Old Familiar Song

by J.M. Snyder

Back in college, Larry Carson played drums in a friend’s band and fell in love with the lead singer, Geoffrey Mason. But all that’s in the past. Larry’s now thirty-five, divorced, and father to a precocious thirteen-year-old daughter.

One day, when Larry picks Crystal up from school, a song comes on the radio by a new rockstar climbing the charts. Larry recognizes Geoff’s voice immediately, though Crystal calls him Geo and claims he’s the hottest new singer on the scene. Just hearing him brings back a flood of memories, reopening wounds Larry thought long healed.

The more he listens to Geo’s music, the more Larry falls in love with his former boyfriend all over again. Partly to prove to his daughter that he used to know Geo back in the day, and partly to reconnect with his old friend, Larry buys tickets to an upcoming concert and manages to score backstage passes.

But there was a reason Larry and Geoff lost touch -- and stayed out of touch for so long. Will Geo even want to see Larry again after all this time? Or will the magic of their old familiar song bring about a harmonious duet?

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT, Music, Amazon

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 17, 2015

About the author

An author of gay erotic/romantic fiction, J.M. Snyder began in self-publishing and worked with Amber Allure, Aspen Mountain, eXcessica, and Torquere Presses.

Snyder's highly erotic short gay fiction has been published online at Amazon Shorts, Eros Monthly, Ruthie's Club, and Tit-Elation, as well as in anthologies by Alyson Books, Aspen Mountain, Cleis Press, eXcessica Publishing, Lethe Press, and Ravenous Romance.

In 2010, Snyder founded JMS Books LLC, a royalty-paying queer small press that publishes in both electronic and print format. For more information on newest releases and submission guidelines, please visit JMS Books LLC online.

Reviews

[Mirjam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading the blurb I expected Larry & Geoff's story to be more, I do know but I just wanted more.
Geoff was a disappointment and a coward. Yeah, he became famous but did not owned up to the way he left things between him and Larry.
He probably was sorry, but a simple “I’m sorry.” after fifteen years? IMO Larry too easily forgave him.





Larry's daughter was utterly annoying. I can't remember how I was at that age, but am sure I was not this drama queen. Haven't come across teenagers with this kind of disturbing behaviour.

And I really would have like an epilogue further in the future, is this it? And an update of Doug would be nice too.

[Heather♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm such a sucker for books with rock stars in them. Since this book was told from the POV of the boyfriend, and not the rock star, it felt almost normal and dare I say believable. Like it could happen to you too. Or not. Because really, how many of us have actually been lucky enough to know someone who later became famous? For those of you who have, just shut it.

This book was written with every chapter alternating between "Now" and "Then". It was both clever and frustrating at the same time. Clever because even though things advanced in baby steps, it still ramped up my anticipation for when Larry and Geo would finally be reunited. Frustrating because every time something interesting happened it would then switch to a chapter from the other timeline. But it also got me to read and turn the pages a little quicker because I just had to know what exactly happened between Larry and Geo that would cause them to not see each other for 15 years. From the blurb, assumptions might be made that maybe Larry cheated and got a girl pregnant (hence his daughter), or that Geo's ambitions to be a singer were a higher priority to him than his relationship with Larry. I needed to know who was at fault so I could hold a proper grudge against them. Maybe some righteous indignation. But instead, the slower pacing of the story left me wondering what went wrong, so I had to reserve judgment until it was revealed. I hate when that happens.

I loved these guys together. They meshed so well when they were young freshmen in college. And now Geo was this hot rock star. Maybe even more so because he was a little bit older and wiser before he was finally able to achieve that success. But it's Larry that I think most people can relate to. He was just a regular down-to-earth guy, working in a book store, doing the best he could as a divorced parent of a pre-teen daughter. Middle-aged and a bit out of shape with a little padding around the belly. His inner thoughts were often amusing and it was so cute the way he became almost obsessive over Geo's career when he found out his former boyfriend was now a famous rock star. Secretly buying all of Geo's CDs and downloading pictures of him. Rivaling his pre-teen daughter with his screaming and enthusiasm at Geo's concert. Having to wear a concert shirt with Geo's face on it (which he bought to wear "privately") right before he was supposed to see the love of his life again because he spilled mustard on his other one.

Then the big moment happened backstage, when they were finally face to face again after so many years. It was very touching and even more emotional when apologies for certain past actions were tearfully made. At the end I just wanted them to find a way to make things work. And I was not disappointed. I'd love to get an update on these two in the future. :)

[wayward · Rating 4 out of 5]

aahhww. Almost could have cried, they brought back memories of past loves lost. Sometimes I wish it could work that way. Snyder's style of then and now chapters really seemed to flow and tell the whole story in an interesting way.

[jules0623 · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars

[Lena]

Thank god it was free