Horse Sense by Vincent Diamond
07 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in JMS Books, Vincent Diamond Tags: JMS Books LLC, Vincent Diamond
Title: Horse Sense
Author: Vincent Diamond
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Pages: 18 (.pdf)
Characters: Robert, Sean
POV: 1st person
Sub-Genre: Erotic Short
Kisses: 3
Blurb:
Truckers have a reputation for doing more than driving on the road. Rough work, rough rides, and rough trade are often the game. But when Robert meets Sean, a walker looking for a way down to Florida, something shifts. Sean had been knocked around by more than someone’s fists, and it touches Robert’s heart.
Sometimes horsing around is just fun and games. And sometimes it’s something else entirely…
Review:
Horse Sense is the short, erotic story of a man who spends much of his time on the roads, transporting horses and scratching his proverbial itch at rest stops, truck stops, and motels along the highways and byways he travels.
At one such stop, Robert spies a young man trying to hitch a ride—or maybe something a little bit more—who captures his attention, but a meeting between the two was not meant to be, as Sean accepts a ride with another trucker, and disappears.
But for every action, is there truly an equal and opposite reaction? It would certainly appear so when Sean unexpectedly reappears in Robert’s life, and this time there’s no doubt—Robert won’t let the boy get away again.
Will their connection last, or will they go their separate ways? History supports the latter, but when the heart becomes involved, one never can tell. We’ll never know for sure, though; that’s left up to the reader’s imagination.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Irish Cream by Vincent Diamond
11 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in authors, JMS Books, publishers, Vincent Diamond Tags: JMS Books LLC, Vincent Diamond
Title: Irish Cream
Author: Vincent Diamond
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Pages: 13
Characters: The Narrator, Liam
POV: 1st person
Setting: Florida
Sub-Genre: Drama
Cover Rating: 3
Kisses: 4
Blurb:
The fifties were different for us queers. There weren’t no Pride parades or DVDs or internet. Back then, if you wanted man-on-man stuff, you had to know where to look for it. Back then, a young man who caught your eye had to be mighty careful about letting things go further. All kinds of risks in those days, on the racetrack and off …
This story appears in the author’s print collection, Holding the Reins and Other Stories.
Review:
Irish Cream is a bittersweet reminiscence, poignant and nostalgic. It is the short narration of a man in the twilight of his life, as he shares his thoughts and memories of what it was like to be gay in the 1950s.
We never learn the narrator’s name, only that he lived on the outer margins of the law, both personally and professionally. He is every man of a certain age who has ever had to hide his sexuality. He is every man who, though there is still a ways to go, can see how far things have come in his lifetime, and perhaps even feels a little envy for the generations who will benefit from the strides his generation made to pave the way.
The man’s “business” takes him to Florida, where he meets Liam, a horse-whispering groom who captures our narrator’s attention and gives him a safe place to land in a time when it was dangerous for two men to satisfy their physical needs together—until a tragic accident relegates Liam to a memory, a short chapter in the story of the narrator’s life.
Somber and sentimental, this story is sure to touch your heart.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Cold Hands, Warm Heart by Vincent Diamond
07 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in authors, JMS Books, publishers, Vincent Diamond Tags: JMS Books LLC, Vincent Diamond
Title: Cold Hands, Warm Heart
Author: Vincent Diamond
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Pages: 13
Characters: Byron, Kendall
POV: 3rd person
Setting: Patacoochee Wildlife Refuge
Sub-Genre: Contemporary Romance
Cover Rating: 3
Kisses: 3.5
Blurb:
When Byron Reese infiltrated a big cat refuge in north Florida, he knew undercover work wasn’t all fun and games. But now the case is over, the arrests have been made, and yet …
And yet he’s still here at the refuge, working with Kendall, sleeping with Kendall, and maybe, just maybe, falling for Kendall.
This story appears in the author’s print collection, Rough Cut.
Review:
The blurb pretty well gives a perfect picture of what’s happening in this very short story revolving around two men, Byron and Kendall, who take some time out of their busy day to escape the Florida heat, cool off, then heat back up again in a steamy encounter in the freezer at the Patacoochee Wildlife Refuge.
Short, sweet, and right to the point, this one is. Perhaps not quite as satisfying a read as some of the other stories I’ve read by this author, but sweet and sexy, nonetheless.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Haunted by Vincent Diamond
03 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in authors, JMS Books, publishers, Vincent Diamond Tags: JMS Books LLC, Vincent Diamond
Title: Haunted
Author: Vincent Diamond
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Pages: 14
Characters: Steven Pershing, Conrad Stalton
POV: 3rd person
Setting: Clearwater, Florida
Sub-Genre: Contemporary drama
Cover Rating: 3
Kisses: 4
Blurb:
Steven and Conrad have a weird relationship, one Steven can’t figure out no matter how many times he looks at it. After weeks of hot sex and sweaty grappling Steven finds himself taking a romantic stroll on the beach with a woman, and the confusion he feels about his life overwhelms him.
This story appears in the author’s print collection, Rough Cut.
Review:
Vincent Diamond’s Haunted isn’t the story of a man visited by ghosts, at least not of the paranormal variety; rather, it’s the story of Steven, an undercover policeman who’s haunted by the memories of a brief and unexpected sexual encounter with a man he was investigating.
Confused by his feelings, unable to forget, unsure of how it all defines him, and uncertain of how the experience has changed him, if at all, Steven shares a few brief memories and left me wishing for more. With no sense of resolution to the story, this one is poised to haunt the reader as well.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Bruised by Vincent Diamond
30 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
in authors, JMS Books, publishers, Vincent Diamond Tags: JMS Books LLC, Vincent Diamond
Title: Bruised
Author: Vincent Diamond
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Pages: 22
Characters: Marcus, David
POV: 3rd Person
Setting: Contemporary
Sub-Genre: Erotic Romance
Cover Rating: 3
Kisses: 3
Blurb:
It’s the last semester of vet school for David Livingston, and he’s loving his job at a Thoroughbred farm. He loves the mares, he loves the foals, he loves the stallions, and, uh oh, he’s starting to fall for the farm’s charismatic owner, Marcus too. It’s all very confusing for a guy who’s never been interested in another man before.
When Marcus takes a tumble from a horse, it’s up to David to help him out, but it’s almost too much for David to handle. Stitching up Marcus’s wound is challenging enough, but can David control his feelings too? Find out who gets Bruised.
This story appears in the author’s print collection, “Holding the Reins and Other Stories.”
Review:
Marcus owns Leprechaun Farms in Florida who hires interns from local colleges. An evening in early fall, Marcus is riding figure eights through a jump course with a bay gelding named Smarty Pants. When they take a corner to sharply, Marcus is thrown off the horse straight into a pole.
David, an intern, who happened to be watching at the time of the accident, takes it upon himself to doctor Marcus after he refuses to be taken to a hospital. David is just realizing he has feelings for Marcus, unsure of whether those feelings would be reciprocated and the added problem of him working as intern for Marcus. The deck seems stacked against David, until that evening, under those unfortunate conditions, he is finally provided with a chance to find out if he can find the courage.
Bruised revolves around the innocence of a young man who seeks the forbidden, his boss, with the perfect scenario set for getting answers. Great read, including a trap ending set to keep you craving more and thoroughly succeeds! Caught in the trap, I anxiously await the next installment.
Reviewed by: Kate
Shepherd by Vincent Diamond
12 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
in authors, JMS Books, publishers, Vincent Diamond Tags: JMS Books LLC, Vincent Diamond
Title: Shepherd
Author: Vincent Diamond
Publisher: JMS Books, LLC
Pages: 18
Characters: Felipe Lugo
POV: 3rd person
Setting: Florida Correctional Facility
Sub-Genre: Short Fiction/Contemporary
Cover Rating: 3
Kisses: 4
Blurb:
Felipe Lugo made a bad mistake, and now he’s starting two years of prison time to pay for it. He says goodbye to a girlfriend and faces life inside with men. Men tougher than he is maybe. Men with their own idea of how Felipe should be. And now he has to make a choice: to be a wolf or a shepherd?
This story appears in the author’s print collection, Rough Cut.
Review:
A moment of blind rage, vengeance measured, not by the scales of justice, but by the length of a baseball bat sends Felipe Lugo to prison, where time is measured, not in minutes and hours, but in months and years, and is made bearable only by the ability to adapt and survive until the sentence is served.
Sheep or Wolf? Neither. Shepherd.
It’s Felipe’s determination to be neither prey nor predator, to quickly establish his place among the men he’ll share the next two years of his life with that will allow him to cope with being caged in and closed off from his girlfriend for the next 730 days.
It’s not who we are, it’s where we are. So says Felipe’s cellmate.
It’s reconciling that belief with his physical needs that leads Felipe to Carlos. It’s about finding moments of release within their confinement that helps the men to endure.
Shepherd is definitely one of those short stories that left me wishing for more, in a very good way. I was entirely absorbed by the atmosphere and the characters and found myself glad at the end that Felipe might have found a little light in the darkness.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Back in the Saddle by Vincent Diamond
06 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
in authors, Vincent Diamond Tags: Vincent Diamond
Title: Back in the Saddle
Author: Vincent Diamond
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Pages: 17
Characters: Marcus, David
POV: 3rd person
Setting: Contemporary
Sub-Genre: Erotic Short
Cover Rating: 3
Kisses: 3
Blurb:
Marcus runs a thoroughbred farm offering an internship program for college students studying to become veterinarians. One spontaneous encounter with an intern leaves Marcus feeling unsure and guilty; wanting to end what he believes is a mistake before it starts.
David is an intern with a natural affinity for horses who just completed his internship on the farm. Enjoying their brief interlude, David pursues Markus to give their new found relationship a fighting shot.
Review:
Back in the Saddle encompasses one man’s ability to find the strength and courage to let go of his past and open his heart to the possibility of love.
This fiery, passion filled quickie will leave you believing in taking new chances.
Reviewed By: Kate
Tropical Daze by Vincent Diamond
11 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in authors, Vincent Diamond Tags: Vincent Diamond
Title: Tropical Daze
Author: Vincent Diamond
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Pages: 17
Characters: Steven, Conrad
POV: 1st person
Setting: Florida
Genre: Short Story/Romance
Cover Rating: 4
Kisses: 5
Blurb:
Steven and Conrad take a quick vacation at a Florida beach. Conrad has always been the tough guy, but now he faces two things even bigger, stronger, and tougher than he is: a horse and his own feelings for Steven. Will a romantic ride on the beach work things out between them?
This story appears in the author’s print collection, “Holding the Reins and Other Stories.”
Review:
Steven and Conrad are men with a history, one that the reader is given a mere glimpse of, though one that, in an economy of words, is made very clear. The two men have come together under extenuating circumstances, yet their relationship grows in spite of the challenges of having been on opposing sides of the tracks.
As an early morning horseback ride along the beach evolves into a metaphor for sex and the raw lust of strength in motion, a seductive and erotic encounter leaves Conrad vulnerable to his true feelings for the man whose life changed dramatically when they met.
Tropical Daze is my introduction to author Vincent Diamond and I’ll say this: if this brief and incredibly sexy story represents his overall gift for character development, as well as visual and sensual depiction in the limited frame of the short medium, I’ve just become an instant fan.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Four new books published by JMS Books LLC
27 Apr 2011 Leave a Comment
in JMS Books Tags: J.M. Snyder, Jon Wilson, Steve Nugent, Vincent Diamond
Now Available from JMS Books LLC!
Back in the Saddle
by Vincent Diamond
Read an excerpt or buy your copy today!
BLURB:
For Marcus Denton, life on his Thoroughbred farm is blurred from his grief and the loss of his previous lover, Philip. When a group of interns work at the farm, one in particular stands out — David, with his sunny smile and sunnier disposition. There’s something about the golden boy that stir Marcus once more. After three years alone and in pain, is it time to try again?
This story appears in the author’s print collection, Holding the Reins and Other Stories.
Read an excerpt or buy your copy today!
Now Available from JMS Books LLC!
Encore
by J.M. Snyder
Read an excerpt or buy your copy today!
BLURB:
In Beautiful Disaster, pop superstar Corey Evans realizes how hollow he feels until he discovers he’s in love with his best friend and band mate, Ian Coltraine. Together they form the successful pop duo 2ICE, and this story picks up where the first left off.
A couple not only onstage but in the bedroom now, Ian and Corey have managed to hide their newfound relationship from the fans, the press, and — most importantly — their management. But when manager Dean Summers stumbles upon the two of them together, he’s determined to put an end to what he sees as a destructive course which can only end up tearing the band apart.
Is the budding love Ian and Corey share strong enough to stand up to the pressures they face?
If you haven’t read Beautiful Disaster, this story may not make much sense. So pick up the first story before diving into this short, satisfying sequel!
Read an excerpt or buy your copy today!
Now Available from JMS Books LLC!
The Obsidian Man
by Jon Wilson
Read an excerpt or buy your copy today!
BLURB:
All his life, Holt has dreamed of leaving his life of drudgery to join the legendary Danann, a mysterious race of rangers and magicians. When trolls threaten his village, he sees his chance in the arrival of Kawika, a handsome ranger sent for protection. But things take a deadly turn when a demon appears, leading an army of horrible creatures. The village goes up in flames, Kawika vanishes, and Holt finds himself wandering lost and alone in the wilderness.
Rescued by the Danann, Holt suffers both physical and psychic scars. However, Kawika’s lover, Keone, hopes to use that connection to track and destroy the demon responsible for the attack.
Unfortunately, the link works both ways — Keone can track through it, and the demon can use it to invade Holt’s mind. As the pursuit continues, Holt’s sanity begins to slip away. Gradually the realization dawns that instead of helping Keone defeat the demon, he may be leading them both into the demon’s deadly trap.
Read an excerpt or buy your copy today!
Now Available from JMS Books LLC!
Eating Ice Cream on the Subway
by Steve Nugent
Download your FREE copy today!
BLURB:
“To sin by silence when we should protest makes cowards out of men.” Most people know what they’d like to do when confronted with violence, but what really happens when they come face to face with the worst society has to offer? In this short, powerful story, when a man witnesses a hateful, homophobic bashing on the subway, his response might hit a little too close to home for some of us.
This story was first published online at Velvet Mafia and appears in the print collection, Attractions. It is offered here as an example of Steve Nugent’s vibrant storytelling at its best.
