I am so damned slow. Seriously.
Okay, so you’re gonna *eventually* get TWO WHOLE POSTS from me tonight! Because I had my Christmas with the Kid today – there’s a story I’ll have to share some day when I’m feeling all emotionally available – I’m much later posting ANYTHING than I’d planned. Also, much like yesterday’s 12 Days post, today’s is gonna have a bonus, cuz I wanna tell you about my top ten favorite New-to-Me Authors of 2013, but there’s only 9 days left in the year!
So – let’s get started!
10 – Easy Ryder by Deanna Wadsworth
Deanna Wadsworth (check out her AWESOME Blog HERE) should NOT have been a new to me author. I owned several of her books – she’s got an awesome freebie featuring bears (not the kind in the woods, either!), did a really fun m/m take on Little Red Riding Hood, and a FABULOUS version of Sleepy Hollow, which you MUST get if you haven’t already, and you love the show. But somehow, I’d never actually read anything of hers, no matter HOW much she cluttered up my eLibrary! Then I hung out with her at Detroit, then Toledo Pride, and the woman is just fricking FANTASTIC. So, of course, I *liked* her, so I wanted to support her, and then she described her first Dreamspinner release, Easy Ryder.
If you even try to tell me the cover alone isn’t enough to seduce you into buying it, I’m gonna call you a liar! But, if you need more, here’s the blurb:
It’s July 3, 1976, the beginning of America’s bicentennial weekend, and everyone seems to be celebrating their freedoms except eighteen-year-old runaway Michael Ryder. Fresh from rural Pennsylvania, Michael is doing whatever and whoever it takes to get to San Francisco, where he hopes to find a new life with the freedom to love without fear.
While hitchhiking, a mysterious, tattooed biker named Snake offers him a ride west—on the back of his customized Harley chopper. During their journey across Route 66, Snake introduces Michael to new and steamy pleasures, leaving Michael aching for more than just a physical relationship. But a violent encounter with a cruel biker gang and a harrowing secret from Snake’s military past might destroy their unlikely relationship long before they reach the end of the road.
Okay, I’m a child of the 70’s. I’m old enough to have actual memories of the summer of 1976. That alone endeared me to the book – it’s “historical” – yeah, MY history. So, I was pretty much sold on every level, and I’m SO GLAD I read it. It’s a little bit dark – being a gay man in 1976 wasn’t the easiest life to live in the open. It felt authentic – from the emotional details, to the descriptions of Snake’s bike. Yeah, there were things I didn’t like. Really didn’t like. But even those fit the characters and moved the plot. Those moments reminded me that part of being an exceptional author is writing uncomfortable stuff, but not losing your reader. Well, Deanna kept me, and now she’s pretty much stuck with me.
AND – it’s worth noting that she’s got a bunch of Christmas themed stories where the characters have flavored cum. I mean, seriously. How can you pass up Santa’s elves and flavored cum???
9 – Chaos Magic by Jay Lygon
Jay Lygon is definitely NOT a new author. To me, though, Jay IS a bit of a mystery. I couldn’t connect to Jay’s author page, so HERE’s a link to Jay’s Goodreads page. Jay has two series at Torquere Press, and I’ve read them both, but I keep coming back to the dark, damaged, delicious characters of Sam and Hector… and as the series progresses, all the other gods and goddesses we’re introduced to in the Gods & Magic series… Here’s the blurb for Chaos Magic:
Sam is a broken young man, searching for temporary escape from his demons–inside and out. Running from abusive ex-lover Marcus, the God of Fear, Sam finds himself in the arms of the hottest man to step foot into his life: Hector.
Hector proves to be the Daddy Sam needs and wants, but the road is a very rocky and often terrifying one. As Marcus digs his claws deeper into Sam, it threatens to tear everything Sam and Hector have built together apart.
Dark, broken, reacting like real people (even with the cool urban fantasy quirks), doing dumb things, suffering the consequences. Having to (GASP) communicate. Forgive. It’s a really wonderful series, and one of few you’ll ever hear me say gets better with each book. Chaos Magic was released in 2008, The Harem Boy (a Torquere Shot that is related to the Gods & Magic series) was pubbed in 2009… The most recent thing ARe lists is Coming Together: In Vein (proceeds to benefit Doctors Without Borders) has a Dec 21, 2012 pub date. So, I’m not sure if Jay’s still writing (if you’re reading this, Jay – PLEASE! WRITE MORE! I NEED YOU!). Anyway, like I said – both series are good – Gods & Magic is GREAT. Like a re-readable enough one that it lives on my Nook.
December 23, 2013
Categories: Life in General & Smut in Particular, Random Acts of Silliness, Random Reviews . Tags: BDSM, books you gotta read, bullying, Christmas, contemporary historical, contemporary historical gay romance, Deanna Wadsworth, Easy Ryder, erotic, Erotic Romance, fiction, flavored cum, holidays, hook up, Jay Lygon, m/m, Pride, VJ Summers, Writing, Xmas . Author: vjsummersandsmut . Comments: Leave a comment