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Browse my short fiction, sample my novels. Let me know what you think!

 
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Novels

Discreet Young Gentleman--Now available from Seventh Window!

 

Dean Smith needs help repairing his shattered engagement--but he never expected to find it in the person of Rob, a devastatingly handsome male prostitute. Sidetracked by highwaymen, ghost-hunting, and a spot of fishing--not to mention an increasing attraction to his unconventional companion--Dean's trip to Bath to recover his fiancée turns into a journey of self-discovery.

Read the first chapter here.

Where to buy--a list of online vendors

Seventh Window Publications

Reader reviews:

An All-Nighter, November 2, 2006
 

Reviewer: Tommy T. Roddy - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

As a kid, I used to secretly go through my sister's stash of Harlequin Romance novels. Since there's a high probability that my sister will see this post, so much for secrets! Well, a few days ago, I heard about "Discreet Young Gentleman." A trashy romance novel (I use the term lovingly), but with two guys?! It was a dream come true! I ordered it, received it yesterday, and only planned to read a couple of chapters. Well, I kept telling myself I would put it down... and then before I knew it, it was 5am in the morning and I had finished the book.

It's got dashing young men, ghosts, class conflict, internalized homophobia, severe body image issues (yes, really), and some rather hot lovin' romance novel-style. The author, MJ Pearson, injects a great deal of humor into the novel, but it's never saccharine. The comedic moments are done just right, and add to the poignancy of the lovers' dilemma. MJ Pearson is quite talented and I'm looking forward to reading more of her work!

Charming M/M Romance!, December 16, 2006
 

Reviewer: R.Parklane (Taipeh, Taiwan) - See all my reviews

MJ Pearson has done it again and I am delighted to add this to my list of favorite historical gay romance. This love story of a gentleman and a prostitute is a delightful read. The characters of our 2 heroes could not have been more different and MJ has done a great job developing them. Dean and Rob are endearing and I just have to find out what happened to them next. Like the previous reviewer comment this book is simply addictive. Good thing it is short enough to finish in one night!
I prefer this to MJ's previous effort as I like my romance to keep the lovers together throughout the plot. MJ has also done a fine job exploring Dean's and Rob's attraction towards one another and the initial crossfire is fun.
 

She's done it again!, December 22, 2006
 

Reviewer: Cacmacac "cacmacac" (Edneyville, NC) - See all my reviews

Yes, fans of Price of Temptation, the author M.J.Pearson is a "she" and she has indeed done it again. I started reading Discreet Young Gentleman rather late in the evening and kept trying to put it down so I could get to sleep at a decent hour. But it became a losing battle as I could neither resist reading the rest of the ghost story (more than one ghost story as it turned out), nor leave Rob and Dean bereft, carriageless, (and barefoot) after being robbed. And then there was the mounting tension of the growing romantic attraction between the two midst all their trials and tribulations. Again M.J. tells the tale with great historical accuracy and unrelenting humor. So I read it all the way through and the price of that temptation was a grouchy, sleepy day at work. Ah well, I'll just start her next book early in the day. On a Saturday. Can't wait.

 

 

Lambda Literary Award Finalist!

Visit the book website here (or click picture).

What readers are saying about Price:

Don't Have to be Gay to Play
Decidedly slashy, somewhat trashy. But, not nearly as trashy as that shameful cover suggests. Just about the perfect slash historical romance. Definitely recommended.--Sandy "Sombra del Monte," Amazon.com

Close to perfection!
That book is everything I wanted. The style is neither pretentious nor wordy - the easy, flowing style ideal for a light, happily romantic story - yet it is precise and elegant as well (especially the dialogues, both subtle and witty). As to the characters, they're all coherent and quite loveable (with the exception of Julian the Antagonist, exquisitely loathsome). As to the smutty parts, they were just delightful.

If you purchase only one gay romance on this site, this should - must - be it. I wish there were more work of such quality in this category.--
Henry Jones, Amazon.com

Fresh, fun and lively
It is so fun to see a new twist on the old historical romance genre. Perfect characters and plot; I read it in one evening and wished despertly it was longer. The author's note says that M.J. Pearson is at work on another book; I will be sure to purchase it! A wonderful story, even for a non-gay reader. I just wish there were more books as entertaining as this. Thank you M.J. Pearson for all the reading pleasure.--Moni, Amazon.com

This is romance! This is the first actual gay romance I’ve read . . . ever! The further into it you went, the more you tore at the pages eager to know what happened. It’s not high literature, but it is pure fun.--A reader, a book lover, Barnes and Noble.com

This book was a good read even for a non-gay reader who doesn't usually read romances. It was well written, you felt sympathetic with the "good" characters, hated the evil ones, and were drawn into the plot - by the end the book is a real page-turner. Lots of nice historical details make this a step above many romances. The romance was sexy but tasteful...An entertaining, fine guilty pleasure.--Amy Schwartz, Amazon.com

A delicious romp! This was a rollicking good ride! A delightful balance of romance, comedy of manners, intrigue, and, well, smut! It had the feel of a victorian melodrama where you wanted to cheer the heroes and hiss at the villains. Yet as much as I loved the protagonists, the supporting cast is equally deserving of kudos (particularly Charles-- I wish I had him for *my* valet!). All the characters were well-developed (particularly considering that this is a relatively short book). I would love to see the further adventures of these characters down the road. If you're in the mood for a totally indulgent, "guilty pleasure" sort of book, look no further!--Kenaz, Amazon.com

History, romance, and a superb storyteller Does it get any better than this? If you love to read and are looking for something just a little bit different, look no further. Jamie Riley loves Stephen Clair but Jamie doesn't know it. Stephen thinks he loves Julian but doesn't know that he doesn't. Aunt Matilda loves Stephen, hates Julian, and doesn't know what to think of Jamie - but she's very, very rich as well as an inveterate gossip. The secondary characters in M.J. Pearson's historical gay romance are delicious enough to warrant tales of their own (one can only hope, hint hint wink wink). I look forward to more of M.J. Pearson.--Cacmacac, Amazon.com

What a fun read! I've never read a gay romance like this, and I've read plenty gay romance novels--oh, I mean boyfriend fiction--to warrant saying that The Price of Temptation is the best out there. Everything about it is fun and addictive, so you'll need to have no plans for five hours once it comes in. Gay romance was never this good. Thank you MJ.--Jeff, A Different Light

Finally! A strongly written, erotic, sensual story that's a page-turner extraordinaire! The love scenes curled my toes. The characters hooked me and I yearned to know a lot more about them. And the author was responsible for me being tired and grumpy the next day at work as I had to read "just one more page" before turning out the light - thanks a lot, M.J.! And please keep writing. (How about a sequel?)--cowpatti, A Different Light

Convinced? Click here for ordering information
 

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Short stories

Four of my short stories are currently available online: "Of Cabbages and King" in the May 2006 The Harrow, "Full House" in the February 2006 Amarillo Bay;  "The Contest", 2nd-place winner in the 2004 Saugus.net Halloween Ghost Story Contest; and "1974", a 70-word microflash that was singled out for special mention in the BBC Magazine 1974 Challenge (scroll down to the third story).

In addition, here  is a link to  "Age Difference," first published at Wild Child, where it was Editor's Choice for March, 2005, and appeared again in January, 2006 as part of their Best of 2005 issue.

The May/June 2006 issue of Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine, which contains my short story "The Civilian," is available for purchase here.

 

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Oliver Stone's Alexander

Alexander

Hephaistion: Don't worry, Ptolemy--we can always take shelter beneath Alexander's massive eyebrows.

I can't help it--I saw Oliver Stone's Alexander on Monday, and it won't leave me alone. What a mess of a movie! Full of gorgeous eye-candy, of course, but as a writer I'm going to come right out and say the script was terrible.  
 
Oliver Stone and his fellow writers seemed to be following the George Lucas School of Stilted Dialogue (it didn't help that there were so many minor characters that to remind us who was who, every line addressed to a person had his name in it: "By the beard of Zeus, Cleitus, we must not falter now!" "Philotas, listen to your wise father Parmenion, who was long an advisor to my father Philip the King." "But valiant Cassander, you'd look so much better if you'd let noble Hephaistion do your eyeliner.")   
Even so, if you didn't go into the movie with some knowledge of who these guys were, you wouldn't have been able to keep them straight (so to speak, but it's obvious the studio did their best to cut as much gay content as possible--Alexander and his life-long love Hephaistion don't even get a kiss).
 
The structure was clunky, too. Near the end of the film, there's a flashback, which I at first thought was there to remind us who a particular character was, since his death was significant. But then the flashback just went on and on, including relevant information that would have been put to better use earlier on. Just so many bad decisions...
 
Curiously, I kept thinking many of the characters had wandered in from other movies. As Olympias, Angelina Jolie decided to show the world that she'd have been a much better Queen of the Damned than poor Aaliyah--she was pure, evil vampire, right down to the apparently Transylvanian accent. Jared Leto, as Hephaistion, in his eyeliner (okay, it really did look good!) and furs seemed to be auditioning for Velvet Goldmine II, and Bagoas--tall, willowy, with long dark hair--looked not so much like a Persian eunuch but a leftover elf-prince from Lord of the Rings. Not that I've seen so many Persian eunuchs, but still.  
 
Word has it Bagoas' big love scene with Alexander was cut shortly before the film was released when the studio got nervous about it, leaving him with exactly zero lines in the whole movie. At one point Ptolemy (Anthony Hopkins) narrated "As Bagoas once said..." and I almost fell out of my chair. Who knew the boy could talk?? (I actually had to run off to the library and re-read Mary Renault's The Persian Boy to give poor Bagoas his voice back. Wonderful book--much recommended.)
 
One last thing: with all the wonders make-up and special effects can do, and a budget on this film that ran to 150 MILLION dollars...isn't there any way they could have made Colin Farrell a convincing blond? The man is DARK. They didn't bother to dye his brows, or lighten his stubble or anything. Cassander's hair kept changing color, too, from a tawny brown to jet black, but hey, I can accept that the Hellenic world had hair dye. Alexander was just supposed to be a natural blond, okay?
 
Sorry to rant on about Alexander, but it wasn't merely a mess, it was a kind of glorious one. Would I recommend it? No, it's awful. But it's stuck with me for the past few days, and I might...just...see it again.  
 
Pity me.

But hey, I can always recommend Mary Renault's Alexander books:

 
Fire from Heaven
Fire from Heaven

Persian Boy
Persian Boy

Funeral Games
Funeral Games

 

 

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This site was last updated 02/22/07