Moving On

by Fabian Black

A visit to a Sunday morning car boot sale has unhappy repercussions for Andrew. He comes face to face with an object from his past, something he never thought he’d see again. Bad memories begin to resurface with a vengeance. Driven by guilt and self-loathing he leaves his authoritarian partner Thomas and takes flight in order to avoid confronting his fears. Thomas isn't the kind of man to just quietly accept his young lover’s disappearance. He sets out to find Andrew and make him face up to his demons.

Genres: BDSM, M M Romance, Romance, Contemporary, LGBT

124 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

My pseudonyms: Cat, Fabian Black, Tarn Swan, Gumbie Tales, Nowell Cowardice, Mystic Mog, Skoda.

Fabian Black writes D/s fiction, but with her own unique stamp. There are no dungeons and chains here or any of the usual leather and whip scenarios associated with power exchange fiction. She shows another aspect of the Dom/sub dynamic, weaving beautiful warm hearted, sensitive stories full of emotion, wit and romance all spiced with a little spanking. Stories that will engage, entertain and sometimes surprise you. Have tissues on stand by.

For the record she is a female author located in the UK. She is a keen advocate of GLBT rights and gay marriage.

Reviews

[Emma Sea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this domestic discipline story beautifully melancholic and haunting. I love the notion of two imperfect and ordinary people each finding what they need in the other. The fourth section dragged a tiny bit in the middle, but the story still had me dabbing tears from my eyes.

3.56 stars, rounded up.

[Reader S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually like this book more than my star rating shows. I like everything else in it except a few places in part three where Thomas' actions feel wrong to me. If you write a domestic discipline book it's crucial that the actions of the Dom are right, always right, he must be trustworthy. Unless you deliberately write something where the Dom makes a mistake and that is then dealt with. But that was not the case here. Here, I think the writer just wrote something I couldn't understand, not even during my second read of the book. I still cannot understand the severe punishment after Andrew took the stairs two at a time and started coughing, he was already going upstairs to take the demanded bath, wasn't he? I also cannot understand this: “not even death by drowning could save you from the retribution you have coming for letting yourself slide into this state.” Still, there was no punishment for that, and should there even have been? No, punishments must be for clearly definable deeds. In addition, when Andrew came back to Thomas' house because he didn't have any other place, Thomas shouldn't have just had sex with him, he should at least have explained Andrew can just stay, to make sure sex is not any kind of payment for a roof over Andrew's head.

Do I make the book sound bad? It's not, not as a whole. It's in fact a very beautiful, but very sad, story, well worth reading. I even liked Thomas. It's just that those places in part three prevent me from giving it a better rating, a rating that it would otherwise deserve.

Try it if you'd like to read a sad, touching story.

[Betryal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrew is a haunted young man from his past that follows him into the present. He's always drifting to escape it but no matter where he went that harrowing past, or in this case his form of guilt always went with him. That's until he meets Thomas that basically saves him not just from that but from himself with his strict rules and a firm hand. Many times throughout the book it hit me that Thomas being the Dom must have a spanking fetish because he sure used this method a lot in his punishments, but at times he used it as pleasure and you can differentiate the two.

I was able to get lost and absorbed in this book thanks to Andrew's cracking wit and sharp tongue. Dude always had a retort for everything and it's like he didn't know when to quit which kept me amused on many occasions while reading this one. Also always getting him in deep shit with Thomas. I lost count on how many times Andrew told Thomas he despised or hated him. :snickering: It became a repetitive mantra, but one you never got bored of listening to.

The interaction of the two keeps you on your toes even though I was saddened by what had occurred in Andrew's past was very disturbing and heartbreaking. I truly good read and I recommend it. But if you're looking for a story with lots of sex in it you won't find it in this one. It's one to sit back and just enjoy and it's refreshing from onset.

[Elisa Rolle]

I bought this book some months ago, with another one from the same author, since I like to try test new authors. I haven’t read it soon since I was overwhelmed by books and since it was listed as a BDSM story and while sometime I like them, this theme is not really my cup of tea. I’m now regretting of not having read this story sooner since I enjoyed it a lot and I can recommend the novel to a wider target, BDSM fans and not.

First of all I would like to highlight something that usually is not one of my top priority, mainly since being English not my language, I’m not really able to identify/recognize a good writing style. But I think I can safely state that Moving On has indeed a very good writing style, rich and tidy, with each word at his right place; I think the writing style well respects one of the character, Thomas, the older Dom who is taking care of his younger sub, Andrew.

Andrew and Thomas’s story didn’t really start as a D/s relationship: Andrew was a drifter, without home and work who was wandering under the rain one winter day; Thomas offered him a ride to nowhere, and Andrew fainted in his car due to a very bad cold. That was the starting of their relationship, where it was obvious that Thomas was the caretaker and Andrew a very troubled boy who needed a fatherly figure to lead him. Andrew doesn’t want to respect Thomas’s rule, not since he doesn’t like them, but since he wanted to be punished; Andrew’s guilty is huge and needs to be damped with discipline.

This is not really a D/s situation, but more a “daddy” type of story; it’s for sure a May/December theme, and it’s clear that Thomas’s attractive for Andrew is not something physical but emotional. Andrew needs Thomas’s stability, Thomas is firm but gentle. Also the pain/pleasure games between them are not really a game: Thomas disciplines Andrew when he is not behaving well, and his method is simply a spanking, with bare hand or paddle, but nothing more. Andrew’s biggest punishment is to be confined in his room, or forced to take a hot bath, something that I don’t understand why Andrew doesn’t like if not to make a point.

I was really surprised of how much I enjoyed this story, it doesn’t happen often to me with a new author, above all not with a genre that I usually read but that is not my favourite. I think that both characters are really good, Thomas is so good that I’d really like to meet him, even if I suppose he is not a simple man to like. Andrew is a brat, but not for play or for being spoiled, he is simply a man without a clear drive, and it’s clear that he is really in love with both Thomas than his cat Bob. By the way, the cat Bob is one of the most wonderful and funny pet characters I have ever found in a book.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1409224171/?...

[Valentina Heart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Andrew really isn't someone I like, or could like. And Thomas does seem like a nice man, but I'm just not feeling him. Overall, this book is like a collection of irrational tantrums that serve no purpose whatsoever, and inadequate solutions that never turn into anything other than spankings.

Their relationship is just something I do not understand and on that note I could not connect to the story at all. I realize that RL relationships aren't all sugar and sweets, but even with the dose of reality between them there should still be something else, something a bit deeper. Unfortunately I couldn't find that something. Andrew acts like a spoiled brat, does damage to himself, others and property while Thomas fixes it all with a hard spanking and a few neatly placed proverbs.
In the whole book they don't have a civil and fruitful conversation, something that would actually help solve their problems, instead Andrew insults constantly and guess how Thomas approaches the situation? With a spanking, of course. It took more than 2/3s of the book for any emotion at all to come out other than resentment and animosity and even then it wasn't all that believable.

All in all, it was an ok book. Not something I'll remember or something I would recommend. I think I just didn't understand it.

But the artist did a wonderful job on the cover.

[Ery · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book could be so much more than it was. I loved the premise of the story, and the book description seemed promising. Overall, the writing was pretty good, and the writing style, if a bit old fashioned or stiff, seemed well-matched for the story, or specifically, for Thomas.

In the end though, the book failed to draw me in as much as it could/should have. Given the emotional nature of the plot line, I should have felt more invested in the characters. I believe this occurred for two reasons : too much telling (not showing), particularly at times when there is/should have been high- emotional impact, and the (stereotypical?) nature of the characters themselves. There was so much of a presence of master/leader and undisciplined child I really kind of felt I was reading a father/son story (which kind of creeped me out). Outside of the bratty moments, i did rather like Andrew. Thomas I found harder to understand.

Further, the book was heavy on the discipline, but seemed light on the loving/nurturing side. I get that the discipline is showing carig, and while there was cuddling, i was hoping for somewhat more overt expressions of their feelings (not just sex!) In the end, it was OK- an interesting read, but not quite what I had hoped.

[Nene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very powerful story that packed quite a punch in not many pages. Andrew is haunted by his past and can't seem to find happiness in his life. He keeps trying to run, but he finds he can't outrun his past...or his Dom Thomas.

[Wren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seemed like it had a lot of potential, in terms of the storyline. I liked how it took a while for the reason behind Andy's need to move on slowly unraveled. What didn't work for me was the spanking. I'm not sure but I don't think there was any sex, just punishment-spanking. And a lot of it. The love between the two men? Their relationship seemed symbiotic, and I think each was what the other needed.

[Anlama · Rating 3 out of 5]

loved the story - a lot of emotions and i also found myself laughing at times - however the spanking and the paddling isn't my cup of tea - i still have 2 books to read from Fabian and i'm sooo looking forward to it

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good m/m romance about a young man who's been escaping from his past via alcohol and staying on the move until a dominant older man gives him a ride.

[Kassa · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

This is the second Fabian Black book I’ve read and while it’s ok I’m not sure I was invested enough in the characters to care. Additionally this book feels so incredibly close to the other Black book – The Jack and Danny Chronicles – that I worry this author’s books will all be very similar. There seems to be a familiar pattern with older men and incredibly bratty, immature younger men that are involved in a punishment spanking relationship. There is no on page sex and the chemistry is often offset by the bratty behavior thus leaving the relationship without a lot of heat or passion. Instead the charm is supposed to come from the bratty narrators and this is where the book loses me personally.

Once again we have a younger, immature first person narrator this time named Andrew. Andrew is suffering tremendous guilt over the suicide of his twin sister and often feels as though he doesn’t deserve any happiness. To compound the problem Andrew is often directionless and shiftless, needing the strong hand of Thomas to keep him from spiraling out of control. Unfortunately Andrew is rarely honest with Thomas and often lapses into selfish, self centered destructive behavior.

I liked Andrew somewhat better than Danny in the previous book although their behavior is almost identical. At least in this book Andrew had some deep underlying emotional issues that prompt his behavior. That doesn’t make the behavior ok and more often than not I wanted to shake Andrew for his selfish, totally immature actions. Andrew careens through the book from one destructive path to another. The consequences of his behavior are often spanking or paddling, depending on the transgression, but through it all Andrew rarely takes any responsibility. Andrew frequently breaks Thomas’ rules and has temper tantrums in many public places. Through it all Thomas responds with a quiet strength and dignity.

Unfortunately Thomas’ motivations are largely mysterious and other than enjoying the punishment dynamic, I’m not sure what Thomas gets out of the relationship. It doesn’t feel passionate and long lasting, instead Thomas provides a fatherly direction for Andrew while Andrew petulantly acts out. I would have like some on page sex scenes only to see a more intense emotion and some passion between the two men instead of just a punishment orientated relationship. I wouldn’t even call this BDSM though if it is, it’s incredibly mild at best.

I also had some issues with the writing as the British phrasing is awkward and tries too hard in many places. Descriptors such as “psychoanalytic sigh” just kept dragging me out of the narrative, similar to the editing mistakes that were present. The story tends to tell rather than show and Andrew’s voice is a key to the success of the story. If you find him charming, sympathetic, or engaging, then you’ll likely enjoy the novella. If you, like me unfortunately, find him selfish and immature then the story likely won’t work as well. Fans of this author are likely to enjoy this offering as it reads very close to the other novel I’ve read and the familiar arc and character development will appeal to those fans.

[Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andrew is a young man haunted by his past who keeps on the move when it catches up with him. However he hooked up with Thomas, an older man who dominates him and things are going pretty well for them as Andrew thrives with the rules. However the past leaps up and he runs. When Thomas finally finds him a month later he forces the issue and they have to deal with his past and Andrew’s propensity to escape into alcohol or run whenever the memories get too great. It’s all told from Andrew’s point of view so you don’t get to know much about Thomas except what Andrew shows you and I never felt there was a great passion between the two. Not that I didn’t think they loved each other, but that Andrew was kind of only with him because of circumstances rather than true love. It also hopped around in time which I didn’t mind actually and I loved Bob the cat but I didn’t feel really connected to the relationship. However, I did like Andrew a lot and felt for him personally.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this story a lot more than I actually did. I loved the main characters, their cat and the main points of the story, what I didnt like about it was all the jumping around the story did without giving the reader any way of knowing when or where the story was at. I was confused for a lot of the beginning of this story. Flashback would've been fine for Andy's past and issues as long as there was some way of showing it that this part of the text is a flashback or memory, but making the beginning of the two main characters relationship a falshback hurt the story in my opinion.

[Rod · Rating 2 out of 5]

I almost did not finish this book and I almost always finish books I start. The constant spanking and spouting of parables really became annoying. I was mollified by the fact the main character finally was able to overcome his self destructive behaviours and finally able to aknowledge that love was his due. I won't be reading the book again, but I am relieved it did not turn out to be a total disaster.

[Gwengwel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it. The story need editing and some scene were a little bizarre but what make the book's the relation between Andrew and Thomas. Well done.

After reading some of the other reviews I noted that some people didn't knew what this story was about before reading it and did not seems to understand what's a Domestic Discipline dynamic. Funny to read the reaction people had at the reading of a spanking scene without sex.

[Amber]

I'm just not feeling this book. This has the same set up as other books by this author with an over the top brat and a Dom that lets it get to far. Usually this has mixed results for me. This book adds a problem with I'm assuming the past but in the beginning tries to be mysterious. The heavy handed vagueness is irritating me along with the Dom that doesn't put his foot down soon enough with his brat.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very strange book.

[Nan.C · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a beautiful book, sad, funny, tender and sweet.

[C.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed some parts of the book although I didn't like all the spanking.
Andrew's story is sad. and over all it is a heartfelt story with love, lust and hope.
I love bobby the cat.

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time)]

This book has mixed reviews from my friends but it is 50% off right now at smashwords and ARe! 7/9/13!

[Eyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jenre said it all in her review.

[Karyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short sweet domestic discipline story.