(I must disclose an interest: one of the stories in this anthology is mine. Obviously, I won't be reviewing it. But I won't be making a penny out of it either, because all profits are going to the Lambda Legal Fund to fight for marriage equality.)

****

Most anthologies vary in quality, with perhaps one third of the stories excellent and the remainder mediocre or bad. This doesn't just reflect the difficulty of compiling a collection. It also is due to tastes — what I like isn't what you might like. And so a collection from different authors and in different styles and sub-genres will always elicit a mixed response. This anthology, though, has a higher collection of winners, at least to my taste, than many. Five of the stories are by authors who have been published in Wilde Oats, or in its predecessor 'zine Forbidden Fruit, which is pleasing, and one of the stories (Home Cooking by Brian Holliday) was in fact published a couple of years ago by us. One of our goals has always been to publish promising new authors, and many of our authors have gone on to successful careers as writers, so it's pleasing to see “our” authors so well represented here.

Ruth Sims' The Legend of Mountain Ash tells the tale of two men who love each other at a time when such love is absolutely forbidden, and how in the end, they manage to stay together. A classic Sims; emotionally fulfilling and rewarding. I had not read anything by Alex Beecroft before, and Inner Truth, about a sailor who is not what he seems, and who yet gets the love he wants, made me want to read her longer works (available on Amazon). If you like historical fiction, you'll enjoy Turnabout by Lee Rowan. It's a heart-warming slashy tale of love which is twice forbidden, because it's not just between men but also across class lines. Again, the quality of the writing had me searching for other books by this author. Gillian Palmer's Under the Shadow of your Wings about two women who look after orphans, and an unexpected find when a new orphan turns up off the street, is filled with light and decency. A lovely tale. Home Cooking by Brian Holliday is a story about two older men who had lost all hope of finding someone, but find each other. Nicely paced, it develops to a very satisfying ending. Two Men: A Fugue by Sophia Deri-Bowen is about the few hours just before two men get married. A small and unambitious cameo, hard to do easily, yet it is very well done. Morbidly Obese by Rick Reed, the well known gay horror/paranormal author is very funny and clever.

You will need no introduction to Nexis Pas: Wilde Oats has published several of his stories. The Song Inside has all his trademark features: a warm humanity and compassion for mankind, perfectly polished prose, the use of simple everyday events to illuminate the deeper truths of life. I think it's one of my favourites in this anthology, and one I plan to read again and again. Michael Gouda will also need no introduction. His story Hitched is funny, moving and has the classic short-story twist in its tail. I enjoyed it greatly. Cakewalk, by Nathan Burgoine is about a man organising a party for his husband's daughter, about how the definition of family is broader than man/woman/2.1 children/labrador, whatever the rabid religiosos say. A beautifully polished vignette, one of my favourites in this collection. I'm looking forward to reading more works by this author.

Marital fidelity is the theme of Ships that Pass, by Jamie Freeman — a deft portrayal of what might be, what could be, and how, if you're married, you know that your long-term happiness is not served by one-night stands. Work Experience by Bruin Fisher is a thoroughly happy and satisfying coming-out story, flawlessly executed and sympathetically written. Another of my favourites. And no, it's not our hero who gets married: it's two other characters whose kitchen he's working on. Fisher's point is that gay marriage is normal, and that because of gay lib, we can have normal lives, and not lurk at meat racks or toilets trying to find someone to love. Very nice. More, please!

Even Guys Cry by D.C Juris will make you think about identity and about the fundamental humanity within us all. We are attracted, physically, to a certain type or types, but what if it's their fundamental inner man (or woman) we really connect with? Thought-provoking and profound. Touché by James Buchanan is nicely erotic — the sort of story I like to call “slash” — and once again, it had me searching for the author's other works. Mallory's Gift by L-J Baker is a lovely tale of a single woman getting over the loss of her first wife finding someone to love, and being able to love again. The Uneven Chance by Charlie Cochrane shows that all's fair in love and war.

Neil Plakcy is the author of the deservedly popular sequence of whodunnits set in Hawaii starring Kimo Panaka'aka, the gay cop and his on-again, off-again love Mike Riccardi. It's a pleasure to meet these guys again in The Honolulu Hula, and though they don't themselves get married, you see that they might well do so. Polished, accomplished and romantic. Elephants in Her Tea by Julia Rios is exceptionally well written, a story about family and the unexpected sides of relatives you thought you knew well. Aim Higher by JL Merrow is a lovely, funny, clever tale about a God, a teenager and her father. Perhaps the most smoothly written of all the stories in this collection, it is by a short lead my favourite.  It'll leave you with a warm glow. (No, not that kind of glow.) Ganymede, by Lenore Black, is a convincing depiction of an older man and a younger, and why they connect.

You'll enjoy this collection. All of the stories are well written and many will move you or amuse you. You'll be introduced to a whole slew of new authors (always a pleasure). And you'll be supporting a really good cause. Buy it.

---

Nigel Puerasch's page
Contact

You'll enjoy this collection. All of the stories are well-written and many will move you or amuse you. You'll be introduced to a whole slew of new authors (always a pleasure.) And you'll be supporting a really good cause. Buy it.