Dakota Flint: Five Faves

Dakota Flint ~ Seeing You
From: Samhain

When it comes to my own stuff, well…I don’t have much out there, but even including works not released yet, I’d have to say my favorite is my novella, Seeing You. (And not just b/c the ebook edition is out next month *g*) I tend to have two “comfort” modes when writing: fun, light-hearted romances or thrillers, usually involving govt/big business conspiracy-flavored searches for the truth. Yeah I know, they go to together like PB&J, right? These aren’t the only things I write, obviously, but at the time, Seeing You felt completely different than my usual, and it was the first–and probably the only–story that I put so very much of me in there. Not, you know, the boy bits, or the cowboys, or living on a ranch, and not losing a brother or running away from home. And definitely not Wade’s obsessive need to keep his desk clean. *g* But the grief. That was mine. I doubt it’s obvious to others, but it was very hard for me to write. So this story has a special spot in my heart, with all its imperfections. Plus it feels a bit like standing in front of the school assembly while singing a song buck naked, which isn’t that ballsy? And ballsy can only be good when you’re writing gay romance, right? Ha, okay that was terrible, so moving on…

5. Lucy Maud Montgomery ~ Anne Of Green Gables Not so much do with gay romance specifically, but I don’t think I can start any book list off without this one, because I would not be the reader or writer I am today without this series about a young, precocious, often irreverent, girl who lived so much in her own imagination. So many days a young Ms. D spent pouring over the books, often ignoring my Mom’s refrain of, “You read yesterday, won’t you please go out and play today?” Which I should add was followed by a long, tired sigh and the words, “But Mom, I have imagination.” As if that was reason enough. ***Teddypig ~ Free eBook From Project Gutenberg***

4. Suzanne Brockmann ~ Hot Target LBea already mentioned Breaking Point, part of the Jules Cassidy story arc, but I thought I’d mention the book where it became obvious–at least to me–that funny, irreverent, gay FBI agent Jules was going to eventually get his own happy ending. Yay! Add to that the secondary plot line with the gay WWII war heroes, and I thought that this author had a message and I was really diggin’ it. I can’t say this is my favorite Brockmann reader ever, but it was the point where it crystallized in my mind that there were a lot of romances I’d enjoy so much more if the hero had chucked the heroine for his best buddy… ***Teddypig ~ eBook Available***

3. J.L. Langley ~ The Tin Star This was one of the first gay romance ebooks I read, one of the first ebooks I read period. Until this point, I had spent the last few years looking for stories about two men falling in love. It was kind of like throwing something at the wall to see if it would stick–I didn’t go into the bookstores with a list (after the rude reactions I got from classmates and profs when I admitted to reading romance…I kept my reading habits to myself), I just picked stuff of the gay lit shelves, er, shelf, and read. I read some great books, some not so great books, some gorgeous books, but….sad. Not all of it, but I read a lot of sad stuff. When I stumbled across The Tin Star, it satisfied something in me and proved that type of a story did exist: a fun, sexy, and happy story about two guys falling in love. And, well, hello ebooks!

2. Steve Kluger ~ Almost Like Being In Love I read this on recommendation from a friend, and holy cow, I loved this book. It was so different–I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed an epistolary novel before–and it was so…me. Sure, it was improbable and over-the-top, but it was so fun, a wacky and hilarious and completely zany romp. I remember thinking that this is how I want to entertain people, with love and laughter. ***Teddypig ~ eBook Available***

1. Josh Lanyon ~ Adrien English Mysteries “Fatal Shadows” Probably not the best/most loved Adrien English mystery, but it is the beginning–which is a very good place to start. (Heh. Isn’t it weird that I have the urge to talk in song lyrics when I talk about Adrien? I did that A LOT in my non-reviews of the Adrien English series, the first one here: Fatal Shadows: A Non-Review As a long-winded person, I think at one point or another I’ve said everything I can about Adrien, about the way Josh has written Adrien’s stories, so now I’ll just say that when I first read this book, coupled with A Dangerous Thing, it was like a light bulb went off. I remember thinking that this is what a story about two men falling in love should be. This. Meaty (Haha, yeah I am saying that with a straight face). Brilliant. Sexy. Romantic. With loads of conflict, gorgeous writing and, of course, dead bodies. *g* Josh’s writing inspires me, and it’s the standard I constantly measure myself against, where I point to and think that’s the quality I’m working towards. (And considering I just subbed a novel where my two guys meet over spilled spaghetti sauce and lube in aisle 8 and the hijinks move on from there…I’ll, uh, keep working towards it. Don’t worry, Mr. MOM! *g*)

Thanks so much to TPig for having me! Happy Holidays everyone!
-Dakota

Tags: Dakota Flint, Five Faves