Best Bisexual/Transgender Fiction: A Cowboy's Heart by J.M. Snyder

More than a whole novel, this was more a nice, sweet novella; it’s odd to use the word “sweet” in relation to a story regarding saloon prostitutes, but this one was indeed sweet and very romantic. Probably a quite ordinary western romance plot, the one about the young cowboy falling in love for the soiled dove and sweeping her from her feet to ride together towards the horizon… with the exception that Lila is transgender and the reason why young Tommy fell so hard for her is that he couldn’t care less for women and he has actually a crush on his boss, Hal.

When Lila realizes that the virgin cowboy she picked isn’t actually scared of women due to inexperience, but that he actually prefers men, she feels safe to reveal him her secret. If I hadn’t known that what Lila did was not only possible, but even ended up in some newspaper of the time, I would have probably questioned the possibility for Lila to pass not only as a woman, but to even exercise the older profession in the world, implying intimate contact with men. Actually what I questioned was not that, but more the fact that Lila, after meeting Tommy, basically will not continue with her trade: true, she is falling for Tommy, and Tommy is paying her, but nevertheless, I think at the time the life of a prostitute wasn’t so easy. The author managed it making the time span of the novella quite short, less than a week.

I’m sure life will not be easy for them, Tommy is really young and naïve, he has no real money, and even if they manage to find a place where to start anew, they are bound to have problem, how they will manage to buy the land, the cattle? But I suppose that is not the purpose of the novella, the target was to write a romantic, happily ever after story, and that target was totally achieved. Lila is a good character, she felt real, a soiled dove with a tender heart, someone who is able to comprehend Tommy’s fear and not making fun of them; that is probably the reason why Tommy falls in love, other than, simply as that, Lila is also the first, and only, experience he has with sex and desire, but why we cannot believe that your first real love can be also your forever one?

http://www.jms-books.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=514

Amazon: A Cowboy's Heart
Amazon Kindle: A Cowboy's Heart
Paperback: 170 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (April 12, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1475057318
ISBN-13: 978-1475057317



Reading List: http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

2013 Rainbow Awards Submission: Jordan Brewer - To the Highest Bidder

To the Highest Bidder by Jordan Brewer
Publisher: Lillibridge Press (April 30, 2013)
Amazon Kindle: To the Highest Bidder

In the faraway land of Amerito, Jonathon D’Angelo is a prince, but even a prince must yield to the king’s rule. Entirely deprived of affection and loving physical contact, Jonathan spends his days on a strict regimen of study and tutelage, horse training, and weapons techniques.

Exploiting Jonathan's virginity like a bargaining chip, his scheming monarch father arranges two marriages for his son: One with the kind and beautiful prince in the prosperous kingdom of Utica, the other with a king who is a notorious sexual sadist.

After a desperate attempt to avoid the match, Jonathan meets his betrothed Prince Adrian. Immediately enraptured by the young man's beauty, Jonathan learns to fully embrace the union. Under Adrian's tender guidance, Jonathan comes to terms with his sexuality, discovers erotic pleasures, and falls in love.

When the king attempts to destroy their union, Jonathan defies his father and triggers an escalation of monarchal hostility complete with kidnapping, heinous torture, bloody battles, and revolution. Against all odds, Jonathon and Adrian must vanquish their enemies to bring peace not only to Amerito, but to all kingdoms.

David Wojnarowicz (September 14, 1954 – July 22, 1992)

David Wojnarowicz (September 14, 1954 – July 22, 1992) was a painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, and activist who was prominent in the New York City art world of the 1980s.

Wojnarowicz was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, and later lived with his mother in New York City, where he attended the High School of Performing Arts for a brief period. From 1970 until 1973, after dropping out of school, he for a time lived on the streets of New York City prostituting himself and also worked as a farmer on the Canadian border.

Upon returning to New York City, he saw a particularly prolific period for his artwork from the late 1970s through the 1980s. During this period, he made super-8 films, such as Heroin, began a photographic series of Arthur Rimbaud, did stencil work, played in a band called 3 Teens Kill 4, and exhibited his work in well-known East Village galleries, notably Civilian Warfare, Ground Zero Gallery NY, Gracie Mansion and Hal Bromm. Wojnarowicz is also connected to other prolific artists of the time, appearing in or collaborating on works with artists like Nan Goldin, Peter Hujar, Luis Frangella, Kiki Smith, John Fekner, Richard Kern, James Romberger, Ben Neill and Phil Zwickler.


Water

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wojnarowicz

( Further Readings )

More Artists at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Art

Drew Staffen & Kenneth L. Wiederhold

Kenneth L. Wiederhold (January 26, 1946 - July 22, 1995) was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on January 26, 1946, the fourth child of Henry and Freda Wiederhold. He graduated from Creston High School, where he participated in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), in 1964. After graduating from Michigan State University in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration, Wiederhold moved to Los Angeles, where he worked for Blue Cross, and, from the late 1970s, for Citi-Corp Bank, where he rose to the rank of Vice President. In 1977, he enrolled at Pepperdine University, from which he received an MA in Psychology in 1981. While in Michigan he was part of the Jaeger's Battalion of Rogers' Rangers. Jaeger's Battalion is a national, colonial period historical reenactment group headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Wiederhold and his then partner became involved with EST (Erhard Seminars Training) and the Advocate Experience in the late 1970s, and later were very active with the Recreation Committee of SAGA (Gay Ski, Snowboard and Social Club), of which Wiederhold served as Vice President in 1984-1985 and President in 1985-1986. He was also later involved with the funding and remodeling of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center.

After several long-term relationships, in 1994, Wiederhold met Drew Staffen, whom he married at their Los Angeles home in September of that year in front of friends and family. Wiederhold died of AIDS on July 22, 1995.

Kenneth L. Wiederhold Papers are held at ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives: Journals and scrapbooks containing photographs, gift cards, newspaper clippings, textiles, ephemera, handwritten notes, and miscellaneous typescripts documenting the life of Kenneth L. Wiederhold, a gay man from Michigan who became an active participant in the Los Angeles gay community from the 1970s through the 1990s. Most of the scrapbooks were compiled by Wiederhold himself, ranging from his early childhood in 1950's Michigan to his death from AIDS in 1995. Some scrapbooks, however, were compiled by a family member or friend after his death. The materials document such events as Wiederhold's time in the Researve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) at Michigan State University, vacations and gatherings, participation in gay organizations such as SAGA and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center, and his wedding to Drew Staffen in 1994.


Jaeger's Battalion of Rogers' Rangers. Jaeger's Battalion is a national, colonial period historical reenactment group headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In this photo: John Jaeger (left) and Kenneth Wiederhold (right)
Kenneth Wiederhold and his then partner became involved with EST (Erhard Seminars Training) and the Advocate Experience in the late 1970s, and later were very active with the Recreation Committee of SAGA. He was also involved with the funding and remodeling of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center. In 1994, Wiederhold met Drew Staffen, whom he married at their Los Angeles home in September of that year in front of friends and family. Wiederhold died of AIDS on July 22, 1995.


"Kiss In" At Harvey Milk Plaza Commemorates Int'l Day Against Homophobia. In This Photo: J. Inness, Drew Staffen
Same-sex couple J. Inness (L) and Drew Staffen kiss in front of the Castro Theatre during a "Kiss-In" to recognize the International Day Against Homophobia May 17, 2010 in San Francisco, California. A half dozen same-sex couples kissed in solidarity with groups around the world who staged "kiss-ins" for the International Day Against Homophobia, which raises awareness to end harmful and discriminating acts against gays, lesbians and transgendered.  (May 16, 2010 - Source: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America)

Source: http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt3m3nd0zc/

( Further Readings )

More LGBT Couples at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Real Life Romance

Manuel Puig (December 28, 1932 - July 22, 1990)

Manuel Puig (born Juan Manuel Puig Delledonne) (General Villegas, Argentina, December 28, 1932 - Cuernavaca, Mexico, July 22, 1990) was an Argentine author. Among his best known novels are La traición de Rita Hayworth (1968) (Betrayed by Rita Hayworth), Boquitas pintadas (1969) Heartbreak Tango (English Translation), and El beso de la mujer araña (1976) (Kiss of the Spider Woman), which was made into a film by the Argentine-Brazilian director, Héctor Babenco and in 1993 into a Broadway musical.

Manuel Puig was born in General Villegas (in Buenos Aires province). After unsuccessfully studying architecture in the Universidad de Buenos Aires, he began working as a film archivist and editor in the city of Buenos Aires and later, in Italy after winning a scholarship from the Italian Institute of Buenos Aires. Puig's dream was to become a screenwriter to write TV shows and movies. His career as a screenwriter never took off, however. In the 1960s, he moved back to Buenos Aires, where he penned his first major novel, La traición de Rita Hayworth. Because he had leftist political tendencies and also foresaw a rightist wave in Argentina, Puig moved to Mexico in 1973, where he wrote his later works (including El beso de la mujer araña).

Much of Puig's work can be seen as pop art. Perhaps due to his work in film and television, Puig managed to create a writing style that incorporated elements of these mediums, such as montage and the use of multiple points of view. He also made much use of popular culture (for example, soap opera) in his works. In Latin American literary histories, he is presented as a writer who belongs to the Postboom and Post-modernist schools.

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Puig

( Manuel Puig, 1979, by Robert Giard )

( Further Readings )

More Particular Voices at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Particular Voices

GayRomLit Ebook Giveaway: Jordan Castillo Price - Magic Mansion

I asked to all the authors joining the GayRomLit convention in Atlanta in October (http://gayromlit.com/grl-authors) a personal favor, a special Ebook Giveaway: twice a week I will post 1 book from each author, and among those who will leave a comment, I will draw a winner. Very easy and very fast ;-) I will send a PM to the winner, so remember to not leave anonymous comments!

And the ebook giveaway goes to: Pelaam

Today author is Jordan Castillo Price: Author and artist Jordan Castillo Price is the owner of JCP Books LLC. She writes paranormal, horror and thriller novels from her isolated and occasionally creepy home in rural Wisconsin. Jordan is best known as the author of the PsyCop series, an unfolding tale of paranormal mystery and suspense starring Victor Bayne, a gay medium who's plagued by ghostly visitations. Also check out her new series, Mnevermind, where memories are made...one client at a time.
Website: http://psycop.com
Most recent title: Turbulence Collection

Magic Mansion by Jordan Castillo Price
Paperback: 350 pages
Publisher: JCP Books (May 4, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1935540483
ISBN-13: 978-1935540489
Amazon: Magic Mansion
Amazon Kindle: Magic Mansion

Professor Topaz is tired of fending off advice that he should retire in Vegas where magicians his age have an easier time finding work.

Ricardo Hart's career has sunk so low, he's resorted to shaking his moneymaker at bachelorette parties.

But there's a casting call for a new reality show called Magic Mansion that could change everything for these two gay stage magicians, one recovering from the loss of his partner, the other awe-struck by the presence of his idol. Each is poised for a critical second chance: at fame, and at love.

Who will win? Step into the Mansion, and find out....