J.M. Snyder

The year is 1883. Eduard van De Lier is a Dutchman overseeing a spice plantation on the island of Java, in the South Pacific. His obsessive attraction to dark-skinned men is just one of his many secrets. His wife Marien knows of his indiscretions, but as she's content with their Colonial lifestyle, she stays silent. Until a former lover of Eduard's shows up in their parlor with thoughts of blackmail. Reza was a crewman on the ship that brought the van De Liers to Java. During the passage, Eduard spent many a night in the younger man's arms. Two years have passed, and the last person Eduard expects to find in his drawing room is Reza, a letter in hand that could destroy the life he and Marien lead. Seeing him again ignites Eduard's lust for his first dark lover. He hopes to retrieve the letter, either through seduction or subterfuge, and the longer Reza eludes him, the more his desire grows. But they're on shaky ground, and before things can heat up between them, their world explodes -- literally -- when the unstable island of Krakatoa erupts.

All Shook Up

The picture we settled on has me sitting down in front of Timothy; his hand rests on my shoulder, his face smiling above my hard eyes. I hand the photo over to my mother, who squints at it and smiles. “How nice. When did you boys get this done?”


“Oh?” Her voice rises in surprise. “Joey didn’t mention anything about it. Why didn’t I get a copy?”


She thinks—“That’s not Joe,” I say sharply. “That’s Timothy.”


“Timothy,” she murmurs, raising the photo to her face to see it more clearly. Then she shakes her head as she hands back the photo. “I’m sorry, Brian. I’m about blind without my glasses, I swear. He looks a bit like your brother.”


Chapter 16