Matthew Haldeman-Time

A collection of short stories following the day-to-day life of unlikely boyfriends Trent and Jason.

Trent is a swimmer, a college jock: tall, tan, blond, all muscles and friendly behavior. Jason is a goth punk, black dyed hair, pale skin, slim and with far more jewelry on then necessary. They are an unlikely couple... but they are a great couple.

After an appetizer about these two young boys the author gave us many years ago, he finally went back and developed it further into almost a complete story with happily ever after. I’m not giving it a 100% completion mark, and in this case is a good thing, because Trent and Jason are young, in college, deeply in love and very cute, and I think the author can tell us more and more about them and it will be still not enough.

From facing the first Valentine’s Day, to the summer break, to their first apartment together (almost), to the chance of meeting each other parents, we follow Trent and Jason during their routing. That is another thing I loved of this collection, it’s not really a story with a beginning, an apex and an ending, it’s more vignettes on college life and on a deep love that is blossoming between these two: I can easily see them get out of college, pursuing their career, but being still together, building an odd but happy family (odd because I think Jason will not change much, and having a goth dad can be an odd thing…).

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I have some authors in my auto-buy list, for different reasons. Matthew Haldeman-Time is on my auto-buy list since I love his young, beautiful and hot characters, their easy-to-go way of live, the joy of live they always have, their positive attitude and the inner innocence they maintain even when they are doing the most naughty things.

Matthew Haldeman-Time is one and trine: he is the amazing author of Off the Record, a lost pearl he self-published on Lulu Press and that I highly recommend; he is the fantasy author of the continuing series In This Land, a weekly appointment you can subscribe for a small monthly fee, and that now is also available in print book; and finally he is the generous author of many short story, you can read for free on his website, or something you can buy from some epublishers. Affair in Paradise enters in this last category, it's a very nice short story, a new release from Matthew Haldeman-Time that I was eagerly waiting and my only regret is that it's only a short story. But even in a short story I can find the author I know, and again two characters who are innocent and naughty at the same time.

Both Adam than Brett are the odds participant to a organized tour in a tropical island. Adam joined a female friend who at the last time was dumped by the other woman who had to go with her, and Brett decided to go on the tour even after he brought up with his partner. So now Adam and Brett are both gay (I believe the only gay in the group), without partners and available for a nice affair in paradise. But there is something that didn't click right for them.

Adam is nice and forward, he teases and makes clear his interest in Brett, and Brett seems to enjoy all this. But more Adam pushes and wait for Brett's answer, and more he is frustrated since Brett welcomes the attentions but never makes the counter move. On the other side, Brett is frustrated like and maybe more than Adam: Adam teases him on every chance he has, always bringing him to the edge, but never taking the final step to finalize all the teasing. What is the final brick on the wall? what is the magic word to open the door to Brett (no pun intended). The reader is along with Adam to try to understand what he is missing, and clue after clue we arrive to the realization and to the final climax, that is even more strong due to all the teasing we endured with Adam in the days before.

It's always difficult to judge a 30 pages long story, and it's always difficult to write something without giving out the story. What I can say is that as always Matthew Haldeman-Time managed to write a really nice and enjoyable story in 'only' 30 pages, a story that is complete like it is, but that I wouldn't mind to see developed in something longer if the author fancies to play again with these characters.

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In This Land series by Matthew Haldeman-Time is quite a famous trend in the M/M romance world: Matthew Haldeman-Time is maintaining an online and ongoing series, and people can read any new chapter paying a small fee every month. I started the subscription more than two years ago and it was just well far on deep in the story, so I really don't know when all started. I have to admit that now I interrupted my subscription, but not since the story was no more interesting, but since the author finally decided to release the story also in print version, collecting all the various chapter in 8 different book (and later on I will explain why 8, or at least why I believe there will be 8 books) and I obviously bought the book in print version (I have all the book of Matthew Haldeman-Time in print...).

The starting point of the series, is Bade's personal story. Bade is a prince of a fantasy kingdom, a realm that is a mix of medieval and arabian custom. In Bade's world, homosexuality is not a crime, even if not so common; since Bade is not the first born, he is relieved from the task to provide an heir to the throne, and so is his twin brother Vane. Bade and Vane are inseparable, but at the beginning of the book they are forced apart by Bade's particular 'mission': he is chosen by Prince Orinakin, the royal diplomat of a more important and wealthy kingdom, as suitor for his pharaoh Anosukinom. Prince Orinakin is travelling among all the kingdoms of the world to find various and handsome suitors and Bade is one of the chosen. Bade doesn't know why he is considered worthy, or why the chosen was him and not his more friendly twin Vane, but he takes the choice as a task, a way to bring the issues of his native kingdom in front of the powerful pharaoh.

For Bade is quite a cultural shock: even if in his native land, homosexuality is not forbidden, he is not used to openly manifest his sexual behavior or desires. Instead in this new land, sex is a common expression of a natural need, and not only it's not forbidden, it's also warmly adviced. The Bade we met at the beginning of the book almost separates in two different men: one who remains inside his mind and that has quite a predisposition toward Orinakin, the royal diplomat, and one that becomes to express himself also through his body, and that is deeply fascinated by Anosukinom. It's quite interesting to see Bade's evolution to see what will be his final choice. On the other side, both Orinakin than Anosukinom are interested in Bade, but Anosukinom, as man and god alike, already knows who will be his future husband, and so his intetest in Bade could mean that he is the final chosen. Instead Orinakin fears to care too much for Bade since, if he will marry his brother, he will be forever forbidden to him.

Even if Bade, Orinakin and Anosukinom are the main characters of this first book, all the other brothers of Orinakin have big supporting roles in the story, and since they are in total 8 (with Orinakin and Anosukinom), I have the feeling that every book will focus more on one of them, and that only in the final book all their stories will come to an end. Every brother has a different color who identify him, and Purple is the color of Orinakin.

'In this land' recreates a very complicated and interesting fantasy world, with deep arabian characteristic, like the harem and the use of water and gardens to embellish the palace. I felt almost like a cultural clash when Bade arrives in the new land, since his background was more european medieval, with all the boundaries that this means, and he found himself in a country that was at the same time terrifying and fascinating, since it disputed all he believed since then. I have also the feeling like Bade moved from a world in black and white, or better in soothing color, like brown and black, to a world that was a rainbow of joyous color, and this reinforced the sensation of cultural clash I had.

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