Snow Balls (Balls to the Wall #4) by Tara Lain
Dreamspinner Press
Cover Art by Reese Dante
Book Links:
Goodreads | Dreamspinner | Kindle | iTunes | Kobo | Nook |
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Tara Lain here today on her tour for Snow Balls
Hi everyone. Welcome to the holidays and the celebration of my re-release of Snow Balls, one of my most popular stories.
Recently someone asked me if I base my books on myself or my own life. And, of course, the answer is yes, great pieces of me are transmitted in my books. My belief in true love, my quest for authenticity, my enjoyment of humor is all in there big time. And, of course, actual events also make it onto the page. Bits of people I know, places I’ve been. A lot of details about the town where I lived for 28 years, Laguna Beach, CA, are included in many of my books. And —, oh yes, my hatred of skiing! This latter detail has occupied a complete scene in my brand new re-release, Snow Balls. My hero, JJ LaRousse, who is pretending to be more alpha male than he is, goes cross country skiing with the man he has a passion for. He’s never been skiing, but keeps hoping it can’t be too hard. HA!
Yep, hatred is a good word. I have only been skiing once. It was plenty. Like JJ, I pictured myself shushing along the frozen pathways enjoying the beautiful scenery and the crisp air. Oh so wrong. I spent more time in a heap on the snow with skis tangled like pickup sticks. I could not stay upright for more than a few minutes before I would fly once again into a giant pile of Tara. Painful and humiliating. Not surprising, however. While I am moderately athletic — hiking, walking, Pilates, Yoga — I have always been terrible with anything attached to my feet more challenging than a pair of Jimmy Choos. Even as a kid, roller skating and I were only on passable terms and I never learned to ice skate. Give me a bike and I could go anywhere. On skates, I barely made it down the sidewalk. And skis were even more miserable.
Now, I’ve inflicted this calamity on my poor hero from Snow Balls. And he, like me, has to face the skiing instructor who stares down at his tangled mess of a body and says, “Let’s get organized!” LOL.
I hope you enjoy Snow Balls and, despite the humiliation I put him through, enjoy rooting for JJ and his happy ever after.
Blurb
JJ LaRousse looks like a quarterback but acts like a queen. He’s trying to be proud of who he is—until a robbery at the famous Laguna Winter Fantasy brings JJ face-to-face with tough cop Ryan Star. JJ hears Ryan likes manly men, so he drops his voice an octave, colors his pink hair, and tries to pass as a football fan.
Ryan Star may be tough, but he keeps his sexuality to himself at work. He learned in New York that being a gay cop can be deadly. His attraction to JJ threatens his secret, but he’s finding it hard to back away from a guy who’s so totally his type. Then, during a ski trip and a confrontation with JJ’s biggest nemesis, all the façades come crashing down. In the aftermath, can Ryan love JJ for who he really is? More importantly, can JJ?
Excerpt
JJ stuck out his fist. Ryan looked a little startled, then bumped it. “So maybe I’ll see you Sunday.”
Ryan nodded. “Yeah. Yeah.”
Star turned and walked a couple of steps. He stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Hope so.” And he walked away toward the entrance to the grounds.
O. M. G. JJ wanted to sit down in the middle of the sawdust. Did he really see that look in Ryan Star’s eyes when the guy said those two words “Hope so”? Something that looked like he cared if he saw JJ again?
JJ certainly cared if he saw Ryan again. But what the hell? A Chargers game? How could he ever fake his way through that?
He took off at a run and made it to the booth in seconds. Rodney was talking to a few customers and David was on his cell, fingering the twinkle lights in JJ’s display. JJ took a deep breath. Finally, David hung up and JJ pounced. “Oh my god of the last kid chosen for kickball, Ryan Star asked me out.”
David grinned. “Of course, I’m a champion matchmaker.”
But what if…. “Actually, I’m not sure it’s a date. I mean, he asked me to go with him, but it could be just a guy thing, you know?”
“Tell me what he said.”
“He said he could pick me up, or we could meet somewhere.”
David screwed up his smooth forehead. “Hmm. That’s too neutral to tell. What else? Where’s he taking you?”
JJ’s grin defined sheepish. “A Chargers game.” JJ grinned anxiously. “That’s football, right?”
“You’re joking, darling?”
“It’s not football?”
“Yes, it’s football, but you’re seriously considering going to a football game?”
“Yes.” JJ’s hands started to flutter. “Oh God, David, what am I going to do? I don’t know anything about it at all.”
“About what?” Rodney stepped up next to David.
David glanced at his miniature friend. “Football. Somehow JJ has managed to get himself invited to a football game.”
JJ wailed. “And I don’t know the first thing!”
Rodney shrugged. “Simple.”
JJ frowned. “What’s simple?”
“Just ask Jerry. He’s the magical knower of all things boringly athletic. He will be your guru of football. Mick might help too.”
Of course, their good friends Jerry and Mick could cram some facts into JJ’s head.
David threw an arm around Rodney’s shoulder. “Brilliant. You’re brilliant, my dear.”
Rod smiled, then looked up at JJ’s head. “And speaking of football, where on earth did you get that ridiculous cap?”
JJ shrugged. “Ryan Star bought it for me.”
David whooped. “That’s it. In answer to your question, Detective Star is taking you on a date.”
Giveaway
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Series Info:
Series’s Name: Balls To The Wall
Books: http://amzn.to/2p4bQgd
Bk #1 Links:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33349613-volley-balls
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2imkfqv
B&N: http://bit.ly/HighBallsNookTL
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/volley-balls-1
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/volley-balls/id1189190904?mt=11
Dreamspinner: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/volley-balls-by-tara-lain-8014-b
Bk #2 Links:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33796355-fire-balls
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2k5WIuf
B&N: http://bit.ly/FireBallsNookTL
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/fire-balls-1
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/fire-balls/id1193306447?mt=11
Dreamspinner: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/fire-balls-by-tara-lain-8126-b
Bk #3 Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34774527-beach-balls
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2q5BXlp
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/beach-balls/id1218355957?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/beach-balls-1
B&N: http://bit.ly/BeachBallsNookTL
Dreamspinner: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/beach-balls-by-tara-lain-8440-b
Bk #5 Links:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35214758-f-a-s-t-balls
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2sFwv94
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/fast-balls/id1231549302?mt=11
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/fast-balls-1
B&N: http://bit.ly/FASTBallsNookTL
Dreamspinner: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/fast-balls-by-tara-lain-8651-b
Bk #6 Links:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36098493-high-balls
Dreamspinner: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/high-balls-by-tara-lain-8904-b
Kindle: http://amzn.to/2fNezpg
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/high-balls/id1275142177?mt=11
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/high-balls
Nook: http://bit.ly/HighBallsTLBN
Paperback
Paperback bk 1 & bk2
Volley Balls & Fire Balls
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2rD3VoU
B&N: http://bit.ly/VollyAndFireBallsPbTLBN
About the Author
Tara Lain writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in gay romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her first novel was published in January of 2011 and she’s now somewhere around book 40. Her best-selling novels have garnered awards for Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Paranormal Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance, Best Gay Characters, Best Romantic Suspense, and more. 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”!
Author Links:
Website: http://taralain.com/
Blog: http://www.taralain.com/blog
Twitter: https://twitter.com/taralain
FB Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/taralain
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4541791.Tara_Lain
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/taralain/
Sign Up here: http://eepurl.com/ceU1nj
Social Media Posts
Is it always wrong to pretend to be Mr. Right? Snow Balls @taralain http://amzn.to/2jIN5SP
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 
This sounds like fun. I gotta check out the previous titles of the series, too!
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Congrats on the re-release! I hate skiing too. Well, downhill skiing. Cross country is better and a great workout.
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Congrats on the re-release!
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I’ve just recently added this to my collection & look forward to reading it!
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