hop-summer-september-1Welcome to the Sunset on Summer Fun Blog Hop where you can win a Kindle Fire or a NookHD!

If you’re here for the Fall into Romance Blog Hop, Fallintoromanceplease CLICK HERE!

I’m also happy dancing in another celebration. On September 20th, my new release, F.A.S.T. Balls, comes out, so i’ve included a snippet from that book in case you’re a Balls to the Wall fan. On Friday the 20th (release day) i’m celebrating with a big Facebook Party with lots of prizes from me and others. If you’d like to come, Click HERE to sign up. Following that will be a blog tour with more prizes still. I hope you can join in.

Here are the prizes you can win in this Hop.

  • The Grand Prize is the winner’s choice of a Kindle Fire or Nook HD. International winners receive a cash equivalent on PayPal. Enter on the Rafflecopter below

Here on my blog you can win:

  • A $10 GC to Amazon
  • Your choice of any Balls to the Wall backlist book — Volley Balls, FireFireBalls_ByTaraLain453x680 Balls, Beach Balls, or Snow Balls

To Win my prizes, Here’s what you do:

  • Leave a comment with the name of a favorite friends-to-lovers story if you have one
  • If you feel like it, Like my Facebook Page
  • Like my Amazon Page
  • If you plan on reading F.A.S.T. Balls, would you say so on Goodreads? (not required) 

Do you like enemies-to-lovers stories? Certainly the most famous story of that kind is Romeo and Juliet, and, of course, the famous musical made from it, West Side Story. Enemies to lovers stories are notable because they often end unhappily, but, of course, in romance novels that’s not the case. I’ve had the fun of writing two enemies-to-lovers stories in my Balls to the Wall series. Beach Balls, like many stories with this trope, starts with the lovers meeting and not knowing they are enemies ala Romeo and Juliet. In my new story, F.A.S.T. Balls, the two men start out knowing they are enemies — a gay firefighter and a homophobic firefighter — and finding a way to bring these lovers together was much harder. Here’s a nibble from F.A.S.T. Balls. Below that, you’ll find the entry form for the Hop and the list of authors and other goodies! : )

TaraLain_FastBalls_453Excerpt: F.A.S.T. Balls by Tara Lain; The Gay Fireman and the Homophobe

Available September 20th at AMAZON  ARe

Firefighter and surfing champion, Jerry Wallender, looks like a hero to the world, but he can’t see it. He keeps falling for these intellectual guys who end up making him feel dumb and unneeded.  On top of that, Mick Cassidy, super-gorgeous firefighter and total homophobe, makes Jerry’s life miserable with his slurs. Then one day Mick’s nice to Jerry and, at the Firefighter’s Ball, Jerry offers a helping hand and ends up with a hand-job. What the hell is going on?

Mick Cassidy is great with fighting fires and solving math problems but rotten with people. Raised by a gay-hating preacher, Mick’s carefully constructed world of gay bashing starts to crumble when he meets Jerry, the nicest, kindest man he’s ever known.  Mick’s never wanted a woman and can’t stop thinking about sex with Jerry. In fact, he can’t stop doing it. Does that make him gay? And if he’s gay, what happens to his whole life? A hook-up between sweet Jerry and mean Mick might be total disaster — or the smartest idea Jerry ever had.

The band got into the spirit and segued from the cha cha into a meringue. Jerry didn’t know this one as well but he mimicked Andres and pretty soon had the rhythm. Some people were standing around watching them while others joined in and danced. Andres was so gorgeous and so great at dancing. He even spun a couple of the women around as he danced by them and they squealed. What a charmer.

The musicians worked up to a big finish. Andres pulled Jerry in close then spun him out in a twirl. He circled twice, laughed, and…stopped dead.

Holy crap. Standing on the edge of the dance floor staring at the dancers with big green eyes was the yummiest thing he’d ever seen. Mick Cassidy, tall, straight and strong in a dress blue uniform, the light from the ballroom chandeliers shining off his pale gold hair.

Jerry stared.

Mick stared.

Jerry glanced at the girl standing next to Mick. Really pretty in a blue dress. But nothing, underline nothing, he had seen in a long time was as pretty as that big, hunky homophobe. Mick might be mean as piss, as Hunter said, but he stood there proving that sometimes things that were bad for you are the ones you want most.

A hand on his shoulder woke him up. “You okay, Jerry?”

“Oh, sorry.” He turned and smiled at Andres, but man, it was hard tearing his eyes away. “I just saw someone I know.”

He headed back to the table and Andres stepped up beside him. “Was the person you know that golden dreamboat in blue by any chance?”

He wasn’t going to pretend he didn’t know who Andres meant. “Yeah, that’s the guy I was telling Rod and Hunter about. The one who was nice to me.”

“Oh guapo, he can be nice to me anytime.”

Jerry laughed. “Yeah. Too bad he’s a raging fag hater.”

“So why was he nice?”

“I still haven’t figured that out.”

* * *

He’d been turned to stone. Hell, he had to move. This was stupid. Mick watched Jerry’s retreating back moving off the dance floor and saw him guiding a beautiful Mexican with him. Who the hell was that? Jerry had said his boyfriend had left him. He’d sure moved on fast.

“You know that guy?”

He glanced at Jezebel. Oh right, she was with him. “Yes, he works on my shift a lot of the time.”

“Sure is a good dancer. He a fag? Must be, if he’s dancing with a guy, right.”

Whoa. He used that word all the time but it sounded bad when she said it about Jerry. “Yeah, he’s gay.”

“Must be like your father says. You see a lot of gay guys in Laguna.”

“Yes.” It felt weird to have his father’s ideas dragged into his work life.

She looked out at the dancers. “I always figured what your father says is a load of crap. Gay people are born that way so it has to be God’s will and if it’s not then God’s a load of crap.”

Mick gasped and looked at her. Really looked. “I don’t believe you just said that.”

**********************

a Rafflecopter giveaway

<!– end LinkyTools script →