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Lisabet Sarai Likes Fingers Breadth

The wonderfulness (is that a word?) just keeps coming: check out this very nice review of my new gay erotic/thriller/horror/sf novel, Fingers Breadth by the respected (and very talented) Lisabet Sarai!

Most men are within a finger's breadth of being mad. - Diogenes 

A lunatic is loose in San Francisco, seducing gay men, drugging them, then slicing off the tip of one of their fingers at the first joint. At first, terror grips the city. Bars and clubs catering to the gay community close; no one dares venture out at night, for fear of encountering the Cutter. A chance hook-up with an attractive stranger could make you the next victim 

As time goes on, though, and more men join the ranks of those with nine-and-half-fingers, the mood shifts. Fear morphs into a sort of desperate heat. New venues open, more vibrant and raw than ever. Men with all their fingers intact become objects of suspicion – perhaps they are the one responsible for the plague of mutilation. The gay community develops new rituals to deal with the horror. But who is the Cutter, and why does he pursue his macabre crusade? 

In Finger's Breadth, M. Christian has created a creepy and compelling narrative that, like so much of his work, defies categorization. The book offers elements of horror, erotica, science fiction and social commentary. Christian's San Francisco is recognizable but weirdly skewed from the real city. Its dark streets are haunted by free-lance cops and merciless predators, newly-outed kids fresh from the boonies and jaded veterans of a thousand blow jobs. 

There's no single hero. The novel proceeds as a series of vignettes, views of the world through the eyes of various men affected by the explosion of violence. Snippets from newspapers and radio programs move the plot forward. Each character holds a piece of the truth without necessarily being aware of that fact. By the end, the reader has a pretty clear idea of what's going on, but Christian never actually comes right out and explains.
M. Christian understands the dynamics of fear as well as the fascination of extremes. He transcribes chilling Internet chat sessions, between a man who might or might not be the Cutter, and a man who longs to be. 

TRANCHERMAN191: I'll only ask one more time. Why do you hope it's me?
CONRADICAL02: i don't know!
TRANCHERMAN191: You do know. You just won't say it.
CONRADICAL02: i want more. i want something different. Is that why you do it?
TRANCHERMAN191: Answer my question or stop bothering me.
CONRADICAL02: i want something different. i want 2 do what you do.
TRANCHERMAN191: Because?
CONRADICAL02: i want it to mean something. Sex, i mean. Or something like that. It doesnt do anything. Its fun. But it doesnt last. It's what everyone else does. Its not special. i like it, but i mean, its like what everyone else does. Is that what you mean?
TRANCHERMAN191: Go on.
CONRADICAL02: i dont know. Fuck. Its not enough. ive done it all kinds of ways but its not...it doesn't stay. Thats not right. Fuck, i dont know. i want to feel more. i want to be more. i dont want just tricks. i want risky. i want to do more than fuck and suck. i want to feel real big real powerful. Nasty. i want to be different like you.
TRANCHERMAN191: You don't know anything about me. 

Finger's Breadth is simultaneously terrifying and arousing. M. Christian has tapped into the subterranean founts of desire, where the primal urges - lust, anger, fear, hunger - flow together. At the same time, the book dwells on more existential issue - the need for meaning and recognition, the urge to belong to a tribe. Like his previous work, the controversial novel Me 2, this book considers how far one might go today in order to fit in.
If you're looking for an easy, sunny, sexy book with a happy ending, don't pick upFinger's Breadth. If, on the other hand, you want a scary but enlightening ride through the twisted labyrinth of the human psyche, I highly recommend this book.

Billierosie Likes Fingers Breadth

I may have (ahem) said it a bit too much but ... well, it can't be said enough: I really do have some fantastic friends - and one of the very best I have is Billierosie.  Just look at this sweet review she just posted on amazon for Fingers Breadth.  Thanks so much, sweetie!

From the Prelude onwards, we’re carried along on a roller coaster, with this fasted paced novel, fresh from the keyboard of M.Christian. “Finger’s Breadth”starts with the cops, as they interview the latest character to be mutilated after a sleazy night, out on the San Francisco streets. Typically, the interviewee can tell them nothing; he doesn’t remember, or doesn’t want to. 

“He cut part of your fucking finger off,” says the exasperated cop. 

“Yeah, but it could have been worse.” is the philosophical response. 

One thing you can rely on M.Christian for, is a damn good story And “Finger’s Breadth is no exception; I think it’s his best one yet. As always, I get the feeling that he’s dancing ahead of me; laughing, teasing. Never taunting; M.Christian is a writer who respects his reader. He just has fun along with us, weaving his superbly crafted tale. 

I mean, who’d have thought that you could write a story about Gay men waking up in the morning, minus part of a finger? It’s surreal; a crazy notion. “right hand little finger amputated at the first joint…” Yes it’s a ridiculous idea -- and yet -- it works. 

This is a visual novel, in the tradition of the best Film Noir. Dark, still and silent.  Characters moving into shot, then out of shot. Yet, as I said earlier, fast paced too, as one character, then another, tells their part of the story. A jigsaw put painstakingly together and it’s only on the final pages that the reader sees the complete whole. 

It’s erotic; a comment on desire. A comment on our crazed need to have the ultimate fashion statement. 

This book is totally weird and unsettling. And the reader just accepts what is going on, with all its weirdness. The reader is complicit. But more than anything, it’s a great story, a great read. Takes me back to long ago, when I first discovered what a joy reading could be. It’s as simple as that; being intrigued, being told a good story.

Elisa Likes Fingers Breadth

This is too cool!  The wonderful Elisa Rolle just posted this nice review of my gay thriller/erotica novel Fingers Breadth on her site.  Thanks so much, Elisa!

M. Christian started with a mystery and ended with a psychological thriller. There is a mad man out there picking gay men, drugging them and cutting their pinkie finger. Nothing else. It doesn’t seem a great crime, but it’s still a crime, and the police had to investigate. Problem is that the only main trait of all victims is to be gay, aside from that they are black and white, young and old, poor and rich. People is scared, private clubs close down every day and in the meantime, day after day, a new victim joins the club… since now, being a victim of the Cutter is trendy, if you are not one, then probably you have something wrong. Now it’s not only the police that is searching for the Cutter, they are the same victims who WANT to be found. In a kind of ironic twist, the villain becomes the hero, and the reader starts to understand that everyone can be the villain, as everyone could have been the victim. 

There are various life intertwining their destinies, Fanning, the freelance cop who wants to find the Cutter, but maybe he is not searching for justice; Varney, the first victim, a newspaper reporter who is now following the case and who apparently is the only one who can see that being a victim is not a great thing; Taylor, the only victim who escaped with all his intact fingers, but who is not more scared than before; Trancherman0191, who trolls the gay chats in search of “victims”… but in the end, all of them can be a victim and all of them can be the Cutter, and truth be told, you will realize it’s no more important to know who is the Cutter, because he realized what seemed impossible to achieve, he levelled all men to the same point, he allowed the shy to be bold, the bold to be scared, the victim to be aggressor and the aggressor to be victim. Removing that "finger's breadth" that separate men from madness, he also removed the reason why they were different. 

Not all the men in this story will find their balance, but I think some of them did. I have high hope for Varney and Taylor, that they will be able to understand what is really important in life and that maybe they will give a chance to love, a chance that till now they were too scared to see.

Me And Von Gutenberg Magazine

Groovy!  Check this out: I have an article in the current issue of Von Gutenberg Magazine.  Big thanks to my pal, Ralph Greco Jr., for making it happen ... hugs, Ralphie!

So kids, let’s talk about issue #6. 

We’re going to be running lots of Facebook alerts, tweeting and twatting, shooting out emails to our friends, designers, the models, writers, and just about everybody else about the fact that our issue #6 is out and about. In time I will try to amass a list of where you might be able to pick-up the magazine in your area. Really, we are so very proud of this issue, from front cover to last, and we want you to see it! 

One of our features this time is a great big piece by M. Christian (and we all know Christian has a great big piece, this is why he is so popular with the ladies!) you just have to read his historical overview on comics and pulps and how and steamy they all got way back in the day. His Breast Plates To Bondage: An Informal Look At Sex In Comic Books and Pulp Magazines is a wonderful 4-page spread you have to read to believe. Yes, Von Gutenberg is about all those delicious models dressed in dripping hot latex, and God knows we got them this time around, but if I do say so myself, the text we have in the magazine this time around, M. Christian’s piece one of the shining examples, is exemplary. 

So check out our brand spanking new (and I know how much so many of you out there love to be spanked) issue #6 athttp://vongutenbergcouture.com/and check our all things M. Christian at his site http://frequentlyfelt.blogspot.com.

Impact Play: Beyond Floggers And Canes - at The Looking Glass

Just wanted to toot my (ahem) 'horn' about my upcoming Looking Glass class:

Impact Play: Beyond Floggers And Canes!
Sunday, Jan 8: 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Cost: $20.00 per person, $35.00 per couple; $25.00 per person, $40.00 per couple at the door.

Join this workshop to receive (ahem) 'hands-on' instruction in a wide and sometimes-strange variety of different impact toys. We'll explore techniques using hands, hairbrushes, paddles, crops, wooden spoons, batons, quirts, and more! While often the physics of these toys are sometimes closely related, to use each one effectively takes particular skill and techniques that are not immediately apparent. Participants will learn not only how to inflict the most pleasure as well as pain but also how to use each item without hurting the wield-er as well as the wield-ee.

Amen, Stephen!

Stephen Fry Kinetic Typography - Language from Matthew Rogers on Vimeo.

Or They're Just Breathing Hard

 

That's Me -

 

Sex In San Francisco - Now In Dead Trees!

Here's great news for all you folks that like to read your erotica on (gasp) paper: the Sex In San Francisco anthology I edited for the great folks at Renaissance E Books/Sizzler Editions is now out in a non-ebook edition.  You can, of course, order it on amazon.

What it is about San Francisco that seems to promise, and even promote, sex: sex hot and heavy, sex tender and loving, sex straight and gay, sex kinky and vanilla, in fact, just about every type of sex that can be imagined?  Why is San Francisco considered such an attraction for lovers of all kinds and such a hotbed of steamy eroticism?  Why is this city, instead of so many others, called — with lusty admiration as well as scathing jealousy — the Id of America, Sodom by the Sea, Bagdad by the Bay, and Sin Francisco? Some of the best writers of erotica in the nation seek answers to that question in Sex In San Francisco. These writers show why San Francisco is so damned sexy, and through their stories they show you the erotic heart of the city and its residents.  Donna George Storey, PM White, Renatto Garcia, Adele Levin, Shanna Germain, Craig J.  Sorensen, Theda Hudson, Jude Mason, Neve Black, Mykola Dementiuk, Jeremy Edwards, and Anna Reed with Lily Penza have created wonderful erotic tales, each of which takes a unique approach to probing what makes San Francisco such a sexy place to be in and to dream about.  Each author uses her or his own amazing literary – and yes, erotic – vision to share with us a very personal interpretation of what constitutes sex in the city of the Golden Gate. These authors may be looking at the same city and viewing the same buildings and landscape, but for each of them San Francisco is, like sex, a very personal, and unique, thing

REVIEWS:

"Sex in San Francisco. Sex in that wonderful city is told from every angle possible -- M. Christian, the editor of this unique anthology isn’t kidding when he says that San Francisco is the sexiest city on earth. The stories are sexy and very, very hot. The only choice I have is whether to read the stories hard and fast, or try and linger and read them slow. In the end hard and fast won. I can linger next time, and there will be a next time, because these compelling tales are already drawing me back. Donna George Storey, writes of a sexy Hallowe’en in the Castro. It’s all going so well, then oopsie -- and it’s a pretty big oopsie. An oopsie that brings a tantalising jolt to married life. I hope that Sandra never throws away THAT dress. "Renatto Garcia’s metaphors simmer like hot soup on a winter’s night. “San Fran was laid out like a welcoming prostitute.” It’s a coming home story told through an irrepressible sensuality. It’s a love/hate relationship with the city and with Blair’s own past. In “Job” Adele Levin, goes back to the summer of love. We all remember that summer, even those of us who weren’t in San Francisco. It seem like the world was filled with endless possibilities; we didn’t do anything about the possibilities, just watched them drift by through a haze of hashish. And of course it’s about sex, and told in such a naïve innocent voice, reminding us that once upon a time we had a share in that innocent bliss. Who’d have thought that just one city could inspire so many tales. San Francisco is personified through the stories in this remarkable anthology, showing herself to be truly the “sexiest city on earth." And there’s many more stories, than the few I’ve mentioned here. Tales by Shanna Germain, Neve Black, Craig J. Sorenson and the wonderful M.Christian himself." - Billierosie, author of Fetish Worship

"The stories in this collection hold nothing back as they explore erotic possibilities in a suggestive setting--the San Francisco of the Castro and other infamous areas. But you won’t find many Mission-ary practitioners here; these tales go all over the local and libidinal street map. This book is so hot you’ll need asbestos gloves to read it." - Rusty Cuffs, author of Wrapped Too Tight and A Little Restraint, Please

"One of my favorite erotic writers, M. Christian, takes a break from writing and acts as editor of this anthology about sex in San Francisco. It is certainly one of the things that the city is most famous for and some of the best have come together to give us some very hot stories of Sodom by the Sea. We see why San Francisco is so sexy and we go to the heart of the city with such writers as Donna George Storey, PM White, Renatto Garcia, Adele Levin, Shanna Germain, Craig J. Sorensen, Theda Hudson, Jude Mason, Neve Black, Mykola Dementiuk, Jeremy Edwards, Anna Reed and Lily Penza. The stories are personal, interesting and above all else, very erotic. Christian has done an excellent job with the selections and you really feel the heat of the city." -Amos Lassen

"In Sex in San Francisco, M Christian has brought together some of the biggest names in erotica to share sexy tales about the uniquely steamy, sometimes kinky, and always smoking hot City by The Bay. Featuring stories by Donna George Storey, Shanna Germain, Craig J. Sorensen and, of course, M. Christian himself, Sex in San Francisco is sure to satisfy. Word of warning – if you start reading this sizzling collection in the morning, you just might find yourself taking it to bed." - Zander Vyne, award winning author of WEATHER GIRL & Other Kinky Stories

I (Heart) Books

15th Century BOOK OF HOURS - Heart-Shaped When Opened

The little book of hours of Amiens Nicolas Blairie, carefully written on a thin Ruling rose, but modestly decorated with some original illuminations in ink (folio 29), has the curious shape of an almond when it is closed. When it opens, the two halves of the almond bloom to fit the contours of a heart, concrete evocation of the heart of the person praying the prayer that opens.