Friday, February 17, 2012

FINGER'S BREADTH AMPUTATION MADNESS

This is ... well, I am practically speechless: not only is Ernest Hogan of one my favorite authors but he's a really wonderful guy: just check out this great post he just did about Fingers Breadth and my (ahem) 'playful' publicity push for the book (the press release, by the way, that started all this will come in my next post).  Thanks so much, Ernest!



The things a writer has to do to get people to buy a book these days! According to a press release I just received, "In what is clearly an act of pure desperation," M. Christian has threatened to have part of one of his fingers amputated to publicized his novel Finger's Breadth. I guess I shouldn't be surprised with bookstores vanishing from the face of the earth, and with everybody who can type an email message putting out an ebook. I guess it's a wonder that it hasn't happened before.

Yeah, William Burroughs cut off part of one his pinkies, but that was a Van Gogh bid for love, not to hawk any books.

In a sane world (is that even possible?) this sort of thing shouldn't be necessary. Finger's Breadth is a sensational read "about a mysterious figure cutting off the tips of little fingers in a near-future noir San Francisco." It's packed with more thrills than you can shake a detached body part at. It should be selling like hotcakes. Filmmakers should be fighting duels over the rights to make a blockbuster movie of it.

So buy and read Finger's Breadth now, before we see missing fingertips all over the place.
I only hope that this doesn't mean that Christian has made some kind of deal with the yakuza.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Call for Submissions - Sex in New York City: Tales of Pleasure and Perversity in the Big Apple


Call for Submissions

Sex in New York City
Tales of Pleasure and Perversity in the Big Apple
Edited By Ralph Greco, Jr.

An anthology of stories about the one of the world’s most spectacularly vibrant and decidedly decadent cities.
To be published by Sizzler Editions (http://SizzlerEditions.com ).


We are looking for stories from new and established authors celebrating one of the busiest-and sexiest-cities on earth. Pulsating with a vibrancy unlike any other location how can one think about New York City without thinking of the orgasm-like rise of steam shooting-up through manholes, men and women jostling their bodies oh-so-close in the dirty bowels of subway cars, of the bright lights and the limos whisking couples who knows where for God knows what?

Writers who live in or have been to The Big Apple now get their chance to take a big bite out of it in any way they choose, using the full expanse of this amazing city’s locations, from Times Square, to the The Village, to clear across to one of the vibrant ethnic enclaves of neighboring boroughs like Brooklyn of Queens.

Sex in New York City, like all Sizzler Editions, is open to submissions featuring all sexual and gender orientations. We seek stories with whatever kind of sex seems true to NYC…and you. From tender romances to the hardest kinks: a naughty canoodle in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral to a high-class dom/client meet in an upper east-side apartment, everything is permissible just as long as NYC is the backdrop. And the folks populating your tales should be as vibrant and unique as this city they have come to play in.
Believable, intriguing characters have always been Sizzler Edition stock-and-trade and we want more of the same for this anthology. As important as the sights and sounds (and smells) of New York City will be to your stories, you’ll need to invest your romps with people we truly care about, people who have something to say-as well as a something naughty to do! Readers need to care about people they come to imagine, only then can we hope to arouse, interest and entertain.

Submissions may be fiction or personal experience, but all submissions must be explicitly erotic.  In short, the sex should be the central focus of your story and not just an incident along the way.

Stories featuring incest, rape, underage characters, homophobia, bestiality, excessive violence, or any portrayal of excrement or urination, will not be considered. If you have questions about whether or not your story may work for this anthology, please contact Ralph Greco, Jr. at ralphgjr@earthlink.net with your questions or concerns.

Both previously published and original works will be considered.

Story length: 2,500 to 12,500 words
Deadline for Submissions:
Rights: First North American Anthology Rights
Payment: $25, paid on publication

For anthologies we purchase non-exclusive English language anthology rights throughout the world, for both electronic and print for five years. Author retains all other rights.

a. For e-book editions sold via the Publisher's own website, the royalty is forty percent (40%) of the retail price.
b. For e-book editions sold via other Internet retail outlets, the royalty is twenty-seven percent (27%) of the retail price.
c. For paperback editions sold via Internet retail outlets, the royalty is ten percent (10%) of the retail price.
d. Said royalties shall be paid fifty percent (50%) to the editor and fifty percent (50%) to the writers to be distributed on a prorated basis.
e. All monies paid to authors on publication shall the accounted as an advance. Once the advance is earned out, royalties shall be paid to editor who will disburse them to authors.

Email submissions should be sent to:ralphgjr@earthlink.net- in the subject line put: Ralph Greco, Jr. Anthology Submission. File should be in rtf format only, be sure to include contact information on all attachments.)

Still More Fingering Publicity

Oh, Ralph, you are a true star!  Not only does my great friend put something about Fingers Breadth on the great Von Gutenberg site - by the way, don't forget that I have an article in the current issue - but then he puts up a fun post about my book on the Short and Sweet NYC site.  Yer the best, Ralphie!


Oh, and speaking of the so-cool Mr. Greco he is also doing an anthology that you all have to send stories in for: Sex in New York City - Tales of Pleasure and Perversity in the Big Apple.  I'll put the call up in my very next post.


It is amazing what we have to do nowadays to get noticed, even people who already get press on a regular basis. In the world oferotic literature it’s probably even harder then usual to get a little look-see. Sure artists have their Twitter and Facebook accounts, and at super wonderful sites like shortandsweetnyc.com we do our best to get the word out about all that is out there, but there are still othermethods writers/film makers and musicians might have to consider in getting the word out. 
For instance.. 
With over 400 stories in such anthologies as Best American Erotica, Best Gay Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica and in magazines and Web sites; editor of 25 anthologies including the Best S/M Erotica series, Pirate Booty; collections that include Dirty Words, Speaking Partsand Rude Mechanicals and the novels Running Dry, Me2 andPainted Doll infamous scribe M. Christian has announced an act of pure desperation in his latest press release… 
M. Christian has threatened to amputate part of one finger to publicize his new novel, Finger’s Breadth! 
Finger’s Breadth– a gay erotic science fiction horror thriller – has garnered respectable reviews, still the wily M. Christian is not satisfied. When I asked the man if this is a publicity stunt, he said: 
“A stunt?  A STUNT?!  Of course it’s a publicity stunt. We writers have to be more than a bit outrageous if we’re going to get noticed! Hell, the book’s about a mysterious figure cutting off the tips of little fingers in a near-future noir San Francisco, so a pretend self-amputation is perfect I think!” 
I breathed a sigh of relief as I don’t want to see anybody ‘suffering’ this much for his art. But the author did ad: “They say that a good writer has at least a few good books in them, so if a finger is all it takes to get the word out about this novel … well, I have 19 more fingers and toes to go.  Seems like a small price to pay.” 
We shall see what the future holds for M. Christian and how well he’ll be holding it in the future. In the meantime you can visit the writer at http://www.mchristian.com and you can buy Finger’s Breathdt here.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Fingering Publicity

One more time: I have some really, truly, wonderfully great friends - and one of my best pals is Ralph Greco: just check out this great post he just did on the (equally great) Von Gutenberg site about an upcoming ... shall we say unique publicity push I've been doing for my queer erotic thrilled Fingers Breadth:


You know me, I like to champion the Von Gutenberg extended family when I get the chance…and we have lots of people in the family (if you’re not part of this marquis club, join us at the Von Gutenberg Facebook Fan Page here. One of the folks/friends/fans/professionals featured in our latest issue is none other then writer M. Christian. Chris (to his friends, and who isn’t Chris’s friend, the guy is just so damn likeable!) is having fun prompting his latest book, Fingers Breadth.

I’ll let Chris tell you what’s he’s up to in his own imitable style. According to the latest PRESS RELEASE: 
In what is clearly an act of pure desperation, author M. Christian has threatened to amputate part of one finger to publicize his new novel, Fingers Breadth (Zumaya Books). 
“The fact is, it’s getting harder and harder to get the word out about anything new, especially novels,” says M. Christian, whose biography includes over 400 short story sales, nine author collections, the editing of 25 anthologies, and six previous novels.  ”Is it no surprise that writers are having to resort to obvious stunts to try and get their work noticed?” 
When asked if the planned amputation is simply a publicity stunt, Christian responded with faux outrage: “A stunt?  A STUNT?!  Of course it’s a publicity stunt … these days writers have to be creative and, let’s be honest here, more than a bit outrageous if they are going to get noticed.  The book’s about a mysterious figure cutting off the tips of little fingers in a near-future noir San Francisco so a pretend self-amputation is just too damned perfect!” 
No I know Chris, he’s one of those guys you would as much see at any of the industries fantasy events (listed on ourFantasy Even List at Twitter) as you would sit down and have over-priced eggs with. When it comes to what he is capable of you better believe as sure-as-shootin’ that those damn Zanti Misfits we’re gonna crawl up ol’ Bruce Dern’s leg, Chris has got enough other appendages (and the story is quite a few are very impressive…if you know what I mean) to not miss a digit or two in the selling of his art. 
If you’re up for a good read check out Fingers Breadth here:
Paperback: $15.99
ebook: $6.99 
You can reach  M. Christian at his website: http://www.mchristian.com
and check-out the piece he did for us at  http://www.vongutenberg.com/shop

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Treasure Island

Determined not to spend every waking moment in front of my computer, I've recently gotten back into some hobbies ... such as photography.  And here's some recent play with just that: some shots from a very cool afternoon my brother, s.a.[here's his blog and here's his own Flickr account], and I spent wandering around Treasure Island.  If you want to see the rest of the shots just click here for my Flickr feed.





Confessions Of A Literary Streetwalker: The Four ... Well, Five Deadly Sins. #5: Oh, Shit

Check this out: I just wrote a brand new "Confessions Of A Literary Streetwalker" piece for the always-great Erotica Readers & Writers site - all my previous columns, of course, have been collected in How To Write And Sell Erotica by Renaissance Books.  Here's a tease:



Back in the 'good old days' of smut – when pornographers had to haul their steaming piles of sexually explicit materials up four and five flights of stairs – a certain writer with a gleam of sexy potential in his mesmerizing green eyes ... okay, I mean me ... wrote a column for the fantastic Adrienne here at Erotica Readers & Writers called "Confessions Of A Literary Streetwalker."

Now one of the things I did was part of being a Streetwalker that really took off was a little series I did called "The Four Deadly Sins:" a playful examination of the things that smut writers could do but that could – to put it mildly – make their work a tough sell.

Fast forward a ... decade?!  Sigh.  Anyway, I had to put aside my Streetwalker days for other things but that little verboten list has always been by my side, especially since I'm now an Associate Publisher for the wonderful Renaissance Books (which includes Sizzler Editions, our erotica line).  By the way [COMMERCIAL WARNING] my old columns are now in a dead-tree and ebook collection called How To Write And Sell Erotica [COMMERCIAL ENDS].

The reason why those "sins" stay with me is because one of my Associate Publisher things is to consider books for publication – and still, today, erotica writers don't seem to understand that while, sure, you can pretty much write whatever you want there are still some things that will more-than-likely keep your work from seeing the light of day.  Just for the record, the four are underage (self-explanatory), beastiality (same), incest (ditto) and excessive violence (torture porn or nonconsensual sex).  But I'm here to talk about a new one that's popped up ... or 'pooped out' to blow the joke.


[MORE]

My Next Book

Yet More Philosophy

Monday, February 06, 2012

Amen!

“When stupidity is considered patriotism, it is unsafe to be intelligent.”
- Isaac Asimov

Friday, February 03, 2012

BDSM Reviews Like Fingers Breadth

This is ... well, wow: a nice review of Fingers Breadth by the great folks at BDSM Reviews!


Rating: 4.5 out of 5 paddles 
This book is not usually the sort thing I’d read. The description is gay/horror; the cover is a hand with part of a digit missing, so normally I’d probably give it a miss. I’m so glad I didn’t. The book blurb from Amazon says you have never read a book like fingers breadth, which is the most accurate description of this book I’ve seen. I started reading with trepidation. I’m not into horror and I have a knack for turning the written word into a vibrant image in my mind. My hesitation came from what I might end up visualizing, as I read about the attacks on gay men, who are drugged, and have their finger (or part of it) cut off. I didn’t need to worry, as it turned out having a finger cut off isn’t the most horrifying part of the storyline. 
There were many things I loved about this book. The author spares us gruesome details in relation to the attacks, and in some instances the act itself is done in a caring manner. He doesn’t limit his storytelling to a few main characters who tell the story and its impact on those around them. This is a book about a community that’s being terrorized, so there is a community of characters depicted throughout the book. Like many of us who are avid readers, I can usually get to a point in a story where I can predict the ending. Not so with Fingers Breadth. The book turned into something I never expected, a psychological mind twist, an immersion into the human condition and how people react to trauma, whether they are the victim of it or merely a spectator from a community perspective. The truly horrifying aspect of the book was the community response to what was taking place. Totally believable reactions of hatred, fear, violence, and the need to be part of what was going on by copying actions, or self inflicting injuries. The heinous act of mutilation becomes secondary, almost an afterthought, to the popular perceptions missing part of a digit evokes. 
[MORE]

Yet More Philosophy

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Ernest Hogan On Being A Black Marks Judge


Okay, this is beyond cool: you know, right, I'm helping my great pal Marilyn Jaye Lewis with the Black Marks Contest for unpublished science fiction?  Well, our guest judge for this time is one of my all-time favorite writers: Ernest Hogan ... who just posted to his site about how jazzed he is to be involved.  Thanks, Ernest!




A black robe, powdered wig, and gavel may be in order – I'm going to be a judge . . . of the first Black Marks Literary Award that is. It'll be for a perviously unpublished science fiction novel. There will be a cash prize of $500, plus the option of publication. 
So, if you have a virgin science fiction novel manuscript kicking around that you think is a winner, check out the guidelines, and read them carefully, because they warn:
Any guidelines that aren't expressly followed are grounds for automatic disqualification. 
What will I be looking for in picking the winner? What I usually look for in the genre – I hope to get my mind blown. Give me daring feats of the imagination!
[MORE


How To Wonderfully WriteSex (15)


Check it out: my new post at the fantastic WriteSex site just went up. Here's a tease (for the rest you'll have to go to the site):


Only in erotica can the line “Come, Fido!” be problematic. Unlike some of the other Four Deadly Sins of erotica writing, bestiality is very hard to justify: with few exceptions, it’s not something that can be mistaken for something else, or lie in wait for anyone innocently trying to write about sex. This is unlike, for instance, discussing a first time sexual experience and have it accused of being pro- pedophilia. Bestiality is sex with anything living that’s not human: if it’s not living, then it’s a machine, and if it was once living, then it’s necrophilia.

A story that features—positively or negatively—anything to do with sex with animals is tough if not impossible to sell, though some people have accomplished it. However, there are some odd angles to the bestiality that a lot of people haven’t considered—both positive and negative.

On the negative side, I know a friend who had an erotic science fiction story soundly slammed by one editor because it featured sex with something non-human, technically bestiality—despite the fact that there is a long tradition of erotic science fiction, most recently culminating in the wonderful writing and publishing of Cecilia Tan and her Circlet Press (both very highly recommended). Erotic fantasy stories, too, sometimes get the “we don’t want bestiality” rejection, though myth and legend are packed with sexy demons, mermaids, ghosts, etc. This doesn’t even get into the more classical sexy beasts such as Leda and her famous swan, or Zeus and other randy gods and demi-gods in their various animal forms.

[MORE]

Monday, January 23, 2012

Out Now: My Love Of All That Is Bizarre: The Erotic Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes Edited By M. Christian


Now here's something very, very special: a collection of wonderful erotica - by some very special writers - about everyone's favorite genius detective, Sherlock Holmes: My Love Of All That Is Bizarre: The Erotic Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes - Edited By M. Christian



For all that we know about Sherlock Holmes there is much that is a complete and total mystery about him - and, as he would say himself, a that is a puzzle that should be addressed.  Is it any wonder that so many of us have scratched our much-smaller craniums and pondered his relationships, trying to use his own maxim of "when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth" to peer down deep into those mysteries?  This timely collection focuses on his unmentioned private life.  In short, the great detective's amorous inclinations, the part of life Victorians were so silent on, but so profligate in its practice.  And the authors don't stop there - you will also find stories about the sexual side of other key characters who make up the canon: Irene Adler, Mrs. Hudson, Dr. Watson, and even that most infamous of villains, Professor Moriarty.  Included are many of today's most popular authors including Michael Kurland (American Book Award and the Edgar Award finalist), Angela Caperton (Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica), M. Christian (Lambda Award finalist), and such other distinguished practitioners of the short story and novelette as Cesar Sanchez Zapata, Kate Lear, Wade Heaton, Dorla Moorehouse, Ivo Benengeli, Billierosie, Zachary Jean, PM White, Violet Vernet.  As Holmes himself said: "The game is afoot.  Not a word! Into your clothes and come!"

So True

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Announcing The Black Marks Literary Award!



M. Christian and Marilyn Jaye Lewis are both thrilled to announce that for the inaugural year of the Black Marks Literary Award for best unpublished science fiction novel, the cash award will be $500. 

The winning prize also includes the option of electronic publication with a long-standing eBook publisher with outstanding international distribution. If you do not wish to be published upon winning the prize, it is entirely up to you. Winners are free to shop their winning manuscript to any publisher they want to; you do not forfeit the cash prize if you do not choose publication with us.

The prize will also include possible Print-on-Demand trade paper publication with the same publisher. (The POD option is largely based on initial electronic sales figures, among other financial considerations.)

Submissions for the contest opens February 1st!

#

Our Mission
 To publicly honor outstanding genre fiction writing, thus assisting writers and readers to find each other in these changing technological times.
 About Us
 The Black Marks Literary Award was founded by two award-winning genre fiction authors, Marilyn Jaye Lewis and M. Christian, each with three decades of professional experience in the fields of writing, editing, publishing, media, and multimedia. Both are longtime advocates of giving back to the writing community as well as being fervent supporters of new voices entering the field.
They are joined by Ernest Hogan as the first guest judge for the The Black Marks Literary Award: 
Ernest Hogan is known for is his usual science fiction. His novels, Cortez on Jupiter, High Aztech, and Smoking Mirror Blues have a cult following. His short fiction has appeared in Amazing Stories, Analog, Science Fiction Age, Flurb, and may other periodicals and anthologies. He enjoys daring feats of the imagination.
Submission Guidelines

 Please read carefully. Any guidelines that aren’t expressly followed are grounds for automatic disqualification.
  • We are currently accepting only Science Fiction.
  • Submissions must be previously unpublished. “Previously published” includes electronic publishing, serialization of any kind online or in print, and self-publishing, including more than 10,000 words on an author’s own web site.
  • Submissions must be completed novel-length works. Word count of the completed novel must be between 55,000 and 150,000 words.
  • Submissions must include a cover sheet with your name, your complete contact information, the title of your story and the word count of the completed novel.
  • On NO OTHER PAGES can your name and contact information appear. After the cover page, only your title should be posted in the top left-hand corner of each page.
  • Electronically submit, as an RTF doc attached to an email, 10 complete, consecutive pages from your novel, beginning on page one and ending on page ten. (Do not submit ten consecutive pages taken from anywhere else in the manuscript except from the beginning of the manuscript.)
  • Submit a complete synopsis of no more than 5 pages for the novel. (Do not put your name or contact information on the synopsis, only list the title of your novel. If your synopsis runs more than 1 page, be sure to include the title of your novel on the top left-hand corner of each page.)
  • 5 finalists will be selected based on the first 10 pages and the synopsis of the submission.
  • The 5 finalists selected will be asked to submit the complete novel immediately via electronic submission as an RTF doc attached to an email.
  • 1 winner will be selected from the 5 finalists. The winning manuscript will be determined through a point system that will be followed by each of the judges.
  • The winner will win
    • a cash award (amount determined at the start of each new contest)
    • receive a frame-able certificate
    • and an offer of publication as an eBook (and possibly as a print-on demand title) through Renaissance EBooks. Publication upon winning the award is not mandatory.
Email all contest submissions as an RTF doc attached to an email:
We will email you to let you know your submission was received. If you do not receive the confirmation email within 5 days, please contact us at info@blackmarksliteraryaward.comas it likely means we did not receive your submission.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Zee Likes Fingers Breadth

This is simply beyond wonderful: check out this very touching review of Fingers Breadth by Zee of Firepages.  Swoon!



Someone is abducting young gay men in San Francisco, drugging them and cutting off the tip of their pinky. The entire city if on edge, especially after dark. The gay community fear for themselves, as they know that anyone could be next. Even though the police are looking for the Cutter, no one really knows who this person is nor the motivation of cutting a finger. Suspicion divides the community. There are people who have only nine-and-a-half fingers, and those who have ten fingers. The niners suspect the Cutter may have ten fingers and those who walk around with ten fingers hope they are not next.  
M. Christian has to be the most amazing writer I've ever read. He is a master manipulator with his words. You read his stories and begin to feel exactly what he wants you to feel - arousal, desire, anger, fear, hope. Readers find themselves surprised to feel this way, yet it is M. Christian's way of pulling dormant and primal emotions out of you. And the crazy part is that you don't mind embracing these perverse feelings as you are that pulled into the story. Not only does M. Christian push his characters in his stories to their limits, but he also pushes his readers minds to meet him in these faraway places. 
I loved how M. Christian addressed multiple facets of storytelling, like horror, thriller, and societal issues. The way the community split between those with 9.5 and 10 fingers was genius, and the horrible experience that the victims go through is downright chilling. Finger's Breadth has a way of getting under your skin and sending chills to your bones in both a terrifying and arousing kind of way. Finger's Breadth is not a story; it is an experience I highly recommend. 

Sunday, January 08, 2012

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.

Thursday, January 05, 2012

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.

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

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.

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

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.