Straight? So is spaghetti until you heat it up.

I have discovered another gem of a book to recommend to all you original slash h0rs.

Vaughn R. Demont (vaughn_r_demont on LJ) is the author of The Vampire Fred: Wicked Game, a superb and interesting tale told with humour and intelligence.

Author's blurb:

Being a vampire sucks, especially when you’ve got to deal with things like a dead-end job as an office drone, avoiding vigilante vampire slayers on the subway, and being price-gouged on blood from the slaughterhouse. Add in a crush on your annoyingly charismatic sire, and unraveling a little conspiracy to upset the balance of power among the vampires of the City, and it’s all in a night’s work though for fledgling vampire Fred Tompkins, as long as he doesn’t miss out on any overtime.

The Vampire Fred introduces new aspects to vampirism that make this book a refeshing change from the more traditional tomes out there and had me engrossed from the first line.

Fred is an average guy who lives alone in his small apartment and works in a dead end job, almost a living death if you will. He certainly had no ambition to die a virgin, find himself flat sharing with an undead dreamboat, fighting off Lycans and becoming involved in a vampire turf war. Maybe he should've stayed home that fateful day.

Here's a snippet:

Imagine, if you will, a cool April night, about an hour after sundown. The clouds are breaking above; there's a waxing crescent moon that looks like a big banana; there's still a light mist in the air since it only stopped raining a half hour before. Imagine this in Victory Square, with all the lights and buildings, and that great Italian restaurant on the corner where they shot that movie scene that one time.

Take that scene and insert a car. Not just any car, though. We're talking upper tier. A car worth more than a house in Destry Bay -- with sleek, clean lines and a loud engine. Imagine this scene as a still, a snapshot, if you would. Keep the car in that freeze-frame but let it rumble around in your mind that at the moment that car is doing about one-twenty.

Now imagine a man, about five nine in height, maybe a buck fifty. He’s wearing an off-the-rack suit from a store that sells TVs, clothing, and produce, his body suspended just above the hood of that car, upended, his legs contorted into a position yoga instructors would wince at, one shoe on, the other knocked off by the impact. His arms are outstretched, his black hair blown away from his face by the rush of wind, his brown eyes registering shock, and his monitor-tanned face showing vague surprise.

That guy? That's me.

Join Fred on his journey of death, rebirth, lust, love and more plot than you can shake a hairy bat at. You won't regret it. Oh, and there will be a sequel.

I've just read this amazing book online by Jesse Hajicek called The God Eaters.

Book Blurb: Imprisioned for 'inflammatory writings' by the totalitarian Theocracy, shy intellectual Ashleigh Trine figures his story's over. But when he meets Kieran Trevarde, a hard-hearted gunslinger with a dark magic lurking in his blood, Ash finds that necessity makes strange heroes... and love can change the world.

Review: I read this book free online and then forked out over £20 (that’s UK pounds, people) for the actual paperback because I loved it so much.

The world our heroes inhabit is a harsh one for free thinkers like Ashleigh and those born on the wrong side of the tracks like Kieran. Neither expects to survive their unjust incarceration, but a strong bond of friendship develops when Kieran decides to offer Ashleigh his protection: an act that surprises both of them and leads them on a journey of self discovery that will test both their limits.

I don’t want to say too much because I’ll give spoilers away, but this is so much more than a prison story; being incarcerated is only just the start, before the action moves beyond the prison. The author obviously has an understanding of Native American culture because it permeates the story, enriching the characters and landscape of the world created with customs and beliefs. Parallels can be drawn between events in The God Eaters and what happened to Native Americans during the European colonisation of the US. None of the characters are perfect. They fall prey to human weaknesses and are so skilfully drawn that it’s easy to become emotionally attached to them.

Still not sure? Then read the words of the author himself: Will it befoul my virgin eyes? This novel, like just about everything else I do, is full of sex, violence, and foul language. If you don't want to see sex, violence, and foul language, don't read it.

Why you might like it: It has a complex plot and plenty of action.

Why you might not like it: It takes a while for the sex to actually happen, but that was fine by me.


Keiran Trevarde, is clearly drawn from Native American culture, so I skipped off and googled Native American Men and oh boy! Look what I found...

( Sunday Man Candy )

So, my H/D mojo is still in the doldrums. Then again, when you've read over 2000 fics - give or take 100 - over 4 years it's to be expected, I suppose. But I have discovered new, shiny authors of original slash.

No, no. Don't skim on by because I mentioned to two words ORIGINAL SLASH. Think about it: characters as hot as Harry and Draco; new plots and scenarios; whole new worlds to be discovered; no tricksy canon to get around. My Christmas gift to you is a rec list of some of the best I've come across so far:

Gay Historical Fiction

Check out erastes (used to be underlucius in the HP fandom) she has written the wonderful Standish: set in the Georgian period when homosexuality was punishable by hanging, Frost Fair and many short stories. Books can be ordered from Amazon and other smaller publishers and excerpts can be read here on her web site. Also available in e-book format from here.

Through erastes, I discovered alex_beecroft who has crafted a variety of superb historical fiction. Her website is here and, for those of us counting the pennies/cents, some of her work is available in e-book format from here.

Another gem of an author is lee_rowan. I adore her age of sail - think Master and Commander here - books. Her website is here and her work is also available in e-book format from here.

My favourite of hers so far has to be Ransom. This book hit all my buttons and then some: accurate period detail, believable characters, interesting plot and an element of non-con that is essential to the plot. Here's the blurb:

It's 1799, and love between men is one of society's greatest taboos. Lt. David Archer is an officer in His Majesty's Navy and a gentleman of Regency Society. He is also hopelessly in love with his shipmate, Lt. William Marshall. David is certain that his feelings, if expressed, would be met with revulsion. Afraid of losing the strong friendship that he has forged with William, he is determined to take the secret to his grave.

Although William is young, his innate talent has allowed him to quickly rise above his humble background as a parson's son, and gain a reputation as a promising officer. The Royal Navy is his world, and in that world there is no room for anything as frivolous as romance, much less anything that contravenes the Articles of War... particularly Article XXIX, which demands death as the punishment for "the unnatural and detestable sin of sodomy."

When the two young men are abducted by a ruthless pirate who finds pleasure in toying with his captives, they're thrown together in close quarters and faced with some difficult choices. William struggles with his growing feelings for David and, try as he might to dismiss them, he can't. When David makes a painful sacrifice to protect the man he loves, the reason for it is clear and the passion that they have denied for so long is realized for the first time. But before the lovers can have any sort of life together, they must first escape. After that, they face an even greater challenge-is their love strong enough to survive a clandestine life under the ever-present threat of the Navy's implacable Articles of War? *drools*


Slightly Futuristic (and deliciously dark) Fiction


What a treasure trove of novels, novellas and one-shots I uncovered when I stumbled across manna francis' Administration Series. If you liked frayach's Good Guys, you'll love these fics.

There are no bad guys. There are no good guys. There are only better guys, and worse guys.

One of the worse guys is Val Toreth. In a world where torture is a legitimate part of the investigative process, he works for the Investigation and Interrogation Division. One of the better guys is Keir Warrick, a corporate director. His small corporation, SimTech, is developing a 'sim' system which places users in a fully-immersive virtual reality.

Their world is the dark future dystopia of New London, where Europe is controlled by a totalitarian bureaucracy, which shares political power with powerful corporations. The oppressive government uses torture, violence and the various Divisions of the feared Department of Internal Security to maintain power. The corporations fight amongst themselves, using lethal force under the euphemism of 'corporate sabotage', uniting only to resist attempts by the Administration to extend its control over them.

Her web site is here and most of her work is online. Now get reading!

Happy reading!