I’m a big fan of Lynn Lorenz. (see a link to her website on my blog roll) She writes mostly m/m and m/m/f and has been a great model for me in my writing. (Ah, Lynn, bet you never knew you were a role model.) Lynn is a master of voice. Each of her characters speak so clearly, with such definition, they leap off the page at you. Who else could set a series of m/m romances in a medieval era and make us believe it! But, as usual, my personal favorites are contemporary — her Common Powers series, set in present day Texas(where Lynn lives). In this trio of m/m romances, the hook is that one of the characters has some unique “power” such as reading minds or healing. In truth, the books stand up perfectly well without this plot device because Lynn‘s characters are so strong and relationships so believable. But the power adds a fun little extra.
Of the three books in the series my absolute favorite is the last, Edward, Unconditionally. This is the story of the unlikely romance between Jack, the ultimate alpha-male and chief of police in a small Texas town, and Edward, “the gayest man alive”. (The third important character is Winston, a bulldog so adorable even dog-haters would love him.) But the heart and soul of the book is Edward–unconditionally. Edward is sensitive, loving, and wears his proverbial heart on his sleeve. The reader loves him so much it’s easy to understand why Jack does, even though he has to risk his carefully-crafted “perfect” life to have him. Readers like me who love pretty boys will find Edward sexy and lovers of alphas will want him for a best friend.
There are a lot of wonderful characters in Edward, Unconditionally such as Edward’s grandmother who he has come to heal, and all of the men who starred in the previous two books (BTW, i read this book first and had no trouble understanding all the characters and their relationships. I went back later to read their stories.) Their responses and reactions to Edward help us see him more clearly. Edward is described as dark-haired, slender and “too pretty to be a man.” In Edward’s character, Lynn captures the power of both a man and a woman. Edward may be a queen, but he’s not a girl.
I tried to find a picture that i thought might begin to capture some of Edward and really couldn’t fit my mental images in a photo. So i just went for broke and chose a picture as outrageous as Edward. The feathers? Edward at the Atlanta Gay Ball! : )
