The Marriage of True Minds

by Jamie Freeman

In April 1945, soldier Charlie Blanchard met a handsome Canadian captain named Danny Farnham in a small village on the Rhine River and reluctantly found himself falling in love. As they stole time for themselves, Danny asked Charlie a question: if a djinn appeared and offered him one wish, what would that wish be?

Fifty years later, Charlie is alone in his home facing a hurricane, inundated by memories. Looping through the details of his life, his thoughts always return to Danny. As the storm escalates, Charlie realizes this may be the end—the end of a love affair that has spanned decades.

Genres: M M Romance, Historical

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Jamie Freeman is a north Florida native who works a day job to finance his nighttime passions for writing, reading, and watching old movies. He has collected a personal library that already threatens the structural integrity of his spare bedroom but continues to grow unfettered. He’s an avid trail runner who spends mile after mile spinning dreams into fiction. He has published a children’s book and a string of short stories and is always working on several new projects. An anthology that included one of his short stories won a 2009 Lambda Literary Award.

Visit his blog at www.jamiefreeman.net
or http://nickdreamsong.blogspot.com/.

Reviews

[Switchbladesmile · Rating 5 out of 5]

First: Sorry, my mother tongue isn't English, so sorry for possible errors.

This book is a piece of beauty! I felt a little bit repelled by the title, but I started it because I was curious.
And what can I say....this story touched me so much, it's hard to describe. It made me smile and happy and sad and longing at the same time.
I couldn't help shedding a lot of tears.

It's so well written, I adore the style, the passages in Charlies present and the parts when the past is told, the passion and love between the two soldiers.
The nostalgia was so palpable, I could hear the crackle of the gramophone, it was adorable when Danny sang a few lines from Zarah Leander's songs...and Charlie was so attracted to him, to his voice, to his scent.

And years later, during the strom, when Charlie hold tight onto the painting that contained his precious memories with his love of his life, this gesture showed so clear how much he missed his love over all this years, it was painful to read.

First, I was afraid that the "ghost-thing" would affect the book in a bad way...but it completed everything so perfectly, it was amazing.

I re-read it three times in a row and listened to songs of Zarah Leander at the same time. I shared every feeling with Danny and Charlie, this book is special.
I had to think of my granny, she was born in 1912 and she told me many stories about the war, and I realized how special it must have been when you found true love during this hard times.

[Stacey Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story about soulmates who found each other in a Village on the Rhine River in 1945. They only have a brief time together before the business of the war has them separated... forever, but in that brief time they fall madly and passionately in love with each other. It's really beautiful what they have, and because of this, their separation is heartbreaking. I never cry over books but this one did get me misty eyed. It has a paranormal aspect to it that is so sweet. Who doesn't want their soulmate waiting for them at the end?

Wonderful story! It's a short one that you can read in one sitting. Good editing. Well worth your time.

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually buy short stories because, frankly, I like some heft in my reading and I don't normally find it worthwhile in a short but this book really drew me in. It was poignant, it was beautiful, it was the meeting of two minds in a time when all was lost. And all was lost but was it really? I truly enjoyed this sweet short read. I read it with tears in my eyes and a warm feeling in my heart. Beautiful.

[Gbook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I CRIED so bad. I had to muffle it down so my family wouldn't notice. I HATE crying when reading a book, but I couldn't stop reading this book.

Ah, regret is creeping in. Yet, I refuse to regret reading it because it got to me in all emotions from just 74 pages. God, I want to see them in the after life too. How they spend their life, time, and what they do.

[Linda-Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hearbreaking but beautiful had me in tears.

[OkayKim · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a awesome short story.