Genre: Fantasy, Holiday, Erotic
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
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About The Book
How does a hippie and his thumbnail trailer figure in another man’s first gay Christmas?
Utah is a solitary Native American man who lives on the verge of nowhere, a huddle of tiny trailers in the foothills of Nevada’s highest peak. He is a medicine singer, a Paiute truth-seeker.
One day, injured, he is rescued by a stranger who soon begins to teach him the nature of healing and of physical joy.
Utah awakens on Christmas Eve to find his mysterious new friend missing. What will happen when Utah sets out to find him in the dark, in a snowstorm, while the children of the world wait for Santa?
A gay erotic fantasy holiday short story (multicultural)
The Review
Utah, or “Ute” as some call him, has only been to Utah a few times. His name is a perfect fit, as he was one of the Paiute nation. Ten years earlier, he was married to a woman, even though he’s gay. When he came home one day, he found his wife with a missionary who had come to do some “converting.” Ute immediately became a confirmed bachelor. His spirit is the wind, so he packed his few belongings and left, and never looked back. He hitchhiked his way to Ely, sixty miles away.
He eventually returns to Hogum, Nevada, the place of his forefathers. At twenty-eight, he’s considered an old man, with no job and no place in the white-man dream, but he’s happy. In fact, he is always happy. He lives below the sacred mountain – called Wheeler by the white-man. There were very few who have lived in this sacred area – it’s very much a no-mans land.
Utah made his own sluice and knows how to pan for gold dust. But one mistake gets him in trouble when he trips and hurts his ankle, and can’t walk. With no one around to help, he starts to drag himself to get back to his camp, and hopes that the spirit wind will come to him. He doesn’t know if he passed out or fell asleep, but he is awakened by a voice of a man, not a spirit. He is very blond with a beard, his hair almost white, and wears a tie-dyed T shirt, and his name is Kris.
Kris helps Ute to get better and stay well, and a new friendship grows between them, as they have many interesting conversations. Then one day, Kris tells Ute he has something very important to take care of, and it has to do with making all the little children happy. Ute wakes up in the darkness, and no longer feels happy. Kris and his sky-blue trailer are gone.
O’Quinn’s holiday tale weaves Native American lore into a beautifully written love story. Ute and Kris are two charming characters who make each other happy – two halves of happy, and two halves make a whole. The intimate relationship that grows between them is not only romantic and filled with love, but also very erotic.
I highly recommend Utah: A Spirit Dream – although this short story was written in 2016, it’s worth reading again this holiday season.
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.
