And the nominees are...

Yes, I am excited, and honored, and would have to figure out how to do a backflip if either of my little books get voted into the top three. A huge and heartfelt thank you to those who nominated me. I know who you are... oh, that sounded kind of menacing didn't it?

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You're Always in the Last Place You Look

YAITLPYL is a YA book, previously titled; The Pastor's Son. This will be my first release of 2014. Over half done, I am planning on a February release. I combined my knowledge and love of rodeo with a sweet romance in this book. The main character, Gabriel, is the town Pastor's son and competes as a header in high school rodeo. Life is copacetic, that is until Zane Z. Zimmerman arrives, stirring feelings in him he never thought he'd find. As the book progresses, he learns half the town knew he was gay before he did. This is a coming out story but not typical. Gabe has only ever wanted to feel, so when he finally does, he embraces his sexuality with everything he is. Now he just has to tell his parents, and hope he doesn't become the center of one of his father's sermons. Set in small town Idaho, the story is as languid and sweet as small town life should be. The story contains minor alcohol and drug use, as well as some swearing and age appropriate sexual situations.

Trey Grey; Out of the Dark

I need some inspiration to get back into Trey's head, and finish he and Justin's story. A few hard hits to my soul over the first book have me in a funk. If you love him and his story, please vote for him on the goodreads lists and the MM Romance Readers Choice awards. Thank you so much to those who nominated both The Darker Side of Trey Grey and Six in several catagories. I am about 30K into the second book, but I stagnated due to just a few saying my book is all over the place and unrealistic, that Trey's OCD is ill formed, Trey's mind and mental issues are ill founded. I'd really like to finish their story. I have a third book, a novella, that shows us their life together ten years later already outlined. So show Trey your love and hopefully he will open up to me again.

Giveaway! Copy will be signed.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Darker Side of Trey Grey

by Tara Spears

Giveaway ends August 31, 2013.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

My current works in progress...

Currently I am working on several books.

(WT) The pastors son is a LGBT YA book that centers around 17 year old Zane Z. Zimmerman who moves from Chicago to small town Idaho after a family tragedy strikes.

Gabriel is the town pastor's son. Not among the most popular kids at school, he is solitary by design, not by choosing. Through no fault of his own, Gabe finds himself in the wrong place at the right time on more than one occasion where Zane is concerned.

A city boy lost to himself and everyone around him...
A pastor's son determined to save him from his own declination...

Somewhere during the journey a heart will be broken and a boy will find his way.

Not all stories have a happy ending...

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The Paladins is a YA urban sci-fi novel set in modern day. An intergalactic parasite has landed with plans to arrogate Earth. The Galactic Guard, in a show of mercy, gifts thirty-four Tellurian offspring to Earth in an effort to stop the Gravenors from succeeding in transmogrifying the planets population.

Raised as human orphans, the Tellurians mature faster than expected, and discover one rainy night they are not of this planet. When they learn the truth, will they choose to fight a war not of their concern or disappear into the world with the only artifact from their own species, a silver survival manual. 

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The Diviner of Death is a YA urban fantasy novel. The first in the Slayers series. This book introduces Joeseph, the very first Slayer-born. What would you do if you discovered you had the power to kill the dredges of society? How do you think the world would react to a genetic anomaly of this magnitude?

Follow Joseph through his physical changes and mental anguish as he becomes a hunter of immoral men and the diviner of death. 

Seattle Pride!!!

Seattle Pride Fest is this Sunday June 30th, 2013. Please visit the links to view the events schedules and parade route.

http://www.seattlepride.org/
http://www.seattlepridefest.org/schedule/

Trey Grey is out and proud...

Trey Grey is available on Amazon for Kindle and the paperback will be released July 1st. I will be giving away a few signed copies on Goodreads in July.

The second (and final) book is planned for a January/February 2014 release.

I am pimping for reviews on; The Darker Side of Trey Grey by offering paperback copies of the second book to the first ten reviewers posting on Amazon. If you post a review (good, bad, or indifferent) on Amazon please contact me (taraspearswrites@gmail.com) and I will add you to the list for a free paperback copy when the second book is released. I would assume only those who actually enjoyed the first book would want to read the final chapter in Trey and Justin's story but I might be wrong... It definitely would not be the first time!

I could not be more thrilled with the response to my Love Has No Boundries story. Thank you to everyone for the fabulous support and wonderful reviews. I hope to be able to extend this story over the coming months and bring a better closure to some of the scenes. I wrote it in two months time and sending it off was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I wanted another month and another 10K. I can't believe how welcoming everyone has been with my first Don't Read in the Closet event.

To view all the stories including Six visit the MM Romance website; www.mmromancegroup.com

My LHNB story is headed through editing and is over 30K. I tried to keep it shorter and just couldn't do it. I hope everyone likes it. All of the stories written for this Goodreads event will be available in an anthology for free sometime in July. I will post a link to the download here when it becomes available.

There are some really good writers participating in this event and I felt honored to be able to participate and have such a good prompt. Thank you Anna!

Here is an excerpt;

“Who’s Ms. Taylor and are you sure it’s him?”

“Yeah, it’s him. Claudia’s dad is in the picture. Taylors’ the PI I hired. Listen, if I leave now I can be there before dark.”

I wasn’t sure I wanted him driving so upset but I knew going with him was out of the question. I didn’t have anyone to watch Chey and missing another day of work was a bad idea.

“Where is there?”

“Bend, Oregon. They’re at a campground there. At least they are right now.”

“What about the sheriff? Can’t you call the police?”

“I already did. It’s a custody case. I never filed it as a kidnapping. Stupid, I know. They won’t do anything unless it becomes a domestic dispute. You know, violent. Claudia’s parents are idiots but they aren’t that stupid. If I show up they won’t stop me from taking him.”

I didn’t like this at all. “Will Ms. Taylor be there?”

“Yeah.”

I cleared 9K on my Love Has No Boundries project. I figure I am about halfway through. Now if I could just finish my untitled book... aw, well, it will come to me. I know where it needs to go, I just need to get it there. (excerpt under; Playgirl Bunny)

On a sad note. I am really missing Trey and Justin right now (The Darker Side of Trey Grey), and I won't be able to finish the final edit for a few more weeks. Little snippets of improvements keep floating through my head. A few words here, a minor change there. Of course, I could work on this book for the rest of my life, I love the characters that much. Trey owns a part of me and always will.

I have decided to attend Cascade Writers Workshop and submit the finished first chapter of Slayers for critique. I am looking for a roomy if anyone is interested in sharing hotel cost. taraspearswrites@gmail.com

Wow, what an adventure my first con was! It proved to be a fun, if not exhausting, and occasionally disappointing weekend. All in all I had a great time though, and plan to return next year.

Thank you, mightily, to Fairwood writers for such a fantastic opportunity to show my writing to published authors.

In First Page Idol, The Pallidin, brought the crowd and panelists out of their shells and into hysterics. I couldn't be more happy with the comments made by both the crowd and the panelists. I had not intended to write it as THAT humorous. Yet, somehow, it was read that way and I am happy I could provide some glee to all who were there. Even I couldn't stop laughing on how it was read. Hmmm... I guess I will have to finish the book now. Maybe, possibly, I could be finagled to post a preview of this little ditty that will, some day, grow up to be an interesting Fantasy novel.

I received raving reviews for Slayers in a way I never imagined. As many of you know, Slayers has been relegated to the back corner of my mind, and computer, along with several short stories and some dust motes. I had, at one time, considered Slayers for a possible YA read then opted out, then again opted out of ever finishing it. I thought it sucked. And some of it does, but the wonderful authors who were my critiquers blew me away by encouraging me to finish it. They told me it was a highly marketable YA Urban Fantasy book, and they loved both my world and Kitra, the protag. I will never be able to thank them all enough for being honest and incredibly encouraging.

My short story... well, lets just not talk about that. Oh, the writing was excellent and the dialog as perfect as any they had read, but the story... yeah, I have a lot to learn about short stories. I will say they told me it sounded more like parts from a novel. Which is exactly what it was. A highly condensed three chapters from a novel. I guess I need to stay a novelist. It seems to be where I belong.

I am just fine with that...

Ah, Norwescon is just around the corner. Slayers was tweeked and re-written for this event, and my short; The Last Fae was submitted for a round table professional crit. I plan to enter the opener from a fantasy novel or two in the making, for the live read. It will be interesting to see how folks respond, not to mention, hear my own writing read by published authors.

I have pulled my paranormal romance; Sira, out of mothballs and will be making a valid attempt at a re-write this year. Maybe I can manage to complete it, along with the second and final Trey Grey book and Shane (WT). One can only hope! Shane has me loopy and lost however, so he, Kade, Robby, Arch and the others are in limbo at the moment. I am on chapter 14, and another 6 or so will have it complete and ready for a read through. I will be looking for betas to read it quickly, very quickly. It will come in under 60K. Comment here if interested or email me.

Again, I have to thank my Trey groupies for all the undreamt of support. Never in my wildest... okay, maybe in my wildest, even so I am still dumbfounded by every one of you. Thank you so much! I am only half way there though. Now to find the perfect agent that will handle him with care. After Norwesco it shall be done... I hope.

I have been commissioned to write a new MM romance novel. Up to 70K words by May 15th. I wonder if I can do it... I might try, as it is a guaranteed paycheck if I can. It has to be romantic and with a happy ending. I have a story idea that might work. I will post the first few pages here when I have them written.

Trey groupies do not fret. He will not suffer. (more than he has) I will continue to edit the balance of the book.

Finished, Oh My!

I typed the last word yesterday for The Darker Side of Trey Grey. And that word was; carpet. Yes! Carpet is the final word that ends the book. Sigh. I miss him already but now comes the fun part... editing brutally. Wish me luck!

Also a very special thank you to my beta readers! I love you all!