Darum geht’s:

Craig findet beim Joggen einen Haufen Herbstlaub im Park – obwohl es Frühling ist. Er gräbt einen offensichtlich verwirrten jungen Mann aus, denn was er erzählt, ergibt überhaupt keinen Sinn. Und der Jüngling ist nackt! Craig ist fasziniert und nimmt ihn mit nach hause.

So fand ich’s:

Nithael kann sich zuerst an nicht viel erinnern und was er sagt, ergibt keinen Sinn. Als er etwas klarer wird, versucht er, sich damit herauszureden, er wäre Schriftsteller und alles was er plapperte nur Fiktion – aber ziemlich schnell wird klar: Nithael ist ein Alien! Doch dank Craigs Fähigkeit, mit Ahnungen und Visionen Gefahren vorab zu spüren, kann er sich sicher sein, dass Nithael keine Gefahr für ihn bedeutet. Im Gegenteil. Craig ist hingerissen von dem kauzigen, weltfremden und trotz seiner offensichtlichen Genialität naiven jungen Mann.

Verrückter Wissenschaftler trifft bodenständigen Soldaten, der in die Zukunft sehen kann. Eine tolle Kombination. Mal abgesehen von dem Wissenschaftler-Blabla, das Nithael von sich gibt und das auch Craig nicht versteht, ist er sehr niedlich und interessant. Und es stellt sich heraus, dass er einfach perfekt für Craig ist. Die beiden ergeben ein tolles Gespann und die Art der beiden Autoren, ihre Geschichte zu erzählen, hat mir ebenfalls sehr gut gefallen. Ein Favorit!

Was ist Don’t Read in the Closet?

Die Gruppe „M/M Romance“ auf der Bücherseite „Goodreads“ hat von 2011 bis 2015 jedes Jahr im Frühling das „Don’t Read in the Closet“-Event veranstaltet. Dabei wurden die Gruppenmitglieder dazu aufgerufen, Fotos und inhaltliche Vorgaben einzureichen, anhand derer professionelle oder Hobbyautoren eine Geschichte verfassen, die sich rund um homosexuelle Liebe oder Erotik dreht. Herausgekommen sind viele Erzählungen, die nach und nach bei Goodreads veröffentlicht und mit kurzer Zeitverzögerung zum kostenlosen Download für jeden freigegeben worden sind.

2011: Hot Summer Days
2012: Love Os Always Write
2013: Love Has No Boundaries
2014: Love’s Landscapes
2015: Love is an Open Road

Die Vorgabe:

STORY LETTER:
Dear Author,

He loved walking in this secluded area of the park, for some odd reason people tended to stay away from it. Nearing the usual path he took into the woods, his eye was caught by a pile of golden leaves ruffling in the crisp, spring breeze. Where would autumn leaves come from at this time of year? As he crept closer to the pile Jake let out a muffled laugh, his curiosity was going to get him in trouble someday, he was sure of it. He came to an abrupt halt and his eyes widened in surprise at the attractive, naked, young man, dark hair streaked with white, shivering amongst the leaves. Tattoos covered his arm and torso, tattoos that seemed to…

Shaking his head Jake looked around; maybe he was intruding in the middle of a photo shoot or movie, but saw no one. Edging closer Jake saw the young man was awake, his expression one of shock.

“Are you all right? Do you need help?” The young man’s hazel-green eyes searched Jake’s face trying to focus. Not getting an answer Jake asked, “What’s your name?”

Opening and closing his mouth a couple times, the young man finally answered in an odd accent, “I… don’t know.”

Frowning, Jake reached into his jacket pocket and removed his phone, then draped the jacket over the young man. He should really call the police, but his instincts told him that somehow they wouldn’t be able to help and he always trusted his gut feelings. “Come on, let’s get you to my place and figure out what to do.”

No, need to use the name Jake unless you want. I just needed a name for the scenario and no need to use the scene I wrote out word for word. Something similar is okay.

I was thinking that the young man hasn’t come into his complete powers yet and he can only do that when he finds his ‘other’. Not mate so much, as ‘key’. They are a partnership, functioning at their best together, but diminished if separate. I like the idea of him being sent to our world by a mentor or family member in order to save him from what was happening in his world or on his planet. Please don’t kill off all the young man’s family. I really dislike stories that base the plot on having both parents or all of the family killed off, it’s so cliché. However, going on the run, into hiding, taken prisoners are all okay. I like the man who finds him to be intelligent but sceptical and always curious. He’s a bit too careful at times but his curiosity often gets the better of him. He’s a dichotomy. At the same time he has always had an ability that resonates or is tied with whatever ability you give to the young man. Of course you don’t have to use all these ideas, but amnesia and the elements and/or magic /or powers/or something unique are definitely wanted.

I’d like this to be a Fantasy or Paranormal, Sci-Fi is okay too. A parallel or hidden world within ours or from another planet works. No Faes or Elves, I don’t care for them all that much and no Vampires or Zombies. Shifters are okay and almost any other paranormal type. No horror. Third person and HEA required. Angst and UST are very okay. Explicit sex is also very good. Switching POVs is okay, but please not every other paragraph. I really dislike quickly changing POVs. I love older/younger men relationships and would prefer the ‘human’ to be around seven to ten years older. No instant love, but immediate attraction and desire is okay. I also love character development. I’d like difficult complications (not simple misunderstandings) and angst that needs to be overcome and then leads to the HEA. If you plan on writing a continuing story after the event, I’d be satisfied with a HFN as long as the sequel was HEA. And finally, I love long stories, so that’s a definite plus.

Thank you!

Penumbra

STORY INFO:
Genre: science fiction
Tags: other world, military man, scientist, cabin romance, mated/bonded, multidimensional travel, contemporary setting
Word Count: 40,691

AUTHOR BIO:
Ray Van Fox spends way too much time in front of a computer, but at least fifty percent of it is spent actually writing. Ray grew up in Chicago, came out in Iowa, changed pronouns in Seattle, and finds family in queerdom.

Jordan S. Brock has been writing for close to four decades and plans to keep at it for at least four more. Jordan’s writing spans from unpublished sci-fi/fantasy epics to fanfiction to published romance under another name.

Mehr dazu:

Die Story bei Goodreads (mit dem Foto, das zu dieser Geschichte inspirierte)

Hier geht’s zum Download dieser Geschichte als ePUB, MOBI und PDF für Leute, die nicht bei der Goodreads „M/M Romance Gruppe“ angemeldet sind.

Im PDF-Format ist das Dokument 110 Seiten lang.