Rough Draft

Rough Draft
Chris Owen and Jodi Payne
Torquere Press
ISBN: 978-1-60370-015-3
Fiction, Gay Erotic Fiction
Reviewed by Candace Mahoney

Gray and Paul were lovers in college, but after a big blowout and what seemed a natural parting of the ways, they went on to lead very separate lives at opposite ends of the country. Until, that is, the day that Paul received a letter from Gray: a real one, on paper, telling him that Gray missed him.
Rough Draft begins with Gray’s first letter and Paul’s response, and unfolds through their continuing correspondence, phone calls and messages. Their hot-to-cold-to-hot-again-in-sixty-seconds relationship evolves from friendship and flirtation to romance and the exploration of something deeper. Whether it can stand the tests of jealousy and insecurity remains to be seen.
I love how this novel is presented mainly in letters between the main characters. Who doesn’t relish the thrill of reading someone else’s juicy mail without the guilt? Additionally, I was impressed by how well the story segues between letters and phone calls and the occasional description from an outsider’s point of view. This is a sexy story with real plot and character growth. Authors Chris Owen and Jodi Payne have done a fantastic job of mixing sultry, steamy sex with sweet and tender romance. Bravo!