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Blank
A gay cowboy erotic novella.
38 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2010
About the author
Sommer Marsden
268 books281 followersProfessional dirty word writer, gluten free baker, sock addict, fat wiener dog walker, expert procrastinator. That sums it up.
Sommer Marsden has been called “…one of the top storytellers in the erotica genre” (Violet Blue), “Unapologetic” (Alison Tyler), “…the whirling dervish of erotica” (Craig J. Sorensen),and "Erotica royalty..." (Lucy Felthouse). Her erotic novels include Restricted Release, Restless Spirit, Boys Next Door, and the Zombie Exterminator series. Sommer currently writes for Harper Collins Mischief, Ellora's Cave, Xcite Books, Pretty Things Press, Excessica and Resplendence Publishing.
You can find Sommer's short works in well over one hundred and twenty-five (and counting) erotic anthologies.Visit her at Unapologetic Fiction http://sommermarsden.blogspot.com
Sommer Marsden has been called “…one of the top storytellers in the erotica genre” (Violet Blue), “Unapologetic” (Alison Tyler), “…the whirling dervish of erotica” (Craig J. Sorensen),and "Erotica royalty..." (Lucy Felthouse). Her erotic novels include Restricted Release, Restless Spirit, Boys Next Door, and the Zombie Exterminator series. Sommer currently writes for Harper Collins Mischief, Ellora's Cave, Xcite Books, Pretty Things Press, Excessica and Resplendence Publishing.
You can find Sommer's short works in well over one hundred and twenty-five (and counting) erotic anthologies.Visit her at Unapologetic Fiction http://sommermarsden.blogspot.com
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 13, 2011
3.5 stars
Kyle has recently been released from prison where he served a year sentence for drugs, and though he’s trying to find his footing in this new world, it’s not going as well as he needs. He is still grieving the break-up that drove him to drugs in the first place, and without being able to get past that, he decides to make an even cleaner break than he already has and ships off to Montana to learn how to be a cowboy. His demons follow him, though, and the self-destructive behavior he’d been exhibiting before manifests in new ways, even when Tad, the second in command at the ranch, warns him about it.
Though this is marked as a romance, I’m hesitant to go along with that label. This is much more of a character exploration about a young man desperate to erase everything from his life that might cause him to feel something via any means necessary. After the break-up, his tendencies drift to drugs and the oblivion that promises. A year in jail, however, teaches him he doesn’t really want to go back. The problem is, he hasn’t exorcised the demons that drove him to drugs in the first place.
So his addiction shifts to anonymous sex with a string of men that continues even after he goes to the ranch. During the day, he drives himself physically, and at night, he finds escape in the men he picks up. Tad, the second in command, catches his eye early on, but it’s not until he warns Kyle about being a little more temperate in his behavior or risk getting thrown off the ranch (or worse), that their relationship shifts from professional to more personal. This shift throws Kyle into a tailspin even more, his desperation rising to potent levels.
It’s the character of Kyle and his nihilism that forms the heart of this story. Feel for him, and it’s easy to feel for the entire arc. Told in 1st person/present tense, the story encourages the reader to live life in Kyle’s shoes as it progresses, which has the unfortunate side effect of diminishing the richness of other characters. Most are throwaways. Only Kyle’s friend Hazel back home and Tad are given enough page time to have the opportunity to come to life, but for me, Tad at least fell very short. He’s a figure in Kyle’s desperation rather than a man, even when he is spilling his heart out. Filtered through Kyle’s eyes, his characterization is cheated out of real depth to become instead a symbol in Kyle’s ongoing struggles.
I did enjoy this story, but the overabundance of gay men in Montana and on the ranch added a dissonance to the overall realistic feel of the work. The subject matter and its presentation felt too real world to easily buy into Kyle’s promiscuity in such a remote place. He gets sex on his very first day at the ranch, and then every day afterward, enough to gain a reputation. I couldn’t resolve this need for suspending my disbelief with the blunt treatment of his addictions.
In the end, it’s a thoughtful diversion. It’s not entirely sure what genre it wants to sit in, whether it’s literary, erotica, or erotic romance, but Kyle is interesting enough to deserve attention for the few minutes it would take to read his story.
Kyle has recently been released from prison where he served a year sentence for drugs, and though he’s trying to find his footing in this new world, it’s not going as well as he needs. He is still grieving the break-up that drove him to drugs in the first place, and without being able to get past that, he decides to make an even cleaner break than he already has and ships off to Montana to learn how to be a cowboy. His demons follow him, though, and the self-destructive behavior he’d been exhibiting before manifests in new ways, even when Tad, the second in command at the ranch, warns him about it.
Though this is marked as a romance, I’m hesitant to go along with that label. This is much more of a character exploration about a young man desperate to erase everything from his life that might cause him to feel something via any means necessary. After the break-up, his tendencies drift to drugs and the oblivion that promises. A year in jail, however, teaches him he doesn’t really want to go back. The problem is, he hasn’t exorcised the demons that drove him to drugs in the first place.
So his addiction shifts to anonymous sex with a string of men that continues even after he goes to the ranch. During the day, he drives himself physically, and at night, he finds escape in the men he picks up. Tad, the second in command, catches his eye early on, but it’s not until he warns Kyle about being a little more temperate in his behavior or risk getting thrown off the ranch (or worse), that their relationship shifts from professional to more personal. This shift throws Kyle into a tailspin even more, his desperation rising to potent levels.
It’s the character of Kyle and his nihilism that forms the heart of this story. Feel for him, and it’s easy to feel for the entire arc. Told in 1st person/present tense, the story encourages the reader to live life in Kyle’s shoes as it progresses, which has the unfortunate side effect of diminishing the richness of other characters. Most are throwaways. Only Kyle’s friend Hazel back home and Tad are given enough page time to have the opportunity to come to life, but for me, Tad at least fell very short. He’s a figure in Kyle’s desperation rather than a man, even when he is spilling his heart out. Filtered through Kyle’s eyes, his characterization is cheated out of real depth to become instead a symbol in Kyle’s ongoing struggles.
I did enjoy this story, but the overabundance of gay men in Montana and on the ranch added a dissonance to the overall realistic feel of the work. The subject matter and its presentation felt too real world to easily buy into Kyle’s promiscuity in such a remote place. He gets sex on his very first day at the ranch, and then every day afterward, enough to gain a reputation. I couldn’t resolve this need for suspending my disbelief with the blunt treatment of his addictions.
In the end, it’s a thoughtful diversion. It’s not entirely sure what genre it wants to sit in, whether it’s literary, erotica, or erotic romance, but Kyle is interesting enough to deserve attention for the few minutes it would take to read his story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 17, 2011
Betrayal is the worst tragedies of all. It changes you down to your core, makes you look at life differently. You wonder: How could I have been so blind? Stupid? Trusting? Gullible? Careless? You become possessed by horrible self-doubt, fear, and most of all anger; you want to hold on to this anger, because it's preferable to the horrible pain you feel when the anger abates. Unfortunately, keeping your anger inside or trying to blank it out with self-destructive behavior only causes it to burrow deeper into your soul. This anger must be addressed before you can heal.
Kyle of 'Blank' by Sommer Marsden is stuck in the anger stage. He's at war with himself, as is so well shown by his internal dialogue. He's very angry and in terrible emotional pain. However, instead of making it better, he makes matters worse. The thing is, Kyle is trying to run away or hide from himself and he can't do that. Sommer Marsden portrays Kyle's anguish with such intensity that,I had a rock in my stomach, my throat constricted and I had tears in my eyes from the first line in the story. I felt a great deal of empathy for Kyle; my emotions ran from being angry and frustrated with him, to wanting to hold and comfort him, but I also knew that until he was ready to let go of the anger, no one could help him.
Tad is such a strong, compassionate character. He sees right through Kyle. Although he doesn't know why, he realizes that Kyle is in a world of hurt. He feels his loneliness, desperation, and, of course, his anger. Tad tries to reach out to Kyle, but Kyle isn't ready to accept his comfort. This would make him vulnerable and vulnerable is something he never wants to feel again. His mantra is: “Even if I never give it to another man as long as I live. Which I won’t. That much I’m sure of. Once I retrieve my damn heart, I will never part with it again.”
Sommer Marsden packs a lot of hard-hitting emotion into this short story. She lays it on thick, showing her characters with a realism that actually hurts at times. Sommer tackles the tricky topic of betrayal with effective candor, never trying to blank out anything. I appreciated the ending, but it did leave me wanting to know what happens next. I highly recommend 'Blank'.
Kyle of 'Blank' by Sommer Marsden is stuck in the anger stage. He's at war with himself, as is so well shown by his internal dialogue. He's very angry and in terrible emotional pain. However, instead of making it better, he makes matters worse. The thing is, Kyle is trying to run away or hide from himself and he can't do that. Sommer Marsden portrays Kyle's anguish with such intensity that,I had a rock in my stomach, my throat constricted and I had tears in my eyes from the first line in the story. I felt a great deal of empathy for Kyle; my emotions ran from being angry and frustrated with him, to wanting to hold and comfort him, but I also knew that until he was ready to let go of the anger, no one could help him.
Tad is such a strong, compassionate character. He sees right through Kyle. Although he doesn't know why, he realizes that Kyle is in a world of hurt. He feels his loneliness, desperation, and, of course, his anger. Tad tries to reach out to Kyle, but Kyle isn't ready to accept his comfort. This would make him vulnerable and vulnerable is something he never wants to feel again. His mantra is: “Even if I never give it to another man as long as I live. Which I won’t. That much I’m sure of. Once I retrieve my damn heart, I will never part with it again.”
Sommer Marsden packs a lot of hard-hitting emotion into this short story. She lays it on thick, showing her characters with a realism that actually hurts at times. Sommer tackles the tricky topic of betrayal with effective candor, never trying to blank out anything. I appreciated the ending, but it did leave me wanting to know what happens next. I highly recommend 'Blank'.
January 12, 2011
Laurel’s Review:
Quick and hard. I happrn to like my reads like Kyle likes his sex, and this little book more than satisfied. I haven’t had many one sitting reads lately, so it was nice that I got from beginning to end in one go. Nice that I couldn’t have had the story pried out of my fingers for anything less than dire emergency.
Kyle has a hard, desperate edge about him, one that appeals to me as a character I might write. Ms. Marsden doesn’t shy from the empty hole that betrayed love can leave. Kyle wants very much to excise his pain and does more than a few foolish things to carve away the hurt. His attempts to fill the emptiness left behind are painfully hard to watch.
Marsden writes with an astonishing blend of spare prose and lush description, sparse detail but heady, rich emotion. It isn’t something that can readily be explained. You have to read it to understand.
So if you like characters with a healthy dose of angst, insurmountable will to find the missing pieces of their lives and a sizzling portion of sex, you won’t be disappointed in this little gem.
Rated 4.5 Gold Crowns by Laurel!
Quick and hard. I happrn to like my reads like Kyle likes his sex, and this little book more than satisfied. I haven’t had many one sitting reads lately, so it was nice that I got from beginning to end in one go. Nice that I couldn’t have had the story pried out of my fingers for anything less than dire emergency.
Kyle has a hard, desperate edge about him, one that appeals to me as a character I might write. Ms. Marsden doesn’t shy from the empty hole that betrayed love can leave. Kyle wants very much to excise his pain and does more than a few foolish things to carve away the hurt. His attempts to fill the emptiness left behind are painfully hard to watch.
Marsden writes with an astonishing blend of spare prose and lush description, sparse detail but heady, rich emotion. It isn’t something that can readily be explained. You have to read it to understand.
So if you like characters with a healthy dose of angst, insurmountable will to find the missing pieces of their lives and a sizzling portion of sex, you won’t be disappointed in this little gem.
Rated 4.5 Gold Crowns by Laurel!
October 2, 2010
Kyle is a man in pain. The man he loved has left him and as a result, his life has spiralled out of control, into drugs and prison. “Blank” takes place after he gets out of prison, when he is trying to find himself again and alleviate the pain of being alone, having lost someone he loved completely. He can only expel his pain by using men’s bodies to dull the agony – his new addiction, sex. If he can only screw man after man the pain will slowly leave him and he will be himself again. Part of the rebuilding of his life is to make a major change and he goes to work in Montana on a ranch, a perfect place to find both men, and hopefully, peace.
Marsden writes a compelling story that touches on the vulnerability of Brokeback Mountain. Interspersed between bouts of hot sex, Kyle’s struggle to become whole is very apparent. As a character, Kyle is interesting, complicated and very human; the love interest, Tad is also complicated and diverse and the reader is left hoping they find each other. An excellent read.
Marsden writes a compelling story that touches on the vulnerability of Brokeback Mountain. Interspersed between bouts of hot sex, Kyle’s struggle to become whole is very apparent. As a character, Kyle is interesting, complicated and very human; the love interest, Tad is also complicated and diverse and the reader is left hoping they find each other. An excellent read.
November 13, 2010
I've read a lot of slash lately but those characters I knew. To love this book so much was a surprise.
Kyle the main protagonist is a flawed character that is quite likable in his struggle to overcome a first bad breakup and finding a new direction and purpose to his life.
He does so with a strings of hot one night stands that makes you happy just remembering them and a hard earned place next to his new love, Tad, that is quite endearing.
There is sweetness and harshness in this story but it adds to the realism and makes you care dearly for Kyle and the road he takes to deal with things good or bad.
I eagerly recommend this story to anyone interested or not yet in Gay love, it's rocking!
Kyle the main protagonist is a flawed character that is quite likable in his struggle to overcome a first bad breakup and finding a new direction and purpose to his life.
He does so with a strings of hot one night stands that makes you happy just remembering them and a hard earned place next to his new love, Tad, that is quite endearing.
There is sweetness and harshness in this story but it adds to the realism and makes you care dearly for Kyle and the road he takes to deal with things good or bad.
I eagerly recommend this story to anyone interested or not yet in Gay love, it's rocking!
May 11, 2011
Reviewed by Markie:
This novella is more of a short story at 38 pages. Yet, it packs on hell of a punch within those few pages.
Full of grit and rather hot sex, if you like a fast paced, quick read, this should be on your buy list. Kudos to the author.
A+
This novella is more of a short story at 38 pages. Yet, it packs on hell of a punch within those few pages.
Full of grit and rather hot sex, if you like a fast paced, quick read, this should be on your buy list. Kudos to the author.
A+
December 31, 2010
This is not a romance. It is short and at the start sort of dark as it works through the story. It's about finding a place to start caring again if he can allow himself that vulnerability.
July 3, 2011
BLANK was a surprising read for me; surprising in a great way. This short story written by Sommer Marsden introduces us to Kyle, a man who has struggled and is still struggling when we meet him at the story's opening.
There is a lot of history that is hinted at, some things explicitly, others less so, but the artistry with which author Sommer Marsden painted this character and his complexity drew me in from the very first pages.
I do not typically read stories about dark characters who live jaded lives. Sure, I enjoy tension and conflict, but I tend to be drawn to stories where the main protagonist or protagonists are genuinely optimistic, hopeful, and open to the possibilities of a happy life. Kyle was nothing like this. He's dark, guarded, trying to escape the things that have disappointed him in life. He believes that if he shells himself off, he won't get hurt worse than he already has been, yet we get the sense that he doesn't think he'll ever actually be happy again.
When Kyle decides to head to Montana to get away and work as a farm hand for a while, his problems travel across the country with him and he falls into the same patterns of escape and meaningless encounters to avoid feeling and remembering. But all that changes when he meets Tad.
I really feel like I need to stop here since the power of this short story is the journey you are drawn into through well drawn out passionate emotions and experiences. This book does not wrap everything up in a pretty package with a nice shiny bow for good measure, but it does force us as readers to contemplate what is within our power to change and what is not. It is an examination of the choice to feel, even if those feelings are scary and painful, or to hide and not really live at all.
Just like Ms. Marsden insinuated to different degrees what led Kyle to the point we met him, she also leaves the ending relatively ambiguous. We have a pretty good idea of how he will end up personally, but as for the romance that she has developed, we're not sure. The funny thing is, while that would normally piss me off, I found it refreshing.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As a short story, there were certain elements which were underdeveloped for my personal taste. I would have liked to have seen less meaningless encounters and more of the internal struggle Kyle goes through where Tad is concerned. This could easily have been doubled in length, or even tripled.
It's a great read. You'll enjoy it when you read it…and please leave a comment here when you do to tell me what you think happens for Kyle after the story ends.
There is a lot of history that is hinted at, some things explicitly, others less so, but the artistry with which author Sommer Marsden painted this character and his complexity drew me in from the very first pages.
I do not typically read stories about dark characters who live jaded lives. Sure, I enjoy tension and conflict, but I tend to be drawn to stories where the main protagonist or protagonists are genuinely optimistic, hopeful, and open to the possibilities of a happy life. Kyle was nothing like this. He's dark, guarded, trying to escape the things that have disappointed him in life. He believes that if he shells himself off, he won't get hurt worse than he already has been, yet we get the sense that he doesn't think he'll ever actually be happy again.
When Kyle decides to head to Montana to get away and work as a farm hand for a while, his problems travel across the country with him and he falls into the same patterns of escape and meaningless encounters to avoid feeling and remembering. But all that changes when he meets Tad.
I really feel like I need to stop here since the power of this short story is the journey you are drawn into through well drawn out passionate emotions and experiences. This book does not wrap everything up in a pretty package with a nice shiny bow for good measure, but it does force us as readers to contemplate what is within our power to change and what is not. It is an examination of the choice to feel, even if those feelings are scary and painful, or to hide and not really live at all.
Just like Ms. Marsden insinuated to different degrees what led Kyle to the point we met him, she also leaves the ending relatively ambiguous. We have a pretty good idea of how he will end up personally, but as for the romance that she has developed, we're not sure. The funny thing is, while that would normally piss me off, I found it refreshing.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As a short story, there were certain elements which were underdeveloped for my personal taste. I would have liked to have seen less meaningless encounters and more of the internal struggle Kyle goes through where Tad is concerned. This could easily have been doubled in length, or even tripled.
It's a great read. You'll enjoy it when you read it…and please leave a comment here when you do to tell me what you think happens for Kyle after the story ends.
March 22, 2012
I liked the concept. I like a character driven story. I quite like first person present tense as well, while it did suit the subject at hand it needed to be longer to really pull it off. The writing was concise but because of the story's overall length it was all too concise to allow any real attachment to or empathy for the main characters.
Kyle is difficult to like because he's just so morose, insular, and ambivalent about his life. He seriously doesn't know who he is or what he wants, just that his relationship ended and from there on in his life sucks. He has made some poor choices which ended with jail time, after his partner left him, and he slid into self destructive behaviours. Now his addictive behaviour manifests itself in Kyle fucking himself into (potentially) dangerous situations and oblivion.
Hazel, Kyle's friend, is (unfortunately) in it for all of 2 clicks of the Kindle before he leaves her to go work as help on a ranch in Montana.
Tad, who he meets on the ranch, seems like a nice enough guy but there wasn't enough of him to really say. Perhaps he's just a masochist, wanting to be with Kyle.
This is my second Sommer Marsden book. While both times I've been attracted to the book subject matter I just couldn't get as enthused as I wanted. I think she's intersting as a writer but I just haven't cracked a book of hers I love - hoping I will.
Kyle is difficult to like because he's just so morose, insular, and ambivalent about his life. He seriously doesn't know who he is or what he wants, just that his relationship ended and from there on in his life sucks. He has made some poor choices which ended with jail time, after his partner left him, and he slid into self destructive behaviours. Now his addictive behaviour manifests itself in Kyle fucking himself into (potentially) dangerous situations and oblivion.
Hazel, Kyle's friend, is (unfortunately) in it for all of 2 clicks of the Kindle before he leaves her to go work as help on a ranch in Montana.
Tad, who he meets on the ranch, seems like a nice enough guy but there wasn't enough of him to really say. Perhaps he's just a masochist, wanting to be with Kyle.
This is my second Sommer Marsden book. While both times I've been attracted to the book subject matter I just couldn't get as enthused as I wanted. I think she's intersting as a writer but I just haven't cracked a book of hers I love - hoping I will.
October 24, 2010
Kyle is having a seriously bad time of it: drinking and sleeping his way through his breakup with his last boyfriend. So he does something crazy and ends up in Montana, as a cowboy. But there he realizes that there could be someone new in store for him, if he were only brave enough.
This was a rather short book, but what there was of it was pretty great! The plot was clear-cut, the characters were fresh and full and Kyle was a sympathetic main character.
I didn't like the writing style too much. There were a few scenes that weren't written clearly and I had to ask myself "did that now happen, or was he just thinking that?" which can get annoying and it certainly disrupted the flow of the story.
Otherwise, though, it's a sweet story with a HEA!
This was a rather short book, but what there was of it was pretty great! The plot was clear-cut, the characters were fresh and full and Kyle was a sympathetic main character.
I didn't like the writing style too much. There were a few scenes that weren't written clearly and I had to ask myself "did that now happen, or was he just thinking that?" which can get annoying and it certainly disrupted the flow of the story.
Otherwise, though, it's a sweet story with a HEA!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews