Storm Grant   Quirky Fiction that's pretty, witty and gritty!

 

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SUMMARY        EXCERPT        REVIEWS    

Tart and Soul, 15000 words, is a fun, angsty, and sexy tale of young hookers in love. Not currently available.

Cameron Fairchild is an ex-marine plagued by weird allergies and atypical PTSD. Following a violent incident in an upscale department store, the courts release him into the custody of his mother, San Francisco's premiere madam! He learns a great deal at his mother's knee, including how to get down on his own. During the course of his internship, he falls for a pretty young man he first attempts to recruit, and later rescues from a nasty pimp. Together they find love and happiness and a brand spankin' new definition of monogamy.

Reviews (read more here)
“not your average m/m romance”
“original gay romance with a sense of humor”
“refreshing, at times even wacky”
“strange but interesting”
“one of the most unlikely romances I've had the pleasure of reading”
“an unusual but charming read!”
“distinct, refreshing and enjoyable”
“this short yet definitely sweet story was an absolute pleasure to read”
“I would love to read more from this writer”

Excerpt:

Harsh fluorescents lit cold, still forms. Unnatural limbs twisted in grim postures. Cam felt covetous eyes tracking his feints and dodges as he threaded his way through unfamiliar terrain. He reached for his sidearm. Shit. Shit. Shit! Gone, along with his military career.

One of the locals approached him; he rebuffed her smoothly, unsure whom to trust. Desperately out of his element, Cam needed to reconnoiter the territory before attempting contact.

Sweat dampened his palms, leaving faint marks on the things he touched in passing. His heart rate spiked, his breathing grew erratic as he passed anxiety on his way to full-blown panic. He spied a man waiting in ambush around the next corner. A khaki-clad woman advanced from Cam’s left. Footsteps clack-clacked behind him. He swung right in terror, frantic to escape, his grasp on reality slipping.

A frontal attack then, a young boy with a chemical spray. Cam clawed at his eyes, mind racing through deadly possibilities: saran gas, napalm, cyanide. Which one smelled of lemons? Cam twisted ‘round, swinging, felling his assailant with a fierce right hook.

His skin itched and burned and his eyes swelled shut even as he tore his chemical-soaked clothing from his body, gasping, choking.

The enemy surrounded him now, a barrage of noise and fury. Cam, naked, weaponless and half-blind, struggled and fought. He kicked and punched at shadowy outlines until something cracked across the back of his head. His last blow flew wide as he folded in on himself, collapsing to the floor in slow motion. Black pinpricks danced across his vision, expanding and overlapping until nothing remained but darkness.

 * * *

Cam swam into consciousness one nauseating sense at a time. The reek of urine assailed him, competing with the acrid taste of stale vomit. He gagged, the taste of bile sour at the back of his throat. He cracked open one eye while hunting through hazy memories, trying to sort dreams from the merely surreal.

He lay on a cot of some sort, an old blanket over him. Naked beneath the blanket, Cam vaguely remembered being gassed, of ripping his saturated clothes off.

“Cameron Julius Fairchild, you’ve been arrested and are being held for questioning. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

Cam expected the cell, and the interrogation. The familiar voice of the interrogator, though, shocked him. He rubbed crusty residue from his eyes, blinking to clear his vision. An elegant woman stood outside his cell, her arms crossed over her Chanel suit jacket.

“Uh, hi, Mom?” Cam shuddered; a headache beat a rough tattoo behind his eyes.

“So, Cameron. You want to tell me what that perfume boy ever did to you?”

Continued . . .

 

MORE REVIEWS

5 out of 5 stars! A short novel, strange but interesting. Tart and Soul is a light tale. At times it almost seems like an old movie set in a difficult and dangerous era, but inside the movie all goes right, and the reality never breaks the good mood of the story. The resolution to the most difficult situations is always simple and fast. ~ Elisa Rolle, Eliza’s Reviews

 

5 out of 5 stars! Tart and Soul is a one of the most unlikely romances I've had the pleasure of reading in a long time. …Cam [is] an intriguing character that will charm you despite the unlikely setting. Joshua is more of a secondary character to Cam's actions but he serves to provide a humorous foil to Cam's seriousness and to bring a little light into his life. From start to finish Cam and Joshua will capture your attention and then your heart as they clumsily make their way to a life together. Get yourself Tart and Soul the next time you are in the mood for an unusual but charming read! ~ Sabella, for Joyfully Reviewed

 

5 out of 5 stars! Original gay romance with a sense of humor. Fun characters and a twist on the usual m/m romance make this a short fiction well worth the bit of pocket change it costs to make it yours. This is not your average m/m romance by any means. The character who did endear, besides Cam, is Joshua. Grace's machinations do bring Cam some direction in the midst of a rough patch in his life, and something clicks when he and Joshua meet. Their meeting is fun and the author does a nice job of giving us their backstories as the two men become acquainted. And vivid backstories they do have, these boys. :) I enjoyed the way the author kept everything moving with a fresh, funny appeal. The characters were wonderfully fleshed out, despite the story's length, and even a couple of minor characters came as vividly to life, helped by the smart details the author slips in.

      My favorite part of the story was the way in which Cam and Joshua find each other again and the ensuing sweetness as they reconnect emotionally and physically. I was wishing this story had been longer, because I wanted more of their relationship. The author has a crisp, uncluttered writing style and a good eye for the right detail to set a scene. I could see it all quite clearly, especially the brothel. I recommend this story to readers looking for something entertainingly off-the-wall, with enough charm to thoroughly win you over, and characters that are memorable and likeable. I will be looking out for more from this author, too. ~ grrluknow, posted to Amazon.com

 

5 out of 5 stars! This one is refreshing, at times even wacky. Cameron is almost a war hero and you would have thought he is 100% alpha. But he is still very much a "Mummy's boy" at heart. This may just be a single shot but its cast of characters is well developed. The plot is entertaining, amusing and the romance sweet. I would love to read more from this writer. ~ Robyn Sumire, Posted to the Torquere website

 

This short yet definitely sweet story was an absolute pleasure to read. Once again, I am not disappointed by author Storm Grant and her amazing storytelling talents. The plot was entertaining and full of drama. The characters were full of life and the sexual tension between Cam and Joshua were very much evident and believable. In addition, I particularly enjoyed the close relationships of Cam to his unconventional mother and father. Thank you Storm Grant for yet another incredibly enjoyable reading experience. ~Jasmina Vallombrosa, TCM Reviews