I mentioned in this week’s updates that a reader, Diane, suggested a link for a free book for all of you voracious readers who love l-o-n-g books. The name of the book is Special Forces by Vashtan and Marquesate here and here It is in 3 parts and is made up of over one million words!!!! The book took over 3 years to write. As a follow up I suggested another series of free books, this time by M. Chandler and shared that link. The series is Shadow of the Templar, and the novels to date are The Morning Star, Double Down, With a Bullet, High Fidelity and Lacuna which has just been posted. There are many other books on Ms Chandler’s site.
On August 27 I wrote a post indicating that the GBLT Bookshelf was offering a number of free novels including books by Victor J. Banis, Mel Keegan, and Lee Rowan as well as short stories by such notable authors as Josh Lanyon. Here’s the link to that post. At that time Amazon was offering K.A. Mitchell’s Collision Course as a free book but that offer may no longer be available.
Patricia, a blogger, suggested that I ”open up a thread where people can leave their recommendations and respond to other people’s recommendations, so that we can see what other people have found and where, and what they like and why.” This was such an excellent idea that I thought I would run with it. Readers can now leave recs. and links for other readers for free books online. No one will be monitoring the recs or the thread – you can make suggestions in the comments regarding how you think it should work. This is for you guys. Have fun, and Patricia, thanks for a great suggestion.
As it was mentioned several times here, the entire Administration series by Manna Francis (including Mind Fuck reviewed here) is available at her site:
http://www.mannazone.org/zone/
Another story, unconnected to Administration series, is also available.
The series is fantastic and everyone should read it.
Er. Is fanfic allowed?
http://thehexfiles.net/viewstory.php?sid=10565
Yeah, you knew that was coming. Heh.
Harry/Draco. Well, kind of.
This is a short one. Depressing as hell, but the imagery is so powerful it literally brings tears to my eyes.
I could go on all day, but I will spare you all the extent of my habit O_O
Ally
Yes of course fanfic is allowed – this is the only list on the site where readers can add fanfic and other free reads since the other lists concentrate on published works that are sold.
Thanks for sharing your habit.
Is Butch and V next? I have a hot Butch and V story that I only send out on request – can’t post it here because the author would probably ask me to take it down. LOL
Ha, well, I haven’t read that series, so no *g*
I’ve found a fair few good free stories at various times by exploring authors’ websites – one of my favourites is “Christmas 2130″ by Alex Beecroft, which can be found by scrolling down her “Freebies” page here (she has a few other free stories on there too)
Right now I can’t remember which other authors I’ve found free stories by, although I’ll try & remember to post any others here when I find them. Right now, having remembered about that story of Alex’s I realise I need to try & find out if she’s thinking of writing anything else in that kind of vein…
I follow the infected series by Andrea Speed. I think the first 4 books have been contracted by Dreamspinner (2 of them are already out) but the rest of the series can be read on her website;
http://andreaspeed.com/
A site that put me on the road to being a published m/m author is CRVBOY. There are many great stories there, and even names you might recognize; Sara Bell, for one. A personal favorite is Tinnean’s “Mann of My Dreams” series. My very first m/m work, The Telling, posted there as a serial back in the day, but the version offered here on this site is much cleaner, thanks to comments from eagle-eyed readers. (Plus it has a pretty cover now!) Here’s the link: http://crvboy.org/authors.html
Mann of my Dreams is probably my absolute favorite original M/M fic out there. It starts out fun and playful with light BDSM play in a very serious world of spies and assassins. The main character seems harsh and brutal in the beginning, but you really start to like him as the story continues. The supporting characters are great too.
The author has announced that she has finished another story in the main series and will post it on crvboy.org soon.
There are some side-bar stories and a series about supporting characters in the archive, too
Tinnean has a novel in print too: Friends and Lovers.
I got an e-mail today from http://www.allromanceebooks.com offering 10 different ravenous romance titles for free. Looks like Wonderland by Adam Carpenter is the only M/M title. Doesn’t say how long the offer is good.
My absolute favorite free author (and one of my favorite authors period) is Dom Luka. His coming of age stories are so freaking good that I lack sufficient words to describe them. My favorite is Desert Dropping but also check out The Log Way and it’s sequel In the Fishbowl. I seriously don’t know why this guy isn’t getting paid for his work.
Check him out at http://domluka.gayauthors.org/
I love this thread! I’m slowly working my way through it, and I just finished Desert Dropping, which was a really, really amazing book. It was 36 chapters long, and I didn’t want it to end! I love those kind of stories, there are just not enough of them.
But the actual purpose of this is to ask… are all of DomLuka’s stories complete? I was interested in Hello Stupid, but it’s only like 5 chapters, while all of his (her?) other stories are like 20 chapters at least.
Thanks again for this thread.
No, Hello Stupid is not done and neither is With Trust. Dom frequently takes a Hiatus, which he began at the end of March and has shown no sign of writing since then – in fact – he has only checking in once since then. Every piece he has is well worth reading, however.
Thank you! And yeah, I read everything he’s got, finished or not–very much worth it! I hope he can start writing again soon, he’s such a talented writer, it’d be a shame if we didn’t have more from him.
The Slave Breakers, by Maculategiraffe
Here: http://maculategiraffe.livejournal.com/10338.html
I’ll start by saying that I almost missed out on this gem. I’m generally not a fan of slavefic, and that’s essentially what this is.
Except, it’s not. At least it’s not what I’d come to expect of the genre. What maculategiraffe delivers instead is hurt/comfort by the bucket load, a paradigm for intricate, loving relationships, and a study of what makes a family. So even if you’re thinking (like I initially did), slavefic isn’t for me, I urge you to give this a try.
It would be remiss not to mention the sex. The series earns its NC17 rating. But I can’t call it gratuitous – because sex and how it’s wielded (or not), is at the center of the story arc.
It’s smartly written and flows like a dream. The exposition is never over the top, the dialog is shrewd, and best of all, the prose is crisp, clean, and understated. The characters pop. The message isn’t spoon-fed. This author respects her readers’ intelligence.
Give it a try!
I second this completely.
Slave Breakers is one of my favorite reads EVER! I’ve read it and the accompanying ficlets 3 times now.
Rather then links to fic , I will point you to other great recs site as they have never led me wrong
Bang Bang Shousetsu is a great m/m ezine on LJ
http://community.livejournal.com/bb_shousetsu/
The Slash Pile also on LJ are also a great place to find recs/reviews of online slash
http://community.livejournal.com/the_slash_pile/
I also stumbled across a site called Tarwheel that offers many suggested reading recs
http://www.tarheelwriter.com/suggested.php
and there are lots more but as usual they have fled my mind at the moment
I’ll come back if I can recall them
The m/m romance group at goodreads has a folder relating to free reads, which is updated pretty regularly.
In the right hand side of my blog there are also links to short stories by Sean Kennedy, K Z Snow, Clare London, L B Gregg, Wren Boudreau, Jaime Samms, Mia Watts and Matthew Vandrew, which were written as part of my choose your own m/m story challenge. This challenge is ongoing.
Parhelion (AKA Lucius Parhelion) has a Website with many free reads of varying lengths. Parhelion writes for Torquere and specializes in historical fiction and Westerns. I especially recommend the “Hurrah for Hollywood” series. Incidentally, most of Parhelion’s fan fiction (which are on other pages at that site) can be read without knowing the fandoms – that’s how I first read them.
That’s my top pick (along with several mentioned earlier in this thread), but I have bunches more linked to at my recs site, Buried Treasure.
This post is truely evil, Wave, as it distracts me from my scary TBR pile! But it’s a great idea nonetheless.
(I jumped right into the Slave Breaker ‘verse which is intriguing.)
Jenni719 already mentioned one author who can be found at gayauthors.org, and I’d like to add another one, Duncan Ryder.
He has one completed story up (“Everybody’s Wounded”), another, the follow-up, is in progress. Very angsty stuff in a highschool/college setting, but not coming-of-age. If you like wounded souls and their way to happiness, this could be for you:
http://duncanryder.gayauthors.org/
Oh, I love this! Thanks, Wave, for hosting this thread. I’m going to have to add my recs at a more convenient time.
I’d recommend checking out the LJ community “The Slash Pile” which is a community that recs original slash (m/m) anything, but mostly online original fiction. The link to the community profile is:
http://community.livejournal.com/the_slash_pile/profile
And a very kind soul at the comm put together a masterlist of the recs, where it clearly says what’s free to read online and so on. Link to the masterlist:
http://community.livejournal.com/the_slash_pile/164371.html
Hmm lets see, what else? I second the rec for “The slave breakers”, it’s an awesome piece of work.
I found this page recently, but haven’t explored it much:
http://iomfats.org/storyshelf/
(it looks like the quality of the fic being recommended is high, I’ve read Jack Rowan’s stuff and it’s good)
Through that site I also found:
http://www.bestofnifty.org/
which doesn’t only list the best stories on nifty but also crvboy, GA and others.
M/M fiction on the web is not hard to find, it’s the well written jewels that are rare – that’s why I think this post, jessewave, is a great idea
Enabling us to share all our favorites.
I just want to share the love of Shadow of the templar series. So well done action adventure with great humor and extremely likeable protagonists IMO.
I’m a member of Gay Authors also, you can search under Red Haircrow in their e-fiction section or follow this link there. http://www.gayauthors.org/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1657&index=1
I’ve a set of stories there beginning under the title. “In the Beginning: Day and Night”. With a stand-alone flash fic “An Afternoon Interlude”. Everything continues with “Into the Sunset” a WIP where we revisit the two as adults who’ve drifted apart. This set of stories is semi-autobiographical.
“Shy sophomore Ran Michaelson wasn’t enjoying life at his new high school until he met upperclassman Tommy O’Rear, whose mysterious air and knowing eyes lead him down the path to self-awareness and sexual satisfaction.
I have to second Libbey Drew’s rec for Slave Breakers. That writer has such an insight into people’s motivations – the characters are so rich and the sexin’ is steamy!
Also, I’ve been following this online writer for a little while now:
http://aggybird.livejournal.com/
Fantastical creatures, humorous adventures, flip dialog – cute, funny & hawt even when one character is brooding or angsty.
I love Gabriel Morgan’s stories. Love his writing style.
http://gabriel.gayauthors.org/
I want to second this recommendation. I particularly LOVE ‘Stonegate Stables,’ one of the first original M/M fics I read and it really made me re-think my ideas about sexual relationships. I love it when a book makes me question my views. Word of caution though: the epilogue to SS threw me in a week-long bout of depression – well kinda. I really liked the main characters together, so I saved the story minus the epilogue for future re-reading.
One free read I haven’t seen mentioned in this thread yet, although it has been mentioned on this site is: The God Eaters by Jesse Hajicek. It is a coming-of-age steampunk novel that is also available in print. The entire novel can be found online at:
http://chartreuse.studiowhippingboy.com/g_e_index.html
If you enjoy long series you might enjoy a series I call Adams State, because in every installment one or more of the main characters are or end up at Adams State University. I like the sense of community and caring for others in these stories. It is written by Jeff Allen and can be found in the crvboy.org archive:
http://www.crvboy.org/authors.html
Also in the crvboy.org archive are the stories by Etienne. I particularly enjoyed the George and Mike Adventures:
http://www.crvboy.org/stories/etienne/index.html
Recoms to which I would add my *Oh, Yes, That!* :
- The Administration series by Manna Francis. Just gripping. Also troubling. A dark series about dark characters in a world and time not far removed from ours.
- The God Eaters by Jesse Hajicek. Rich and compelling sci fi novel with strong characters, plot, and world building. Loved this! There’s also a manga at that site (link above).
- Vashtan & Marquesate – Special Forces. A satisfying epic saga, spanning many years and changes in the main characters’ lives. M/M plus international politics and divided loyalties and covert ops.
A thank you to Dusk Peterson, who posted above. Several weeks back, I found and followed some of Dusk’s online recs. The Parhelion Hollywood stories (link above) are very good. I’m still poking around in the Shousetsu Bang Bang emags (link above) and have found some amazing gems of stories by Shukyou (among others).
Thanks to Wave and everyone else who posted here, especially for the links to recomms. I will definitely have to check out the Shadow of the Templar series and some others.
Now, if only I could figure out which recommenders and reviewers I would always agree with ….
http://www.gay-ebooks.com.au/ has a large number of free PDF format books. Since the goal of the site (see below) is to encourage new and existing Australian authors of gay material there is a wide range of topics and abilities showcased. Some of the books are anthologies of the winning stories from Australian writing competitions. But you can find everything from short stories to novels. The subject matter ranges widely so you might have to search to find the items to your specific taste.
Site Description:
“This site is aimed at promoting gay writing in Australia. All titles are exclusive to gay-ebooks and downloadable at no charge.
©2006-10. Copyright is retained by each individual author; volume rights by gay-ebooks. This site is a not-for-profit project of the Gay And Lesbian Digital Arts Association.Also note: http://www.lesbian-ebooks.com.au”
Hope you find something for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.
Dawg
http://gabrielsknife.livejournal.com/ is currently one of my favourite authors/writers, all the stuff he’s written is awesome
He’s got a couple of short stories published, plus some long ongoing (WIP) stories on the LJ above. (Genre: original science fiction)
Dark Horse by Kate Sherwood is free TODAY at ArE
Here’s the link: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-darkhorse-440933-144.html
This is a funny and very very useful free read: http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/enjoy-anal-sex/14595616?productTrackingContext=search_results/search_shelf/center/1
Not romance, not at all, but enjoyable all the same!
I really enjoyed I.D. Locke’s published novel Blind Desire and I went looking for other fiction by this author. So for a while now I have been following ‘Balancing Karma’ through the author’s website (http://id-locke.livejournal.com/ – master list for Karma: http://id-locke.livejournal.com/13962.html). The novel length fantasy novel is almost finished, I believe there will be just an epilogue still to come and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is an mpreg story (not everybody’s cup of tea, I know), takes place in well-developed exotic alien cultures and features characters with wings and prehensile tails (oh my!)
-
BTW, this story’s installments are also posted on Free Fiction Friday’s (http://community.livejournal.com/freeficfriday), a great source of Free Original Fantasy Fiction by authors that were invited to post here, so even though I haven’t read any posted stories apart from Karma, yet, I expect a high level of writing:
alex marcus-jacobs
cassandra gold
david m. demar
deirdre murphy
elana hawk
id locke
michael mandrake
nicole wilkinson
simon fielding
vaughn r. demont
The Awesome Dude site is a good source of free m/m fiction. There’s lots I haven’t looked at yet, but I’d certainly recommend two novels by “Douglas”: Here’s Looking at You Kid, and the related Triptychs. These are coming of age novels set in Berkley, California.
http://awesomedude.com/douglas/index.htm
Also on awesomedude I recommend The Least of These by “Josh” -
http://awesomedude.com/josh/tlot/least_of_these_01.htm
I second the recs above for Dom Luka, Duncan Ryder, Jeff Allen and Gabriel Morgan. In particular, Gabriel Morgan’s 52 Panhead moves from a hot first encounter to a wonderful evocation of the creation of a long-term committed relationship.
Those who like MaculateGiraffe’s Slavebreakers series might also like Poisontaster’s A Kept Boy -
http://poisontaster.livejournal.com/417962.html
Manna Francis’ The Administration I like so much it has moved off the free reads list and I’ve started buying the paperbacks.
Thanks to everyone above for the recs. Lots more lovely reading to explore.
I noticed that no one said anything about Grasshopper.
I really love Grasshopper’s stories. They’re really touching and well written.
I think I’ve read them all, except “Just one starfish” (It’s incomplete) and “Elsewhere” stories.
http://iomfats.org/storyshelf/hosted/grasshopper/
Hey Allie2…We must have the same taste in M/M reads. Ive enjoyed all the ones you mentioned!!!! Along with most of the ones everyone else mentioned.
Another great site for free reads is-
http://www.gayauthors.org/
Along with stories by Duncan Ryder, Dom Luka, and Gabriel Morgan there are a few others I really loved…..
Nephylim’s stories are really good, the ones Ive read and enjoyed are: “Love in Chains” ( My favorite of hers)
“To Have and to Hold”
“Fallen”
and “Enigma”
A story called ” It Started With Brian” by DanK…..I cant say enough about this story to do it justice. It is true story and it is truly captivating!!!!!
also my absolute favorite; (but be warned) it is a work -in-progress, its almost finished, the author states it has about 6 chapters to go is:
“Crosscurrents” by Adam Phillips ; also an autobiographical story well worth waiting for each chapter.
Another site I found is:
http://www.slasharchive.org/londoncalling/londoncallingindex.html
“London Calling” by GIOGIO is a really surprisingly enjoyable story.I read it about 2 years ago and I still have flashbacks!!!!
I have plenty more recs if anyone is interested…I would appreciate any that you have I am a M/M Addict, LOL
OH..and another great read is ‘The Triangle Series’ by Susann Julieva. You can find it here:
http://www.susannjulieva.com/triangle/triangle.html
Im a ‘Special Forces’ junkie, having read it 3x’s….Im almost finished with ‘The Administration’ (loving it) and I must also recommend :
http://hotterthanhell.invisionzone.com
Hotter Than Hell is an ongoing story with several authors contributing to the main along with an interactive board. The story is HOT. I mean really really Hot!!!! You have to sign-up and register to the site and it takes a few days, but its worth it!!!!!!!
Hope these recs are helpful
My current obsession is Freece’s Captive Prince. This work is in-process – the author just published Chapter 25 of, I believe a projected 40 chapters.
http://freece.livejournal.com/
Byzantine characters, witty dialogue and lots of wonderful tension between the two protagonists, in a truly great (and detailed) fantasy setting. If you like the whole enemies-becoming-something else/more type of story, you may want to check this one out.
Also, on a side note, I just started reading the yaoi comic Teahouse, by emirain, which is rather beautiful (and also in-process):
http://www.teahousecomic.com
I’m off to check out Dom Luka’s work – thanks for the rec!
mlrPress (www.mlrbooks.com) the free read this week is Mute Witness by Rick R. Reed
I second Pea’s recommendation of Captive Prince – if and when Freece decides to send if off for publication, I will buy it in all formats!
Circlet.com also has many free reads, including Cecilia Tan’s The Prince’s Boy – an ongoing WIP: http://www.circlet.com/?p=322. There are currently 92 chapters, with a new installment posted each Wednesday. This story is not for the faint of heart.
Cecilia’s warning: The Prince’s Boy is a male/male high fantasy romance, with explicit homosexuality, elements of BDSM, dubious consent, erotic magic, and situations of sexual jeopardy.
Another story from gayauthors that I really enjoyed was Second Shot by quonos10.
http://www.gayauthors.org/story/quonus10/secondshot
I learned that MLR Press is offering a free read every week and it is in PDF format. This week’s offering is Blush by Kimberly Gardner.
http://www.mlrbooks.com/books.php
Hot Rods: Gay Erotic Stories is free at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004PYDBFS/
Book Description:
Turn it on, get it on and get off – Hot Rods wastes no time in its explicit stories of muscled men on the prowl. In an e-book exclusive, Sean Laurence’s book of pocket erotica delivers a payoff that you can savor for a pounding good time. The construction workers in Kiernan Kelly’s “Sandhogs” show how hot it can get in the tight confines of an underground shaft. A special agent protects and serves a perp in Hank Edwards’ sizzling “Frisk.” Jay Starre’s story, “Between Shots Fired,” is a searingly sexy tale of lust in the trenches between a sergeant and his private. Pepper Espinoza’s “Chrome-Obsessed” features a biker cub turned on by hard steel and a road dog with many miles under his belt. Devoted to mind-blowing biceps and boners, Hot Rods is a hard-charging thrill ride full of masculine men who crave each other.
As noted above, if you happen to be on Goodreads, and become a member of the M/M Romance group, there is a thread there for free reads. In addition, one of the moderators, Jason, lists all M/M releases he can find every week (a huge and amazingly detailed endeavor). He includes all the free stuff that shows up on authors’ websites and places like Smashwords, far more than ever gets on the free reads thread. You can find lots of gems and favorite author shorts if you scan his listings regularly.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Penthouse/131964230216292?sk=info
The Jem Stone writing project known as The Penthouse. Enjoy this steamy paranormal romance of Lucas and Kieran’s evolving relationship in the city of Chicago amid dark forces that work to keep them apart.
We are the writing duo known as Jem Stone. In The Penthouse, you will find our growing collection of work: Dark Awakening, our first story, can be found in its entirety in the notes. Dark Transition, our second story – a continuation of our first – is in production, being posted in the notes as we go. A third book in this series is also in the planning stages, name withheld at this time.
After the trilogy of Lucas and Kieran is told, who knows what our next project will be, but we have plenty of ideas in the works. Stick around for the erotic romance, gripping conflict, and grating tension our tales are known for. And feel free to leave comments, feedback, or to just say hello. Jem Stone would love to hear from you.
Enjoy!
I also have to mention “The God-Eaters” by Jesse Hajicek. I read it the other day and was pretty much in awe of how well written and just plain GREAT it was. I was so enthused by it, I had to punch the air after reading it. I still can’t believe it was free.
Link above.
Another really good slave fic series is Texas (otherwise as the Texas Universe).
http://morgan-cian.livejournal.com/51960.html
Summary: One cold ruthless man and two hot little slaves
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Fraternal incest, accepted slavery, dubious consent, bondage, hurt/comfort, attempted suicide
I read this right after Slave Breakers. It’s completely different but just as good.
On the AwesomeDude site, I’d like to add a recommendation for Rick Beck’s Outside the Foul Lines. Its a long (3 books) story with a baseball setting, and had me hooked.
http://www.awesomedude.com/rickbeck/index.htm
Not His Kiss to Take by Finn Marlowe, a very enjoyable & well written full length story free at Smashwords:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/265643