Eric Arvin's Blog, page 43

Whatcha Hidin' There?

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The Head and the Heart - Down in the Valley

Something new and fantastic:

My New Favorite Photograph Ever, Parts II & III

I mean, REALLY! How does it get better than a cute baby dolphin being held by a hot grownup sexy man? Thanks to my sister Amy fr the second pic.

Can't Tame What I Got

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My New Favorite Photograph Ever

A baby dolphin! Are you kidding me?! This is so damn cute I just had a seizure. I mean, of course I knew a baby dolphin would be small, but I've only ever seen them in nature programs with their mothers. To see one in contrast to a human...well, I just don't have words.

New Release: 'Erotica Exotica'

I have something new out today! An erotic short story in the new Richard Labonte anthology, Erotica Exotica. Here's the blurb:

"Great sex can be magical, but what if magic adds sizzle¬—or horror—to the sex?

Wrestlers with superhero powers battle for combat prowess and sexual dominance in a secret League of Justice. A demanding demon has its horrific way with a gay couple whose wonderful day together goes awry. The Devil's seed oozes evil on a New York subway car. A vampire's seduction of a beautiful youth ends tragically. The unlikely love of two men survives the tragic death of one. A college student experiences a nerve-wracking close encounter with dick-grabbing tentacles slithering out of his toilet. And when a man comes to visit an old school buddy, he's seduced by the father who has stolen his son's soul...

Arcane mystery, supernatural seduction, sex that haunts in a manner both weird and wondrous—these stories by Lawrence Schimel, Tom Cardamone, Gregory L. Norris, Bard, Mark Wildyr, David Holly, Johnny Murdoc, Davem Verne, and others offer sexual thrills and perverse arousal, spooky chills and magical orgasms. Dare to enter a sexual Otherworld."

Sounds great, huh? My story is called "Gordy & the Vampire." It centers around a dumb but gorgeous college guy who gets mixed up with a cum-sucking vampire - a creature who feeds on the testosterone of other young men to get bigger and bigger. And since Gordy is the biggest man on campus he's the primary target. This is the story I'm working on with Absolutbleu as a comic book for Class Comics, with some changes. You may remember Gordy from a few shorts I wrote that made it into my anthology Slight Details & Random Events. In that book HVH illustrated Gordy's beefiness:

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Here's a rough sketch of Abs' version:





You can get Erotica Exotica at the Bold Strokes site, or, if you want to help some indie LGBT bookstores out, try Giovanni's Room or Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse. And definitely let me know what you think!

Sir

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A Shepard, a Shepherd

This past week saw the anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard, who died in 1998 after being brutally tortured while tied to a fence. Even today when I hear his name it's like there is a rip in the air around me. Like the pixels, the atoms and particles holding the world cohesive, for a moment scramble and blur. There have been a few times in my life I have felt this momentary confusion - the horrors of 9/11, Oklahoma City, and the two major Tsunamis that have ravaged parts of the world in the last decade to name a few - but Matthew Shepard's murder is the only time I can remember I felt it on an individual level. Maybe it was because his face, so endearing and innocent, haunts me to this day, staring back from those now famous everyday photographs. Photos of a boy who couldn't possibly fathom how important he was going to be.

I remember being in Panama City one year with my college friends. Everyone was headed to the beach, but just prior to stepping out my attention was drawn to a television airing of The Laramie Project, a powerful film adaptation of the stage play about the aftermath of Shepard's death on his town. I made it to the beach a couple hours later, but my thoughts were scattered the rest of that day.

In the years since Matthew's death, he has become a hero. He has inspired countless works of modern art. (Melissa Etheridge wrote the best song she's ever recorded, centered around him, called "Scarecrow.") His name has been instrumental in passing Hate Crimes legislation, and for changing more than a few minds. That young man has changed lives. He has, for lack of a more precise word, become a martyr. But maybe that is the perfect word after all. In his Book of All Hours, writer Hal Duncan has as one of his central characters a young man based on Matthew Shepard. In fact, in one of this character's incarnations he is Matthew Shepard. The character's last name is used to great effect. A Shepard, a shepherd. A Christ-like figure and all that that implies. Some may roll their eye at this, but when you think of exactly how Matthew Shepard died, of the hate that caused his death, it certainly makes me think. Parallels and patterns.

Anyway, he is certainly a hero to me. I am surprised when I hear younger people ask "Who is Matthew Shepard?" Surprised and irritated. But then, I guess, like Harvey Milk, his legacy isn't taught in classrooms yet. And let that be the important word here: Yet.

I'm a Pretty Girl, Mama!

My friend Skip pulled this pic of me through the DRAGULATOR,


And I was transformed! Where's my Miami Sound Machine?!

Poetry

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