Templum Bellonae

BDSM warning for bondage, mostly.

Can a leatherman find happiness in the suburbs? This series follows the adventures of a suburbanite with leather boots and a hidden hanky.

You know, one of the things I love about this author is how well she writes in the first person. Her character in this story has an incredidbly unobtrusive narrative voice. Only two stories so far; Clothesline is very good but Spontaneous is much better.

Leather in Lawnville by Dusk Peterson

Written in the form of a news article. A reporter is invited to witness a decidedly amateur attempt at mediation between a 15-year-old rapist and his 13-year-old victim. I can easily belive this as a real newspaper piece, and I don’t think the story would have worked as well in any other form.

Puppets by Dusk Peterson

To Huard, priest of the tribe of the Feasters, under the care of the City Priest, under the care of the High Priest of the Northern Peninsula:

This letter is borne to you by Prosper, who until a few hours ago held the honored position of City Priest, but who has been stripped by the High Priest of his title and of his priesthood, and who has been placed under the God’s curse. The sentence given to him was exile from the Capital Territory and from the God’s presence for one year’s time.

I can’t think of anything to say to explain this story, so I’ll just say that it’s very, very good.

Mystery by Dusk Peterson

Arthurian legend

The trouble with Arthur, I thought as I came forward to help him sort the books into order, was that he rarely offered me time enough to scold him; he usually ended up chastising himself before I had a chance to do so. Sometimes I wondered whether he really had need of a tutor, or whether he simply tolerated me as a friend of his father, to be given respect when I was nearby and to be laughed at when my back was turned.

O Most Unthankful by Dusk Peterson