Amos Lassen Likes Dirty Words

Here's a wonderful review of Dirty Words (out now in a brand new edition from Renaissance E Books/Sizzler Editions) compliments of the always-always-always-great Amos Lassen:

Dirty Words is also (ta-da!) part of the new Sizzler imprint M.Christian's ManLove Collection!

Eureka Pride:

I love reading M. Christian. I remember when I read him for the first time about two years ago, I thought to myself that this was an author whose work I wanted to keep up with and I have done just that. He is a brilliant writer with a wonderful streak of darkness that is delightful. I love his irreverence and his inventiveness and reading “Dirty Words” is like taking a trip to places unknown.

This collection is sometimes funny, sometimes scary, sometimes fantastic and always interesting. The writing is smart and clever and edgy and dark. It is hard to put a name on it because the writing transcends all labels and genre. All of us love good stories and these are some of the best. I have often said that writing goof erotica is difficult because it has to engage the minds and the senses. Christian manages to do this and with style. The stories capture the reader and he tells us strange stories that at times are very disturbing. Joy and horror are combined along with the lust of the flesh and the lust of the language.

There is sex in all of the stories but Christian does not make us work to understand what he has to say; he says it all but with magnificent care and beautiful style. Fourteen stories that reflect the author’s mind is what we have here.

I deliberately did not go into individual stories because I want you to have the experience of enjoying each and every one. You will not forget the stories or the experience that you will have reading them.

The Moving Finger - On Lisabet Sarai's Beyond Romance Blog

This is extremely excellent: my pal (and a wonderful write) Lisabet Sarai asked me to write a bit about the inspiration behind Finger's Breadth for her Beyond Romance blog.  Check it out here ... and, meanwhile, here's a tease:

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,Moves on; nor all your Piety nor WitShall lure it back to cancel half a Line,Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it. -- The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam 

I may have said this before but it's always worth repeating: here's a hearty thank you to Lisabet for the opportunity to write a little piece for her excellent blog. 

This time, Lisabet has asked me to write a bit about the how my newest novel, Finger's Breadth, came to be. 

In a nutshell, Finger's Breadth is ... well, maybe too weird for a nutshell (perhaps even too much for a coconut shell) but I'll give it a shot. Basically, it's a near-future gay erotic horror/thriller with a hefty dose of social commentary. Less-than-basically, it's a series of characters dealing with "the cutter:" the nickname given to a mysterious figure drugging random men and amputating the first digit of their little finger. 

I told you it was weird. 

In many ways I see Finger's Breadth as a thematic sequel to my previous novel,Me2. In that book I had a lot of fun playing with the idea of identity. Less-than-basically that because of peer pressure, mass-produced lifestyles and fantasies, we are all becoming more or less interchangeable. 

I say "thematic sequel" because after writing Me2 I was itching to challenge myself with a new project – one that allowed me to explore human nature again. With Finger's Breadth, I tried to reach down even deeper and get even dirtier with how we relate to one another: socially, sexually, you name it.

The seeds that would eventually sprout become Finger's Breadth came from a wide variety of sources – or threads that would become the quilt if you don't like plant metaphors – but, botany or fabric, they have more in common than you might think. One of them came from my fascination good versus evil. Yeah, yeah, I know: lots of people have done – and will do – the exact same thing. But I've always been frustrated at how cowardly a lot of authors have been on the subject -- cowardly, because very few people seem to be willing to honestly look at the question. 

[MORE]

Setting The Record Straight (Me2)

In celebration of the Re-release of my rather (ahem) 'controversial' queer horror/thriller, Me2, here's a great little interview I did with the always-great Steve Williams:

Steve Williams (thanks) over at Suite 101 has given me an opportunity to try and set the record straight regarding the whole Me2 controversy:

Author M. Christian, an established and highly praised writer, talks about his acclaimed works and his career to date, offering aspiring writers his sage advice also. 

SW: Can you give us some deatails about your book please?
M.C: The book called Me2, which was totally and completely written by myself, the real and bonafide 'M.Christian' and not written by some person claiming to be the real 'M.Christian'. It is a novel about identity and existence. Although the book has been marketed as a horror story, it also has elements of surrealism, humor, and plenty of social commentary. Similarly, even though the book has a gay male focus I think it would appeal to readers of any orientation, as its message is extremely universal: who are we and are we in control of our lives? 

Everyone, gay or straight, likes to think they have a certain uniqueness, but do they really? 'Me2' deals with this by exposing the idea of a copy or fake, a second 'you' that appears apparently out of nowhere and begins not only to take over your life but also becomes a better 'you' than you ever could. How would you react to that? Would you try and quickly change your life, become someone less easily imitated? But then what happens when even this new 'you' is similarly copied -- or is the fraud, your doppleganger, just doing what you're doing ... down to your panicky change of life? 

And it gets even worse from there. 

SW: For aspiring writers, what would you say were key things they could do to improve their writing? 

M.C: Boy, that's a difficult one, mostly because I believe each writer is different, with unique things that do (or don't) work for them. I have no problem advising folks on smut, for instance, because that's writing for a specific genre. But in general: 

Don't read about writing and don't take writing classes (except for mine, of course). I've noticed a lot of would-be-writers spend way too much time on theory and little to no time on actual practice. A writer writes, and each time they do they (hopefully) get better. And have fun! If writing is painful then you're not doing it right. Don't try and outdo someone else or become the next Dickens or Kipling, just do things that you like and that you enjoy. Once it gets easier then you can try to push yourself even father but when you're just starting out you need to get comfortable with language, structure, flow, etc.
For God's sake don't dismiss genre fiction. Good work is good work, if it was written for The New Yorker or a Saturday morning cartoon. Learn to recognize good -- and bad -- work and learn from it. If you read something good then learn from what that writer did. If you read something bad then learn what that writer did wrong. 

Play games with your own creativity. If you like a TV show then try writing an episode. You don't even have to write it, just imagine the story and the dialogue. If you're watching a movie or reading a book, stop half way through it and finish it yourself -- was your ending better or not? Why was it better or not? The big thing is to have fun!
Don't write thinking about money (there isn't any) or awards (they are like hemorrhoids, every asshole gets one), or fame. Instead just think about the books you love and do something like them -- repay the debt, so to speak. 

SW: Do you see gay fiction becoming more mainstream in the future? 

M.C: Only if readers buy them. Like with gay issues in our culture, queer books have become more common, but money is what matters (sigh). I think one of the best 'tricks' to further mainstream gay characters and issues is to simply make them part of any book's world or to emphasize similarities and not differences -- create a bridge between so-called 'gay' fiction and every other genre. So, yeah, I think queer books are becoming more mainstream but I think there's still some distance to go -- mainly because readers need to throw down their bucks to keep the genre going. Without money it could slip back into being just a tiny niche. 

SW: Finally, do you have any new stories in the works? If so, can you tell us a little bit about them? 

M.C: Thanks for asking! I already mentioned that I have two novels coming out very soon: Brushes is a mainstream/romantic/erotica novel about a famous artist and the people who surround him; and Painted Doll is a cyberdelic noir story about a woman on the run from the mob who hides under the identity of a quasi-dominatrix. In the meantime I'm working on a new novel that should be out in another year, having a great time with a wonderful artist adapting one of my stories into a comic book, and wasting way too much time on my blogs...

ManLove Collection Press Release (draft)

What do you think, folks?  

This is a preliminary draft of the press release I'm going to be sending out in celebration of Renaissance E Books/Sizzler Editions new (and very flattering) M.Christian ManLove Collection re-release of my queer fiction/erotic books.

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Sizzler Books Announces The M.Christian Manlove Collection: The Best-Of-The-Best Queer Books From Celebrated M.Chrstian

FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE: M.Christian and Renaissance E Books/Sizzler Editions are extremely proud to announce a special imprint commemorating Lambda Award Finalist M.Christian’s best queer fiction and erotica: The M.Christian ManLove Collection!

Featuring special re-releases of M.Christian’s critically-acclaimed novels and collections, the The M.Christian ManLove Collection also includes a extra-special, brand-new, best-of-his-best of his queer erotic fiction: Stroke the Fire: The Best ManLove Stories of M.Christian

The M.Christian ManLove Collection collection includes:

Stroke the Fire: The Best ManLove Stories of M.Christian

Sizzling tales of bad boys, bruised hearts, and sweaty encounters. Lambda Award finalist M.Christian’s stories of men-who-love-men have been selected for Best Gay Erotica, Best American Erotica, and Best of the Best Gay Erotica. Eavesdrop on what hot men who are doing hot things with other hot men say to each other between the sheets ... and up against the wall. Start reading the fiery ManLove fiction of M.Christian with this personally selected collection of his very best stories.

M.Christian's stories are the fairy tales whispered to one another by dark angels whose hearts and mouths are brimming with lust. He goes beyond the pale, ordinary definitions of sexuality and writes about need and desire in their purest forms. Readers daring enough to stray from the safety of the path will find in his images and words a garden of delights to tempt even the most demanding pleasure-seeker.

 - Michael Thomas Ford, Lambda Award winner

M.Christian is a literary stylist of the highest caliber: smart, funny, frightening, sexy -- there's nothing he can't write about ...  and brilliantly.

- Tristan Taormino 

$8.50

9781615084890

ISBN 232 Pages

(available on ibooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine eBook distributors

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The Very Bloody Marys
Can San Francisco survive a marauding gang of Vespa-riding vampires? Before it's sucked dry, the city's only hope may be gay male Valentino, only a trainee for the supernatural law enforcement agency, Le Counseil Carmin. Swept up in the whole blood-sucking business when his mentor goes missing, Valentino is called upon to deal with the menace of these "Bloody Marys." But Valentino soon realizes that, in order to dispose of the gang, he must go into areas he never dreamed of, deal with some very strange characters and learn the truth about the dark side of town. The Very Bloody Marys is a horror novel about vampires, ghouls, faeries, and the undead that move around after dark. Part chase, part gallows humor, and all shivery excitement, this man love story from the wildly imaginative.

M.Christian creates a variety of quirky characters from wizards to zombies to fairies, and the tone captures the feeling of a fast-paced horror movie, alternately funny and creepy.

- HorrorWorld

$7.99

9781615087792

186 Pages

ISBN (available on ibooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine eBook distributors)

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Dirty Words: Provocative Gay Erotica
Here it is: the Lambda Literary Award Finalist Dirty Words: the queer collection shows just how hot and imaginative Manlove erotica can be!  From mischievous Native American spirits, to victims of cybernetic nightmares, these stories will amaze, amuse, terrify, fascinate and – always – excite you. Subtle and not, these well-crafted tales will touch you – and always excite you – in ways you’d never expect.  With a very special introduction by Patrick Califia.

Dipping into his erotic prose is like being doused with a bucket of icy cold water on a sticky Summer’s day. It’s a sense awakening experience, which enlivens and sweeps you away in the same narrative breath. It’s dark, it’s dangerous, it’s horny, it’s mouthwatering, it’s witty and it’s sharp.  Read my lips: Read this book.

- Skin Two

$7.99

9781615087464

ISBN 169 Pages

(available on ibooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine eBook distributors)

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Me2: The Classic Gay Gothic

M.Christian's controversial horror/thriller of queer identity is back in a brand new edition!  He looks just like you.  He acts exactly like you.  He takes away your job.  He steals your friends.  He seduces your lover. None of them can tell the difference. Every day he becomes more and more like you, pushing you out of your own life, taking away what was yours … until there’s nothing left.  Where did he come from?  Robot?  Alien?  Clone?  Doppelganger?  Evil twin?  Long lost brother?  A fascinating novel of identity, Me2 is a groundbreaking Manlove chiller you’ll remember for a long time – no matter who you are, or who you think you may be. (Despite rumors that this book was written by an impostor - but, rest assured, this is the real 'M. Christian.'  Accept no substitutes!)

Me2 is a unique and always entertaining fable-novel about what exactly identity may entail and how we may or may not decide whether it's worth the price of keeping it.

- Felice Picano, author of Art & Sex in Greenwich Village

$7.99

ISBN 9781615088058

186 Pages

(available on ibooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine eBook distributors)

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Filthy Boys: Male-Male Erotica

A fantastic collection of queer erotica spanning both literature and hotter-than-hot erotica – with a special introduction by Lambda-Award winner Felice Picano.  Includes the celebrated stories such as "The Hope of Cinnamon," "Suddenly, Last Thursday," "That Sweet Smell," "Utter West," and "Friday Night at the Calvary Hotel"

If you are looking for sexually-charged fiction that also has heart and intelligence Filthy Boys is the collection for you.

- Emily Veinglory, author Lovers and Ghosts

To say this is a great book is an understatement. Filthy Boys transcends its genre of erotica and enters the realm of literature.

- Donovan Brown, author My Brotha My Brotha.

$5.99

9781615084265

ISBN 204 Pages

(available on ibooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine eBook distributors)

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BodyWork: Male-Male Erotica

There is simply no one better at writing hotter-than-hot gay erotica than the Lambda Literary Award Finalist M.Christian, and with this -- his newest collection -- you'll see why!  From cowboys looking for some same-sex love on the range to jocks working out in unique ways this book is guaranteed to reach out and give your gay desire a good tug! Check out this brand new book by an acknowledged master of genre and see why everyone says he's an wonderful erotic writer.

Reading these tales is like climbing on for a sexual magic carpet ride through different times and places, diverse bodies, and infinite possibilities.

- Carol Queen 

Rarely is raunch paired with such style and wit, M.Christian’s stories offer the sizzle of stroke-book sex combined with the dark lyricism of the perverse.

- Lucy Taylor 

ISBN 9781615089390

$5.99

126 Pages

(available on ibooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine eBook distributors)

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Calling M.Christian versatile is a tremendous understatement. Extensively published in science fiction, fantasy, horror, thrillers, and even non-fiction, it is in erotica that M.Christian has become an acknowledged master, with more than 400 stories in such anthologies as Best American Erotica, Best Gay Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica, Best Bisexual Erotica, Best Fetish Erotica, and in fact too many anthologies, magazines, and sites to name.  In erotica, M.Christian is known and respected not just for his passion on the page but also his staggering imagination and chameleonic ability to successfully and convincingly write for any and all orientations.

But M.Christian has other tricks up his literary sleeve: in addition to writing, he is a prolific and respected anthologist, having edited 25 anthologies to date including the Best S/M Erotica series; Pirate Booty; My Love For All That Is Bizarre: Sherlock Holmes Erotica; The Burning Pen; The Mammoth Book of Future Cops, and The Mammoth Book of Tales of the Road (with Maxim Jakubowksi); Confessions, Garden of Perverse, and Amazons (with Sage Vivant), and many more.

M.Christian's short fiction has been collected into many bestselling books in a wide variety of genres, including the Lambda Award finalist Dirty Words and other queer collections like Filthy Boys, BodyWork, and his best-of-his-best gay erotica book, Stroke the Fire.  He also has collections of non-fiction (Welcome to Weirdsville, Pornotopia, and How To Write And Sell Erotica); science fiction, fantasy and horror (Love Without Gun Control); and erotic science fiction including Rude Mechanicals, Technorotica, Better Than The Real Thing, and the acclaimed Bachelor Machine. 

As a novelist, M.Christian has shown his monumental versatility with books such as the queer vamp novels Running Dry and The Very Bloody Marys; the erotic romance Brushes; the science fiction erotic novel Painted Doll; and the rather controversial gay horror/thrillers Fingers Breadth and Me2. 

M.Christian is also the Associate Publisher for Renaissance E Books, where he strives to be the publisher he'd want to have as a writer, and to help bring quality books (erotica, noir, science fiction, and more) and authors out into the world.  His site is www.mchristian.com.

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Sizzler Editions - an imprint of Renaissance E Books - has been one of the leading publishers of erotica in ebook form since 1999. Sizzler Editions publishes the best in contemporary and classic erotica.

Sizzler Edition's list of writers includes many bestselling and award winning authors, such as Reese Gabriel, Powerone, Terri Pray, Heather McVey, Rod Harden, Marilyn Jaye Lewis, R. Greco, Tilly Andrews, Mykola Dementiuk, and others.

Visit our site at sizzlereditions.com for new book excerpts, cover previews, to listen to new author interviews, and more.

Sizzler Editions was founded by the late David O. Dyer, Sr., to whom all the company's subsequent efforts are gratefully dedicated.

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For review copies of any of these books – or for further information - please do not hesitate to contact M.Christian:

M.Christian

General site: www.mchristian.com

Queer fiction site: mchristian-queerimaginings.blogspot.com

mchristianzobop@gmail.com

More Finger's Breadth Praise!

I can never say this enough: I truly have wonderful friends -- just look at these two amazing Finger's Breadth blurbs I got from Theda Hudson and Jardonn Smith (and who are both amazing writers)!  Thanks so much!

“M. Christian is a writer whose style reminds me of film director J.J. Abrams -- quick edits, flash scenes shown from varying angles and distances. Unlike Mr. Abrams, however, M. Christian holds his camera steady. No jerking you around. His carefully-chosen words take you to the scene, allow you time to absorb and analyze, and then he gets you the hell out of there so he can repeat the process elsewhere. When you read M. Christian, nothing is wasted, everything is gained.

“His latest, Finger's Breadth, centers around a serial sicko who has a funny way of treating his tricks. First he drugs them, and then he severs their pinkie finger. Yes, gay San Francisco is terrorized, and a cross-section of those involved are psycho-analyzed by M. Christian -- victimizer, chasers of the victimizer, victims, victims of the victims, and wannabe victims. Sounds like a heavy load of information, and it is, but with the no-bullshit storytelling style of M. Christian, this hair-raising roller coaster is all whoops, no loops. So, take my advice: do not miss this ride.”
- Jardonn Smith, author and pornographer

“M.Christian dives into the mystery and horror of act engenders and explores in loving, poetic detail how it tears lovers and the gay community apart with no apologies and no lube beyond his lush descriptions of his beloved San Francisco, relationships, flirtations, and sex, always hot and honest however, deceitful or hidden the people or circumstances.

“He carries us along slickly through the coarser, ugly, and sorry details of the ways the victims and the community cope with fear and need and intimacy all the way to an ending as surprising as it is unexpected.”
- Theda Hudson

Billierosie Likes Dirty Words

My fantastic pal, Billierosie, sent me this great review for Dirty Words (out now in a brand new edition from Renaissance E Books/Sizzler Editions)... thanks, sweetie!

What's also cool is that this edition restores Patrick Califia's very special introduction.

What is it about M.Christian’s DIRTY WORDS, that has me thinking of tapestry? In particular the Bayeux Tapestry, in Northern France? DIRTY WORDS is M.Christian’s collection of erotic, if not pornographic stories, displaying human sexuality at its most raw and crude. The Bayeux Tapestry, as I remember it, has nothing to do with sex and everything to do with Queen Matilda and her refined Ladies in Waiting, stitching away in chilly castles in Normandy, France, while their men folk sail off to conquer the unrefined British.

I think in my muddled way, my brain is drawing comparisons between two wonderful forms of story telling. I’ve been privileged to see the Bayeux Tapestry, three, maybe four times. And each time I’ve wandered around that museum in France, going from panel to panel, I’ve been struck by the tiny stories that it carefully tells. The journey across what we now call the English Channel. The logistics of transportation. The battle itself and the death of poor King Harold. Even a panel dedicated to those lonely ladies, stitching away at home. And there’s the little people. Those who don’t get noticed.

In DIRTY WORDS, M.Christian weaves us stories, that challenge and inspire. Stories of the little people; the dirty people. The people we try not to notice. In SPIKE, Christian gives us narcissism at its most extreme. Identical twin brothers sucking on each other’s cocks. No way! Shocking. But Christian doesn’t shy away from the truth about the two Spikes. Their self love is all consuming; dangerous; overwhelmingly passionate. It’s uncontrolled. The only control here, is finding out who is in control. Finally, carving out one’s own identity.

The wonderful HOW COYOTE STOLE THE SUN, gives us a drifter. A life without purpose. Or is it? The dog will cheat you, turn you over. Seduce you; rape you, steal your lover. Why? Just because he can. The odds are against dog. Even the elements are against him. The cruel sun pounds down on him and still dog wins. He doesn’t even want his prize and throws it away. But he still leaves with a smile on his face.

So who’s got the biggest cock? Mammoth or Monster? Ask Pup; he knows. THE HARLEY tells of biker culture. But not a biker culture like you’ve ever imagined it. Mammoth and Monster are crude, ugly, without any endearing features. They ride bikes and they fuck. Mostly Pup. There’s a competition going on for the Harley. Who gets it? Who deserves it? Perhaps Pup should decide.

The brilliant ECHOES is worthy of Edgar Allen Poe, at his most gruesome. Sex and Death, and all the horrors of beyond the grave. Guilt, and secrets coming back to haunt us. The sort of story that reminds me of why I check under the bed, on those dark nights.

I seem to have drifted a long way from the ladies stitching the Bayeux Tapestry. It’s about the excellence of great story telling. M.Christian weaves his exquisite words. The tapestry is another art form entirely. It tells a big story and lots of little ones. Moments in time. DIRTY WORDS tells the big story of sexuality. It also tells the little stories of those small people. Again. Moments in time.

Steve Williams Likes Me2

Here's a wonderful review of my (okay, let's be honest) weird queer horror novel, Me2, from a very special friend, Steve Williams - thanks so much, Steve!

The new edition of Me2 is, of course, part of the wonderful Sizzler ManLove Collection from Sizzler

From Steve Wlliams:

Think fusing a psychological thriller with an indelible horror story and whipping it up with ‘Starbucks’ style foam of vacuous, store bought normalcy and you have M. Christian’s startlingly clever novel ‘Me 2’. 

The pace of the narrative could threaten leave you breathless as M. Christian floods the page, again and again, with witty observations of today’s carbon copy world, whilst always keeping the story grounded in a reality that is as morbidly real as it is fantastically uncomfortable. There are times when the book threatens to flounder, but M. Christian is a writer capable of keeping on the right side of a flagging plot, and has crafted a story where the gimmick is the real irony: all across the land, as far as your Giorgio Armani shades can let you see, there will be person after person, perfectly alike in almost every way, reading ‘Me 2’ and deservedly so. 

An absolute high point on my literary calendar.

You Can Never Be Too Careful

(Lunchtime liasons) Cartoon by Jen Sorensen

Via Daily Kos

Metro Spirit Loves Me2

Here's a wonderful - and very touching - review of Me2 (out now, of course, in a brand new edition) by J. Edward Sumerau over at Metro Spirit.

The latest offering from M. Christian — “Me2” — poses a bit of a dilemma for the average reader. While it contains an intricate plotline leading readers deeper and deeper into psychological consideration, it is constructed upon a narrative style that is often jumpy, tense and hard to follow. The end result is an intriguing argument buried in a difficult format.

M. Christian is of course a variety of voices wrapped into a single moniker. Whether found in erotic collections of the straight or gay variety or in horror compilations and psychological intrigues, Christian holds power over a voice deeply original in a time where conformity is all too common. Having found his work in collections such as “Dirty Words," “Speaking Parts” and “Best American Erotica," it was about time that Christian offered a vision of the contemporary world in the form of a longer offering.

The dilemma arises in the context of the story. The premise is simple enough: A young man works in a coffee shop, dates other men and loves his little car. He even has the common push and pull relationship many grown men have with their fathers, but he is losing his mind. The question becomes whether he is losing himself or being taken by someone else.

Such a fascinating premise based on the notions of identity formation in a world of continual conformity and over-classification makes for a startling storyline in the hands of the craftsman.

The problem for many will arise in the format. Laced with interludes that often drag on without merit and paranoid reactions to the most inane of thoughts, the pace of the story tends to slacken at times, and as a result, the tumultuous occurrences of the characters are left in some form of limbo. As a result, readers may have to carefully take notice of seemingly obscure passages to make sense of the whole, and the story is a difficult read complete with intriguing insights worthy of notice.

With its attack on conformity and modernity in general, the book is an amazing argument in the tradition of Bret Easton Ellis’ “American Psycho” and “Lunar Park," and while its premise recognizes the former, its narrative is a bristly obstacle course reminiscent of the latter work.

In all these regards, Christian has offered a fascinating view of the modern world, and for those who make it through the pitfalls of the writing style, it will be an adventure well-worth the effort.

Billierosie Likes Finger's Breadth

I may have (ahem) said it a bit too much but ... well, it can't be said enough: I really do have some fantastic friends - and one of the very best I have is Billierosie.  Just look at this sweet review she just posted on amazon for Fingers Breadth.  Thanks so much, sweetie!

From the Prelude onwards, we’re carried along on a roller coaster, with this fasted paced novel, fresh from the keyboard of M.Christian. “Finger’s Breadth”starts with the cops, as they interview the latest character to be mutilated after a sleazy night, out on the San Francisco streets. Typically, the interviewee can tell them nothing; he doesn’t remember, or doesn’t want to. 

“He cut part of your fucking finger off,” says the exasperated cop. 

“Yeah, but it could have been worse.” is the philosophical response. 

One thing you can rely on M.Christian for, is a damn good story And “Finger’s Breadth is no exception; I think it’s his best one yet. As always, I get the feeling that he’s dancing ahead of me; laughing, teasing. Never taunting; M.Christian is a writer who respects his reader. He just has fun along with us, weaving his superbly crafted tale. 

I mean, who’d have thought that you could write a story about Gay men waking up in the morning, minus part of a finger? It’s surreal; a crazy notion. “right hand little finger amputated at the first joint…” Yes it’s a ridiculous idea -- and yet -- it works. 

This is a visual novel, in the tradition of the best Film Noir. Dark, still and silent.  Characters moving into shot, then out of shot. Yet, as I said earlier, fast paced too, as one character, then another, tells their part of the story. A jigsaw put painstakingly together and it’s only on the final pages that the reader sees the complete whole. 

It’s erotic; a comment on desire. A comment on our crazed need to have the ultimate fashion statement. 

This book is totally weird and unsettling. And the reader just accepts what is going on, with all its weirdness. The reader is complicit. But more than anything, it’s a great story, a great read. Takes me back to long ago, when I first discovered what a joy reading could be. It’s as simple as that; being intrigued, being told a good story.

Bill Maher: If Focus on the Family is Doing God's Work, How Come They're Always Wrong?

Wonderful!

In support of National Coming Out Day, several representatives released a series of photos taken by Adam Bouska for the “NOH8 on The Hill” initiative. Several members even spoke out on the issue.


Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI)

“Love is love. Whether heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or transgender, no one should be denied the opportunity to express this love through marriage. I stand strong in my support of the LGBT community and marriage equality.”


Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)

“Projects like NOH8 are ensuring that marriage equality continues to be in the forefront of our fight for equality. I am proud to participate in the NOH8 Campaign to help draw attention to this ongoing civil rights battle in our state."


Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)

“There is no place on Capitol Hill or in our society for hate or discrimination. I’m proud to be part of NOH8’s campaign for equality.”


Rep Michael Capuano (D-MA)

“I have long believed in marriage equality and am proud to participate in the NOH8 Campaign. Discrimination has no place in our society, and I hope the US Supreme Court will soon recognize that Proposition 8, and other attempts like it, are contrary to the freedoms granted in the Constitution.”

View Entire List

(37 Members Of Congress Pose For The NOH8 Campaign - via BuzzFeed)

Gonna Have To Steal This Title

It Really Does Get Better

Showtime!

It ain’t a work of genius but here’s a little fun I had making a short video of all my books that are available from Renaissance E Books/Sizzler Editions

Excerpt: Fingers Breadth

I'm pleased to announce that the very-cool Gay/Lesbian Fiction Excerpts blog has posted the first chapter from my new gay thriller/erotic novel, Fingers Breadth.  Here's a taste - for the rest just click here.

Looking from the window of the coffee shop. Watching from the windshield of a parked car. Staring from the glass of a very rare unbroken bus kiosk. Glaring from the side of a passing bus.

A brief summer rain had painted the city that night in reflections. Fanning saw himself everywhere, and everywhere he saw himself his expression said the same thing—Why haven’t you caught him yet?

In his ear, a Bluetooth bud whispered the Officer Wertz inquiry’s soundtrack; in his pocket, the video was playing on his phone. He didn’t need to hear or see it. No one would, but if asked he could probably rattle off every verb, every noun, every linguistic bit from when Knorr started it to when he stopped it. Knorr was good at what he did, just like the lab mice who studied crime scenes and picked up tiny bits of DNA with their finely honed tweezers.

Welcome to the decentralized world of the new San Francisco Police Department, where your specialty was all you did and generality was extinct.

Fanning was a freelancer but was supposed to be good at what he did, too. Sneering at himself reflected in the coffee shop window, he gripped the phone in his pocket. If he’d been stronger, or the plastic less durable, it would have cracked.

Glowering for an instant at his reflection in the windshield of the parked car, he pulled the phone out and flipped through a few key digital pages. As with the inquiry, he didn’t need to look at it again, but he did anyway. Better than sharing the street with his scowling mirror images.

It hadn’t changed—Wertz’s home address and where he worked were still the same. The first was across town, in the Mission. The second was just down the street, at a Gap Store.

Ten a.m. to six p.m. His shift hadn’t changed, either. But it was 6:17, and there was no sign of Wertz.

Fanning paced the wet sidewalk, searching up and down the street but mostly the blue-and-white bright- ness of the Gap store. In his ears, Wertz’s voice clicked into silence; then, as it was set on “loop,” it began again.

Just like the others. Same MO, same kind of pick-up place, same amount of Eurodin in Wertz’s system, the lab mice doing their usual fine and precise work, and the same mutilation—right hand little finger amputated at the first joint.

Again, his phone threatened to break in his hand, but again, he wasn’t strong or determined enough to do it. The beat cops who’d found Wertz sound asleep on the J Church train; the lab mice who’d analyzed the drug in his system; Knorr, who’d asked his carefully prepared and expert questions...

But then there was Fanning, who was supposed to assemble piece after piece after piece after piece until they made a picture of someone’s face.

Cutter’s face.

Looking up from where he’d been looking down, he saw a silhouette come between the blue-and-white of the Gap store. A dark shape that was about the right height, about the right build, about the right age, to be whom he was looking for. Fanning carefully released his tight grip on his phone and stepped back into a nearby alley, one carefully chosen for its heavy solitude.

Heavy solitude was just what Fanning wanted.

[MORE]

Gaydar Nation Likes The Very Bloody Marys!

Here's a very nice review of my queer vamp humor/horror/thriller The Very Bloody Marys ... from Gaydar Nation!

From Gaydar Nation:

Valentino is having a very bad time of it. A police officer by trade in San Francisco, his boss and mentor has disappeared, he’s hunting a trio of twinks wandering the city terrorising it, and his lover has been killed. Oh, and did I mention Valentino is also a 200-year-old gay vampire who drinks blood with vodka?! 

Yes, you don’t have to be Stephen Hawking to work out this is no realist novel, but a synthetically surreal universe of faeries (the cmythical creatures not the camp caricatures), ghouls and all kinds of things that go bump in the undead of the night. It’s a world of Buffy The Vampire Gayer, if you will. 

Despite being set in the steep-stepped hills of San Fran, this isn’t the familiar sunny, picture postcard place of the travel brochures, but rather a dark and murky netherworld where all is not what it seems.
The novel opens with Valentino searching desperately for his guv’ner, Pogue. With no clues in sight, the case seems cold and then tragedy strikes. Returning home one evening, Valentino watches in horror and disbelief as his lover, Julian, crumbles to dust before his eyes. Sick with grief, anger and revenge, Valentino goes full-throttle to find Julian’s killer and make them pay. 

In The Very Bloody Marys, M. Christian has created a wildly weird world of vampiric pains and pleasures yet still manages to somehow root it in reality, largely because he never loses sight of the fact the characters need to have genuinely authentic emotional lives no matter which fantastical environment you plonk them in. He makes them fully-drawn, involving, standalone characters pulsed by the thump of the human heart, which is ironic considering we’re technically dealing with the undead here. 

In fact, the whole narrative has flesh and blood as it races along at amphetamine pace. Scene after scene rolls by with such breathtaking speed you feel like you’re on one of those fairground death rides called something hideous like Decapitation or Rigor Mortis. Despite the breakneck paciness, Christian doesn’t lose control of his characters or story; he’s always in command of the reins so the read has a consistent rhythm that nicely carries the action along. 

It’s not all bish-bash-bosh, either. Christian can be incredibly lyrical, especially when describing Valentino’s love for Julian. Just look at this description: “Oh oh oh Julian Julian Julian ? beloved, adored, venerated companion, compadre, mate, playmate, partner, betrothed, idol, best friend, love, lover ? oh oh oh Julian Julian Julian.” Don’t you read that and wish someone had written those words about you? 

Christian’s métier, though, is conjuring up powerful visuals that give this noir mystery a definite cinematic flavour that’s one part 1940s movie thriller and two parts po-mo sci-fier, which makes the novel ripe for the film adaptation treatment. And, let’s face it, that should bring a gratifying thud of kerching to the ears of any author. 

Atmospherically potent and stylishly polished, Christian marries suspense, terror, black humour and romance intelligently and wittily making The Very Bloody Marys a smart and fun addition to the bloodsuckingly camp vampire genre.

Having Lots Of GEEK LOVE

(cross-posted to my home page and M.Christian's Technorotica)

I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to announce that my queer science fiction erotica story, "The Hope Of Cinnamon" is going to be part of the kickstarter-legend Geek Love!

Geek Love. It's nerdy, wordy and a little bit dirty. It's 200 pages of geek-themed erotic stories, accompanied by full-color art and comics, all from some of the finest authors and artists in the industry.

Think of it as the comma sutra. As full-frontal nerdity at its finest. As the bestiary of geek sexuality, proving once and for all that there’s nothing hotter than geeks in their natural habitats.

Electrifying play with Tesla? We’ve got it. Hot gamers tapping that? Check. Making passes at girls – and boys – with glasses? That’s just the beginning. We’ve got sexy librarians, raid nights, geek boys in leather and lace, tentacles, sexbots, superheroes and high-tech toys galore.

With cover art by the talented Galen Dara, Geek Love is a hard-bound full-color masterpiece that’s going to look great on your gaming table or your bondage bed. But the anthology is far more than just a pretty face – it’s also got a killer body. Stuffed with savory stories and loaded with sensual full-color art, comics and photographs created by some of the industry's most talented authors and artists, Geek Love is a collection you’ll want to share with special friends and spend all your free time boning up on.

Here's a page that'll give you all you need to know about the book and the project

Groovy!

From Frequently Felt:

(The Sexiest Victorian Drag King) 

This lady is a dapper gentleman, your argument is invalid. Turning social norms on their head was just another day in the life of Vesta Tilley.

I (Heart) New York

Whew! 

I just got back from my wonderful, wonderful, wonderful trip to the Big Apple and - lemmie tell you - it was a true, honest, blast and a half!

Hearty thanks have to go out to the fantastic folks at TES (where I taught my Polyamory: How To Love Many And Well class), Shag (where I taught my Magic Words: Using Erotic Writing To Explore Your Hidden Sexuality And Spirituality class) and the The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual &Transgender Community Center (where I taught my Sex Sells: How To Write And Sell Erotica class) - as well, naturally, to all the folks who came out to hear me speak.

Special thanks, though, have to go out to an incredible bunch of people who turned a working holiday into a true adventure:

• Michele Serchuk for a fantastic lunch - one of these days I do want you to take some shots of me, Michele!
• The extra-talented Debra Hyde and the extra-special Lori Perkins for a magnificent dinner - here's to many more in the future!
• My sweet, sweet, sweet friend Ralph Greco - who not only showed me the Big Apple's sights but also took me to see Adam Rapp's powerful, touching play, Through The Yellow Hour

- and extra thanks to Karen Taylor and Laura Antoniou who not just gave me lovely place to stay but who shared with me the wonders of their neighborhood ... as well as some very special time as very, very good friends!

As promised, I took some shots of the trip.  Here are some choice morsels - and to see the rest just click on my Flickr feed.