awarded to lucky readers. We gave away cute fold up bags that look like strawberries to everyone too. Here's a picture of pal, Trixie Stiletto, holding the bag. We had a great time and it was a fun

way to kick off the conference.

 My second workshop today with ZA Maxfield, Lynn Lorenz and Jianne Carlo was Conquering the Premature Beginning, Saggy Middle, and Flat End! I had thought this one might be small since it's a hard working topic, but the room was packed! One lady told me it was worth the trip from England just to take our workshop.

 I got to havea Japanese dinner with friends Lynn Lorenz, Belinda McBride, Jianne Carlo, and our friend and Loose Id editor, Treva Harte. I'm going to crash now, Tomorrow is another workshop and the Digital Book Expo. Don't forget to click on the Book Expo icon on the right column during the evenbt and see what's going on at the Expo.Talk tomorrow! : )

Heads UP! Attend the ARe Book Buying RT Extravaganza from HOME!

Hi everyone--
As you know, i leave for the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention (RT) on Tuesday this week . On Thursday, RT is having the Digital Expo where digital first authors sell and sign their books, give away goodies and generally have fun meeting their readers. This year, RT is taking the Expo global. We don't know what the specials and surprises are going to be yet. We won'tr know until right before the Expo. But make sure you're signed up for ARe so you can buy stuff because i imagine there may be good deals. If you're at the Convention then just come find me at my table. If you're not there, below is what RT says you should do. Remember, the times they give are in Kansas City so adjust accordingly.

You'll see an icon on this blog in the right corner. During the Expo, you should be able to click on that to

access my books on specials they may be having. Buyers can also click on my QR code to get to the books they want. Remember, nothing will be on special until the Expo i imagine.  : )

FOR THOSE WHO *CANNOT* ATTEND THE EXPO IN PERSON

Mark Your Calendar for the RT EXPO on May 2  from 4 to 6pm and join in the virtual EXPO event!

THIS YEAR THE RT EXPO IS GOING GLOBAL! ARe is the official bookseller for RT's Expo and this year we are making the book lover event global so that everyone from home can participate. Join in the fun by visiting this page on May 2 from 4pm to 6pm and attend the virtual event! Just click on any author’s name and it will take you to their unique author page on All Romance e-Books website where you can begin purchasing. We recommend that, if you do not already have an account with ARe, you set one up before the EXPO begins on May 2 to make your purchasing easy on the day of the event. We will be tweeting and Facebooking from the hotel with a live feed so feel free to join in the fun!