David and Jonathan: An M/M Romance from the Bible

The story of David and Jonathan, whose hearts are knit together in the Book of Samuel, is one of the earliest same-sex romances in literature. But the Bible provides relatively little of the techniques we expect of fiction. Character descriptions are skimpy or non-existent; there is little of the texture of everyday life such as clothing and meals. After reading the Biblical account, I set out to write my own story of this romance. Whenever possible I've used my research into history to add these details to make the fiction come alive.

If you are familiar with the Biblical accounts of David and Jonathan, you'll know what a mess they are—things happen out of order, without reference to previous events, and even the names of Jonathan's brothers change from one account to another. When possible, I've incorporated actual quotes from various editions of the Bible—without footnotes, of course, because this is fiction, not an academic treatise.

And readers of MM romance should note—because this is based on a historical account, there is no HFN or HEA. After his romance with Jonathan ends at the conclusion of this account, David goes on to gore and glory with multiple women.