Book Lovers: April
Posted on April 25, 2012 by Dick Smart in Romance
Au contraire, Mr. Eliot, April is the most romantic month and we have a shower of new romances that will soften the hearts of even the romance wary (or weary).
Every Time I Think of You
Every Time I Think of You, by Jim Provenzano (CreateSpace/Myrmidude Press, 2011)–a 2012 Lambda Award finalist in romance–achieves the delicate balance of allowing its disabled teenaged protagonist to have a realistic sexual experience without fetishising “gimp” sex. Provenzano ably accomplishes this feat by focusing on the sweet relationship between our two teen heroes, Reid Conniff and Everett Forrester, within the larger theme of the naturalness of gay love. Provenzano brings out this theme through Reid’s interest in forestry. (more…)
Book Lovers: March
Posted on March 27, 2012 by Dick Smart in Features, Romance
“Split”
Split is a not-to-be-missed first novel by bi Canadian writer Mel Bossa (Bold Strokes Books, 2011). Bossa uses the clever strategy of telling her tale of adult romance through the background of a rediscovered teen diary. The diary effectively contextualizes and adds tension to the adult story line. Derek O’Reilly, or Red, is presented a long-forgotten diary by his dying Aunt Fran, the woman who raised him in the physical absence of his father and the emotional absence of his mother. Bossa makes Red’s diary almost another character, when she has the eleven-year old Red name his diary Bump for his greatly anticipated, but stillborn, sibling. Bump becomes the split emotional life of the shy Red as he struggles with his budding crush for Nicolai Lund, the older teen brother of Red’s boyhood friend, Boone. The voice of the diary is always believably that of a young boy.
The Swedish-Canadian Lund family becomes Red’s family of choice and Bossa gives us a rich and (more…)
Book Lovers: So You Want to Be a Gay Romance Writer?
Posted on February 22, 2012 by Dick Smart in Features, Romance
In Man, Oh Man, Writing M/M for Cash and Kinks (MLR Press, 2008), Josh Lanyon gives a master class in romance writing for writers wanting to break into the M/M romance market. There is no better guide than Lanyon to writing good romance fiction or simply good fiction, period. Lanyon’s own highly praised romance fiction encompasses contemporary action/suspense, historical and speculative fiction. Lanyon’s Adrien English romance mystery series is recognized as a classic and was the winner of the 2006 USA Book News awards for GLBT Fiction. Lanyon is also an Eppie Award winner and a three-time Lambda Literary Award finalist. In book after book, Lanyon delivers complex romantic relationships driven by believable protagonists. No small accomplishment in a genre filled with cookie-cutter men and unbelievable happy ever afters. (more…)
Book Lovers: Winter Gothic
Posted on January 24, 2012 by Dick Smart in Features, Romance
Haunted Potter
For those of us who longed for a romantic pairing between Harry and Ron at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series, Justin Evans gives us a ghostly whisper in his best-selling Gothic The White Devil from Harper/Collins. The stock characters from every English schoolboy story, made iconic by the Harry Potter series, serve Evans well by evoking the supernaturalism of the Potter books as he creates a modern ghost story that must seem realistic to the reader, even while being as phantastic as needed to be a true ghost story. (more…)
’96 Hours’ by Georgia Beers
Posted on January 12, 2012 by Pamela Bigelow in Reviews, Romance
96 Hours (Bywater Books) is Georgia Beers’ eighth novel. Here, she takes on the sensitive subject of 9/11 and the 96 hours in the lives of two women after the towers fell. It is the story of Abby, a happy-go-lucky globe trotter on her way to visit her mother before heading out on the road yet again, and Erica, an uptight scientist on her way home from a depressing and disastrous meeting in England. It would seem that the two women couldn’t be more different from one another. When their plane is forced to land in Gander, Newfoundland because the US government has closed all American airspace in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Erica is not happy at having to share a huge room with hundreds of strangers while Abby seems to handle the situation with aplomb. Luckily, a Gander resident takes pity on them and invites them and two other men to stay at her home where they will be able to shower, have use of one of their hosts’ cars, decent food, and good company.
One of the funniest parts of the book occurs when transportation is arranged to take the Plane People, as the locals call them, from the huge hall in the Lions Club to Wal-Mart to buy essentials because their luggage was kept on their planes. Erica is appalled. She is used to paying hundreds of dollars for her clothing, dressing in high fashion whenever she leaves her apartment, and vowed in high school to never darken Wal-Mart’s doorstep. Abby must help her choose practical clothes while all the while trying not to laugh at Erica.
The two women end up in one another’s arms seeking comfort and sex to dispel their feelings about what the hijackers have done. The next morning, Erica is devastated when Abby acts as if their night together means nothing to her.
Beers occasionally makes broad sweeping statements about what all Americans were feeling in the aftermath of 9/11 and there are also a couple of editorial lapses that detract from the overall story–such as calling the characters’ calling their hostess by a different name. When the two women come together, Beers lapses into the use of the dreaded cliché of her characters “locking eyes,” etc. She regains her momentum after the scene, but not before many of her readers will be ‘rolling their eyes’ at the cliché.
Beers has based her story on fact. After the attacks on the towers, North American airspace was closed, planes were rerouted away from US airports, and 39 flights were ordered to land at Gander International Airport and 6600 people were forced to stay in Gander for three days. The generosity of the people of Gander has been told in books, plays, on radio and television. And Beers seems to have captured the feelings of the stranded people for their hosts and one another as if she’d been there herself.
96 Hours
By Georgia Beers
Bywater Books
Paperback, 9781932859843, 272pp
November 2011
‘Beautiful Game’ by Kate Christie
Posted on December 22, 2011 by Pamela Bigelow in Reviews, Romance
Kate Christie’s Beautiful Game (Bella Books) opens in 1991 when Camille (Cam) Wallace is starting her sophomore year at San Diego University on a soccer scholarship. Cam is focused on soccer. She’s not thinking about her future, she hasn’t yet met the love of her life, and is content to allow life to happen to her. Then she meets Jess Maxwell, the number one tennis player on campus. Jess is aloof and as focused on her sport as Cam is on hers. There is something about Jess that intrigues Cam. (more…)
Book Lovers: The 12 Nights of Christmas
Posted on December 20, 2011 by Dick Smart in Features, Romance
“And visions of sugar plums danced in their heads.”
I follow the old tradition and believe that Christmas should be properly celebrated from Christmas Eve on December 24 through the Epiphany on January 6—the 12 days of Christmas. This also means that I get to cash in on all the after Christmas inventory clearance sales in my gift buying. So if you’re reading this column a tad late to influence your gift-giving, take heart and take charge card, because there just might be something here that’s not too late to stuff into your romance-loving boyfriend’s stocking.
The Handsome Prince
Romance stories warm up long winter nights like hot chocolate with marshmallows. Neil Plakcy has edited a charming collection of them in The Handsome Prince, from Cleis Press, 2011 . These Nutcracker princes come in a variety of enchanted shapes in stories that re-imagine classic fairy tales. Get more Plakcy in his marvelous new romance, The Russian Boy (2011, in Kindle Edition at www.amazon.com). Plakcy recaptures the romantic intrigue of Hitchcock’s classic, To Catch a Thief, in this tale of love and art theft set in Nice, with a mature romantic hero reminiscent of the luscious (and bisexual) Cary Grant.
Tchaikovsky’s candy cane princes, Spanish chocolate, Arabian coffee and a Sugar Plum Cavalier, make Christmas a sumptuous gay fantasy, which is why I love to read romance fantasy and adventure at Christmas. Geoffrey Knight’s The Curse of the Dragon God: A Gay Adventure, (Cleis Press, 2011) sends his Fathom’s Five team of muscular gay Indiana Joneses on a journey to as many exotic locales as the Nutcracker Prince himself in pursuit of an elusive cursed diamond. A modern day adventure set in North Africa prior to the Six-Day Arab-Israeli War in 1967, Elliott Mackle’s Captain Harding’s Six-Day War, (Lethe Press, 2011) has more realpolitik and less fantasy, but it is every bit as much erotically charged with a powerful story to match.
The Bad Seed
If you’re stuck in a Connecticut snowstorm without electricity and no boyfriend to keep youwarm, try these two hot thriller collections to get your blood and other things spurting. The Bad Seed by Lee Hayes (Zane Presents by Strebor Books, 2011) combines murder, sex, and love in two chilling novellas that will heat you up quick ( Look for a full review in the January “Book Lovers”). Heartrace, the latest romance horror collection by Rick R. Reed is just out from Amber Quill Press, 2011 with four horror romances that are so good I bought it for myself for my birthday—my bf doesn’t “get” romance novels. The sexy cover by Trace Edward Zaber is slightly unsettling, perfectly illustrating the stories within.
One of my favorite things about romance (besides boys in white jockstraps with blue satin sashes) is the genre within the genre of holiday romance. Every holiday sees a huge list of new titles with pretty covers and intriguing plot devices, as delightful as a big box of Christmas chocolates. It is hard to eat just one and I must somewhat arbitrarily pull out a few to share with you. The always dependable Astrid Amara’s Carol of the Bellskis from Loose ID is an amusing Hanukkah romance.
Carol of the Bellskis
Also from Loose ID is Let It Snow! from Michael Barnette about an icy Anglo ranger and a hot Latino photographer snow-bound together in Rocky Mountain National Park. Go to www.loose-id.com for the full list of their Jingle Bell Rock collection. Torquere Books offers a slightly kinkier take on the holidays with their Holiday Sips series, each title tellingly beginning with the word, “Naughty.” Nothing “nice” about these boys.
MLR Press gifts us every day during the holiday season with a calendar of holiday romance releases beginning with four big romance authors: William Neale’s Christmasing with You, Victor J. Banis’ Holiday C.A.M.P., Derek Adams’ An Early Snow, and Z. A. Maxfield’s A Picture Perfect Holiday. Other favorite authors I can’t wait to unwrap in this collection are Laura Baumbach, J. P. Bowie, Jardonn Smith, Maura Anderson, Neil S. Plakcy and William Cooper, to name a few.
An Early Snow
But keep in mind MLR Press’ other interesting shorts series, such as The Got 5 (or 10 or 20) Minutes? series, William Maltese’s Boys’ Reformatory series, and the new Slaves to Love series by J. P. Bowie.
Dreamspinner’s Press is publishing their delightful annual Advent calendar of holiday romances. The Advent calendar is a full package of 31 stories with one story a day automatically placed on your electronic bookshelf by Santa himself. Dreamspinner’s says that “the full set is around 1,800 pages of romantic M/M fiction” and the earlier you buy, the bigger your bargain. The charming calendar cover is done by Paul Richmond (www.paulrichmondstudio.com). What is so amazing about this collection is that the winter holidays serve as the springboard for these talented authors to explore the full gamut of romance fiction, from the purely erotic to historical romance, fantasy, mystery, contemporary, and ethnic romance. You’ll never have cabin fever in these writers’ hands.
I'll Be Home for Christmas: 2011 Advent Calendar
Meanwhile, as the dread Las Vegas winter descends, I’ll be reporting from poolside in the January “Book Lovers” column on “The White Devil,” the best-selling ghost story/romance by Justin Evans (Harper/Collins, 2011, ).
‘Open Water’ by Pol Robinson
Posted on November 21, 2011 by Pamela Bigelow in Reviews, Romance
Cass Flynn, after a grueling year of surgeries and rehab, has made it back to top physical condition. She is named an alternate for the 2008 Olympics double scull US Rowing Team. While disappointed she won’t be going to Beijing, she continues on the comeback path. Then she gets a call. THE call. There have been injuries in Beijing. Cass is no longer an alternate, she is now an Olympiad. She has a scant few weeks to acclimate herself to the climate, Beijing’s choking smog, a new rowing partner, and a new team. One of her new teammates, Laura Kelley, is sent to pick her up from the airport, and very nearly leaves her stranded there, getting them off on the wrong foot. Nevertheless, there is something intriguing about Laura.
Cass is able to work well with her new rowing partner, Sarah. She begins to believe that she and Sarah have a chance of winning a medal. The more Cass interacts with Laura, the more she’s sure Laura has a dark secret that Laura can’t seem to overcome. It all begins to make sense as she learns what Laura’s secret is.
Robinson has a talent for writing scenes in which the tension builds, like her description of the medal race for the double scull and its aftermath. She also writes about being a rower so well that the reader will eagerly look forward to the 2012 Olympics’ boating races.
The author’s forte is in writing about the sport she obviously loves. Her talent does not lie in developing her characters. Cass is the only character that readers will feel like they know, mainly because the book is told from her point of view. The others, including Laura, remain elusively understated. Late in the book, Robinson introduces Laura’s ex-girlfriend, a woman so toxic she could light up a Geiger counter. Robinson could have had a character that we’d all love to hate, had she spent more time on her. Unfortunately, like her other characters, Ms. Toxic remained underdeveloped. Worse, the character’s comeuppance was more or less a throwaway sentence or two so the reader doesn’t even get to applaud her downfall.
Other than the repeated references to the heat and humidity of Beijing, there are no descriptions of the city even when the athletes leave the Olympic Village to explore it. There are no description of the other athletes, even the members of Cass’ team. There are no descriptions of the Olympic Village beyond a reference to a couple of the venues, the cafeteria and a room where the athletes can access the Internet. Robinson missed an opportunity here to make the Olympics another character in her book.
Unfortunately, Robinson could have used a firmer editorial hand. Such a hand would have helped her flesh out her characters and add to the exoticism of Beijing. Robinson has a tendency to repeat herself often and to use the same phrase sometimes within the space of a single page. Then there are the sentences that take the reader out of the book because she has to stop and try to figure out what the author was trying to say. One particularly annoying awkward sentence was, “You don’t know how could I have gotten that idea?”
With the 2012 Olympics only a year away, this book is worth the read if only to begin to understand what it takes to be an Olympic rower, the price it exacts, and the costs of winning and losing.
Open Water
By Pol Robinson
Bella Books
Paperback,9781594932298, 226pp
May 2011
Book Lovers: Happy Endings
Posted on November 21, 2011 by Dick Smart in Features, Romance
“A happy ending was imperative. I shouldn’t have bothered to write otherwise. I was determined that in fiction anyway two men should fall in love and remain in it for the ever and ever that fiction allows, and in this sense Maurice and Alec still roam the greenwood.”
—E. M. Forster, Terminal Note to “Maurice.”
Though this Edwardian grandfather of gay romance wasn’t published until 1971, sometime after its grandchildren were well into their adolescence, E. M. Forster’s Maurice remains a forerunner and not just an afterthought. The recent publication of a “sequel” to Forster’s novel of homosexual love, End of Story by John M. Bowers, professor of English literature at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (Sunstone Press, 2010, with a beautiful cover painting by Michael Bergt) affords us an opportunity to (re)discover just how much Maurice still remains ahead of its time. (more…)
Rick R. Reed: Master of Romance and Horror
Posted on October 26, 2011 by Dick Smart in Interviews, Romance
“When fiction is made according to its nature, it should reinforce our sense of the supernatural by grounding it in concrete, observable reality.” -Flannery O’Connor
The Caregiver, the latest by the prolific Rick R. Reed, due out this month from Dreamspinner Press (cover art by Paul Richmond), is a straightforward traditional romance that may surprise his large horror romance fan base. But as Reed points out, “I am not one to stay within the lines when it comes to genre.” Readers who are fans of his horror romances know that they can trust Reed to deliver solid stories and strong characters and that trust is rewarded in this powerfully, satisfying romance set in the midst of the AIDS crises in the mid-90s. (more…)
