Category Archives: Romance

June 11, 2014 · 12:09 am

Book spotlight: “A Heart for Robbie” by J.P. Barnaby

Author J.P. Barnaby has come out with a new novel that may just break my heart.

Waiting for someone else’s child to die so yours can live is the worst kind of Hell.

Celebrated Young Adult author Julian Holmes pits the heroic characters in his Black Heart series against all different kinds of monsters. But when a critical heart defect threatens his son’s life, he finds he has no champion. No amount of books, classes, or practice can prepare Julian for the fight to save his beautiful son’s life.

Suddenly there are hospitals, transplant lists, and the nightmare of insurance red tape to navigate. In the midst of his trouble, Julian meets Simon Phelps, the insurance coordinator for Robbie’s case. Simon lives so deep in the closet he might never find his way out, but he dreams of exactly what Julian has. Then one night, drunken need and desperation brings them together, and a new fight begins.

About the Author:

J.P. Barnaby, an award-winning romance novelist, is the author of over a dozen books with three-dimensional, dynamic characters—survivors shrouded in a cloak of realism. As a bisexual woman, JP is a proud member of the LGBT community both online and in her small town on the outskirts of Chicago. A member of Mensa, she is described as brilliant but troubled, sweet but introverted, and talented but deviant. She spends her days writing software and her nights writing romance, which is, of course, far more interesting. The spare time that she carves out between her career and her novels is spent reading about the concept of love, which, like some of her characters, she has never quite figured out for herself.

Website: http://www.JPBarnaby.com
Blog: http://www.jpbarnaby.com/#blog
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/JPBarnaby
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JPBarnaby

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Filed under Blog Tour, Contemporary, Drama, gay, New Release, Romance

Tagged as A Heart for Robbie, Book Spotlight, J.P. Barnaby, new release

May 2, 2014 · 4:04 pm

Can we please kill this whole Top/Bottom thing?

Warning: this blog post contains frank discussions of gay sex.

Imagine this scene from a straight romance novel:

Harold gazed longingly into Marjorie’s eyes and whispered, “I’ve been waiting all night long to get you into a sixty-nine.”

Marjorie took a quick sip of her wine in an attempt to hide the blush creeping into her cheeks. She gazed out over the city skyline and breathed in the warm night air, giving herself a moment to think. Normally, Marjorie considered herself to be a missionary-style woman, but for Harold she could be flexible. “Yes,” she gasped finally, “that sounds really hot.”

What’s wrong with this scene? I’ll tell you what’s wrong with it: they’re not even in the bedroom yet, and they’re already negotiating positions! Who would do that in real life, except perhaps two people negotiating a BDSM scene?

Yet, if we change the two main characters to gay men….

Harold gazed longingly into Mark’s eyes and whispered, “I’ve been waiting all night long for you to top me.”

Mark took a quick sip of his wine in an attempt to hide the blush creeping into his cheeks. He gazed out over the city skyline and breathed in the warm night air, giving himself a moment to think. Normally, Mark considered himself a bottom, but for Harold he could be versatile. “Yes,” he gasped finally, “that sounds really hot.”

Sure, for men, right here it’s a little raunchy, but no more than other scenes I’ve read in the genre. It now doesn’t seem all that unusual. Why? Because gay men often negotiate who’s the top and who’s the bottom before they have sex, or at least that’s what’s going through their heads. Right?

Well, um… no. Not really.

Okay, I can’t claim to speak for all gay men. Perhaps some gay men do this. But honestly, I’ve been out since 1983 and over the thirty years since I came out, I’ve had lots of sex. I’ve topped; I’ve bottomed; I’ve done other things I have no intention of talking about in a blog open to the general public.

Do you know what I haven’t done in all that time? Declared myself a “top” or a “bottom” to anybody.

Ever.

Nor have I ever thought to myself, “I’m a top,” or “I’m a bottom.” Is this because I’m “versatile?” No, it’s because I’m just a guy, and when I have sex, we go into the bedroom (or wherever said sex is going to occur) and just go at it. At some point, somebody might ask, “Would you like to fuck me?” or “Can I fuck you?” Imagine! Actually asking what your partner is in the mood for!

Yes, I’ve known men who would never let anyone fuck them. Although these guys often refuse anal sex, period, because they find it repulsive or just don’t happen to like it. (I’ve already discussed the fact that not all gay men are into anal sex in a previous blog post.) What it has almost never been is because they are “bottoms” who never like to “top.”

Sure, they may have a preference. Just like straight men and women have preferences. According to Wikipedia, an examination of over 55,000 profiles of gay men on the popular hookup site gay.com “showed that 26.46% preferred top, while 31.92% preferred bottom, and the largest group (41.62%) preferred versatile.” In other words… nothing. We might as well call it split down the middle with 42% not caring either way. And it’s about as useful as polling straight couples about their favorite position.

But my main point is, straight men and women don’t identify as the sexual position they prefer, so why should gay men?

And don’t even get me started about “pitcher” and “catcher.” I don’t know the origin of the phrase, but I’ve rarely heard it issued by someone who wasn’t disturbed by the idea of gay sex in general. I’ve certainly never heard gay men refer to each other that way.

Now, I suppose the gay “scene” is different in the cities and in various parts of the country. I can only really talk about the way things are in my area, and age makes a difference as well. But these aren’t terms I want to be associated with.

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Filed under gay, Life, Romance, Sex, Writing

Tagged as anal sex, bottom, catcher, jamie fessenden, pitcher, sex, sex scenes, terminology, top

March 3, 2014 · 12:58 pm

“Screwups” gets its first review – 5 stars!

My new novel Screwups will be coming out on March 7th, and it’s already received a great 5-star review from Brandilyn at Prism Book Alliance!

Is that enough bolds and highlights? Maybe I should add a couple more….

“The characters in the dorm are very real. I felt like I was back in college, myself. I was not in an “artistic” dorm, but I was in the “honors” dorm. Many of the characters were taken right from my own past. I had a Paul. I had a Danny and Jake. I wasn’t nearly as cool as Eva, but we can’t have everything. Even though I am not a gay male, I can certainly relate to some of the issues Jake is holding on to from high school. Everyone will find something to which to relate in Screwups, from the weekly D&D game to the Police Box to the characters surrounding the main couple.

. . .

These people aren’t perfect. There are no pretty ribbons and bows. There is no fairytale romance. What there is is slow and real, hurting, misunderstanding, over reacting, groveling, holding, kissing, loving, and hoping.”

Blurb:

In 1996, Jake Stewart is starting his third year at the University of New Hampshire. Even as a successful business major, he is absolutely miserable. Not only is Jake pursuing a field he hates when he’d rather study art, he is utterly terrified of what will happen if his father finds out he’s gay. When he finally gets up the courage to move into the creative arts dorm on campus, his new roommate, Danny, is openly gay—and there’s no denying the attraction between them.

Danny Sullivan has been out since high school, and he appears comfortable with his sexuality. But something happened in Danny’s past—something that gives him nightmares he refuses to talk about. Unknown to Jake, the way he mistreated his friend, Tom Langois, when Tom came out to him in high school, is mild compared to the way someone very much like Jake treated Danny.

It may be too late to fix the mess Jake made with Tom, but if Jake wants to be with Danny, he’s going to have to fix the mess made by another closeted jock he’s never even met.

Buy link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4756

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Filed under College, Contemporary, Drama, gay, New Release, Reviews, Romance

Tagged as Brandilyn, college, contemporary, Dreamspinner Press, gay, jamie fessenden, new release, Prizm Book Alliance, review, romance, Screwups

February 15, 2014 · 4:19 pm

New trailer for “Gothika #1: Stitch” coming this April!

This is a trailer I created for a gay Gothic romance anthology called Gothika #1: Stitch. In addition to my story, called Watchworks, the anthology also contains stories by Eli Easton, Sue Brown, and Kim Fielding.

It will be released in April 2014.

The music for this video was written by Jamie Fessenden (me), and all of the images are, to the best of my knowledge, public domain or purchased stock photos.

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Filed under Book Trailer, gay, Historical, horror, New Release, Occult/Paranormal, Romance, SciFi, Victorian

Tagged as anthology, Eli Easton, Gothic, Gothika, jamie fessenden, Kim Fielding, new release, romance, Stitch, Sue Brown

February 6, 2014 · 9:25 am

“Screwups” is now available for pre-order!

My newest novel Screwups is now available for pre-order at Dreamspinner Press!

Blurb:

It may be too late to fix the mess Jake made with Tom, but if Jake wants to be with Danny, he’s going to have to fix the mess made by another closeted jock he’s never even met.

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Tagged as dreamspinner, jamie fessenden, new release, novel, pre-order, Screwups

January 29, 2014 · 12:12 pm

Back to murder and mayhem

Since I have a deadline in mid February for Murder on the Mountain, I’ve had to temporarily put aside the YA novel I was working on (Martian Born) to focus on this one again. It was nearly finished at the end of November, but frankly I was so sick of it, I just needed a break. Why was I sick of it? Because trying to cram an entire novel into one month really didn’t work well for me. Sure, I got most of it done, but I burnt out twice as fast.

Rushing things (for NaNoWriMo) also meant that I didn’t have time to straighten out problems with the plot as they came up. So now I’m going back through the manuscript and doing a lot of tweaking, before I move on to wrap things up.

None of this means that I don’t like the novel. I think it’s good, and definitely successful as a murder mystery. But I’ve learned some things since I began writing it about proper police procedure when it comes to criminal investigations on the mountain, and of course my husband and I spent a weekend at the Mt. Washington resort hotel where the bulk of the story takes place. So now I’m going back and restructuring to take all of this into account.

I’ve also decided to slow the romance down a bit. Not a lot—the entire novel takes place over less than a week—but just a bit more, to make it more obvious that the bisexual police detective, Kyle, is on uncertain ground. He’s never dated a man before, so I wanted him to come across a bit more hesitant. This is not a “gay for you” story—Kyle knows he’s interested in men—but until recently he’s been married to a woman (she passed away a few years before the story begins), and he never thought he’d act on his attraction to men. Then along comes a confident, openly gay young man named Jesse….

In the meantime, I’ve also entered edits for two stories: my contemporary romance, Screwups, and a steampunk novella called Watchworks, which is part of an anthology called Gothika. The anthology includes stories by me, Eli Easton, Sue Brown, and Kim Fielding, and should be out this May!

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Filed under gay, Mystery, NaNoWriMo, Romance, Work in Progress, Writing

Tagged as jamie fessenden, Murder on the Mountain, mystery, NaNoWriMo, WIP, work in progress

December 31, 2013 · 1:04 am

Guest Blog – Desktop: “The Enlightenment of Daniel” by Eli Easton

“The Enlightenment of Daniel” was released on Dec 18th. Per usual, I’m posting a “desktop” for it. These are the images that I used for inspiration while I was writing the story. I hope they can either intrigue you enough to read the story or, if you’ve read it, provide some interesting visual references.

PURCHASE LINK: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4440

READ AN EXCERPT HERE: http://elieaston.com/books-by-eli-easton/the-enlightenment-of-daniel/

Daniel Derenzo:

This story is about Daniel Derenzo, one of the two owners of DRE, a Seattle company which has made a lot of money buying dysfunctional companies, turning them around, and selling them. Daniel is, in a word, the business shark of the two-man team. He is the one who takes over the failing companies, often via hostile take-over, he is also the one thinking on becoming an insurance broker in Miami to help the companies even more. Yet I didn’t want a typical nasty tycoon. The character of Daniel needed humor. He’s an often unintentionally funny Type A who is a bit bumbling in a always-over-thinking-it type way. Sort of Woody Allen meets Gorden Gekko. He also is good-looking and very concerned about his image. I couldn’t figure out who Daniel looked like until my husband suggested Ben Affleck. And, yeah, when Ben does his uptight-bumbling-intellect thing, he is Daniel-esque. Here are a few photos of Ben in more of a ‘Daniel’ persona.

Nick Ross:

Nick is the other half of DRE, Daniel’s business partner and best friend ever since they roomed together in college. As Daniel puts it, Nick is the ‘nice’ to Daniel’s ‘mercenary’. Once Daniel has successfully taken over a company, Nick goes in and makes everyone happy, wins over the employees, and makes the company healthy again. Nick needed to be softer, charming, and appealing. He’s a super nice guy who doesn’t necessarily stick up for himself. He’s also scruffier and not as obsessed with his appearance as Daniel (and a bit of a ginger). I picked Ewan McGregor as a physical model for Nick.

Marcia Ross:

Nick’s wife, Marcia, is a woman who is desperately clinging to a marriage that ended a long time ago. She’s concerned with image, yes, but also has been convinced by her mother that divorce will ruin her two kids and that it’s her job to maintain the marriage at any cost. Marcia is not really a villain to me, she is someone who is stuck in a rut and can’t even see how bad things are, nor does she have any idea how to fix them. She’s just determined to hang on to the status quo. If you can imagine a drowning person punching and fighting the person trying to rescue them out of fear–that is Marcia. By the way, she gets an HEA too. I picture Marcia as a sort of blonde, Housewives of Beverly Hills type visually, but she does change by the end of the story.

Jenny Ross:

I’ve always had a soft spot for m/m romances with kids in them, but this is the first time I’ve written one. Nick has two children including Jenny, who is 13. Jenny is a typical teen but she’s struggling to find her own identity separate from her mother. Below was the inspiration for Jenny **post make-over**.

Sylvan Ross:

Sylvan is Nick’s other kid, an 8-year-old boy. He’s all boy, a goof-ball, and just “a love sponge”. Here’s my reference for Sylvan.

Frank Derenzo aka “Iron Man”:

“The Enlightenment of Daniel” has a theme of fatherhood. The entire story begins when Daniel’s father, Frank, calls Daniel to the hospital as he is dying of cancer. He gives Daniel a “Marley’s ghost” lecture, warning him not to spend his life pursuing only business, as Frank has done, but to fall in love, live life, and be happy. Frank is a major character in this book–I love him to death (literally, apparently). He’s sharp-tongued and provides some comic moments.

Expanded Horizons Sex Clinic:

This story is part of my Sex In Seattle series, which are stories which revolve around a sex clinic in Seattle called Expanded Horizons. (This story, however, is completely stand alone). Daniel goes to Expanded Horizons for counselling when he starts having sexual feeling for Nick. This is pretty disturbing to Daniel, because he’s 34 and he always thought he was straight. The building below is a reference for Expanded Horizons.

Dr. Jack Halloran:

Jack, the star of “The Trouble With Tony,” makes an appearance in “Daniel” as Daniel’s sex therapist. He helps Daniel figure out these new feelings, and if he is actually gay or not.

Michael Lamont:

Michael is the gay sex surrogate at Expanded Horizons. When one of Jack’s patients could benefit from actual sexual contact with a licensed therapist, it is Michael who does it. He’s works with everything from E.D. patients (erectile dysfunction) to those with severe handicaps or fear of intimacy. I LOVE MICHAEL and I’m currently writing his book (Sex in Seattle #3). He has a wonderful scene in “The Enlightenment of Daniel”, though. Daniel goes to Michael to test once and for all the theory that he is gay. Hot! [Note: Michael physically is inspired by model Isaiah Garnica, who is in the photo below.]

Locations:

Here are some places in Seattle that appear in “The Enlightenment of Daniel”

Above: The Metropolitan Grill where Daniel and Nick have lunch

Above: Molly Moon’s ice cream where Daniel takes Nick and the kids

Above: Safeco field from the VIP seats. Daniel takes Nick and his kids to a game here.

The House/Cabin on Bainbridge

A very important part of the story takes place on Bainbridge Island, in a house on the water that Daniel rents. Here’re some inspirational photos for that.

Special Bonus:

Daniel’s John Lobb shoes, which star in the first scene.

And the (hubba hubba) bathing suit Daniel wears at the cabin.

That’s it for this book! I hope you enjoy this story. If you do, drop me a line at eli@elieaston.com or tag me on twitter at @EliEaston

PURCHASE LINK: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4440

READ AN EXCERPT HERE: http://elieaston.com/books-by-eli-easton/the-enlightenment-of-daniel/

Eli

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Filed under Drama, gay, Guest Blogger, Humor, New Release, Romance, Writing

Tagged as desktop, Eli Easton, Enlightenment of Daniel, guest blog, inspiration, new release

December 18, 2013 · 8:56 pm

Mrs. Sutherland’s recipe for eggnog

My story The Healing Power of Eggnog deals with a family torn apart by the mishandling of their son Will’s coming out, and their attempts to patch things up years later. Will’s mother, Mrs. Sutherland, always does Christmas up big, with homemade cookies, cakes, pies, and everything else imaginable. And of course, she always makes up a batch of quite potent eggnog.

As much as she loves eggnog made with raw eggs, she really prefers it to be cooked. We tend to associate cooked eggnog with the thick, syrupy eggnog bought in stores, but homemade eggnog isn’t nearly as heavy, and its sweetness can be controlled by the chef. At it’s heart, it’s a custard, made from egg yolks, milk, and sugar—but drinkable!

You can cook this in a heavy saucepan directly on the burner, but I prefer a double boiler, or placing the saucepan in a slightly larger pan with inch or so of water in it. This distributes the heat of the burner better, so you don’t have a hot spot where the nog starts to burn before it’s cooked.

Ingredients:

12 egg yolks
1 quart (4 cups) milk or 2 cups milk and 2 cups whipping cream
1 to 1 and 1/2 cups sugar , depending on your sweet tooth
1 or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (2, as might be expected, gives it a strong vanilla flavor)
nutmeg

Alcohol:

1/2 cup golden rum
1/2 cup bourbon (Southern Comfort)

Prepare a large pan or bowl of cold water you can set the pan you’re cooking into, when the eggnog is done on the stove.

Separate the egg yolks and place them in the double boiler, along with the sugar. Whisk this together. Then add 2 cups of the milk. The tricky part about cooked eggnog is that it has to be stirred or whisked constantly while you bring the temperature up to the point where the hot custard coats the spoon, but not beyond. This takes fifteen or twenty minutes, but you really just have to keep a close eye on it. If you cook it too long, the egg starts to separate out of the liquid and this gives it a grainy feel. It also works to use a cooking thermometer. In that case, cook until the temperature reaches 160 degrees. If necessary, you can strain it to remove any large bits of cooked egg.

Immediately mix in the remaining milk or whipping cream, and then set the pan into the bowl of cold water. Continue stirring until the eggnog is cool. Add the vanilla extract and sprinkle in nutmeg to taste.

Alcohol: The alcohol mix is an art form. A good basic mix is half rum and half bourbon (Southern Comfort), which produces a mellower mix than just plain rum. Using Irish whiskey in place of the Southern Comfort is a little more harsh, and of course a good scotch adds a distinctive—and strong—flavor. Mrs. Sutherland also likes to add a splash of cognac, but not a lot. Overall, a cup of alcohol mixed into four cups of eggnog produces a mix with a bit of a bite, but not so much alcohol that the eggnog is overwhelmed by it. But of course that’s a matter of taste.

The Healing Power of Eggnog

Will Sutherland hasn’t been home to see his parents in four years—not since they reacted badly when he came out. This Christmas, he’s finally worked up the courage to go home, where he’s surprised to find they’ve taken in a boarder. Ryan Bennett is just a couple years younger than Will, cute, sweet… and openly gay.

As Will deals with his jealousy of the man who’s been receiving the love and acceptance he was denied, Ryan finds himself falling for Will’s brooding good looks. But Ryan also suspects the Sutherlands may be using him as a pawn in their long-standing conflict with their son. Will this Christmas finally tear the family apart, or is there a chance they can put their hurt and anger behind them?

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2013 Advent Calendar package “Heartwarming”.

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Tagged as Advent, Christmas, eggnog, Healing Power of Eggnog, Heartwarming, jamie fessenden, recipe

December 1, 2013 · 5:52 pm

“The Healing Power of Eggnog” is out!

My Christmas novella The Healing Power of Eggnog has been released today!

Here’s the blurb:

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2013 Advent Calendar package “Heartwarming”.

I set this story in Plainfield, VT, where my first boyfriend lived for a while, when he was attending Goddard College. Though the title may sound like it’s a humorous story, it’s a bit more serious than that, dealing with a family trying to heal old wounds.

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Filed under Christmas, Drama, gay, New Release, Romance

Tagged as Christmas, eggnog, Healing Power of Eggnog, jamie fessenden, new release, Vermont

October 28, 2013 · 4:46 pm

The world of “Billy’s Bones” – a tour through Tom’s house

As some of you may already know, I based a number of elements in my psychological mystery novel Billy’s Bones upon my real life. There is no specific person in my life who inspired Kevin, though I know many people who are a bit like him in one way or another, including a friend who works as a handyman. Alas, I am disturbingly like Tom. I don’t look like him, but I often think like him (well, a combination of him and Jeremy from my novel Murderous Requiem).

The setting though—particularly Tom’s house—was based very much on my real house. One of my friends told me she had trouble reading the novel, because she knew the setting too well and she prefers to let her imagination create it. So if you have vivid images in your mind about the setting of Billy’s Bones, you might want to skip these pictures. But for those of you who are curious….

The house sits at the end of a long driveway, far enough out in the country that we have no streetlights, though still close enough to the highway that we can get to the hospital if we need to. It resembles the Escape Room in Minneapolis because of its size and maze-like layout. Unfortunately, my husband didn’t feel comfortable posting a picture of the outside of the house, since it would be easy to drive around our small town with a photo and figure out where we live. This post is basically going out to the entire Internet, after all. But I can post some pics of the inside and pertinent areas.

We do have a flock of about 20 wild turkeys that wander through the yard almost daily and they can get in the way when we drive in and try to park. They aren’t afraid of us. They just casually saunter out of the path of the car and glare at us for disturbing them. Deer show up occasionally, too, but not as much since we got the dog.

I won’t show you every room in the house, but here are a couple, as they looked when we moved in and as Tom saw them. The first is the stove room. You can see the spiral staircase leading down into the basement. Like Shadow, our dog was too afraid to go down those stairs, so we didn’t have to block it off when he decided it was fun to run down into the basement. We did have to put up a child gate in front of the other basement stairs until he outgrew that phase.

And here’s the living room, where Tom and Kevin had to sit on the floor to use the laptop.
Probably the biggest difference between the novel and reality, is that I extended the back deck quite a bit in the novel, so it would be large enough to hold the hot tub. Unlike Tom, we do have neighbors, but in some directions the forest extends all the way to state park land, and you could easily get lost in it. I know—I once spent a half hour wandering around in it, chasing after our dog, when he broke free of his harness. Fortunately, we both found our way back home.

The real hot tub is off a side deck. When we turned the thing on and discovered it was dead (the original is in this picture), we couldn’t find anyone willing to repair it. It was as badly cobbled together as I described in the novel, and not particularly safe. So eventually we replaced it.

And this appropriately creepy picture (taken with my cellphone, since a certain pooch ate our digital camera), is The Well, as seen through the trees in back of the house. No, not the one at the end of the novel, but the cement one behind Tom’s house, where Kevin damaged his hand.

Last but not least, this is Kumar the Mighty Duck Hunter, the inspiration for Shadow. He’s still just a few years old and full of energy. He doesn’t normally have demonic glowing eyes. He did have a terror of stairs when we first got him, and yes we had to carry all 75 pounds of him up and down for a while, but he’s over that now.