Charity Sips #4 - The Finale

Yay me, I finished off the Charity sips, with proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders. Each one has a theme of doctors or healing in someway. You can click on the cover below to get to the site, you can buy them separately or all at once. I didn't suffer burnout on this set although I spread them out a bit over about 3 weeks, so a little more than a story a day.

To be honest I haven't read much of anything the last 3 or 4 days. Kind of blah. Been rereading some stuff, playing around with writing some stuff and cleaning up my house. Did you know my dining room table is actually made of wood? Who would have guessed under all that paper and junk there was a table. I did finally get a frame for my signed poster of An Uncommon Whore that I won at Good Reads. No comment from my ex today when he came for lunch, I hung it in the living room. LOL I thought putting it over my bed might have been considered false advertising.

Since it's Thanksgiving here, it's a three day weekend. I cooked a turkey and pumpkin pie for today and when my ex brought the kidlet home he stayed for a big lunch. I'm still full to bursting. For those who have a day off tomorrow, enjoy. I'm looking forward to a day of nuthin' except maybe hunting down a Halloween costume for the kid. On with the stories.

Some Good Doctoring by BA Tortuga (11 pages)
This is set in the Roughstock world of which I'm not very familiar. Callum is a medic at the rodeo, one night while fixing up the bull riders one of them freaks out and punches him. Callum's lover, who may be small but tough, steps in to protect his man. They then head back to the hotel where they reinforce their love. I'm sure for fans of the series it will be a nice addition, but to be honest it was just a small interlude for me of an established couple.

Mind/Body Medicine by Gabriel West (27 pages)
Rindae is some kind of warrior who bonded with ... I'm not sure, but another guy, Justan. However due to the supernatural forces that bind them, Justan has gone "crazy" and had to be institutionalized and is like an animal. Despite thinking he should just break the bond, he comes every year on their anniversary to spend the night with him and maybe, just maybe this year he's showing signs of recovery. I have no idea if this was part of a larger universe but I was lost as to what the force was that controlled them and how and the bigger picture. I did get his love and care for Justan despite the fact he might never recover, but otherwise I was lost.

What You Can’t Live Without by Eden Winters (34 pages)
Mitch is an up and coming Dr. who's happy to live the good life of expensive cars, the opera, lunch at the country club, etc. He's in love with his colleague from El Salvador, Arnulfo. He really doesn't get that Arnulfo drives a rust bucket and sends money home and is crushed when Arnulfo tells him he's returning to El Salvador. When an earthquake strikes, he feels compelled to go find Arnulfo and gets himself roped into volunteering even though his plan is to get Arnulfo and get out. Things never work out the way you plan and when he realizes his help is needed, he's forced to reassess his way of looking at the world, especially when Arnulfo is the only remaining relative of a small injured girl. A very sweet story about figuring out what's really important in life and making compromises. The setting in El Salvador in an earthquake zone was very vivid. A really great read although at first I wasn't too impressed with Mitch's attitude, which was the point I suppose. :-)

The Boyfriend Line by Avery Zeno (20 pages)
David and Rafe were best friends and roommates and finally became lovers, but Rafe said his perfect relationship was friends with benefits. David has been trying desperately not to cross the "boyfriend line" of the title, but when Rafe takes a message for him from his oncologist and is pissed that David didn't share with him, they FINALLY have a talk about what they both want. It takes place over about 18 months as David finds he does have cancer and they deal with treatment and their developing relationship. A really nice story about sticking it out through the tough times.

Pasion’s Dream by Kate Cotoner (27 pages)
Set in ancient Greece, Pasion suffers badly from insomnia so goes to a temple to seek help. While there he runs into his old lover Kyronides who was injured and is now scarred and blind. Pasion left him because Kyronides' father had big plans for him and threatened Pasion. They both admit that they still love each other and Pasion finds a cure for his illness through dreams of the gods and is determined to take Kyronides with him and find a cure for him in another land. A very interesting setting and how they thought about illness, that the north wind would dry up black bile and the interpretation of dreams. Some stories never change, 3000 years ago there were still parents who threatened their kid's lovers. Kind of sad really.

All in all I have to say I was very impressed with this anthology. There were very few stories I didn't connect with and most of those were because they were set in pre-existing worlds I'm not all that familiar with, but those fans probably will love the additions and visits with old friends. And it's always nice when the money goes to a good cause.