Outside the Lines

Starred review from October 16, 2017
Zabo (Close Quarter) makes a visit to the multiauthor setting of Bluewater Bay—a small Washington town where life is centered around the hit fantasy TV show, Wolf’s Landing, that is filmed there—with a creative, geeky polyamorous romance centered on a connection between two men. Local comic shop End o’ Earth provides Wolf’s Landing designer Ian Myers with the emergency paint he needs for tight-deadline repairs to a damaged miniature film set. It also gives him a place to work and an eager, attractive, and flirtatious assistant, shop owner Simon Derry, whose open marriage allows space for a romance to flourish. The dynamic among Ian, Simon, and Simon’s artist wife, Lydia, is warm and authentic in social spaces and blazing hot in the bedroom, with light kink dynamics that let Lydia be involved even though Ian is gay and only has eyes for Simon. Media geeks will enjoy sharing Ian and Lydia’s fannish glee in getting connected to Wolf’s Landing’s behind-the-scene happenings. Readers who want to see a successful polyamorous relationship will also be thrilled by this story, as the main drama centers around difficult emotions that get addressed by good communication. This is a wonderful depiction of dynamics not often seen even in ménage romances. Agent: Jennifer Udden, Barry Goldblatt Literary Agency.