Review: Christmas Kitsch by Amy Lane

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

On the outside Rusty Baker might look like just another stereotypical football player, just one of many in his high school that looked as though they were popped out of a mold for tall, big, blond rich boys. But on the inside Rusty is different, a difference that remains hidden until Oliver Campbell, small, dark and out Oliver Campbell, enrolls in his high school and sits next to Rusty in class. When one of the more brutish football players starts in on Oliver in class, Rusty is there to cut him off, making his protection of Oliver clear to all. A close friendship is started, one Rusty doesn’t understand. Because Rusty suffers from poor self esteem and thinks he is stupid. Rusty can’t understand why the cute and highly intelligent Oliver would want to be his friend. Then the day before Rusty is to leave for Berkeley, Oliver kisses him and everything changes for them both.

The hardest thing Rusty ever had to do was leave Oliver behind going to a community college while Rusty left town for a school he knew he wasn’t ready for and couldn’t survive in. Rusty is under a mountain of stress over everything, from grades to his sexuality and the pressure almost does him in. When Rusty returns home for Thanksgiving, it all explodes when his parents catch him kissing Oliver in the driveway and they kick him out, homeless at the holidays.

While Oliver and his dad may not have material wealth, they are rich in acceptance and love. And with their support and Oliver’s love, Rusty just might make it through not only the holidays but the rest of his life.

In Rusty Baker Amy Lane has created one of the most luminous, heartbreaking characters I have ever read. Ten pages into the story I started weeping over this glorious man child who has been made to feel stupid and inadequate for all his years, promptly forgetting that Rusty exists only in the pages of Christmas Kitsch and the fertile imagination of Amy Lane. Told from Rusty’s point of view, his thoughts and feelings (as well as the manner in which Rusty voices his views that shows just how deep his lack of self esteem is) engage the reader so throughly that you forget about everything around you except for Rusty and his halting path through life.

Trust me when I say that just when you think that Rusty can’t break your heart anymore, then he says something that seems innocuous on the surface but is so shattering in the truth that it reveals that you find yourself breaking down yet again, grabbing for that second box of tissues while realizing that you are only on page 60 or so of a 256 page story. Rusty Baker is so incandescent in his innocence and beauty that I almost expected the pages to glow. He is textured, and glorious and unforgettable in every way.

But Rusty can’t make it alone, either in life or in the story. So the author has created a group of characters every bit as remarkable and amazing as Rusty himself, starting with Oliver Campbell. Oliver really is Rusty’s polar opposite from quick intelligence to his physical exterior. Oliver’s mixed race parentage is evident not only in his name but in his small stature, dark eyes and skin. Equally rich is the latin culture which overlays everything at home from his family’s food to their family rituals. Oliver is highly intelligent, generous of spirit and out about his sexuality. This is our and Rusty’s first introduction to Oliver:

Oliver showed up in early September of my senior year, slender, brown on brown on brown. Dark brown hair cut with long bangs around his narrow face, dark brown eyes with thick, thick lashes, and light brown skin. He slouched quietly in the back of Mr. Rochester’s English Literature class and eyed the rest of us with sort of a gentle amusement.

It’s that “gentle amusement” that draws Rusty in as well as Oliver’s acceptance of him no matter what Rusty might say or the way he struggles with everything in his life. Oliver is there to quietly shore Rusty up, giving him a look at families who love and support each other with a generosity Rusty has never had in his life. There is a quiet glow to Oliver that is never outshown by Rusty, they complement each other perfectly. I love Oliver and Oliver’s amazing dad, Arturo, both so alive that I absolutely believed in them as a family. And that goes for Estrella, Rusty’s housekeeper and surrogate mom, as well as Nicole, Rusty’s young sister just as starved for love and family as Rusty is. Nicole’s fragility is slowly revealed to Rusty and the reader as she becomes more of a presence in Rusty’s life. I know that sounds odd but when you read the story you realize just how compartmentalized Rusty’s family is and the impact of that structure upon the children.

OK, I realize I am doing it again, treating these characters as real people. Amy Lane is a superb storyteller. She creates worlds, situations and yes, characters that seem as real as any you might meet outside your door. They are flawed, they bleed as well as breathe. And when they hurt, you will hurt and bleed along with them. And that’s because somewhere those characters crossed the line from paper personas to people we love and care for as though they are family. I have the empty tissues boxes to prove it.

What characters seemed removed, incomplete and insubstantial? Well, that would be Rusty’s mother and father. And with good reason, because they feel that way to Rusty. His parents are cold, detached from family warmth and familial love, driven by their own ambition and control. By the author creating characters so coldly ephemeral and disengaged from their children, it helps to establish Rusty’s viewpoint as ours and it helps to understand his upbringing as well as Nicole’s.

There is laughter to be found among the pages to go with the river of tears you will shed for this amazing boy crying out for love and understanding. And the reader will celebrate the happiness that Rusty (and Oliver) find together after all the obstacles have been surmounted. I found myself, exhausted, red faced and snotty, surrounded happily by empty boxes of tissues at 3am and promptly wanted to do it all over again.

If I had a minuscule quibble with this story, it would be with the title. I would have loved it if the title would have been free of holiday references. Why? Because I am afraid that at any other time of the year readers unfamiliar with either Amy Lane or this story might relegate it to the Christmas story genre instead of “the must read at any time of year’ category it so deserves. But that is a wispy sort of quibble, lacking any substance and disappearing as we speak.

I loved, loved Christmas Kitsch. It is heartwarming as well as heartrending. It is as joyous as it is poignant! And I will read it again and again because that’s what I do with comfort reads with characters who are real to me and dear to my heart. I am sure you will feel the same, so grab it up and start reading. Have that tissue box handy, you will need it. And as a extra bonus you will be helping LGBT youth in need as well. This is a Highly Recommended, Best of 2013 or any year. Don’t pass it by!

Cover art by LC Chase is soft and lovely.

Special Note:

20% of all proceeds from this title are donated to the Ali Forney Center in New York, whose mission “is to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) youth from the harm of homelessness, and to support them in becoming safe and independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood.” To learn more about this charity or to donate directly, please visithttp://www.aliforneycenter.org

Book Details:

256 pages

Expected publication: December 9th 2013 by Riptide Publishing (first published December 7th 2013)

ISBN13 9781626490864

edition language English
Riptide Publishing’s Home for the Holiday Series

Amy Lane’s “Christmas Kitsch” Blog Tour and Spotlight Stop!

ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords welcomes Amy Lane, stopping by on her Christmas Kitsch Book Tour. Here are a few words from Amy and her phrase for this stop on the tour. My review is up tomorrow but I will tell you all right now this story is one of Scattered Thoughts Best of 2013!

The Scavenger Hunt–

In addition to the Riptide giveaway, I’m having a scavenger hunt on my own blog. At the beginning of the blog tour, I’ll publish the tour dates on Yarning to Write. For every stop on the tour I’ll have a “phrase” for the scavenger hunt. At the end of the tour, I’ll put up a post for the people who have found the phrases. If you comment — and then send me an e-mail with six of the twelve phrases and your address!– I’ll send you some Christmas Kitsch swag. The post collecting the winners will go up on the 13th (the day of the last stop on the tour) and you will have a week to go read all of the tour stops and collect your phrases. The hunt closes on December 21st, at the end of the day and I’ll get your swag into the mail between Christmas and New Years! (Hopefully after I get my own Christmas cards out in the mail. I’m not known for my punctuality, I’m afraid;-) Look below for today’s phrase!

Today’s phrase:

And don’t forget to collect “The Millionth Kiss Rocks” for the scavenger hunt on Amy’s blog on December 14^th!

Riptide contest details:

Enter your details in the Rafflecopter below to gain entry in the *Home for the Holidays* giveaway! This week of the tour closes at midnight, EST, on December 13th. Then, one grand prize winner will be contacted at the end of the Home for the Holidays tour on December 16th. Contest is valid worldwide.

Enter here at Riptide Publishing Rafflecopter Link

Christmas Kitsch Blurb:

Sometimes the best thing you can get for Christmas is knowing what you really want.

Rusty Baker is a blond, rich, entitled football player in a high school full of them—just the type of oblivious jock all the bullied kids hate. And he might have stayed that way, except he develops a friendship with out-and-proud Oliver Campbell from the wrong side of the tracks. Rusty thinks the friendship is just pity—Oliver is very bright, and Rusty is very not—but then Oliver kisses him goodbye when Rusty leaves for college, and Rusty is forced to rethink everything he knows about himself.

But even Rusty’s newfound awareness can’t help him survive a semester at Berkeley. He returns home for Thanksgiving break clinging to the one thing he knows to be true: Oliver Campbell is the best thing that’s ever happened to him.

Rusty’s parents disagree, and Rusty finds himself homeless for the holidays. Oliver may not have much money, but he’s got something Rusty has never known: true family. With their help and Oliver’s love, Rusty comes to realize that he may have failed college, but he’ll pass real life with flying rainbow colors.

Bio:

Amy Lane has children, pets, consuming hobbies, an amazing spouse, and a very dirty house. The only time she does housework is Christmas, so that children, pets, spouse, hobbies, and home may exist in peace on hearth for at least once a year.

Feel free to visit Amy in the following places:

Blog: www.writerslane.blogspot.com

Website: www.greenshill.com

Twitter: @amymaclane

FaceBook: Amy Lane

FaceBook Fan Group: Amy Lane Anonymous

Or to contact her at: amylane@greenshill.com

Review: Blue River by Theo Fenraven

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Photographic artist Ethan Mars is hanging out with friends at a house in Topanga Canyon. When Doug recounts a story about a local porthole that allows people to go back in time, Ethan and his friend Randy decide to hike around on the trails to see if they can find it. For Ethan the day is more about taking pictures than finding something out of science fiction, then the fog appears before them. One misstep and Ethan tumbles through the fog and into 1863, albeit still Southern California.

Quinn Parker and his sister Hes own a farm in Blue River and when Ethan Mars stumbles out of the fog, neither is surprised as he is the second stranger from the future to find them in a year. But unlike the previous time traveler, Ethan Mars is gay and represents everything Quinn Parker wants and has been keeping hidden.

While waiting for the portal to open again, Quinn and Ethan fall into a friendship and then a love affair doomed by time. Or is it? When the fog reappears, there is a choice to be made? Who will stay and who will go?

Blue River is a terrific little romance stuffed full of elements that add texture and depth, giving it the feel of a much larger story. Ethan Mars is a renown photographic artist who has made the sale of a lifetime and is celebrating with friends in Topanga Canyon, a place known for its artists, quirky atmosphere and gorgeous views. When a friend wants to hike a little used trail in the canyon, they use the excuse of trying to find a time portal as the reason for their venture into the wild. The descriptions of the canyon and the oddly floating bit of fog is a great way to start Ethan’s unexpected adventure into the past.

We’d been walking for half an hour when he stopped and held up a hand. “Ethan.”

I looked in the direction he was pointing, and about twenty feet in front of us, under the spreading branches of a copper beech, I saw semitransparent wisps of white flowing together and pulling apart a few feet above the ground. “That’s called fog, Randy.”

“Why is it only in that one spot, then? There’s no water nearby, and the temperature seems fairly constant.”

“We don’t know it’s only in that one spot. Never assume, man.” I brushed past him, heading for the mist.

“Wait!” he yelped, grabbing my arm. “Together, just in case, you know….” “

In case the fog decides to swallow me whole?” Chuckling, I kept walking, dragging him along. “Didn’t they make a cheesy movie about that?” Even close up, it looked like fog. Thin, wispy, and I could see through it to the woods behind.

I stuck a hand in the stuff, waggling it around and making faces at him as I intoned, “Bwahahahahaha….”

He rolled his eyes. “Asshole. I’m getting hungry. Let’s drop by Doug’s place, see what he has in the fridge.” “Yeah, okay.” So much for seeking Shangri-La.

Well, as we all know, the story doesn’t stops there. Because, as Fenraven knows, where is the fun in that? But the real surprises start in 1863 and the reality of pioneer life. Fenraven does a great job in presenting the time period minus the “romantic candlelight” glow that seems to creep into some of the other historic romances I have read. No, here is 1863 authentically presented with the warts of the time period to go along with the things that have been lost with progress. So we get, or actually Nathan gets to eat food free of chemicals and genetic manipulation. In 1863, a tomato or apple explodes on his taste buds, their flavor so sensational that Nathan mourns their loss in his time. But Fenraven is also quick to include the lack of bathing because as Hes tells Ethan, “its not healthy”. No bathing, no thoughts of hygiene, no washing hands, …..so yeah, a closed in cabin is not a happy place to be after a week’s time. Clothes get rank as does unwashed hair and soon Nathan is pining for 2013 and his shower at home.

And you don’t blame him a bit.

The author is good at vividly describing life in Blue River and 1863, both the pros and the cons. Fenraven is also quick to note the dangers of open homosexuality in a time period where it is considered a sin and often punished by death. Quinn Parker is a sexual innocent. A young man engaged to be married to a woman who helped his family when they needed it. Responsibility, obligations and society’s expectations have forced Quinn into asking her to marry him and now , with Ethan before him, he feels trapped. The more Ethan describes his open life in the future, the more regretful and conflicted Quinn becomes. Then Ethan starts his seduction of Quinn, and his true nature surfaces, no longer to be denied. If ever there was a genie in the bottle, its Quinn’s sexuality. And Quinn despairs of ever being able to pass as “normal” again once Ethan shows him just how good it feels. Slowly the affection between the men turns into love, one with no apparent future to each man’s despair.

Another aspect of this story that Fenraven doesn’t gloss over is the fact that Ethan could never survive in 1863. He is ill prepared by his upbringing, his attitudes, and his personality. He has a hard time hiding who he is from Hes, a judgmental and wary 16 year old, he would never be able to pull it off in front of a more discerning audience. Nathan just can’t hide who he is. It is one of the reasons Quinn loves him and it is the reason that they will part.

There are a few things that bothered me. At one point Nathan is missing his family at home (this story takes place during the holidays) but then thinks that he has a family here in 1863 too. Uh, no he doesn’t. Hes dislikes him intensely and distrusts him as well. The only one happy to have him there is Quinn, so I am not sure what family Fenraven is talking about. Hes is a believable but dislikable character, smug, sure of her universe and disapproving of any that might prove a threat to her happiness, definitely a tad on the puritan side. So yes, she seems real. The author did a great job making her somewhat stinky flesh and blood but don’t expect me to like her.

And yes, there is a happy ending but in my mind, I can never just leave it there (where I should). Instead I start thinking about the future, and the romance in this story dims for a second. But its the holidays, at least in this story. Time for a suspension in belief in all things real and to hope for all things happy and in love. I think I will leave the review right there. At the end, just where all stories about time travel and holiday miracles should.

Cover art by Maria Fanning. Just a lovely cover, perfect for the story.

Book Details:

ebook, 92 pages

Published October 9th 2013 by Dreamspinner Press (first published December 13th 2011)

ISBN 1627981659 (ISBN13: 9781627981651)

edition language English

url http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Review: Long the Mile by Ally Blue

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

“Seven out of 10 Americans are one paycheck away from being homeless.” – Pras Michel

When Judah Jackson is released from prison he has exactly a bag containing two pairs of pants, a shirt, some underwear, socks and $300 in cash, a far cry from the wealthy man who entered prison convicted of insider trading. At first, Judah thinks it will only be a matter of time before he is working and getting his business back together. But soon the reality of his situation and new life as a ex con sets in. No one will hire him and without an income he loses his apartment and ends out on the streets, vulnerable, angry, and alone.

Tobias Simonsen has been homeless for over a year and finds that he has almost adjusted to his status as a man without a job or place to call his own. Not even his degrees and experience in the restaurant business have been enough to save him from his current life and he is now beyond despair that it will change. Then he saves a man being beaten in an alley, a man once wealthy and now painfully unable to fend for himself on the streets of Ashville.

Together Judah and Toby find a connection that begins to lift them up into friendship and then something more. When their relationship starts to heal the wounds for both men, they start to hope for a future together. Then a change in one man’s situation starts a chain reaction of emotions and events that could shatter their bond forever. Will their faith in each other and their love keep them together even when reason tells them they will part?

What a moving and timely story from Ally Blue! Long the Mile focuses on the plight of homeless, a heartbreaking statistic that is rising throughout the nation, especially in these economic times. Instead of faceless numbers Ally Blue takes this tragic reality for so many and brings it down to an intimate and relatable level with the characters of Judah and Toby, two men of different backgrounds and education who end up in the same landscape of homelessness and despair.

This is a tough topic to use as a center for a romance, especially if one of the men is also someone whose criminal conduct and arrogance got him convicted of a felony and sent to prison. Our first introduction to Judah Jackson is a risky one on the part of the author. Judah is angry, still arrogant, and not especially sorry that he committed a crime, only that he got caught. Think of the white collar criminals such as Kenneth Lay of Enron and you can see how such a character might invite scorn instead of sympathy. But that sneering man we meet as he is leaving prison is soon to get a shocking comeuppance as Judah tries to find a job while his small pocket of funds dwindles. Ally Blue takes us into his mindset as Judah unravels emotionally and physically until he finally runs out of options and ends up on the streets of Asheville. It is a scary picture, made all the more real by the author’s authentic descriptions and her clear understanding of the humiliation, despair and fear that is the constant state of those who are homeless.

To balance out the picture she is creating, Blue then gives us Toby Simonsen, an educated young man who was working on his career, with a bright future ahead of him until the economy crashed along with his job. With all hotels and service establishments in trouble, the jobs vanished and so did the hopes of thousands of people along with them. I loved Toby and my heart broke for him because we understand that Toby has given up after a year on the streets. The constant search for work as well as the constant rejection wears upon the soul and only the goodness and understanding of Father Bill and the shelter at Holy Innocents has helped to save him. Ally Blue has endowed Toby with an inner strength that feels real, born out of need and Toby’s innate goodness. Toby is definitely the easier of the two men to connect with.

Slowly over the course of Long The Mile, the real inner Judah starts to appear along with his history that makes the man he became at least understandable if not always likable. And the reader needs that in order to accept Toby’s attraction and eventual love for Judah. If this story has an identifiable weakness, it arrives in the latter part of the book when a event arrives that threatens to tear the men apart. I think the situation that signals a change in their lives is a perfectly realistic one as is its separate effect on each of them. My only quibble is that Toby seems a little oblivious to what a change in the dynamics would have on Judah with his background. I kept thinking that perhaps a little more exposition and length would have helped alleviate what felt like a rushed resolution to a terrific story.

But that quibble aside, Long the Mile is a timely tale no matter what time of year it is. With its focus on a homeless population that is ever present, Ally Blue has brought this tragedy home and given it two faces we can identify and sympathize with. When you add the fact that young LGBT youth are a large part of that statistic through no fault of their own other than being gay and the shame and horror deepens.

I highly recommend this book to all based on its own merit as a heartwarming romance. But Ally Blue and the publisher just made it easier by donating 20 percent of all proceeds to the Ali Forney Center. So run, don’t walk and grab it right up. You will be getting a wonderful story and helping LBGTQ youth as well.

Special Notes:

20% of all proceeds from this title are donated to the Ali Forney Center in New York, whose mission “is to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) youth from the harm of homelessness, and to support them in becoming safe and independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood.” To learn more about this charity or to donate directly, please visit http://www.aliforneycenter.org/.

Book Details:

140 pages

Expected publication: December 2nd 2013 by Riptide Publishing

ISBN13 9781626490819

url http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/long-m

Ally Blue Contest and Guest Blog for “Long The Mile”

ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords is happy to have Ally Blue with us today to talk about her latest release, the moving story Long the Mile for Riptide Publishing. We have a contest to go along with Ally’s guest blog. The contest details and the Rafflecopter links are listed at the bottom of today’s post. Now, let’s welcome Ally Blue!

Hi folks! I’m Ally Blue, and I’m wandering the internet this week talking about my new book, Long the Mile, part of the Home for the Holidays collection from Riptide Publishing. I’m super excited about this book, not only because I love the characters and the setting (Asheville, NC; my town!) but also because it’s raising money for the Ali Forney Center for homeless GLBTQ youth. It’s a wonderful cause

When my lovely and fabulous editor, Dr. Sarah Frantz, first contacted me about being a part of this Christmas collection, I was interested for a whole list of reasons. First of all, I already knew and respected Sarah as a romance fiction scholar and as a person, so that went a long way. Also, I’d heard good buzz about Riptide both from a reader and an author perspective. Always a good thing. The thing that probably sealed the deal was that twenty percent of the proceeds both from each individual book and from the collection go to the Ali Forney Center. How could I pass that up? The answer is, I could not.

After saying “YES! A thousand times, yes!” the next question was what to write? It needed to be a gay (in this case, m/m) romance. It needed to have a Christmas setting, with a theme of “home” in whatever way I wanted to interpret it. When I started pondering, I found that the answer came to me easily. I was going to take the theme very literally, incorporate our chosen charity, and write about homeless characters who are finding their homes again, both physically and emotionally. Thus Judah Jackson and Tobias Simensen were born.

The setting was easy too. Asheville is a wonderful, colorful, fantastic city, and like every city, we have too many people living day to day without any permanent shelter. I can’t tell anyone’s true story. All I can do is invent one. Or in this case, two. But I wanted to set this book in Asheville. I wanted to imagine what it might be like for my two guys – one who had been homeless for a while, and one who goes from rich to homeless during the book – to meet, get to know each other, and fall in love while living on the street. I wanted to consider how their situation would affect their relationship, and how that relationship would change when the situation changed.

I have to say, I’m pleased with how the book turned out. I hope all of you will be too Thank you so much for stopping by to read today! Enjoy Long the Mile, and all the other books in the Home for the Holidays collection!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About Long the Mile:

Sometimes it takes losing everything to find what you really need.

When Judah went to prison for insider trading, he lost everything he thought was important: his business, his money, his power. But when he gets out, homelessness strips him of the one thing he has left: his self-respect. When another homeless man saves him from a beating, he begins to learn to rely on the goodness of those around him.

For Toby, life on the streets has become familiar. Comfortable. So comfortable he wonders if he’s given up on changing his life for the better. Then comes Judah. Formerly rich, newly homeless, all his pride and attitude gone along with his material possessions. Helping Judah feels good. Their unexpected connection—physical and beyond—feels even better.

Their shared situation nurtures a growing closeness that blossoms into something deeper. But when change comes knocking, it will take all their strength to keep fear and insecurity from tearing them apart.

20% of all proceeds from this title are donated to the Ali Forney Center in New York, whose mission “is to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) youth from the harm of homelessness, and to support them in becoming safe and independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood.” To learn more about this charity or to donate directly, please visit http://www.aliforneycenter.org/.

Author Bio:
Ally Blue is acknowledged by the world at large (or at least by her heroes, who tend to suffer a lot) as the Popess of Gay Angst. She has a great big suggestively-shaped hat and rides in a bullet-proof Plexiglas bubble in Christmas parades. Her harem of manwhores does double duty as bodyguards and inspirational entertainment. Her favorite band is Radiohead, her favorite color is lime green and her favorite way to waste a perfectly good Saturday is to watch all three extended version LOTR movies in a row. Her ultimate dream is to one day ditch the evil day job and support the family on manlove alone. She is not a hippie or a brain surgeon, no matter what her kids’ friends say.

Connect with Ally on the interwebs: Twitter Facebook profile Facebook fan page Tumblr Pinterest Fiction With Friction group blog Goodreads Love Is Blue Yahoo group

Contest Details:

Ally’s giveaway:
Comment on this post or any of the other posts in the tour, and you’ll be entered to win an ebook copy of Demon Dog, book one in my Mojo Mysteries series. I’ll pick a winner on December 1st at 5 p.m. EST. Contest is valid worldwide.

Enter your details in the Rafflecopter below and leave a blog post comment to gain entry in the *Home for the Holidays* giveaway! This week of the tour closes at midnight, EST, on November 30th. One grand prize winner will be contacted at the end of the tour on December 16th. Contest is valid worldwide.

Rafflecopter Giveaway

Review: Bar None Anthology by Sean Michael, BA Tortuga, Julia Talbot, and Kiernan Kelly

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Do you like your bartenders hot, sexy, and maybe even artificial? Torquere Press presents an anthology where all the stories revolve around the bars, drinks and the men who serve them. Authors BA Tortuga, Julia Talbot, Sean Michael and Kiernan Kelly deliver four sexy and ultimately loving romps through the bars and bartenders of our dreams.

Here in the order they are found in the anthology are the stories of Bar None:

Bartender Rescue by BA Tortuga
Kind of a D.R.A.G. by Kiernan Kelly
The Blue Moon Bar By Julia Talbot
Flair, a Hammer Story By Sean Michael

I really looked forward to reading this anthology and it came through as anticipated. I have a mini-review posted after each title.

1. “Bartender Rescue”by BA Tortuga – 4.75 stars out of 5

Shane and Galen from the Stormy Weather series return in this short story of burnout and escape. As the story starts long term lovers Shane and Galen have almost switched place as far as occupations go. Now it is Shane who is the Owner and CEO of a number of successful bars, heading out each morning in a 3-piece suit, micro managing his bars and neglecting his lover, Galen. The stress is mounting and Shane is turning to pharmaceuticals to stay awake and energized, none of which makes Galen happy. Shane knows things aren’t working but doesn’t know how to step off and out of the business treadmill.

When the answer pops up in the form of an old would be boyfriend of Shane’s, Galen is more than ready to take advantage of the situation. Now if only he can get Shane to agree.

I love this couple having been with them through all sorts of angst and misadventures, including hurricanes and miscommunications. Now we get to see a different dynamic with this couple, with beach bum Shane being the uber responsible business owner and Galen ending up the laid back part of their relationship. Tortuga writes this couple so realistically you can practically watch them walk off the page. They are settled in their relationship, with bone deep knowledge of each other and their needs telegraphing with each bit of dialog and loving touch. And it is painful to watch when each person realizes that the relationship and each other is being neglected. Wonderful writing, great characters and a realistic situation make this story of the best.

I loved every part of this story and the only thing that kept it from a 5 star rating is a lack of backstory for those readers new to Shane and Galen. Even without going into enormous detail,, even a little past history would have been enlightening for those new to this couple.

2. “Kind of a D.R.A.G.” by Kiernan Kelly. Rating 4 stars out of 5

Kiernan Kelly takes bartenders intergalactic with this story of a bar with a captive audience as it is located on a prisoner planet somewhere in space. Inhabited by prisoners, a few free humans and tons of androids who handle almost every job possible, Kelly’s story contains a lot of humor, a few nice twists, and a far reaching ( yep, went there) ending.

Max, bartender and really only of human in residence at Club Grinder, a dive and strip club on Sirius 7. It is in fact the only bar on Sirius 7, “a penitentiary rock located among a fistful of tiny, uninhabited planetoids at the ass end of the galaxy”. Other than The Boss who is the owner of the club, Max is the only human around, the rest of the employees, strippers, Drag Queens Betty Boob and Ivana Hump, every one is an android. In a funny, Lucille Ball twist, Kelly starts off her story with the two Drag Queens breaking an android stripper in the most awkward and humorous way possible. Soon the Drag Queens are using The Bosses D.R.A.G machine to create a new one. Of course, everything starts to go wrong immediately and the plot takes flight.

I enjoyed this story and found parts of it hilarious. While the plot was predictable, the characters and the charm and endearing personalities make this story outshine its plot structure. Funny, charming, just a lovely way to spend some time. I could really see this group coming back for an encore.

3. “The Blue Moon Bar” By Julia Talbot. Rating 3.5 stars out of 5

Werewolf Hugh Dailin is crazy about his bear shifter bartender Seamus Deane but his wolf pack and family disapprove of homosexuality, wanting him to find a female mate and have a bunch of pups. But Hugh is sure that his mate is the burly guy with all that great hair and muscles that just happens to work for him. The tension is getting to them both, with each snarling at the others in frustration and rage. Something has to give and it does when a lion comes into the bar and demands the return of his cub, a cub that’s gone missing. Then one of their own goes missing too and both must scramble to find the person responsible before more vanish.

I liked this story, especially since shifters, any type of shifter from sloth to owl, are favorites of mine. But this story needed a little bit more of plot, characterization, background, and exposition. We never really find out who, what and why is behind the mystery. And everything is resolved almost in seconds. It just feels lacking which is a shame as the bones of this story are wonderful. Still, I enjoyed Hugh and Seamus and wished I had more of their relationship.

4. “Flair, a Hammer Story” By Sean Michael. 5 stars out of 5

Author and consultant to bars on drinks, specialty recipes and Flair, Nathan Edwards is wary when he approaches the location of his next client, a man named Xavier who owns an establishment called The Hammer. The exterior is nondescript but what Nathan finds inside is anything but ordinary.

Nathan is intelligent, handsome and OCD which makes for an intriguing combination to Master Jarrod, a Dom who just walked into The Hammer for lunch and a place to check emails. Nathan is there to train the club’s bartenders in Flair and to give them new recipes to try out for their clientele. He has no idea as to the type of place The Hammer is or the people who are members.

Artist Jarrod stopped by the Hammer on impulse for lunch and to check on his emails from clients. But he stays to watch Nathan train the staff, pulled in by the young man’s magnetism, looks, and intelligence. An invitation to lunch goes well until the Dom in Jerrod comes out to play to Nathan’s consternation. When Jarrod pursues the relationship, can Nathan accept Jarrod’s lifestyle or will Jarrod’s feelings for Nathan force Jerrod to leave the lifestyle behind?

This is my favorite story of the collection. It’s just masterful (yes, went there as well)! Sean Michael gives us two completely authentic, layered characters and then creates a believable and charming slow buildup to a wonderful romance that all readers will love and root for.

Nathan is an especially unusual character. He has OCD but uses it to his advantage in his business. He makes no apologies, sure of himself and easy in his skin. And while he is startled as to the true nature of the club he is consulting for, it doesn’t bother him even though he is uneducated about the lifestyle. Then he meets Jarrod, strong, handsome and artistic and Nathan is charmed. But a stray comment and too strong attitude naturally finds Nathan pulling away.

I really liked that Michael introduced us to a character unfamiliar with bdsm and D/s relationships. By doing so, the author can educate Nathan and the reader at the same time about the lifestyle and the most common misconceptions. And Sean Michael does so in a manner that doesn’t feel forced or academic.

This is also the beginning of a relationship so we aren’t sure exactly what compromises each man is going to make for the other. Our only certainty being that these men do belong together. Books containing elements of bdsm are a minority in the type of books I normally review but Flair, a Hammer story is so well done, from the marvelous characters to the realistic and intelligent relationship between Nathan and Jerrod that it makes me want to read the rest of the stories in the Hammer series to see if they match the promise and the happiness I felt after reading this tale of love found amongst the cocktail glasses, shakers and bottles of a bar and its bartender. Great job and a wonderful way in which to end this collection.

If you are unfamiliar with any of these authors, Bar None is a great way to familiarize yourself with their style of writing and the characters they like to play with. I enjoyed them all and think you will too. Consider this definitely recommended.

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 223 pages

Published September 24th 2013 by Torquere Press

ISBN 1610405811 (ISBN13: 9781610405812)

edition language English

urlhttps://www.torquerepress.com/fiction/barnone.html

Review: Sweet and Sour by Astrid Amara

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Miles Piekus should be the happiest man around. He has just finished a renovation of the family deli, Piekus Pickles, he bought from his parents and his shop is more successful than ever. Miles has started a catering business and expanded the vegetarian selection in his Kosher deli. He lives above the business in the apartment he grew up in and loves. So what’s wrong? Well, his Israeli boyfriend Itai, a software designer, was supposed to be his partner but can’t be bothered to help out. And Miles thinks Itai is cheating on him again, after taking him back for a second chance.

As Thanksgiving and Hanukkah collide to form Miles’s worst nightmare with the deli to run and a party to cater and no help with either, a surprising arrival might be the answers to his problems. Detective Dominic Delbene, a pickle enthusiast and all around foodie, has been staking out Piekus Pickles, on the lookout for a narcotics ring operating in the area. He wants to use Piekus Pickles as his undercover spot and offers to help out behind the counter as his cover. Turns out, Nic’s family used to own a deli and soon things are running smoothly, too smoothly as it turns out. As romance starts to collide with business for both men, can Miles and Nic find the perfect recipe for love and a future together?

C.S. Lewis said “Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably.” In Sweet and Sour, that combination is not just admirable but downright delectable! Each holiday season I look forward to a Hannukkah story from Astrid Amara, normally one that includes the remarkable Bellskis. This year the author introduces us to Miles Piekus and Piekus Pickles and I fell in love all over again with this author and her captivating characters and stories.

Starting from the very first, we get a clear idea of who Miles Piekus is as a person and business owner. He’s covered in splattered pickle juice, working on orders and trying to assuage an old time customer of his parents who mistakenly picked up the wrong pickle and, of course, blames Miles for the error! It’s a perfect scene from the imagery to the dialog which is so authentic to that age group of elderly Jewish men and women that I could swear I was sitting over at Pumpernickels at the early bird special. We understand immediately that Miles is overworked, feeling unappreciated by long time customers, and irritated by the attitude and absence of his IT boyfriend. Astrid Amara gives us Miles, the gay, hardworking, family and culture loving Miles, and she did so in a nutshell as they say. That’s wonderful characterization, made all the better by the ease in which she accomplished it.

Then enters Detective Dominic Delbene to further confuse and help the situation. Nic Delbene is another wonderful character in a whole slew of them. For one, he is not the typical detective in that he’s unhappy being a cop. Furthermore, Nic is a pickle enthusiast and a foodie in his own right, having come from a delicatessen owning family himself. Those unexpected and genuine layers add such texture to a person who could have been a stock character that I connected to Nic from the moment he walked into the store just as Miles did. Nic loved the food Miles served up and he ate with an enthusiasm that was so contagious that my mouth actually watered. One of the reasons this connectivity works so beautifully is because we understand Miles reaction to Nic because it is ours as well.

This book is chock full of memorable people, as different in flavor as the pickles you would find in Miles’ shop. And that includes Itai, the software designing boyfriend with ideas of a relationship at the other end of the spectrum from Miles. Most people will dislike him deeply. I have to admit I am not terrfibly fond of him myself. But I loved the manner in which Miles dealt with him. From the beginning to the end, Miles behaved like an adult and a loving, responsible human being. In fact most of the people here are those who would garner your respect if you met them outside these pages. As for the other characters? Well, while we wouldn’t want to be more than acquaintances we would surely recognize them as the living breathing real women and men that Amara has created them to be. From their actions to their dialog, it all works and works so smoothly that the pages just speed by along with the plot.

Layered overtop of the characters and plot is the author’s love of food and the Jewish culture. These elements add such a richness to this story that it almost needs its own review. Miles keeps a Kosher kitchen and works hard to deliver kosher food that is still very “upscale”, pushing the boundaries of the expectations of those people in his community and the customers his store has served, some for years. Astrid Amara gently imparts some of the specific about keeping Kosher to the reader without going into plot deadening detail. We learn that Miles serves vegetarian because of the kashrut law that says meat and dairy must be kept separate. We watch as Miles prepares his first catering job for Rabbi Kevin Fine, the four-course Sabbath dinner for fifteen reform rabbis and their spouses at the Jewish Community Center. We get a complete menu and reactions from the dinners. It’s a rich, funny, and ultimately heartwarming scene. And I wanted to be there. We are also are there as Miles spends his first Hannukkah alone, lighting the candles and saying the prayers by himself in his upstairs apartment. We know how important tradition and his religion are to Miles because Astrid Amara has made it abundantly clear through Miles’ actions and words. It’s moving and authentic.

And then there is the food and the recipes. Oh my, such food! Each chapter is labeled with the title of a recipe. Chapter One is Warmly Spiced Cranberry Chutney. Chapter Four is Kosher Dill Half-Sours, Chapter Eight is Indian Hot Lemon Pickle right up to Beet Pickled Duck Eggs. Each recipe sent me running to my computer and Google. The food inside this story filled my head with aromas and flavors of such mouth-watering variety that I wanted to sample a bit of each and you will too. I have been told that all the recipes in Sweet and Sour are real to my delight.

The holidays are upon us and Sweet and Sour is the perfect accompaniment for your holidays no matter what you celebrate. It is full of laughter and family, of traditions both old and new, of friends and lovers and our hopes for the future. And of course, food, lots and lots of food and new recipes to try out. I asked for one from the author and here is the sufganiyot recipe. Now I am off to bake. You will want to as well. http://www.chow.com/recipes/30225-mexican-hot-chocolateglazed-sufganiyot-hanukkah-doughnuts-with-marshmallow-filling.

Sweet and Sour by Astrid Amara is one of ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords highly recommended reads for 2013. Don’t miss out!

This is how it all begins:

Chapter One

Warmly Spiced Cranberry Chutney

“It’s a disgrace, what you’ve done to this pickle!”

Mr. Frank Elder, a loyal customer of Piekus Pickles for over fifteen years, brandished a sad pickle aloft, as if its very appearance were something so appalling everyone in the establishment would gasp in horror.

As it was, Miles Piekus, owner of Piekus Pickles and the one being verbally accosted, wiped the spatters of pickling liquid from his face and affixed an apologetic smile upon his face.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Elder. Can I get you another one?”

“You try it!” Mr. Elder cried, shoving the offensive vegetable in Miles’s face.

Miles took the small green pickle and bit off the end. It tasted crunchy, garlicky, and tart, just like a pickle should taste.

“It’s very sour!” Mr. Elder complained, and Miles understood the problem.

“This is a full-sour pickle. You usually buy half-sours.”

Half sours were brined in salt and spices only. This pickle had been brined in vinegar and for a longer time. Miles wondered if the old guy had finally lost his sense of smell. “See how dark it is? Half- sours are a lighter green.”

Mr. Elder scratched his temple. “But I thought I got my usual…”

“Did you select pickles from that first barrel by the window?” Miles pointed to one of six large wood barrels lining the wall of the deli. “Because I moved the barrels around when I renovated, and I bet you selected full–sours instead of your regular.”

“Even if that was the case, your mother would have caught the mistake before ringing me up.”

That was likely true, and not the first time Miles had heard the complaint. He’d inherited his family’s store when his parents retired and moved to Arizona three months ago, and the transition embittered many of the older, traditional client base that found Miles’s youth and enthusiasm off-putting.

“I’m sorry,” Miles repeated, his smile firmly attached. “Let’s get you half a dozen half-sours on the house.”

“You don’t have to go that far—“

“I insist. You’re right. I should have caught the mistake and I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Miles gathered up a jar and used the tongs in the half-sour barrel to fish out a dozen small cukes from the brine. He sealed the lid and moved quickly to the cash register to ring up the sale. As he did so the bells over the front door jingled and two couples hurried in from the rain, talking loudly. Miles smiled at them then stole a glance back to the closed door behind him. The door opened to a narrow flight of stairs that connected to the second floor of the building, where Miles’s boyfriend currently sat, ostensibly not helping with the business. Miles sighed. He handed the jar to Mr. Elder and made a note for his Regular Clients board hidden behind the counter about the man’s tastes.

“Thank you, Miles,” Mr. Elder said in a complaining voice. “I’ll give you one more chance.”

Book Details:

ebook, 138 pages

Expected publication: November 26th 2013 by Loose Id
ISBN139781623004163
url http://www.loose-id.com/newest/coming-soon/sweet-and-sour.html

Special Note and Recipes From the Author:

The one recipe I’ve personally made a few times before is a two parter – you need to make Pickled Beets first, and then you get to make Beet Pickled Duck eggs (thats the recipe in the book Sweet and Sour, but you can use chicken eggs instead).

Both recipes courtesy of “The Joy of Pickling” by Linda Ziedrich
Pickled Beets

– Makes 8 pints

7 lbs. beets with their rootlets and 2 inches of their tops, well scrubbed
2 4″ cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
1T whole allspice berries
1t whole cloves
1 c granulated sugar
1 c firmly packed light brown sugar
2t pickling salt
1 quart cider vinegar
2 c water

1. Put the beets into a large pot and pour enough boiling water over them to cover them. Return the water to a boil and boil the beets for 15-35 minutes, depending on their size, until they are just tender.
2. Drain the beets and cover them with cold water. When they are cool, trim them and slip off their skins. If they are large, halve or quarter them – or if you like, slice all the beets into 1/4 inch thick rounds.
3. Tie the spices in a spice bag or a scrap of cheesecloth. Put this in a nonreactive pot with both sugars, salt, vinegar, and water. Bring the contents to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat and simmer the liquid, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
4. While the liquid simmers, pack the beets into pint or quart mason jars. Pour hot liquid over the beets, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Close the jars with two-piece caps. Process the jars for 30 minutes in a boiling water bath.
5. Store the jars in a cool, dry, dark place for at least 3 weeks before eating the beets. After opening a jar, store it in the fridge. Save the liquid in the jar for the eggs below:

Eggs Pickled in Beet Juice

– Makes 1 quart

1c liquid from Basic Pickled Beets

1c white wine vinegar or distilled white vinegar
1t pickling salt
1/2 t whole black peppercorns, crushed
1/2 t whole allspice berries, crushed
1 Mediterranean bay leaf, crumbled
About 12 hard-cooked duck eggs (to fill a quart jar), peeled

1. In a nonreactive saucepan, bring to a boil the beet-pickling liquid, vinegar, salt, and spices. Remove the pan from the heat and let the liquid cool.
2. Put the eggs into a quart jar and pour the cooled liquid over them. Cap the jar and refrigerate it for 6-24 hours. The longer you leave the eggs in the liquid, the farther the red color will penetrate into the whites. To keep the yolk from coloring, slice and serve the eggs before a day has passed.

***

A good basic bread and butter pickle recipe:

Review: Shock & Awe (Sidewinder #1) by Abigail Roux

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

After being shot in New Orleans, Sidewinder medic Kelly Abbott has returned home to his cabin in Colorado with fellow Sidewinder Nick O’Flaherty joining him to help him in his recovery. Kelly and Nick, bonded through their years together as part of a Marine Force Recon team, have always loved each other like brothers but past confessions and the recent events in New Orleans has Kelly thinking past brotherly bonds into something far more intimate and sexual. During a quiet moment at the cabin Kelly asks Nick to kiss him and is surprised when Nick does. But the kiss turns into something unexpected for each man…its deep, and warm and overwhelmingly sexual, and leaves Nick and Kelly wanting more.

That one kiss leads to others and only the reality of Kelly’s wounds keep the men from more. Confused, Kelly and Nick try to examine their feelings not only towards each other but about a deeper commitment outside their band of brothers. But the past has a way of intruding on the Sidewinders, pulling them towards danger and an uncertain future. Can Nick and Kelly find their way through their confusion and doubts before they are called to duty once more?

Abigail Roux is killing me here. I am still trying to recover from the events of Touch & Geaux (Cut & Run #7) when Roux starts a new series about the Sidewinders, the Marine Recon group that Ty Grady is a part of, and has me in tears all over again. But I am getting ahead of myself and this review.

Shock & Awe, the titles continuing in the tradition the author started in the Cut & Run series, is an expansion series into the tight band of brothers Abigail Roux introduced in the Cut & Run series. We met the various members of the Sidewinders as they came to visit Ty Grady in Baltimore and through appearances made in several of the Cut & Run stories. Nick, especially, was an important character in helping to understand Ty’s past and the close bonds of the Sidewinder Marine Force Recon Unit. Going too much into Nick O’Flaherty’s background would offer up spoilers for past stories but suffice it to say he and Ty have an unusual past history that is referenced here in Shock & Awe acting as an impetus for Kelly’s musings and startling request. And while the others members of the unit (Digger, Owen, and yes Ty) make an appearance, Shock & Awe is focused on Kelly and Nick. It starts shortly after the events of Touch & Geaux (Cut & Run #7) where Kelly was shot in New Orleans when all the Sidewinders gathered to celebrate a birthday.

The smaller, more intimate setting of Kelly’s cabin is perfect for the introspection and actions that follow an unusual request from Kelly for a less than brotherly kiss from Nick. Normally, Roux has a much larger canvas on which to place her characters and storyline but having one location lets the author (and readers) concentrate on the developing relationship and emerging emotions of Nick and Kelly. I loved this aspect of the story. The author had previously given the readers only a cursory introduction to Kelly while past stories made Nick an unwelcome intrusion into Ty and Zane’s relationship. Now both characters get to stand on their own and this story turns them into the remarkable men that Roux had always intended us to see them as. I had no trouble at all falling in love with both of them. Here is a little window into their close relationship. They have just arrived at Kelly’s cabin and are getting settled:

Kelly made a derogatory sound and closed his eyes again. Nick pulled away, then gently covered him with the sheet.

Kelly may have been the corpsman, but Nick had always been the caretaker of the group. He’d been a wingman, fall guy, sounding board, and alibi. He’d been mother, father, big brother, and crazy uncle. Whatever they’d needed. He’d always been the one who’d made sure all the Sidewinder ducks were in a row, and he was probably the sole reason the house they’d all shared in Jacksonville hadn’t burned down.

It was so odd to think back on all those years and know that Nick had been hiding part of himself he thought he couldn’t share. It almost broke Kelly’s heart to think of all the secrets he’d spilled to Nick, all the things he’d gotten off his chest, but Nick had never been able to do the same.

And when Kelly’s heart breaks so does ours.

There is so much emotion, so many feelings packed into this story that I found it hard to believe it was only 92 pages long. It was just long enough for me to fall completely in love with these two and time enough for Abigail Roux to break my heart not once but twice before the story ends.

Abigail Roux has proven over and over in each of her stories that she has the ability to make us believe in her characters, their passions and relationships. She is also a proven master of the hidden agenda, cliffhangers and heartbreak. You will find all of those here too. Grab this book up and fall in love with Nick and Kelly. The second story in the series, Bait & Switch (A Sidewinder story) is located after this one and will have you gnashing your teeth as well as crying quite a few tears, especially as it features Zane and Ty as well as Nick and Kelly. This is a 2 tissue box affair from start to well…..just pick it up and starting reading.

If you are new to Abigail Roux and her connected series (Cut & Run and Sidewinder), it would be best to start at the beginning to understand all the relationships of the men mentioned. Plus you will find yourself with two new addictions. One is winding down. There are only two more stories to go in the Cut & Run series. I hope that Sidewinder enjoys just as long a run. Don’t miss out on these remarkable men and this terrific author.

Cover by LC Chase. I loved this. The green cover sets it apart from the Cut & Run series while the shamrock continues the tradition of a single object helping to tie the series together. Perfection.

Sidewinder series to date:

Shock & Awe (Sidewinder #2)
Bait & Switch (A Sidewinder story)

Cut & Run Series:

Ball & Chain (Cut & Run #8) Expected publication: March 15th 2014 by Riptide Publishing
Touch & Geaux (Cut & Run #7)
Stars & Stripes (Cut & Run #6)
Dine and Dash(Cut & Run #5.5)
Armed & Dangerous (Cut & Run #5) – by Abigail Roux
Divide & Conquer #4, Fish & Chips #3, Sticks & Stones #2, Cut & Run #1 – all of these written by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux

Book Details:

ebook, 92 pages

Expected publication: November 11th 2013 by Riptide Publishing

original title Shock & Awe

ISBN13 9781626490567

edition language English

url http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/shock-awe

series Sidewinder #1

characters Ty Grady, Zane Garrett, Nick O’Flaherty, Kelly Abbott

Review: After the Fall (Tucker Springs #6) by L.A. Witt

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Nathan has pursued a dream of owning his own dressage horse and now after years of saving, Nathan has finally bought one. His Trakehner mare, Tsarina, is young but Nathan hopes to show her after they spend some time training together. But all Nathan’s hopes and work of 15 years is shattered in one moment. On Nathan and Tsarina’s first trail ride, a motorcyclist on the wrong trail causes a horrendous fall that breaks several of Nathan’s bones and sees him on his way to the hospital and Tsarina loose in the woods, his summer and hopes in ruins.

Ryan has always traveled where his wanderlust takes him with nary a thought of settling down in one place. His current travels have brought him to Tucker Springs, Colorado on his way to Texas and a job for the winter. But one wrong trail ride on his motorcycle changes his path after he causes a rider to fall after his horse shies when Ryan veers into their path. The rider, Nathan, has a broken leg, and a broken hand that resulted from a mean right hook after Nathan punched Ryan in his fury and pain.

Feeling guilty, Ryan offers to look after Tsarina while Nathan is incapacitated. Before each man realizes it they have fallen into an easy friendship that soon turns into something more. But each man has his own insecurities and issues to deal with that starts to throw up obstacles to love. Can Ryan and Nathan put aside the past in order to make a future together?

After The Fall, Tucker Springs story#6, brings back a character, Nathan, that we first met in the very first Tucker Spring novel, Where Nerves End. In that story, we come across Nathan as Michael’s young assistant in his shop Tucker Springs Acupuncture. He is introduced as a young, college age, nattily dressed gay man but we lacked a larger picture as to who Nathan was. Now L.A. Witt fills in the portrait she started a while ago and we get to see his depth of character and his dreams for himself. I found it startling that Nathan aspired to own a warmblood and show in dressage, a lovely quirk for a western town where the style of riding is so different. That is an unexpected and marvelous side of Nathan. And by its inclusion, the author gives Nathan a layer that lets us know that he is a serious, disciplined and caring young man all at once. Owning his own horse is a goal Nathan has spent “ten years of dreaming, three years of saving, and almost a full year of searching for the perfect horse”, so his happiness and anticipation on the first day he is going to get to ride his horse is palpable. And it makes what happens next scary and heartbreaking in vivid and authentic detail.

But the author has also given Nathan more than his share of past problems with men and those issues as well as watching his friends in the act of demolishing their own relationship has caused Nathan to pull away from any romantic relationships of his own at the moment. As Nathan reasons it out for himself, he has a full life and schedule and a romance would only add its unwanted complications at the moment. I think we have all been there at one time or another and this makes Nathan a character we can certainly relate to.

The character of Ryan (no last name) is more of an enigma. We learn little of his past, some about his family and a smidgen about what prompted his tumbleweed lifestyle. But frankly his personality is overshadowed by that of Nathan, who is telling the story. That lack of fullness to his character leaves the resulting romance between the men lacking as well. True, there is a sweetness to the manner in which they fall in love, a startling contrast to the way in which they first met. I certainly enjoyed watching them become first friends and then lovers but it could have felt so much more real had Ryan been more fleshed out as a person and Nathan’s equal.

There were a few other quibbles for me in this story. One, for Ryan to learn how to push a dressage horse into a collected trot or canter using his seat with no training is a tad unrealistic, considering the amount of skill and training that goes into a dressage horse and it’s equestrian partner as well. Yes, there are natural riders out there who just seem to “get it”. They have a great leg and a natural seat that just sticks to the saddle, flowing along with the rhythm of their partner. But Ryan doesn’t even know how to hold the reins in an English style, having learned the western method of riding which is completely different. Beginners usually saw on the reins or pull too hard, The subtle tickling of a braided rein, the slight tension required takes time, more time than Ryan had. My other quibble is the lack of last names. I don’t know why but this drives me crazy. If you want us to believe in characters fully give them a complete name. Unless they are Cher of course. Stepping off my quibble box now.

For most readers the last two issues won’t be a problem with them. It’s just nitpicking on my part. But Ryan’s character and the swift resolution of their commitment issues might be more problematic. I think another chapter or two would have seen the ending more drawn out and given the author more time to paint a more realized picture of a man who finally finds a place and person to call home.

I really enjoyed After The Fall and I think you will too, especially if you are already a fan of the Tucker Springs series.

Here are the stories in the Tucker Springs series in the order they were written, and is recommended that they be read:

Where Nerves End (Tucker Springs, #1) by L.A. Witt
Second Hand (Tucker Springs, #2) by Heidi Cullinan
Dirty Laundry (Tucker Springs, #3) by Heidi Cullinan
Covet Thy Neighbor (Tucker Springs, #4) by L.A. Witt
Never a Hero (Tucker Springs, #5) by Marie Sexton
After The Fall (Tucker Springs #6) by L.A. Witt

Cover Art by L.C. Chase, lcchase.com/design.htm. Love the cover but ack…that posture, those flying elbows…tuck those babies in. Shakes head.

Book Details:

ebook, 202 pages

Published October 7th 2013 by Riptide Publishing

ISBN13 9781626490765

url http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/after-fall

series Tucker Springs

Review: Wireless by L.A. Witt

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

In the future, skin to skin contact is forbidden. People wear full body suits and gloves to insure that no bodily contact will be made with another human being. Everything has been sanitized and all unions between man and woman are for procreation only with the matches made by the Government. Human sexual release is prescribed medically and people are given appointments bi monthly at Sim Centers where electrodes are attached at erogenous zones for use in virtual reality sex scenes. Everyone is microchipped and everything they do is monitored, all by order of the Government.

Keith Borden is a sim tech and has been for years. And in all that time Keith has never questioned the Government’s actions or his profession. Keith has just accepted his isolation and his part in supporting its continuation as being for the good of all. Then Aiden Maxwell becomes his patient and Keith’s world starts to change. Aiden is gorgeous and flirtatious. And Aiden requests that his sim partner look exactly like Keith. All too soon Keith’s own sims is not enough to satisfy him.

Keith has known about the perverted and depraved people who break the law and have skin to skin contact but never thought he would be one of them. Aiden breaks down his barriers and takes Keith to a wireless lounge where people gather naked to have contact with each other and unprotected sex. Keith is hooked.

Keith’s world is shattered from the moment he experiences the sensual pleasures of skin to skin contact and sex with another human being, especially if that person is Aiden. But the government is cracking down on the wireless lounges and breaking the law means much more than just jail time. Keith can lose everything, including his life. What will Keith risk not only to keep having human contact but to have Aiden in his life?

There is much to love about Wireless by L.A Witt starting with the plot of the book. Just imagining a world where human contact is outlawed is chilling. No loving touches, no sympathetic embraces or hugs when you need them the most. No more gentle kisses on the cheek or lips, all those gestures that connect us to others and telegraph so much emotion without saying a word. All gone by government order. I think most people are not even aware of how much touch is used daily to convey thoughts, needs, and direction. So using the loss of that sense and personal isolation as a focus is a great idea. And L.A.. Witt does a terrific job in conveying the ramifications of such a policy on society in her story.

Character Keith Borden is our “everyman” at the beginning of Wireless. He is unquestioning and complacent about his lifestyle and government proscribed sexless sex life. When he and the other sim techs gather to discuss current happenings, all (well mostly all) look askance at those who would risk everything for sex in the wireless lounges. They even agree when one tech says that those caught in raids should “have their balls cut off” calling them degenerates. Then Witt brings in Aiden Maxwell to upset Keith’s bland life. Here is a look at their encounter:

There were thirty million people in San Angeles, fully half of them in the quadrant where I lived. I’d seen so many of these suits on so many bodies, they were as novel as pollution and pavement.

But the way Aiden’s suit fit him did things to me I couldn’t explain. It was like the damn thing was made to accentuate his narrow hips or the fact that he had shoulders that wouldn’t quit.

Walking down the hall from the waiting area to Sim Room 8, it was all I could do not to sneak a few glances. It should have been a crime for a man to look this good. Especially since it practically was a crime for me to have the fantasies I’d had about him in and out of that suit. Living out those fantasies? A felony. Not worth entertaining even within the confines of my mind, but sometimes I just couldn’t help myself.

The skintight suit wasn’t the worst part. He was here for a sim session, which meant— just as it did for the hundreds of people who came through this simhouse without making me bat an eye— the suit was coming off. So were the boots, the gloves— everything. Every layer peeled away, revealing the exquisitely defined arms and shoulders that a decade of heavy construction work had chiseled to perfection.

It was all coming off, and since he always asked for me, I was the one who got to put the electrodes on him. On his neck. The insides of his elbows. His flat, flawless abs. Not to mention the equipment that went over his penis and testicles to provide the stimulation that would ultimately bring him to orgasm.

Good thing no one on staff had ever noticed— or questioned— that I always booked my own sim sessions for immediately after Aiden’s.

Forbidden thoughts have already entered Keith’s mind and Aiden is going to stir them up even more. I liked both their characters. Of the two Keith is the most accessible simple because the story is told from his pov. Aiden is more of a question mark simply because we don’t know anything about him. Aiden is the siren calling Keith to him and the pleasures he offers are dangerous indeed.

The sensuality and desperate nature of the wireless lounges comes across vividly due to Witt’s descriptions. You can almost feel Keith being overwhelmed by the intoxication of it all, so much skin, the smell, the sounds, truly sensory overload.

A crystalline bead of sweat slid from his temple and into the side of my hand, the coolness of the liquid contrasting sharply with the heat of his flesh. My mouth watered, and I wanted to know what his tasted like. I wanted to know what his skin tasted like. No, that would be going too far. If I kissed him, then we’d…

My gaze drifted to the others in the room. To the people undulating together, bodies pressed so close it was impossible to tell where some ended and others began. People danced. Kissed. Touched. Fucked. All out in the open, all with a kind of feverish abandon I couldn’t even begin to comprehend. One kiss, I was certain, and I’d understand that abandon. I’d embrace it and lose myself in it just like everyone else here.

It’s all there for us to see and understand, the need that deprivation has caused and how quickly Keith finds he needs the contact in order to live. L.A. Witt makes Keith and Aiden intimate companions with the reader along for the ride and we love it.

So why not give Wireless a higher rating? That would be due to the confused, incomplete world building. The beginning of Wireless opens with the words “Several decades from now…” but later on in the story it talks about it being 200 years in the future. There are more inconsistencies further along as to the timeline. Why the world would have fallen into such a state in a few decades is never related. Plus this time frame is not feasible for the type of government and mechanical structures to have been created. The reader is given a sentence or two about over population and disease but nothing about governments falling or the rise of new ruling institutions, all of which take time. And this lack of back history or solid reasonable foundation makes the story almost exist inside a bubble. It just floats along without being anchored to a world we can make sense of. As the story itself states, that isolation is not only burdensome but unhealthy for the plot.

I am not a fan of this ending either. Too much is left unsaid or unexplained, definitely an incomplete HFN. I don’t mind HFN endings but this one left me with far too many questions about their future than could be answered by the story. Sigh.

I liked enough about Wireless to recommend it with reservations and definitely recommend other books by L.A. Witt, a very talented author.

Cover artist Valerie Tibbs does a great job with this dramatic cover.

Book Details:

ebook, 172 pages

Published July 30th 2013 by Loose Id LLC

ISBN13 9781623001605

url http://www.loose-id.com/wireless.html

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