Also available at Dreamspinner Press in paperback and at iBooks
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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Tara Lain here today talking about her new release Cowboys Don’t Ride Unicorns (Cowboys Don’t Series, #2) . Welcome, Tara!
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My Favorite Tara Lain Books by Tara Lain
Hi everyone. Waves Tara here and I’m happy to be here at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words to share the impending release of my new romance Cowboys Don’t Ride Unicorns, which comes out March 22nd. Cowboys Don’t Ride Unicorns is a fave story of mine and that prompts people to ask me which of my other books are my personal favorites. This, of course, is a totally unfair question since it’s like saying which kid is your favorite. Also, my opinion on this subject changes regularly based on my mood, but I’ll give it an arbitrary try – today only. LOL.
No particular order –
- Knight of Ocean Avenue – this is my most popular book and it’s spawned my most popular series. I think Billy and Shaz are among my best heroes. I love them.
- Tackling the Tight End – this story features my first native hero and deal with the tradition of the two spirit. I adored the research I did into this subject and found it a revelation.
- Genetic Attraction (not currently on the market) – I have to love this book. It was my first published novel, is the only book I’ve written in which the central character is female. It also introduces one of my favorite heroes of all time – Roan Black, who also appears in a number of other early Tara Lain books.
- Lord of a Thousand Steps – I actually love the whole series but have a special affection for my sassy Ian Carney and his giant cat and Braden Lord and his kids. This story also takes place partly on Thousand Steps Beach in Laguna where my husband proposed to me, so what’s not to like?
- Driven Snow – I know more people probably love Beauty, Inc. among my Pennymaker Tales and I love it too, but there’s just something about my brilliant chess geek, Snow Reynaldi, that simply steals my heart.
- Wolf in Gucci Loafers – This book features another of my flamboyant beautiful boys, Lindsey Vanessen, and he constantly charms me. The book has a touch of Zorro or The Scarlet Pimpernel and a very dangerous, very effeminate hero.
- Death Dancer — This was my first true murder mystery and it was both challenging and fun to write. I really enjoyed dropping clues – but not too many!
- And now Cowboys Don’t Ride Unicorns – I hope you’ll enjoy this story of a young bull rider who hides out as a ranch hand and harbors a secret passion for femme guys who top.
Here’s an excerpt just to give you a nibble—
Excerpt: Cowboys Don’t Ride Unicorns by Tara Lain
Blurb:
Cowboy Danny Boone—a name he made up one drunken night and has regretted ever since—harbors a big past and yearns for a small future. A short, bright career as a champion bull rider almost ended in his death when his homophobic father discovered Danny was gay. Now Danny longs for a plot of land he can build a ranch house on and enough money to make up for some of the education he missed.
Danny also hides a preference for beautiful femmes who like to top—a combo rarer than a unicorn. Then onto the guest ranch where Danny works drives San Francisco decorator Laurie Belmont, a young man so gorgeous he makes horses gasp, and so ballsy he almost kills Danny’s attacker.
Laurie’s trying to find his way out from under the thumb of a domineering mother, helpless father, and rich, privileged boyfriend.
But no matter the attraction, their lives are worlds apart, and cowboys don’t ride unicorns.
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Excerpt:
They all shot the breeze for a few minutes. Weirdly, the banter with a bunch of bull riders should have relaxed him, but he kept getting antsier. When two of the men started arm wrestling, Maury leaned over. “You feelin’ okay to ride, Danny?”
“Yeah. Doc gave me a clean bill.”
“You sure? Maybe another week off would be good.”
Danny mustered a grin. “Getting’ rid of the competition?”
“No.” He snorted. “Well, yeah, but I don’t think you should ride when you’re hurt.”
“I’m okay. Really.” He stared at his hands.
Lots of noise coming from the arena now, cheering and yelling. Maury nodded. “You’ll be up soon.”
Lorenzo asked, “What bull did you draw, Danny?”
Danny released a slow exhale. “Scorpion.”
“No way. Who has bad enough luck to draw Scorpion twice in a month?”
“That would be me.”
Maury mumbled, “Shit.”
Danny nodded. “Yeah. Bull—shit.”
Okay, here goes. He stood and grabbed his gear.
Maury gripped his arm. “I really think you oughta reconsider—”
Danny heard an intake of breath from Lorenzo, who sat on Maury’s right. Danny glanced at the man’s face. He stared past Danny looking like he’d seen—what? In fact, all the guys were staring
Danny followed their line of sight. Holy shit.
There stood Laurie between Danny and the bull chutes. Black shiny boots, skin-tight black jeans tucked in, a black turtleneck jersey, and the pink mane hanging on his shoulders. Shining in the middle of his chest was the unicorn charm. Half angel, half dominatrix.
Danny glanced at the men around the table, who’d all turned to stone. Clearly no man in the arena had ever seen anything quite like Laurie. Hell, who had?
“Uh, hi, Laurie. For a guy who hates rodeos, you sure show up at a lot of them. How’d you get here?”
“Drove.”
“No, I mean why’d you come here?”
“You wouldn’t return my fucking calls.”
“I didn’t think there was anything to say.” He flicked his eyes toward the cowboys who all stared like this was their own soap opera.
Laurie held out a slip of paper. Danny stepped forward and took it. A cashier’s check for eighteen thousand dollars.
“Your dad sold the business?”
“It’s in progress.”
A young cowboy rushed up. “Danny. You need to get in the chute.”
Laurie said, “No!”
The guy looked at him like he was crazy. “Come on, Danny.”
Laurie put his hands on his hips. “Danny Boone, you’re not getting on that fucking bull. You’re not healed. It’s too dangerous. You don’t need the money anymore.”
Somebody said, “Who the hell is this guy?”
A voice whispered, “Looks like a fag to me.”
Maury’s voice came from behind him. “Shut the fuck up if you want to keep on living!” Then he said, “Listen to him, Danny. You need to pay attention to the people who care about you.”
Laurie glanced at Maury and nodded, then looked back at Danny.
Danny just swallowed. Cared about him? Maybe. But it didn’t change shit. He cleared his throat. “Why didn’t you just mail the money?”
“Because I called the ranch and heard about this fucking suicide mission, and I wasn’t going to let you do it without a fight.
The young cowboy pulled on Danny’s arm. “Come on.”
Laurie stared, narrow-eyed.
Danny yanked his arm back. “So you drove here just to stop me?”
“Yes. And to give you the money so you’d know you don’t have to be crazy.”
He gritted his teeth. “I don’t want Grove’s fucking money.”
Laurie scowled. “How do you figure this is his money?”
“Community property.” He spit the words out.
The crease between Laurie’s brows deepened. “I’m not marrying Grove.”
“Since when?”
“Since ever. If you hadn’t run off like an adolescent martyr, you’d have heard me turn him down.”
“Danny! You gotta come now.” The kid looked frantically over his shoulder.
Danny stared at that beautiful face. The L word. L—for Laurie.
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About the Author
Website: http://www.taralain.com
Blog: http://www.taralain.com/blog
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4541791.Tara_Lain
Twitter: http://twitter.com/taralain
FB Page: http://www.facebook.com/taralain
Tara Lain writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in LGBT erotic romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her first novel was published in January of 2011 and she’s now somewhere around book 36. Her best-selling novels have garnered awards for Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Paranormal Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance, Best Gay Characters, and Tara has been named Best Writer of the Year in the LRC Awards. 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”!
Life makes no promises, and sometimes, you draw the short straw.
Nicky James lives in the small town of Petrolia, Ontario, Canada. She is mother to a wonderful teenage boy and wife to a truly supportive and understanding husband who, thankfully, doesn’t think her crazy.
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