Torquere Tuesday

I got a few shorter books from Torquere lately, so this post is all Torquere all the time.

I enjoyed my long weekend. Monday was a lazy day although we got most of the Halloween costume taken care of, but mostly we've just been hanging out, reading, watching TV and the kidlet working on homework. A short week will be nice.

Throw Me a Bone by Stevie Woods (25 pages)

Malcolm and Guy were best friends when Guy tells him he loves him. Things are going perfect despite the fact that Guy needs to keep their relationship a secret because of his job. Suddenly Guy is making up excuses for not being home and Malcolm sees him with another guy twice. He's sure that's never going to be enough for any man and when Guy invites him over for dinner he thinks he's going to get dumped. When Guy realizes what Malcolm thinks the truth comes out. I could see why Malcolm believed what he did, his self-esteem left him open to thinking it was he was inadequate as a lover and yes, open communication would have helped, but to be honest I identified with Malcolm so to me it didn't seem out of the realm of the possible.

Shifting Perspectives 1 by Nerine Petros (45 pages)

Oliver is a butcher in a small Outback town in Australia. He's the only gay man in a town full of shifters. As the off-spring of a human and shifter he can't shift. One day a new guy comes into town and a pack of 6 dingo shifters have moved in, exiled from their people because they are gay. At the town meeting he sees the alpha Angus who schemes to get him out to the ranch where he makes his claim. Without apparent use of lube his first time. Ouch. This is a series obviously (Book 1 gave it away LOL) and up next seems to be a mated pair and Oliver's shop assistant who is straight. Uh huh. Suuuuure. It was nice to have it in a different setting and it was kind of cool that the author put a glossary of some of the aboriginal/Aussie terms in the back, things like terms of endearment.

What to Do On a Friday Night by Misa Izanaki (20 pages)

We're back at the Body Shop and Aoi is recovering from his accident and bored. He decides to "clean" the hall closet knowing his birthday present is in there and when caught by Itzuki claims he was getting the Scrabble game and proposes a game of strip Scrabble. Seems Aoi has a thing for words, and he manages to get Itzuki to say kumquat and pirate which makes him wild. When Aya is home the next night and Aoi finds out he can say onomatopoeia, Aoi can't get the Scrabble game set up fast enough. This was a humorous little stories with the use of unusual words as a turn-on. It was very cute.


Dream a Little Dream by Amylea Lyn (170 pages)

Aiden is a Dr. at a psychiatric hospital who is starting to burn out and is especially touched by one young man Cael who is nearly 19 but there on observation. Cael has never spoke and always carries a sketch pad. He finally gets a breakthrough and is shocked to find that Cael has been sexually abused at the hospital along with other patients. He calls in his cop lover Jake and the perp gets away. It's decided that it would be best if Aiden stays in protective custody and they convince them to let Cael stay with them. Cael was in foster care since he was 7 and has a special power. He can dream the future. Both Aiden and Jake are attracted but don't want to push until eventually they give in to their feelings only to have the bad guy show up again. On the whole I enjoyed this, I was maybe a bit squicked by the fact that Adien had been Cael's Dr., and he was quite a bit younger than the men, I also though Aiden and Jake kind of jumped on the "three-whee" bandwagon pretty quickly after being exclusive for 6 years but despite these little niggles I enjoyed it, but I am a sucker for taking in the lost broken little waif and healing him with love and acceptance. It's a weakness, what can I say?

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.

Charity Sips #4

Woohoo, I've been flying along on 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've been trying not to over-do it and get burned out but I find they are all so different it's easy to keep powering through.

Dreggers Deep by J. Rocci (30 pages)
Tulley is the right hand man for a mine owner. He has been tasked to take the new doctor down in the mines to treat the men. He is shocked to find it's his old lover Edmund. He's shocked and a bit pissed but does his job which includes fighting off thieves who attack them in the night and he is injured. This is a steampunk short and I think it did a pretty good job of getting the steampunk feel in a few pages, along with old lovers with hurt between them reuniting.

The Pavilion by Tracy Rowan (20 pages)
Eliot is an ex-pat Brit who now works in a clinic in Chicago. He's starting spending more time at a local diner where he's become attracted to Jamie, the young son of the owner. (Young being 27 or so.) Jamie finally makes a play for him and despite both of them saying no strings, that lasts about 15 min. There is a whole back story of why Eliot came to the US and his heartbreak. The story hops around between 2003 and 2010 and some in the middle. I'm not sure it couldn't have just been told in chronological order, but it was a nice story about a second chance at love.

Borders by Kathryn Scannell (25 pages)
Kevin works for Doctors without Borders in Gaza City. He finally gets a break and goes to Tel Aviv where he hits a gay bar. Things aren't going great but he finally meets a guy that he recognizes from Gaza City who was disguised as a woman. Seems David is an Israeli soldier in a top secret unit. Because Kevin knows, will he have him arrested or kicked out of the country? A very interesting setting with the threat of death for being gay in Palestine and yet David was very open about being gay with his fellow army buddies and the general public. Not sure it's really that way in Israel, but I thought the story was very well done.

Eyes Wide Shut by Meredith Shayne (29 pages)
Adam is a fly in doctor to the mining area in Australia. He recently broke up with his BF Chris who works at the mines. You find it out primarily because Chris refuses to be open about their relationship. When Adam is involved in a mine cave-in and they don't know if he's alive Chris has a chance to get his priorities straight. Another nice story set in another location. I felt for Adam as he coped with being a dirty little secret.

On Call: Crossroads by PD Singer (28 pages)
This is the continuing story of Dante and Keith and very timely in light of what's happened in the last few weeks with the rash of young men committing suicide. Keith is devastated that he couldn't help a young man who died and he suspects killed himself for being gay. He feels maybe he should be doing something more useful like going abroad to help and Dante informs him that he'd go with him which sets off another chain of events when the two men take their relationship to the next level of commitment. This was very touching and as I said, I'm sure when the author wrote this she couldn't have known that these last few weeks would have the issue so in the news and in everyone's consciousness. Very touching.

You Don’t Need a Doctor by Julia Talbot (15 pages)
A gun shot victim comes into the ER and doctor Andy finds it very odd, the wound is festering, the bullet appears to be working it's way out and the guy is very hairy. He gets the bullet out and the guy takes off, only to show up in his apartment eating Popeye's chicken a few days later. Despite being freaked, Andy sleeps with him and oops, Shiloh bites him. Uh oh. Andy finds out that werewolves, vampires, pixies and others creatures aren't just the stuff of fairy tales. There was a touch of humour in here which made it an enjoyable story, a few more pages might have improved it even more, but on the whole it was a nice light break from more serious themes.

It's Hump Day!

Before I get onto the book stuff I want to give a gigantic high five to KB of Babbling About Books, and More. KB stepped up to the plate in a very real way and offered $500 cash to be split between The Trevor Project and the Matthew Shepard Foundation if 500 people commented on her post. A few other friends jumped on the bandwagon with her and in the end, within 48 hours the word spread, the comments mounted and the two charities are now splitting $775. I know not everyone is able to help in a financial way, but the support behind KB's efforts also counts for a lot and I want to congratulate everyone for helping two very worthwhile projects in a big way. Yay KB for making a difference.

Electric Melty Tingles by KZ Snow (101 pages)
Loose Id

Ned and Oliver have been friends for years and Ned's in love with Oliver, who is straight and about to get married. He calls up Ned freaking out, leaves the bride at the altar and takes off with Ned to Seattle until the storm dies down. He confesses he's gay and Ned's in heaven. They have 5 days of bliss and then reality sets in and it's 15 years before they manage to reconnect. Despite moving on, neither manages to forget the other. Most of the story takes place in 1970 (is that an historical) but it ends in 2010. It was a beautiful story and while I don't generally like separations like that, it didn't last that long on page and I think it made sense for the time and their lives. It was an adorable ending, and yes, there is an m/m/m/m menage scene which some people may find ... objectionable maybe? but I thought War and his "lickin' stick" were appropriate. I think everyone will enjoy this poignant, but not sad, story.

Code Blue by Stephani Hecht (99 pages)
eXtasy Books

This is another story in the EMS Heat series. Dylan and Kaleb from the last book are doing great, when out of the blue Clayton, Dylan's childhood friend and ex of sorts, shows up hoping to rekindle their relationship. Justin, Kaleb's best friend is pissed, and thinks Clayton is going to try and break up Dylan and Kaleb. Despite his better judgment, he's attracted to the innocent young man and invites him to stay with him, in part to avoid Dylan being around him. It seems the reason Clayton didn't support Dylan when it all went to hell was because his super-religious family had him committed. Once playboy Justin gets to know him, he can't help but be more attracted by Clayton's strength. There was lots of humour in this as Clayton takes up swearing and becomes totally addicted to The Jersey Shore (god help us all) when he's allowed to watch TV. The blurb makes it sound like Clayton's more of a brat, but he's not in the story, he was a sweetie and it was an enjoyable addition to the series.

The First Real Thing by Cat Grant (116 pages)
Elora's Cave

Cameron is a high end escort and one night he meets his client in the bar and is strangely attracted, but when he leaves with his envelope of money it contains a plane ticket. Ooops, he picked up the wrong guy, not his client. Trev is from Toronto and when he comes back to town invites Cameron out thinking he's just a guy. Cameron is a bit freaked, he doesn't have a private life but he really likes Trev and he starts to think maybe it's time to get out of the business. Just as he's about to buy a friend's bar, Trev brings his teen son with him to meet Cameron and the son has awesome google-fu skills and seems to have found Cameron's website. Double oops. Not a great response when Trev finds out the truth. I enjoyed this story and it was told as if Cameron was writing a blog about his life so that was a bit different and watching him change his mind about the business and the secondary story of his ill and dying friend was a nice touch.

Shared Range by Andrew Grey (192 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

This is another addition to the Bottle Up series. Philip had a wild fling with a cowboy on the last cruise, Dakota, and they've stayed friends. Philip invites himself out to visit and brings along his best friend Wally who just finished vet school. Dakota is waaaaay in the closet and has been caring for his father for several years who has MS. Despite trying to stay in the closet, he's insanely attracted to Wally and even their differences about the wolves from the local park who ranchers as a rule want to kill, don't stifle their romance. Dakota is no longer able to keep it from his men, nor eventually his father. Thankfully everyone is mostly okay, but Wally has to decide if he can live in Wyoming, Matthew Shepard country, as a gay man. It moves pretty fast, within a couple of weeks Dakota asks Wally to move in, but it's typical Andrew Grey and I do enjoy the stories and the style appeals to me. Not tons of angst and the relationship Dakota had with his ill father was nice. I really hope Philip gets his HEA soon, poor guy. Everyone he sleeps with falls madly in love ... with someone else.

Charity Sips #3

I've been continuing to enjoy the Charity sips here and there, 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.

Take it Slow by Taylor Lochland (24 pages)
Graham is a marathon runner who wrecked his knee. His Russian-born doctor Dmitri tells him to take it easy but he refuses, injuring himself again. When he runs into the Dr. at a race they decide to hang out together. Graham makes a move but Dmitri kind of freaks because he lived for so long in Russia hiding who he is, he can't just fall into bed with someone. And sweet story of taking it slow and the reasons behind Graham's determination to push himself further than is physically wise.

Little Fishes by Syd McGinley (32 pages)
This is Tommy and Tanaka story from the Dr. Fell universe. Tanaka is taking Tommy to meet his mother and sister who run a health spa for the first time. Tommy is very nervous and is not impressed to find out that Tanaka has kept some very large secrets from him about his family. I don't follow these stories although I read one other story about Tommy and Tanaka in an anthology. For fans of the couple or the whole Dr. Fell universe it will be an enjoyable addition.

Homecoming: A Jarheads Short by Sean Michael (15 pages)
Rig was away volunteering to help in a hurricane zone for a few weeks and is looking forward to being home. Rock and Dick meet him at the airport for a surprise and they spend the night getting reacquainted at a local hotel. This obviously takes place a bit later in their relationship and this is another series I don't really follow but have read a few stories here and there. Again for fans, I'm sure they'll love seeing the three guys back together.

My Life in Your Hands by AR Moler (24 pages)
Chris is an ER Dr. in a tough inner-city San Diego hospital and deals with a lot of gang violence. After the death of a young man he talks with Drew, the cop on the case. They end up meeting again and fall into a relationship of sorts given they both have insane schedules. Chris is almost feral when they get together and Drew finally figures out that Chris is on the knife edge of burn out and only his short times with Drew are keeping him from going over. Only when Drew is injured and Chris has to save his life does Chris make some changes. I really liked this story a lot, you could feel the stress that Chris was living in and one short I'd read again.

Have Hope by Emily Moreton (23 pages)
John is a spy of sorts who is on the run after being shot and not making contact with his target. He is rescued by Mohammed, a Dr. who takes him in and cares for him as he recovers. They spend the next several days getting to know each other and become attracted, but really, it's a war, John is a spy and Mohammed is needed in his clinic, is there any chance for them? The unusual setting made this one a good read and the hopeful ending leant itself well to the setting. For those who care it's in present tense which is not my favourite but it seemed to work for this one quite well.

The Rosebud by M. Raiya (22 pages)
James comes across an accident between a logging truck and a car. When he sees the driver of the car he can tell his neck is broken, however James has a special skill, he can heal people by touching them. The downside is he always falls in love with them no matter who they are. He can't not help Ambient (hippy parents) and he's particularly drawn to Ambient. He has always been afraid that if he actually hooked up with someone he cured, would he then dump them the next time he cured someone and fell in love with them? Now it seems like he'll find out. An interesting premise with a twist on traditional healing.

I'm still finding them all quite interesting and diverse. Being able to read one or two between other books has really been making it less overwhelming I think.

Leave a Comment for a Great Cause

The amazing. wonderful and big-hearted KB at Babbling About Books, and More had pledged to donate $1 for every comment she gets on her post to the Trevor Project and the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Please stop by KB's (click on the picture below to get to the post) and leave a message of support. It will take no more than a minute of your time and may be just what is needed to make someone's life just a teensy bit better and let them see the light at the end of a long dark tunnel they feel trapped in.

A virtual balloon bouquet to KB for sharing her story and stepping up to the plate in a very real way. Not everyone can do what she's doing, but by leaving a comment you can make your voice heard on a very important subject.

September Statistics and Bumming Around

Last month Val at Obsidian Bookshelf did some posts on names and locations and careers of books she'd read in the first half of the year. And I said "Wow, Val's brilliant, I'll do that for September." And hey, I actually did it. I tried to keep track of character names, locales and careers. So what you see below is what I found in 31 books. (many shorts - don't freak out) I did not count any of the Healing Hearts Charity Sips from Torquere because my doctor/nurse quotient would be totally off and also because most are 20-30 pages, you often don't know what city or sometimes what the other career is. I did not count sci-fi/fantasy stories that have weird space names that obviously won't be duplicated or with locations that are made-up. Lets begin.

Names: I was surprised there weren't more duplicates of names amongst the 31 stories. I counted those that were mentioned twice or more.

• Ben (2)
• Matt (2)
• Brian (2)
• Sebastian (2)
• Chris/Christian (2)
• Sam/Samuel (2)
• Thomas/Tommy (2)

So as you can see, not that many duplicates. I seemed to have read a lot of books set in the US South West or LA area so I found there were several Hispanic names but no duplicates.

Careers: So what do our sexy boys do for a living? To be honest, lots of them appear to do nothing. LOL Often in a short story careers are not noted but for those I could determine:

• Students (8) - Many of them had other part-time jobs as well
• Farmer/Rancher (4)
• IT Consultant (3)
• Chef/Cook (2)
• Houseboy (2) - Not something you see ads for very often
• Architect (2)
• Professor (2)
• Rock Star (2)

Interesting mix. IT Consultant does seem to have overtaken the mysterious "businessman" as a nice generic career. And really, there's a ton of them out there I suppose.

Locations: There are TONS of unknown locations, usually you know they are in the US or in Britain, but otherwise that's as detailed as it gets. I enjoy specific locations, but sometimes it's not really a factor, especially in shorts where they may only stay in one location like a house or office building for a few hours. Anyway, I virtually visited:

• New Mexico (2)
• Colorado (2)
• California (5) - Usually the city was noted
  
• United Kingdom (4) - Location usually not specified
• Somewhere else in the US that I don't know (9)

There was a trip to Spain, but outside of that, it was the UK and US exclusively. The Torquere Sips have more diverse locations, but again, they aren't included here.

So there is my boring statistical analysis for September. If I was totally going to geek out I would have noted what color their hair/eyes are to see if there is a statistical anomaly towards blue eyed blonds. :-) Maybe I'll save that for October.

And since my daughter is a bit ill and decided not to go out to her Dad's today or participate in the horse show, we are bumming around the house in our pjs today. And speaking of bumming and bums ... Here are some nice ones. Have a great weekend everyone.

Friday Moving Day

Thankfully it's only moving our offices at work. I am down the hall and around the corner. Also losing my window. Sigh. Only about 1/3 of the offices in our building have access to windows, however I have a door and am not in a cube so I guess it's a trade-off. I don't have much stuff to move and I packed it all up Wednesday so hopefully it won't take long. Except there is a domino effect. They can't move me until the person in the office I'm moving into moves, who can't move until the person in the office she's moving into moves, and so on and so on and so on. So I guess I'll know when I'm moving when the guys show up at my door for my boxes.

The Jitters by Fabian Black (25 pages)
Smashwords

This is two little shorts about Trevor and Luke. Trevor is very serious and a bit of a workaholic. Luke comes over for the weekend but is basically ignored while Trevor works and is snapped at to provide some lunch. Oh Trevor gets a sandwich alright and it's not tuna. Ack! Trevor is NOT impressed with Luke's initiative.

In the second story Luke and Trevor have finally moved in together in their new house. Luke decides to "help" Trevor by setting up his office, which leads to coffee on the new carpet, a water stain, a hair dryer exploding and singed paint and curtains and house full of firemen. Things have not been going well since they moved in and they have to deal with the stress of what moving in means to them as a couple and as individuals.

The first one was very funny, while gaggy as well. The second had some funny moments, only Luke could burn down the house setting up a desk, but it also covered some more serious themes as well. A great little set of shorts though for a nice light read.

Lime Green: Margarita Mondays by TC Blue
Torquere Books

This is a sequel of sorts to Lemon Yellow: Making Lemonade with Evan's best friend Troy. Every Monday is Margarita Monday at Troy's. One week there is a noise complaint and as the community security guards arrive they hear someone screaming so they burst in. Seems Troy's ex broke the coffee table and got glass in his ass. Security guard Jeremy is instantly attracted but Troy doesn't do relationships, not since the ex cheated on him ten years ago. However he's desperately attracted and Jeremy is as well but he doesn't do flings. They can't deny the attraction and both are drawn despite their misgivings and their own baggage they have to deal with. I really liked this one a lot. I liked how they both tended to blurt things out that would have left me standing their blinking and you could sense their passion and attraction. It was a fun read and you did get to see a bit of Evan and Gray from the first book. Not tons of angst so a nice fun read with lots of sexual tension. I'm dying to know what the scoop is with Jeremy's BFF Riley and the threesome he befriends. He was quite a character that appealed while making you cringe when he opened his mouth. GFY? Hmmm TC? Please? A foursome? Just sayin'. :-D

The Bouncer by AJ Llewellyn (65 pages)
Total-e-Bound

After a messy break-up, Kevin moves to Austin to help his brother and his husband run the bar they own. His brother's husband, Tito, is a former boxer and his ex is trying to keep him away from his two young kids by saying he's violent. When he punches a customer who attacked his wife and then Tito, Kevin takes the fall so that Tito's ex-wife can't use it ammunition against him. He saw a hot guy who he finds out is a cop. The cop is equally attracted but has his own baggage and doesn't want to get involved with a "criminal". There was a lot in this story, Tito and Jack's drama with the ex and trying to get to see the kids more, plus Kevin and Cruz and then there are the two bartenders that Kevin kind of hooked up with for a bit. However I did enjoy it and would have liked to know more about Tito and Jack's story as there are little bits about how they met and why Tito had to give up boxing, but it would be an interesting story as well. The kid element was cute and I am a sucker for guys with kids too. I won this from the author so thanks so much AJ. I enjoyed it muchly.

Last Tuesday in September

I can't believe September is almost over. Holy smokes times flies, even when you're not having much fun. Only a month and I'm off to San Francisco to hook up with the wild bunch. :-) Besides the usual crap at work I'm not loving all the rain we've been getting. Not because it's depressing and gray, I kind of like that, it's because the freaking worms come out on the sidewalk. In the morning I have about a ten minute walk to my office. The sidewalk near the office always has TONS of worms on it when it's wet. I am the person walking head down to ensure I don't step on any, who will periodically shout out random expletives and zig or zag to the left or right while undertaking a full body shudder. God! It just grosses me out. Last week there was one about 6 inches long and as big around as a pencil. Gives me the willies just thinking about it. Ugh. So no more rain, please.

Being Taught by Ethan Stone (18 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

18 year old Chett decides he's going to have sex and picks up older sexy tattooed Richard to show him the ropes, all of them. That's pretty much the whole story. It's very steamy though and sexy yet sweet and tender with a bit of a twist. If you're looking for a fast hot read I recommend it.

A Realistic Romance by Andi Anderson (144 pages)
eXtasy Books

Merrick's music career is in the toilet at the ripe old age of 32. It's decided he should do a reality show where he's in a house with a cute gay guy Samuel for a couple of months with cameras everywhere. He reluctantly agrees, reluctantly because he's instantly attracted to Samuel and he doesn't want to blow his cover as a straight playboy. Despite everything he really likes Samuel and they manage to start a hidden relationship by spending tons of time in the bathroom where there are no cameras. One of the TV execs decides to cause some drama by showing Samuel how Merrick feels about gays. with the expected reaction. While generally I don't care for the closeted celeb story-line, I really liked this one. Maybe because they were mostly alone and despite his desire to stay in the closet he didn't treat Samuel badly, as he could have I suppose. Anyway, it was a fun read without too much angst and the big drama was wrapped up pretty quickly. Samuel's brother was an interesting secondary character I wouldn't mind seeing again.

Port of Call Me by Teddy Logan and Mel Spenser (42 pages)
Torquere Books

Peter broke up with his cheating ex two weeks ago and as a travel writer is taking his BFF Tony on a cruise. He is attracted to masseur Carlos, but Carlos likes his job and doesn't get involved with "cones" as guests are called however something about Peter attracts him. Carlos' boss has been sexually harassing him and tells Peter he and Carlos are together, and after his experience with his ex Peter believes him and he and Carlos have a falling out. This fell pretty close to insta-love for me. While they didn't say it, Carlos went from "Good Time Charlie" to "I really like him a lot" mushy in a day.

Moving On by Fabian Black
LGBT Rummage Sale (only on sale until the end of Sept.)

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

Charity Sips #2

I've been reading a few of the Charity sips here and there, 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.

It’s a Calling by Mara Ismine (27 pages)
Jock is an older doctor, late 50's maybe, who once his wife has died and children grown, retires to explore the world a bit and ends up back home on a Scottish island, remembering his first love whom he left behind and who remarkably shows up at their special place as if waiting for him. There's a paranormal element that kind of surprised me here which to be honest I'd like to know more about.

Breathe Into Me by Jenna Jones (33 pages)
Salesman Caleb is suffering from high blood pressure and his sister convinces him to try yoga. By chance, her instructor is his old boyfriend from high school. He wants to hook up again but Sasha refuses because Caleb refuses to take care of his health and he doesn't want to get involved only to have him drop dead. It was an interesting premise and I enjoyed this one. It was nice to see Caleb "get it" about his health and make the changes he needed to.

El Cedral by Kiernan Kelly (25 pages)
In an effort to escape a bad break-up and his high pressure big city doctor life, Derek agrees to his former classmate Juan's request that he come to his small island in Mexico and help him at the pediatric clinic there. Derek is in shock, they pay in chickens for god's sake. But he soon comes to love the people and he and Juan reconnect in ways he never imagined. I loved the sense of the small village in Mexico and Derek's changing priorities.

Another Border by KIL Kenny (18 pages)
Jeff and Ed have been together for many years. Ed works in an Alzheimer's wing and had a rough night. Jeff wakes and tries to find a way to soothe him including a foot rub and some slow loving. You could sense the calm love between people who know each other inside out and Ed's frustration and sadness dealing with his patients. I have to confess I may have sniffled just a titch at the end.

Where a Hand is Always Needed by Kara Larson (14 pages)
This is a prequel to Sliding Down the Pohutukawa Root. Graeme, has been sent to the Outback to his Aunt and Uncle after being expelled from school. The air doctor is coming and when the plane goes down, Graeme goes along to help and realizes that the doctor and nurse are a couple and it confirms what he suspected about himself, that he's gay and wants to be a doctor (which he does in later stories). It's just a little taste of a young man's first exposure to a gay couple and cementing his own understanding of his sexuality.

I have to say so far the stories have been quite different and I've enjoyed them all. Of course some more than others but I think the topic is broad enough you don't get doctor burnout. At least not yet. :-)