Jamie Craig ~ Outcast Mine
From: Carina Press

In the night you hide from the madman
You’re longing to be
But it all comes out on the inside
Eventually

Knock twice
Rap with your cane
Feels nice
You’re out of the rain
We got your skinny girl
Here at the western world
Steely Dan ~ Here At The Western World

Jamie Craig ~ Master Of Obsidian (The Master Chronicles 1)
From: Amber Quill Press

Our favorite title: Master of Obsidian is our favorite gay title, and perhaps not coincidentally, our first Jamie Craig M/M title. It wasn’t as though we weren’t interested in M/M prior to that book. I had even published gay titles before that. But this one taught us several things. First, it taught us we really enjoyed writing m/m together. Second, we learned that it was okay to go a little bit dark, to push the boundaries a little bit, and to let our imaginations really run wild. And third,we learned how much *fun* it is. Of course, it spawned 9 more novels and 2 more novellas, and Gideon and Jesse still rate as our favorite characters. In fact, though we’re done with the series, we still miss them quite a bit.

1. James Kirkwood ~ Good Times/Bad Times (Vivien’s recommendation): I’ll admit, I haven’t re-read this since I was a teenager, so I have no idea how it stands the test of time. But it moved me in ways it’s hard to replicate now. ***Teddypig ~ No eBook***

2. Jonathan Kellerman ~ When The Bough Breaks (Vivien’s recommendation): This isn’t a gay story, and it’s not a romance. It’s the first of Kellerman’s Alex Delaware mysteries, and no, Alex isn’t even gay. However, his best friend Milo, a big burly cop, is. I’ve followed this series almost since it was first introduced, starting when I was in high school (there, that should date me, lol), and loved how Milo was treated with equal respect by the author. I still buy Kellerman in hardcover at the time of release today, because Milo and Alex feel like old friends. ***Teddypig ~ I took the liberty of just linking to the Alex Delaware Series Page on Fictionwise for eBook goodness.***

3. E.M. Forster ~ Maurice (Vivien’s recommendation): Hasn’t everybody read this? I find Forster hit or miss for me, but I’ve loved this ever since college when I saw the movie and then promptly ran from the theater to Borders downtown to track down a copy of the book. As much of a soft spot I have for the movie, the book is so much better. ***Teddypig ~ No eBook still.***

4. Josh Lanyon ~ Snowball In Hell (both of us): Vivien read this first, then promptly messaged Pepper and announced, “You have to read this. You’re going to love it.” Though we had already started having our own M/M titles released when it came out, we both consistently point to this story and say, “This. This is what is so great about M/M Romance.” Part of it’s the period – this is a favorite for both of us – part of it’s the men – Nathan is one of the most multi-layered heroes around – and part of it’s because the storytelling and prose is just that good.

5. Larry McMurtry ~ Lonesome Dove (Pepper’s recommendation): I grew up watching Lonesome Dove. My mom recorded the mini-series and it was one of my favorite movies (maybe I was a weird kid?). Actually, I loved westerns in general, especially Tombstone and Silverado. Still, Lonesome Dove held a special place in my heart, and I read the book the first time when I was 15. By then, I had read a steady diet of romance and horror (and Stephen King definitely depicts gay people in his novels but never in a very positive way), but nothing I read up to that point made me feel like Augustus McCray and Woodrow Call. I didn’t have the word for “subtext” then, I didn’t see the world through “slash goggles,” and I didn’t even have a fully formed idea of what it actually meant to be gay (I grew up on a mountain in Utah). But reading about those two men and their relationship had a serious impact on me. Gus had been married several times, but he chose to grow old with Call. And when Gus died at the end, it was Call’s reaction that carried the emotional weight, not the reaction of the two women ostensibly in Gus’s life at the time. Gus was definitely a lady’s man (well, he liked his whores), but the truly meaningful, emotional relationship in that novel was between Gus and Call. The
moments I treasured in that novel were the moments they spent together. I rushed out and bought the sequel (Streets of Laredo) and the prequels (Dead Man’s Walk, Comanche Moon), and I did that because I was pretty much desperate for more of those two men. I never read Streets of Laredo, even though I’m sure it’s excellent, because I can’t stand the thought of Woodrow Call alone (and no matter who he was with, he’d be alone without Gus). Much, much later, I realized that, in the vernacular of the fandom, I shipped them. And much later after that, I realized that their dynamic and those basic character types show up in my writing again and again. ***Teddypig ~ No eBook***

Side note from Vivien: There was a book I wanted to put on here, but didn’t, mostly because I have no idea who the author was or what the book was called. When I was quite young (11 or 12), I found out my uncle was gay. He was also a voracious reader, just like everybody else in the family. At home, I would gobble up my grandmother’s Harlequins, but after school, when I had to wait at my uncle’s apartment to get picked up, I sneaked into his private stash. He had oodles of the gay pulp titles from the 60s and 70s, as well as straighter romance titles, and I would read them in secret whenever I was there alone. I never got to take them home, and I never got to read for more than an hour at a time, which is a big part of why I don’t remember any authors or titles, lol. But they were all packed with sex, which alongside the more traditional romances I read at home, pretty much formed the foundation for a lot of what I do today. The specific book I wish I could remember was *very* trashy, but there was a scene in it where the guy was having a 3some with his wife and his best friend, and at one point, he’s crushed to the floor with both of them on top of him, and his buddy has his forearm across his throat as they both fuck the woman, and he strains against his buddy’s strength to reach up and kiss him. Almost thirty years later, I still think that’s hot, but damn if I know where I read it.

Vivien & Pepper

Jamie Craig ~ Unveiled (The Master Chronicles 2)
From: Amber Quill Press

Whenever I think of a really good representation of the type of Ménage Romance story I hate to read I keep coming back to this one. Does that suck for just about any writer to hear? Oh god, what am I doing? I am so sorry Vivien Dean and Pepper Espinoza you guys are dang good writers.

It’s just that…

As you may have guessed when I started this cycle of reviews covering Ménage Romance I had in mind what worked for me and why and I had firmly in mind what did not. The problem was though I was trying desperately not to call into question the capabilities of the writers involved. The examples I wanted to pull from needed to represent good solid writing that simply worked for me based on Balance, Benefit, and Clarity or did not despite the quality of the writing involved. I was not just going to prove my point from simply picking on some poor writers first foray into writing or M/M/F and point and say “see see see!” That was bad so everything like that is bad.

I repeat again, Jamie Craig’s Master Of Obsidian sits on the Grade A shelf here on my review site for the very reason that Vivien Dean and Pepper Espinoza are talented writers. When considering this book in my opinion um errr… Well, somehow you didn’t think your cunning plan all the way through is all.

So, in Unveiled the vampire Gideon and his faithful sidekick and homosexual lover Jesse Madding are back and at the scene of the newest grisly crime they will investigate in our second book here. Gideon does his typical “must protect Jesse from the evil that vampires do routine”, ho hum. Then wham we are off to that BDSM club scene we visited in the last book that everybody talks about and Jesse is put through his now routine sexual paces by Gideon.

So far so good. Not much here that diverges from the last book. But wait! They pick up Emmy the Emo Empath and take her home.

What lies in store for our boys? Will someone kidnap Jesse? Will Gideon become enraged and rip the immediate city to shreds as he desperately looks for Jesse? Will something happen to tell us why we are reading this book?

As soon as he heard the bathroom door slam shut, Gideon chuckled. “And you give me a hard time,” he teased. “You scared her away.”
“I scared her away? She was fine until you came in here and started staring at her. You were practically licking your chops.”
“I was not licking. And it’s not my fault I have eyes. She’s a beautiful girl.” Walking over to the refrigerator, Gideon opened it and began taking out the items he’d need to make breakfast for them. “Don’t try and tell me you didn’t notice her breasts.”
“I didn’t,” Jess said, so evenly Gideon almost believed him. “She is a beautiful girl, but she’s also been through an awful ordeal. She wants to run. Let’s not give her any excuses to bolt before we know she’s safe.”
Page ~ 43

Wait! Hold on here! Did Gideon just ask his homosexual lover if he had seen her boobies? WTF? OK, in the last book Jesse discovered old pictures showing Gideon to be bisexual… BUT! Jesse never indicated any inclination for anything but Gideon’s ass. Why would Gideon ask him that? This is not the “classy ancient vampire” I knew from the last book.

“If you’re going to stay here, you’re going to need some things,” he said. He offered her a small smile. “I’d offer more of my clothes, but I’m not exactly your size.”
Emma shook her head. “I haven’t been back to my place in two weeks. Is it safe?”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll get what you need.” His smile widened. “Ask Jesse. I’ve got a good eye.”
Jess shrugged. “I’m barely allowed to dress myself anymore. But I’ve got no complaints.”
Her mouth twitched. “You mean he lets you wear more than a collar and leash around the office?”
Jess seemed startled by the question, but then he smiled easily. “Yes, but only on days we intend to get work done.”
Page ~ 46

Hold on, why is Jesse suddenly joking with this complete stranger about him and his lover’s very private BDSM lifestyle? This type of thing was what sold me on his relationship to Gideon in the last book because they had been described as buddies for so long and all that… but this perfect stranger of a woman is not freakin Gideon.

Her gaze immediately flickered to his neck. “You really…like that sort of place?”
Jess hesitated. “Yes. No. It’s difficult to explain. When we’re here, in the office, we have a pretty equitable relationship. Well, as equal as things can be, given how controlling and demanding Gideon is. But when we’re there, we’re both afforded a certain…freedom to behave and respond in certain ways.”
Emma sat there for a minute, mulling over his words. “I guess if you love a person enough, wanting to make them happy can become what makes you happy. I’ve just…I don’t think I’ve ever been in a relationship like that. I know I’ve never loved anybody like that.”
“You’re right about how it makes Gideon feel, and how that makes me feel, but that’s not the…it isn’t the only reason
I agree to go there with him.” Jess didn’t know why it was so important to him she understood. She didn’t know them, and he had no reason to believe she even cared about his explanations. “I get my own satisfaction from the experience.”
Page ~ 52

What’s with Jesse continuing to spill his guts? Why are we going page after page of talk talk talk? This is not the Jesse I knew from the last book who faithfully kept Gideon’s darkest secrets.

“I guess it’s better than a doghouse,” she murmured, and then chuckled lightly. “It’s not like you don’t already have the leash.”
“Made use.” Jess chuckled. “Past tense. That’s one thing you have to be prepared for if you’re going to work here, you know. Gideon thinks nothing of twenty-four hour shifts.”
“Stupid vampires.” And her voice was even lower now, her lashes thick as she finally closed her eyes. “They never sleep.”
“No,” Jess agreed softly, watching as her face relaxed and her breathing evened. He willed nothing to disturb her. Gideon would be quiet when he came in because he always moved like he was skulking in shadows. He just hoped the phone wouldn’t ring and no unexpected visitors arrived. He felt quite certain he would do bodily harm to anybody who disturbed Emma’s sleep.
Page ~ 58

Are you getting the sinking feeling this whole scene was an all talk, not show fest that went on and on and on? Yeah, so Emma The Emo Empath becomes the third member of their relationship because Gideon liked her rack and Jesse has suddenly turned into slave mommy.

Where do I begin?

Clarity – Holy preexisting relationship Batman! They wrote a whole M/M Romance book selling me on this dark and dangerous romance between these two GAY men one of whom is a vampire that I ate up like a box of See’s Candy including it’s solid HEA. Suddenly in the very next book I am supposed to handle them becoming this ménage because um, because… I DON’T KNOW! They picked some poor woman up at the bar? You got me here. I am lost!

Balance – I guess the focus is on Gideon. Since he is the only one plainly labeled bisexual in the first book. There was not a lot of help here for me to pick out how he renegotiated the relationship he was having with Jesse. There simply was no scenes of them together alone, without HER. Just because Gideon is a BDSM Top and Jesse is a BDSM Bottom does not negate negotiation and communication and ya know, all those things that make BDSM consensual like.

Benefit – The only one who got any benefit that I could pick out was Emma The Emo Empath (AKA Mary Sue) and that was from having Gideon’s protection. Which I would think would be good enough to stay a couple of weeks at their place and do the dishes but grounds for a ménage… NO FUCKING WAY! In my opinion Jesse should have been jealous and threatened and every other logical emotional reaction I can think of to her becoming part of their relationship but there was nothing there, nothing I could relate to. Dead, flat, no spark at all.

So I guess in the end you might be wondering why if I clearly show this book got a solid F in all my analysis of it as a Ménage Romance so why give it a Grade D? Because the writing was still strong and that at least deserved being mentioned.

I know that Vivien Dean and Pepper Espinoza continue to write this series and it is apparent they have fans who read and enjoy it. Hell, it probably got way better and this was just a bump in the road so to speak. I just wanted to provide a clear example of the type of Ménage Romance that plainly does not work for me. I need more than simply two available gay guys and a damsel in distress and a couple of BDSM scenes to explain it all away.

Jamie Craig ~ A Hidden Beauty
Cover Artist: Anne Cain
From: Samhain

Erastes from over at Speak Its Name suggested this Anne Cain cover for the best of 2008. It is gor-jesus if you ask me. Nice selections people!

Thanks Erastes!

Jamie Craig ~ Master Of Obsidian (The Master Chronicles 1)
From: Amber Quill Press

I was talking with someone the other day about a Gay Vampire Romance series I am reading over at Loose Id and the fact I could not quite put my finger on it but even after three books into the series it was simply missing something. The person I was talking to was also reading the series and stated “It needed more emotion“.

I stopped, I thought about it and damn she was right, the whole three books came across written in a muted tone of emotional distance. Sure the sex was there and the usual violence inherent in a Vampire Romance, Gay or Straight. It was all there but the emotion, the thing that draws me into liking any morally ambiguous bad boy character like a vampire and wanting to find out more about them and eventually see them get the guy, it was simply missing.

Jamie Craig has none of those problems here in Master Of Obsidian. The vampire Gideon is a gentlemen with an admittedly disturbing past but he stays civil and honorable and has a trusting human assistant named Jesse Madding who is his best friend and right hand man. The relationship is very professional and courteous… that is until a drug called Obsidian starts showing up that by simply touching it drives vampires to unleash their hidden inner desires.

From Page 50
“You gave me the door knob, knowing it was tainted,” Gideon said. Whether he was deliberately ignoring Jesse’s meaning, he had no idea. He simply wished he could see what Gideon was doing. “You did it deliberately to see what would happen.”

There wasn’t time for a response. The crack of leather split the air. Jesse trapped the howl in his throat, and his lungs seized, the sudden contact freezing the air in his chest. He was more shocked than hurt, but the shock enveloped him completely. His cock jerked, a single thread of pleasure winding its way down his spine and to his groin.

“I’m sorry,” Jesse gasped, when he could speak. “It won’t happen again.” Gideon chuckled. “You’re lying. You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that. But if you thought it would get you what you wanted, you’d do it again.” The whip cracked again. Slivers of heat sliced down Jesse’s back. “Admit it.”

It occurred to him to lie again, but he suspected Gideon’s reaction would be the same whether he told the truth or not. “I would if I thought we’d both get what we wanted.”
“And what’s that?”
“You don’t want to have to care about the consequences.”
The whip landed across his shoulders. “You want to be the one in charge.” And lower on his ribs. “You think you should be able to do whatever you want to me, and, God, Gideon, I want that, too.” The whip whistled through the air behind him, erupting like fire across his skin. Jesse cried out, unable to ignore the pain any longer.

So wrapped in the searing agony now making his skin throb, he never heard Gideon move. “I should be able to do whatever I want to you,” Gideon murmured in Jesse’s ear. His bare chest pressed to Jess’ back, and the cool contact helped ease some of the sting. “But right now, I’ll settle for this.”

The first touch of Gideon’s tongue along his split skin made Jess cry out again, but this time, it was a sound of shocked pleasure.
Jesse writhed against Gideon’s mouth, but never attempted to pull away from him. If anything, he wanted more contact. Gideon abandoned his broken skin and sought out the long thin lines of blood rolling down his back. Each swipe of Gideon’s tongue soothed every sliver of pain, until he was quivering with pleasure and need, the sting from the whip almost entirely forgotten.

“I smell you everywhere.” Gideon’s voice floated up to him, caressing hands gliding around the front of his thighs. “In the office, in my bed. Do you know I can’t bring myself to change my sheets ever since you spent the day in them? You need to bleed more often. I don’t think my cock’s been soft since I fucked you.”

Jesse moaned. He knew Gideon wanted him, but remembering a long night of fucking was not the same as hearing the words come from Gideon’s mouth. Gideon moved his hands over his thighs, his fingers framing Jesse’s stiff cock without actually touching him. He wanted Gideon to make him bleed, wanted Gideon to fuck him, wanted Gideon to touch him, wanted Gideon to bite him…
Rivulets of blood trickled down his back, disappearing one by one. Gideon’s tongue traced over swells of flesh until Jess felt his mouth at the upper curve of his ass. His heart thumped, and he stood a little straighter, spreading his legs on instinct in order to open himself up.

“I already said you weren’t going to be rewarded,” Gideon chastised. He came around Jesse’s body, standing tall and pressing his blood-slick chest to Jess’. “You don’t get my cock, and I’m not touching your ass.” He smirked. “Not even if you beg.”

Jesse leaned forward, stretching his neck to tentatively lick the patch of skin beneath Gideon’s jaw. For a moment, he savored the taste of Gideon’s skin—which led him to thoughts of other areas of Gideon he wanted to taste. “I don’t get your cock at all?”
“No.” His eyes turned golden. “I get yours.”
Blood smeared down Jesse’s body as Gideon slid down. His breath caught in his throat as Gideon grasped his cock at the root, angling it away from his body. With one last wicked leer, Gideon dropped his jaw and swallowed Jess down in one stroke.

Jesse fought the temptation to close his eyes—he needed to watch Gideon. He tensed, expecting to feel razor sharp fangs against his shaft, but Gideon was surprisingly careful. He pulled back, sliding his warm mouth along Jesse’s shaft, and then swallowed him once more, his teeth barely scraping against his cock. Gideon looked up, his golden eyes sending a shockwave through Jesse’s body.

Gideon is suddenly dominating Jesse in the most forcefully HOT, sexy as hell, BDSM sex scenes I have read in a long while. This is not your mother’s Anne Rice purple poofy pompous emo Gay Vampire Romance. Gideon is of course ashamed of himself when he wakes up the next morning after having been pile driving and sucking his assistant into complete submission throughout the night. Jesse on the other hand loved every nasty, bad boy, fuck me harder, minute of it. In fact he wants more, a lot more and he is gonna make damn sure he gets it and Gideon as his Master to boot while riding this jagged edge of disaster.

From Page 162
“The difference is knowing when to stop and then caring enough to actually do it.” When Gideon snaked his tongue around the shell of Jesse’s ear, a shiver ran down Jess’ spine. “Even when I know how badly you want it.”

Jesse clutched Gideon’s shirt with one hand, his other hand sneaking between their bodies to cup Gideon’s erection. “I’m glad one of us knows when to stop,” he murmured. “Because sometimes I do want it.”

Gideon snorted. “I’m beginning to wonder if your definition of sometimes is the same as Webster’s.”

It was passages like this that caught my attention and made me enjoy the interplay between the two men. I liked the idea of love and fear being combined to create this hot passionate relationship between a vampire and a human. Gideon’s control is a battle fought minute by minute.

The crime they investigate reflects the relationship they begin, the deaths caused by the Obsidian drug, a drug that allows vampires to let go and do whatever they have carefully inhibited themselves from doing.

This idea was then reflected in the sudden feelings that spring up between Gideon and Jesse. The idea that Gideon would/could eventually let go and harm or kill Jesse and that Jesse finds that ultimate power over his life by Gideon sexually HAWT.

This dark almost self destructive dance of danger is also reflected in the BDSM dynamics they then explore. Mirrors within mirrors.

Go now, pick this book up over at Amber Heat or Amber Allure or Amber “whatever the hell they are gonna create next week”. I just do not get those sections they have. Get over it guys, pick one name, promote it, and stick with it… OK? I swear these publishers can act like elementary school kids when it comes to selling Gay Romance sometimes. What is wrong with simply calling the whole frigging website one professional name (Amber Press perhaps?), like your well known competitor Samhain does and quit acting like mixing the genres will give the rest of the books cooties or something. How silly can you get? It just makes finding these great books confusing and the last thing we need is another difficult website to wade through like Torquere Press.

Grade A Jamie Craig!

Now about the rest of the series. Hoooo boy, does it charge on and on and on in a completely different direction. By the next book Unveiled their relationship is so comfortable it is almost safely domestic and then they run into Emma, an empath and bam they are now an M/M/F threesome so their emotions and motives must be carefully explored and mapped and well, that’s all just not for me and got a Grade C. Jeez, but that was several books ago and maybe things have changed I just don’t know.