Chapter Five and the Axe-Wielding Maniac

Joshua Franklin Hill #1

by Marie Sexton

Author Joshua Franklin Hill has a bad case of writer’s block. When an axe-wielding maniac knocks on his front door and asks to dig up his living room floor, he figures his Monday from hell is complete.

But an axe-wielding maniac may be just what Josh needs.

This story also available in print in the anthology Ever After: The Collected Short Works of Marie Sexton.

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Romance, Short Stories, LGBT, Humor, Fiction

44 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 27, 2012

About the author

Marie Sexton lives in Colorado. She’s a fan of just about anything that involves muscular young men piling on top of each other. In particular, she loves the Denver Broncos and enjoys going to the games with her husband. Her imaginary friends often tag along. Marie has one daughter, two cats, and one dog, all of whom seem bent on destroying what remains of her sanity. She loves them anyway.

The absolute best way to stay up-to-date on my books is by joining my FB group. You can view livestreams about Oestend, Coda, and the Heretic Doms Club. I also give away books on a regular basis. NO DRAMA ALLOWED!!


Or, you might want to check out these pages:

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Visit my website/blog at http://www.MarieSexton.net

Reviews

[Exina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joshua Franklin Hill is an author suffering a writer’s block. He has no inspiration and can’t focus. When a hottie knocks on his door with an axe over his shoulder, Josh is not happy with the distraction and thinks his day can’t be worse. And indeed, it gets only better.

“You want to have sex?”
“What?”
He shrugged. “Just a question.”
“Jesus! I don’t even know you!”
“So?”

The story has so much potential with great writing style and humor, but it didn’t manage to get me engaged enough. I liked Rad but was tired of Joshua’s age issues.

Chapter Five and the Axe-Wielding Maniac is the first part of the Joshua Franklin Hill serial.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very short & sweet, but nothing remarkable. 3,5⭐️

[Heller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely little freebie that managed to pack an emotional punch as well as be ridiculously hot. Enjoyed very much and win-win on the title and cover!

[Nick Pageant · Rating 4 out of 5]

As it turned out, sex with a crazy person was a hell of a lot of fun.

This a very short, very sweet, teaser for another book. That would usually annoy me, but this is really complete on its own. A great way to spend a half an hour.

[Kaje Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and light, but a smooth fast read. I enjoyed the match of a young brash enthusiastic guy to an older man determined to be grumpy in his solitude.

[Serena Yates · Rating 5 out of 5]

How could I resist reading a story with a title like ‘Chapter Five and the Axe-Wielding Maniac’? I expected a writer to be one of the main characters, what with Chapter Five in such a prominent position (and I was right). I also wasn’t sure whether or not to expect a thriller, what with the axe and the maniac being mentioned. Since this was a free read when I discovered it and I figured I could always stop reading if it got too scary (I am a giant coward where horror is concerned) – only to be laughing after the first few paragraphs and thoroughly enthusiastic soon after.


Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this and would have rated it higher but...but...the short story was over at 49% and then it was all promo. *grumbles*
I already know I love Sexton's books!
I know others may not but that is one of my biggest pet peeve's. Even when it a freebie.
I might want to check out the second book in this series if it doesn't follow suit.
Hmm. Will have to check into that.

[Heather C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this sweet little story! I laughed and even almost cried. Its short and free and so worth it. .

[BWT · Rating 2 out of 5]

The good news? It was free and only took 15 minutes to read.

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I read this short story for free back in 2012 at Cup O' Porn, during its first birthday bash. I don't know if the story has changed since then. However, since I never actually review it here and the sequel, Apartment 14 and the Devil Next Door, is coming on January 27th, 2015, I thought I should do re-read to properly review it.

This started as really fun and humorous story -- as Joshua Franklin, who is suffering from a case of writer's block opens his cabin door and finds a young man with a pickaxe slung over his shoulder and asks Joshua if he can digs the floor of the cabin.

I really enjoyed the youthful spirit of Rad and the rather grumpy attitude of Joshua, especially when he starts bothering with the fact that he is 42 years old (his lover of eight years walked out on him) and he has grey hairs! I always have fun with younger determined character :).

Then the story turns a bit solemn as readers find out more about why Rad wants to dig the cabin's floor. It serves as a reminder that older time has not been kind to same-sex couples and that we need to keep trying for LGBTQIA equality and acceptance because the consequences can be dire for the LGBTQIA people.

It's a enjoyable little short, a bit sentimental, but with a hopeful ending. Now I'm ready for the sequel.

[Trix · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the story (liked almost all of Marie Sexton's works).

Joshua was cute. I liked how he downplayed himself and was shy and clumsy and just that little bit vain. He and Rad made quite a contrast but seem to get along well enough.

I admit the story was too short to make me believe true love sparked between them or to get attached to the characters but the plot brought a smile to my face and made the evening more pleasant. That's good enough for me to give it 3 stars.

[Vio · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
This was a lot of fun, flowed nicely and was a cute story. Chuckles and sweetness all mixed together, Very enjoyable and the title is great.

[Jyanx · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, and fun, but very, very short. The story ends at 57%, and the rest is excerpts from her other books.

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time)]

Kindle freebie 1/4/15

[Jennifer☠Pher☠ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky but strangely romantic.

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A cute little story, sweet and funny with a bit of a bittersweet, sentimental twist. The story of Josh’s great-uncle and Rad’s grandfather made me sad and a little angry like stories like theirs tend to do, because I can’t help but think of all the real people who went through and in some part of the world are still going through something similar.
Josh and Rad’s story though ends (for now) on a hopeful note.

Be aware that the story ends at 50% of the ebook version available in the ongoing giveaway on Instafreebie, the remaining 50% is an excerpt of another book by this author.
It really pissed me off, because I wasn’t expecting it and I thought there was still 50% to go before the end, and I’m tempted to round the rating down for that alone.
It is a freebie, though, well written, with well characterized MC and a particularly well developed plot for such a short story. So 4 stars it is.

[namericanwordcat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice free short story with a quick sweet romance between and older writer hero and younger man looking to find a treasure. There is a nice bit of history and a whole lot of fun in this quick read.

[DaisyGirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 Stars

Short, sweet, and funny freebie! I found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion. Not insta-love but insta-lust ... and insta-I'll-follow-you-back-to-your-home-state (continued in book 2).

Bottom line: Too little of a good thing.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good short m/m romance about a writer with writer's block hiding out at his Oregon cabin... and then a young man with a pick-axe knocks on his door with a surprising request.

[Trisha Harrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was nice and short. I really enjoyed the writing and I liked the characters. Also, I'm glad to see there will be a sequel.

[LauraSt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only Marie can make a shortie a 4star book. I just adored it. A short sweet and sexy story. Best part? There's a sequel coming and the titles are just plain awesome.

[Finnegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got it from Amazon because it was free, written by Marie Sexton, and the guy on the cover is gorgeous! Anyway, the story was quite good, i liked the MC's, and now I can't wait to read the sequel.

[Mitticus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet and fun.

[Borderstar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short, fun little read. There is a bit of a mystery and the beginnings of a possible romance between the two guys - one of which is in his early 20s, one in his early 40s. It just ends on a HFN and it's left open for you to assume what you want about how things pan out I guess.

It was well-written, interesting idea and I zipped through it, but it was a bit too short for me to enjoy it more than a 3 star.

[Meep · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was free - that's a positive!

It's actually only 32 pages (ending at 57% on kindle) I'm sad enough I counted. The rest is apparently excerpts but I ignored those - If I want to read an excerpt I'll download a sample.

The story didn't do anything for me. The situation was weird, there was no real emotional impact to anything, and the banter (mostly age-related) fell flat.

Thoroughly underwhelming but apparently a series.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blimey! That was short. It only just got going and it was over. It finished at 52% and the other 48% seems to be excerpts from other novels by Marie Sexton.
I liked it. It's a sweet, little story. Can't say much more really.
Took me twenty minutes.

[Tully Vincent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining and sweet, but very short. . . much shorter than I had thought since it ended at 59% on my kindle.

[Valerie ❈M/M Romance Junkie❈ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did I enjoy it? Yes. Am I glad it was free? Hell yes, because I would have been pissed to pay for something that ends at 59%.

[SJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very nicely written novella with an intriguing title. When I realized it wasn’t scary but romantic I dove into it. The age gap MCs are charmingly written. The older author trying to look younger for the good looking twenty-something who appears at his cabin door, so he tries to buy some ‘Just For Men’ haircolor when Rad shows up in the store aisle. An amusing scene and there were others that balanced out the sadness of what Rad was looking for at Josh’s cabin.
There is some hot sex and a promise of a maybe future. It was nice to see that the author has written a follow up story for this interesting couple and I will be reading it.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed this one. Hard to say if I liked it so much because it was genuinely good, or just because the vast majority of those back to school short stories have been a massive disappointment...

Anyway, thought the characters were charming, the connection was fun and hot, and the plot was decently interesting. Also, no insta-love or deciding to get married after 2 days, so already it's miles ahead of the others in the collection, LOL