Vancouver Nights by Hank EdwardsPWPPH = Porn with plot plus humor.
There is a lot of sex in these books, but surrounding that is a great yarn.
I enjoyed reading “Vancouver Nights” as much as I did the other two in the series. By page seven, I had done enough laughing to justify buying the book and what was even better was that the laughs continued right to the last page. Unusual in comedic books that often fizzle out half way through.
Here the sex makes a welcome break to the comedy and vice versa.
You don’t have to have read the previous two books about Charlie Heggensford to enjoy VN. In fact if you come across this one first, you can still enjoy reading them afterwards. In each book Hank has added to his great cast of characters. They come in all shapes, sizes – each an unforgettable addition to the team who work for Fluffers Inc.
Hank introduces a new character here, Ming Ho. Her intro in the first chapter in an almost slapstick routine sets the tone for the rest of the book.
To give Charlie a fresh, fertile field to play on, Hank manoeuvres him out of town and away from his work as a fluffer by having him inadvertently cause a strike in the porn industry. He is aghast to watch on the news as the porn stars:
” carried picket signs and shouted, “Hell no, we won’t blow!” as they moved gracefully within their tight bike shorts and form fitted T-shirts and tank tops. Some of the signs read “Porn Stars Are People Too,” “We Don’t Get Paid, They Don’t Get Laid,” and “Porn Stars CAN Say NO!”
Charlie has a reputation for courting disaster. If he’s not being a tad too enthusiastic in keeping a porn star hard for his next sex scene, he’s getting into all sorts of other mischief. He doesn’t go looking for trouble, trouble finds him.
He escapes the scene by travelling up to Vancouver with another great new cast member: Canyon Collingwood, the four and a half foot truck driver who gives Charlie a ride in his truck. Sex with dolls takes on a whole new meaning with him.
Throughout it all, Charlie is the same good natured country boy he was when we first met him two books ago. He puts his foot in his mouth regularly:
“It’s always good to have someone similar to you in your life. It helps me feel less abnormal.”That of course is when he doesn’t have something more solid in there; something he can really suck on.
Hank also includes all sorts of good medical advice like when Charlie gets hives from Endora the cat:
“How ‘bout a blow job?” Brent asked, leaning in the bathroom doorframe with his beefy arms crossed over his bare, hairy chest. “Would that help clear your sinuses?”As far as Charlie is concerned a BJ cures everything.
Inevitably, Charlie runs into the bane of his life, Cedric Wilmington:
He did not want to be anywhere near Cedric ever again, he was an evil, lying, conniving bitch who had hated him on sight. Well, maybe because Charlie had just finished sucking off Rock Harding, Cedric’s lover at the time, but that had been an honest mistake!Poor Charlie, he’s pining for Rock and his nine inch dick, but in the meantime he’s happy to have sex with whoever takes his fancy, or should I say pants.
The story has balls of every size. Sex in every position and location. While Charlie might be your average Idaho farm boy, the guys he has very vigorous encounters with are anything but average.
In the course of the story, Charlie manages to take a nose dive into a barrel of severed hands, trip over a rotten step and end up flat on his back (a position he rarely finds himself in – too vanilla) he collides with a pole, and numerous other solid objects, get hives and has hamster shit smeared all over his face and later is covered in even worse excrement. So if even reading about animal faecal matter turns you off, just skip that bit.
There is always something new, something different around the corner you just have to keep turning the pages to see what other misadventures will befall our hapless hero including an unusual way to get drunk on champagne and escape from bound wrists in a hostage situation.
Throughout there are sentences, situations and characters to amuse. I liked this one:
“Never underestimate the power of a lesbian on a sports team.”You just had to be there, though to really appreciate it.
This is a story where you don’t have to be beautiful to star. Yes there are hot bods, but more than that the characters have personality. They have life.
His scenes also are very vivid. I asked Hank a few questions by email and will include these in an interview on my blog.
If you’re tired of reading the same old, same old and feel in need of a laugh while being entertained by a lively plot and enough kinky sex to keep the most jaded satisfied, do yourself a favour....
View all my reviews
An Interview with Hank Edwards
AB: First off, congrats on your book “Vancouver Nights” I enjoyed reading it as much as I did the other two in the series. They make a refreshing change from a lot of the same old same old in the m/m scene. By page seven, I had done enough laughing to justify buying the book and what was good was that the laughs continued.
HE: I'm so glad Charlie made you laugh. He always gives me a good chuckle. He gets into so much mischief I have no idea how he's still alive.
AB: I loved your description of the way the woman got out of the car. A memorable entrance if there ever was one. Too often writers neglect little moments like that that can add to the uniqueness of a book. I also loved your eccentric cast of characters, especially Ming Ho.
HE: And I'm glad you enjoyed Ming ... I was concerned people would call me racist or something, but good God she just burst out of my head in this fireball of craziness. She and Billy will be getting into quite a bit of trouble, I daresay.
AB: As someone who has just discovered Corbin Fisher videos, the whole porn scene fascinates me. Were you aware how many women watch gay men’s porn? What is your reaction to that? Hopefully, I’m not as rabid as Ming is. I must admit that every time I watch them now (purely for research purposes of course), I visualize a Charlie behind the scenes just waiting to keep them ready for the next take. (Relax I know it's fiction)
HE: I have been very, very surprised by the number of women readers. When I started writing, I published in gay anthologies and gay erotic magazines like American Bear and Honcho. I never even considered women would find my fiction at all, I thought I was targeting an all male audience. Then I got a few emails from some female fans and I started to understand that women were really drawn to gay sex and LOVED to read about it! I was happily surprised, and I have to say, that's really fueled my writing.
AB: I find your writing very visual, I can picture your scenes really well, the barn scenes particularly. Do you visualize your scenes as mini movies before you write them?
HE: Thanks for saying my writing is very visual, I've always "seen" my books as I write them, like you said, "mini movies." I have a distinct setting and look to the characters in mind when I write and I'm glad those details come through. The barn was a fun scene to write, there was so much action (sexy and otherwise) and a number of fun, sassy characters to generate the drama. With Charlie I always try to have something funny and sexy happen in each chapter. He does work in the porn industry, after all, and he is a natural klutz. And thanks for the compliment about PWPAH, I think it's tough to pull that type of story off, and humor is especially tough with erotica. Here's hoping more readers will appreciate that as well.
AB: The book touched on so many different sexual variations and fetishes where does that leave you? Just how much research do you do? I know it’s fiction, but to satisfy my curiosity. Tell me, as no way could I ever get in there, do places like The Dirty Jock exist in real life? Are they really like that?
HE: The book did touch on many sexual fetishes. A friend of mine challenged me while I was writing the book by asking if Charlie would be branching out at all. I decided to introduce him to the watersports and fisting at The Dirty Jock. I have never been to a place like The Dirty Jock, but I've read about such places and I let my mind go wild and create this multi-leveled sex club where pretty much everything was acceptable.
AB: Will there be more adventures for Charlie?
HE: I am planning another book for Charlie and his friends, just have to get some time to write it. Right now I'm working on a zombie/vampire story so Charlie's on the back burner until probably June or so (fingers crossed). I've got some notes jotted down for his next adventure, and a few ideas for another 2 books after that. Who knows? Maybe he'll keep on going, as long as Lethe Press is willing to publish the books, I'd love to keep bringing Charlie back for more adventures.
AB: Thanks Hank for coming clean. Hopefully Charlie will stay clean until June...
HE: I'm so glad Charlie made you laugh. He always gives me a good chuckle. He gets into so much mischief I have no idea how he's still alive.
AB: I loved your description of the way the woman got out of the car. A memorable entrance if there ever was one. Too often writers neglect little moments like that that can add to the uniqueness of a book. I also loved your eccentric cast of characters, especially Ming Ho.
HE: And I'm glad you enjoyed Ming ... I was concerned people would call me racist or something, but good God she just burst out of my head in this fireball of craziness. She and Billy will be getting into quite a bit of trouble, I daresay.
AB: As someone who has just discovered Corbin Fisher videos, the whole porn scene fascinates me. Were you aware how many women watch gay men’s porn? What is your reaction to that? Hopefully, I’m not as rabid as Ming is. I must admit that every time I watch them now (purely for research purposes of course), I visualize a Charlie behind the scenes just waiting to keep them ready for the next take. (Relax I know it's fiction)
HE: I have been very, very surprised by the number of women readers. When I started writing, I published in gay anthologies and gay erotic magazines like American Bear and Honcho. I never even considered women would find my fiction at all, I thought I was targeting an all male audience. Then I got a few emails from some female fans and I started to understand that women were really drawn to gay sex and LOVED to read about it! I was happily surprised, and I have to say, that's really fueled my writing.
AB: I find your writing very visual, I can picture your scenes really well, the barn scenes particularly. Do you visualize your scenes as mini movies before you write them?
HE: Thanks for saying my writing is very visual, I've always "seen" my books as I write them, like you said, "mini movies." I have a distinct setting and look to the characters in mind when I write and I'm glad those details come through. The barn was a fun scene to write, there was so much action (sexy and otherwise) and a number of fun, sassy characters to generate the drama. With Charlie I always try to have something funny and sexy happen in each chapter. He does work in the porn industry, after all, and he is a natural klutz. And thanks for the compliment about PWPAH, I think it's tough to pull that type of story off, and humor is especially tough with erotica. Here's hoping more readers will appreciate that as well.
AB: The book touched on so many different sexual variations and fetishes where does that leave you? Just how much research do you do? I know it’s fiction, but to satisfy my curiosity. Tell me, as no way could I ever get in there, do places like The Dirty Jock exist in real life? Are they really like that?
HE: The book did touch on many sexual fetishes. A friend of mine challenged me while I was writing the book by asking if Charlie would be branching out at all. I decided to introduce him to the watersports and fisting at The Dirty Jock. I have never been to a place like The Dirty Jock, but I've read about such places and I let my mind go wild and create this multi-leveled sex club where pretty much everything was acceptable.
AB: Will there be more adventures for Charlie?
HE: I am planning another book for Charlie and his friends, just have to get some time to write it. Right now I'm working on a zombie/vampire story so Charlie's on the back burner until probably June or so (fingers crossed). I've got some notes jotted down for his next adventure, and a few ideas for another 2 books after that. Who knows? Maybe he'll keep on going, as long as Lethe Press is willing to publish the books, I'd love to keep bringing Charlie back for more adventures.
AB: Thanks Hank for coming clean. Hopefully Charlie will stay clean until June...
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