Busy Doing Nothing

by Elinor Gray

*** Since the demise of Silver Publishing, this book is available for free by emailing the author at elinor@mistyzeo.net who is more than happy to toss a copy your way. Just get in touch. ***

Jake is overqualified for scooping ice cream, but what better way to spend the summer before senior year than living at the beach with his best friends and working on the boardwalk? Plenty of sun and surf, not to mention Michael, the hot lifeguard who comes to the stand to flirt. When he invites Jake to a party, Michael sparks a hot, playful fling that Jake almost can't believe is happening to him. But summer has to end, and Jake has a policy against long-distance relationships. He breaks up with Michael and heads back to college. Will Jake realize how special Michael is before he slips away for good?

Genres: M M Romance

141 pages, ebook

First published July 28, 2012

About the author

Elinor grew up in Baltimore, got a BA in Philadelphia and an MA in London. Now she lives in Portland, OR. She has a cat, Zeke, who keeps her company while she writes and works, and a yarn stash that is always on the verge of being out of control.

Elinor is a member of Watson’s Tin Box of Ellicott City, Maryland, the John H. Watson Society, the Sherlock Holmes Society of London, the Blue Carbuncle Society of Portland, and is a co-organizer of The Retired Beekeepers of Sussex.

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elinor@mistyzeo.net

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In 2002, just after the release of The Fellowship of the Ring, Elinor discovered internet fandom, and with it the magic of fanfiction. She dwelt in the Lord of the Rings fandom for a long time, and followed it up with a stint in Pirates of the Caribbean. She took a break between 2005 and 2008, and returned to fandom upon her first viewing of Supernatural. This was her main fandom until about 2012, though it overlapped with her introduction to the 2009 Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes movies and the 2010 debut of the BBC’s Sherlock. Elinor fell head-over-heels for the Holmes canon fandom, and has been there ever since.

Elinor now writes primarily Holmes/Watson romance, although she can sometimes be persuaded to struggle through a case fic or toss out a little gen fic. All fanfic post-2009 can be found at Archive Of Our Own.

Elinor’s first published-for-pay work was a Sherlock Holmes pastiche featured in the Elementary Erotica anthology published by Circlet Press in 2011. Her original gay romance was not far behind. She has published primarily contemporary, new adult romance, but she hopes to expand more into her true genre loves: fantasy, sci-fi, westerns, and historicals.

Reviews

[Serena Yates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and cute, this story describes a summer full of good friends, who are fun characters, and some poignant moments as Jake makes the transition from high school to college. The fact that Jake tells it in present tense made everything more immediate for me, but then, I like present tense on occasion. The title is a great description of the feel of this story: nothing much happens externally (this is NOT an action/adventure), but a lot happens internally, as Jake finds his way in a changing world.

Jake is excited about having a summer job near the beach, even if he says he is overqualified for scooping ice cream. The point of this job is not making a career of it, but giving him the opportunity to interact with his friends and have some fun, while earning some money and possibly making a few new friends. Jake's emotions and thoughts are very clear, typical of a young man at that stage, and brought out the developing understanding of who he is and who he wants to be really well.

Michael is the object of Jake's admiration at first, and who can blame him for liking the hot life guard? But as the two of them become friends then test the waters for more, Michael turns out to be very supportive and genuine. Jake totally underestimates how much they have come to mean to each other and almost loses it all due to the rigidity of his principles.

If you're looking for a light, entertaining read about a young man on the threshold to independence and true adulthood, and if summer sun and beach sounds like a good setting, you will probably like this book.




NOTE: This book was provided by Silver Publishing for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

[Ro · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

I am not sure what rubbed me the wrong way about this story, because it really is a cute, fluffy thing. Jake has amazing friends in Natalie (especially) and Tony. There is no insta-love between Jake and Michael, and together they are just cute. I wasn’t a fan of the third person present tense POV telling. And perhaps that is the crux – I felt as though I was being told a story, not being shown what was going on. Throughout nearly the whole book, it was as if it were the prep for the actual story. This was disconcerting.

That being said, the characters are sweet and likeable. There are funny moments (such as Jake not wanting sand in his butt crack, a definite hazard with beach sex) and there are poignant ones (Michael crying when Jake is leaving). Jake acts like an ass at one point, and I wanted to hug Michael.

I will definitely give this author another try and see if this was just an off book for me.

[E.M. Lynley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story with some really hot sex scenes. I'm not a fan of present tense and it took a while to get into that. Not much tension or conflict in the story so it's a pretty easy read, though the HFN ending feels a little too smooth and predictable because of that. The main character was a bit whiny but didn't do anything for too long. 2.5 rounded up to 3 for the hotness factor.

[jules0623 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Really sweet, solid story.

[Dallison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this short story.

[Rachel Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I detest present tense written stories, but I muddled through this one and kinda enjoyed it.