A.B. Gayle's Blog, page 11
December 31, 2010
Short not Sweet but Good
Love and the Odor of Red Leatherette by Barry LoweMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
First off, in appreciating Barry's writing, you really need to understand the man and his times. Now 63, Barry was "out" in the days when homosexuality was illegal.
Those were the days when if you were gay you had to hide it. Sex was furtive fumblings in the fringes: seedy clubs, dark alleys, cars, toilet blocks, parks, the beats. It would have felt like them against the world; many men would have been almost suspicious of any kindness or suggestion there could be anything more.
Secondly, it's important to understand that Barry doesn't write m/m romance. He writes gay erotica and originally wrote them for men only. So included in his stories are many sexual practices that most women find it difficult to stomach. Licking up semen off dirty floors, multiple partners, sex without affection, heck in some ways the less affection there was, the more some guys liked it.
They almost felt they didn't deserve any more. Society had been bashing them over the head with the message that their attraction for another man was wrong, so if that man bashed them over the head in the process of having sex, well that was to be expected wasn't it?
"Love and the Odor of Red Leatherette" is probably one of the easiest of Barry's books to get into. In it, the character discovers to his suprise that there may be a future for men beyond the anonymous sexual gropings. That there can be tenderness and affection too. Till then he had been:
still too young, too green, to realize just how much I was being used. But it wasn't like I wasn't getting any pleasure out of it. I was. In buckets.Given that Barry has been with his partner now for 38 years, if the story has any relationship to truth, then that chance hook up must have been providential.
Don't look for romance in his stories, look for the nitty gritty (and sometimes it will be gritty).Underneath the rough, tough, sarcastic exterior there is a wistful desire that things would have been, could have been different. But there is a need for survivors to chronicle the situation as it really was.
Barry writes short stories. Often deliberately so for inclusion in magazines, anthologies. There is not time for emotional or even plot arcs. He is describing a situation, an attitude, making a point.
Since the advent of ebooks and his discovery that women read m/m Barry may be tempted to change the tone of his books, soften them. In a way that would be a pity.
Instead of reviewers wishing this book could be different, read and learn what life was like. Being a homosexual in those times was anything but easy. Only the tough survived.
View all my reviews
December 26, 2010
Delivering a Double Interview with Heidi Cullinan
Back in April, I won "Double Blind" in a Dreamspinner Facebook chat. I sent a message of thanks to Heidi for the book, discussed some coincidences and we exchanged a few emails. I also discovered the existence of "Special Delivery" which I immediately read. As a Christmas present to myself this year, I re-read "Special Delivery" and was reminded again what a great book it was. Judging by the number of awards it's won as "Best Book" of 2010, I'm not alone in feeling this way. You can read my review at Goodreads and below. I've also turned the discussion I had with Heidi into a Q&A and, with her permission, I'm posting it here.
HC: Hi, Alison. I'm glad you enjoyed Double Blind!
AB: What prompted you to bring in Kylie, Missy Higgins and Olivia? As an Aussie, you can imagine how stoked I was to have them in the story. But I didn't think they were very well known in the States. Did you get any feedback in that regard?
HC: Ah, the Kylie. People keep asking me about that lately. I think it's because she's referenced in Special Delivery AND Double Blind. Well, I know about Kylie because my husband has always listened to her, though I've now outstripped him (nearly) as a fan. While she's not generally well-known in the US, she is VERY well-known in the gay community here. When she announced her US tour here last year, the Entertainment Weekly article read, "Kylie Minogue to Start US Tour: Or, Why Your Gay Co-worker Just Screamed." Of course, Dan and I did as well, but it didn't work out that we could go. I think that's why I put Kylie at the end. If I can't go see her, at least Sam can.
Then Kylie starred in Special Delivery because it's such a good themeing for Sam: light, fun, innocent-feeling, but very, very sexy. And I brought the Oz Triplets in because I needed something big at the end, couldn't think of anything, and decided it was fantasy, so why not. The Missy Higgins reference is obscure, but a good friend of mine LOVES her, so it was a subtle nod to her. Also, I enjoy her as well and got to see her in a fun little local concert last year (with that same friend). As long as I was going Aussie, I figured I better stick with it, and she was one I knew would actually be possible. The ONJ (Olivia Newton John) is because my husband fell in love with her at age twelve and never fell out. He did get to see her in concert, though.
AB: Funnily enough, one of my stories, "Caught", mentions Kylie. It involves a Chinese guy called Daniel who gets dressed in drag and refers to himself as Dannii, mentioning she is Kylie's sister.
HC: I will say less US people know Dannii than Kylie. (An online friend waged a campaign to convert me from one sister to the other, so I know more than most.) For US audiences, tacking on Minogue after Kylie would be a good crutch. Some won't know no matter what, but they'll suss it out.
AB: What about Crabtree though. Will he ever find someone??????
HC: As for Crabtree--well, a friend of mine is feeding me plot bunnies
AB: Obviously Las Vegas is one of the stars of "Double Blind" it's funny but I've never wanted to go there. I don't mind card games, but the slots don't interest me, neither does shopping. I really got a good picture of the city from the story, maybe I'll get there one day!
HC: I actually have not been to Vegas except for a few minutes, to be honest. We blew through on a vacation last year (if you read Special Delivery, we took the same trip as Sam and Mitch except we went all the way to LA and didn't have sex because our eight year old was along), but we got in at ten at night and were gone by noon the next day. I got up the Stratosphere tower (where I had Sam's reaction, not Randy's) and took a cab ride down the Strip. I did a lot of research for it, from movies to YouTube videos. Now, however, I really want to go. Except I'm like Sam and hate gambling. I can play a little poker, but I probably wouldn't, as I hate to lose money. (Even though in theory that's where you make it.)
At this point, I read SD for the first time and sent another email to Heidi commenting on the research that went into both books:
AB: More coincidences. LOL. Would you believe I'm a Pharmacist? I hope I'm not as BADASS as Delia or Norm. I promise I'll be nicer to my staff from now on.
HC: My husband is a pharmacist, though he won't touch retail with a ten foot pole. He works in a hospital. Norm and Delia are modeled on people he knew in his hometown. Well, Delia as a character is also from a lot of nasty bitches I've known, but Norm lives on in Carroll, Iowa.
AB: I loved the bit where Sam realizes how huge the mountains are. In 1976, I drove from Montreal to Calgary. My first glimpse of the Canadian Rockies was exactly the same. It took me a day from the time I saw them to even reach Calgary. Talk about awesome. So I know just how Sam (and probably you) felt.
HC: I first saw the mountains when I was in college, so yeah. Borrowed a bit from that.
AB: That truck trip must have been an unforgettable experience. A case of where research is half the fun.
HC: Well, we went in a car. But I freaked out all the way over Wolf Ridge Pass. I'd have to be sedated in a rig.
AB: And what about the sex shop!? All in the name of research, or were you a past master (as it were) before writing the book?
HC: Oh god, no. Just research and a perverted mind.
AB: From interest (and you don't have to answer) did anyone close to you have MS and cancer? That sure is a double whammy.
HC: A friend of mine's mother lives with MS, and I included it for various reasons which I forget now. Something about vulnerability and strength. But once I figured out Sam had to leave town, I had to kill her off because he'd never have left her there. I gave her cancer because it took my daughter's godfather's mother (godfather is dating the friend's mom with MS, as it happens).
AB: I went into hysterics when Sam wiped Mitch's ass with the sheet before rimming him. Love practicalities like that.
HC: I always forget that part until I reread it. That and that the poor guy had to go get his proposal in his boxers.
AB: One question I'm curious about is that in the intro at the beginning of the book, you make it sound as if Special Delivery was a long time in the writing. Why was that?
HC: It started as a short story that wouldn't go short, and when I got to the phone sex scene I freaked out and put it down. But my husband really liked it (after I named the iPod from 9 to 5 and referenced Kylie, he wouldn't let me quit) and kept pushing me to finish. The first third has about fifty versions. Then last summer after I finished Hero and got back from a vacation, I decided I was going to finish it and kept at it until I did.
AB: What did your husband say when you started writing m/m fiction?
HC: I've been wandering into it for years, though I didn't know there was a market for it until I tried to sell Hero. I thought I was the only one. I was relieved to discover otherwise. As for his reaction, he's always been very supportive. We have a lot of gay friends and we both volunteer for One Iowa, our largest statewide LGBT rights group, so the content was never an issue again. In fact, when a statement came in August, he said, "Thank you, manlove, for funding my child's back to school wardrobe!"
AB: You mention in the acknowledgement November and 25 days. Did you write both these books as part of Nanowrimo?
HC: Special Delivery was about two years or so. Double Blind was written last November during NaNoWriMo.
AB: Did/does it all flow out of you in one go or do you add more and more bits to each scene? I'm asking because when I read your book, then look at mine, I see how much more you give the reader and I feel envious and more than a little disheartened. How did you learn to write? Do you ever have anyone pull you up and say you've short-changed your reader in this bit, rewrite it?
HC: Well, first of all, don't judge yourself against anybody else. I look at Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman and Lois McMaster Bujold and think, "Fuck, they're better," I admit, but they don't write m/m romance, and they're not me. Everybody's voice and everybody's path is his own and is valid and worth doing. I'll admit I've written a long, long time, and I think that's most of it right there. I've literally been writing almost constantly since I was twelve. I've done some study of craft, and I do think that's beneficial. I also have a degree in literature, which is a toss up how much that helps and hurts, so it might negate itself. Mostly I've read. A lot. And I think about story all the time. I deconstruct movies and TV shows and books. I also think Special Delivery is so popular with people because it nearly killed me. It wanted a lot, and to get out I had to give it a lot.
I guess that's the thing about the reader: I do write to a reader as much as I can, but mostly I just try to give it all up. I also acknowledge not everything is going to be for everyone, and now that some people love SD I know I will only go downhill after that. Or not. Hard to say. To me, writing takes a huge ego and a lot of chutzpah--and then you have to let it all go and become incredibly humble and selfless, almost self-sacrificing. Which is to say, writing is fucking hard. A mentor of mine said you need to figure out who you're writing for. She said she writes for the woman at the back of the bus who's had a long day and wants to escape. I haven't nailed mine down that specifically, and actually I think it shifts a bit per book. But I do like to put little treasures and oddities in. I like detail not of description but of character, and I usually mine it from myself or people I know. I always try to think about the ride, because that's what I love most in a story is the ride, so I try to give a good one. I'm not sure any of this helps. So much of it is a product of instinct and a lot of years.
As for telling me I've short-changed something, yes. Sue made me go back and describe the cocks more and told me she needed the very last (visible) sex scene at the rest stop. And my husband tells me that stuff too.
AB: Next question. I write a lot of first person POV usually because I don't want to get into one of the protagonist's head as they have mysteries inside I don't want revealed too soon. I sometimes wonder though if I should do them in deep third instead. You did "Double Blind" in double viewpoint deep third, but "Special Delivery" in only one POV. I can see why as you didn't want to reveal the existence and importance of Randy too soon. Did you ever consider doing it first person POV? If not, why not? What do you see as the main reasons when to use single deep third over first person.
HC: Well, I'm kind of a whore and have a big bias against first person. I like third so much, both to read and to write. I wrote a short story in first, and I sold it (out in an anthology Monday, as it happens) but to be honest I never connected with it. Honestly, I don't ever connect to first person. I know that seems odd, but it's true. And Nowhere Ranch is in first, so I'm shortly going to be eating my hat.
There are a lot of people who love first. Personally I think it's hard because it's so easy to cheat, to info-dump and to stop pacing and just tell stuff instead of show. But it's a very valid POV, and a lot of people love to read it.
I did a single POV in SD because I thought it was going to be thirty thousand words. (ha!) And then it just worked to stay with Sam. In the end, I like it as a discipline, and it makes it more his story. I've written another in single POV since then, and I think I may do it again soon. I choose POV carefully: I'll only use the POV of someone who has a growth arc in the story. And to me, Mitch didn't change a whole lot. He did, but just a bit.
(AB interrupts here to say: This is one of the best reasons I've ever seen for whether or not to do multiple POV!)
HC: As for not wanting to give away Randy--he didn't show up until the third act in the first draft, so he was a surprise to me too! I had to go back and layer in the foreshadowing of him.
AB: BTW It's the best ménage I've ever read. Probably because the emotions and the motivations are right.
Then Heidi turned the tables and asked me a question which I'm posing here for readers:
HC: Okay, this is just a wild hair tossed out, but it's starting to happen so much it feels like someone tapping me on the top of the head. Do you think there's a yen for "how to write" sort of craft/discussion classes in the m/m world? I guess I still feel new here, and I'm used to coming from RWA and romance where all that sort of stuff is handled by the big guns who make half a million for three book contracts. There and in other study is where I learned the terms and things, and I've taken the workshops, etc. Do you think people would sign up for classes? I feel weird offering them because I've only been published a bit over a year, and God knows I don't have tons of time, but sometimes I feel like it's just another way this genre has been ghettoized. It bothers me.
Do you think there's a call for that sort of thing? Do you think people would pay twenty bucks or so to take it so I could justify the time? Or would it be better to leave things alone?
My response at the time was as follows:
AB: Yes, it does help. I find I need advice like this at intervals to help keep me on track with my writing. It can be a terribly isolating experience and so often I go through periods where I question my ability and I need reminders all writers have these problems.
I actually think that the good beta-reader/editor is not easy to find. Someone who can analyse and pass on that feedback in a constructive way.
HC: Yeah, I'll admit it's taken me years to get my most solid betas. You learn a lot in the searching, though.
You might consider these two books: Goal, Motivation and Conflict by Debra Dixon and Making a Good Script Great by Linda Seger. The first will help deal with showing vs. telling, and the second is good for plot and pacing. They're two of the best how-to books I know.
Plot and character are my beloveds, and to me they're connected, though there's a difference between them as well. I could do POV in general though.
AB: How would you structure your online courses?
HC: I'm open. It would depend on the time frame and number of people. I like the workshop approach where people all see what's going on and try exercises, though single page critiques or first scene crits would be good too. I've actually done this a lot informally through the years and have been on both sides of writing workshops. So I'd do about anything.
I could do it through plain old yahoo too. Might be good to start small. I dunno. Will chew on it, but if anything sparks for you, let me know.
AB: Josh Lanyon did a "live" online course on masculinity during the 2009 RWA Clayton's conference which delved into the subject of men crying. That was interesting. Reality and fiction are sometimes not the same. (ie men cry in real life but if your characters do it, the reader sees them as wimps).
HC: Yeah, it's hard to pull off. I like to try and include it though just to be obstinate. :)
When sending this to Heidi for approval, I asked a couple of questions to see where she's up to with her writing now.
AB: In one of your responses you said: "now that some people love SD I know I will only go downhill after that." Does in some ways the success of "Special Delivery" act as a 'What if they don't like it as much?' brake on your creativity?
HC: Well, this is me being pessimistic. I have more than a little Randy in me. I always worry about a work. So I just do my best and hope for the best. I also try to have smart people help me. It's important to me to have a good editor I can work with.
AB: Back in June, you mentioned you'd completed the first draft of "Two to Tango". There is still no mention of a publisher or a release date. What's happening with that?
HC: That one doesn't have a firm date yet, but it will be out in May or June. It's sold to Loose Id and renamed "Dance With Me". I'm going to update my website in January here to reflect all this.
AB: As 2010 draws to a close and you arrange all your awards on the mantelpiece, what can your fans look forward to in 2011? Have any of those plot bunnies you mentioned grown to full size?
HC: Yes! I have a whole bunch of things up. Let's see.
February 15: Nowhere Ranch
April 12: The Seventh Veil
Later: Dance With Me, Temple Boy, and The Pirate's Game.
Those are all for sure. In the works are A Private Gentleman, which is an early Victorian story, and Better Than Love, which is another Special Delivery series story. And then there is always Small Town Boy, which I really need to work on. And a steampunk one that I just 'can't seem to get time for. Oh, and One Night, a novella I need to edit.
Nowhere Ranch, The Seventh Veil, and Dance With Me (Two To Tango) are all on my website, as are One Night and Small Town Boy. Temple Boy and The Pirate's Game are part of the Etsey series with The Seventh Veil: those are fantasy. A Private Gentleman is about a gentleman so shy he can't really participate in society (but he loves botany) and an expensive male consort who was first sold to the shy gentleman's father when he was an adolescent. Better Than Love has the boys heading down to McAllen, Texas, Mitch's hometown, because it appears his father needs to be put in a nursing home. Mitch turns out to have a surprise stepmother and a stepbrother.
I think I'll probably kill myself trying to get all that done, but oh well.
AB: Thank you so much for your patience with all my questions and the care you took with the answers. Best of luck with your writing and I look forward to reading your upcoming releases. Readers who subscribe to Heidi's 2010 Christmas newsletter will receive a free read featuring Randy and the boys.
HC: Hi, Alison. I'm glad you enjoyed Double Blind!
AB: What prompted you to bring in Kylie, Missy Higgins and Olivia? As an Aussie, you can imagine how stoked I was to have them in the story. But I didn't think they were very well known in the States. Did you get any feedback in that regard?
HC: Ah, the Kylie. People keep asking me about that lately. I think it's because she's referenced in Special Delivery AND Double Blind. Well, I know about Kylie because my husband has always listened to her, though I've now outstripped him (nearly) as a fan. While she's not generally well-known in the US, she is VERY well-known in the gay community here. When she announced her US tour here last year, the Entertainment Weekly article read, "Kylie Minogue to Start US Tour: Or, Why Your Gay Co-worker Just Screamed." Of course, Dan and I did as well, but it didn't work out that we could go. I think that's why I put Kylie at the end. If I can't go see her, at least Sam can.
Then Kylie starred in Special Delivery because it's such a good themeing for Sam: light, fun, innocent-feeling, but very, very sexy. And I brought the Oz Triplets in because I needed something big at the end, couldn't think of anything, and decided it was fantasy, so why not. The Missy Higgins reference is obscure, but a good friend of mine LOVES her, so it was a subtle nod to her. Also, I enjoy her as well and got to see her in a fun little local concert last year (with that same friend). As long as I was going Aussie, I figured I better stick with it, and she was one I knew would actually be possible. The ONJ (Olivia Newton John) is because my husband fell in love with her at age twelve and never fell out. He did get to see her in concert, though.
AB: Funnily enough, one of my stories, "Caught", mentions Kylie. It involves a Chinese guy called Daniel who gets dressed in drag and refers to himself as Dannii, mentioning she is Kylie's sister.
HC: I will say less US people know Dannii than Kylie. (An online friend waged a campaign to convert me from one sister to the other, so I know more than most.) For US audiences, tacking on Minogue after Kylie would be a good crutch. Some won't know no matter what, but they'll suss it out.
AB: What about Crabtree though. Will he ever find someone??????
HC: As for Crabtree--well, a friend of mine is feeding me plot bunnies
AB: Obviously Las Vegas is one of the stars of "Double Blind" it's funny but I've never wanted to go there. I don't mind card games, but the slots don't interest me, neither does shopping. I really got a good picture of the city from the story, maybe I'll get there one day!
HC: I actually have not been to Vegas except for a few minutes, to be honest. We blew through on a vacation last year (if you read Special Delivery, we took the same trip as Sam and Mitch except we went all the way to LA and didn't have sex because our eight year old was along), but we got in at ten at night and were gone by noon the next day. I got up the Stratosphere tower (where I had Sam's reaction, not Randy's) and took a cab ride down the Strip. I did a lot of research for it, from movies to YouTube videos. Now, however, I really want to go. Except I'm like Sam and hate gambling. I can play a little poker, but I probably wouldn't, as I hate to lose money. (Even though in theory that's where you make it.)
At this point, I read SD for the first time and sent another email to Heidi commenting on the research that went into both books:
AB: More coincidences. LOL. Would you believe I'm a Pharmacist? I hope I'm not as BADASS as Delia or Norm. I promise I'll be nicer to my staff from now on.
HC: My husband is a pharmacist, though he won't touch retail with a ten foot pole. He works in a hospital. Norm and Delia are modeled on people he knew in his hometown. Well, Delia as a character is also from a lot of nasty bitches I've known, but Norm lives on in Carroll, Iowa.
AB: I loved the bit where Sam realizes how huge the mountains are. In 1976, I drove from Montreal to Calgary. My first glimpse of the Canadian Rockies was exactly the same. It took me a day from the time I saw them to even reach Calgary. Talk about awesome. So I know just how Sam (and probably you) felt.
HC: I first saw the mountains when I was in college, so yeah. Borrowed a bit from that.
AB: That truck trip must have been an unforgettable experience. A case of where research is half the fun.
HC: Well, we went in a car. But I freaked out all the way over Wolf Ridge Pass. I'd have to be sedated in a rig.
AB: And what about the sex shop!? All in the name of research, or were you a past master (as it were) before writing the book?
HC: Oh god, no. Just research and a perverted mind.
AB: From interest (and you don't have to answer) did anyone close to you have MS and cancer? That sure is a double whammy.
HC: A friend of mine's mother lives with MS, and I included it for various reasons which I forget now. Something about vulnerability and strength. But once I figured out Sam had to leave town, I had to kill her off because he'd never have left her there. I gave her cancer because it took my daughter's godfather's mother (godfather is dating the friend's mom with MS, as it happens).
AB: I went into hysterics when Sam wiped Mitch's ass with the sheet before rimming him. Love practicalities like that.
HC: I always forget that part until I reread it. That and that the poor guy had to go get his proposal in his boxers.
AB: One question I'm curious about is that in the intro at the beginning of the book, you make it sound as if Special Delivery was a long time in the writing. Why was that?
HC: It started as a short story that wouldn't go short, and when I got to the phone sex scene I freaked out and put it down. But my husband really liked it (after I named the iPod from 9 to 5 and referenced Kylie, he wouldn't let me quit) and kept pushing me to finish. The first third has about fifty versions. Then last summer after I finished Hero and got back from a vacation, I decided I was going to finish it and kept at it until I did.
AB: What did your husband say when you started writing m/m fiction?
HC: I've been wandering into it for years, though I didn't know there was a market for it until I tried to sell Hero. I thought I was the only one. I was relieved to discover otherwise. As for his reaction, he's always been very supportive. We have a lot of gay friends and we both volunteer for One Iowa, our largest statewide LGBT rights group, so the content was never an issue again. In fact, when a statement came in August, he said, "Thank you, manlove, for funding my child's back to school wardrobe!"
AB: You mention in the acknowledgement November and 25 days. Did you write both these books as part of Nanowrimo?
HC: Special Delivery was about two years or so. Double Blind was written last November during NaNoWriMo.
AB: Did/does it all flow out of you in one go or do you add more and more bits to each scene? I'm asking because when I read your book, then look at mine, I see how much more you give the reader and I feel envious and more than a little disheartened. How did you learn to write? Do you ever have anyone pull you up and say you've short-changed your reader in this bit, rewrite it?
HC: Well, first of all, don't judge yourself against anybody else. I look at Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman and Lois McMaster Bujold and think, "Fuck, they're better," I admit, but they don't write m/m romance, and they're not me. Everybody's voice and everybody's path is his own and is valid and worth doing. I'll admit I've written a long, long time, and I think that's most of it right there. I've literally been writing almost constantly since I was twelve. I've done some study of craft, and I do think that's beneficial. I also have a degree in literature, which is a toss up how much that helps and hurts, so it might negate itself. Mostly I've read. A lot. And I think about story all the time. I deconstruct movies and TV shows and books. I also think Special Delivery is so popular with people because it nearly killed me. It wanted a lot, and to get out I had to give it a lot.
I guess that's the thing about the reader: I do write to a reader as much as I can, but mostly I just try to give it all up. I also acknowledge not everything is going to be for everyone, and now that some people love SD I know I will only go downhill after that. Or not. Hard to say. To me, writing takes a huge ego and a lot of chutzpah--and then you have to let it all go and become incredibly humble and selfless, almost self-sacrificing. Which is to say, writing is fucking hard. A mentor of mine said you need to figure out who you're writing for. She said she writes for the woman at the back of the bus who's had a long day and wants to escape. I haven't nailed mine down that specifically, and actually I think it shifts a bit per book. But I do like to put little treasures and oddities in. I like detail not of description but of character, and I usually mine it from myself or people I know. I always try to think about the ride, because that's what I love most in a story is the ride, so I try to give a good one. I'm not sure any of this helps. So much of it is a product of instinct and a lot of years.
As for telling me I've short-changed something, yes. Sue made me go back and describe the cocks more and told me she needed the very last (visible) sex scene at the rest stop. And my husband tells me that stuff too.
AB: Next question. I write a lot of first person POV usually because I don't want to get into one of the protagonist's head as they have mysteries inside I don't want revealed too soon. I sometimes wonder though if I should do them in deep third instead. You did "Double Blind" in double viewpoint deep third, but "Special Delivery" in only one POV. I can see why as you didn't want to reveal the existence and importance of Randy too soon. Did you ever consider doing it first person POV? If not, why not? What do you see as the main reasons when to use single deep third over first person.
HC: Well, I'm kind of a whore and have a big bias against first person. I like third so much, both to read and to write. I wrote a short story in first, and I sold it (out in an anthology Monday, as it happens) but to be honest I never connected with it. Honestly, I don't ever connect to first person. I know that seems odd, but it's true. And Nowhere Ranch is in first, so I'm shortly going to be eating my hat.
There are a lot of people who love first. Personally I think it's hard because it's so easy to cheat, to info-dump and to stop pacing and just tell stuff instead of show. But it's a very valid POV, and a lot of people love to read it.
I did a single POV in SD because I thought it was going to be thirty thousand words. (ha!) And then it just worked to stay with Sam. In the end, I like it as a discipline, and it makes it more his story. I've written another in single POV since then, and I think I may do it again soon. I choose POV carefully: I'll only use the POV of someone who has a growth arc in the story. And to me, Mitch didn't change a whole lot. He did, but just a bit.
(AB interrupts here to say: This is one of the best reasons I've ever seen for whether or not to do multiple POV!)
HC: As for not wanting to give away Randy--he didn't show up until the third act in the first draft, so he was a surprise to me too! I had to go back and layer in the foreshadowing of him.
AB: BTW It's the best ménage I've ever read. Probably because the emotions and the motivations are right.
Then Heidi turned the tables and asked me a question which I'm posing here for readers:
HC: Okay, this is just a wild hair tossed out, but it's starting to happen so much it feels like someone tapping me on the top of the head. Do you think there's a yen for "how to write" sort of craft/discussion classes in the m/m world? I guess I still feel new here, and I'm used to coming from RWA and romance where all that sort of stuff is handled by the big guns who make half a million for three book contracts. There and in other study is where I learned the terms and things, and I've taken the workshops, etc. Do you think people would sign up for classes? I feel weird offering them because I've only been published a bit over a year, and God knows I don't have tons of time, but sometimes I feel like it's just another way this genre has been ghettoized. It bothers me.
Do you think there's a call for that sort of thing? Do you think people would pay twenty bucks or so to take it so I could justify the time? Or would it be better to leave things alone?
My response at the time was as follows:
AB: Yes, it does help. I find I need advice like this at intervals to help keep me on track with my writing. It can be a terribly isolating experience and so often I go through periods where I question my ability and I need reminders all writers have these problems.
I actually think that the good beta-reader/editor is not easy to find. Someone who can analyse and pass on that feedback in a constructive way.
HC: Yeah, I'll admit it's taken me years to get my most solid betas. You learn a lot in the searching, though.
You might consider these two books: Goal, Motivation and Conflict by Debra Dixon and Making a Good Script Great by Linda Seger. The first will help deal with showing vs. telling, and the second is good for plot and pacing. They're two of the best how-to books I know.
Plot and character are my beloveds, and to me they're connected, though there's a difference between them as well. I could do POV in general though.
AB: How would you structure your online courses?
HC: I'm open. It would depend on the time frame and number of people. I like the workshop approach where people all see what's going on and try exercises, though single page critiques or first scene crits would be good too. I've actually done this a lot informally through the years and have been on both sides of writing workshops. So I'd do about anything.
I could do it through plain old yahoo too. Might be good to start small. I dunno. Will chew on it, but if anything sparks for you, let me know.
AB: Josh Lanyon did a "live" online course on masculinity during the 2009 RWA Clayton's conference which delved into the subject of men crying. That was interesting. Reality and fiction are sometimes not the same. (ie men cry in real life but if your characters do it, the reader sees them as wimps).
HC: Yeah, it's hard to pull off. I like to try and include it though just to be obstinate. :)
When sending this to Heidi for approval, I asked a couple of questions to see where she's up to with her writing now.
AB: In one of your responses you said: "now that some people love SD I know I will only go downhill after that." Does in some ways the success of "Special Delivery" act as a 'What if they don't like it as much?' brake on your creativity?
HC: Well, this is me being pessimistic. I have more than a little Randy in me. I always worry about a work. So I just do my best and hope for the best. I also try to have smart people help me. It's important to me to have a good editor I can work with.
AB: Back in June, you mentioned you'd completed the first draft of "Two to Tango". There is still no mention of a publisher or a release date. What's happening with that?
HC: That one doesn't have a firm date yet, but it will be out in May or June. It's sold to Loose Id and renamed "Dance With Me". I'm going to update my website in January here to reflect all this.
AB: As 2010 draws to a close and you arrange all your awards on the mantelpiece, what can your fans look forward to in 2011? Have any of those plot bunnies you mentioned grown to full size?
HC: Yes! I have a whole bunch of things up. Let's see.
February 15: Nowhere Ranch
April 12: The Seventh Veil
Later: Dance With Me, Temple Boy, and The Pirate's Game.
Those are all for sure. In the works are A Private Gentleman, which is an early Victorian story, and Better Than Love, which is another Special Delivery series story. And then there is always Small Town Boy, which I really need to work on. And a steampunk one that I just 'can't seem to get time for. Oh, and One Night, a novella I need to edit.
Nowhere Ranch, The Seventh Veil, and Dance With Me (Two To Tango) are all on my website, as are One Night and Small Town Boy. Temple Boy and The Pirate's Game are part of the Etsey series with The Seventh Veil: those are fantasy. A Private Gentleman is about a gentleman so shy he can't really participate in society (but he loves botany) and an expensive male consort who was first sold to the shy gentleman's father when he was an adolescent. Better Than Love has the boys heading down to McAllen, Texas, Mitch's hometown, because it appears his father needs to be put in a nursing home. Mitch turns out to have a surprise stepmother and a stepbrother.
I think I'll probably kill myself trying to get all that done, but oh well.
AB: Thank you so much for your patience with all my questions and the care you took with the answers. Best of luck with your writing and I look forward to reading your upcoming releases. Readers who subscribe to Heidi's 2010 Christmas newsletter will receive a free read featuring Randy and the boys.
December 25, 2010
A Return Visit of Special Delivery
Special Delivery by Heidi CullinanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I won the sequel to this book in a Facebook contest. So I actually read the two books out of order. Although I knew therefore of the existence of Randy, it still didn't spoil the story for me.
I love contemporary m/m romance where the main conflict is the characters themselves. Their pasts, their personalities and their presence.
Being an Aussie, I loved the Kylie Minogue references. If I have one gripe, it's the cover. Mitch to me would have been a lot rougher looking. He's too pretty. But Sunshine.... spot on.
There was lots of sex in the book, all of it very hot but it didn't swamp the story. A great read.
* * * * *
It's now nearly six months since I first read "Special Delivery" and wrote my review. As a special Christmas Treat I re-read the book specifically looking for what made this one of the most popular and recognised m/m romances in 2010.
For a start it has to be the character of Sam. Heidi has done a wonderful job of drawing someone who is exploring his needs. Twinks generally seem to strike a resonating chord, for example: Syd McGinley's Charlie/Twink, Jay Lygon's perennially youthful Sam, the God of Sex, K.A.Mitchell's Joey from "Collision Course" and the list goes on.
It's not easy writing a good twink. The character has to sound youthful, but not irritatingly so. The reader has to be able to see where growth can occur and some of that has to happen through the course of the story. The character has to have a lack of sophistication and amateurishness in their sexual encounters (unless the plot demands otherwise).
Matching a twink up with an older man (as they so often are) carries with it another set of baggage. One of the protagonists comes in with a past, often this impacts deeply on the course of the relationship. This difference in maturity has to be seen, but there also have to be enough grounds of commonality to ensure any future they have together is believable.
Mitch is a classic case. A man with a past he's ashamed of. A man who's acutely aware of how he's fucked up any chance of happiness in prior relationships. A man in some ways unwilling to come to terms with his mistakes. On the plus side, he is more financially secure, more knowing of who he is even if he's not entirely happy about it. A man with experience and often with the ability to read people, especially if a Dom (even if not in the full on BDSM sense of the word)
So what do twinks bring with them? For a start, it's usually a verve for life which the other has lost. Sometimes it's a fresh innocence, sometimes just straight out energy. Heidi's Sam has all those things in spades.
What does the twink get back in return? A degree of certainty. Often the twink is floundering, not sure of their sexuality or the rightness of their ability to just "be" who they are. The trust they have that someone "has their back" allows their inner self to shine forth.
But what about the plot? This is very much a story about a journey. A physical one and an emotional one for both characters. As a reader, you just feel you're in the truck, staring out the window as a whole new world rushes by, seeing it through the wide eyed gaze of a small town Mid-western boy. There's just enough description to fix you in a time and place without bogging the story down with too much detail.
It's also a story about "home". As far as the characters go, I'm sure if we'd been in Mitch's head there's no way he would have believed how a simple flirtation looking for a casual fuck would have led to his journey of reconciliation and possibly an unrecognised search for a home for himself. Unresolved issues from his past were stopping him moving forward. Once he realized what a sparking diamond he'd unwittingly collected in Sam, it must have freaked him out.
I love this understanding Sam gets of Mitch near the end:
Mitch shrugged. "I like a lot of places. We live in this huge country with so many climates, so many different cultures, so much different everything. I've been driving it over ten years and I haven't seen it all, not even close. I wish I could get gigs in some of the more out of the way areas, but I don't have networks there yet. I suppose I should just go and make them. I know I'll die not seeing it all, but I want to do my best to try."Sam's inherent maturity brought on by dealing with the death of a much loved mother and a difficult home situation shows that despite his youth there is a degree of common sense which will grow into wisdom as he ages. I had a discussion with Heidi about why she'd made Special Delivery single POV. Her response was: I choose POV carefully: I'll only use the POV of someone who has a growth arc in the story. And to me, Mitch didn't change a whole lot. He did, but just a bit.
It was such a Mitch answer, but Sam looked into that life with sadness, because much as he wanted to have that experience, too, he couldn't see a way to be a part of it without being Mitch's special delivery forever. "So nowhere is home to you, then?"
Mitch rubbed his thumb along the wheel for a second before answering. "Home isn't a place, for me," he said at last.
This is typical of older people who have become stuck in their persona and actions. Twinks don't have as much baggage to ditch, Mitch had years of prior behaviour. I love using my imagination to make up my own inner dialogue in these characters. Imagine the fear and trepidation in Mitch against change against commitment.
And the final thing I look for in a story is the point or theme. Why write it in the first place?
This sums the story's theme up for me:
I have to finish school. I have to—" He clenched his fists and released them. "—grow up."The path Sam took to understand what he needed versus what he wanted is the story.
"For the record," Mitch said, "you're more grown up right now, I think, than I am. But I know what you mean. You gotta finish what you started."
Sam nodded. "I don't really want to. But I have to."
So whether Heidi did all this deliberately or not, she certainly ticked all the right boxes along the way.
View all my reviewsI'm hoping to post a Q & A I did with Heidi, Check back soon.
December 12, 2010
Syd McGinley gets given an even dozen.
Intro: Thank you so much for taking the time to answering my questions. First off, I'd like to say how much I've enjoyed your books. You write some beautifully complicated Doms and sluttily submissive subs. Twink (Charlie) has to have become one of those characters who will be remembered by anyone who reads your stories. Not that I don't like Dave and some of the other subs you've written about. Each has their own personality and needs.
Thank you! Twink took on a real life of his own once I'd introduced him.
1. Your other pairings intrigue me: Hugh and Ryan, Rick and the Chef, Matt and Nick. I gather these were some of your earlier works. How do you see these stories today?
Yes, they were relatively early. I'm very fond of these guys, and I had a lot of fun with them. They're more like visitors to my brain than inhabitants. They don't pester me like the Fell characters do. I'm pleased with the stories as they work in smut, plot, and character – which is a lot for short form erotica! I'm an old-fashioned writer in many ways. I like plot and people -- they need to be entwined. Plot comes from the characters and their reactions, but – love yaoi and its "no plot no point" reputation as much as I do – I still want my characters to do something and grow – even just a bit.
2. Were there aspects of their relationships you especially enjoyed exploring and may revisit?
I'm a tongue-tied person when I'm in an emotional place and, for some reason, it rarely occurs to me to just ask! I think I've convinced myself that I'm not allowed to ask. Ryan, Rick, and Nick all try to figure out what they are meant to be doing. I think I let these three boys be my guinea pigs in the emotional consequences of saying or not saying things. Tommy in the Felliverse seems to have claimed that trait in his dealings with Dr. Tanaka.
I'm also intrigued by hierarchy (surprise!) and like to see what happens when someone is a literal superior in the eyes of the world -- by professional or social rank -- as well as a top.
3. I've been doing lots of reading of the m/m BDSM scene (in fiction) in preparation for writing one of my own books. Yours seem to be more about the D/s relationship and the needs of the sub rather than the techniques and rules of S/M that others seem to explore. Does this aspect of the BDSM scene interest you the most?
Yes, I'm interested in D/s as a lived life rather than as ritual and scene. Rituals and scenes are grand, but for me discipline has never meant rules. That sounds contextually silly I know, but it's the spirit of submission and obedience -- finding a place that's true to you – not being a cog or a crushed drone. And I really really don't mean I see structured BDSM that way – it's just for me the draw is not about regulation. I'm awful at following imposed arbitrary rules – school was bad and cube jobs were hell – but I do deeply value discipline, training, craft, and so on. A ritual that calms, sure, so long as it feels true to you and not artificial. I think rituals have real power to center and ground a person. Whatever path gets you to your own inner discipline is what is right. Some folks like rules and techniques to get there. I'm not a formal person, or a tidy one, or impressed by ranks. But I do like structure, method/routine, and acquired skill/expertise.
4. Humiliation seems to be a strong aspect of some BDSM scenes in books. How do you feel about that aspect of the culture?
For me, it's not something that works. Again, if it works for the person involved, it's fine. For some of the boys in the Fell series, some public display and being broken is important, but I'm not one for the verbal abuse or piss and scat. My boys might bootlick, but its worship to them, not humiliation. Fell always respects his boys – he's not going to work with someone he truly thinks is worthless.
5. What do you see are the basic differences between m/m BDSM and m/f BDSM?
Phew. Well, I get too uncomfortable with the genuine real world power dynamic issues of m/f whether it's D/s, S&M or even 'regular' het romance. I get too tangled up in thinking about it. It's all far too close to the issues about patriarchal power structures for me to able to step back from. For those who can, I say yay! I'm not much for reading about women in sexual situations at all to be honest – whether f/f or m/f, and I'm not at all fond of ménage in any combo. It's odd because I like and love real women, but I get squicked by kissing scenes in movies.
6. Mimosa is very different from your later works because a lot of it is in the past tense as Nick works his way through the tangled roots of his memories. It has also attracted very varied ratings on Goodreads. Now you have five more years of writing under your belt, how do you perceive "Mimosa"?
Mimosa was my first work published with Torquere and it's got a solid hold on my heart. It took me about ten times as long to write as anything since then, and I think I was overly-ambitious with the structure for my then level of craft. I think the structure is fine, but I needed more ability with signals to the reader about time and transitions. I didn't want big glaring markers for the switches, but I do think I needed to weave in more guides. I very much liked what you said about tangled roots and, in your review, about the information needing to be teased out like a pot bound plant! I was trying to show the knot Nick was in emotionally and to also play with how we do remember things -- it's rarely linear. As I say, I was being too ambitious for my craft. I am pleased with the story. I think it works emotionally.
7. Are there any different styles of Dom that you're interested in including in your writing or do you see them all as the same? To me, it seems that the sub's are easy to write, but it's harder to write a good Dom, especially if in his head. Would you agree with that? (Mind you I love Dr Fell and think he's and Owen Sawyer from "Bound and Determined" are the best out there. )
Oh, they're certainly all very different. Many of the ones I write seem inscrutable to their boys though -- and hence similar from the outside. The ones I've written do tend to share a set of ethics and style -- many of them know each other -- so there's an affinity of friendship and sir-style. Writing from inside a sir is pretty difficult – at least, it is if you let them be human! Showing a sir's doubts and so on can so very easily puncture the story. However, it is my deeply held conviction that a sub is a person strong enough and wise enough to be willing to submit. It's simply that we are used to subs showing their weaknesses.
8. Will your compilations of the Dr.Fell series ever be released as ebooks?
Probably not!
9. What can you tell me about "A Private Contract - contemporary m/m novel"? Is it BDSM? What length will it be?
Well, it is D/s, and it's stalled! It's about Nick, the visiting English sir who appears in Exotic Pets, and his boy, Jos. It's intended to be a full length novel (100k or so) and is set in England. I think I may have lost my feel for the UK though – I've been away too long.
10. I tried to buy "Huckleberry" but it seems to have disappeared from Torquere's site. Is it still possible to buy that as an ebook?
It was a Charity Sip last year to benefit the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Charity Sips leave the catalog when the next charity sip blitz begins. It will be available in the Complete Dr. Fell Volume Three: The Boys of Fell, but that's print.
11. Do you feel trapped by the Dr Fell characters and the demand by readers to have more of them?
Um. No. Dr. Fell might though ;-) I had thought I'd finished the Fell series several times. The first story, Pet Sitting, was a standalone. Then I thought the Chasers trilogy was the wrap up. When the trilogy added a fourth volume (sigh) I realized I was wrong again! I also had Fell give Prospero's speech in Dolorosa (it's considered a farewell speech), but Flying Pigs is coming out soon. I think Fell's own story is wrapped, but his friends have tales to tell yet.
12. Will we ever get to read about how Rinnie and Pol get together? I see you've done a story for an anthology where they are already together, but what about that first meeting and forming the relationship?
There's a little snippet in the Complete Fell Two: Found showing their first meeting. It was originally an extra in the on-line serialization of Attitude Adjustments. I'm not sure if I'll write them as central characters. I don't have a voice for them – I've only seen them through the eyes of Tommy, Fell, and Charlie.
Thank you! Twink took on a real life of his own once I'd introduced him.
1. Your other pairings intrigue me: Hugh and Ryan, Rick and the Chef, Matt and Nick. I gather these were some of your earlier works. How do you see these stories today?
Yes, they were relatively early. I'm very fond of these guys, and I had a lot of fun with them. They're more like visitors to my brain than inhabitants. They don't pester me like the Fell characters do. I'm pleased with the stories as they work in smut, plot, and character – which is a lot for short form erotica! I'm an old-fashioned writer in many ways. I like plot and people -- they need to be entwined. Plot comes from the characters and their reactions, but – love yaoi and its "no plot no point" reputation as much as I do – I still want my characters to do something and grow – even just a bit.
2. Were there aspects of their relationships you especially enjoyed exploring and may revisit?
I'm a tongue-tied person when I'm in an emotional place and, for some reason, it rarely occurs to me to just ask! I think I've convinced myself that I'm not allowed to ask. Ryan, Rick, and Nick all try to figure out what they are meant to be doing. I think I let these three boys be my guinea pigs in the emotional consequences of saying or not saying things. Tommy in the Felliverse seems to have claimed that trait in his dealings with Dr. Tanaka.
I'm also intrigued by hierarchy (surprise!) and like to see what happens when someone is a literal superior in the eyes of the world -- by professional or social rank -- as well as a top.
3. I've been doing lots of reading of the m/m BDSM scene (in fiction) in preparation for writing one of my own books. Yours seem to be more about the D/s relationship and the needs of the sub rather than the techniques and rules of S/M that others seem to explore. Does this aspect of the BDSM scene interest you the most?
Yes, I'm interested in D/s as a lived life rather than as ritual and scene. Rituals and scenes are grand, but for me discipline has never meant rules. That sounds contextually silly I know, but it's the spirit of submission and obedience -- finding a place that's true to you – not being a cog or a crushed drone. And I really really don't mean I see structured BDSM that way – it's just for me the draw is not about regulation. I'm awful at following imposed arbitrary rules – school was bad and cube jobs were hell – but I do deeply value discipline, training, craft, and so on. A ritual that calms, sure, so long as it feels true to you and not artificial. I think rituals have real power to center and ground a person. Whatever path gets you to your own inner discipline is what is right. Some folks like rules and techniques to get there. I'm not a formal person, or a tidy one, or impressed by ranks. But I do like structure, method/routine, and acquired skill/expertise.
4. Humiliation seems to be a strong aspect of some BDSM scenes in books. How do you feel about that aspect of the culture?
For me, it's not something that works. Again, if it works for the person involved, it's fine. For some of the boys in the Fell series, some public display and being broken is important, but I'm not one for the verbal abuse or piss and scat. My boys might bootlick, but its worship to them, not humiliation. Fell always respects his boys – he's not going to work with someone he truly thinks is worthless.
5. What do you see are the basic differences between m/m BDSM and m/f BDSM?
Phew. Well, I get too uncomfortable with the genuine real world power dynamic issues of m/f whether it's D/s, S&M or even 'regular' het romance. I get too tangled up in thinking about it. It's all far too close to the issues about patriarchal power structures for me to able to step back from. For those who can, I say yay! I'm not much for reading about women in sexual situations at all to be honest – whether f/f or m/f, and I'm not at all fond of ménage in any combo. It's odd because I like and love real women, but I get squicked by kissing scenes in movies.
6. Mimosa is very different from your later works because a lot of it is in the past tense as Nick works his way through the tangled roots of his memories. It has also attracted very varied ratings on Goodreads. Now you have five more years of writing under your belt, how do you perceive "Mimosa"?
Mimosa was my first work published with Torquere and it's got a solid hold on my heart. It took me about ten times as long to write as anything since then, and I think I was overly-ambitious with the structure for my then level of craft. I think the structure is fine, but I needed more ability with signals to the reader about time and transitions. I didn't want big glaring markers for the switches, but I do think I needed to weave in more guides. I very much liked what you said about tangled roots and, in your review, about the information needing to be teased out like a pot bound plant! I was trying to show the knot Nick was in emotionally and to also play with how we do remember things -- it's rarely linear. As I say, I was being too ambitious for my craft. I am pleased with the story. I think it works emotionally.
7. Are there any different styles of Dom that you're interested in including in your writing or do you see them all as the same? To me, it seems that the sub's are easy to write, but it's harder to write a good Dom, especially if in his head. Would you agree with that? (Mind you I love Dr Fell and think he's and Owen Sawyer from "Bound and Determined" are the best out there. )
Oh, they're certainly all very different. Many of the ones I write seem inscrutable to their boys though -- and hence similar from the outside. The ones I've written do tend to share a set of ethics and style -- many of them know each other -- so there's an affinity of friendship and sir-style. Writing from inside a sir is pretty difficult – at least, it is if you let them be human! Showing a sir's doubts and so on can so very easily puncture the story. However, it is my deeply held conviction that a sub is a person strong enough and wise enough to be willing to submit. It's simply that we are used to subs showing their weaknesses.
8. Will your compilations of the Dr.Fell series ever be released as ebooks?
Probably not!
9. What can you tell me about "A Private Contract - contemporary m/m novel"? Is it BDSM? What length will it be?
Well, it is D/s, and it's stalled! It's about Nick, the visiting English sir who appears in Exotic Pets, and his boy, Jos. It's intended to be a full length novel (100k or so) and is set in England. I think I may have lost my feel for the UK though – I've been away too long.
10. I tried to buy "Huckleberry" but it seems to have disappeared from Torquere's site. Is it still possible to buy that as an ebook?
It was a Charity Sip last year to benefit the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Charity Sips leave the catalog when the next charity sip blitz begins. It will be available in the Complete Dr. Fell Volume Three: The Boys of Fell, but that's print.
11. Do you feel trapped by the Dr Fell characters and the demand by readers to have more of them?
Um. No. Dr. Fell might though ;-) I had thought I'd finished the Fell series several times. The first story, Pet Sitting, was a standalone. Then I thought the Chasers trilogy was the wrap up. When the trilogy added a fourth volume (sigh) I realized I was wrong again! I also had Fell give Prospero's speech in Dolorosa (it's considered a farewell speech), but Flying Pigs is coming out soon. I think Fell's own story is wrapped, but his friends have tales to tell yet.
12. Will we ever get to read about how Rinnie and Pol get together? I see you've done a story for an anthology where they are already together, but what about that first meeting and forming the relationship?
There's a little snippet in the Complete Fell Two: Found showing their first meeting. It was originally an extra in the on-line serialization of Attitude Adjustments. I'm not sure if I'll write them as central characters. I don't have a voice for them – I've only seen them through the eyes of Tommy, Fell, and Charlie.
December 6, 2010
Vancouver Nights - Hank Edwards
Vancouver Nights by Hank EdwardsPWPPH = Porn with plot plus humor.
There is a lot of sex in these books, but surrounding that is a great yarn.
I enjoyed reading "Vancouver Nights" as much as I did the other two in the series. By page seven, I had done enough laughing to justify buying the book and what was even better was that the laughs continued right to the last page. Unusual in comedic books that often fizzle out half way through.
Here the sex makes a welcome break to the comedy and vice versa.
You don't have to have read the previous two books about Charlie Heggensford to enjoy VN. In fact if you come across this one first, you can still enjoy reading them afterwards. In each book Hank has added to his great cast of characters. They come in all shapes, sizes – each an unforgettable addition to the team who work for Fluffers Inc.
Hank introduces a new character here, Ming Ho. Her intro in the first chapter in an almost slapstick routine sets the tone for the rest of the book.
To give Charlie a fresh, fertile field to play on, Hank manoeuvres him out of town and away from his work as a fluffer by having him inadvertently cause a strike in the porn industry. He is aghast to watch on the news as the porn stars:
" carried picket signs and shouted, "Hell no, we won't blow!" as they moved gracefully within their tight bike shorts and form fitted T-shirts and tank tops. Some of the signs read "Porn Stars Are People Too," "We Don't Get Paid, They Don't Get Laid," and "Porn Stars CAN Say NO!"
Charlie has a reputation for courting disaster. If he's not being a tad too enthusiastic in keeping a porn star hard for his next sex scene, he's getting into all sorts of other mischief. He doesn't go looking for trouble, trouble finds him.
He escapes the scene by travelling up to Vancouver with another great new cast member: Canyon Collingwood, the four and a half foot truck driver who gives Charlie a ride in his truck. Sex with dolls takes on a whole new meaning with him.
Throughout it all, Charlie is the same good natured country boy he was when we first met him two books ago. He puts his foot in his mouth regularly:
"It's always good to have someone similar to you in your life. It helps me feel less abnormal."That of course is when he doesn't have something more solid in there; something he can really suck on.
Hank also includes all sorts of good medical advice like when Charlie gets hives from Endora the cat:
"How 'bout a blow job?" Brent asked, leaning in the bathroom doorframe with his beefy arms crossed over his bare, hairy chest. "Would that help clear your sinuses?"As far as Charlie is concerned a BJ cures everything.
Inevitably, Charlie runs into the bane of his life, Cedric Wilmington:
He did not want to be anywhere near Cedric ever again, he was an evil, lying, conniving bitch who had hated him on sight. Well, maybe because Charlie had just finished sucking off Rock Harding, Cedric's lover at the time, but that had been an honest mistake!Poor Charlie, he's pining for Rock and his nine inch dick, but in the meantime he's happy to have sex with whoever takes his fancy, or should I say pants.
The story has balls of every size. Sex in every position and location. While Charlie might be your average Idaho farm boy, the guys he has very vigorous encounters with are anything but average.
In the course of the story, Charlie manages to take a nose dive into a barrel of severed hands, trip over a rotten step and end up flat on his back (a position he rarely finds himself in – too vanilla) he collides with a pole, and numerous other solid objects, get hives and has hamster shit smeared all over his face and later is covered in even worse excrement. So if even reading about animal faecal matter turns you off, just skip that bit.
There is always something new, something different around the corner you just have to keep turning the pages to see what other misadventures will befall our hapless hero including an unusual way to get drunk on champagne and escape from bound wrists in a hostage situation.
Throughout there are sentences, situations and characters to amuse. I liked this one:
"Never underestimate the power of a lesbian on a sports team."You just had to be there, though to really appreciate it.
This is a story where you don't have to be beautiful to star. Yes there are hot bods, but more than that the characters have personality. They have life.
His scenes also are very vivid. I asked Hank a few questions by email and will include these in an interview on my blog.
If you're tired of reading the same old, same old and feel in need of a laugh while being entertained by a lively plot and enough kinky sex to keep the most jaded satisfied, do yourself a favour....
View all my reviewsAn Interview with Hank Edwards
AB: First off, congrats on your book "Vancouver Nights" I enjoyed reading it as much as I did the other two in the series. They make a refreshing change from a lot of the same old same old in the m/m scene. By page seven, I had done enough laughing to justify buying the book and what was good was that the laughs continued.
HE: I'm so glad Charlie made you laugh. He always gives me a good chuckle. He gets into so much mischief I have no idea how he's still alive.
AB: I loved your description of the way the woman got out of the car. A memorable entrance if there ever was one. Too often writers neglect little moments like that that can add to the uniqueness of a book. I also loved your eccentric cast of characters, especially Ming Ho.
HE: And I'm glad you enjoyed Ming ... I was concerned people would call me racist or something, but good God she just burst out of my head in this fireball of craziness. She and Billy will be getting into quite a bit of trouble, I daresay.
AB: As someone who has just discovered Corbin Fisher videos, the whole porn scene fascinates me. Were you aware how many women watch gay men's porn? What is your reaction to that? Hopefully, I'm not as rabid as Ming is. I must admit that every time I watch them now (purely for research purposes of course), I visualize a Charlie behind the scenes just waiting to keep them ready for the next take. (Relax I know it's fiction)
HE: I have been very, very surprised by the number of women readers. When I started writing, I published in gay anthologies and gay erotic magazines like American Bear and Honcho. I never even considered women would find my fiction at all, I thought I was targeting an all male audience. Then I got a few emails from some female fans and I started to understand that women were really drawn to gay sex and LOVED to read about it! I was happily surprised, and I have to say, that's really fueled my writing.
AB: I find your writing very visual, I can picture your scenes really well, the barn scenes particularly. Do you visualize your scenes as mini movies before you write them?
HE: Thanks for saying my writing is very visual, I've always "seen" my books as I write them, like you said, "mini movies." I have a distinct setting and look to the characters in mind when I write and I'm glad those details come through. The barn was a fun scene to write, there was so much action (sexy and otherwise) and a number of fun, sassy characters to generate the drama. With Charlie I always try to have something funny and sexy happen in each chapter. He does work in the porn industry, after all, and he is a natural klutz. And thanks for the compliment about PWPAH, I think it's tough to pull that type of story off, and humor is especially tough with erotica. Here's hoping more readers will appreciate that as well.
AB: The book touched on so many different sexual variations and fetishes where does that leave you? Just how much research do you do? I know it's fiction, but to satisfy my curiosity. Tell me, as no way could I ever get in there, do places like The Dirty Jock exist in real life? Are they really like that?
HE: The book did touch on many sexual fetishes. A friend of mine challenged me while I was writing the book by asking if Charlie would be branching out at all. I decided to introduce him to the watersports and fisting at The Dirty Jock. I have never been to a place like The Dirty Jock, but I've read about such places and I let my mind go wild and create this multi-leveled sex club where pretty much everything was acceptable.
AB: Will there be more adventures for Charlie?
HE: I am planning another book for Charlie and his friends, just have to get some time to write it. Right now I'm working on a zombie/vampire story so Charlie's on the back burner until probably June or so (fingers crossed). I've got some notes jotted down for his next adventure, and a few ideas for another 2 books after that. Who knows? Maybe he'll keep on going, as long as Lethe Press is willing to publish the books, I'd love to keep bringing Charlie back for more adventures.
AB: Thanks Hank for coming clean. Hopefully Charlie will stay clean until June...
December 5, 2010
Out of the Box
Out of the Box: Stories for Older Men & Younger Lovers by Don SchecterMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the second book in Don Schecter's "Stories for Older Men and Younger Lovers". A collection of tales. Yes, there is sex in some of them, but more they are explorations about what it is to be gay and as such should be of immense interest to women who write m/m romances who want to delve behind the stereotypes that are starting to populate the genre.
In some ways the subtitle is a bit of a misnomer as it suggests the stories are only relevant to the young and old. Whereas these stories are really for anyone who is interested in relationships, and who are trying to understand what it's like being a gay male.
The first story, "Doorways" is the tale of a mature age man who comes out of the closet after being married and raising a family. If you check his website, you'll see that the author has a similar background, so it would be fair to say he knows what he's talking about. Although another story carries the book's title "Out of the Box", this first story is all about what happens when a man opens "Pandora's Box" and allows his formerly suppressed feelings to escape. Confusion, excitement, almost childlike innocence as he passes through a doorway into another world. Wanting it all now.
This world is seen in all its variety in other stories. The world of bondage and discipline in "Submission" where the nature of control, lack of it and paradoxically discovering it through submission is told through the eyes of Conny (short for Mr Conlan)
"I want to submit to someone because it's the ultimate personal abdication. Mindless obedience as a fantasy. I always have to be in control; I get deep satisfaction from controlling things."
"Yes? Go on."
"Well, I'm worn out; I want a vacation from my obsession, from all decision-making. My fantasy is to be controlled, totally; an abject slave. Not permitted to have a say about anything, including my bodily functions. In real life, I could never let that happen. It's impractical as well as unsatisfying. But in my dreams…in my dreams… Tarzan keeps Bruce Wayne captive in the jungle; Superman is helpless, strapped to a nugget of Kryptonite…these childhood fantasies have never varied much since pre-puberty."
The man he submits to, Kurt, is 5'6", a head shorter than Conny.
It was his rounded belly, wire-rim glasses that focused bright beady eyes, and snowwhite mustache that gave him the elfin look. Also, he had exceedingly small hands and feet. Conny estimated he wore size six shoes, and their pointed tips made them appear positively dainty. No, that isn't quite right. I've got it! Kurt was a living representation of the Monopoly man—he of the top hat and pin-striped trousers; the man who adorned "Get out of jail free" cards, and "Go directly to jail, Do not pass GO, Do not collect $200." The man from whom all rewards and punishments flowed in the best selling game yet devised by man.
So the story has all the elements of BDSM but feels different as it seems more real, especially when they go to BDSM parties. Not something often explored in m/m romances where frankly the whole BDSM scene is unbelievably romantic.
In between these stories of timid steps through doorways to the full graphic BDSM there's "His Father's Advice" where a gay man, previously married but now living with his lover is questioned by his son who is worried that he must be gay because he found himself looking with appreciation at his best friend's ass while they were showering. Apart from the wisdom imparted as to how he would know whether he was gay or not, the father worried whether in some ways he should have treated him differently while he was growing up:
Is it something I did or said? Perhaps at seventeen I should be shaking his hand or punching him on the shoulder, rather than hugging and kissing him.
Then later he gives the advice that all parents need to remember:
"Sometimes it takes a long time to figure it out. It took me forty years. But I was working from the premise that you had to be one thing or another. And that's just not true, Sam."
Sam looked up; he was all ears. Jerry continued talking while he got Sam a glass of milk and made him a sandwich.
"There are lots of kinds of love: the love you feel for your buddy in a foxhole, or your partner—like you and Pat are to each other during a game—is as valid as the love you feel for Carolyn. So many factors are involved. At your age, you should just let your feelings roll over you and enjoy them; they're all good. When you sort out what you want in life, you can set priorities, and then you can decide whether or not to take action. When you're in tune with what you feel inside, you can act on it or suppress it, according to what you want to do with your life."
"You suppressed your gay feelings when you were with Mom?"
"I only knew one way to live, the way I'd been taught. Vinecovered cottage and kids, with a loving wife. I had no one to talk to about my feelings, and I was convinced that I was the only one in the world out of step. "But nowadays, you have alternatives. Nobody wants to pigeonhole you. You can be married and straight, or gay with kids, and successful in your career all at the same time.
Without going into too much detail, other stories are entertaining while still dealing with serious issues. A Doctor's dilemna in the early days of the discovery of the seriousness of the HIV virus, "What Friends are For" deals with the desire to have children, in "Christmas Help" an onlooker on life is able for a brief moment to reach out to someone else and make a connection, "Eye of the Hunter" and the pictures that story generates of a man who can have sex without really being aware of who he was with.
All styles of people are here, the large, the small, the vain, the dying all star in their own little tale, showing the diversity of men and their encounters. The title story "Out of the Box" deals with homophobia in a long but entertaining polemic about what the world would be like if all the gay people were instantaneously whisked away.
The collection is full and varied and delivers each "lesson" in a manner where you're being enlightened without really being aware you are, but to me the story that resonated the most and made me really appreciate the skill of Don's writing was "Tate's Death". In this, the man who had been Tate's lover describes his life and their relationship. As you follow his tale, two distinct personalities come to life and gradually you become aware of a third personality who has been there all along, begging for release. Understanding would have been a better alternative, but these stories aren't romances, they're real.
I thoroughly recommend searching this book out. Like the first in the series, it is available in print or Kindle from Amazon or direct from the author at http://www.donschecter.com
View all my reviews
December 4, 2010
Some Do's and Don'ts about Writing
As a writer, I find reading books by successful authors in my genre a very educational experience. What makes them successful? In many cases it's the sheer volume of quick, easy reads they produce. Carol Lynne, Stormy Glenn, Kim Dare and Claire being cases in point. Often (but not always) the standard of their writing improves as they progress. Even if they don't, people who only give their books 3 stars are still happy to buy more when they come out. So they must be doing something right, right?
During the recent "Black Friday" sales I purchased a stack of Claire Thompson's books. I'd seen her work rating highly on a number of lists but was wary because one of the first BDSM books I read was a m/f/m ménage of hers which I hated with a passion.
As I'm a fast reader, I churned through the new books pretty quickly because they are easy reads. In a way this is unfair to the author as quirks in their style of writing and "voice" become even more apparent as do repetitive phrasings, words (nether hole – shudder) and themes.
One of things I did notice about Claire's books is that too often she builds to a climax like a kiss or a fuck and then before it actually happens, wham, bam she ends the chapter. You turn the page expecting to see the event and the time has suddenly shifted forward to the next day or even the next week and you may or may not get a description of what happened as a recall. (Golden Boy and Golden Man were filled with those.) So what should have been a "show" instead becomes pretty much a "tell".
Another problem Claire had, and one that is shared by a number of writers: a lot of her characters' narratives are big "tells" about how they feel about something. It's sometimes as if they're on a therapist's couch. In a BDSM setting this can be appropriate as a sub is supposed to explore how he feels and relate this to the Dom (Jane Davitt's "Bound and Determined" does this very well). Mind you the Dom often doesn't get this opportunity, so maybe that's something to ponder (Syd McGinley's Dr Fell would agree with me on that one).
I wonder at times whether this ability to articulate and discuss the why they do something is very realistic. In my experience, while women still retain a lot of the ancient "gatherer" mentality in which the females had to consider and evaluate every berry, mushroom and vegetable they foraged and teach others, males in general still are the "hunters" who act first often without thinking and it is only later at the pub when they relax with their mates and have a few beers under their belt that they have the time or the inclination to discuss and boast about why they did whatever they did. Nowadays, sportsmen exhibit the same behavioural pattern.
Males rarely sit down time and time again and have meaningful heart to hearts.
Another beef in books? Switching to another character's POV and giving a complete rehash of a scene we've just had without it adding much new. While I don't dislike this dual POV aspect of the same situation, we have to learn something different, because if an author has established the character properly and the reader has learnt how they tick, we should have worked out what would be going on in their head without being told based on what they say and do. It's only when they do something unexpected or out of character this "explanation" is needed when we switch POV.
Another thing I find is that too often, to get from point A to point B in an emotional arc, the characters merely make a decision to change their ways, do it and then explain why they did it to the other character. Sometimes in just a couple of paragraphs.
Authors, please don't rush the good bits.
Next conflict. The absence of decent conflict can be a death knell. Here's a good post from Alex Voinov on the subject: Five Things Burn Notice Teaches About Writing
It's a well established dictum that all stories require conflict. This can be externally produced, the result of internal issues in a character, differences between characters, their lifestyles, their pasts. It can even be in the form of embarrassment and frustration. The whole point of romances is seeing how characters resolve and get beyond these conflicts. Preferably this requires a character to change their way of behaving, to learn lessons, to grow.
In many books, the conflict is in the initial situation ie the setup. This is often shown in the blurb. It is how the characters resolve this which makes a book memorable and different. Too often though, the resolution is too easy. Characters don't have to change to overcome things. Either the conflict is made to be a non issue or if they do change it just seems to be a case of "Oh, I see the error of my ways, I'm going to change" end of story.
Finally, guys have to talk like guys. Get rid of the soppy, sentimental dialogue. Man 'em up Dude.
Because I'm trying to discover their secret, I do tend to be analytical and possibly overly critical when I read now. This possibly isn't fair to some authors, but I need to discover what it is in their writing that I don't like to ensure I don't fall into the same traps and what I do like serves as an inspiration and a reminder to me of what I should be striving for.
Finally, don't make your male characters TGTBT (Too Good To Be True) that's nearly as bad as females being (Too Silly To Live).
Given the popularity of some author's books though, obviously female readers like this. A lesson I have to remember.....
During the recent "Black Friday" sales I purchased a stack of Claire Thompson's books. I'd seen her work rating highly on a number of lists but was wary because one of the first BDSM books I read was a m/f/m ménage of hers which I hated with a passion.
As I'm a fast reader, I churned through the new books pretty quickly because they are easy reads. In a way this is unfair to the author as quirks in their style of writing and "voice" become even more apparent as do repetitive phrasings, words (nether hole – shudder) and themes.
One of things I did notice about Claire's books is that too often she builds to a climax like a kiss or a fuck and then before it actually happens, wham, bam she ends the chapter. You turn the page expecting to see the event and the time has suddenly shifted forward to the next day or even the next week and you may or may not get a description of what happened as a recall. (Golden Boy and Golden Man were filled with those.) So what should have been a "show" instead becomes pretty much a "tell".
Another problem Claire had, and one that is shared by a number of writers: a lot of her characters' narratives are big "tells" about how they feel about something. It's sometimes as if they're on a therapist's couch. In a BDSM setting this can be appropriate as a sub is supposed to explore how he feels and relate this to the Dom (Jane Davitt's "Bound and Determined" does this very well). Mind you the Dom often doesn't get this opportunity, so maybe that's something to ponder (Syd McGinley's Dr Fell would agree with me on that one).
I wonder at times whether this ability to articulate and discuss the why they do something is very realistic. In my experience, while women still retain a lot of the ancient "gatherer" mentality in which the females had to consider and evaluate every berry, mushroom and vegetable they foraged and teach others, males in general still are the "hunters" who act first often without thinking and it is only later at the pub when they relax with their mates and have a few beers under their belt that they have the time or the inclination to discuss and boast about why they did whatever they did. Nowadays, sportsmen exhibit the same behavioural pattern.
Males rarely sit down time and time again and have meaningful heart to hearts.
Another beef in books? Switching to another character's POV and giving a complete rehash of a scene we've just had without it adding much new. While I don't dislike this dual POV aspect of the same situation, we have to learn something different, because if an author has established the character properly and the reader has learnt how they tick, we should have worked out what would be going on in their head without being told based on what they say and do. It's only when they do something unexpected or out of character this "explanation" is needed when we switch POV.
Another thing I find is that too often, to get from point A to point B in an emotional arc, the characters merely make a decision to change their ways, do it and then explain why they did it to the other character. Sometimes in just a couple of paragraphs.
Authors, please don't rush the good bits.
Next conflict. The absence of decent conflict can be a death knell. Here's a good post from Alex Voinov on the subject: Five Things Burn Notice Teaches About Writing
It's a well established dictum that all stories require conflict. This can be externally produced, the result of internal issues in a character, differences between characters, their lifestyles, their pasts. It can even be in the form of embarrassment and frustration. The whole point of romances is seeing how characters resolve and get beyond these conflicts. Preferably this requires a character to change their way of behaving, to learn lessons, to grow.
In many books, the conflict is in the initial situation ie the setup. This is often shown in the blurb. It is how the characters resolve this which makes a book memorable and different. Too often though, the resolution is too easy. Characters don't have to change to overcome things. Either the conflict is made to be a non issue or if they do change it just seems to be a case of "Oh, I see the error of my ways, I'm going to change" end of story.
Finally, guys have to talk like guys. Get rid of the soppy, sentimental dialogue. Man 'em up Dude.
Because I'm trying to discover their secret, I do tend to be analytical and possibly overly critical when I read now. This possibly isn't fair to some authors, but I need to discover what it is in their writing that I don't like to ensure I don't fall into the same traps and what I do like serves as an inspiration and a reminder to me of what I should be striving for.
Finally, don't make your male characters TGTBT (Too Good To Be True) that's nearly as bad as females being (Too Silly To Live).
Given the popularity of some author's books though, obviously female readers like this. A lesson I have to remember.....
Claire Thompson
Handyman by Claire ThompsonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
As a writer, I find reading books by successful authors in my genre a very educational experience. What makes them successful? In many cases it's the sheer volume of quick, easy reads they produce. Carol Lynne, Stormy Glenn, Kim Dare and Claire being cases in point. Often (but not always) the standard of their writing improves as they progress. Even if they don't, people who only give their books 3 stars are still happy to buy more when they come out. So they must be doing something right, right?
During the recent "Black Friday" sales I purchased a stack of Claire Thompson's books. I'd seen her work rating highly on a number of lists but was wary because one of the first BDSM books I read was a m/f/m ménage of hers which I hated with a passion.
As I'm a fast reader, I churned through the new books pretty quickly because they are easy reads. In a way this is unfair to the author as quirks in their style of writing and "voice" become even more apparent as do repetitive phrasings, words (nether hole – shudder) and themes.
"Handyman" is obviously her most popular, so I left it until last. However, this review also contains references to "Blind Faith" as the problems and strengths I found in it illustrate better what I'm trying to say.
What I don't like about Claire's writing.
Too often she builds to a climax like a kiss or a fuck and then before it actually happens, wham, bam she ends the chapter. You turn the page expecting to see the event and the time has suddenly shifted forward to the next day or even the next week and you may or may not get a description of what happened as a recall. (Golden Boy and Golden Man were filled with those.) So what should have been a "show" instead becomes pretty much a "tell".
Take this section in "Blind Faith" for example after we've had a big lead up to their first kiss since Zane came back, then mid-kiss almost, the time suddenly switches to the morning after:
Aidan touched his lips in wonder, the imprint of Zane's kiss still hot upon them. The air in the room crackled with desire. The evening had a sense of the surreal about it. Perhaps it really was just another of his erotic dreams. In a moment he would wake up in his bed, his hand on his cock, alone as always. Yet he knew it was no dream. The man next to him was real, his familiar scent a compelling combination of cedar, honey and the musk of desire. He wanted Zane as much as he'd ever wanted him. The kiss had blown the gates off his carefully corralled feelings and he knew he was in trouble.
Lyrical writing, but not as good as "seeing" this encounter in the moment. These types of feelings can still be used during the event. Especially as immediately afterwards it switches into a "show" scene and you get unimportant dialogue about saving electricity!
In fact a lot of her books contain an unusually high amount of recall and backstory. Given the short length of the books, this can sometimes create an imbalance.
Another problem I have: a lot of her characters' narratives are big "tells" about how they feel about something. It's sometimes as if they're on a therapist's couch. In a BDSM setting this can be appropriate as a sub is supposed to explore how he feels and relate this to the Dom (Jane Davitt's "Bound and Determined" does this very well). Mind you the Dom often doesn't get this opportunity so maybe that's something to ponder (Syd McGinley's Dr Fell would agree with me on that one).
I wonder at times whether this ability to articulate and discuss the why they do something is very realistic. In my experience, while women still retain a lot of the ancient "gatherer" mentality in which the females had to consider and evaluate every berry, mushroom and vegetable they foraged and teach others, males in general still are the "hunters" who act first often without thinking and it is only later at the pub when they relax with their mates and have a few beers under their belt that they have the time or the inclination to discuss and boast about why they did whatever they did. Nowadays, sport exhibits the same behavioural pattern.
Males rarely sit down time and time again and have meaningful heart to hearts like Claire's characters invariably do.
Another beef? Sometimes when she switches to the other character's POV we get a complete rehash of a scene we've just had without it adding much new. While I don't dislike this dual POV aspect of the same situation, we have to learn something different, because if she's established her characters properly and the reader has learnt how they tick, we should have worked out what would be going on in their head without being told based on what they say and do. It's only when they do something unexpected or out of character this "explanation" is needed when we switch POV.
Another thing I find is that too often to get from point A to point B in their emotional arc the characters merely make a decision to change their ways, do it and then explain why they did it to the other character. Sometimes in just a couple of paragraphs. I mentioned this in more detail in my review of "Switching Gears".
To sum up. She rushes the good bits.
Next conflict.
It's a well established dictum that all stories require conflict. This can be externally produced, the result of internal issues in a character, differences between characters, their lifestyles, their pasts. It can even be in the form of embarrassment and frustration. The whole point of romances is seeing how characters resolve and get beyond these conflicts. Preferably this requires a character to change their way of behaving, to learn lessons, to grow.
So my next beef with Claire's books is that the conflict is often in the initial situation ie the setup. This is often shown in the blurb. It is how the characters resolve this which makes a book memorable and different. Too often though, the resolution is too easy. Her characters don't have to change to overcome things. Either the conflict is made to be a non issue or if they do change it just seems to be a case of "Oh, I see the error of my ways, I'm going to change" end of story.
Here's an example in "Blind Faith" again. A person who is suddenly blind is going to, at some stage, whether he likes it or not, feel his disability creates an inequality in a relationship. He won't be able to do things the same way his partner will. I imagine this would be a huge hurdle to overcome in RL. There are a number of ways to resolve it. Find other ways they are better or physical ways to minimize this discrepancy. Yet this major stumbling block in the relationship is solved in a couple of short scenes, one making a tomato sauce and one a cake:
"...Aidan said, grinning. "I made it! Homemade tomato sauce. You used to love it, remember?" It had taken him hours to prepare the sauce, much longer than when he could see, but he'd been determined to persevere. He wanted to be more of an equal with Zane instead of the invalid he sometimes felt, reliant on his lover for so much.Aiden's realization of this inequality and worrying about it could have been a valid source of major conflict to explore but it's just mentioned and dealt with in one paragraph and then later a similar one where he bakes a cake. The element is there, but it feels like it was a box that had to be ticked rather than viscerally real.
Feeling he would be a burden to Zane would have been another conflict that could have been more thoroughly explored. Holding him back from what he normally did. She does explore this theme a bit more, giving him a return travel ticket. Bit again the issue is resolved before it ever really becomes an issue.
Then sometimes they seem to say things totally out of character. Take this:
"What are you talking about? Aren't we a couple? Partners? I used to drag through my days, Zane, before your return. You've given back meaning to my life. I could never repay you enough. Everything I have is yours. You must know that."I can't see an insecure guy who is always feeling he's a burden saying this. Similarly Zane says this: :
"Me?" Zane sounded genuinely surprised. "No, my place is with you now, Aidan. I couldn't leave you if I tried."This from a guy who had disappeared overseas at regular intervals whenever he got itchy feet. Aiden hardly questions it. A more normal response, in my mind, would have been that he would have been bitter that it was only when he was blind that Zane hung around. Pity is one of the hardest emotions to deal with. Zane may have also felt love but we are only told he didn't pity him. Never shown it. A bit of tough love would have been a much more interesting relationship.
Finally, and Alex Voinov mentioned this in his review. Too much sentimental bullshit/lovey dovey dialogue for guys. In some cases one character's dialogue goes on for a whole page without any breakup of inner thought to accompany the speech. No self censorship, no reading of the reaction of the way the other person is receiving the information. This is what can sometimes make her writing two dimensional.
In "The Handyman" there's another section where they have a really long detailed conversation about their feelings. Real guys would act first, not think.
But now I've touched on "The Handyman" here's what I like about Claire's writing:
I like her comments on gay life and the way the world reacts to homosexuals. She puts some pretty powerful statements about gender, sexuality into some of her character's dialogue:
"You think we're all bisexual but society conditions us one way or the other. I know, I know."and later:
"Sometimes I think we're all really bisexual, to one degree or another. I mean, look at girls. Girls are permitted to cuddle and kiss, to walk hand in hand and tell each other they love each other. Boys are strongly discouraged from behaving this way, but who's to say the impulse isn't there? I think humans seek comfort and love where they can find it, but our society discourages one sex over the other from expressing it, except in very defined, prescribed ways. I mean, think about it. Really think back. Was there ever someone you felt strongly about? A guy, I mean. Someone you might have had feelings for that seemed to go beyond what society dictated was proper?"Now maybe it is just that character's opinion but messages like this do make readers think about these issues. Which can never be a bad thing.
Here's another one:
There was no question it was harder to be involved with another man. Society, at least this society, still frowned and judged, for all its pretended acceptance in the media. Gay men were still the butt of jokes about interior decorators and limp-wristed handshakes. They were still the target of degradation, discrimination and violence, based solely on their sexual orientation. Even in his own family, the bigotry and misunderstanding existed—Eric a perfect case in point. Even his own reaction, when he'd seen Paul and Will kissing at Will's door, had been one of disapproval beneath the jealousy. Men shouldn't indulge in public displays of affection, certainly not with each other.Now whether a man would think like this and verbalize his thoughts as distinctly as this is questionable, but I like the fact she does make these statements in her books.
Again "The Handyman" suffers to a certain extent from some of the faults outlined above with the conflict being solved too easily. It might have been a more interesting book if Will had played around a bit with Paul and his mates in the dungeon.
Because I'm trying to discover their secret, I do tend to be analytical and possibly overly critical when I read. This possibly isn't fair to them, but I need to discover what it is in their writing that I don't like to ensure I don't fall into the same traps and what I do like serves as an inspiration and a reminder to me of what I should be striving for.
You may think this review is a bit harsh, but this is sort of an amalgamated look at the seventeen book of hers I bought and read one after the other. Will I read more? Yep, I haven't read "Switch" or "Polar Reaction" yet.
Finally, sometimes her male characters are TGTBT (Too Good To Be True) which is nearly as bad as females being (Too Silly To Live).
Obviously female readers like this though. A lesson I have to remember.....
View all my reviews
November 27, 2010
Mimosa by Syd McGinley
Mimosa by Syd McGinleyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love Syd McGinley's Dr Fell series, so decided to read a few of her other books. "Mimosa" was written in 2005, making it one of her earlier books.
While not perfect, Mimosa is definitely worth reading. It can be confusing as it does jump around time wise, so the reader has to pay attention. Sometimes this jumping happens mid paragraph and can even morph into another memory of a different time as the POV character, Nick, tries to come to term with his past after he has an argument with his boyfriend.
The story is told by reveal. We only gradually learn who Nick is, what he looks like and his problem. Take the time to let this information be teased out just like roots of a pot-bound plant. What may look like haphazard facts do straighten out into a logical story, much like Nick's coming to terms with his past and what is more important conveying these to his lover, Matt.
The story starts with a memory of an argument they had the previous night, as Matt delivers what to Nick feels is an ultimatum:
"It's spring, Nick. We've been seeing each other a year. Don't you think you've stayed buried long enough? Come on back to life with me, please?"A lot of the next part of the story is Nick remembering what brought them to that point. The highs and the lows and eventually the reason he has been "holding out" on his lover is revealed to Matt and the reader.
Yes there is the Big Misunderstanding and in fact Syd even alludes to that in the text:
I always thought farce movies were stupid, "Say what you mean!" I've been known to yell at the screen (at home, I'm not a yob) so this misunderstanding is justice, I suppose.But this in a way reflects his fear of communicating what he's been trying to forget and ignore.
The random memories which are each triggered by an action or word in the current time do make sense and reflect how our minds work. It's an ambitious format. Brave. One of those books it's worth re-reading immediately after finishing to fully appreciate it.
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MImosa by Syd McGinley
Mimosa by Syd McGinleyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love Syd McGinley's Dr Fell series, so decided to read a few of her other books. "Mimosa" was written in 2005, making it one of her earlier books.
While not perfect, Mimosa is definitely worth reading. It can be confusing as it does jump around time wise, so the reader has to pay attention. Sometimes this jumping happens mid paragraph and can even morph into another memory of a different time as the POV character, Nick, tries to come to term with his past after he has an argument with his boyfriend.
The story is told by reveal. We only gradually learn who Nick is, what he looks like and his problem. Take the time to let this information be teased out just like roots of a pot-bound plant. What may look like haphazard facts do straighten out into a logical story, much like Nick's coming to terms with his past and what is more important conveying these to his lover, Matt.
The story starts with a memory of an argument they had the previous night, as Matt delivers what to Nick feels is an ultimatum:
"It's spring, Nick. We've been seeing each other a year. Don't you think you've stayed buried long enough? Come on back to life with me, please?"A lot of the next part of the story is Nick remembering what brought them to that point. The highs and the lows and eventually the reason he has been "holding out" on his lover is revealed to Matt and the reader.
Yes there is the Big Misunderstanding and in fact Syd even alludes to that in the text:
I always thought farce movies were stupid, "Say what you mean!" I've been known to yell at the screen (at home, I'm not a yob) so this misunderstanding is justice, I suppose.But this in a way reflects his fear of communicating what he's been trying to forget and ignore.
The random memories which are each triggered by an action or word in the current time do make sense and reflect how our minds work. It's an ambitious format. Brave. One of those books it's worth re-reading immediately after finishing to fully appreciate it.
View all my reviews
