Barrie Abalard

From the website: In this uncertain world full of lies and deceit, who doesn’t long for a mate that embodies solid values? Who doesn’t want a friend you can trust?

Jake Stone is searching for a woman whose values match his, a woman who will be Semper Fi—always faithful. When he walks into a bar one night to propose to his fiancée, he has no idea that he’ll be going home with two women he’s never met before.

Connie Woods has a thing for Marines, so both Jake’s looks and personal code draw her. She and her best friend, Amanda Foster, decide to spend a wild night in a hot ménage with Jake, determined to cheer him up after he is stood up and two-timed by the woman he planned to marry.

But a non-ménage sexual encounter with Amanda, and an upsetting first date with Jake, makes Connie think she’s lost both of them. Meanwhile, Amanda is hurt that her best friend won’t talk to her about what happened between them. And, Jake thinks he’s screwed up his chances with Connie. Can each of them find the love and happiness they are seeking?

Semper Fi, all about finding faithfulness and friendship in our uncertain world, reassures us that values still matter.… (mehr)

"Sexy, thirty-eight-year-old widow Rosemary Lockhart misses her late husband, especially his spankings and erotic domination. Her hot but younger English professor, Jonathan Kent, longs for an older woman with whom he can fulfill his own fantasies, fantasies that exactly match hers.

Will they manage to overcome their fears, insecurities, and the taboos of age and teacher/student status? Time and a little creativity brings these two characters together explosively, educating them both in their grad-school course of lusty love. "… (mehr)

This short story, less than 50 pages, it's quite interesting since it mixes some very good sex scenes with a quite interesting plot. Actually the erotic part has a lion share on the story, but sometime this is not a bad thing.

Cam "The Professor" Chester, is a former bull-rider, now pick-up man in the rodeo circuit by day and country song-writer by night. He is gay and out, and this leads to him a bit of trouble here and there. Cam is not a simple man, he is a lonesome rider type, he likes his life like it is; from a rather poor childhood, he manages to build a comfortable life and he wants to keep it like that. Than he meets Wyatt Knott, young bull-rider and gay in the closet. Between them there is no misunderstanding, Wyatt likes men, and he likes Cam even better; he also like the slight domineering behavior of the man. But Wyatt is not ready, or willing, to come out.

As I said there is a lot of sex in the story, sometime maybe a little too much, like when Cam "came" two time in a row soon after being banged in the head... but well, I suppose this is principally an erotic story, and then if there is a plot, it's better. And in this case there is a plot, and the two main characters are also enough developed, as much as you can in a short story. I like the playful behavior of Wyatt, and also the fact that all seems to slide on him, he never takes offense, he is always ready to play... like a puppy, if you think, and you can't not like a puppy. Cam is more the brooding type, but all in all, he is not a bad guy, and also him can't resist in front of the disarming behavior of Wyatt.… (mehr)

It's 1975 and Kirk Bauer and Troy Camden are leading actors on the Hollywood scene. Both specialized in action hero movies or old western style, they met when they co-starred in the same movie, and now they are buddy friend. Kirk is older and just a star, while Troy is still struggling to have the big name on the credits.

In a world of easy sex and drugs, Kirk and Troy share everything, above all women. But during a swingers party, Kirk realizes that more than the woman he is screwing, he would like to have sex with Troy. And when he finds out that Troy is not against the idea, they start a secret affairs that could put in danger both their careers.

Troy is not new to gay relationship, but after a bad break-up and since he wants to become a leading he-man actor, he swore off men from his sexual life. But with Kirk is not only sex, and he discovers that he can't take of the mind from the man. But the Hollywood of 1975 is ready for a gay couple?

The story is really short, 40 pages, and starts with a swingers party where both the heroes are engaged in sex with other women. Then they start their relationship, but they don't stop to have sex with other people, both men than women... Plus Troy is an almost drugs addict, and both Troy than Kirk consider alcohol like a light beverage... Enough to give you an idea why I had the feeling that I was reading a porn rather than a romance... But once a friend of mine who was writing porn in the '70s told me that, to not be censorship, you need to have a plot inside your porn. And so is this story, there is a lot of sex but there is also a plot; I believe that in so few pages, and with all the sex they have during the story, Barrie Abalard makes almost an impossible deed in writing also a plot. What she described, even if in fast flash, probably is the true Hollywood of that period, where being faithful to a partner was not a common behavior, and drugs and alcohol flow free like water.

I liked also the typical Hollywood's happily ever after, and the glimpse in the future life of Kirk and Troy that the author gave at the end of the book.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001QBPLZG/?tag=elimyrevandra-20… (mehr)