Alex Beecroft: Five Faves

Alex Beecroft ~ False Colors
From: Running Press

It’s hard to pick a favorite of my own books, as I inevitably love best the one that I’ve just finished. That would make it “Shining in the Sun”, which is due out from Samhain on June 8th. But I think I’ll always have the biggest soft spot for False Colors because it was the one a big NY publisher took a gamble on and used to try and launch m/m romance into the mainstream romance world on an equal footing. There’s been so much controversy around that attempt that False Colors has sometimes felt more like a political act than a book, but now that’s dying down (I hope), I’m finding it nice to remember that it’s still just a swashbuckling romance on the high seas, whose purpose is nothing more radical than to entertain.

1. Lee Rowan ~ Ransom I came to m/m romance via the slash fanfiction community, so I started out reading stories in which a couple of Tolkien’s more obscure elves got it together.  I think my last fanfiction pairing was Jack/Ianto from Torchwood.  I didn’t know at that time that anyone was actually publishing original m/m fiction until a member of my Livejournal friends’ list posted a review of Ransom by Lee Rowan. Which I naturally bought immediately. I was blown away because not only was there sex (there’s a lot of that in slash fandom) but there was a great story with characters that I loved. Also, what’s not to like about noble navy men suffering at the hands of pirates and ultimately overcoming them?

2. Erastes ~ Standish There’s a reason why I’ve tagged along with Lee and Erastes for most of my publishing life. They were big influences and great mentors, and they proved that you can have m/m romance and epic storytelling combined. Standish was recommended to me by Amazon after I bought Ransom, and I adored the way that it used and undermined the tropes of heterosexual historicals. It was hot and witty and ironic and a white water rapids ride of a book, like Wuthering Heights on testosterone. Such fun! ***Teddypig ~ Not In eBook? Erastes what is up with that?***

3. Josh Lanyon ~ Adrien English Mysteries After discovering Ransom and Standish, I hit a bad streak of books, where the writing, plotting and characterization were not up to the standards I was used to in the world of slash fandom, and I was starting to worry that I’d never find anything good again. And then I read Fatal Shadows and instantly fell in love with Adrien for his tough, vulnerable, compassionate but take it on attitude. The mystery was tense and gripping, the plotting and style wonderful. And of course I loved Jake, and the way he’s both a typical alpha male, and yet you can see that the attempt to be that is killing him. Psychological realism – I love it!

4. Ruth Sims ~ The Phoenix A sweeping historical, this one is full of passion and obsession (not sex, though – most of my choices are pretty low on the heat level). The story of Kit who reinvented himself as a brilliant actor after an abusive childhood, and Nick, who is recovering from toxic religion, is a real epic of Victorian repression and opulence and revenge. These must be among the most star crossed of lovers, and that makes the moments when they can be together especially potent. Beautifully written, and a really satisfying read.

5. Max Pierce ~ The Master Of Seacliff This is another epic historical, and another case where I cracked it open and realized that I was in for the kind of glorious realism, characterization and plotting you would expect from a classic of literature – a Jane Eyre or a Pride and Prejudice – but with a m/m couple in the place of the usual m/f one. What I loved most in this one was the slightly gothic creepiness of the setting, and the way the innocence of the young tutor is toyed with by two fascinating men at once. A great twist ending too :) ***Teddypig ~ Not In eBook***

Tags: Alex Beecroft, Five Faves