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Call and Answer
Small-town Louisiana in 1959 is a dangerous place to have a gay affair. But Henri can't help his instant attraction to Gabriel, a handsome black musician who accepts his advances with amused tolerance. Henri hopes for a summer of hot, uncomplicated sex before he leaves for college. He doesn't realize that Gabriel is a powerful shape-shifter who also lives as an alligator in the bayou.
When Henri first sees Gabriel transform into an alligator, he mistakes him for the Devil. Then he learns that Gabriel exists to raise power through sex-magic. For that, Gabriel needs a human lover. In the past, some lovers have helped Gabriel spend the power for the good of the land, and others have squandered it for personal gain. What will Henri do – given that he never wanted to be a magic-wielder in the first place?
As his summer romance with Gabriel deepens into passionate love, Henri must learn to face responsibility as he encounters prejudice, family feuds, and startling glimpses into the underworlds of New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Can he persuade Gabriel to take a chance on a future with him? 31,000 words total.
When Henri first sees Gabriel transform into an alligator, he mistakes him for the Devil. Then he learns that Gabriel exists to raise power through sex-magic. For that, Gabriel needs a human lover. In the past, some lovers have helped Gabriel spend the power for the good of the land, and others have squandered it for personal gain. What will Henri do – given that he never wanted to be a magic-wielder in the first place?
As his summer romance with Gabriel deepens into passionate love, Henri must learn to face responsibility as he encounters prejudice, family feuds, and startling glimpses into the underworlds of New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Can he persuade Gabriel to take a chance on a future with him? 31,000 words total.
131 pages, ebook
First published March 25, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 28, 2011
Henri has just graduated high school and has been spending the warm summer nights hanging out in the bayou, enjoyably ogling a young black musician. He knows what he’s doing spells trouble, it’s 1959, he’s gay (and in the closet) and racial tensions are strong, but he’s drawn to the music and the beautiful man who doesn’t seem to mind playing for his audience of one night after night. One night things change and Henri realizes the beautiful man, Gabriel, shares in the attraction. He sings seductively to Henri, invites him inside the cabin and tells him, “You burn so bright. All that lust like a bonfire lighting up the darkness.” How could Henri resist? How could anyone? Henri is ready to lose his virginity but before they begin their lusty affair Gabriel insists Henri know exactly what he’s getting into and then transforms into an alligator!
The opening scenes are filled with a heady sense of longing and desire. I was torn out of my dreary rain filled world and felt part of the lush sensual world the author was creating. I thought to myself “this is lovely and the reason I read”. And I don’t do that often. This story was very different from the plethora of shifter books out there and I thought it felt much like a dark edged fairy tale, my favorite kind. Gabriel was something of a nature spirit, hibernating until called and then, through sex magic, spending the season raising and releasing power to avert natural disaster and heal both the land and its people. After the beautifully descriptive setup, the gator shifts felt like a natural, organic part of the story.
So the two begin their heated, hidden fling, having sex whenever and wherever they can and what starts out for Henri as a sexy summer fling grows into something much deeper. But he fears Gabriel does not feel the same. Other complications ensue when Henri doesn’t spend the power properly, makes a very poor choice (but I forgave him because he was only 18), gets himself entangled in another family’s drama and debates coming out to his parents.
I found Gabriel’s behavior at times so hysterically not human. He was never just a character who happened to be able to change into an alligator. He was human but also very much alligator and I really enjoyed his character. He came alive for me and I enjoyed this story most when he and Henri were interacting. They had some great chemistry and their affection for each other was clear in every exchange. Henri’s confusing new feelings and his longing for love were very well written.
“Now, would you come to dinner at my house?”
“Meet your family?” Gabriel gave him a searching look and started to smile.
“Please,” Henri said. “It’s important to me.”
“Cher, you so nervous.”
“Well, I never brought someone home before.”
“What am I coming as?” Gabriel winked at him. “Your sweetheart?”
Henri couldn’t help giving him a hurt glance. The question sounded mocking . . . Gabriel raised his hands in wordless apology. The tension drained from Henri’s shoulders, and Gabriel leaned close and pressed a kiss to his neck. “
I did feel there was a bit too much outside drama going on but that’s something I complain about in most books where I’m enjoying the romance of it all. I enjoyed the unique storyline, the hot and believable romance and the unexpected bits of humor and thought the ending went well with the dark tinged fable like feel that was set up from the very beginning but I wouldn’t turn down a sequel.
The opening scenes are filled with a heady sense of longing and desire. I was torn out of my dreary rain filled world and felt part of the lush sensual world the author was creating. I thought to myself “this is lovely and the reason I read”. And I don’t do that often. This story was very different from the plethora of shifter books out there and I thought it felt much like a dark edged fairy tale, my favorite kind. Gabriel was something of a nature spirit, hibernating until called and then, through sex magic, spending the season raising and releasing power to avert natural disaster and heal both the land and its people. After the beautifully descriptive setup, the gator shifts felt like a natural, organic part of the story.
So the two begin their heated, hidden fling, having sex whenever and wherever they can and what starts out for Henri as a sexy summer fling grows into something much deeper. But he fears Gabriel does not feel the same. Other complications ensue when Henri doesn’t spend the power properly, makes a very poor choice (but I forgave him because he was only 18), gets himself entangled in another family’s drama and debates coming out to his parents.
I found Gabriel’s behavior at times so hysterically not human. He was never just a character who happened to be able to change into an alligator. He was human but also very much alligator and I really enjoyed his character. He came alive for me and I enjoyed this story most when he and Henri were interacting. They had some great chemistry and their affection for each other was clear in every exchange. Henri’s confusing new feelings and his longing for love were very well written.
“Now, would you come to dinner at my house?”
“Meet your family?” Gabriel gave him a searching look and started to smile.
“Please,” Henri said. “It’s important to me.”
“Cher, you so nervous.”
“Well, I never brought someone home before.”
“What am I coming as?” Gabriel winked at him. “Your sweetheart?”
Henri couldn’t help giving him a hurt glance. The question sounded mocking . . . Gabriel raised his hands in wordless apology. The tension drained from Henri’s shoulders, and Gabriel leaned close and pressed a kiss to his neck. “
I did feel there was a bit too much outside drama going on but that’s something I complain about in most books where I’m enjoying the romance of it all. I enjoyed the unique storyline, the hot and believable romance and the unexpected bits of humor and thought the ending went well with the dark tinged fable like feel that was set up from the very beginning but I wouldn’t turn down a sequel.
August 18, 2011
So many things are off the beaten path with Call and Answer--this shapeshifter story is definitely an unique offering. Set in bayou country in the late fifties, the elements of time and place shape but do not overwhelm the plot. Val Kovalin has created something special here.
Henri Broussard, horny eighteen year old, blows past the conventions and into the arms of Gabriel, a gorgeous black man/land spirit who insists Henri know and understand his alligator form and nature. It's easy for Henri to agree to the responsibilities that come with Gabriel, much easier than to actually discharge them. Henri's thoughtless and a little wild; Gabriel might have been right to think Henri's called him too soon.
Kovalin weaves the small town, pre-Civil Rights movement, pre-women's lib attitudes through the plot very deftly, without resorting to coarse language in doing it, yet it all simmers within the story, much as it must have done in that time. Combine that with the heavy bayou air, the water that's too dangerous to swim in, except for Gabriel, and the pull of sex, and the sweat rises off the reader.
Gabriel's a mystery, yet very open, too. He doesn't question what he is or why he's bound in certain ways; he's been in the swamps since "before whites or blacks." It's been a long time since his seasonal partner was a man, but Henri burns with lust – he's the one. There's a serious maturity gap here, yet Gabriel cannot be the guide Henri so urgently needs because of the way the power works. Somehow that's fitting – look into reptilian eyes and there's no one in there you can communicate with.
This is so much the story of Henri's growing up, going from simple lust to understanding and maybe even love, and coming into manhood in so many other ways. Henri's character in the beginning seemed under compulsion – there were no moments of reflection on how many of society's rules he was breaking or that he was doing it deliberately or with understanding, just boom – into the arms of the most unsuitable (on the surface) lover around. By the end though, this young man is a much finer person. A varied cast of secondary characters assist him in their various ways, from Sofie, who wants a different life and feels a claim on Gabriel, to Mr. Jackson, a middle-aged black teacher who's been beaten, but not beaten down, by the color bar, and a family already astraddle two cultures.
Henri's young and the mistakes he makes reflect that – unbridled horniness and hesitating to fulfill a frightening duty -- by the end he's much deeper than he starts, when his every action has consequences greater than he first expects. His decisions cost him dearly, and yet, the story ends on hope. I want to see what happens in the spring.
4.5 but happy to round up
Henri Broussard, horny eighteen year old, blows past the conventions and into the arms of Gabriel, a gorgeous black man/land spirit who insists Henri know and understand his alligator form and nature. It's easy for Henri to agree to the responsibilities that come with Gabriel, much easier than to actually discharge them. Henri's thoughtless and a little wild; Gabriel might have been right to think Henri's called him too soon.
Kovalin weaves the small town, pre-Civil Rights movement, pre-women's lib attitudes through the plot very deftly, without resorting to coarse language in doing it, yet it all simmers within the story, much as it must have done in that time. Combine that with the heavy bayou air, the water that's too dangerous to swim in, except for Gabriel, and the pull of sex, and the sweat rises off the reader.
Gabriel's a mystery, yet very open, too. He doesn't question what he is or why he's bound in certain ways; he's been in the swamps since "before whites or blacks." It's been a long time since his seasonal partner was a man, but Henri burns with lust – he's the one. There's a serious maturity gap here, yet Gabriel cannot be the guide Henri so urgently needs because of the way the power works. Somehow that's fitting – look into reptilian eyes and there's no one in there you can communicate with.
This is so much the story of Henri's growing up, going from simple lust to understanding and maybe even love, and coming into manhood in so many other ways. Henri's character in the beginning seemed under compulsion – there were no moments of reflection on how many of society's rules he was breaking or that he was doing it deliberately or with understanding, just boom – into the arms of the most unsuitable (on the surface) lover around. By the end though, this young man is a much finer person. A varied cast of secondary characters assist him in their various ways, from Sofie, who wants a different life and feels a claim on Gabriel, to Mr. Jackson, a middle-aged black teacher who's been beaten, but not beaten down, by the color bar, and a family already astraddle two cultures.
Henri's young and the mistakes he makes reflect that – unbridled horniness and hesitating to fulfill a frightening duty -- by the end he's much deeper than he starts, when his every action has consequences greater than he first expects. His decisions cost him dearly, and yet, the story ends on hope. I want to see what happens in the spring.
4.5 but happy to round up
Read
May 10, 2011Until I delved into Call and Answer, I'd never written or read a shifter story. They're a hard sell with me. I just don't like seeing canines, felines, and avians sexualized.
But an alligator shifter who's African American? And lives in/near a Louisiana bayou? In 19-freakin'-59? How could I resist?
What a brave, inventive, and wonderfully crafted novella this is! How easy it would've been for the author to fall back on cheesy, pop-culture cliches in depicting both the time and place. Easier still to go to awkward extremes in transcribing a distinctive regional dialect or depicting the racial division and tension of the period. Instead, Val Kovalin demonstrates the same restraint in her portrayals that she does in her lean, muscular prose.
I love finding unusual stories in this genre that demonstrate facility with language AND are devoid of annoying characters and overused tropes. Call and Answer fit the bill -- perfectly.
But an alligator shifter who's African American? And lives in/near a Louisiana bayou? In 19-freakin'-59? How could I resist?
What a brave, inventive, and wonderfully crafted novella this is! How easy it would've been for the author to fall back on cheesy, pop-culture cliches in depicting both the time and place. Easier still to go to awkward extremes in transcribing a distinctive regional dialect or depicting the racial division and tension of the period. Instead, Val Kovalin demonstrates the same restraint in her portrayals that she does in her lean, muscular prose.
I love finding unusual stories in this genre that demonstrate facility with language AND are devoid of annoying characters and overused tropes. Call and Answer fit the bill -- perfectly.
April 21, 2011
Henri is a young Cajun who has just graduated and it's his last summer before university. He's found a black man who plays the guitar in a caretaker's cottage nearby, and eventually Gabriel calls him in where there is instant attraction. Gabriel soon reveals himself to be a shape-shifting alligator who needs Henri to be a conduit for the energy they build having sex. The twist to this, is it's happening in the mid-50's. Two men? Eek. A black man and a white man? Double Eek. What I loved though was Henri didn't care. He knew he was gay (and white obviously) and he wanted Gabriel and he was prepared to do what he had to do to be with him. There are some other underlying stories of conflict with a local family and how Henri releases the power but let me just say that I'm glad Val said this was only the first in a series because I would have been sending her a nasty e-mail if it had just ended there. :-) However I look forward to the couple moving forward and Henri becoming more mature and how they manage to function in the time-period they are in. I also loved Henri's family who while traditional, were more open than most people at that time period. I swear I could hear their voices too. Very distinctive speech patterns which lent a lot of atmosphere to the book.
March 31, 2011
this book was really interesting in a lot of way. the historical & supernatural background was well written. the love story between the 2 main characters was beautiful.
April 1, 2011
I really enjoyed this! I loved the time period and the setting, all very fitting for an alligator shifter of course, which was neat to read about too..different. I loved the deep south feel to it all, the atmosphere of the setting was written very well.
About the ending...
I really enjoyed this book....a bit different from what I have been reading lately, which is refreshing.
About the ending...
I really enjoyed this book....a bit different from what I have been reading lately, which is refreshing.
June 29, 2011
Awww, this was beautiful!
The period, Louisiana setting, the otherness of Gabriel, Henri's youth, the secondary characters (especially Mr. Jackson), delicate handling of segregation that has more powerful impact, it all pushed my buttons.
The beginning of Henri's and Gabriel's relationship was very fast and it took me a while to get into the story and warm up to it, but in the end I enjoyed it very much. The ending, while not what most of romance readers want, fit well with the rest of the story, especially Gabriel's history. Call and Answer is now very close behind Trinity Trespass in my book. Highly recommended.
4.5 stars
The period, Louisiana setting, the otherness of Gabriel, Henri's youth, the secondary characters (especially Mr. Jackson), delicate handling of segregation that has more powerful impact, it all pushed my buttons.
The beginning of Henri's and Gabriel's relationship was very fast and it took me a while to get into the story and warm up to it, but in the end I enjoyed it very much. The ending, while not what most of romance readers want, fit well with the rest of the story, especially Gabriel's history. Call and Answer is now very close behind Trinity Trespass in my book. Highly recommended.
4.5 stars
June 16, 2020
Really needs a follow-up!
March 12, 2015
A homosexual black man who can morph into an alligator? Who has an affair with an eighteen-year-old white boy? In Louisiana? In the 1950s? There was so much potential to this plot set up I couldn’t help but read it.
Sadly, the story fell short of my expectations. The whole alligator shape shifting deal never had a point. Why give a character that ability but then have it play no role in the plot? He did morph a few times, but he could have morphed into a mouse, kitten or puppy and the story would have been the same. I was hoping for some alligator fight scene where he defends the white boy.
The racist thing, never really played much of a part either. Really, this book could have taken place today, rather than the 1950s and people’s reactions to the couple would have been the same. Same for the gay factor, no one really reacted much different than they would have today.
So… what did happen in this book? Nothing. The whole book read like a tease. I rolled my eyes when the “sex magic” was introduced. But again, nothing really came of it either. They would create magic when they’d have sex… and what would they do with that magic? They fixed some brakes on a car that were going bad. No joke.
The writing style read a little rough for me too. I could tell the author was attempting to be creative and detail oriented. But the details were directed at the wrong items. I’m reading an erotic sex scene and getting a graphic description of the color and design of the boxers one of them is wearing. Yeah… you’re just slowing down the story buddy. Or the suspenseful scene where we are getting into the car to go save the mom from some guys who have boxed her car in, and we pause the story to tell me how the character uses his sleeve to open the car door cause the sun has made it so hot. I’m sure you get the idea. Those moments just jerked me from the story and made it difficult to stay in the moment.
So, would I suggest giving the book a read? Well… no… not really. This one wasn’t bad, just not as good as it could have been.
Sadly, the story fell short of my expectations. The whole alligator shape shifting deal never had a point. Why give a character that ability but then have it play no role in the plot? He did morph a few times, but he could have morphed into a mouse, kitten or puppy and the story would have been the same. I was hoping for some alligator fight scene where he defends the white boy.
The racist thing, never really played much of a part either. Really, this book could have taken place today, rather than the 1950s and people’s reactions to the couple would have been the same. Same for the gay factor, no one really reacted much different than they would have today.
So… what did happen in this book? Nothing. The whole book read like a tease. I rolled my eyes when the “sex magic” was introduced. But again, nothing really came of it either. They would create magic when they’d have sex… and what would they do with that magic? They fixed some brakes on a car that were going bad. No joke.
The writing style read a little rough for me too. I could tell the author was attempting to be creative and detail oriented. But the details were directed at the wrong items. I’m reading an erotic sex scene and getting a graphic description of the color and design of the boxers one of them is wearing. Yeah… you’re just slowing down the story buddy. Or the suspenseful scene where we are getting into the car to go save the mom from some guys who have boxed her car in, and we pause the story to tell me how the character uses his sleeve to open the car door cause the sun has made it so hot. I’m sure you get the idea. Those moments just jerked me from the story and made it difficult to stay in the moment.
So, would I suggest giving the book a read? Well… no… not really. This one wasn’t bad, just not as good as it could have been.
April 10, 2011
The story is surprisingly interesting. And the end brings the promise of reunion what is positive. Both main couple, Henri and Gabriel, were interesting, but something was off with this story. Anyway it was enjoyable read!
April 11, 2011
There was a lot I liked about this one, but it ended rather abruptly, with too many unanswered questions.
June 4, 2011
I really enjoyed this well written and interesting story. Who knew gators could be so sexy? The only thing I didn't like was the ending. I want more!
Want to Read
January 20, 2012This. Sounds. Epic! I love the bayou, with its blues atmosphere, and the alligator shapeshifter is a brilliant idea.
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