Love in Dark Settings

No weapons, no allies, and no guarantees that he will survive the test.

Parental supervision is strongly suggested.

He was weaponless. Or rather, not quite weaponless, for he knew what he was capable of doing with his body, but he bore no blade, nor any whip, nor any lead pipe with which to stun his victim, nor any rope with which to strangle the victim . . . The number of potential weapons he had deliberately laid aside was frighteningly high.

The Eternal Dungeon, a royal prison where criminals are transformed, has lost its leadership. The duty of returning the dungeon to normal falls on two Seekers (torturers) who are already burdened with their own problems. One Seeker is struggling to understand why an old love affair continues to gnaw at him. The other Seeker is faced with his greatest challenge: whether to risk that which is most precious to him in order to save his own abuser.

This historical fantasy series explores dark aspects of erotic life and includes themes of gay love. But the series goes far beyond that by considering the deeper issues faced by all those who find that their friendships and desires are in conflict with their duties.

Parental supervision is strongly suggested for this story.

The common room was filled with dozens of Seekers and guards, all trying to avoid looking at the man in the back of the room.

Egon had a position that won him respect, friends who raised his spirits, and lovers who gave him pleasure. Then a man came into his life who would take all that away from him. If Egon was lucky.

Note: This is an expanded version of my 2003 novella; Chapter Five is new.

Parental supervision is strongly suggested for this story.

Halvar leaned forward; his eyes were the color of an arctic sky. "I am not a fool, Egon," he said softly, "so do not treat me as such."

For the price of a hardback, you can buy Love in Dark Settings Omnibus, a zipped HTML e-book with all of Dusk Peterson's fiction: 700,000 words (3 novels, 10 novellas, 4 novelettes, and 12 short stories) of suspenseful fantasy, historical fantasy, contemporary fiction, friendship fiction, heterosexual love stories, original gen, original het, original slash, hurt/comfort, darkfic, gay fiction, gay erotic love stories, gay erotica, and leather fiction. It's the equivalent of a 2000-page anthology.

As a bonus, the e-book also includes 28 collections of fiction recommendations and nonfiction, including annotated lists of hundreds of novels, short fiction, and memoirs, online and in print: friendship fiction, gay fiction and erotica, original slash and yaoi, leather fiction, Victorian and Edwardian writings, science fiction, fantasy, historical fantasy, and historical fiction.

The free alternative.

Ordering information | Contents of the latest edition | Unzipping instructions | Parental guidance note and disclaimer.

It had seemed for a while that the plan would work: a bold conspiracy by a group of idealistic prisoners and sympathetic guards to stop abuse at Mercy Prison. Then betrayal occurs, and Tyrrell finds himself in a new life prison, with new rules to be learned. No longer is he in a position of leadership; now he is surrounded by men who question his most fundamental values.

He has new allies as well: fellow prisoners who like what they see in him, a healer who refuses to accept current conditions, and guards who may or may not provide the help that the prisoners desperately need. But Hell's messenger, Death, visits Compassion Prison, keeping his face hidden until it is almost too late for Tyrrell to recognize his touch.

Parental supervision is strongly suggested for this story.

"'Sentenced to sixty lashes of the leaded whip. Sentence commuted to a transfer to Compassion Life Prison.'" Keeper raised his eyebrows. "That's the first time I've ever heard a transfer to this prison described as a commutation. We'll assume that that particular phrasing was meant as a joke."

Born into a society with a strictly ranked system of masters and servants, Carr has sought to tred his way delicately between the clashing values of the parents who raised him and the uncle whose household Carr will one day live in. Yet when he and other students at his boarding school become the latest participants in an ongoing battle between the oystermen of their bay, Carr finds that his position of power may bring danger, not only to himself, but also to a schoolfellow he is drawn toward.

Master and Servant is the first volume in Prison City, a retrofuture series based on the Chesapeake Bay oyster wars, homoeroticism in British public schools in the 1910s, and 1960s visions of things to come.

Parental supervision is strongly suggested for this story.

Rudd, who had watched Meredith through narrowed eyes for the first week or two, gradually lost interest in scrutinizing the activities of his fag.

Michael is an ex-prostitute, which means that nobody in polite society wants anything to do with him. He believes that the only way to help other male prostitutes is to make their working conditions bearable. His friend Janus is an upper-class gentleman who believes that his duty to the gods requires him to fight against sexual immorality. Now Michael wants Janus to help him run a house of prostitution.

Male friendship and gay love intertwine in this multicultural historical fantasy series based on the Edwardian Era, a time when society seemed as stable as ever, though it was about to be turned topsy-turvy.

Parental supervision is strongly suggested for this story.

He could not recognize most of the items before him, which he instinctively knew was a bad sign.

No one would pay his debt price to gain him release from prison. So he sought to pay it himself by offering the only thing he could, his body. But one man would require more.

Parental supervision is strongly suggested for this story.

He kept his gaze cast below the belt; in the chill cell, sweat was beginning to form now on his neck, running down his back and between his bound wrists. "Lord," he said softly, "I would be glad to pay to you my debt in any way I can."

In the queendom of Yclau lies an underground royal prison that embraces the worst of the past and the best of the future. The Eternal Dungeon is old-fashioned in its equipment and ahead of its time in its treatment of prisoners, seeking to put their best welfare above all else. Torture is part of the process of assisting the prisoners.

The High Seeker, Layle Smith, embodies this contradictory institution: a man of deadly impulses, the head torturer binds himself strictly by the dungeon's code of conduct. His efforts to maintain this delicate balance are altered, though, by the introduction into his life of Elsdon Taylor, a vulnerable prisoner who is coming to terms with his own darkness.

This historical fantasy series explores dark aspects of erotic life and includes themes of gay love. But the series goes far beyond that by considering the deeper issues faced by all those who find that their friendships and desires are in conflict with their duties.

Parental supervision is strongly suggested for this story.

"Do you have any questions?" the Seeker asked. "About the routine of the dungeon? The times you will be fed? The questions you will be asked? The instruments of torture I use?"

A cold-hearted murderer. A vicious abuser. A young man hiding a shameful secret. A bewildered foreigner. A pure-minded spy.

All of these men have found their appointed places at Mercy Life Prison, where it is easy to tell who your enemies are. But a new visitor to Mercy is about to challenge decades-old customs. Now these men's worst enemies may be hiding behind masks . . . and so may their closest allies.

Friendship, erotic desire between men, and the costs of corruption and integrity are examined in this multicultural historical fantasy series, which is based on late Victorian prison life.

Parental supervision is strongly suggested for this story.

On the tenth anniversary of my arrival at Mercy Prison, I lay beneath my guard, trying to make my mind dwell on thoughts other than what he was doing to me.

In a society where the rank of master or slave defines every aspect of a person's being, what do you do when you're a master and you envy your slaves?

Parental supervision is strongly suggested for this story.

"True slavery or mastership comes as much through training as through birth, and when the training has only just begun, it is natural that a young person would be confused as to his or her proper role in life. I think that patience should be shown toward young people who demonstrate perverse tendencies."

Leather, Licking, and Lawnmowers takes leathersex out of its usual bars and back alleys, setting it in unexpected locations: A 5&10. A potluck. A hamburger joint. A college waltz party. Even when the leatherman who narrates these stories returns to the Eagle bar, things don't go quite the way he expected. . . .

Written by the former director of the Erotic Authors Association, who is also editor of True Tales: An Erotic E-zine of Masculinity and Power, this five-tale gay erotica collection includes the story "Spontaneous," runner-up for the 2006 Rauxa Prize for Erotic Fiction.

For adults only.

Thinking about it, I've decided that bringing Jell-O to a gathering of leathermen wasn't my big mistake. My big mistake was bringing it on the night that Master Trent was attending.

When fan fiction writers have had way too much caffeine.

Parental supervision is strongly suggested for this story.

You will note that several reply buttons in this questionnaire have been disabled. The buttons are present because a volunteer (since dismissed) made the error of feeding historical data on real-life slavery into the computer.

An Arthurian tale. A simple Greek lesson reaches deep when a tutor seeks to teach a prince what can happen when love and duty clash.

Parental supervision is strongly suggested for this story.

It is a great privilege that the gods have granted me: to serve as tutor and guide of the one who someday will serve as High King of this isle, uniting our people and thrusting back the darkness that has already overwhelmed so much of the world.

If you fall in love with one of the damned, should you join him in his damnation?

As a child hearing the song of his beloved mother is woken from deep sleep, so I felt myself drawn back from my darkness by the stern sound of my master's voice.

He'd abducted him, bedded him, and taught him every position he knew. So why wasn't the fool grateful?

Parental supervision is strongly suggested for this story.

I tried to cheer him by telling him that I'd decided not to share him with anyone, but that only made him sob louder.

The first e-book in the world that presents Web accessibility information for the disabled in the form of a leather porn story.

Parental supervision is strongly suggested for this story.

What I want from you is quite simple. I want you to design a Website that's compatible with Section 508— Stop sobbing, damn it!

A letter to the editor from the future.

Parental supervision is strongly suggested for this story.

I am an adult male belonging to a rare minority group that is called, in layman's language, Plain Vanilla Straight. I have had these sexual desires for as long as I can remember . . .

White Rose has lived a double life for too long. For too many years, he has struggled alone to determine how he should handle an ethical dilemma he never wanted to face. Now, finally, he has found help online. But is it the right help?

Parental supervision is strongly suggested for this story.

It was a foundation of his life that he must tell no one. The first signs that this foundation would be shattered came on a windy day at the end of February, as he sat in a room lit only by the bright colors glowing from his computer screen.

(Warning: The replies below include spoilers for the story.)

A security guard in a small town walks into the wrong bar.

Parental supervision is strongly suggested for this story.

He couldn't remember later why he began talking about bondage.