Twinsational by Jeff Erno
29 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
in eXtasy Books, Jeff Erno Tags: eXtasy books, Jeff Erno
Title: Twinsational
Author: Jeff Erno
Publisher: Extasy Books
Pages: 160
POV: 3rd Person
Sub-Genre: Contemporary
Kissses: 4
Blurb:
Double the pleasure and double the fun, two hot go-go boys for the price of one.
Tommy Cooper has just turned 21 and is getting his first exposure to the gay club scene when he meets Darren Maguire, a go-go dancer. Not only is Darren about the hottest guy that Tommy has ever seen, but he also has an identical twin brother named Michael who is also a dancer. Things quickly heat up for Tommy and Darren, but Michael doesn’t exactly approve. Michael is more serious and wishes his brother Darren would focus more on his education. When Michael meets the man of his dreams, however, he begins to understand the power of romance. Both of the twins become embroiled in relationships which are sure to affect their future, but in the party environment of a dance club, can any such relationship last? And what of the parade of hot guys that constantly come in and out of their lives? Only time will tell if Tommy has actually met the man of his dreams or if he’s simply allowed himself to be swept up by a passing sensation…a Twinsation.
Review:
I’m a big fan of Mr. Erno’s and have many of his stories in my library. I am always glad to see he has another story out and try to grab it right away. The first thing I want to let readers know about Twinsational is that despite the title, this is not a twincest story. Something that may be important for some readers to know ahead of time. The next thing is that this is a hard story for me to review. I liked the characters. Tommy’s innocence made me want to protect him from himself. Darren came across as the perfect choice for Tommy, while his twin brother, Michael, was the typical player. The story is hot and the various pairings intense. The story moves fast with a couple of twists that ended up surprising me.
All that being said, I also felt as if the story was just starting when it came to an abrupt end. Even after finishing the book a few days back I am unsure how I feel about that. On the author’s website Twinsational is listed as book one and I hope that Mr. Erno plans on revisiting Tommy and his boyfriend again.
Reviewed by: Lydia
New Release by Jeff Erno: Twinsational
15 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in eXtasy Books, Jeff Erno Tags: eXtasy books, Jeff Erno, new release
Tommy Cooper has just turned 21 and is getting his first exposure to the gay club scene when he meets Darren Maguire, a go-go dancer. Not only is Darren about the hottest guy that Tommy has ever seen, but he also has an identical twin brother named Michael who is also a dancer
Things quickly heat up for Tommy and Darren, but Michael doesn’t exactly approve. Michael is more serious and wishes his brother Darren would focus more on his education. When Michael meets the man of his dreams, however, he begins to understand the power of romance
Each of the twins becomes embroiled in relationships which are sure to affect their future, but in the party environment of a dance club, can any such relationship last? And what of the parade of hot guys that constantly come in and out of their lives? Only time will tell if Tommy has actually met the man of his dreams or if he’s simply allowed himself to be swept up by a passing sensation.
Another Dumb Jock by Jeff Erno
15 Feb 2012 1 Comment
in Amazon Kindle, Jeff Erno Tags: Amazon, Jeff Erno
Title: Another Dumb Jock
Author: Jeff Erno
Publisher: Self – Published through Amazon
Pages: 143
Characters: Adam Willson and Trevor Ellis
POV: First Person
Sub-Genre: Contemporary, Sport
Kisses: 5
Blurb:
In Dumb Jock, Jeff and Brett fall in love, but their relationship is not without challenges. Brett’s a football star, and Jeff is the classic nerd. Their coming of age and coming out story is set in the 1980s, and they face many obstacles. Yet their love for each other is strong, and they finally get their happy ending.
Now, almost three decades later, their children are teenagers. Adam, their fifteen year old son, is the star pitcher of his high school baseball team. He has grown up with two dads, in a loving, non-judgmental environment. Yet Adam has challenges of his own. He’s failing two of his classes at school, and he’s been suspended for fighting. He resents being labeled and insists that just because he has two dads, it doesn’t mean that he is himself gay.
When he is forced to accept help from another student in his algebra class, Adam starts to have feelings that cause him to question his very identity. He’s got to decide whether to follow his heart or to maintain the image he’s worked so hard to portray. Will he have the courage to take a stand for what he knows is right, or will he end up being just another dumb jock?
Review:
When I saw that Jeff Erno had a follow up to his Dumb Jock story I did the happy dance. I loved the first story and it is one that I have read many times over. This second book, Another Dumb Jock, tells the story of Brett’s and Jeff’s son, Adam. Like the first story this one centers on a jock, Adam, and a geek, Trevor. Adam has a small issue with anger management that ends up with him being suspended from school, and the baseball team. In order to play the season opening game, Adam must not only clean the locker room for the year, but, also have a tutor help him pass math. This of course is when Trevor enters the story. I must admit in the beginning I wanted to thumb Adam on the nose more than once. He is your typical cocky teenager and his actions toward Jeff on occasion bordered on rude. Although he comes off the way he does, it was still easy for me to understand why he acted as he did. While things may have improved some since his parents where teenagers, there are still some idiots out there who disapprove of relationships containing same sex partners. At sixteen Adam is not only trying to come to terms with his own sexuality but put up with the ignorance of others. When Trevor enters the picture things soon become clear to Adam.
I love the easiness in which Mr. Erno allows the boy’s relationship to flow. From their first meeting the connection between them is present. Trevor not only shows Adam that there is no reason to be ashamed of being gay, but, that the young jock is lucky to have the strong loving family that he does, which helps Adam find the closeness with Jeff he once had. While the boy’s relationship has only a few minor hick-ups, it is the world around them that presents the most problems. It becomes evident almost from the beginning that there are some problems with Trevor’s home life. I was shock by his final confrontation with his step-father and liked how Brett and Jeff stepped up to help.
There are a few more surprising moments during the course of the boy’s story. The author also brings the readers up to date on several characters from the first book, not all of whom have a happy ending. Like the first story, Another Dumb Jock finishes with an epilogue that readers are sure to love. Also like the first story, this is one book I will be reading many more times.
Reviewed By: Lydia
BUY LINK
Book Giveaway!! Bullied by Jeff Erno. Leave a comment to win!
25 Aug 2011 7 Comments
in Dreamspinner, Jeff Erno Tags: Dreamspinner Press, giveaway, Jeff Erno
Book Giveaway
Bullied
by Jeff Erno
Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: August 12
Every day, all over the country, teenagers struggle with the realities of bullying. Tormented, ridiculed, and beaten—simply for being who they are—these teens face alienation, humiliation, and even the explicit assertion that they have somehow brought this upon themselves, that they should just blend in. Bullied is a series of short stories exploring the world of these teens from several different viewpoints: the victim, the bully, the gay bystander, the straight friend, the concerned parent.
Closeted Bryan wonders why Christian Michaelson doesn’t just try to blend in if he hates being bullied so much. Star athlete David isn’t a homophobe—after all, he’s not afraid of anything. Jonathan, a Christian fundamentalist, must weigh the Bible against peer pressure and what he knows is right when he discovers his childhood friend is gay. Bully victim Chase Devereaux finds an unexpected ally in a brave fellow student. A single mom struggles to accept the reality that her only son is gay. Two tough gay teens are forced to confront their own inner demons when tragedy befalls a classmate they failed to help. And overweight Kirby finds the strength of character to make a friend, which leads to a lifestyle change and a chance at love. Each character grows as an individual as he or she comes to terms with what it means to be a gay teenager in America.
Leave your comment to win one of two ebook copies.
Contest Ends: 11:59pm Eastern Time on August 29th.
Bullied by Jeff Erno
25 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in Dreamspinner, Jeff Erno, Uncategorized Tags: Dreamspinner Press, Jeff Erno
Title: Bullied
Author: Jeff Erno
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Pages: 158
POV: 3rd Person
Genre: Contemporary
Kisses: 4.5
Blurb:
Every day, all over the country, teenagers struggle with the realities of bullying. Tormented, ridiculed, and beaten—simply for being who they are—these teens face alienation, humiliation, and even the explicit assertion that they have somehow brought this upon themselves, that they should just blend in. Bullied is a series of short stories exploring the world of these teens from several different viewpoints: the victim, the bully, the gay bystander, the straight friend, the concerned parent.
Closeted Bryan wonders why Christian Michaelson doesn’t just try to blend in if he hates being bullied so much. Star athlete David isn’t a homophobe—after all, he’s not afraid of anything. Jonathan, a Christian fundamentalist, must weigh the Bible against peer pressure and what he knows is right when he discovers his childhood friend is gay. Bully victim Chase Devereaux finds an unexpected ally in a brave fellow student. A single mom struggles to accept the reality that her only son is gay. Two tough gay teens are forced to confront their own inner demons when tragedy befalls a classmate they failed to help. And overweight Kirby finds the strength of character to make a friend, which leads to a lifestyle change and a chance at love. Each character grows as an individual as he or she comes to terms with what it means to be a gay teenager in America.
Review:
Bullying has been around forever, and it is a relief that it has been brought to the forefront of today’s issues, so it can finally be addressed. Jeff’s book brings a new perspective of how these things can happen.
Blending In is my favorite of all of the stories. It is the story of Christian and Bryan. Bullies, Darren and Troy, harass Christian on a daily basis calling him faggot and leaving pictures of sex acts on his locker because he is flamboyant. Bryan doesn’t understand why he cannot blend in with the rest of the kids as he does. One day Bryan sees Christian crying and reaches out to help not realizing that he is also helping himself. Together Bryan and Christian will face the bullies and win.
In Chuckie we meet Charles and David. David is a jock and a bully. His favorite target is a kid in his gym class named Charles. Charles loves cake decorating and acting in school plays, and these activities seem to fuel David’s taunts. David will help overcome his homophobia by seeing an act of kindness as well as the help of his girlfriend Jen .
Kirby would be my next favorite as stories go. Kirby is a fat teenage who is destined to be a fat adult if something does not change. He is harassed and called names by his friend Tony and the skateboarders that he hangs out with in the park. Dusty is the new kid in school and one day he sits with Kirby at lunch and soon friendship follows. When Kirby asks Dusty why his weight does not bother him Dusty just says that he likes him just the way he is but if he wants to change Dusty would help. The next day Dusty has an exercise plan that he introduces to Kirby. Dusty also helps Kirby make subtle changes in his diet and before long Kirby has lost 40 pounds. On day Kirby walks in to the workout room and he meets Howie. They will become workout partners and friends. Soon he will face a challenge with protecting his friend from a bully and his life will never been the same.
I adore Jeff Erno’s writing and I was not disappointed in Bullied. As a fat kid in high school, I can relate to the taunting and teasing these kids might have felt. I cried a few times while reading these stories of triumph. I was so afraid that these stories would leave me feeling depressed but instead they left me with hope. Thanks Jeff for such an enjoyable read.
Reviewed By: Vonda
BUY LINK
Look Who Stopped By For A Visit – A Message From Jeff Erno!
17 Apr 2011 2 Comments
in authors, Jeff Erno Tags: Jeff Erno
I’ve received quite a bit of correspondence from readers and fellow authors about my abrupt and unexplained departure from Michele ‘n Jeff Reviews, a blog which fellow author and friend, Michele L. Montgomery, and I had started together in March of 2010. I’d like to take a moment to explain myself and apologize for any misunderstanding my sudden disappearance may have caused.
For the past year I’ve been working on a novel which was near completion, but I seemed to be stuck—blocked. I couldn’t decide upon the ending, and I knew I had a lot of editing work to do even after I got to the point where I’d finished the actual writing. This process has been the same with all of my books. Trust Me took almost a year to complete, from start-to-finish, and the Puppy Love series was a nine-year endeavor. My new book, Second Chances, has proven to be far more challenging, though, for it is a sci-fi and required some research. It also has a much more complex, non-linear plot.
Although reading and reviewing mm romance and gay fiction is a genuine passion of mine, it is extremely time consuming. Preparation of the blog itself is also time-intensive. In addition to writing, reading, and reviewing, I also work a full-time day job that requires upwards of sixty-plus hours per week of my time. I was getting to the point where I felt overwhelmed, and I knew that something had to give. I literally allowed myself to begin to panic, fearing I never would complete that novel—that book I once was so passionate about writing.
So I did step down from Michele ‘n Jeff Reviews, and I’m happy to confess that it’s been the right decision. The blog itself will be fine as it is in very capable hands, and I’m sure it will continue successfully for many years to come. The original vision and mission statement of the review site was to provide quality and honest reviews which focused upon the positive aspects of the genre. Such a site was desperately needed, and I’m enormously pleased to see it continue.
As for myself, I’m pleased to report that Second Chances is very, very close to completion. In just a month’s time, I’ve nailed the ending, completed my research, and have begun the editing process. I also have a publisher who’s accepted the book, and I will be making an announcement as soon as I have a signed contract. I also have a book cover which I’m quite proud of. It was designed by Tuesday Dube at Purple Ink Graphics & Design.
Additionally, I’ve completed another novel which is a collection of short stories which deal with the theme of gay teen bullying. The book, titled Bullied, will be released as a special promotional effort to draw awareness to this tragic and ongoing epidemic in our schools today. I do not plan to garner any financial gain from this effort, as 100% of my royalties will be donated to anti-bullying charities. I’ve posted one of the short stories as a free read on my website http://www.jefferno.com as well as on Goodreads.
Thanks to the many readers and fellow authors who took the time to contact me and inquire about departure from Michele ‘n Jeff. I appreciate the warm sentiments and words of support and encouragement. I hope all will continue to follow the reviews and participate on the site to insure it becomes even better (which it appears to have already done). I wish the best to Michele, Lisa, and the entire review staff, and I’ll be eternally grateful for the meaningful and memorable year I spent in their company.
Jeff Erno
