Posts Tagged ‘Naughty Boys’

Title: “Apples and Regret and Wasted Time”
Author: Cornelia Grey
Publisher: Storm Moon Press
Release Date: May 27th, 2011
 

Blurb: He lives in the shadows of the law. Now, wounded and stranded in the city after a job only he could do, he has no qualms about climbing through the window his old lover left open—or stealing his shampoo, at that. He has, however, not taken into account the possibility of being surprised in the shower.

Three years is a long time to go between visits, especially if you’ve left so much anger and hurt and desire unresolved. They try to negotiate a truce for one night—over Chinese takeaway leftovers and apples, and between the sheets.

 

 

Guest post by Cornelia Grey

Bittersweet endings: ‘it’s complicated’

Cornelia Grey

Bittersweet endings: love them or hate them, they never fail to stir up a reaction. As for me – both as a reader and as an author – if I had to Facebook my relationship with bittersweet endings, I’d pick ‘it’s complicated’.

I tell myself I don’t really like them, that what I want for the characters is a full-blown, shiny, unicorns-and-rainbows-dipped-in-glitter happy ending to put all happy endings to shame. They deserve it, after all: I’ve come to love the characters, I’ve followed them in their ups and downs and after all they’ve been through, they deserve peace and happiness. They do. And yet, as the ending approaches, I find myself eyeing them furtively as a little, guilty part of me considers that it would be… too easy. Now, when I’m a reader, all I can do is lay back, keep reading and be quiet. But when I’m the author… my characters better start worrying, ‘cause I see a bad moon a-rising in their near future.

The curious thing is that, as a reader, I usually don’t like unhappy endings. When you’re reading a story, sometimes you can tell when an unhappy ending is coming, right? All along there’s a heavy, nagging feeling in the pit of your stomach, and then you’re not disappointed, there it is, the unhappy ending, roundhouse kicking you in the guts. Maybe you hope there will be something after, that there will be some hope, some hint that things might change, that they’ll get better, that somehow it won’t be… definitive. When that doesn’t come, you’re left wallowing in a pool of powerlessness, heavy and numb. You can’t even bring yourself to imagine that things might change later, because there was no window left open for you to imagine your own developments.

My endings, although not happy, aren’t that sort of ending either. That’s mainly because they tend to be more of a ‘to be continued’, even if I might never actually get around to writing that continuation, than actual endings. They might not be happy, but they aren’t unhappy either. They are more of a… work-in-progress. Things may be uncertain right now. Things might even be flat-out crap…. For now. The situation is in transition, and whether it will turn out for better or worse, it all depends on what will happen next. On what choices the characters will make, what they’ll make of it. It’s never definitive.

To be honest, I don’t really believe in definitive endings, not even when they’re happy ones. After all, nothing short of the death of everyone involved can ever determine a definitive ending. So whatever situation my characters are left in, it’s not forever. It might be the last we hear of them, but we know that they will be carrying on with their life and that things are bound to change, because the situation is too unstable to last.

My stories tend to have two leading threads: an adventure, which is the main one, and then the romance. Often the stories end when the adventure ends, but the romance side of it, the characters’ relationship, is little more than just begun. A happy-for-now of sorts. What next? Will they stick together, or shake hands and go their separate ways? I never tell. Sometimes, I don’t even know.

Sometimes, I admit, I don’t even give them that much. The adventure takes precedence and the characters have to shove their relationship to the side. They have other priorities, so for the moment it’s the relationship that they have to put on hold. That’s life, after all: sometimes, you have to squash feelings down to take care of more practical matters. But even then, the characters are always left in transition. They may not be together at the moment, but I’m never saying that they won’t patch it up. They will be figuring out their own solutions, a way to pick up the pieces and move on and manage to glue themselves back together. They might be scarred or glued in different shapes, maybe missing some piece they didn’t manage to scoop up from the ground. Still, they will move on and build something.

There are some tropes of the romance genre which I’ll never be quite able to abide, I suspect. One of them is the centrality of the love story in the characters’ life. Of course, the love story is intense and heart-wrenching and all-consuming… but it might not necessarily be the main focus of the characters’ lives at the moment. I am a little bit of a conflict junkie, I’m afraid, so I always tend to put my characters in quite the pickles. Having to save whole chunks of populations from evil militiamen, for example, putting a stop to a war that threatens to crush half of a country, saving children from being sold by mercenaries… they tend to have serious crap going on. That’s the heart of the story. And they will end up tangled in a love story, that will never make their life easier and that will never be at the top of their priorities list.

Does that take something away from that particular relationship? I don’t think so. I think that a love story can clash with the surrounding world, can even be half-crushed by it. That doesn’t mean it’s too weak a love, it doesn’t mean it’s less important than a love story that instead manages to conquer everything. Sometimes, love stories don’t end as well as we would like to, leaving us with the nagging need to know what next?, leaving a bittersweet aftertaste in our mouths. This bitter edge – the pea under the pile of mattresses that keeps you on edge, keeps you awake and moving and alive –  is what makes romance all the more intriguing and appealing to my taste.

Buy Links (to this work and two other works):

About Cornelia Grey:

Cornelia Grey is a student halfway through her creative writing degree with a penchant for fine arts and the blues. Born and raised in the hills of Northern Italy, where she collected her share of poetry and narrative prizes, she is now based in London. Her days are full and hectic: she reads, goes to flea markets, galleries, and the theater, and of course spends most of her time writing. When she’s at home, she likes to curl up with a book and the classic cup of tea and leaves chestnuts in the garden for the squirrel that comes around from time to time.

Cornelia loves to hear from her readers and can be found at the following locations:

Blog: http://corneliagrey.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://en-gb.facebook.com/people/Cornelia-Grey/100001604880385
Twitter: http://twitter.com/corneliagrey

Hello naughty boys and girls!

I’ve been having a blast visiting blogs across the vast void of the internet. I’ve talked to fans, and strangers who will hopefully become new fans, about writing, publication, and finding time in our busy, busy lives. Originally, I’d intended to break the myths about writer’s block today, but something else has crept into my thoughts over the past week since Fallen’s release.

Pre-release, I did all the things a good little writer should do – set up Facebook and GoodReads accounts, drummed up interest on Twitter, wrote a lot of blog posts, visited several YahooGroups, created a free webfiction serial, and so forth. I established a promotional routine to get the word out without being obnoxious. (I can’t be very sales-focused at the office either, so these were big steps for me.)

What I didn’t plan for is addressing the infamous why. As release day drew closer, my mom found out about the book, and closer still, my dad. Yes, ‘found out’. I didn’t go out of my way to tell them. I was, after all, writing gay erotic romance as a child of a Catholic upbringing. Ah, but my outings are stories for another blog post. Soon, I promise.

The “Why” I refer to is: Why do you write M/M?

That is a question I answer differently for each person, but overall, the theme is the same. It’s what I’m good at. These men a part of me. Huh? Vague? Yeah, a bit.

For a while I wrote vampires. My darling SO thinks I should still try to publish them, and I don’t disagree, but the vampire craze makes me fang-shy and I seem to have a knack for this erotic romance stuff.

I didn’t strike out to write male-on-male erotic romance. It was sweet serendipity. After sharing my vampires on Writing.com, I was approached by a fellow vampire writer to join her campfire style YahooGroup and write with a number of other people, some aspiring to become published, and others writing for fun or role-play. Up until that point, I’d left any gay sensuality off screen. After all, I’d never seen such things in the books I read, and I wanted to be published, so it stood to reason that I’d have to be careful with my bi and gay characters. Besides, I thought, I was writing vampires first, not erotica.

Then, that same writer who invited me to her group seduced my bisexual Maximian with her male vampire. After their first powerful, raw, sexual clash, I was hooked. There was no fade-to-black ending. Those two men found the voice of my inner gay boy and taught him how to sing. It didn’t take me long after to find the niche of M/M publishing. I still feel like a newbie when it comes to reading my genre, but the queer male voices in my head have always been there, vying for an escape, and now they’ve found it.

I didn’t tell my parents about the vampires. I told them that gay men inspire me and that I’m happy to write what comes naturally. I stopped short of trying to explain gender fluidity, because daddy-dearest needs little steps. He won’t be reading Fallen, but he also isn’t sending me chain email prayers any more. I consider that a win.

Why do I write M/M? Because my inner gay boy wants to talk, and without him, I’m just a wistful wannabe without a word to my name.

Man has free will, and guardian angels have an eternal place in the holy host.

When unexpected feelings interfere with Malchediel’s guidance of a mortal being, he must decide if his love for one man is true, or the work of the devil. Charged with the soul of handsome but suicidal Bran Weller, Malchediel faces a new challenge: Bran’s steadfast belief that homosexuality is not wrong despite the Church’s view of his lifestyle.

In the course of his angelic duties, Mal is tempted to turn a blind eye to long-standing rules of guardianship as he falls in love with his charge. Torn between faith in God and belief that every man deserves love, Malchediel must find a way to balance heart and soul or risk a Fall to Hell.

You can order Fallen directly from the publisher here: FALLEN

About the Author:  Pia Veleno is a naughty girl, but she knows you’re naughty too. Tongue-in-cheek, and everywhere else, she spends her time channeling her inner gay boy, running nowhere, and avoiding housework. Her debut, Fallen, is available through Silver Publishing and her webfic blog, CRANK is well into its second year of steamy manlove and stake-worthy vampires.

You can find Pia polluting these infamous internet rest stops:
Pia’s blog: Staking the Muse (Rambling, babbling, and the occasional writing-related announcement.)
Pia on Twitter (The unrated, uncut Pia. Not guaranteed to be work-safe.)
Pia on Facebook (Slightly higher chance of a work-safe version of Pia. Also, less ranting, babbling, and non-writing silliness.)
Pia on GoodReads (She has an unreasonable fear of bestowing stars, but she will share what she’s reading.)
Pia’s email: piathewriter@gmail.com

Unbound: Bonded II

by Jay Lygon

Publisher: Torquere Press

Fionn has waited six hundred years for revenge against Brandr, the vampire who turned him. The first part of his plot goes so well. He kidnaps Kyle, Jamie and Henry from Brandr’s house. That’s all that goes according to plan, though. Usually, the kidnapper makes demands, but this time it’s the hostages who do, and they plan to make Fionn’s life hell until they get what they want. After a couple nights of suffering at their hands, Fionn begins to worry that Brandr won’t take the boys back.

Revenge – it seemed like such a good idea at the time…

Unbound: Bonded II by Jay Lygon

Review by Jasmine

3.9/5 Whips in the Backseat

Bonded II by Jay Lygon is a bit of a conundrum.  It is not really a romance.  More a fun romp that gets a little spicy and has some laughs  Lots of group sex and multiple partners and a group of guys all living together.  It is definitely a neat journey and a little boyrific.  To quote the book “Brandr calls us the unending go-go boy slumber party from hell,”

I confess I did not read the first in the series, so there is obviously more that came before and so this could just be a visit into the slumber party not the whole start to finish.  I have not done so myself but I recommend reading book one first, though all these boys do sound yummy and the laughs are there whether you have read Book I or not.  So if the go-go boy party sounds like your kind of a read pick this one up!

Love Eternal

by Wayne Mansfield
Torquere Press

Evan is a man lost in the modern world. He has a job, a house, and a best friend. He also has a hole in his soul that he hadn’t even realized was there until one night he meets a mysterious stranger, lurking in the shadows of a tree-lined lane where men meet for sex.

There is something striking and a little terrifying about this stranger. Evan’s initial intrigue is soon compounded when he discovers that they have met before. A long time ago. And that they used to be lovers. When the memory is awakened in Evan, his ordinary life is transformed. The hole in his soul is filled. But Evan can’t know how completely his life is about to change once more.

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Love Eternal by Wayne Mansfield

Review by Missy

3.5 Whips in the Backseat

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This was an interesting mix of old school charm and vulgarity.  Love Eternal has the feel of the classic writing style that charmed me, very old world.  Wayne Mansfield had me thoroughly engaged as the story moved on.  Our main character Evan has a somewhat reclusive life.  He works a 9-5 and hates Mondays.  All in all a self-contained and seemingly quiet man who likes to take walks, and stroll through an illicit lane where men meet.   And where he is reunited with his immortal lover.

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Sebastian is a vampire, weighting 1,500 for the reincarnation of his love.  I get it, though that much patience and waiting is quite a feat.  Yet the story keeps the reader at a distance.  In part it is the style of writing, in part it is the fact that we are never invited into Sebastian’s world.  There is no discussion of him as a vampire, how that effects his relations ship with Evan.  At the end he lets slip that to survive he has to kill people which is then blown by a bit more.  So how am I supposed to feel about Sebastian?  He is confessing to be a killer.  He tells us he is dead and reanimated by a virus.  I was having flashes of Resident Evil in my mind.

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The stylized writing is not what threw me out of the story however.  It was the out of character and pretty vulgar language used during the intimate scenes that leaves me with my rating.  The beginning of the story is stylized and eloquent not that the style will appeal  to all readers – So I STRONGLY recommend reading the excerpt to get a feel for the tone.   When Sebatian and Evan get together the story goes for a bit of a loop.  To me as a reader the use of the term bowels is less then sexy.  Some of the other lines during the intimate moments also turned me off in word choice and the incongruity of tone after a well paced opening.  I find myself unable to recommend the title, or not recommend it.

Please share your thoughts on the title if you have read it.  Perhaps I was sensitive about the vocabulary and others were not

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Thanks for reading.

Missy

Reviewer Jasmine: So I want to welcome our first author interview to Naughty Boys in the Backseat, Ms Eden Winters. Welcome to the Backseat!
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Eden: Nice to be here! Hmmm….can I get a hottie back here?

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RJ: Umm, sorry I did not bring one along, but I will keep that in mind for future interviews.
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Eden: Hey, it is “Naughty Boy in the Backseat!” Bring on the naughty boys!!!

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RJ: Valid observation! It is no secret that I am a big fan of your book Angel of 13th Street. It is a rather dark tale. Where did that come from?

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Eden: Thanks, so glad you liked it. I began writing Angel after reading an article about young people aging out of foster care. Statistics were given of how many would become homeless within eighteen months. My jaw dropped. Eighteen and nineteen year olds living on the streets? In the article the girl still attended school, finding places to sleep wherever she could. In a way this story was created to help raise awareness of a common situation that absolutely none of my acquaintances that I questioned knew about. I knew it existed, I just didn’t know how bad it was until I began researching. Sadly, many of these young people do fall prey to predators.

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RJ: What has the response been from readers to that issue in the book?

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Eden: Most are more focused on the prostitution issue, but I’ve heard from a few teachers who’ve had students in similar circumstances. They praised the way Jeremy’s struggle was portrayed. One even commented, “It’s hard to focus on homework when you’re hungry and in pain.” I’ve not received any direct comments about it being too sinister, though some commenting on reviews said they’d have to pass because they were worried that the subject matter would prove too dark for them.

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RJ: Dark and delicious. Bringing to mind the man who steals the show is Billy Cordell/Willie Carnell. Where did he come from?

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Eden: Oh my. I didn’t even realize how big a role he had until folks like yourself began commenting on him. Several times in the book I mention “choices.” That character represents the path that either Noah or Jeremy could have taken. What some may not have noticed is that Billy/Willie is the true hero of the book.

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RJ: Really?

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Eden: There are subtle clues. Noah thought Billy didn’t visit him in hospital, then recalls seeing a crying Billy when he’s brought in. He also thinks that, because of his scars, Stevie the pimp lets him go without a fight. When Noah goes to see his lover after getting out of the hospital, Billy seems glad to see him at first, then renounces him. Stevie, their pimp, is watching from a window. Then Noah starts saving young prostitutes. A short while later Billy becomes Willie and gets rid of Stevie. Guess why? Billy cut a deal with Stevie to get Noah out.

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RJ: Hmmm

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Eden: Then when Stevie thought Noah a threat…..threat eliminated but a different threat
In his own way, Willie is Noah’s angel.

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RJ: I adored him – maybe you can bring him back somehow though it would kill the reality of the story.

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Eden: Would folks buy him coming back as an angel spirit? He has to do a good deed.

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RJ: Hard to say. Did you consider giving him a little more face time in the story or is he a mystery on purpose?

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Eden: He was more of a mystery to being with. I’m sure I drove my editor crazy adding more about him last minute. It’s funny, but sometimes your characters take on their own personalities, and Noah argued with me to let him get back with Billy. Sigh. So Billy had to go.  The story was supposed to be about Jeremy. It didn’t work out that way.
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RJ: Will we see the boys again in the future?  Any plans to head back to 13th Street?

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Eden: I’m not sure. I’ve had an idea for a story that involved Noah bowing out when Jeremy goes off to college, insisting it’s better that way. Jeremy doesn’t agree but honors Noah’s wishes. He parties, has sexual adventures befitting his age, then graduates and becomes a successful businessman. He never forgets Noah. Then he hears that Noah’s bar has been burned down by an angry pimp, and Noah hospitalized, and returns to assume the white knight role Noah once played for him, rejoining the mission of saving young men that he’d abandoned when he left the city.

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RJ: Wow, thanks for the insight… If that is just a tease though readers might find out where you live and come get you.  Mission TP Eden’s House…

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Eden: I have several other projects going that would have to be completed first.   I hope to see it come to fruition one day.
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RJ: So what IS Next?

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Eden: I have another novel coming out in August from Toquere, call “Duet.” It’s part contemporary and part historical, with strong elements of the paranormal, and a hot specter in a kilt! Hey, I wonder if the heroes, Aillil and Malcolm, would join me on this backseat? Oh, there’s also violins. They are key to the plot.

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RJ: Reader Warning – further discussion of Eden’s time in the backseat with her two boys may not be appropriate for the young or those with a weak heart.

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Eden: Let’s look up Aillil’s kilt! Just kidding.  There’s an anthology coming out in Sept. called A Place for Me. I’ll have a short in it featuring Mark, the rent boy Noah helps. It’s about what happens when he goes home.
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RJ: I look forward to seeing Mark and I will keep my eyes open for that one!

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Eden: I love HEA and he really needed one.

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RJ: Eden thank you so much for your time,  I look forward to reading more of your work!

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Eden: Thanks for having me here. Ummm….me and the boys are cozy, and Aillil’s never seen a back seat before since he’s from 1763. Mind if we stay awhile? He need enlightening

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Reviewer Jasmine: Umm – It’s your car…

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Eden: lol

Find out more about Eden Winters and her books at Torquere Books

Angel of 13th Street

by Eden Winters

Publisher Torquere Books

Synopsis

The Angel. That’s what the young hustlers call Noah Everett, the man who’ll help them get off the streets. Once a hustler himself, Noah doesn’t take his own good advice, which is, “Don’t let this ruin your life.” Haunted by the past and those he couldn’t save, Noah carefully keeps others at bay until his self-imposed loneliness is shattered by determined, ambitious, but homeless eighteen-year-old Jeremy Kincaid.

A ruthless pimp has targeted Jeremy, but if Noah will fight to get anonymous young men out of the life, he’ll fight harder to keep Jeremy from getting in, even if it means a return to old stomping grounds to make a deal with the devil. To save Jeremy, Noah risks more than just his body. He risks his soul as well, because Willie Carnell, pimp, was once Billy Cordell, Noah’s lover.

Angel of 13th Street by Eden Winters Review

Review by Missy

5/5 Whips

Bravo!  No joke.  Angel of 13th Street is a well executed, complex story that makes this world of semi-underground male prostitution believable.  Maybe believable is not the best word, perhaps there are others that work better, like accessible, relatable,  insightful?  Okay, maybe not 100% of the time, but as a reader I was there with our main character Noah every second and drawn into his story and struggle.

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As for the young man, Jeremy, who falls into his life there were a few issues with him as the catalyst to the story.  He is being followed by a former lover who would like to recruit him to work the street corner.  That is when the “Angel” steps in.  Noah and Jeremy have a believable attraction – though I might have been happier if the younger half of the couple had a few more years on him.  You can be 20 and still look young.  But his age worked for the story, and to stop the city pimp from bothering Jeremy, it forces Noah back into the lions den to see HIS former lover.

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Which brings me to the elusive Billy Cordell/Willie Carnell.  I do NOT want him to be elusive.  I loved the snap shots we see in flashback of Noah and the then called Billy as lovers.  If there was one disappointment with the book it was that there was not enough interaction between Noah and the now called Willie.  Their dynamic was the most interesting element of the whole tale.  That was an area I would have explored happily in the story.  Oh, and is Willie really an intimidating enough name for a bad ass pimp?  Who is afraid of the big, bad, Willie?

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The story is one I could not put down, plan to re-read, and would recommend to any reader who enjoys M/M and is willing to look into the darker side.   I really can not call it a happy story, but it is uplifting in its own way.  It is easy to fall in love with Noah.  It is also hard NOT to fall a little in love with Billy, and even Willie.  What can I say?  I am a sucker for a man who pines for his lost love.  Adore the book, and I will be searching for more by this author.

- Missy

Glad Hands

By: Angelia Sparrow, Naomi Brooks

Synopsis from Ellora’s Cave

Chuck rolls his rig across the no-longer-United States, from Montana to Arkansas. He expects a fast run with no complications. What he doesn’t expect is Seven, a pretty blue-eyed drifter who turns not only his head but makes his blood boil.

His gayness tattooed into his very skin, Seven needs Chuck’s help to escape the very limited life Heartland forces upon him. And when the even more repressive Confederated States take an interest, Chuck and Seven are in for the ride of their lives.

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Glad Hands by: Angelia Sparrow, Naomi Brooks

Review by Missy

3/5 Whips in the Backseat

There are a lot of things I liked about this book and that attracted me to the story when I read the synopsis and excerpt.  We find ourselves with a truck driver in an America divided.  I mean by more then our politics and party lines that might be dividing us currently.  We are talking Iron Curtain type boarders here.  So in a country come undone there is left this scary place where you have to worry about breaking laws you did not know existed or facing prejudices made legal like those against Homosexuality that this book’s characters face.

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It is this conflict and tension that caused me to say, me, me, I want that one to review please!  Sadly the paragraph I just wrote leads you to believe there is more depth to the story then actually develops.  We have an interesting world.  Chuck, one of our main characters has to almost go into “Enemy Territory” with his truck – and quite frankly the amount of detail about the truck and the rig and the hitch and the coupling and the gear shift really detracted from the depth of the world, dramatic moments, and the experience of being there with the characters.  In a very interesting locale the focus of the description was the same as we see today Big Rig truck.

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I think my car runs by magic, should I understand it better?  Likely.  Do I care?  If I did I would read the manual front to back and then maybe take an automotive class.  I put in gas, get the oil changed, and turn the key.  I drive an automatic and I have relied on the kindness of strangers in the past when it came to things like checking my oil.  After reading this book I feel there is a good possibility I could use it as a manual to operate an 18wheeler all on my own.  But those parts were on par with reading my car manual too.

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So back to the story, putting aside the technical detail I want to address the Romance.  Our two heros Chuck and Seven are an interesting match.  Seven stranded in a part of the country where they try to cure homosexuality with shock therapy is the kind of fascinating, broken character that makes an alternative near future like this interesting and accessible.  Chuck comes from a more liberal area of the country and the scenes with them together have the potential to really get to the guts of the matter.  Unfortunately the story has one of the biggest No-No’s that a Romance can have.  The main characters are always APART!

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It takes our boys forever to meet – at which point my eyes are glazed.  Then they get separated.  During the separation my eyes glaze again.  Then there is the great build up- a kinda universal question.  After a great big adventure, does the relationship last?  They even mention it at the end of the movie Speed.  I get two people being together while the adrenaline is pumping, but what happens AFTER?  I need to believe the HEA or the Romance does not really work for me and if that element is lacking the story tends to end on a hollow note.

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For a quick read, some action, adventure, a little pulse pounding reading, this was an okay tale.  I warn you though, if you are looking for more of a romance and connection between heroes, Glad Hands just does not seem to have enough face time between Chuck and Seven to fit that bill.

Sage

by J. Rocci

Torquere Press, Spice It Up

Synopsis -

Yu Maguire has just been released from prison after bearing witness against the gang that runs Little Earde, a “human”-only barrio in the planet’s capital city. In prison, Yu had to face a lot of hard facts about his previous life and, after being sheltered by the Earde his entire life, he has no friends left.

No friends except Amergin, the police officer who opens his home to Yu. Amergin, who happens to be Marazny, a race renowned for their icy exterior. Amergin may be reserved, but Yu finds peace and acceptance in Amergin’s ordered little corner of the word. Trying to make his way in a new city shows Yu that he has so much more left to learn, but Amergin offers Yu a second chance at creating a home for himself and a companion to share it with, if he’s brave enough.

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Sage by J. Rocci

Review by Jasmine

4.85/5 Whips in the Backseat

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I want to start by saying I loved this story and plan to read and re-read it many times in the future.  It has a great cast of characters and the alien world is well rounded and fascinating.  Please, please revisit it with another story!  I mean as a reader it is hard to have so little time in a place you find so fascinating.  So why is the story not a 5/5?  Basically cause I wanted MORE!

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The great thing about this story is that there is a lot to discuss especially considering that this is a rather too short read.  Many of the books I have read that are intergalactic (I guess that would be the term) have very humanoid beings and who have a culture similar to those we are familiar with.  They might still have swords and be closer to 1300 England, or much like today but shooting phaser guns.  What I love in Sage is that J Rocci has distinct cultures.  They have social mores very different from our norm and distinct between the races presented in the story.

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I doubt I would want to live there, but I would sure love to read about it some more.  So a little more about the story, we have our two characters, Yu and Amergin.  Yu comes from an area off the grid a bit – a slum – that is kinda like the rookeries of 19th century England in a way.  Criminals can just slip away and disappear.  Yu was a driver for a crime that was unexpectedly violent and comes forward to testify to none other then officer Amergin.  A scene we do not get to see – for which I am sad.  It would have been awesome to see/read about their first meeting.

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It would have also been exciting to see the interaction between the heroes when Amergin invites Yu to live with him after his time in prison is up.  Usually I have no complaints when the opening blah, blah, blah is removed because we don’t really need to see the two scenes I mentioned, but at the same time I adore the characters so much I would love to see them.

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If J Rocci went back and extended this story and fleshed it out into a longer tale I would be online day of release ordering it at 12:01 AM.  It is a great romance and even if there was not too much necking – sexy time, it is a heart warming read.  I go so far as to say a must read if you enjoy M/M Sci-Fi.

Pick up this title at the Publishers Site

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2644