The Obsession and the Sting by Xavier Axelson

First of all thank you to Melissa for having me…again! I love this blog and am super grateful to be part of it. I love the opportunity to guest blog after one of my works has been released and the reviews have started coming in as it gives me the chance to look at my work through the eyes of the readers. Earthly Concerns is my 7th novella; 7 being my lucky number I was super excited to see this story come to fruition. It is paranormal, it is M/M and it is sexual; actually it has one of my favorite sex scenes to date within its virtual pages. I loved writing that sex scene! And honestly, sex scenes are not my favorite things to write. Earthly Concerns is the story of two men brought back together by an unexplainable and horrific event, a disappearance.

As Earthly Concerns became known and people began reading it, I soon found myself exploring the themes behind the story. It has been called odd, dark, creepy and mysterious (all words I love) and I agree it is all those things. Another reviewer touched on Anson (the protagonist) as being obsessed with Barrett (the antagonist) and I LOVED that this reader picked up on this as he certainly was/is obsessed with Barrett; it was a subtlety I didn’t even want to admit to myself as I was writing the story but as is the way, someone figured me out. Obsession is a dangerous thing, especially when you are obsessed with someone who is vague and confusing. It plays tricks with your mind and can lead further down the rabbit hole; it was after all obsession that led Alice to follow after the white critter only to fall smack dab in the middle of Wonderland.

 If Anson is obsessed with Barrett then how can he be the antagonist? Is Barrett the hero? Could I have gotten it all wrong? It’s an interesting dilemma and it wasn’t until I read this review that I considered how this story would play out if in fact it were the other way around. It’s these reflections that reviews allow me the opportunity, or second chance to rejoin the story and reunite with my characters and look at things from a fresh perspective. I find reviews and criticisms invaluable in this way; granted do they sometimes sting? Absolutely, but it’s the lesson learned after you step on the bees nest that makes the whole experience worth it. It also teaches you who has the hose and soothing words to drive the bees and the sting of pain away.

Earthly Concerns is an erotic nightmare, with a fable element.  It really is a story about the power of generosity, generosity of spirit and the price of selfishness.  While there is an erotic romance involved, there are forces at work in the story that scare me and hopefully will frighten readers too.

Buylink:

http://www.seventhwindow.com/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&cPath=&products_id=42

Book Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUiS_C1ifNs

Blurb:

Between love and loss, there is obligation…

It was a peaceful night when Barrett and his daughter were driving home… then something happened.  Something sinister.

Between shadow and light, there is uncertainty…

Now the only person Barrett can turn to for help is Anson, a man gifted with psychic abilities beyond reason. But Anson is also his ex-boyfriend, a man whose heart he’d already broken.

If you can see, you have to help.

As Anson delves deeper into the circumstances surrounding Barrett’s accident, he begins to realize that he’s not only in a race against time, but in a battle against his own broken heart and the terrifying understanding that whatever has taken Barrett’s child is a force of evil beyond anything either man has ever encountered.

And between decision and consequences, there are… Earthly Concerns

Excerpt:

Earthly Concerns

How could I just go over, and if I did, would I just be stumbling back into the pit of snakes I had just narrowly escaped the first time?  I thought this and a hundred other dangerous thoughts until I saw him begin to stand up. I waved him down, then went over and sat down.

Apparently, I thought the best course of action was to dive right in, avoid any further uncomfortable thoughts from belching up from the cesspool that I was creating in my skull.

“Tell me everything,” I blurted, trying to avoid looking into his eyes.

“You look good, all hot and cute,” he said, trying to maintain his smile, but the weight of his sadness was too intense. Instead, he managed a pained grimace.

“Thanks.” I wanted to say more, return the compliment, but found I couldn’t; he was a keen listener and would be able to detect any false sentiment I might throw out. I stared down at the menu and tried to ignore my heart, which had once again taken up its incessant thrumming.

“Thanks for coming,” he said.

I didn’t look up, but could feel him staring at me.

When the waitress came over, we ordered. Without the menu to stare at, I looked up and past him.

“Anson.” He said my name like it was some sort of invocation.

Did he believe he was dreaming?  I could only imagine the nightmare of not knowing where your child is and if she would ever come back.

“Tell me everything,” I repeated, my voice steady. I lowered my eyes and faced him; and seeing his sadness, I swallowed hard.

“It’s unreal,” he said, this time looking away from me, his eyes glistening. “I’m not sure I know what’s happened.”

The waitress arrived with two small cups of clear broth with some vegetables in them and refilled our waters.

“I’m sorry,” I said, my eyes riveted on him. I couldn’t believe I was sitting across from him in the same place I had met him once before; the day he wanted to return a t-shirt I had left at his place after one of our interludes.

Even now, looking beaten and tormented, the man somehow managed to provoke me in ways other men hadn’t. I saw him as beautiful and felt my stomach lurch. I looked at his brown eyes that I remembered looking gold in the sun, and his oddly handsome face. Not a traditionally good looking face, but handsome in a bookish, learned way. I felt my body begin to respond.

Where to find Xavier Axelson:

http://www.facebook.com/xaviersaxel

http://www.twitter.com/xaviersaxel

http://www.examiner.com/la-in-los-angeles/francis-xavier

http://www.xavieraxelson.com