I Do

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• Author: 20 stories by 21 authors
• Publisher: MLR Press
• Year: 2009
• Purchase: I Do - Publisher's site

Book Description

Do you support the right of any human being to marry the person they love?

I Do - Anthology In support of marriage equality
Multiple Authors Edited by Kris Jacen
978-1-934531-71-6 (ebook)
978-1-934531-70-9 (paperback)
Release Date: January 2009
Cover Artist: Alex Beecroft


20 stories of love and commitment
Published By: MLR Press, LLC
Word Count: 84166
http://www.mlrpress.com/ShowBook.php?book=IDO21001

Do you support the right of any human being to marry the person they love? The right to say 'I Do' to a life of commitment and sharing with the that one special person? We do.

We hope that marriage will soon be a dream that everyone can share. That's why the following authors of LGBT fiction have donated stories to this anthology, in aid of Lambda Legal Fund's fight for marriage equality:

Tracey Pennington, Alex Beecroft, Charlie Cochrane, Clare London, Storm Grant, Lisabet Sarai, Sharon Maria Bidwell, Jeanne Barrack, Marquesate, Z.A Maxfield, P.A Brown, Allison Wonderland, Erastes, Zoe Nichols and Cassidy Ryan, Emma Collingwood, Mallory Path, Jerry L. Wheeler, Moondancer Drake, Fiona Glass, Lee Rowan.

All profits from the sale of this anthology will be donated to the Lambda Legal Defense to fight Prop 8 in support of marriage equality for all.

Alex Beecroft: Desire and Disguise
"You were strolling down Sodomite's Walk, checking out the talent, Mr. Digby. Forgive me for not realizing you were even more abysmally stupid than you look."

Robert Digby's marriage is failing. Overhearing two gentlemen discussing a place where 'talented ladies' may be found in abundance, he resolves to find solace there, only to be taught a very different lesson. An 18th Century tale featuring a frustrated haberdasher, a skittish horse, a bevy of beauties, a very rude lieutenant and a wooden leg.

Charlie Cochrane: The Roaming Heart
“Hamilton and Bowe's names were linked to a succession of leading ladies, members of the nobility and, in one case, a foreign princess.”

Alasdair Hamilton, Toby Bowe and Fiona Marsden are the hottest properties in post-war English film. Shame that Fiona believes what she reads in the gossip columns ...

Fiona Glass: Salad Days
"Tim had finished the carrots. He searched around for something else to keep his hands busy and found he'd picked up the fennel again. Holding it firmly this time he began to slice into its bulbous flesh, imagining it was Ed's smoothly handsome face. Him, jealous?"

A fennel bulb causes havoc between two lovers in this 'kitchen-sink' style romp.

Jeanne Barrack: Finally Forever
"Easy, easy. Nothing is wrong, I promise you. I just wanted to let you know that, are you sitting down? Are you alone?"

When Manny and Rafe met they knew they were destined to be together. Manny made the move believing it would be forever. Then fate stepped in and their dreams were dashed. Now, they may have that chance again. But will fate continue to thwart their plans?

P.A. Brown: The Mistake
“My mother always said I’d end up in a bad way. Who’da thought the old bitch would actually be right for once?”

When recently unemployed Rusty Donaldson let's his stomach overrule his common sense and let's himself be hustled off the streets of WeHo he's hoping to make a quick buck to fill his stomach. He's not expecting to end up handcuffed to a motel bed in the presence of a cop who's way too hot for anyone's good. Officer Hank 'Hawk' Wilson is after big game, but ends up falling for the last thing he expects -- a suspect.

Erastes: The Snow Queen
"Everything wonderful happened when it snowed."

Everything wonderful happens when it snows. Josh loves the winter. He wishes his heart were ice after Sam died, but when he meets Sean he feels it threatened by an unexpected warmth.

Tracey Pennington: Lindorm’s twin
"He shivered, thinking of the rustle of scales over flagstones, trumpets announcing the arrival of a king, and ravens waiting and watching for their legitimate prey — the dead."

Evil magic stripped Stefan of everything that he possessed or was. It forced his lover Andor to become something he was not. Now that evil has returned twice as strong as it was before, and only these two men--who have lost everything but each other--can defeat it forever.

Clare London: Outed
“I don’t see that my sexuality affects your ability to open a drawer and pick out some cutlery,” I snapped.

Guy said afterwards it was a relief to him that someone finally said something, but did it have to be Auntie Queenie’s apparently artless comment, right in the middle of her eightieth birthday celebration tea?

Sharon Maria Bidwell: Swansong
Neil’s voice whispered through the darkness, but like the soft breeze that had finally wound its way through the house, the sound of the man’s voice no longer contained the quality of a whisper spoken in a funeral home, but that of a lover’s sigh.

Richard believes what little love he had in his life has withered but before she died his darling Gloria unlocked her silent throat. Now the time has come for Richard to sing his own song, to face the future, to make the right choice.

Lisabet Sarai: Making memory
"Jack was all for waiting until we were married, but I brought him around to my way of thinking. Why deprive ourselves, I asked him, when we're so sure of what we want?"

In mid-October, the isolated Maine hamlet of Spruce Point is the last place Boston executive Nicole Stewart wants to spend the night. However, a flat tire leaves her no choice. Maggie Benson, owner of the Bellweather Inn, offers Nicole a bed, a home-cooked meal, and a sympathetic ear. As the women share their memories and their sorrows, sharing their bodies becomes natural, almost inevitable.

Storm Grant: Lust in Translation
"Yeah, that's me all right," Justin said. "Dr. Rent Boy, Ph.D."

A dedicated cop rescues a stoned-out hooker leading to sex, drugs, and a blinding reaction. It's a hard road from false arrest to true love.

Marquesate: Code of Honour
“Meet me. Here. Twenty-one hundred hours. Alone.” Sergent Roux cocked one sarcastic brow. “Do you understand?”

When Joe Evans joined the French Foreign Legion at twenty, he would have never imagined that becoming a man entailed more than becoming a tough soldier.

Lee Rowan: Wedding Announcement
He'd faced gunfire, terrorists, disgrace, and a very determined murderer, but he would sooner tackle any or all of them at once than make this call.

Kevin and John had been through hell together and separately, in the military and after it. But for Kevin, telling his father the truth was more unnerving than anything he'd ever faced on the battlefield.

ZA Maxfield: Tango and Temptation
“Well then I’m going to shove off.. If you want to fuck me, I’m there. If not? I have to get married and I don’t have time for shit like this.”

Gabriel Aimar lies about where he’s from. Xander Farmington lies about what he wants. Neither man can deny their passion because when they dance, sparks fly. A contemporary story of hard choices and harder…other things…all choreographed to the sexy rhythm of the tango, the traditional dance of desire.

Moondancer Drake: True Love
"I've seen you run a party for two hundred, short staffed, and have everything go off without even a missing crab puff." Shona kissed Kai's forehead. "If you can pull that off, you can do it all."

Some wishes come true. But not all miracles come without hardship. Shona and Kai finally have the baby they've dreamed of for years, but soon discover that bringing a child into a less than perfect world will test their own love for each other.

Mallory Path: Rules of the Game
"If I'm able to get both your hands off the headboard, then I can do anything I want. Whatever I want."

The problem with unspoken agreements is that they're unspoken. Charlie and Noah have done everything under the sun--almost. When words fail, Charlie must come up with a new way of finding out what his partner really wants.

Emma Collingwood: Semi-detached
"It's a big world out there, Thomas; no point squeezing all the colour out of mankind by pressing people into monochromatic moulds."

Is gay marriage a matter of equality, commitment or the right choice of wallpaper? Thomas has never really thought about it, but at the end of the day, it's all about knocking down walls.

Allison Wonderland: Holy Macaroni (and Cheese)
I know we were only six years old at the time, and I realize that first graders aren't exactly famous for their fashion sense, but it was our wedding day, after all.

Twenty years ago, two first grade girls got married. To each other. The pair dared to tamper with tradition, eschewing all the trappings of a conventional wedding: the gown, the groom, the gaggle of grumpy, frumpy bridesmaids. They imagined that one day they would live in a house made of candy, like the witch's dwelling in the story of Hansel and Gretel, but without the witch, of course. And while their dream house remains just that – a dream – the knot they tied is still secure, and their marriage has outlasted the Ring Pops they exchanged at the ceremony.

Jerry L. Wheeler: Templeton's In Love
"His lips looked soft and warm, exhaling a ragged passion as familiar to me as my own. All I had to do was lean forward a few inches and throw myself off the cliff again."

Tom and Stan broke up when Templeton's music stopped. Ten years later, Templeton is playing again. Is he in love? After all this time, are they? Can a kiss and a song glue together two broken hearts? Find out in this poignant tale of loves and losses over linguine in an Italian restaurant in Denver.

Cassidy Ryan and Zoe Nichols: Better than beautiful
Just two more months, then there would be no more hiding; no more lies.

For two years Becca and Charlotte have been forced to keep their relationship a secret for the sake of Charlotte’s career. In just two months Charlotte will retire from the catwalk and they will be free to marry and live together openly. But Charlotte has been keeping a secret that could ruin it all.

Check it out here:
http://www.mlrpress.com/ShowBook.php?book=IDO21001
http://www.amazon.com/I-DO-Kris-Jacen/dp/1934531707/ref=sr_1_51?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232025636&sr=1-51
http://www.amazon.co.uk/I-Do-Kris-Jacen/dp/1934531707/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232894221&sr=1-9
NOTE: Please feel welcome to circulate this info to show your support for equality.