A Different Drummer by Deirdre O'Dare

Jest has been on his own since his mid-teens and still blesses the chance that allowed him to realize his dream of playing percussion in a band, one that has become his substitute family. Although he misses the close sharing, he doesn’t expect to find a partner, and certainly not one as clearly out of his element as the man, looking totally lost and friendless, who one night wanders into the club where Jest’s band plays.

Greene has struggled to build himself a life far from the undisciplined communal community in which he grew to his mid-teens. He’s lonely, though, and not sure how to remedy that, so he keeps working as a game programmer in Silicon Valley until he makes a faux pas at a party. Traveling aimlessly, he meets Jest and the other members of Taken By Storm, and is intrigued but terrified of slipping back into a disorderly world like the one of his childhood.

Opposites do attract, but can a rebel percussionist and a totally uptight game programmer find common ground for a partnership? 

Genres: Gay/Contemporary/The Arts
Heat Level: 2
Length: Extended Amber Kiss (17k words) 

Read a short excerpt...

...Greene had to admit he was tempted. Maybe it was just a rebound from Mickey’s putdown, a vague need to prove he really was attractive, appealing. He felt the surreptitious brush of Jest’s gaze, sliding to him and pulling away, only to return.

Yeah, he’s interested. Although Jest kept his back to Greene, he’d bet the other man sported a stiff one. His own cock was showing some interest as well.

Oh shit, what harm can it do? Just a quickie, a one-time thing. I could do that and walk away right after. Maybe it would do me some good.

Jest finally turned around not a second after Greene mentally gave in to the insistent tug of desire and excitement. “Well,” he said, “made up your mind about me?”

It was uncanny, as if the other man had read his thoughts. “Huh? What are you talking about?”

Jest grinned. “I know you were looking. I was, too. Shit, it’s not illegal to look. Or to do anything else we want to for that matter. Nobody’s likely to come out here at this hour. I’m the only one in the band who’s an early riser. I think Ben and Marsh took off after the rehash last night anyway. Marsh has him a gal friend and not sure about Ben. Bella and Annie have their own place back out toward the main road. So what do you fancy?”

Greene fished for an answer, still torn between desire and caution. Jest seemed so sure and confident. That gave him pause. The drummer was different from Mickey, although still just as daunting.

At least for a while Jest must have had a normal family, the kind of background Greene had always envied. How could he have stood to leave it? Hadn’t he indicated he’d had no choice? Greene could not envy that wrenching break, having either to lie to everyone about what you were or leave everything you’d relied on. Somehow Jest had survived, just as Greene had, in completely different circumstances. Didn’t that make some kind of common ground?

While he’d been tangled in thinking, his body had not been hampered by the inner conflict. His feet, almost of their own accord, began to cross the cool tiles to where Jest stood, in a pose almost taunting. His cock thrust out, bold and ready. He’d fisted both hands on his hips, shoulders back and a grin on his face. Yeah, he did have a good body, looked as if he either worked out or did something a lot more physical than just drumming. Tight abs, muscular legs, all the things Greene appreciated in another man.

“Man, I fancy you and that’s no bullshit. Anything and any way you want me.”

Jest arched one eyebrow. “For real? How do those high tech guys do it up there in Silicon Valley? You a sub or something?”

Greene shrugged. “Not really. I don’t usually make the first move, though. I take what I can get.”

Jest’s expression changed. The taunt faded, along with the come-get-me dare in his eyes. He gave a slight nod. “Okay. I don’t usually have to go prowling. When you’re a musician, there’s always groupies—both sexes and every variety. You can’t help stumbling all over them. I can take my pick…well, after Marsh for the girls and Ben for the guys, since Tom and Stormy are exclusive. Not many girls, just not my thing…”

“I’ve been told I give a good BJ, if that’s something you’d like.”

Jest met Greene’s gaze for a moment, his face suddenly serious. “I’m not just a taker. How about you getting off, too?”

Greene felt himself grin. “Sixty-nine works for me so long as it’s nothing too acrobatic. I’ve got some condoms in my wallet in my pants.”

While Greene retrieved a pair of rubbers, Jest threw a couple more towels down on a bench in the middle of the room. “Top or bottom. You choose...” 

Cherish by A.J. Llewellyn

When Hollywood theatrical agent Daren Marlowe celebrates his thirtieth birthday with friends, he’s more than surprised when his best friend gives him a CD that is a revamp of the old 80s’ mixed tape. He’s even more surprised when he realizes it’s a re-gifted mixed tape. The first song on the CD is the syrupy Kool and the Gang classic, “Cherish.” When Daren takes it home, he has no plans to look at the CD again, let alone play it, but his new lover, Rafael, puts it on the sound system.

Daren gets to Cherish the love over and over and over again because the darned thing is stuck. Forced to close off the sound system entirely, he frets over being held hostage by the song and he’s not wrong. In a bizarre set of circumstances, Richard is assaulted and almost dies. Will he survive? Can Daren actually forge a viable relationship with the sexy and hypnotic Rafael—for as long as they both shall live—in a town where the men don’t always cherish their men?

Genres: Gay/Contemporary/Romantic Comedy/The Arts
Heat Level: 3
Length: Novella (29k words)  

Read a short excerpt...

...Richard’s new obsession these days was the hook-up site, Jack’d. To hear him tell it, Grindr was passé. I checked out his new rent boy choices. Both men were cute, but stupid-looking. One in particular had really mastered the condom stuffed with walnut appearance. He was posing so hard he appeared to be possibly constipated.

“Which one do you like?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Same horse, different jockey.”

Okay, then.

Rafael returned but was giddy with excitement that his offer had been accepted for the unfashionably located warehouse.

We all congratulated him. “Daren Marlow, you bring me good luck.” He kissed me and ordered a fresh round of drinks for everyone.

Richard handed me his birthday gift. It looked like a CD. He knew my musical tastes so I was excited until I opened it and saw that he’d written Mixed Tape across the CD.

Mixed Tape? I hadn’t seen one of those since 1984. Actually, I’d seen one just a few weeks ago to be more precise.

But it couldn’t be…

“Everything old is new again,” Richard said. “These are the hottest gifts you can give somebody.”

I had heard that and had lamented with Nathan that a mixed tape was now presented on a CD since an actual cassette tape was not only strongly out of fashion but most people had nothing on which to play them.

Turning the cover over in my hand, I was prepared to be charmed by my best friend’s choices. And then I saw the first song listed on the back of the jewel case—“Cherish.”

Oh, no.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like Kool and the Gang. Well, I almost didn’t not like them, but “Cherish” was one of those songs that stuck itself in one’s brain just by reading the name, let alone actually playing it.

But this was worse than that. This was a re-gifted mixed tape.

Twice over.

Nathan had been given the CD by his ex-girlfriend, a stalky wacko who sent him oddball gifts when they were happily à deux, and even stranger ones after he dumped her. As a matter of fact, she’d made him the very CD I was holding and had sent it to him.

I already knew without looking that the second title was one of my favorite Earth, Wind and Fire songs—“Fantasy.”

Tears pricked my eyes.

I’d counseled Nathan late one night over drinks at the Revolver about how to handle Nina, his ex-girlfriend. We had decided she’d put some effort into compiling this mixed tape CD and therefore he could hang onto it if he liked the songs, or he could simply toss it.

We’d joked about how the character Chandler on the TV series, Friends, had been given a mixed tape by his crazy ex, Janice. He’d palmed it off onto his fiancée, Monica, when he forgot their anniversary. She’d been thrilled at first as they danced to the tape, until Janice’s whiny voice popped up in the middle of the tracks.

Nathan had stopped texting and was staring at me.

He was mortified.

And I knew exactly what had happened now.

He’d given the CD to Richard, probably as a gift when he signed him as a client.

Richard had no idea I knew about the mixed tape and thought it was an appropriate present for me, his best friend.

And he’d given my boss, a woman he didn’t even really like a Kelly bag.

“I think I want a cigarette,” I said... 

The Beat by D.J. Manly

The beat of love doesn’t always move every drummer in the same way...

The members of Frenzied Water, an up-and-coming rock band, can’t believe their luck when Frank Harold, former drummer for Heirloom, the most famous group on the planet, enters the studio and offers to be their new percussionist. And Johnny, Frenzied Water’s front man, never expects that his feelings for Frank will grow to the point where he needs to know the reason Frank left Heirloom for a less popular group.

One night, after a few drinks with Johnny, Frank finally confesses the reason he left Heirloom—a love affair-gone-wrong with his former vocalist. With the truth out, Johnny believes he has a chance with the sexy drummer if only he can convince Frank to leave the past behind and give their blossoming love a try.

Then a miracle happens, one that Johnny suspects may be more calculated than it appears. His band is invited to be the opening act on Heirloom’s American tour. It’s a dream for a rock group struggling for recognition, but a personal nightmare for Johnny, who wishes Frank as far away from his former lead singer as possible.

But Johnny is not the only one dreading this tour, and when a snowstorm in Denver traps Johnny, Frank, and two members of Heirloom together in a cabin, there will be no escape...

Genres: Gay/Contemporary/The Arts/Ménage (M/M/M)/Group Sex
Heat Level: 3
Length: Extended Amber Kiss (13k words) 

Read a short excerpt...

...When I look back at that night I spent with Frank, Dave, and Tim, I know no gay man on earth had ever gotten luckier than me. Three hot men, with great bodies, great cocks, and enough experience to make it hurt so good. We all completely lost our inhibitions that night.

It was like a dream, hot and arousing. So dirty and taboo it bordered on the criminal. It wasn’t just the pot or the snowstorm outside, though that was certainly a part. It was also the intensity of emotion so thick in the air that none of us could ignore it.

I wanted Frank, Tim wanted Dave, and yet Tim and I somehow needed to find out what it was like to be with the exes of the men we loved.

I lay there on the sofa, pants gone, my underwear drying with the rest of my clothes, and Dave had pushed the sweater up to my neck, holding me hostage. His fingers spent great effort flicking and pinching my nipples as his tongue slid up and down my shaft. I lifted my hips and licked my lips, the sensation of his tongue making me half nuts. I didn’t resist when I felt someone at my head, pulling the sweater off and pulling my wrists together over my head.

I was squirming all over the place as a tongue began to lave my nipples, and someone pulled my head back over the sofa arm. I glanced up to see Frank’s face. I looked up into his eyes as he massaged my jaw and the head of his cock trailed over my lips. I moaned and opened my mouth as my cock was also being swallowed. Frank lowered his cock into my mouth and hit my throat, as the attention paid to my nipples intensified. Teeth nibbled each one, and I was on fire, aroused to the point of no return.

“I want to fuck him,” someone said. Not sure who and I didn’t care... 

Aria of the Eclipse by Vivien Dean

Nothing has ever excited Tylen Merodine more than being invited by the Regent himself to celebrate the first solar eclipse in his planet’s recorded history. It’s the party of the millennium, and if he has to restrain his normal exuberant instincts to fit in, that’s what he’ll do to be a part of it. His good intentions vanish, however, the moment he’s presented to the Regent. Because there, in a gilded cage, playing music unlike anything Tylen’s ever heard, is the most beautiful alien he could imagine.

For more than twenty years, Dek has lived in captivity, performing at the whim of those who see him as an animal. The Regent is just the latest in a long line of owners, and while he’s kind, he’s still blind to Dek’s sentient nature. Only music gives Dek a voice, until Tylen breaks the rules and sneaks in to see and speak to him alone.

The time they have together is stolen and precious, the minutes ticking away until the eclipse is past and they have to go back to the way their lives were before. But when the Regent shows an unexpected interest in Tylen’s future, they begin to wonder if their worlds need to remain so separate... 

Genres: Gay/Science Fiction/Futuristic/Interracial/Multicultural/The Arts
Heat Level: 3
Length: Extended Novella (35k words) 

Read a short excerpt...

...My attempt to try to defuse my embarrassment was met with a frown and a shake of his head. “I wouldn’t do that. You cannot help your circumstances. You are what you are.”

I snorted. “You need to tell that to Dourack. All he’s done is lecture me since we left home. He especially wasn’t thrilled with our presentation.”

“Because you broke protocol?”

“Even you noticed?” I sighed. “Damn.”

Dek edged off the bench he sat on and crept forward until he knelt as close as he could to me with the bars still between us. “It’s only bad if it harms your time here. If you had behaved as every other notable Johaf presented today, I would not now have the pleasure to call you friend.” He held out my scrambler. “I hope I do have that pleasure.”

“Of course you do,” I rushed to say. But when I took my scrambler back, I couldn’t look away from his hands. The filaments laid flat against the inside of his fingers, tucked away so tight I wondered if it was deliberate.

I must’ve stared too long because he reached farther, turning his wrist so his palm was up, the fingertips grazing the edges of the bar. Slowly, he splayed his hand, and the strands unfurled in finespun splendor.

“On my planet,” he started, his voice soft and hypnotic, “we do not have the advanced technologies you do. Our homes have no walls. We look to the sky as our creator, the water our mistress. These…” He bent his thumb inward, allowing the longest tendril to emit a single, soft note. “The music is secondary, a consequence for their main purpose.”

“Which is?” My query was a whisper, reverence paid due to the honor of learning something I knew few people understood.

“They help us travel on the wind. We can coast across the water’s surface without fear, then.”

I finally looked up. Dek wasn’t looking at his hand, but at me, his nose only inches away, his gaze fathomless. I’d been wrong about the blackness. The same gray marking his skin flecked his eyes, affording them a light that took away the melancholy I don’t think he realized he wore. Part of me understood the Regent’s pride in showing Dek off. He truly was the most magnificent creature I’d ever seen, more than his peerless music could ever be.

“They’re your wings.”

I hadn’t even realized I’d said it out loud until he smiled. “I suppose that’s one way to look at them.”

“But you can control them.”

“Yes.” To prove it, they folded back against his skin, without his flexing a single muscle.

My scrambler seemed so unsophisticated compared to his physiology. As I slipped it back in my pocket, though, Dek touched the back of my hand.

“Can you use that whenever you wish?” he asked.

I don’t know which shocked me more—the fact that he’d reached through the bars or how hot his fingertips were compared to my skin. I felt the slight tickle for long seconds after he withdrew and had to fight the compulsion to rub it deeper into my hand. “As long as I don’t get caught.”

“Perhaps…if there isn’t another event for you to attend…you might come back later tonight? It gets…lonely.”

The words cost him. Pride, or fear, or embarrassment. Maybe all of the above. Even if I did have a party to get to, I couldn’t allow that to count for nothing.

“No might about it. I’ll be here.” I grinned. “I could even sneak down to the cellars and borrow some of the Regent’s wine. We could have our own event.”

“That won’t be necessary. Your company is more than I could ever ask for.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d been kidding. He seemed so grateful for what was essentially a huge honor to me. What person in their right mind wouldn’t embrace a chance like this? To get to know someone like Dek? To give him a few hours of reprieve from a life he’d resigned himself to? I wasn’t passing this up, even if it meant this would remain my secret for the rest of my life.

I met his eyes. The gray was brighter than before. It was probably just a trick of the light, but I decided to believe it was because of me, because of this budding friendship bonding between us.

“I promise you,” I said. “It’ll be a night we’ll never forget...”

New reviews

New reviews for recent pax releases!

Val Kovalin gives Chase the Ace by Clare London 4.5 stars at Reviews by Jessewave and says what she enjoyed most about the story was "that everything has a deeper level of emotional significance than it first appears."

Melanie at Joyfully Jay gives The Mayfield Speakeasy by L.A. Witt 4 stars and says "the reader will enjoy every moment from the smokey beginnings to the end."

Gabbi at Top 2 Bottom Reviews hopes The Whore of New Slum by T.A. Chase "...is the first book in a series because I’d love to revisit the world that Ms. Chase invented as well as her likeable heroes."

At Ms. Condit & Friends, Who Moved My Holepunch? by Anne Brooke gets called "...a gem of a story..." and receives 5 sweet peas.

March bestsellers

Next week, we start highlighting the stories in the upcoming music-themed pax. In the meantime, check out the March bestsellers from Amber Allure


1. An Unexpected Magick - M. L. Rhodes (Gay/Shapeshifter)
2. Working It Out - Sean Michael (Gay/Contemporary)
3. Test Drive - L. A. Witt (Gay/Contemporary)
4. Lock And Key - Sasha Devlin (Gay/Contemporary)
5. Charitable Giving - Heidi Champa (Gay/Contemporary)
6. Who Moved My Holepunch? - Anne Brooke (Gay/Contemporary)
7. Getting Real - Christiane France (Gay/Contemporary)
8. Sins Of Temptation - India Harper (Gay/Contemporary)
9. The Delaneys, My Parents And Me - Anne Brooke (Gay/Contemporary)
10. The Escort: In The Public Eye - Parker Linn (Gay/Contemporary)

Congratulations to everyone!

New pax reviews

New reviews for recent pax releases!

Thommie at MM Good Book Reviews says Who Moved My Holepunch? by Anne Brooke is fascinating, with "exquisite chemistry...achieved between her characters."

Jenre at Brief Encounters Reviews says about The Mayfield Speakeasy by L.A. Witt, "...there was much to like about this story," and gave it a B-.

At Top 2 Bottom Reviews, Pammyla gave Vivien Dean's Iron Eyes 4 kisses and said, "If you're looking for sexy steampunk, this is for you."

Val Kovalin admires the sense of craft and proportion of KC Kendricks' Doors of Time and gives it 3.5 stars at Reviews by Jessewave.