
Hi everyone--
I am very excited to be blogging here today to celebrate the
release of my first novel for Amber Allure called Sinders and Ash.
You may
have heard that Sinders and Ash is a Cinderella romance. That literally means
that the hero is one who has been abused and downtrodden and through his
effort, character and charm, eventually prevails in a most amazing way. This
Cinderella model made me wonder who wrote the original story and I was amazed
to learn something about Charles Perrault. Perrault lived from 1628 to 1703 and
was a leading intellectual of his time. He was a man of many talents including
architecture, philosophy and, of course, writing. But how amazing that this man
of wit and wisdom should have become famous for the book he wrote when he was
nearly 70. He called this little collection of eight stories, Tales from Times Past with Morals and
the added title, Tales of Mother Goose.
He didn’t create these stories entirely. They were familiar myths in his time.
But he gave them the literary form that we know today. Amazingly, he not only
wrote Cinderella, but also Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood and Puss in
Boots along with other stories we don’t know as well.
Just as Perrault gave familiar stories a new form, I have
done the same with Sinders and Ash. It was great fun to take a story model that we
all know and see it as a serious, romance with real problems, challenges and
obstacles --to create a “fairy godmother” who is much like the amazing people
who appear in our lives and change things for the better, to imagine a love
between two people of such different backgrounds and values and think about
what they have to teach each other. I doubt that Sinders and Ash will
still be thrilling people 300 plus years from now, but I sure hope you will
enjoy it. : )
Enter the Magic at Midnight Blog Tour Contest celebrating the release
of Tara’s new contemporary fantasy, Sinders
and Ash. Leave a comment here with
your EMAIL and you’ll be entered to win a $10. GC in a drawing on April 9th.
·
Want to win a poster of the gorgeous
Spell
Cat cover? Want to win a
Volley Balls T-Shirt? Or other fun
prizes?
Go over to Beautiful Boys Books and
enter the contest. There are lots of questions to answer and lots of fun
prizes like drawstring backpacks, notepads, mirror compacts. We’ll have a bunch
of winners so you have a good chance of getting a prize!
Excerpt:
Sinders and Ash by Tara Lain; MM Contemporary Fantasy
Work hard, stay anonymous and don’t expect much. That’s
resort housekeeper Mark Sintorella’s philosophy of life. After being kicked out
of his family home at sixteen for being gay, Mark knows what it takes to
survive. But how is he going to stay anonymous when he wants to be recognized
as a great fashion designer? And how can he control his expectations when he’s
desperately attracted to Ashton Armitage, the son of the fifth richest man in
America? If Ash doesn’t find a woman to marry he’s going to lose his
inheritance, but he can’t seem to resist the beautiful kid who cleans
fireplaces while hiding behind a black cap and heavy glasses. And then this
crazy elf of a man, Carstairs Pennymaker, has Mark running around looking like
a fashion model wearing gorgeous women’s clothes. The clock strikes twelve and
the wedding follows the ball. Two beautiful princesses line up for attention. But
one isn’t interested and one isn’t a woman. Who will be the bride? Will the
shoe fit? Only his fairy godmother knows for sure.
The
hall beyond the door was dim, with only two yellow service lights. Shoot. Ash looked down. He wished he
didn’t have on flip-flops. They made a little flapping noise, but he wasn’t
brave enough to try this dank corridor barefoot. Still, he felt the need to
hurry. Stepping softly, he raced down the hall to where it turned. Sounds. He
stopped.
“Ummmph.
Get the fuck off. Get away. Quit.”
Ash
tore around the corner and saw just what he expected. The big asshole had the
kid pushed face first into the wall. He had Sinder’s jeans halfway down his ass
and his big, disgusting cock pointed right at it. The bastard. Okay, so fighting didn’t come up that often in the
day-to-day life of a billionaire’s son. A couple of paparazzi had gotten a
push, but not much more. Still…ten years of off and on martial arts had to be
worth something. Don’t warn the asshole.
Step.
Thud. Wap. His fist connected with the guy’s jaw. Shit! He forgot how
much hitting hurt! But it satisfied his soul to punch that asshole with all his
force.
“Ow.”
Scary’s head snapped back and he reeled a couple steps away from Sinders. Not
down. Damn. Have to hit him again.
Ash took a breath and pulled back to strike. The guy raised his fists to block.
Ash
saw the moment the ugly dude finally realized whom he was about to hit. His
face froze.
You
should be afraid.
Scary
glanced at his own fists, stepped back farther and, without even tucking his
cock in his drawers, turned and ran back up the hall toward the door he had
come in. Ash stepped after him. “Keep running, asshole.”
Ash
rested his hands on his knees. Hitting a guy for real was different than karate
make-believe. It looked so easy in the movies. His hand hurt like hell and the
adrenaline made it hard to breathe.
Too
quiet. He looked up. Sinders huddled against the wall, one hand holding his
pants up at his hip, the other covering his eyes. From a few feet away, Ash
could see him shaking.
“Are
you okay, kid?”
The
head nodded in some roundabout direction that could mean yes or no.
“Hey,
you’re okay now.” Ash walked closer to the guy. “He won’t be back and when I’m
done with the owner of the hotel, you won’t have to worry about him ever
again.”
The
boy’s head shook again, but he still huddled by the wall barely dressed. He was
terrified. Hell, Ash would have sworn nothing could get that young man down. He
stepped closer and put his hand on Sinder’s arm. The boy tensed and started to
pull away, stopped and just crumpled like a wet sock. Shit. Ash caught him before he hit the floor and pulled him up into
his arms. “Whoa. You don’t want to be on that floor, kid. You don’t know where
it’s been.”
Sinders
smiled. Just a slight turn of the lips, but it counted. Didn’t stop shaking,
though. “It’s okay. I got you.”
“S-sorry.”
“Nothing
to be sorry for. That guy was big and ugly. Don’t be afraid anymore.”
“N-not
him. Before him. Can’t talk about it.” Sinders kind of burrowed into Ash’s
arms, making little hiccupping sounds, his body shaking like the proverbial
leaf. Okay, that felt interesting. Ash tightened his arms. The kid was tall,
but Ash was taller, so Sinders could push his face into the crook of Ash’s neck
like he was hiding from the bogeyman.
Not
too experienced at the comfort thing, Ash rubbed a hand up the man’s back. God,
he was lean, hard and supple. Really different from any feel he’d ever had
under his hands before.
The
shaking seemed to slow a little. The sounds softened. Ash just kept stroking.
Good. Seemed to be working. The boy’s
breath misted warm on his neck. Quieter. Quiet. Still.
Sinder’s
head pulled out from Ash’s neck. Ash gazed down at that silly cap, then the kid
slowly looked up at him. Somewhere, those ugly glasses had been knocked askew
and all Ash saw were eyes so deep they’d swallow mastodons and preserve them
for a thousand years. Hold. Gaze.
He
felt the kid’s chest expand against his own. Sinder’s arm twitched, then slowly
his hand snaked up behind Ash’s neck. The fingers were rough, calloused and
they circled gently on Ash’s skin. More goose bumps. Nice this time. For an
instant, Sinders froze, hand pressed, but not decided. He made this little
noise. Ohhh. The fingers slipped into Ash’s hair and tightened. Slow
motion. It probably took a half second, but Ash felt like he saw every detail
of the boy’s pretty mouth— pink, pouting, trembling—getting closer until his
face blocked out Ash’s sight and wild heat attacked his lips. Crap. Hot. Soft. How did this happen?
The
kid’s fingers dug into his hair and his soft tongue pressed against Ash’s
startled lips. Oh God, open. Ash’s
lips parted on their own. Invasion of sweetness. Like his birthday. Sinder’s
tongue pressed its advantage and took possession of the field. Did that moan he
heard came from his own throat?
His
hands gripped Sinder’s lean hips, where the unfastened jeans were nearly
falling down again. Closer. Come closer. Ash
dragged him tight against his own straining erection. What was he doing? He
didn’t know. Too sweet, too hot to think. Sinders ate at his mouth, like a
starving man, making soft, mewling noises. Ash pressed his body against the
boy, pushing him back against the wall.
It
was like an alarm went off. When Sinders hit that wall, his head flipped up,
and Ash looked into wide, startled dark eyes.
“Shit,
no. What am I… I’m so sorry. Oh God, please forgive me. I’m so sorry.”
The
kid grabbed his sagging jeans, made a wailing sound and ran down the hall.
Ash
gasped for breath. His cock strained against his shorts like a pole in a circus
tent. What the fuck had just happened?
Contact me:
Thank you so much for coming by! Don't forget to enter to WIN!
Labels: Amber Allure, Cinderella, eBooks, erotic romance, gay romance, giveaway, LGBT romance, MM romance, Mother Goose, new release, Tara Lain