The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000) by Greg Berlanti

Director: Greg Berlanti

Writer (WGA): Greg Berlanti (written by)

Release Date: 29 January 2000 (Sundance Film Festival, USA)
15 April 2001 (Turin International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Italy)

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sport

Tagline: The shortest distance between friends isn't always a straight line.

Plot: A modern gay classic.In the palm-shaded oasis of West Hollywood, we meet Dennis (Timothy Olyphant), a promising photographer. As he prepares to celebrate his twenty-eighth birthday, he laments, “I can’t decide if my friends are the best or worse thing that ever happened to me.” The gang includes Benji (Zach Braff), the punkish innocent with a penchant for gym bodies; Howie (Matt McGrath), the psychology grad student who thinks too much and lives too little; Cole (Dean Cain), the charismatic actor who accidentally keeps stealing everybody’s guy; Patrick (Ben Weber), the cynical quipster, and Taylor (Billy Porter), resident drama queen, who, until recently, prided himself on his long-term relationship. Providing sage advice and steady work is Jack (John Mahoney), the beloved patriarch whose restaurant is a haven for them all.

Awards: 2001 Artios Best Casting Nomination for Feature Film, Independent, to Joseph Middleton & Michelle Morris (Casting Society of America, USA)
2001 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film (Limited Release)

@IMDb
@Amazon: The Broken Hearts Club (2000)
@Netflix
@Wolfe Video



( more pics )

Cast (in credits order)
Ben Weber ... Patrick
Timothy Olyphant ... Dennis
Matt McGrath ... Howie
Zach Braff ... Benji
Dean Cain ... Cole
Billy Porter ... Taylor
Justin Theroux ... Marshall
Andrew Keegan ... Kevin
Nora Burns ... Female Shopper
Chris Payne Gilbert ... Larry
( rest of the cast )

    
Dennis & Kevin

( more pics )

The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000) by Greg Berlanti

Director: Greg Berlanti

Writer (WGA): Greg Berlanti (written by)

Release Date: 29 January 2000 (Sundance Film Festival, USA)
15 April 2001 (Turin International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Italy)

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sport

Tagline: The shortest distance between friends isn't always a straight line.

Plot: A modern gay classic.In the palm-shaded oasis of West Hollywood, we meet Dennis (Timothy Olyphant), a promising photographer. As he prepares to celebrate his twenty-eighth birthday, he laments, “I can’t decide if my friends are the best or worse thing that ever happened to me.” The gang includes Benji (Zach Braff), the punkish innocent with a penchant for gym bodies; Howie (Matt McGrath), the psychology grad student who thinks too much and lives too little; Cole (Dean Cain), the charismatic actor who accidentally keeps stealing everybody’s guy; Patrick (Ben Weber), the cynical quipster, and Taylor (Billy Porter), resident drama queen, who, until recently, prided himself on his long-term relationship. Providing sage advice and steady work is Jack (John Mahoney), the beloved patriarch whose restaurant is a haven for them all.

Awards: 2001 Artios Best Casting Nomination for Feature Film, Independent, to Joseph Middleton & Michelle Morris (Casting Society of America, USA)
2001 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film (Limited Release)

@IMDb
@Amazon: The Broken Hearts Club (2000)
@Netflix
@Wolfe Video



( more pics )

Cast (in credits order)
Ben Weber ... Patrick
Timothy Olyphant ... Dennis
Matt McGrath ... Howie
Zach Braff ... Benji
Dean Cain ... Cole
Billy Porter ... Taylor
Justin Theroux ... Marshall
Andrew Keegan ... Kevin
Nora Burns ... Female Shopper
Chris Payne Gilbert ... Larry
( rest of the cast )

    
Dennis & Kevin

( more pics )

Rainbow Awards: Current Submissions 41 to 50

41. K.P. Kincaid - The Next Competitor (Prizm Books)
Gay, Coming of Age / Young Adult

It’s the all-important Olympic season and eighteen-year-old American figure skater Alex Grady is discovering that there are many obstacles along the way on his quest to win a gold medal. For starters, he has to get through endless hours of practice under the watchful eye of his stern and slightly terrifying Russian coach. Then he has to contend with his all-American rival, Tanner Nielsen. Tanner has the talent, looks, poise and picture-perfect girlfriend that make him the ideal poster boy for United States figure skating. Alex has the talent and his looks aren’t bad, but the filter between his brain and his mouth is missing, and he definitely doesn’t have a girlfriend. He doesn’t have a boyfriend either, although he finds himself thinking far too much about pairs skater Matt Savelli, which is ridiculous, since goody two-shoes Matt is totally not his type. Besides, Alex doesn’t have time to worry about dating, not with the Olympics looming, right? Can he find a way to go for the gold and still remain true to himself?

42. Eden Winters - The Wish (Torquere Books)
Gay, Contemporary

Alex Martin is arrogant, wealthy, spoiled and loney. His never-ending stream of lovers sees only his wallet. Hiding behind a mask of aloof indifference, he really wants someone who can see past the money, someone who'll stand up to him as an equal. Down-to-earth bookstore owner Paul Sinclair insists on making his own way in life. He longs for someone who thinks, works, and doesn’t ask for hand outs: a true partner in every sense of the word. After years of avoidance they finally meet, and neither is impressed. Though worlds apart they share a common bond: their uncles, Alfred and Byron, are long-term partners. And when the uncles conspire to match-make, a little thing like Byron’s being a ghost isn’t going to stop them.

43. L.L. Raand - The Midnight Hunt (Bold Strokes Books)
Lesbian, Paranormal / Horror

What do you do when you wake up to a whole new life…with dangerous urges you can’t control? Medic Drake McKennan has never been good at following protocol, so she doesn't think twice about rendering emergency care when a teenager’s life is at stake—even if the young girl is in the throes of Were fever and any sane human should know better. It isn't the bright shining pain of the bite or even the wrenching agonies of the fever that convinces Drake everything in her life has changed. It's the way she feels about the blonde with the wolf-gold eyes who awakens a dark hunger she can’t control…and doesn’t want to. Sylvan, the Alpha of the Adirondack Timberwolf Pack, is the one female Drake can't have. And the only one she craves.

44. Nell Stark & Trinity Tam - Everafter (Bold Strokes Books)
Lesbian, Paranormal / Horror

How far would you go to save your lover’s soul? When medical student Valentine Darrow is bitten by a Vampire on her way home to propose to her lover, Alexa Newland, her life becomes a nightmare. She is consumed—both by a craving for human blood, and by an obsession to find her attacker and bring him to justice. Alexa is determined to be everything that Valentine needs, but when Val's appetite outstrips Alexa's ability to nourish her, Alexa risks her life to save her lover. Will Valentine be able to control her thirst—for blood and for vengeance? And can Valentine and Alexa's relationship endure against seemingly impossible odds?

45. Gill McNight - Goldenseal (Bold Strokes Books)
Lesbian, Paranormal / Horror

When Amy Fortune returns to her childhood home, she discovers something sinister in the air—but is former lover Leone Garoul stalking her or protecting her? Amy Fortune and Leone Garoul were teenage lovers. Now, years later, Amy returns to Little Dip, the Garoul home valley to help her aunt finish a botanical project. Except Little Dip is no longer the happy place of Amy’s childhood memories. There’s something sinister in the woods. And why hasn’t Leone moved on? Why does she still dog Amy’s every move? As more and more of the Garoul family arrive for a special hunting weekend, parts of the puzzle come together and Amy’s fears escalate as she moves closer to the truth—and the secret that has eluded her since childhood.

46. Cat Grant - Triad (Lyrical Press)
Bisexual / Transgender, Erotica Contemporary

It's three times the pleasure - ten years on! Eric Courtland, his wife Ally and husband Nick have been living the sweet life for the past decade, tucked away in their luxurious Tuscan villa. But when a family crisis brings them back to the States, blackmail and an unexpected revelation threaten the delicate balance of their marriage. Weathering this storm may take everything they have - and still tear them apart.

47. Rick R. Reed - The Blue Moon Cafe (Amber Quill Press)
Gay, Paranormal / Horror

Someone—or something—is killing Seattle’s gay men. A creature moves through the darkest night, lit only by the full moon, taking them, one by one, from the rain city’s gay gathering areas. Someone—or something—is falling in love with Thad Matthews. Against a backdrop of horror and fear, young Thad finds his first true love in the most unlikely of places—a new Italian restaurant called The Blue Moon Cafe. Sam is everything Thad has ever dreamed of in a man: compassionate, giving, handsome, and with brown eyes Thad feels he could sink into. And Sam can cook! But as the pair’s love begins to grow, so do the questions and uncertainties, the main one being, why do Sam’s unexplained disappearances always coincide with the full moon? Prepare yourself for a unique blend of dark suspense and erotic romance with The Blue Moon Cafe, written by the author Unzipped magazine called, “the Stephen King of gay horror.” You’re guaranteed an unforgettable reading experience, one that skillfully blends the hottest romance with the most chilling terror...

48. Rick R. Reed - Mute Witness (MLR Press)
Gay, Mystery / Thriller

Sean and Austin's perfect world shatters when Sean's eight-year-old son, Jason, vanishes. When Jason turns up days later abused and unable to speak, small town fingers point to the boy's gay dad as the culprit. Meanwhile, the real villain is close by, intent on ensuring the boy's muteness is permanent.

49. Julie Lynn Hayes - To the Max (Dreamspinner Press)
Gay, Paranormal / Horror

What's a man to do, I ask you, when his own mother is more accepting of his lycanthropy than his homosexuality? I'll tell you what I do: absolutely nothing. (I'm really a laid-back kind of guy, despite that werewolf thing.) Maximillian Jean-Baptiste Montague, at your service. But please, call me Max. I write a syndicated column—To The Max—offering advice to the romantically challenged, and I think I'm doing pretty well for myself. Yet I can't seem to find the backbone to stop my mother from setting me up on blind dates of the female variety. Go figure. I do my best to get along, not cause any trouble, and keep my life on an even keel. But right now somebody's rocking my dream boat, and I don't like it. Not one little bit. My longtime live-in lover Richard is coming and going without explanation. Amy Rose, a wannabe lover from my past, is back in town, and she's brought her nephew, Morgan, who is making a play for my Richard—why does no one see that but me? And on top of all that, my mother is dating a homophobic minister, and she wants to "cure" me. Can life get any worse?

50. Roxy Harte - Heart of Change (Samhain Publishing)
Lesbian, Erotica Contemporary

True love hides where you least suspect it. After the truth comes out about her age, forty-something porn star Simone Sinclair is handed her walking papers, ending a career that has become more extreme sport than art form. The final straw is her long-time partner’s idea to start their own international studio with a marriage proposal tossed in to sweeten the deal. After two decades of waiting for him to deliver the white picket fence, it’s not exactly the offer she was expecting. At least she doesn’t need a man to answer the alarm of her biological clock. And when she shares a dance with Geri, one of her lesbian gal pals, she discovers she doesn’t need a man to fulfill other fantasies, either. But Geri’s not interested in touch and tease—she wants more than Simone is ready to give. Torn between three dreams—a post-retirement career, a family, or lasting love—Simone retreats to get her head on straight, coming to one conclusion. She can’t have everything. But two out of three is worse than nothing at all…

Rainbow Awards: Current Submissions 41 to 50

41. K.P. Kincaid - The Next Competitor (Prizm Books)
Gay, Coming of Age / Young Adult

It’s the all-important Olympic season and eighteen-year-old American figure skater Alex Grady is discovering that there are many obstacles along the way on his quest to win a gold medal. For starters, he has to get through endless hours of practice under the watchful eye of his stern and slightly terrifying Russian coach. Then he has to contend with his all-American rival, Tanner Nielsen. Tanner has the talent, looks, poise and picture-perfect girlfriend that make him the ideal poster boy for United States figure skating. Alex has the talent and his looks aren’t bad, but the filter between his brain and his mouth is missing, and he definitely doesn’t have a girlfriend. He doesn’t have a boyfriend either, although he finds himself thinking far too much about pairs skater Matt Savelli, which is ridiculous, since goody two-shoes Matt is totally not his type. Besides, Alex doesn’t have time to worry about dating, not with the Olympics looming, right? Can he find a way to go for the gold and still remain true to himself?

42. Eden Winters - The Wish (Torquere Books)
Gay, Contemporary

Alex Martin is arrogant, wealthy, spoiled and loney. His never-ending stream of lovers sees only his wallet. Hiding behind a mask of aloof indifference, he really wants someone who can see past the money, someone who'll stand up to him as an equal. Down-to-earth bookstore owner Paul Sinclair insists on making his own way in life. He longs for someone who thinks, works, and doesn’t ask for hand outs: a true partner in every sense of the word. After years of avoidance they finally meet, and neither is impressed. Though worlds apart they share a common bond: their uncles, Alfred and Byron, are long-term partners. And when the uncles conspire to match-make, a little thing like Byron’s being a ghost isn’t going to stop them.

43. L.L. Raand - The Midnight Hunt (Bold Strokes Books)
Lesbian, Paranormal / Horror

What do you do when you wake up to a whole new life…with dangerous urges you can’t control? Medic Drake McKennan has never been good at following protocol, so she doesn't think twice about rendering emergency care when a teenager’s life is at stake—even if the young girl is in the throes of Were fever and any sane human should know better. It isn't the bright shining pain of the bite or even the wrenching agonies of the fever that convinces Drake everything in her life has changed. It's the way she feels about the blonde with the wolf-gold eyes who awakens a dark hunger she can’t control…and doesn’t want to. Sylvan, the Alpha of the Adirondack Timberwolf Pack, is the one female Drake can't have. And the only one she craves.

44. Nell Stark & Trinity Tam - Everafter (Bold Strokes Books)
Lesbian, Paranormal / Horror

How far would you go to save your lover’s soul? When medical student Valentine Darrow is bitten by a Vampire on her way home to propose to her lover, Alexa Newland, her life becomes a nightmare. She is consumed—both by a craving for human blood, and by an obsession to find her attacker and bring him to justice. Alexa is determined to be everything that Valentine needs, but when Val's appetite outstrips Alexa's ability to nourish her, Alexa risks her life to save her lover. Will Valentine be able to control her thirst—for blood and for vengeance? And can Valentine and Alexa's relationship endure against seemingly impossible odds?

45. Gill McNight - Goldenseal (Bold Strokes Books)
Lesbian, Paranormal / Horror

When Amy Fortune returns to her childhood home, she discovers something sinister in the air—but is former lover Leone Garoul stalking her or protecting her? Amy Fortune and Leone Garoul were teenage lovers. Now, years later, Amy returns to Little Dip, the Garoul home valley to help her aunt finish a botanical project. Except Little Dip is no longer the happy place of Amy’s childhood memories. There’s something sinister in the woods. And why hasn’t Leone moved on? Why does she still dog Amy’s every move? As more and more of the Garoul family arrive for a special hunting weekend, parts of the puzzle come together and Amy’s fears escalate as she moves closer to the truth—and the secret that has eluded her since childhood.

46. Cat Grant - Triad (Lyrical Press)
Bisexual / Transgender, Erotica Contemporary

It's three times the pleasure - ten years on! Eric Courtland, his wife Ally and husband Nick have been living the sweet life for the past decade, tucked away in their luxurious Tuscan villa. But when a family crisis brings them back to the States, blackmail and an unexpected revelation threaten the delicate balance of their marriage. Weathering this storm may take everything they have - and still tear them apart.

47. Rick R. Reed - The Blue Moon Cafe (Amber Quill Press)
Gay, Paranormal / Horror

Someone—or something—is killing Seattle’s gay men. A creature moves through the darkest night, lit only by the full moon, taking them, one by one, from the rain city’s gay gathering areas. Someone—or something—is falling in love with Thad Matthews. Against a backdrop of horror and fear, young Thad finds his first true love in the most unlikely of places—a new Italian restaurant called The Blue Moon Cafe. Sam is everything Thad has ever dreamed of in a man: compassionate, giving, handsome, and with brown eyes Thad feels he could sink into. And Sam can cook! But as the pair’s love begins to grow, so do the questions and uncertainties, the main one being, why do Sam’s unexplained disappearances always coincide with the full moon? Prepare yourself for a unique blend of dark suspense and erotic romance with The Blue Moon Cafe, written by the author Unzipped magazine called, “the Stephen King of gay horror.” You’re guaranteed an unforgettable reading experience, one that skillfully blends the hottest romance with the most chilling terror...

48. Rick R. Reed - Mute Witness (MLR Press)
Gay, Mystery / Thriller

Sean and Austin's perfect world shatters when Sean's eight-year-old son, Jason, vanishes. When Jason turns up days later abused and unable to speak, small town fingers point to the boy's gay dad as the culprit. Meanwhile, the real villain is close by, intent on ensuring the boy's muteness is permanent.

49. Julie Lynn Hayes - To the Max (Dreamspinner Press)
Gay, Paranormal / Horror

What's a man to do, I ask you, when his own mother is more accepting of his lycanthropy than his homosexuality? I'll tell you what I do: absolutely nothing. (I'm really a laid-back kind of guy, despite that werewolf thing.) Maximillian Jean-Baptiste Montague, at your service. But please, call me Max. I write a syndicated column—To The Max—offering advice to the romantically challenged, and I think I'm doing pretty well for myself. Yet I can't seem to find the backbone to stop my mother from setting me up on blind dates of the female variety. Go figure. I do my best to get along, not cause any trouble, and keep my life on an even keel. But right now somebody's rocking my dream boat, and I don't like it. Not one little bit. My longtime live-in lover Richard is coming and going without explanation. Amy Rose, a wannabe lover from my past, is back in town, and she's brought her nephew, Morgan, who is making a play for my Richard—why does no one see that but me? And on top of all that, my mother is dating a homophobic minister, and she wants to "cure" me. Can life get any worse?

50. Roxy Harte - Heart of Change (Samhain Publishing)
Lesbian, Erotica Contemporary

True love hides where you least suspect it. After the truth comes out about her age, forty-something porn star Simone Sinclair is handed her walking papers, ending a career that has become more extreme sport than art form. The final straw is her long-time partner’s idea to start their own international studio with a marriage proposal tossed in to sweeten the deal. After two decades of waiting for him to deliver the white picket fence, it’s not exactly the offer she was expecting. At least she doesn’t need a man to answer the alarm of her biological clock. And when she shares a dance with Geri, one of her lesbian gal pals, she discovers she doesn’t need a man to fulfill other fantasies, either. But Geri’s not interested in touch and tease—she wants more than Simone is ready to give. Torn between three dreams—a post-retirement career, a family, or lasting love—Simone retreats to get her head on straight, coming to one conclusion. She can’t have everything. But two out of three is worse than nothing at all…

The Tomcat Line Series: Book 1 by Stevie Woods

The Hitch-Hiker (The Tomcat Line 1) by Stevie Woods

The starting point of this novel could have been good material for a suspence/thriller one (I don't know, probably Spielberg left me with that idea when there is a truck and an highway...), and instead the output is almost a light comedy. Ian is an anthropologist/archaeologist who is trying to reach home-plate running away from his enemies: he has an artefact the evil men want and he is not ready to let it go. Without money and not trusting the police, Ian is hitchhiking from South America to Chicago and more or less near Austin he asks a lift to Mac, an older but still handsome trucker whose truck is like a little home on wheels, double bed and all. Soon Ian will learn that Mac is a former Navy officer and he is not exactly a “simple” trucker; plus Mac has a very personal interest in Ian, cute and young, or at least at 34 years old, younger than him. I don’t remember if Mac’s age is clearly stated, but given that he has 20 years of service in the Navy, and a bit of experience as a trucker, I would say that he is between 40 and 50; plus there are some hints on Mac having no more the age to “play” with Ian as much and as soon as Ian would like.

Ian is not an helpless man, he is very clever, but not in a geek out of real world way; he is aware of the dangers around him, but probably since what he is searching, and protecting, is some ancient artefact whose only benefit will be to give credit to his research, or to the man who will steal it from him, I didn’t feel as him or Mac were really in danger, at least not life-danger. True, Ian is running away from an ex-girlfriend who made a deal with another college professor without scruples, but I think the worst they can do is to blow him in the head and running away themselves with Ian’s bounty. The diatribe among them is more like something that could happen in a tea room, rather than in a battle field, and Mac, and Mac’s friends, with their professional training, are like elephants in a crystal shop, way much too experienced to play with Ian’s and his colleagues; and when they decide to play anyway, there is no much game at all.

Probably the most interesting thing is Ian’s character, that has some hidden layers, layers that will not be all unveiled in the end (this is only the first book in a series): bisexual man, and without any issue about it, who, at moment is shy and behaves like a “virgin” (even if he is not virgin at all), and soon after is bossy and temperamental; Ian is not a simple man, and I think that Mac has only seen a little bit of this man, but being Mac a curious man, he is very interested in making Ian his personal mission, a mission that will lead him to uncover all those hidden layers.

http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=TOMCAT01

Buy Here

Amazon Kindle: Tomcat Line1: The Hitch-Hiker

The Lost Temple (The Tomcat Line 2) by Stevie Woods

Probably the most interesting thing of this series is the mix of adventures on Indiana Jones style and the home-made apple pie feelings of the trips by truck. Plus there is a nice mismatch on the chosen role play: Ian, the wanna-be Indiana Jones, is more a next door simple guy, glasses and nerd style shirt included; Mac, the truck driver, is a former Army officer with a Bruce Willis hero type attitude.

But these two different men met and fell in love, and so now they have to find a way to reconcile their lives. At the end of the first book everything seemed easy, they are living in the same state if not in the same city, and Mac is his own boss and so he can free time to go and visit Ian. But an easy plan is not easy to respect and so now Ian and Mac realized that actually they have not so much time to stay together and that when they are, they spend more time in regretting the time they lost than enjoying what they have.

There is also an element of age difference: Mac is, more or less, arrived, or at least in the descendent phase of his career, he is arrived in a moment when career is not exactly first in mind; Ian instead has just started his academic career, he has to invest a lot in it, above all on a time consuming factor. Mac understands that, if he asks now to Ian to renounce to it, they have too many years in front of them when Ian will regret to have done so.

I think the author wanted to tell both side of the story, and so basically this time we have both type of adventure: the “on the road” type, told from Mac’s point of view, and the “on the field” one, the archeological mission to discover the Lost Temple in Belize. This is not a long book, more or less 100 pages, and so both adventures are outlined but nor dug in details and the resolutions is pretty quick: in a way, I felt like it was more important to define the balance between Ian and Mac to build a steady relationship, than to read about these adventures.

http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=TOMCAT02

Buy Here

Amazon Kindle: The Lost Temple (The Tomcat Lines Series)

Amazon: The Tomcat Line #1 (print book)

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading+list&view=elisa.rolle

The Tomcat Line Series: Book 1 by Stevie Woods

The Hitch-Hiker (The Tomcat Line 1) by Stevie Woods

The starting point of this novel could have been good material for a suspence/thriller one (I don't know, probably Spielberg left me with that idea when there is a truck and an highway...), and instead the output is almost a light comedy. Ian is an anthropologist/archaeologist who is trying to reach home-plate running away from his enemies: he has an artefact the evil men want and he is not ready to let it go. Without money and not trusting the police, Ian is hitchhiking from South America to Chicago and more or less near Austin he asks a lift to Mac, an older but still handsome trucker whose truck is like a little home on wheels, double bed and all. Soon Ian will learn that Mac is a former Navy officer and he is not exactly a “simple” trucker; plus Mac has a very personal interest in Ian, cute and young, or at least at 34 years old, younger than him. I don’t remember if Mac’s age is clearly stated, but given that he has 20 years of service in the Navy, and a bit of experience as a trucker, I would say that he is between 40 and 50; plus there are some hints on Mac having no more the age to “play” with Ian as much and as soon as Ian would like.

Ian is not an helpless man, he is very clever, but not in a geek out of real world way; he is aware of the dangers around him, but probably since what he is searching, and protecting, is some ancient artefact whose only benefit will be to give credit to his research, or to the man who will steal it from him, I didn’t feel as him or Mac were really in danger, at least not life-danger. True, Ian is running away from an ex-girlfriend who made a deal with another college professor without scruples, but I think the worst they can do is to blow him in the head and running away themselves with Ian’s bounty. The diatribe among them is more like something that could happen in a tea room, rather than in a battle field, and Mac, and Mac’s friends, with their professional training, are like elephants in a crystal shop, way much too experienced to play with Ian’s and his colleagues; and when they decide to play anyway, there is no much game at all.

Probably the most interesting thing is Ian’s character, that has some hidden layers, layers that will not be all unveiled in the end (this is only the first book in a series): bisexual man, and without any issue about it, who, at moment is shy and behaves like a “virgin” (even if he is not virgin at all), and soon after is bossy and temperamental; Ian is not a simple man, and I think that Mac has only seen a little bit of this man, but being Mac a curious man, he is very interested in making Ian his personal mission, a mission that will lead him to uncover all those hidden layers.

http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=TOMCAT01

Buy Here

Amazon Kindle: Tomcat Line1: The Hitch-Hiker

The Lost Temple (The Tomcat Line 2) by Stevie Woods

Probably the most interesting thing of this series is the mix of adventures on Indiana Jones style and the home-made apple pie feelings of the trips by truck. Plus there is a nice mismatch on the chosen role play: Ian, the wanna-be Indiana Jones, is more a next door simple guy, glasses and nerd style shirt included; Mac, the truck driver, is a former Army officer with a Bruce Willis hero type attitude.

But these two different men met and fell in love, and so now they have to find a way to reconcile their lives. At the end of the first book everything seemed easy, they are living in the same state if not in the same city, and Mac is his own boss and so he can free time to go and visit Ian. But an easy plan is not easy to respect and so now Ian and Mac realized that actually they have not so much time to stay together and that when they are, they spend more time in regretting the time they lost than enjoying what they have.

There is also an element of age difference: Mac is, more or less, arrived, or at least in the descendent phase of his career, he is arrived in a moment when career is not exactly first in mind; Ian instead has just started his academic career, he has to invest a lot in it, above all on a time consuming factor. Mac understands that, if he asks now to Ian to renounce to it, they have too many years in front of them when Ian will regret to have done so.

I think the author wanted to tell both side of the story, and so basically this time we have both type of adventure: the “on the road” type, told from Mac’s point of view, and the “on the field” one, the archeological mission to discover the Lost Temple in Belize. This is not a long book, more or less 100 pages, and so both adventures are outlined but nor dug in details and the resolutions is pretty quick: in a way, I felt like it was more important to define the balance between Ian and Mac to build a steady relationship, than to read about these adventures.

http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=TOMCAT02

Buy Here

Amazon Kindle: The Lost Temple (The Tomcat Lines Series)

Amazon: The Tomcat Line #1 (print book)

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading+list&view=elisa.rolle