Because of the Brave by Laura Baumbach, Z.A. Maxfield, & Josh Lanyon

TITLE: Because of the Brave
AUTHOR: Laura Baumbach, Z.A. Maxfield, Josh Lanyon
PUBLISHER: Aspen Mountain Press
LENGTH: Anthology (roughly 48k)
GENRE: Gay erotic romance
COST: $7.00

A trio of erotic stories about gay military men.

Purchase of the Because of the Brave through the Aspen Mountain Press website through September 11, 2009, will donate 15% toward the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a national organization dedicated to helping military personnel impacted by the “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue” policy signed into law in 1993. It’s a great charity, and the anthology more than worth it, but I’m going to go on the record and say I just wish the publisher paid more attention to their editing for works that will receive this kind of attention. To be frank, I don’t expect much from Aspen Mountain releases. Their editing is inconsistent at best, and I suspect that’s because the authors themselves vary in the strength of their technical abilities. But it’s frustrating to read something that’s clearly hoped to have strong sales and find it riddled with so many easy mistakes. Even Lanyon’s story suffers (how on earth does canon get mistaken for cannon in a military story?), and as much as I’d urge people to buy this, I do it with the caveat that it will probably really bother those readers who are sensitive to technical mistakes.

The anthology starts with out with Laura Baumbach’s “Designated Target.” Carson Crosby is spending Thanksgiving working at a local food bank. He is alone in the world after the death of his brother two months earlier. He spies a big, burly guy who is obviously military hanging around, and after a very brief conversation with him, flees when the way the man says his name just like his dead brother used to. The man helps out with an encounter with an abusive guy outside the church, and they stick together, getting to know each other and indulging their attraction. In reference to the editorial issues I mentioned, Baumbach’s story has it the worst (His imagination supplied a vivid reason for the respectable fabric bugle made me giggle hysterically because I’m fairly sure that g and l in bugle should be transposed), and thus, makes it harder than it should be to get through the novella. The story is saved by Baumbach’s passion and affecting characters. The chemistry between Carson and China (the military guy) leaps off the page, as does Carson’s grief. I found myself drawn to China, much like Carson is, and wish I could have had even more of him.

Next comes “Jumping Off Places” by Z.A. Maxfield. Peter Hsu has returned to the small town where he grew up to be there when his terminally ill mother dies. There, he meets Robin, the Jamaican CNA taking care of her at the hospice. Robin is out and proud of it, while Peter has hid his sexuality from everyone, including his mother. He’s been trying to live up to the hero image of his dead cop father, and finds himself failing at every turn. Dealing with the impending death of his mother is yet another failure in his eyes. This was the story in the anthology that got to me the most, and the one I found myself still thinking about long after it was over. There are a lot of different emotions going on in this. While there is definitely a romance going on between Peter and Robin, it is cloaked in layers and layers of issues, not the least of which is how these two very different men deal with the loss of a woman who means the world to both of them. The fact that Peter is in the military is miniscule in the face of this, as is the issue of their races (Peter is half-Chinese and has been dealing with that discrimination his entire life, while Robin is black). Neither of these really get explored, but I didn’t mind. I was too invested in all the other feelings that were going on. There’s the guilt, and the grief, and Peter’s inability to come out or let anybody in. I had thought I was affected by Carson’s grief in the first story, but that got eclipsed by how much I related and felt for Peter. He was the heart of this compassionate story.

Rounding out the anthology is “Until We Meet Once More” by Josh Lanyon. Army Ranger Captain Vic Black has a new assignment – to rescue a surviving SEAL in the middle of Afghanistan. He’s even more determined when he learns that it’s Sean Kennedy, the lover from the Naval Academy that he left behind. Lanyon’s story is drastically different from its predecessors, focused far more on the taut action of the moment, interspersed with emotionally taut flashbacks. It’s also considerably shorter, very concise in its presentation. While it’s the most technically proficient of the three, with elegant, crisp world-building that immerses the reader into the razor edge environment of the Middle East, it was also the story that engaged me the least emotionally. I was caught up in the action, but the flashbacks weren’t quite enough to create the fervency it felt necessary to appreciate the wallop of an ending. I’m not sure if making it longer would have helped, because then it would have been a different story rather than the whirlwind action story it was. It works well on that level. It just didn’t succeed as well as a romance for me.

Readability	7/10 – I just can’t get past the weak editing to better appreciate these
Romance	7/10 – The romance is strongest in the first two stories
Characterization	7/10 – More uneven than I would have expected from these authors
Entertainment value	7/10 – Definitely recommendable
World building	7/10 – Lanyon’s is by far the strongest in this area
TOTAL:	35/50

Taste Test: Artistically Yours by assorted authors

TITLE: Taste Test: Artistically Yours
AUTHOR: Andy Slayde & Ali Wilde, C.T. Piatt, & Z.A. Maxfield
PUBLISHER: Torquere Press
LENGTH: Anthology (roughly 18k)
GENRE: Gay erotic romance
COST: $2.49

A trio of gay erotic romances featuring artists and their models.

This anthology of erotic short stories all feature artists and their male models. The first of these is “Drawing Conclusions” by Andy Slayde & Ali Wilde. College students Zed and Alex have been lifelong friends, but when Zed discovers Alex has been sketching him while he sleeps, his anger gets turned against his best friend, with interesting consequences. The dialogue in this is sure and natural, but the gay for you storyline felt like a convenient excuse to write best friends having sex for the first time. There is also no clear resolution to the short, hinting at future installments, and because of that, I wouldn’t even label it as a romance in its current incarnation.

Next comes “Solitude of the Photo” by C.T. Piatt. Photographer Jonah has a crush on a race car driver who all of a sudden hires him because he's in need of pictures for a portfolio. While Michael, the driver, is little more of a figure in this, the quiet longing of the 1^st POV protagonist more than makes up for it. There is a gentleness to this story that took my breath away, twisting me up with every new moment. By far, my favorite of the group, and an author I want to watch.

Completing the anthology is Z.A. Maxfield’s “The Artist’s Model.” This is the story of Emile, a struggling artist forced to resort to modeling, who has been in love with one man his entire life. When he finds Fournier, he finds a man trapped in denial about his own desires. Unlike its predecessors, it’s a historical, though that’s not evident from the blurb nor from the beginning of the story. In fact, my inability to immediately place it on a timeline held me back from getting immersed into the story, regardless of the fact that Maxfield has the most sophisticated prose – by far – of the group. I really liked some of her imagery, but I had an incredibly hard time getting past what felt like overly melodramatic dialogue (even if it might have been appropriate for the period). Lines like, I could die from wanting you, make me roll my eyes when they’re not in paranormal stories (I guess I almost expect that kind of over the top sentiment from creatures insisting on soulmates), and as such, distanced me from experiencing the characters’ emotions.

Readability	9/10 – Maxfield’s more sophisticated prose pushes this higher
Romance	5/10 – I don’t see one of the stories as a romance at all.
Characterization	6/10 – Some of the character strokes in these seem too broad to resonate
Entertainment value	7/10 – The Piatt story was by far my favorite of the bunch.
World building	7/10 – Solid enough, though I was frustrated by the third story because it felt like it should be a historical but it took too long into the story to actually discern that one way or another
TOTAL:	34/50