About Family Matters

Written by Kara Larson, Sean Michael, Chris Owen and Alexa Snow
249 pages / 94400 words
ISBN: 978-1-60370-372-7, 1-60370-372-1
Available file types - html, lit, pdf, prc, paperback

From single men to men in committed relationships, from Texas to New Zealand, family matters are matters of the heart and they mean more than anything else. There's not a thing these men won't do for their families, whether it's learning how to pitch in and help at a clan wedding or raise two wild runaways in Auckland. One way or another, families change a man's life, and a man in love finds he's all the better for it.

In Alexa Snow's "Motion of the Planet", commitment-shy Tyler discovers his Irish lover has everything it takes to help him learn to be a parent to his niece and nephew. "Everybody Loves a Wedding" by Chris Owen leads us through Spencer's determination to pull off the biggest, best wedding party ever for his sister, with more than a little help from his new flame Dean.

Kara Larson's "And a Chook Shall Lead Them" tells the story of Amiri and Graeme, New Zealand physicians torn between historical family ties and two children's needs in today's world. In Sean Michael's "Inheritance", a bullheaded cowboy and a stubborn games designer go head-to-head over what's to be done with their shared nieces and nephews and find they're falling fast for one another. Let this anthology teach you whole new definitions of family today!

Review

Angela Benedetti, author of A Spirit of Vengeance, writes:

Alexa Snow's "Motion of the Planet" is fun and painful and sexy and poignantly realistic all at once.  I grinned in some places and had to wipe away tears in others.  Tyler and his newly live-in boyfriend Mason take custody of his neice and nephew, ages five and one, when Tyler's sister and her husband are killed in a house fire.  Tyler's grief over his sister and his panic over having to take responsibility for the kids felt very real, and his conflicted feelings about the children reflect his difficulty in making a commitment with Mason.  This isn't a romp by any means, but sometimes I get tired of the sugar-shmoop and want a story that feels like real people dealing with real life, especially when all the bad stuff just keeps piling up.  When you're looking for depth of feeling, this is the perfect story to fill that need, and I'll definitely be rereading it.

"Everyone Loves a Wedding" by Chris Owen conveys perfectly the dynamics of a huge family, particularly the surface evil and deep affection of siblings.  Spencer's family is huge and chaotic and makes me miss my own family, which was much larger when I was a child.  Necessary bits of backstory are worked in smoothly, and the sex -- of which there's a good bit -- is just as integral a part of the story as a whole, with a flavor of light D&S between Spencer and Dean to keep things spiced up.  The boys can't seem to keep their hands off one another, which is delightful without ever slowing down the flow of the plot.  I enjoyed watching Spencer take on his duties for the wedding and make sure everything was perfect, despite skepticism from some of his family and friends.  Chris did a great job and I'd love to read more about Spencer and Dean.

"And a Chook Shall Lead Them" by Kara Larson is another story of a neice and nephew going to live with their gay uncle, but the tone is quite different from that of Alexa's story.  Set in New Zealand, it's about a Maori family and is ripe with Maori language and culture -- enough to support the story and be interesting in its own right, without feeling at all pasted-on or gimmicky.  Not only does the protagonist, Amiri, have issues with his family going back to his late teens, but his little niece Lani has a medical condition which has to be dealt with as well.  Taking responsibility for the children isn't something to be done lightly, but Amiri discovers that family is important to him after all and that their growing family (expanded eventually by two chickens and a pony, as well as the kids) is just what he wants.  I particularly liked that not everything was wrapped up in cotton candy by the end; the best available solution isn't always the best we could wish for, but Amiri works things out with his kids and his partner, and other more distant members of his family, and I was smiling when the story ended.

Sean Michael's "Inheritance" reminds me of those old romances where a dead relative's will forces two people who dislike each other on sight into close contact, and fireworks ensue.  Cash and Brad couldn't be any more different -- Texan and New Englander, cowboy and software geek.  Luckily they're both gay and they're both hot and those similarities make up for a whole pile of contrasts.  The device where two guys who hate each other have a knock-down, drag-out fight and end up best buds is an old cliche, but Sean makes it work beautifully and had me grinning -- the sign of a great writer, taking something old and being able to polish it up and make it sparkle.  As always, his characterizations shine and just watching the guys be together, talking and arguing and flirting, dealing with kids and crises and a manipulative grandmother, makes this the kind of story you curl up with, accompanied by a big bowl of popcorn.

Anthologies usually have at least one weaker story in them, but I can honestly say I enjoyed all four stories in Family Matters very much.  Fun and sex and romance and family -- highly recommended.

Sample

From Everyone Loves a Wedding by Chris Owen

"Is it always like this?" Dean asked a couple of minutes later, just after a loud burst of laughter came from the corner where the women were all still clustered together.

Spencer looked around.  Maddy, the twins, and Soph's oldest were playing in the water. The three other kids, all under three years old, were clustered with Spencer's sisters, the baby suddenly wailing. The men were across the yard. "Pretty much," he said, smiling. "At least, when we're all together.  Usually it's just a few of us, plus kids. That makes it a bit calmer, but honestly -- it's a big, loud family, no matter how you cut it. You're not used to having a pile of people around?"

Dean shook his head and drank. Spencer had a vague impression that he was both asking because he was curious and also trying to direct attention away from Brian, who'd gone back to looking at his beer bottle. "I'm one of two kids," Dean said, his voice rumbling. "And my brother is only nineteen.  It's a whole different kind of thing, I guess."

"I guess," Spencer agreed, since it was obvious and took very little thought.  He was having a hard time thinking, really. "My mom said you'd fit in, by the way. Which means she's coveting your name to add to her weird collection, as she's out of daughters to pair you up with."

Dean made an amused sound and looked right at him, his dark eyes sparkling. "I hear she's got a son available, though."

Spencer swallowed hard.