Serial Fiction

I admit, I'm hooked on a few serial stories: military gay fiction for the most part. There's something about getting to know the characters, slowly over time. It's like a relationship. I have a serial story, Cheating Chance, running with my publisher, Torquere Press. People seem to really connect to Nicky and Brandon. The second book, Inland Empire, is already done, the third one, All or Nothing, is being planned. Nicky is a Nevada Gaming Control Agent and Brandon is a Closeted, Riverside Vice Detective. Gambling cheats, drugs, murders: their stories are like roller coaster rides.

I liken the feeling of reading serial fiction to almost like falling in love. I especially like when I find a story that's gone on for a bit already. The first rush of "ohh, that's who you are," followed by a slow process of discovery. Two of my favorites are very different. One is from a professional writing team (they have a book out together and both have several between them as separate authors) and the other is on a free porn site. Both chronicle a long period in the lives.

Maybe, I like what I read because they're military. If I found slash/gayfic cops I'd read 'em too. My inbox is littered with RSS feeds from the FBI and several Police Departments. I have a serious thing for uniforms. Everyone else slows down at an accident to see what happened. I slow to see what police department showed up. I know the difference between the summer uniform, basic uniform and the training uniform for most So. Cal departments. Riot gear, combat boots, batons and a Sam-Brown belt...shiver.

The thought of two sexy guys in uniform...together...really does it for me. I know it's one of the reasons I write cops. It is, possibly, the ultimate in masculinity: dominance, power, control. I've been toying with a science fiction military piece for the same types of reasons. There are things you can do with and to soldiers/police as characters that people wouldn't "buy" from any other type of character. They can be ballsy and brash, but still have a more sensitive core.

They're a blast to write as well. You want to bash someone's head into a wall. Guess what, your character can. Think about what a cop could do while a guy is handcuffed. Oh, wait, I wrote that story... twice.

I may never understand why I read and write these guys. I just have to accept I love it.

photo 1 is from bigphoto.com and is public domain with credit. photo 2 is from the US Federal archives and as such is public domain.