Cameron D. James's Blog, page 26

Book Review: Fruit: A New Anthology of Contemporary Australian Gay Writing

Fruit: A New Anthology of Contemporary Australian Gay Writing

Gary Dunne, editor

The pick of the crop.

This unique collection of gay writing is by the best of Australia’s gay authors; accessible and entertaining stories that illustrate the expanding diversity of our community.

A failed intimacy with a touring porn stud. The plottings of a famous novelist. A TV chat show guest is exposed. Overnight lovers in a bush caravan park. A leathery buzzard nighclubs the Los Angeles curfew. A curious schoolboy grows up in Athens. And adventures from Stockholm, Tokyo, Wangaratta and the Gulf of Siam.

Exciting new writing that is both upfront and confronting; twenty potent examples of today’s Australian gay literature, each one a great read.

I see some great reviews for this book online — well, only a couple given that the book predates sites like Goodreads, but the two reviews I’ve found are both four stars — and I can’t help but wonder if I’m missing something.

First, let’s get the obvious out of the way.  The blurb is quite misleading.  Yes, it does describe some of the stories in this collection, but given the cover, with it’s naked hunk, and the steamy nature of the blurb, I was expecting dirty stories.  Maybe some hot romance, maybe some erotica, or maybe even just some good stories with a naughty edge to them. Instead, the book is very literary in tone.  This is not the fault of either the writers or the editor.  This is the publisher/marketer choosing to package a book in a way that does not accurately reflect its contents.

That being said, I did have difficulty with the stories.  I quickly came to understand that these stories are more in the “literary” genre.  The language is carefully crafted, unusual imagery is pieced together to evoke certain emotions, and the world is explored through unique perspectives.  However, some of the stories suffered from rather clumsy writing and others from an apparent lack of plot.  “Literature” still needs to be about something.  Literature is not writing for the sake of writing. A literary plot is, of course, different than general fiction plots.  You usually won’t find stories of bank heists, murderers, or young men experiencing sexual highs in literature.  But literature still has a plot.  Many of these stories do not.

Some of the stories do capture times and places in gay collective history and experience, and for that, it is important.  It does capture moments in the lives of gay men, moments that are experienced by many, and thus should be recorded.  But the imposing style of many of the stories makes this book, and its important messages, largely inaccessible.  I skimmed a few stories and I’m pretty sure I didn’t miss much. I suspect, though, if a collection like this were to be attempted today, the quality would be through the roof.  This book was published (if I remember correctly) over 20 years ago.  Nowadays, there are a lot of LGBTTQ writers of very strong calibre who could put together a knockout collection of literature that is both accessible and meaningful.

Book Review: Star Trek: Enterprise: The Romulan War: To Brave the Storm

Star Trek: Enterprise: The Romulan War: To Brave the Storm

Michael A. Martin

EARTH STANDS ALONE

The Coalition of Planets has shattered, with Vulcan, Andor, and Tellar abrogating the treaty. Their pledge to come to the mutual defense of any power that is attacked has been shunted aside. Horrified by how easily the Romulans can seize control of their advanced starships, turning them into weapons, Andor and Tellar have joined Vulcan on the sidelines. Humanity is now the only thing that stands between the Romulan Star Empire and total domination of the galaxy.

To drive humans from the stars, the Romulans employ ruthless and murderous tactics . . . and even dare to strike on the Vulcan homeworld with the hopes of demoralizing their Vulcan brethren. Heartened by their victories, the Romulans carry their all-out war assault closer to the heart of humanity–Earth.

But the tattered remains of Starfleet stand unwavering, with the resolution that never again would any enemy strike ever reach Earth. On the front lines of the Earth-Romulan War is the United Earth flagship, the “Starship Enterprise.” Her captain, Jonathan Archer, has seen his vessel of exploration become a battleship. Once hailed for his work bringing the Coalition of Planets into existence, Archer is now a pariah. Undaunted, the captain keeps fighting, searching for allies and determined to do his duty: to save Earth and forge a new federation of planets.

I was really reluctant going into this book.  The first half of the Romulan War duology, Beneath the Raptor’s Wing, was not a favourite of mine.  In fact, the Enterprise books have been less than stellar for me.  I think part of it is due to the fact that Enterprise doesn’t really have a solid premise of its own.  Like the original series and Next Generation, Enterprise is simply about humanity exploring the Alpha Quadrant and dealing with local politics and the “alien of the week.”  These three series are very similar and I think, because of this, the strongest of the three stands out as the best, which I feel is Next Generation.  (Deep Space Nine and Voyager have very distinct storylines and environments that allow them to stand on their own.)

It’s also hard to get too excited about a war when you already know a big part of the outcome.  Earth and Romulus are in an uneasy peace — really more just a state of non-aggression — by the time Original Series comes around, so we know that it ends without one race conquering the other.  Also, for all the threats against Earth and Vulcan, we know they will escape relatively unharmed.  As well, as I mentioned, I didn’t find the first book, Beneath the Raptor’s Wing, to be all that captivating.  If I remember correctly, I felt it dragged on.

Now that I’m catching up with my reading, I have a small pile of Enterprise books that I bought and never read… and so now I have to start digging into them.

And was I ever surprised by how much I’m enjoying my re-experiencing the realm of Enterprise.

This second half of the Romulan War carried along nicely, jumping from event to event and nicely detailing how this crisis leads up to the founding of the Federation.  (The actual founding and growth of the Federation is currently being explored by Christopher L. Bennett in his Rise of the Federation novels, which I’m currently reading through.)

This book helped me fall in love with Enterprise again.  I’m enjoying getting to know the characters again and experiencing the world one more time.  Despite the difficulty of maintaining tension when the outcome is reasonably obvious, Martin does a good job of grabbing the reader and carrying them along.

To Brave the Storm was a high quality entry in the Enterprise series, one that was both enjoyable and energizing.  I’m powering through my remaining Enterprise books as you read this.

Book Review: Boystown: Season One

Boystown: Season One Jake Biondi

One of the most diverse and lively neighborhoods in the country, Chicago’s BOYSTOWN has something for everyone. So it’s no wonder that Jesse Morgan and Cole O’Brien chose to live there upon graduating from college. Ready to begin the next phase of their lives in an exciting new city, Jesse and Cole quickly find themselves at the center of a new group of friends. Joyelle and Derek Mancini have been happily married for years, but Derek is harboring a secret that could tear them apart. Derek’s brother Emmett is about to discover that his boyfriend Keith Colgan has a past that will haunt them both. Long time couple Logan Pryce and Max Taylor must face a crisis that neither of them expected. And, before they realize it, Jesse and Cole find themselves at the center of it all in the adult playground known as BOYSTOWN.

Boystown comes across like a gay soap opera, which I think is Biondi’s intention.  The “season” is broken down into several “episodes,” and the storylines are very much like those found in soap operas.  It seems half the people are cheating on their partners and there’s a dangerous criminal on the loose, and of course there’s the usual soap opera-type drama to keep the story going even in the “quiet” moments. Biondi’s writing is rather sparse, but the oddly captivating story easily makes up for it.  I have to admit that halfway through the first episode, I wasn’t really taken by it, but once I dug into the second episode and really caught on to the soap opera style, I was quickly hooked.  And with each episode ending on a cliffhanger, I, of course, had to immediately dive into the next one.  It was like binge watching but for books.

You Are A Brand – Sex For Money Post #8

Sex For Money is a semi-regular blog series about my experiences in writing, publishing, and marketing gay erotica and M/M erotic romance.  All of this information is from my own experience, so your experience may differ.  It’s hoped that sharing this information might be helpful to new and aspiring erotica and erotic romance authors, as I see a lot of questions and a lot of misinformation out there.  To read more Sex For Money posts, click here.

Like any good Canadian, I tend to listen to CBC Radio while I’m in the car.  (For non-Canadians, this is our national public broadcaster’s talk/news radio.)  On Saturdays, there’s a show called “Under the Influence,” which is all about marketing and advertising strategies taken by big companies and brands.  Today, they explored how the individual person is, essentially, a brand.

Unfortunately, I was in the middle of errands and had to get out of the car and ended up missing most of the show, BUT I did catch the gist of the message…and I realized how it relates to writers.

Everything you do online, or in the public, is part of your brand.  The examples given at the opening of the show were of people applying for jobs… using email addresses like fluffybunny700@hotmail.com to submit your resume, and having a Facebook page full of shots of you getting plastered at the bar… well, that gives an impression of who you are as a person when they are considering whether or not to hire you.  It is, essentially, your brand.

Authors need to consider this very carefully.  Everything you do in your author name is part of your author brand.

Ideally, when one takes a look at your website, social media profiles, products, and other facets, there should be some sense of cohesion to the whole gamut.  You should have some sense of brand in there.  Doing wildly different things on different platforms creates an incoherent or conflicting brand, and readers might not know what to expect if they pick up one of your books.

For myself, I have a Tumblr and a Pinterest full of hot guys, and a Facebook and WordPress that allow me to show a bit more of my writing/reading side… but together, they work to create my brand.  All four platforms have to do with hot, sexy guys, but the strengths/limitations of the platforms affect how my brand is expressed.  Pinterest and Facebook have to be cleaner, whereas Tumblr can be downright filthy.  Wordpress lets me be wordy, whereas Twitter keeps me brief.

A big part of the author brand is the author persona.  Ideally, you should be filtering your real self to create your brand.  (You probably do this anyway with your personal Facebook account — do you post photos of yourself getting shit-faced at the bar?  Probably not, because you know it’ll come back to haunt you someday.)  So, I’m not talking censorship, I’m talking the creation and maintenance of a version of yourself that best projects your brand — and best attracts potential readers.

This doesn’t mean creating a fake version of yourself.  By all means, interact with others on social media as you would as a real person.  But maybe when you’re having a lousy day, don’t pour your heart out and vent your frustrations on your author platform… that’s not really the place for it.  Saying that you’re having a crappy day and maybe summarizing why in a sentence or two is fine — your readers care about you.  Posting a pages-long diatribe of how the world is out to get you… well… then you start to turn off readers.

At the end of the day, you want people to buy your books.  This means you need to think of your books as a product and yourself as a business, which means you need to consider your brand.  What does your social media platform, your brand, say about you as an author?  Is that what you want people to think of when they interact with your brand?  How can you change it to craft that image?

For authors of erotica and erotic romance, we all have similar qualities we want/have in our brands.  We want to appear professional, we want our books to be smoking hot, we want our brand to appear seductive and alluring, and we want people to feel they can be sexually satisfied by picking up one of our books.  There are many ways this can be achieved, so there is no one set formula.  Using the guidelines (and maybe you have some additional or different qualities you want your brand to express), you can craft your own brand and discern how to proceed on your social media platforms.

Book Review: Cover Me

Cover Me

L.A. Witt

When paramedic Nick Swain responds to a shooting in a seedy neighborhood, his entire world is thrown off its axis. His life is threatened…twice. Allegations of racism and medical neglect threaten his career and his ability to sleep at night. Not that he’ll be sleeping any time soon after the incident throws him into the path – and arms – of Detective Andrew Carmichael.

One hot night after another with Andrew may help Nick relieve some stress, but sex won’t solve every problem in his life. With the media hounding him and the city watching his every move, he starts to wonder if the world is out to get him.

The world may not be out to get him, but someone is.

And that someone wants Nick dead.

I read the Cover Me series in completely the wrong order.  I originally didn’t know the order when I bought all three volumes and  ended up reading book two (Trust Me), then book three (Search Me), and now book one (Cover Me).  Thus, I knew some of the details of Cover Me, based on references mentioned in the sequels.  While the second book follows a different couple, the third one follows Nick and Andrew from this book — so it was interesting to see them struggle in their relationship in book three, then to go back and read how they first met in book one.

One of L.A. Witt’s strengths, and the reason I love reading her books, is the way she really digs deep into a character’s emotions and his need for his love interest.  This book is told from Nick’s POV, and through that, we get a sense of his deep and immediate need for Andrew, of what the sex they have really means to him, what it does to him.  This book is filled with a lot of sex, and all of it advances the love-interest-plot significantly.

The external plot, about someone wanting Nick dead, is really secondary, even though I think it’s meant to be the primary plot.  I found myself skimming the external plot, and then slowing down my reading when I reached a sex scene and the development of the internal plot.

The love affair is scorching and alone makes the book worth reading.

Book Review: Excavation

Excavation

James Rollins

High in the Andes, Dr. Henry Conklin discovers a 500-year-old mummy that should not be there. While deep in the South American jungle, Conklin’s nephew, Sam, stumbles upon a remarkable site nestled between two towering peaks, a place hidden from human eyes for thousands of years. Ingenious traps have been laid to ensnare the careless and unsuspecting, and wealth beyond imagining could be the reward for those with the courage to face the terrible unknown. But where the perilous journey inward ends—in the cold, shrouded heart of a breathtaking necropolis—something else is waiting for Sam Conklin and his exploratory party. A thing created by Man, yet not humanly possible. Something wondrous . . . something terrifying.

Excavation was one of the few books I had left in reading through James Rollins’s catalogue — and I definitely enjoyed it a lot.  (Now I just have to read a couple of the newest books.  I’m also not yet reading his co-authored books.)

Like all James Rollins books, Excavation has extended sections that take place underground.  (In an author bio I read once, Rollins said he was a fan of spelunking and scuba diving, so almost all of his books take place underground or underwater.)  And like all Rollins books, Excavation mixes ancient history with modern science, creating a thrilling crisis with global implications.

While the writing style makes it clear that this is an earlier work of Rollins, as he has certainly gotten better with time, Excavation is one of the strongest of his earlier novels.  Rollins brings together a diverse cast of characters that bring unique skills and gifts to the plot, allowing each character a moment in the spotlight.  I particularly like this aspect, as I often tire of books where the central character seems able to do anything and solve any problem.  The characters in Excavation had to work together to get through it alive.

(And as a gay reader/writer, I was particularly pleased to see that Rollins included an openly gay character who not only played a central role, but was not stereotypically or flamboyantly gay.  I believe this is only the second time I’ve come across a gay character in Rollins’s books, but I particularly like how he handles them — they are seen as just regular characters who happen to be gay.  They are just as strong and courageous as all the others and they are not handled with special care because of their sexuality.  Far too often in fiction, I find that gay characters are included by an author to show how gay characters are normal people… and end up taking it to far that the character either becomes unbelievable or uninteresting.  Rollins handles gay characters very well.)

And if I can continue driving the James-Rollins-praise-mobile… Rollins does an excellent job of combining history and modern science, and adding in a touch of fiction to tie it all together to a thrilling and mysterious whole.  I’ve read other authors who have tried to do the same thing to varying degrees of success, but there was always an element of unbelievability to it, whereas Rollins gives everything such a polish that whatever he writes seems entirely plausible, despite knowing in the back of my mind that it’s complete fiction.

Rollins, in general and in this book, creates a believable world with an imminent crisis, and pulls the reader along for the thrilling ride.

GUEST POST: Adjusting to a New Lifestyle by Lucy Felthouse

Greetings all,

I’m super-thrilled to be one of the hosts for Lucy Felthouse on her blog tour for Native Tongue, her hot new release.  Lucy stopped by to share some thoughts with us — so dive right in and learn about Native Tongue — and then check out further down in the post for a blurb, an excerpt, and a giveaway at the bottom of the post!

Adjusting to a New Lifestyle by Lucy Felthouse (@cw1985)

When I wrote Desert Heat, I didn’t give a single thought to how the characters, Hugh Wilkes and Rustam Balkhi, would act in public together. The book is based in Afghanistan, in a military setting, and their relationship is absolutely secret, and has to stay that way for many different reasons which you’ll understand if you read the book—I don’t want to give it away. So I didn’t need to consider how they would behave with friends or family, or simply out on the street.

This all changed when I decided to write a follow up. Native Tongue is set back in England, and my characters no longer have to keep quiet about their sexuality and their relationship. However, I knew it wouldn’t be as simple as them arriving on British soil and suddenly holding hands and being perfectly at ease with their new situation. For starters, both men are still “in the closet”.

Things are a little easier for Balkhi now, given he’s away from Muslim extremists that already had a problem with his choosing to translate for the British Army, and would have an even bigger problem with his sexuality. He’s in London, back in medical training, and can be much more himself.

Wilkes, on the other hand, still has his family, friends and colleagues to contend with. He’s sure nobody that matters would have a problem with his being gay, but he’s got to tell them first…

This doesn’t end their woes, though. Their complete change of setting causes other problems. They’ve gone from having an utter need for secrecy to being pretty much able to do what they want. And adjusting to the habits and behaviours of several months can’t be done overnight. The boys have got to take it one step at a time, and support each other. But it won’t be easy.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Be sure and check out the giveaway, and please visit my other blog tour stops, too.

Happy Reading,

Lucy x

Excerpt:

Balkhi glanced at the clock on the wall. “No, not really. It is almost nine o’clock. If I am quick, we should be able to find somewhere still serving food.”

“I thought we could head to the Soho area—that’s open pretty late, I think.”

Raising his eyebrows, Balkhi replied, “Um, okay. That is the gay area, isn’t it?”

Wilkes nodded. “Are you okay with that? I just thought it’d be good for us to get out there as a couple, which is going to be a little strange for both of us, in a place where nobody will care.”

It was Balkhi’s turn to nod. “It is an excellent idea. But I do not know about it being open late, I have never been there. Last time I was in London I did not really do that much exploring. And the places I did go to were the more popular tourist attractions.”

“Well then,” Wilkes smiled, “that’s perfect. We can be tourists together. Go get showered, I’m starving.”

A glint in his eye, Balkhi shot back, “You are also still half-naked.”

Wilkes looked down. “So I am. I suppose I’d better get dressed, then. Soho’s used to gay people, but probably not ones dressed in only a towel!”

Balkhi crossed the room, heading for the door. As they drew level, Wilkes had an urge to playfully swat Balkhi’s arse as he passed him by—but something stopped him, and then the opportunity was gone as Balkhi left the room.

Frowning, Wilkes retrieved his holdall and removed some clean underwear and clothes, dropping them on the bed. Why did he feel he couldn’t entirely let go with Balkhi? They’d spent a ridiculous amount of time together—albeit not over the past few weeks—getting to know each other, working together, having sex…

Suddenly, as he applied his deodorant, it struck him. That was it. The reason the pair of them seemed to have two settings—awkwardness and hot sweaty sex—was because that was what they’d become accustomed to. In Afghanistan, they were either working or fucking, with very little in between. When they were working they’d been all business, petrified of someone noticing something a little off in their manner, their body language. When they were fucking… well… they were fucking, in complete and utter secrecy.

And now, out of that environment, with no one watching or caring at all, they were struggling to shake off those deeply ingrained habits.

Blurb:

They may be back on British soil, but the battle isn’t over.

When Captain Hugh Wilkes fell for his Afghan interpreter, Rustam Balkhi, he always knew things would never be easy. After months of complete secrecy, their return to England should have spelt an end to the sneaking around and the insane risks. But it seems there are many obstacles for them to overcome before they can truly be happy together. Can they get past those obstacles, or is this one battle too many for their fledgling relationship?

Buy links: http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/native-tongue/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25462496-native-tongue

**For those of you that haven’t yet read Desert Heat (which is recommended before picking up this book), there’s a great value two book bundle available exclusively on Amazon, and is FREE to Kindle Unlimited members: http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/desert-heat-native-tongue/ – also, from the 3rd-10th June, the double pack is enrolled in a Kindle Countdown Deal, so be sure and grab it before it goes back up to full price!**

Author Bio:

Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman! She writes erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and has over 100 publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These include several editions of Best Bondage Erotica, Best Women’s Erotica 2013 and Best Erotic Romance 2014. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has edited and co-edited a number of anthologies, and also edits for a small publishing house. She owns Erotica For All, is book editor for Cliterati, and is one eighth of The Brit Babes. Find out more at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk. Join her on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to her newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9

GIVEAWAY!

Make sure to follow the whole tour—the more posts you visit throughout, the more chances you’ll get to enter the giveaway. The tour dates are here: http://www.writermarketing.co.uk/prpromotion/blog-tours/currently-on-tour/lucy-felthouse-13/

And you can enter the Rafflecopter giveaway here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/8b9ec5be118/

Release Blitz: Native Tongue – M/M Erotic Romance by Lucy Felthouse

On Wednesday (June 3), Lucy Felthouse will be a guest on this blog, telling us more about her new release, Native Tongue.  Until then, check out this hot excerpt!

Out Now – Native Tongue – M/M Erotic Romance by Lucy Felthouse (@cw1985) #erotica #romance #military #interracial

Blurb:

They may be back on British soil, but the battle isn’t over.

When Captain Hugh Wilkes fell for his Afghan interpreter, Rustam Balkhi, he always knew things would never be easy. After months of complete secrecy, their return to England should have spelt an end to the sneaking around and the insane risks. But it seems there are many obstacles for them to overcome before they can truly be happy together. Can they get past those obstacles, or is this one battle too many for their fledgling relationship?

Author’s note: Although this story does work as a standalone tale, it’s recommended that you read the first instalment of the characters’ journey first—Desert Heat, which is available from all good retailers.

Buy links: http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/native-tongue/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25462496-native-tongue

**For those of you that haven’t yet read Desert Heat either, there’s a great value double pack containing both books available exclusively on Amazon (from 14th May), which is available for lending, and for Kindle Unlimited members: http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/desert-heat-native-tongue/ **

*****

Excerpt:

Captain Hugh Wilkes drummed enthusiastically on the steering wheel of his car as he drove it up the M3 towards London. He sung loudly and tunelessly along to the song on the radio, too, but it didn’t matter. No one could hear him.

He’d surprised himself by being so chilled out about the volume of Friday evening traffic. He wasn’t the most patient of people, so the slow progress should probably have been increasing his blood pressure, if not leading to full on road rage. But, although he’d have loved to be actually achieving the speed limit, not bumbling along at a mere fifty miles per hour, Wilkes was just glad the traffic was moving at all. Britain’s roads, the motorways in particular, soon came to a standstill if there was so much as a tiny bump between two vehicles. So any progress was better than none.

Besides, what could he do about it? His only other options to get to London from his base in Wiltshire were a train, or stealing a plane, helicopter or tank. The latter might just cause a little bit of bother, and mean the end of his army career, not to mention criminal charges. The former meant cramming in amongst sweaty, disgruntled commuters. If that wasn’t bad enough, he’d be charged an extortionate amount to do so, probably wouldn’t even get a seat, and would likely be subjected to delays.

At least driving took him from door to door, with plenty of personal space. And if there were delays, well, he could sit them out from the comfort of his own vehicle, with the climate control set to the perfect temperature, and the radio blasting some of his favourite tunes.

The next song was even better, and Wilkes’ tuneless wailing became more enthusiastic, as did the drumming on the steering wheel. He was in one hell of a good mood, and if he was truthful with himself, he knew it wasn’t just the fact the M3 was moving at a nice pace. It wasn’t the Friday feeling, either. Sure, both of those things were contributing to his happiness, but the main reason he was grinning like a buffoon was the thought of what awaited him in the capital. Or rather, who.

Rustam Balkhi. His gorgeous Afghan boyfriend, whom he’d met out in Afghanistan while they were working together for the British Army. Now, with their tour of duty over and the forces’ presence pulled out of the country, the two men had returned to England. Wilkes had gone back to his regular army life in Bulford Camp, near Salisbury. Balkhi was in London, where he’d recommenced the medical training he’d postponed to become an interpreter for the Brits.

The past few weeks had been somewhat of a whirlwind. Wilkes’ return to the UK had been straightforward, but Balkhi had had to jump through some hoops in order to get back onto his medical course. He’d been willing to start from scratch, but it’d seemed like an awful waste of time, so Wilkes had spoken to his superiors, who’d explained to the university what important work Balkhi had been doing. Fortunately, they’d been persuaded of Balkhi’s commitment and character, and allowed him to pick up where he’d left off. That settled, Balkhi had to pack up, travel back to the UK, find somewhere to live, move in… and all before the start of the next academic term.

Wilkes had felt terrible. His return had taken place a few weeks before Balkhi’s, so although he’d been granted some leave for R&R, he hadn’t been able to either spend it with Balkhi, or to use it help him with his relocation. By the time Balkhi had set foot on British soil, Wilkes was back to work. And, given nobody knew about the two of them, or even that Wilkes was gay, he couldn’t exactly ask for more leave in order to help his boyfriend move into his new flat.

Life had conspired against them ever since, so this was the first opportunity they’d had to see each other since saying goodbye in Afghanistan all those weeks ago. They’d communicated via email, text message and phone calls, but it just wasn’t the same. Especially since they’d gone from seeing each other every single day for the best part of six months to not setting eyes on each other for weeks on end.

Wilkes had struggled terribly in the interim. Life had been tough enough while they were still out in the desert. After weeks and weeks of trying desperately to ignore their growing attraction, they’d finally given in to it. It had been stupid and risky, but, having quickly realised there was more to their attraction than the physical, they’d decided to carry on their relationship in secret while they were in Afghanistan, see how it went, and figure things out once Wilkes’ tour of duty was over. Balkhi had always intended to return to the UK for his studies, so they would, at least, be living in the same country.

*****

Author Bio:

Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman! She writes erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and has over 100 publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These include several editions of Best Bondage Erotica, Best Women’s Erotica 2013 and Best Erotic Romance 2014. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has edited and co-edited a number of anthologies, and also edits for a small publishing house. She owns Erotica For All, is book editor for Cliterati, and is one eighth of The Brit Babes. Find out more at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk. Join her on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to her newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9

Don’t forget to come back to the blog on Wednesday to check out Lucy’s guest post!

Book Review: Sauntering Vaguely Downward

Sauntering Vaguely Downward

Nessa L. Warin

Dylan Rojers is excited about Dragon*Con—a huge convention in Atlanta celebrating pop culture, science fiction, and fantasy—but he and his last-minute roommate, Brendan Stone, get off on the wrong foot. It seems that every time they manage a tentative truce, something happens to set them back, and by their second day at the convention, both think there’s no way they can get along.

But maybe Dylan and Brendan have more in common than they thought. Once they start talking, the sparks that were starting arguments ignite a different sort of passion. Through the four fabulous days of parties, shopping in the Dealers Room, costume parades, and discussion panels, Dylan and Brendan grow ever closer. There’s just one problem: they live in different cities, and Dragon*Con doesn’t last forever. Will Dylan and Brendan risk a long-distance romance or is a lasting relationship just one more all-too-brief fantasy?

Sauntering Vaguely Downward, a title which is apparently a paraphrase of a line from Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, is a fun and humorous romp, although occasionally a touch confusing.  It takes place over the course of the Dragon*Con sci-fi and fantasy convention in Atlanta.  Warin, as mentioned in the preface to the book, is a lover of Dragon*Con, and this book is as much a tribute to the convention as it is an exploration of the relationship between Dylan and Brendan.

I have to admit, I had some hesitations when I read the preface.  I think I actually read the preface months ago and then decided not to read the book yet.  I find books that are meant to “show” the reader something, or to teach them something, are generally irritating.  (The later works of Michael Crichton, some of the works by Orson Scott Card, and the later works of Frank E. Peretti come to mind as particularly annoying “teaching” books I’ve read.)

Warin, though, expertly evades the typical structure of a teaching novel.  While she is, indeed, teaching the reader about the wonders of Dragon*Con while telling this story, she does not come across as over-explaining or exaggerating or fall into the trap of lengthy pointless explanations.  She explores Dragon*Con in a way that offers teaser highlights to the con, but don’t distract much from the story itself.

So, for that, she has done a good job.

I also enjoyed the back-and-forth between Dylan and Brendan.  Their sense of humour is truer to the geek culture than what I often see among geek characters in fiction.  I could see my own humour in her characters’ dialogue and it came across as true to life.  I did, however, think that the characters were much younger, like early 20s, rather than the early 30s we later learn them to be.  It’s possible to have that geek humour, but still write the characters as older.

And that’s where things got a little confusing for me — the characters.  I didn’t find Dylan and Brendan to be distinctive enough from each other, to the point where I sometimes had trouble remembering who is who.  Whenever there was a defining comment, such as referencing a costume worn to Dragon*Con or a reference to hanging out with a certain group of friends, I would quickly piece together who is who by working my way backwards through the sequence of events.  What might’ve helped would be for the characters to have more distinct personalities that come across when writing from their POVs.

Speaking of POVs, the entire book was written from first person POV in present tense, alternating between Dylan and Brendan. At times, I found this writing choice to allow the book to move quickly, as that choice adds immediacy to writing.  A few times, though, I had wished it was a little more withdrawn, say, written in third person past tense, as this would allow for a little more exploration into character background and motivation that would in turn help clarify the characters for me.

All the little nit-picky things aside, I found the blooming (and sometimes floundering) romance between Dylan and Brendan to be quite cute.  I also, like I said, really enjoyed the rather accurate portrayal of the characters as geeks — which also led to a fun-filled exploration of geek culture (without poking fun at it like the show Big Bang Theory does).  It was fun to read and reminded me of special memories at my local sci-fi convention.  ;)

Book Review: Vermilion

Vermilion

Nathan Aldyne

A dead young hustler is found on the lawn of a queer-baiting legislator. Boston’s political and queer communities are up in arms about the matter, and police are bent on finding the killer — fast. Best friends Daniel Valentine and Clarisse Lovelace team up and hit the streets of Boston. Through a sinister underworld of bars and baths, bondage and blackmail, they’re out to solve a very bizarre murder.

(The cover image above is far more interesting than the edition I had…)

Vermilion is a murder mystery, a genre I almost never read.  I can count the number of murder mysteries I’ve read on one hand and still have fingers left over.  Thus, I can’t really review this book in the context of the murder mystery genre, as I don’t know what the tropes and expectations of the genre are.

However, it was definitely an enjoyable book.

Valentine and Lovelace make a fun team of investigators.  They aren’t police, PIs, or anything like that — they’re two people who want to see this murder solved.  And the fact that Searcy, a homophobic cop, is bent on proving that the entire queer community is somehow responsible, only complicates matters.  Valentine and Lovelace investigate the murder in their own way, using their network of gay colleagues, friends, and lovers to help them track down information — an avenue of investigation not open to Searcy.

The mystery was well laid out, the kind of mystery where it’s possible to fit the pieces together if you work really hard, but it’s in no way predictable.  Based on the back cover blurb, though, I was expecting a little more sex — but this isn’t an erotic mystery. While I was a tad disappointed by that, it certainly didn’t detract from the story and it was probably stronger for not having sex scenes.

While a tad slow in spots, Vermilion was an enjoyable read.  It was one of very few forays into murder mysteries that I’ve taken and I enjoyed it.  When my to-read pile diminishes a bit — as it is, in fact, slowly doing — I’ll check if the library has another Nathan Aldyne mystery.  (Hmm… I just noticed on Goodreads that Vermilions is the first in a series of murder mysteries starring Valentine and Lovelace — I am now definitely going to see if I can track down the next couple books!)