2013 GRL Authors: Ethan Day

My next writer really needs no introduction. You know you'll get one anyway.

Ethan Day, if you don't know, is one of the beating hearts of GRL. He was an intimate part of the nurturing from the germ of a lovely idea to the full-scale exuberant madness that it is today. This is in less than a handful of years, mind you. He could easily have been one of those writers who spent all of his time on self-promotion (and writing, of course) but he's always been a staunch supporter of other romance writers and, as long as I've known his name, has provided forums for fledgling writers to try their wings.

I first ran across Ethan as a reviewer. (Yes, I was one of those horrid, nasty people who read books for a review site and didn't always say glowy, gushy things. Of course, that's when I still had time left in the day for such things.) This review site accepted all manner of erotic romance and while most of my colleagues snapped up the M/F and the menage offerings, I haunted the listings for M/M, the odder the sub-genre, the better. It must have been at a point where I needed something to lift my spirits (probably after reading something dark and distressing or several somethings) that I was lucky enough to spot At Piper's Point. The blurb made me hesitate a bit but, what the heck? A comedy, even if there was a bit of slapstick, was just the ticket.

Was there slapstick? Some - Ethan does some hilarious physical comedy, not just in this book but in several others I've picked up since. But the expectation that I was getting a shallow rom-com didn't last past the first chapter. Our Mr. Day has depth. He's a natural storyteller who understands the rhythm of a story and just how much to spool out on the story thread. (From my review, oh, my, almost three years ago: "After my first, wrongheaded impressions had been swiftly shattered, I found it amusing that Cassidy and Nate spend most of the novel not having sex. Quite honestly, the not having sex and almost having sex was hotter and more squirm-inducing than most sex-filled novels I’ve read.")

Yes, Ethan writes contemp stories, but weirdo me will make an exception for him. There aren't too many writers I'll do that for. (What? No mystery? No horror? No crime scenes? No spaceships? No paranormal beasties? Heavens to Murgatroyd!) Ethan writes more than simple comedy, though - his stories contain very real internal struggles. Don't be shocked if you alternate between giggling and tears when you read them.

Talk to Ethan? Well...maybe this year. If he's not busy. If I don't get all tongue-tied again. Or I could just wave from across the room...

The pretty At Piper's Point cover above is the new one from Wilde City Press.

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