Ben Cohen (born September 14, 1978)

Benjamin Christopher "Ben" Cohen, MBE (born 14 September 1978) is an English activist and former England rugby union international player. He began his professional career with Northampton Saints in 1996; in 2007 he moved to France to represent Brive before returning to England two years later to join Sale Sharks. In May 2011, Cohen retired from professional rugby, and will focus on The Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation he created to combat homophobia and bullying. Off the field he is considered a gay icon, and often speaks favourably of his gay following. Ben appeared on the covers of Attitude (magazine) in October 2009, the cover of Compete Magazine July 2011 issue and the cover of Out (magazine) in August 2011.

Cohen was born in Northampton. He was educated at Kingsthorpe Upper School.(Kingsthorpe College as known today) This was not a rugby playing school and at age 12 he first started playing with Northampton Old Scouts RFC

Regarding his background, Cohen has stated, “My family’s not formally Jewish... but a couple of generations back they were. I think it was my great grandfather that married a non-Jewish girl and he broke with the tradition.”

In November 2000, Cohen's father Peter Cohen, brother of English World Cup winning football player George Cohen, was fatally injured while protecting an attack victim at the Eternity nightclub in Northampton which Peter Cohen managed. He died a month later from head injuries sustained in the assault. Three men were found guilty of violent conduct.

Cohen is married to Abbie Cohen (Blayney), with twin daughters Harriette and Isabelle (born 2008). He is clinically deaf, with about 30 to 33 percent hearing loss in each ear, and has been involved in efforts to make rugby more accessible to the hard of hearing, especially young deaf players.



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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Cohen_(rugby_union)

( Further Readings )

Laney Cairo

Laney Cairo is an ex-pat Londoner, who's settled in very comfortably to the cheaper and warmer Australian lifestyle.

She tried monogamy a couple of times and found it problematic, and has been in a polyamorous relationship with another professional writer for seventeen years. During that time she spent twelve years with a wife as well, possibly the ideal arrangement for a queer woman who is fond of company. Her ex-wife, notably, is not a writer.

Conventional employment proved as tedious as monogamy, and Laney experimented with several career options, including working as Petals the Fairy. She has also been an artist's nude model, and many years later people still approach her and say, "You look really familiar." She and her partner wrote and ran murder mystery dinner parties for a hotel chain in the Nineties, the most lucrative gig possible for a couple of writers. She was once accosted by a Wilderness Society Koala who recognized her from a safe sex workshop she had run. She has managed two bookshops, an employment option otherwise known as "subsidised reading."

Laney is passionate about food, despises bread-making machines as ungodly, makes her own curry paste and is not a vegetarian. She's politically so far to the left she's fallen off the edge of the screen. She's never been arrested, despite years of political activism, and is inordinately proud to be a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence (black veil). She has a spotless driving record, sings atrociously and has a Bachelor of Science.

The trials and tribulations of routine employment have palled with time and Laney now writes full-time, belonging to the Dirty Bathrobe School of Writing. She is owned by one small cat.

Source: http://laneycairo.com/bio

Further Readings:

Bad Case of Loving You by Laney Cairo
Paperback: 232 pages
Publisher: Torquere Press (June 16, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1934166685
ISBN-13: 978-1934166680
Amazon: Bad Case of Loving You
Amazon Kindle: Bad Case of Loving You

Matthew is a medical student, trying to ignore his various roommates' wild parties and get through his classes. Andrew is his instructor, a doctor at a prestigious British hospital. They're not supposed to be attracted to each other, but they can't deny their undeniable chemistry. They come together with a heat that surprises them both, and through doctor's strikes, dealing with Andrew's teenaged son, and hospital red tape, Andrew and Matthew learn to live, and love together. Is their relationship just what the doctor ordered?

More Spotlights at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Lists/Gay Novels

GayRomLit Ebook Giveaway: Madison Parker - Play Me, I'm Yours

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: everyday 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 Lena

Today author is Madison Parker: Madison Parker grew up in Germany where she feasted on Gummibärchen, wandered through the woods on many a Volksmarch, and dreamed of one day living in a castle on a mountain with a boy who knew how to rock a pair of lederhosen. The Fates had other plans for her, but she’s not complaining. Madison has a Bachelor’s Degree and two Master’s Degrees in Mathematics and Education. She has taught both middle and high school and enjoys working with young adults. She has a passion for math and art, and likes to dabble a bit with web and graphic design. She also has an affinity for all things geeky (read: Star Trek and TRON). Although she is extremely left-brained (logical, rational, orderly), her artistic, creative side never ceases to flail around in a desperate attempt to be noticed. Madison spends her days reading, writing, solving math problems, and playing with her feisty German Pinscher. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, her pup, and her troop of sock monkeys. Madison began writing LGBTQ fiction to help address issues of bullying and low self-esteem among young adults. Her short story, SOCK IT TO ME, SANTA!, explores one boy’s struggle to come out in a hostile school environment. Her debut novel, PLAY ME, I’M YOURS, takes the reader on an emotional journey in search of love and self-acceptance.
Website: http://madisonparklove.com
Most recent title : Play Me, I'm Yours
Publishers: Dreamspinner Press, Harmony Ink Press

Play Me, I'm Yours by Madison Parker
Paperback: 244 pages
Publisher: Harmony Ink Press (April 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1623809193
ISBN-13: 978-1623809195
Amazon: Play Me, I'm Yours
Amazon Kindle: Play Me, I'm Yours

Fairy Tate. Twinklefingers. Lucy Lu. Will the taunting ever end? Lucas Tate suffers ridicule because of his appearance and sensitive nature. When he's not teased, he's ignored, and now he doesn't know which is worse. His one comfort in life is his music; he feels unloved by everyone. What he wants more than anything is to find a friend.

Much to his dismay, both his mom and a schoolmate are determined to find him a boyfriend, despite the fact Lucas hasn't come out to them. His mom chooses a football player who redefines the term "heartthrob," while Trish pushes him toward the only openly gay boy at Providence High. But Lucas is harboring a crush on another boy, one who writes such romantic poetry to his girlfriend that hearing it melts Lucas into a puddle of goo. All three prospects seem so far out of his league. Lucas is sure he doesn't stand a chance with any of them-until sharing his gift for music brings him the courage to let people into his heart.

Kindly offered by Dreamspinner Press

Alternative Treatment by Claire Thompson

There is a serial romance genre called Medical Romance; it was very popular in the ’70 & ’80, usually the story of an handsome doctor falling in love for his collaborator, a young nurse of well-breed but more or less poor like Cinderella. Alternative Treatment takes a spin on this plot, but it doesn’t go so far away: Mark is indeed an handsome doctor, wealthy and young, the perfect bachelor; but on the contrary of the Medical Romance rules, he is not a playboy, he is practically a virgin, scared to come out to his family given the bad experience he witnessed with his own uncle, who killed himself from a broken heart after being rejected from his family upon coming out. And Nolan is indeed a poor, young nurse, but he is not naïve as the rules would suggest; he is basically a “love them and leave them”. Nolan is intrigued by Mark, at first as a challenge, but when Mark doesn’t bite the first bait, Nolan doesn’t insist, letting Mark comes back to him when he is ready.

The author could have played the bad boy falls in love for next door boy card, but instead the novel is more a comfort romance, with some bumps in the road for the two lovebirds, but nothing huge. Basically, after they meet and decide to give it a try, everything that opposes to their happiness is soon overcome with just a little commitment and desire to succeed.

Amazon: Alternative Treatment
Amazon Kindle: Alternative Treatment
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (June 26, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1463656696
ISBN-13: 978-1463656690

Updates: http://www.goodreads.com/user/updates_rss/2156728?key=011e4dd0a1ff993d8c2322e691d6229ed9bbf74b

Rainbow Awards: Cover Contest (Second Round)

This is the second round for the 2013 Cover Contest. This poll will remain open for two weeks.

- in round 2 there will be 2 polls, 1 for Illustration covers and 1 for Design covers.
- in parallel with the poll, a special jury will vote the covers; the jury is composed by: Ali, Anne Tenino, Brent Hartinger, Dylan Rosser, Jodie, Julie, Linda, Mitzie, Tammy, Zahra Owens.
- you can vote as many covers as you want, using the polls in this post.

Most voted cover for Illustration in round 1 was:


Falling for Rain (Paul Richmond)

all covers for round 2, Illustration, are here:

http://www.elisarolle.com/rainbowawards/2013CoverContest_illustration_01.htm

Most voted cover for Design in round 1 was:


For Men Like Us (Anne Cain)

all covers for round 2, Design, are here:

http://www.elisarolle.com/rainbowawards/2013CoverContest_design_01.htm

and here is the poll:

[Poll #1933939]