Blog Tour: Inhuman Beings by Richard May ~ (Exclusive Excerpt + Giveaway)

Title: Inhuman Beings

Author: Richard May

Release Date: June 15th 2017

Genre: Gay Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal, Sci-Fi, Erotic

 

BLURB

Fall in love with a shapeshifter in San Francisco, a ghost in Scotland, or a vampire in Russia. Time travel to 1920s Mesopotamia, 1600's Africa, or to ancient Greece before time even existed. Find yourself on a distant planet, in love with a creature whose very being can destroy you, or in a post-apocalyptic world, drawn to a mutation created by the destruction of Earth.

Enjoy these 18 erotic stories about romantic encounters between men and not men--monsters and myths, gods and demons, science fiction and fantasy. Each story is the stuff of nightmares--and of dreams.

Add Inhuman Beings to Goodreads

Paperback Purchase: Amazon US | Amazon UK *The paperback version has 3 new stories*

Ebook Purchase: Amazon US | Amazon UK | MLR Press

REVIEWS

“With Inhuman Beings, May seductively crosses the boundaries of time and space, the real and the imaginary, in these spellbinding tales of love and lust and things that go bump, not to mention hump, in the night.”

– Rob Rosen, editor of the Best Gay Erotica series

“Inhuman Beings is an enormously imaginative, genre-crossing work in the tradition of Peter Cashorali’s groundbreaking Fairy Tales but with greater breadth and franker eroticism; an impres­sive achievement.”

– Michael Nava, author of the Henry Rios novels

“Inhuman Beings represents a seminal work in gay male erotic literature that draws on the threads and yarns of our cultures and civiliza­tions. Tales from many countries and eras transport you across the globe and through the years, making this book one that will stand the test of time.”

– Wayne Goodman, author of Better Angels

“Richard May’s new collection of short fiction contains an international menagerie of legendary creatures. There’s a Hindu god, a Native American cyclone spirit, a Chinese rain dragon, a moody Jewish golem, a sadistic Iraqi jinn, and more. Fans of the homoerotic melded with the speculative and the paranormal will savor every page of Inhuman Beings.”

—Jeff Mann, author of Country and Consent

"The beauty of this collection lies in its imagination – May is doing nothing less than writing a gay mythology, complete with monsters and fairy tales, imagined futures and refreshed pasts. His bold infusion of desire into mythology and encounters with the paranormal is unique, bracing and insightful. Inhuman Beings is full of a kind of sacred frivolity.”

—Trebor Healey, author of Faun and Eros & Dust

EXCERPT

from Inheritance

Clocks told me it was after midnight, the new last day for the Daberleys at Enscombe. I climbed the central staircase, thinking of all the feet which had trod before me.

My father’s bedroom felt freezing so in quick order I stripped, not bothering to hang my clothes, and slid under the heavy blankets. Sleep came quickly but I was awakened soon after, or so it seemed, by the sound of footsteps in the hall outside my room. I was groggy and pulling myself into sitting when the bedroom door opened and the shadow of a tall man stood in the doorframe.

“Aren’t you afraid?” he asked in Stephen Taylor’s voice.

“No,” I lied, jumping out of bed and turning on the lamp, only belatedly covering myself with underwear tossed aside.

“But I do want to know what you’re doing in my house in the middle of the night.”

“I come here often,” was all he said as he entered the room and closed the door. I made ready for him as he came across the carpet but he just sat, slumping in the armchair.

“He killed me, you know.”

Exclusive Excerpt:

from Kakouhthe: Cyclone Man

“Stay, Hokolesqua. I have a secret to tell you.” His hands felt good on my shirt and on the skin beneath it.

He turned me in his hands to face him. I stood waiting and silent. When someone tells you a secret it is important. It is trust. I was determined to listen carefully, no matter how good his hands felt.

“First, my name. I am Kakouhthe.”

I had never heard of anyone with this name. It means Cyclone Person. I had heard it before, however, in a story my mother told us about the whirlwind. I wondered if this were the secret. Kakouhthe laughed as if he could read my thoughts.

I liked the sound of his laughter and the opening of his lips to make it. I liked the dance I saw in his eyes.

“No, that is not the secret. I didn’t say it was my secret. It is yours, Hokolesqua. Shall I tell you?”

I tried to squirm away, wanting to run. I only had one secret. How could this stranger know it? He held me fast though. I fought him with all my training, tripping him and landing on top of his body when he fell, holding his arms and legs down with mine.

GIVEAWAY: Comment on this blog post for a chance to win a copy of Inhuman Beings

Author (Don't forget to leave your e-mail address so you can be contacted if you win)

 

Richard May’s short fiction has been published in his collections Inhuman Beings and Ginger Snaps: Photos & Stories (with photographer David Sweet), his series Gay All Year on Amazon Kindle, in anthologies like Never Too Late, Best Gay Erotica, and the Lambda Literary nominated Outer Voices Inner Lives, and in literary journals, including Bay Laurel, Chelsea Station, and Hyacinth Noir. 

Rick also organizes the monthly Perfectly Queer book reading series with his partner Wayne Goodman in Oakland CA at Nomadic Press: Uptown and in San Francisco at Dog Eared Books Castro, individual LGBTQ Pride Readings for visiting authors, the annual literary festival Word Week in Noe Valley CA, and an online book club Reading Queer Authors Lost to AIDS. 

Rick is from Sacramento CA and Brooklyn NY and now lives in San Francisco. He has red hair and truly believes in all things ginger. Another genetic stunner: he is 19th cousin to Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. Please follow him on social media at facebook.com/richardmaywriter, @rickmaywritr on Twitter, and richard.may1313 on Instagram. 

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