Tented: Gay Erotic Tales from under the Big Top

by Jerry L. Wheeler (Editor)

Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Step right up and read stories both salacious and miraculous! Only fifteen dollars for the Grand Tour of Tented! That's three fins to meet the Great Masturbator! Three Lincolns to explore a post-apocalyptic future where every clown has his very own catamite! Yes, my friends, these stories are guaranteed to amaze, beguile, and captivate. That's the ABC's, my boy. Stay close, you might learn something.

We have acrobats ready to assume positions, knife-throwers blade in-hand, the stickiest, sweetest cotton candy around, and even a Hall of Mirrors to reflect your deepest desires! Featuring performances by such talented artistes as Steve Berman, Tom Cardamone and Sean Meriwether.

Genres: Erotica, Queer, Short Stories, Anthologies

204 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 27, 2010

About the author

Editor of the Lambda Literary Award finalists Tented: Gay Erotic Tales from Under the Big Top (Lethe Press 2010) and his short story collection Strawberries and Other Erotic Fruits (Lethe Press, 2012) as well as three volumes of gay erotica for Bold Strokes Books, Jerry L. Wheeler has appeared in many anthologies, including Law of Desire, Best Gay Romance 2010, Bears in the Wild, and I Like It Like That. His first novel, The Dead Book, is forthcoming from Lethe Press in the fall of 2013. Be sure to catch his book reviews on the web at Out in Print (www.outinprint.net).

Reviews

[Elisa Rolle]

A good share of the stories have a some sort of historical setting, maybe “modern” history, meaning the beginning of the XX century, or a some sort of fantasy setting with an ancient feeling, but in any case, even if the setting is today, the feeling is the same, as if the circus world didn’t change a lot in more than 100 years, or in the next 100, and living inside it is like living in a bubble, no one from the outside can enter, and the habitat inside the bubble self-feed itself.

Roustabout by Dale Chase: this is a little historical short story, set in the Far West in 1878. It’s quite the classical tale, the circus arrives in small western town, with animals, and men, no one has ever seen. Eli was eagerly waiting the circus because his buddy friend, and lover, Jack told him everything about it, but now Jack is dead, and with him all Eli’s will to live. The among those man he sees Tully, big, strong and sexy Tully, maybe not so clever, but at least he is something/someone new who is able to distract Eli from his sorrows. What probably I liked most of this story is that the author chose to give a happily for now ending to Eli: probably it will be nothing, probably nothing will change, but if Eli will have the courage, or the carelessness, to take a chance, maybe the future will be different for him.

Winter Quarters by Tom Cardamone: this story is set all among the circus people; Jimmy is born inside the circus and he has never known anything different, his desire is to find a place in the circus “hierarchy” but he seems to have no special talent. When Keith nears him, Jimmy immediately understands what is pushing the other boy, their common friend Mario has probably told him of how they were used to “play” together, and Keith wants a piece of that for himself. But Jimmy, while is interesting in playing with Keith, is not interesting in being his toy, and he will find a way to mater the game. Nice feeling in the story and after all, even if it’s not exactly a love story, is an happy ending, and who knows? maybe Keith will be intrigued by this new Jimmy.

Charlie Does the Big Top by Hank Edwards: this is a spin-off of the “Fluffers, Inc” by Hank Edwards about professional fluffers, meaning that men who work in the p**n industry with the task of getting “ready” the male actors to perform. Charlie is one of the fluffers, but he is not in the good grace of the director; he expects the experience on a circus p**n set to be no good, but he will have a nice surprise, circus people are very welcoming and even if Charlie is a bit clumsy, they will “help” him in getting the task done. More or less a wicked tale absolutely no preachy on the p**n industry and Charlie’s chosen career, above all Charlie himself has no regret at all, and he is plenty enjoying the momentum.

Horse’s Ass by Ralph Seligman: another, very short story set all among circus people, one of the handyman of the circus share a trailer with one of the clown, and the trailer is not the only thing they share. There is no one to judge them, no one to consider if not each other, and they are plenty enjoying the freedom. Light and nice, this story has nothing of the nostalgia feeling that sometime overwhelm the “circus” stories.

The Midnight Barker by William Holden: I’m not sure if I have to read a metaphor in this short story because, if I have, I’m not sure I like it. The wandering circus of Nathaniel is not a normal one, they are soul feeders and their favourite “snacks” are the young men, those men who don’t feel they belong to this world, those young men who prefer to take their life instead of trying to adapt to a world that doesn’t accept them. Nathaniel seeks these men out and offer them a different way of dying, to disappear in his world, to be the life source of the shadowers: is Nathaniel welcoming them or is he profiting of their loneliness? According to the answer, I like or not like this short story. Up to you to choose your point of view.

Aiming to Please by Nathan Burgoine: Paul, a young and handsome, and a little slutty, gay man finds out that the circus can have some nice side he didn’t consider; on one night he has basically nothing to do, he ventures inside the circus terrain and he meets the Amazing Yuri, who indeed reveal to have some “amazing” skills, other than throwing knives. Again a light tale, no hint of sadness.

Circus Maximus by Sean Meriwether: this is a mix of fantasy or apocalypse sci-fi; in this imaginary world, that even if it’s not clearly told, has the dark and oppressive feeling of a catastrophe pending, Six and Seven are two “ants”, a lower level in the new hierarchy where clowns are the elite. An elite that reminds me a bit too much a well-know elite that at the beginning of the XX century was responsible of tragic events. (I think that was the aim of the author, after all the Gypsies were among those victims). Six and Seven manage to escape the “confinement” of the circus and outside of it they will join the guerrilla; Six is the daring one, Seven the protector, Six is the one who pushes their relationship beyond the “brothers” boundary, but they are not destined to be together.

Oggie Joins the Circus by Jay Neal and R. Jackson: even if apparently this is a naughty and light tale about a young man, Oggie, who experiments all the marvellous thing of a circus of freaks, that for him are not freaks at all, I think that indeed this is a metaphor of someone who wants to escape from a reality that maybe is not accepting him. The circus Oggie visits is not an “ordinary” circus, but it’s full of odd men, sometime creatures, who in any case welcome him at open arms; between these misfits Oggie felt home, like maybe he doesn’t feel in the real world.

Magic by Matt Kailey: again an escape from reality, but this time a young man is not searching a way out from his ordinary life, he is searching a reason, a way to be who he wants to be, he is searching for Magic, that magic that will set him free. Actually his life is not bad, he has a job and a chance at love, but he is too “hidden” inside himself to be able to come out and be happy. The circus, a magic circus, will give him the strength he is searching to grasp the life he wants.

Tell Me What You Love, and I’ll Tell You What You Are by Steve Berman: probably this is the most alluring, tender and tragic of all the above stories, and for sure this is the only one without sex but only romance. Steve Berman tells the same story, the story of a man, his story?, from two points of view, one with a pink glasses perspective and the second, sadly, with a reality undertone. The author asks to the reader “I want you to wonder which side is true”, unfortunately we probably well know, but I, from my pink glasses perspective, answer, the first one.

Circus Wagon Love by Garland: Felipe and K, a clown and a contortionist, both on a travelling circus in Europe during the WWII; but even if outside there is a war, even if they are considered Freaks (as the title of movie some of their friends are filming back in the US), these two lovers are able to build a world for their own, where they can love each other and no one has anything to say against them, after all, they are freaks! Probably one of the most romantic and tender of the whole lot, it appeased my romance reader persona.

Il Circo dei Fiori by Gavin Atlas: this story has an unexpected ending, and I’m not sure it’s really a full closure. Gianni and Adolfo, two Italo-American men own a circus, but Adolfo is there only for the money, he lost the passion, and instead Gianni is apparently there only for Emil, their main attraction. Emil is a beautiful Roma, a gypsy, and he is able to draw everyone, children, women, but above all men. He is a free spirit, he concedes himself only to whom he likes and wants, but for Gianni he will do an exception: if the man will allow free shows for the poor people, than Emil will allow Gianni to have him. To Gianni means giving up all his money, his safe future, but for Emil? He will do everything is needed.

The Great Masturbator by Daniel M. Jaffe: this wins for sure the prize of strangest of the lot. I cannot really tell anything of the story without ruining your discovery, what I will tell you is that the young guy, as many of the other before, was searching for something different, maybe for a true love, and in a way he found the most binding of relationship, at least until the passion will not end. I hope for that young guy this never happen and that he will always live happily forever with his Great Masturbator.

The Worker by Cage Thunder: a light and naughty little story on a country boy, Cage, who thanks to the help of a childhood friend, Tony, will have the chance to change his life forever, way more than he would have done attending college, since in college there is no such matter. Cage will meet wrestler Big Steve, and with him he has his first real experience at practically anything. Cage said to the reader that he was planning to go to San Francisco after graduation, to be free and gay, but I think that, if he hadn’t met Steve, he would have come back home, to Tony and many others like him, and his gay life would have been buried in the closet.

The Twenty-Four Hour Man by Dusty Taylor: the closing story is again an historical one, and again set in the Far West, this time of the 1915. This is a year at the edge between innocence and adulthood, for many reason, for many people, but above all for a young boy who is scared by the coming in town of the circus, because his father told him to “Beware of buckaroos, gypsies, and rainmakers”, but of course he will fall for one of them, he will loose his innocence but he will reborn to a new, and probably better, life; such as did many young men in that 1915, or at least those men who were lucky enough to loose their innocence but still come back home.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1590213440/?...

[Laurie (barksbooks)]

Kindle freebie today. Amazon US

[Kassa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Tented is an anthology of erotic stories that revolve around the circus. Not just the typical clown stories with rubber noses and big feet indicating “other” big appendages but just about any depravity, kink, or curiosity you can think of – these stories go there. Surprisingly the stories are universally good with a few standing out amongst the crowd. There are no dull notes, no boring stories you’d rather skip but instead each one is interesting, different, and intriguing.

Tented begins with a great foreword. Rarely are introductions or forewords in anthologies that interesting. In fact they are something most readers skip entirely as they rarely give good insight into the following collection nor do they add much. Yet I have to say this foreword is concise and well written. It immediately gets your interest and makes you want to read the stories. The few well chosen words introduce you to the sweaty, dirty, kinky circus that will follow and not the sanitized, pretty, blank one currently popular.

The collection delivers no less than the introduction promises as it delves into the working men of the circus and those that visit. From the first story to the last, this group of fifteen tales is about dirty, raunchy sex amidst the dirt, gleam, and sweat of the circus as it was meant. Although the stories range from historical to post-apocalyptic, the shady, seedy element of the circus – the one that makes it the most interesting, the most forbidden and enticing – is the main backdrop. There is something creepy and weird about the majority of the stories yet they are fascinating in a way. You simply can’t look away and have to read more wondering where the authors will take you next.

There is flat out titillation with Hank Edwards’ Charlie Does the Big Top or the humorous, entertaining encounter between a clown and his lover in Horse’s Ass by Ralph Seligmann. Tom Cardamone’s Winter Quarters is sugary and sweet with a touch of paranormal about a young man finding his place within the circus. Circus Wagon Love by Garland offers a sweet romantic flair amid down and dirty sex between two performers that learn a new position. If you ever wondered just what positions a contortionist can get into, this story helps solve that riddle.

The stories are universally well written and offer something intriguing, fascinating, and eye catching. The sheer imagination that goes into the idea of “sex at the circus” never fails to amaze me as the authors go down and dirty with fantasy and desire. There are favorites of course and these will be reader dependant. I particularly enjoyed Dale Chase’s Roustabout set in the old west as a horseman has a hot, sweaty encounter with a circus worker. Chase’s great flair for prose and erotica makes for an enjoyable setting and story.

Additionally The Midnight Barker by William Holden is quite fabulous as a dark, creepy, and scary turn at the circus. The bright lights may hide some terrifying things and this story isn’t afraid of the dark and exposing those desires and cravings. Similarly, Circus Maximus by Sean Meriwether also shows a dark side to the circus in this post-apocalyptic tale of brothers on the run from a clown posse. This is another well written and enticing story that involves some brotherly love but an even more intriguing backdrop. On the sweeter side is Aiming to Please by Nathan Burgoine, which is very cute and quite raunchy. A curious visitor encounters a knife throwing Russian which ends with the trailer rocking.

These are just a few of the stories that make up this anthology. The variety of stories makes this one that is entertaining and absorbing to read. It’s highly erotic with sex as the main theme of all the stories, yet it’s not the only theme as desire, loneliness, need, hunger, and despair all play into the tales as well. If you haven’t seen the weirder, creepier, but more interesting side of the circus, definitely check this out.

[George Seaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn't possibly do a better job than Jeff Mann, who provides a very comprehensive review at Out In Print: http://blog.outinprint.net/2011/01/13...

[Jean Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like skilled acrobats, these stories straddle the line between realism and fantasy, and fly through the air between them. Sexual attraction between men in the circus world seems like such a good fit that I wonder why no one compiled an anthology on this theme before. Like gay men, circus performers have traditionally been nomadic social outcasts, and the yearning of a lonely boy to “run away and join the circus” seems like a thinly-disguised desire to “come out.”

Several of these stories are set in a realistic past, when trained elephants in a travelling show were less controversial than the human performers and crew. In “Roustabout” by Dale Chase, the twenty-year-old narrator begins his story in California in April 1878:

“Jack Hodges was shot two days ago and while the man who done him in has been strung up, there remains an empty place in me that will not likely be filled by justice, be it vigilante or otherwise.”

The narrator was Jack’s lover, and he goes to the circus with a barely-conscious plan to find some distraction for his grief.

An exchange of meaningful glances between the narrator and Tully, an older, muscular roustabout who is setting up a tent, leads to a fast hookup which could possibly lead to a deeper relationship. But there are no guarantees.

“The Twenty-Four Hour Man” by Dusty Taylor shows a professional P.R. man through the eyes of a “rube,” an innocent young man in a small Kansas town in 1915. While seducing the whole town to come to the circus starring “Buffalo Bill,” the handsome stranger seduces the narrator, who has never met anyone like him before. The young man`s father had always warned him to beware of con men and circus types as moral `stumbling blocks,` but even after the handsome stranger has left him forever, the narrator doesn`t regret their night together.

In “Circus Wagon Love” by Garland, a group of circus performers listen to the radio during the Second World War, wondering if they will be sent to one of the camps where people go in but never come out. When the narrator, a contortionist, learns that a Hollywood movie, Freaks, is being made about the sideshow, he feels ambivalent: “I honestly didn’t know how I felt about it.” His reaction is much like that of a gay filmgoer to a film that shows his “people” as freaks, but which gives them public exposure.

In the fantasy stories, the circus represents an imaginary world of unlimited sex and real monsters. The narrator of “The Midnight Barker” by William Holden is an immortal wraith, one of a circus `family` that survives on the energy of the living:

“The young man we want has to have a tainted heart. He has to want it, need it, desire it. Through their desires, we create our Netherworld where we make their fantasies come true. Through their fantasies, we feed. The circus is a jealous whore, a ravenous hag that sucks the vitality right out of a person, just like a bloodthirsty vampire sucks the veins dry.”

Like a vampire, the narrator seems likely to change his chosen victim into one like himself.

The title character in “The Great Masturbator” by Daniel M. Jaffe is rumored to cause gay men to disappear from the real world. When the narrator, whose life is going nowhere, goes to the circus to be cheered up, he learns what has happened to the missing men. He is trapped in a kind of limbo from which there seems to be no escape, but he tells the reader: “I live in hope.”

“Circus Maximus” by Sean Meriwether is set in a dystopian society run by clowns whose “patron saint” is John Wayne Gacy, serial killer of young men in the real world. The story is told by an “ant,” a young man whose lack of performing skill condemns him to the lowest rank and whose protective love for his younger brother drives him to kill. The two young men run away from the circus and discover a tribe of fellow refugees led by a magical queen who resembles the older wisewomen in The Matrix and Tommy. At last the narrator finds his tribe and the male mentor he needs, although the life of a fugitive won`t be easy.

“Oggie Joins the Circus” by the team of Jay Neal and R. Jackson is a lighter story: a teenage boy`s masturbation fantasy. Parker the Barker introduces young Oggie to the circus of his imagination:

``Ah, young sir – we have many wonderful wonders ready to amazingly amaze you. Inside my pants – inside our tents, I mean – you will meet the world`s best-hung midget, incredible twin contortionists, Melvin the Magnificent – soothsayer, human goat and tattooed man – a mystifying fun-house of mirrors and a remarkable game of skill and luck, to mention but a few of our unique attractions.`

Oggie discovers all these wonders before being welcomed “home.”

Steve Berman`s story, “Tell Me What You Love, and I`ll Tell You What You Are,” shows a contemporary circus as a slice of untrustworthy reality. Printed in two columns on each page, the story is an episodic two-ring show in which a rueful older man accompanies his closeted nephew and the nephew`s `friend` to a circus of illusions. The handsome guy working the “Guess Your Height, Your Age, Your Fate” booth seems attracted to the uncle – or is he? The reader can never be sure what is real and what is not.

In a parallel story, “Magic” by Matt Kailey, another lonely, disillusioned gay man discovers a circus that advertises only by word of mouth, where an incredibly well-hung performer chooses him for magically painless public sex.

Two of the “realistic” stories (to use the term loosely) focus on the roles of a “fluffer” (a kind of roustabout in the world of porn films) and a wrestler. “Charlie Does the Big Top” by Hank Edwards is an over-the-top “dirty joke” in which the circus is actually a porn-film set, and the central character gets paid to keep the stars as hard as they need to be.

“The Worker” by Cage Thunder is about “coming out” into another dream job. In this story, a bored college student has come home to Kansas for the summer. (Did The Wizard of Oz start a tradition of setting quest stories in Kansas?) At the circus with his former high school buddies, the narrator is fascinated by Steve Starr, a pro wrestler who helps “the kid” to find his calling and his stage name, Cage Thunder.

The remaining stories are more-or-less realistic, and are as captivating as the obvious fantasies. “Il Circo dei Fiori” by Gavin Atlas suggests that the circus (as entertainment, business and lifestyle) may be doomed, but the narrator tries gamely to save the “circus of flowers,” his family business, and hang onto the man of his dreams.

In several of these stories, the appeal of circus performers for audience members and humble handymen is a source of erotic tension. In “Aiming to Please” by Nathan Burgoine, a knife-thrower seduces an enthralled audience member by hurling sharp knives that barely miss the target’s flesh while pinning him in place. In “Winter Quarters” by Tom Cardamone, young Jimmy (who works the concession stand) gets to wrap his idol, a performer of his own age, in cotton candy when the circus is not on tour. In the brief “Horse’s Ass” by Ralph Seligman, the handyman narrator has dramatic sex with a clown who uses white grease paint as lube.

The circus, as shown in these stories, is a powerful metaphor for collective and personal dreams and fears. The sex that takes place there is sometimes slapstick, sometimes scary, but always hot. It’s worth the admission price.
~~~~~~~

['Nathan Burgoine · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Roustabout," by Dale Chase

I know I've mentioned Dale Chase just a few days ago, but I should point out that when I got my contributor copy of Tented (once again an anthology edited by the unique Jerry L. Wheeler) Dale's anchor story was my first introduction to her work, and I went seeking her tales out thereafter.

"Roustabout" is a tale told in California in the late 1800's, and full of what I've since learned is Dale Chase's brilliant mix of bittersweet longing that is so often a central piece of her erotic westerns. The arrival of a circus - the wagons appearing, tents being set up - brings a man who had planned to come there with his lover, who is now dead. What he finds instead might be a chance to heal.

Tented is an anthology that - to me - was full of genuine surprises. The theme seems so narrow at first - circuses, after all, are exactly that: just circuses - but the collection as a whole is so incredibly varied. I'm dead proud to be in this one.

"Winter Quarters" by Tom Cardamone

This is one of my favourite short stories in Tented. Put far too simply, it's the story of Jimmy, who is with the circus and just hasn't found his niche yet. The others all seem to know which way they were growing - to be future trapeze artists, or clowns, or roustabouts - but not Jimmy. Jimmy works the concession stand, and seems to have a knack for spinning cotton candy, but that's not likely to lead him anywhere else under the Big Top. An encounter with one of the acrobats, however, and some deft handling of the cotton candy machine, might just reveal more about where Jimmy could be headed than he had ever considered before.

I love this story, and the joy of the cotton candy between the two young men is a blast. It's clever, and fresh, and while Jimmy at first feels a little bit lost and more than a little bit pathetic, the journey in this quite short story takes him somewhere completely different. I already knew I liked Tom Cardamone's stories from my brushes with other tales he'd written, but this is one I return to for a quick smile.

"Charlie Does the Big Top," by Hank Edwards

Bringing a character from his "Fluffers Inc." novel to the circus, Hank Edwards adds a wonderful chuckle to the mix of Tented. Charlie is a hapless character, whose oral talents never fail to - uh - get a rise from those he's helping get ready for a shoot, and the porn company he works with is doing a circus themed video.

That the director hates him, and Charlie has been known to perhaps botch things somewhat is a fun mix that - of course - leads to some sexy and silly mishaps. Charlie is a fun character, and "Charlie Does the Big Top" is a fun story. And if you enjoy him, there are three Fluffers Inc. novels to dive into.

"Horse's Ass," by Ralph Seligman

One of my favourite memories of meeting Ralph Seligman in New Orleans at the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival was having dinner with him and his fellow, and a large table of many of the contributors of Tented, and watching him pull out a clown nose and pop it on his face. I needed that laugh then.

In fact, one of the things Jerry L. Wheeler said in the original call for submissions was to avoid clowns. Clown erotica, the tone suggested, would likely be a very - very - hard sell. And not hard in the good way. Ralph managed to sidestep that gracefully, in a way, using the greasy white clown face paint to make the shortest story in the collection a lovely laugh-out-loud inducing pleasure.

Certainly, re-reading it today after reminded me that there are more people out there to support than I need to worry about not supporting. So thanks for that, Ralph. Again.

"The Midnight Barker," by William Holden

I mention this every time I swing around to talking about Tented, but the variety of the tales included in the anthology is a huge draw to the collection. Case in point: "The Midnight Barker." William Holden brings his usual dark twist to the erotic, and creates a character that is unforgettable.

Not quite vampiric, but definitely a kind of erotic and parasitic creature, the voice of the tale runs a circus that has a dark hunger at its heart - a hunger fed by young and strong men who are themselves just tainted enough with a dark desire to offer the right sustenance. As the young man, Derek, is spun into potentially offering himself up, the story tightens and ratchets up the tension. Holden has a way with characters like this, and you'll definitely shiver along the ride.

[Changeling72 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished read Tented: Gay Erotic Tales from under the Big Top yesterday. It was good. Dale Chase's Roustabout, the first story in the anthology remains my favourite, although I didn't actively dislike any of them. I enjoyed 'Nathan Burgoine's Aiming to Please, Gavin Atlas' Il Circo Dei Fiori and Matt Kailey's Magic in particular. Sean Meriwether's Circus Maximus was unusual, but none the worse for it. I was slightly confused by Cage Thunder's The Worker, purely because it was set in a fairground, rather than a circus - but perhaps I'm being pedantic. As I said above, I didn't actively dislike any of the stories included, although, of course, I enjoyed some more than others.