Mark R. Probst
Author of The Filly
About the Author
Image credit: Courtesy of the author.
Works by Mark R. Probst
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Probst, Mark R.
- Gender
- male
- Short biography
- Mark R. Probst lives in Washington State, works in the computer industry, and writes in his spare time. He is an avid movie buff, and has a special admiration for the western films of the classic era. He’s had a life-long interest in writing but didn’t become published until 2007.
His favorite novels are The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Maurice, and Gone with the Wind.
He started up Cheyenne Publishing with the dream of bringing gay-themed historical fiction into the limelight. He has several writing projects in development.
Members
Reviews
Hidden Conflict is a collection of four historical novellas chronicling the lives of closeted gay military men. Timewise, they run from the late 18th Century to WWII, but in tone and mood they seem to cover even more ground. Approach this one with an open mind because while the first and last stories are traditional romances, the middle two (literally and figuratively the "meat" of the book) are fairly unsentimental and downright gritty.
Mainstream gay romance writer Alex Beecroft has a lovely way with words and her research here is evident. Her 18th Century seafaring epic, "The Blessed Isle" is overflowing with lush imagery and historical detail. But occasionally both went into overkill, distracting from the action, rather than enhancing it. Sometimes less is more. But overall a fun piece. A love story told in successive diary entries by two British sailors, it’s peppered with the tropes of the m/m romance genre - the jocular teasing/flirting, the compulsory injured pride and the petulant lovers’ quarrels. This one is more of a guilty pleasure than any reflection of real-life. If you’re looking to read about what things may have been like for homosexual sailors in Jane Austen’s England, you aren’t going to find it here. This is a sensual and deeply romantic love story. Escapist? No doubt. Enjoyable? Sure. Historical? Not so much.
The last novella, "Our One and Only" is the story of Philip Cormier who is left a "war widow" after his lover, Eddie Fiske, is killed in WWII. Author E.N. Holland re-visits him every decade, showing us a stifled, lonely man unable to move on with his life. An endearing character, Cormier ages into the stereotypical bachelor uncle to Eddie’s nieces and nephews, but Holland spoils any potential pathos by amping up his bitterness over not being allowed to grieve publicly. While I agree with the politics, from a literary standpoint the story would have been much more powerful if her protagonist was merely sorrowful, rather than angry. Better to leave the outrage to her readers. But putting the overly obvious politicking aside, it makes for an engaging character study.
Mark Probst’s "Not to Reason Why" offers an harrowing account of Custer’s last stand. An obvious fan of tales of the old West, this is a meticulously researched version of the famous battle that one is not likely to find in your standard high school history text. I think romance readers might have a hard time here. This story is bloody and unsettling, with a youthful narrator who [inwardly] questions the morality of the unwinnable battle he’s being forced to fight as well as the motives of the vainglorious leader who is marching them to their deaths. Oh yeah, did I mention? In case you don’t know your history - there isn’t any happy ending here. It should also be noted that the gay aspect of the story is almost completely incidental to the plot and, personally, I found the ending to be a bit of a head scratcher. But nonetheless, a truly suspenseful and chilling read.
My favorite piece is "No Darkness" by Jordan Taylor. It takes place during the First World War, an era for which I have a particular fondness. After an explosion, two men - an officer and an enlisted man - get trapped alone together under the rubble of a house. Taylor does a wonderful job capturing those Chariots of Fire/Brideshead Revisited types - all crisp English reserve masking emotions and desires seething just below the surface. This is an intimate story, in its setting and tone, and it’s romantic without being obvious. And all the more poignant because it doesn’t deliver the expected ending all neatly tied up with a bow.
I recommend this collection to any gay fiction lover. It offers a romantic escape for readers who tend to gravitate toward more realistic, contemporary themes and a dose of reality for those who choose romance novels to the exclusion of all else. Check your preconceptions at the door and give it a shot.… (more)
Mainstream gay romance writer Alex Beecroft has a lovely way with words and her research here is evident. Her 18th Century seafaring epic, "The Blessed Isle" is overflowing with lush imagery and historical detail. But occasionally both went into overkill, distracting from the action, rather than enhancing it. Sometimes less is more. But overall a fun piece. A love story told in successive diary entries by two British sailors, it’s peppered with the tropes of the m/m romance genre - the jocular teasing/flirting, the compulsory injured pride and the petulant lovers’ quarrels. This one is more of a guilty pleasure than any reflection of real-life. If you’re looking to read about what things may have been like for homosexual sailors in Jane Austen’s England, you aren’t going to find it here. This is a sensual and deeply romantic love story. Escapist? No doubt. Enjoyable? Sure. Historical? Not so much.
The last novella, "Our One and Only" is the story of Philip Cormier who is left a "war widow" after his lover, Eddie Fiske, is killed in WWII. Author E.N. Holland re-visits him every decade, showing us a stifled, lonely man unable to move on with his life. An endearing character, Cormier ages into the stereotypical bachelor uncle to Eddie’s nieces and nephews, but Holland spoils any potential pathos by amping up his bitterness over not being allowed to grieve publicly. While I agree with the politics, from a literary standpoint the story would have been much more powerful if her protagonist was merely sorrowful, rather than angry. Better to leave the outrage to her readers. But putting the overly obvious politicking aside, it makes for an engaging character study.
Mark Probst’s "Not to Reason Why" offers an harrowing account of Custer’s last stand. An obvious fan of tales of the old West, this is a meticulously researched version of the famous battle that one is not likely to find in your standard high school history text. I think romance readers might have a hard time here. This story is bloody and unsettling, with a youthful narrator who [inwardly] questions the morality of the unwinnable battle he’s being forced to fight as well as the motives of the vainglorious leader who is marching them to their deaths. Oh yeah, did I mention? In case you don’t know your history - there isn’t any happy ending here. It should also be noted that the gay aspect of the story is almost completely incidental to the plot and, personally, I found the ending to be a bit of a head scratcher. But nonetheless, a truly suspenseful and chilling read.
My favorite piece is "No Darkness" by Jordan Taylor. It takes place during the First World War, an era for which I have a particular fondness. After an explosion, two men - an officer and an enlisted man - get trapped alone together under the rubble of a house. Taylor does a wonderful job capturing those Chariots of Fire/Brideshead Revisited types - all crisp English reserve masking emotions and desires seething just below the surface. This is an intimate story, in its setting and tone, and it’s romantic without being obvious. And all the more poignant because it doesn’t deliver the expected ending all neatly tied up with a bow.
I recommend this collection to any gay fiction lover. It offers a romantic escape for readers who tend to gravitate toward more realistic, contemporary themes and a dose of reality for those who choose romance novels to the exclusion of all else. Check your preconceptions at the door and give it a shot.… (more)
Blessed Isle by Alex Beecroft
There is a mix of all the best novels by Alex Beecroft in this novella. Of course there is, the setting is the same she loves so much, a military ship sailing in stranger seas, and there are two men, two officers, who fall in love. Where is the difference? Well maybe in the way the story starts, they are safe and in love in Rio de Janeiro, retired from the Army and enjoying an almost “marriage” bliss. So here is the main difference, we can read of their story, and fear for them, but we know that, in the end, they will find a way to stay together.
And at the beginning I also thought that Alex Beecroft had become more daring, the first scene, with one of them sleepless at night looking at his naked lover in bed was quite erotic, was it the prelude to a sexier story? But no, as usual, there is a lot of hidden eroticism, desires and forbidden thirsts, but all happens behind a closed door.
The very nice thing of this novella is the narration path. First Harry, the captain, and then Garnet, his lieutenant, tell their own story from the different perspective they saw it. And from their narration you can understand the men. Harry is conservative and almost shy, despite his rank, he is not arrogant, and maybe he is also a bit naive; when he realizes his feelings for Garnet he is both tempted than troubled, and above all he thinks to be alone in his desires, that he could almost corrupt the lesser officer. And then we read Garnet’s point of view, how he almost seduced Harry, how he was always aware of the forbidden desire of the man, that were the same as his. Garnet in a way fill the voids Harry’s narration left and he is also the spirited one, who probably gives a bit of spice to the entire story.
Not to Reason Why by Mark R. Probst
When you are telling a story set in the middle of the war between Army and Native Americans, 1876, and you are aware of how tragic it was, it’s quite difficult to have an happily ever after romance. Plus, if you add to that that one of the main character is married and apparently content of his life, the quest for romance is even harder.
Brett and Dermot are fellow officers, but Dermot has also the sacred fire for his mission and instead Brett was forced into it. Dermot has all settled in front of him, a long and satisfying career in the Army, a wife who is willing to wait for him, and a good friend in Brett. On the other hand, Brett has nothing sure, the only thing he certainly knows, since it is eating him alive, is that he is in love with Dermot and that love it’s not only forbidden, it’s also impossible.
From the first pages the reader knows that the story is heaving on angst, the only thing that console him is that, in the end, Brett finds the courage to express his feelings for Dermot, and Dermot proves to be the good man Brett thought he was and the reader had the chance to see. And maybe, there is even a little possibility that a romance for Brett is at hand.
I like that, for once, it wasn’t the “gay” character the perfect one; if you compare Dermot and Brett, probably Dermot is a better man, he is not only a good officer and a good husband, but he is also able to accept Brett for who he is, a good friend, and not for who he loves, another man. On the other hand, I think Brett is a very troubled man, and not so strong: he is not a bad man, but he is for sure not perfect like Dermot. And in the end, if I have to choose, I probably prefer him to Dermot, not since he is gay, but since I have always preferred the imperfect one; but some of Brett’s actions are not exactly what I would expect from a novel’s hero.
No Darkness by Jordan Taylor
Again I had the feeling from the beginning of the story that I wouldn’t find an happily ever after here. I don’t know, but every story I read involving the WWI has never had an happily ever after. I remember my history professor told us that the WWI marked a passage in the way men did was, they lost their quality of men to become meat to slaughter. And the men in command lost their quality of knights to become even more detached from the simple soldiers.
Darnell is a lieutenant, and Fisher a simple soldier. There is no reason for them to be together if not for the war and a bomb that traps them in a cellar of an abandoned farm. In the hours they are forced to be together, Darnell and Fisher learn that they have more in common of what they thought; it’s not a clear discovery, more a play of unsaid words and uncompleted motions. Fisher is more open than Darnell, even in his childish memories the reader seems to find some sign of what Fisher is trying to communicate to Darnell, and instead for Darnell it’s more a play to understand what he is not saying: he is married but doesn’t want children. He has a good wife but he doesn’t seem to miss her so much other than missing the simple life they had together. There is a lot of possibilities for these two men, and they come out from the “darkness” in a strong way to the reader, but still, in the end, the darkness is stronger than them.
The reader is aware that Darnell and Fisher can be something more for each other. And this is the reason why, sorry, I don’t understand why the story has to be so tragic, to be faithful to the history? Since the war was so cruel that it couldn’t have been different? I can understand that, but still, I prefer to have at least a smallest chance to a better future, for how much unbelievable it could be.
Our One and Only by E.N. Holland
This is probably a very unexpected pleasure to read. Unexpected since ab absurdo, this was the most sad of all the story above, one of the two lovers of the story is already dead at the beginning of it, and from that moment on, all we read is how the remaining one has to cope with his pain, a pain he can share with only few people, the one who were aware that Philip was not only a dear friend of Eddie.
This story had me almost in tear, above all since I was not seeing any chance of happiness for Philip. Every chapter is 10 years in his life and chapter after chapter I was finding him always alone, 10 years older and with that pain still strong, so strong to blind him to any other possibility. And to make thing worse, Eddie, even if dead, chapter after chapter was coming out like a wonderful man, someone who Philip was right to mourn. How was it possible for him to forget and going on with his life?
So no, in the end I was not expecting an happily ever after for Philip, but I didn’t feel cheated by it; the author was plainly clear from the first page, Eddie was dead and there wouldn’t have been no coming back of the good soldier for relieving Philip of his grief. The only thing I was expecting was for Philip to find a way to be at peace with his pain, to find a way to stop to believe in an happily ever after. Oh guys, I’m in tear right now, writing this sentence, since I can still feel Philip’s pain and it’s so strong, but I can also feel Eddie’s love for him and also it’s stronger, so stronger that even 40 years after, he is still able to give an hope to Philip, the hope that also him can have an happily ever after. In a way, to be happy again, Philip had to finally being angry with Eddie, for being an hero, being angry with him for the exact reason why he loved and still loves him so much.
So in the end, if the purpose of this anthology was to make me cry, well it reached it. I didn’t cry for Alex Beecroft’s story, in a way it’s a sweet and light story with little angst; I didn’t cry for Mark Probst’s story, I enjoyed the setting, but not so much the characters; I maybe almost cried for Jordan Taylor’s story, but as I said, there was an oppressive atmosphere, and truth be told, the love between the two men was only hinted (the scene in the darkness when Fisher tries with all his remaining strength to reach for Darnell, that was the scene that almost brought me in tears)… but boys, how I cried and still am crying for E.N. Holland’s story! If you want a reason to read the anthology, well this story is your reason.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0979777380/?tag=elimyrevandra-20… (more)
There is a mix of all the best novels by Alex Beecroft in this novella. Of course there is, the setting is the same she loves so much, a military ship sailing in stranger seas, and there are two men, two officers, who fall in love. Where is the difference? Well maybe in the way the story starts, they are safe and in love in Rio de Janeiro, retired from the Army and enjoying an almost “marriage” bliss. So here is the main difference, we can read of their story, and fear for them, but we know that, in the end, they will find a way to stay together.
And at the beginning I also thought that Alex Beecroft had become more daring, the first scene, with one of them sleepless at night looking at his naked lover in bed was quite erotic, was it the prelude to a sexier story? But no, as usual, there is a lot of hidden eroticism, desires and forbidden thirsts, but all happens behind a closed door.
The very nice thing of this novella is the narration path. First Harry, the captain, and then Garnet, his lieutenant, tell their own story from the different perspective they saw it. And from their narration you can understand the men. Harry is conservative and almost shy, despite his rank, he is not arrogant, and maybe he is also a bit naive; when he realizes his feelings for Garnet he is both tempted than troubled, and above all he thinks to be alone in his desires, that he could almost corrupt the lesser officer. And then we read Garnet’s point of view, how he almost seduced Harry, how he was always aware of the forbidden desire of the man, that were the same as his. Garnet in a way fill the voids Harry’s narration left and he is also the spirited one, who probably gives a bit of spice to the entire story.
Not to Reason Why by Mark R. Probst
When you are telling a story set in the middle of the war between Army and Native Americans, 1876, and you are aware of how tragic it was, it’s quite difficult to have an happily ever after romance. Plus, if you add to that that one of the main character is married and apparently content of his life, the quest for romance is even harder.
Brett and Dermot are fellow officers, but Dermot has also the sacred fire for his mission and instead Brett was forced into it. Dermot has all settled in front of him, a long and satisfying career in the Army, a wife who is willing to wait for him, and a good friend in Brett. On the other hand, Brett has nothing sure, the only thing he certainly knows, since it is eating him alive, is that he is in love with Dermot and that love it’s not only forbidden, it’s also impossible.
From the first pages the reader knows that the story is heaving on angst, the only thing that console him is that, in the end, Brett finds the courage to express his feelings for Dermot, and Dermot proves to be the good man Brett thought he was and the reader had the chance to see. And maybe, there is even a little possibility that a romance for Brett is at hand.
I like that, for once, it wasn’t the “gay” character the perfect one; if you compare Dermot and Brett, probably Dermot is a better man, he is not only a good officer and a good husband, but he is also able to accept Brett for who he is, a good friend, and not for who he loves, another man. On the other hand, I think Brett is a very troubled man, and not so strong: he is not a bad man, but he is for sure not perfect like Dermot. And in the end, if I have to choose, I probably prefer him to Dermot, not since he is gay, but since I have always preferred the imperfect one; but some of Brett’s actions are not exactly what I would expect from a novel’s hero.
No Darkness by Jordan Taylor
Again I had the feeling from the beginning of the story that I wouldn’t find an happily ever after here. I don’t know, but every story I read involving the WWI has never had an happily ever after. I remember my history professor told us that the WWI marked a passage in the way men did was, they lost their quality of men to become meat to slaughter. And the men in command lost their quality of knights to become even more detached from the simple soldiers.
Darnell is a lieutenant, and Fisher a simple soldier. There is no reason for them to be together if not for the war and a bomb that traps them in a cellar of an abandoned farm. In the hours they are forced to be together, Darnell and Fisher learn that they have more in common of what they thought; it’s not a clear discovery, more a play of unsaid words and uncompleted motions. Fisher is more open than Darnell, even in his childish memories the reader seems to find some sign of what Fisher is trying to communicate to Darnell, and instead for Darnell it’s more a play to understand what he is not saying: he is married but doesn’t want children. He has a good wife but he doesn’t seem to miss her so much other than missing the simple life they had together. There is a lot of possibilities for these two men, and they come out from the “darkness” in a strong way to the reader, but still, in the end, the darkness is stronger than them.
The reader is aware that Darnell and Fisher can be something more for each other. And this is the reason why, sorry, I don’t understand why the story has to be so tragic, to be faithful to the history? Since the war was so cruel that it couldn’t have been different? I can understand that, but still, I prefer to have at least a smallest chance to a better future, for how much unbelievable it could be.
Our One and Only by E.N. Holland
This is probably a very unexpected pleasure to read. Unexpected since ab absurdo, this was the most sad of all the story above, one of the two lovers of the story is already dead at the beginning of it, and from that moment on, all we read is how the remaining one has to cope with his pain, a pain he can share with only few people, the one who were aware that Philip was not only a dear friend of Eddie.
This story had me almost in tear, above all since I was not seeing any chance of happiness for Philip. Every chapter is 10 years in his life and chapter after chapter I was finding him always alone, 10 years older and with that pain still strong, so strong to blind him to any other possibility. And to make thing worse, Eddie, even if dead, chapter after chapter was coming out like a wonderful man, someone who Philip was right to mourn. How was it possible for him to forget and going on with his life?
So no, in the end I was not expecting an happily ever after for Philip, but I didn’t feel cheated by it; the author was plainly clear from the first page, Eddie was dead and there wouldn’t have been no coming back of the good soldier for relieving Philip of his grief. The only thing I was expecting was for Philip to find a way to be at peace with his pain, to find a way to stop to believe in an happily ever after. Oh guys, I’m in tear right now, writing this sentence, since I can still feel Philip’s pain and it’s so strong, but I can also feel Eddie’s love for him and also it’s stronger, so stronger that even 40 years after, he is still able to give an hope to Philip, the hope that also him can have an happily ever after. In a way, to be happy again, Philip had to finally being angry with Eddie, for being an hero, being angry with him for the exact reason why he loved and still loves him so much.
So in the end, if the purpose of this anthology was to make me cry, well it reached it. I didn’t cry for Alex Beecroft’s story, in a way it’s a sweet and light story with little angst; I didn’t cry for Mark Probst’s story, I enjoyed the setting, but not so much the characters; I maybe almost cried for Jordan Taylor’s story, but as I said, there was an oppressive atmosphere, and truth be told, the love between the two men was only hinted (the scene in the darkness when Fisher tries with all his remaining strength to reach for Darnell, that was the scene that almost brought me in tears)… but boys, how I cried and still am crying for E.N. Holland’s story! If you want a reason to read the anthology, well this story is your reason.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0979777380/?tag=elimyrevandra-20… (more)
Reviewed by Cat for TeensReadToo.com
Seventeen-year-old Ethan Keller lives a simple life, spending his days working as a clerk in his small town's general store, and his evenings at his widowed mother's boarding house dinner table.
Ethan's never considered a life beyond the sheltered reach of a dutiful second son trying to keep his older brother, Willie, out of trouble, finding snippets of time to indulge his love of reading and dreaming of buying a colt or filly of his own some day.
All of that changes when a charismatic and persistent young cowboy named Travis Cain walks into his life.
Sensing a kindred spirit, Travis dares Ethan to dream beyond that which he's ever dared, and soon convinces Ethan to sign on to the Hayward Ranch's summer cattle drive. During the journey from Texas to Cheyenne, Ethan and Travis test the limits of their endurance, explore the bonds of true friendship, and discover a love that will eventually risk everything they hold dear.
In THE FILLY, author Mark R. Probst combines the tender beauty of love - be it the blossoming romance between two young men at a time when the only term to characterize their relationship came in the form of Biblical condemnation, the fierce protectiveness of families for their own, or friendships forged in the most dire of circumstances - with the gritty, bare-boned realism of life in the old west.
There were a few times when I was jarred from the narrative by an inconsistency of language, a bit of cardboard characterization among many of the novel's secondary players, and an ending that came too abruptly for my personal taste, but these factors were far outweighed by the depth and sensitivity in Mr. Probst's depictions of Ethan, Travis, and their relationship.… (more)
Seventeen-year-old Ethan Keller lives a simple life, spending his days working as a clerk in his small town's general store, and his evenings at his widowed mother's boarding house dinner table.
Ethan's never considered a life beyond the sheltered reach of a dutiful second son trying to keep his older brother, Willie, out of trouble, finding snippets of time to indulge his love of reading and dreaming of buying a colt or filly of his own some day.
All of that changes when a charismatic and persistent young cowboy named Travis Cain walks into his life.
Sensing a kindred spirit, Travis dares Ethan to dream beyond that which he's ever dared, and soon convinces Ethan to sign on to the Hayward Ranch's summer cattle drive. During the journey from Texas to Cheyenne, Ethan and Travis test the limits of their endurance, explore the bonds of true friendship, and discover a love that will eventually risk everything they hold dear.
In THE FILLY, author Mark R. Probst combines the tender beauty of love - be it the blossoming romance between two young men at a time when the only term to characterize their relationship came in the form of Biblical condemnation, the fierce protectiveness of families for their own, or friendships forged in the most dire of circumstances - with the gritty, bare-boned realism of life in the old west.
There were a few times when I was jarred from the narrative by an inconsistency of language, a bit of cardboard characterization among many of the novel's secondary players, and an ending that came too abruptly for my personal taste, but these factors were far outweighed by the depth and sensitivity in Mr. Probst's depictions of Ethan, Travis, and their relationship.… (more)
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Well written coming-of-age Western that invokes the splendour and panorama of films such as Shane and Red River. My only quibble that kept it from being 5 Stars is the rather abrupt ending.