Rachel Maddow & Susan Mikula

Rachel Anne Maddow (born April 1, 1973) is an American television host, political commentator, and author. She hosts a nightly television show, The Rachel Maddow Show, on MSNBC. Her syndicated talk radio program of the same name aired on Air America Radio. Maddow is the first openly gay anchor to host a major prime-time news program in the United States. She holds a doctorate in politics from Oxford University.

Asked about her political views by the Valley Advocate, Maddow replied, "I'm undoubtedly a liberal, which means that I'm in almost total agreement with the Eisenhower-era Republican party platform."

Maddow lives in Manhattan and western Massachusetts with her partner, artist Susan Mikula. The couple met in 1999, when Mikula hired Maddow to do yard work at her home. Maddow was working on her doctoral dissertation at the time. Their first date was at a National Rifle Association "Ladies' Day on the Range" event.


Rachel Anne Maddow is an American television host, political commentator, and author. She hosts a nightly television show, The Rachel Maddow Show, on MSNBC. Maddow lives in Manhattan and western Massachusetts with her partner, artist Susan Mikula. The couple met in 1999, when Mikula hired Maddow to do yard work at her home. Maddow was working on her doctoral dissertation at the time. Their first date was at a National Rifle Association "Ladies' Day on the Range" event.

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Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Maddow

( Further Readings )

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

J. Timothy Hunt & Morton Beiser

James Timothy Hunt (born April 1, 1959) is an American-Canadian author and journalist. He has also written children's books under the pen name Tim Beiser.

Hunt was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and attended university in Montana, receiving a B.S. in Economics and Business Administration from Rocky Mountain College in 1981. He became a Canadian citizen in 2004, and resides in Toronto, Canada, and Grignan, France, with his husband, Morton Beiser and twin sons, Daniel and Rowan.

During his 16 years as a resident of New York City, he became known as a playwright and author of science fiction short stories. His plays Angel Fire and The Lunatic were presented Off-Off Broadway. His short fiction can be found in the anthologies Lovers and Other Monsters and Don't Open This Book, both published by Doubleday. He has been writer in residence three times at the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico, and was the founder of The Writers’ Workout creative writing studio in New York. He received a B.A.A. in Journalism from Toronto’s Ryerson University in 1999.

Hunt has written for many publications in Canada, including National Post Business, Toronto Life, Elm Street, Reader's Digest, and Saturday Night. A feature article in Saturday Night in June 2000 about Owens Wiwa, brother of controversially-executed Nigerian environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa, was expanded in 2005 into a book about the ordeal, The Politics of Bones.

In 2007, Hunt began writing children's fiction for Tundra Books under the pseudonym Tim Beiser. He is the author of Bradley McGogg, the Very Fine Frog published by Tundra Books (2009). In his "fresh" rhyming verses, Beiser employs "all the tricks of the trade, such as enjambment, sound echoes, and internal rhyme."

( Further Readings )

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

Michael Hendricks & René Leboeuf

Michael Hendricks and René Leboeuf are Canadian gay rights advocates, known for their advocacy of same-sex marriage in Canada. They were the first same-sex couple to be legally married in Quebec. (P: ©Montrealais. Wedding of Michael Hendricks and René Leboeuf, first same-sex marriage in Quebec; Montreal, 1 April 2004 (©17))

Hendricks, originally from New Jersey, came to Canada as a draft dodger during the Vietnam War; he met Leboeuf, a native of Quebec City, at a New Year's party in the 1970s.

The couple began in 1996 to lead protests and parades seeking the right to marry each other.

In November 2001, the couple brought suit against the government of Quebec, asserting that its refusal to perform same-sex marriage violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The case began on November 8.

On December 7 of that year, the Quebec government announced its intention to bring in legislation to create civil unions to which same-sex couples would have access and which would afford a status equivalent to that of marriage. (The definition of marriage is a federal jurisdiction in Canada, but the provinces have authority over civil status, including the registry of marriage.) The bill was introduced on April 25, 2002, and passed on June 7.


©Montrealais. Wedding of Michael Hendricks and René Leboeuf, first same-sex marriage in Quebec; Montreal, 1 April 2004 (©17)
Michael Hendricks and René Leboeuf are Canadian gay rights advocates, known for their advocacy of same-sex marriage in Canada. They were the first same-sex couple to be legally married in Quebec. They met a New Year's party in the 1970s. In 1996 they began to lead protests and parades seeking the right to marry each other. The couple wed on April 1, 2004, exactly 3 years after the first legal same-sex marriage in the Netherlands. At the time of their wedding, they had been together for 31 years.

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Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hendricks_and_Ren%C3%A9_Leboeuf

Days of Love: Celebrating LGBT History One Story at a Time by Elisa Rolle
Paperback: 760 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (July 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1500563323
ISBN-13: 978-1500563325
Amazon: Days of Love: Celebrating LGBT History One Story at a Time

Days of Love chronicles more than 700 LGBT couples throughout history, spanning 2000 years from Alexander the Great to the most recent winner of a Lambda Literary Award. Many of the contemporary couples share their stories on how they met and fell in love, as well as photos from when they married or of their families. Included are professional portraits by Robert Giard and Stathis Orphanos, paintings by John Singer Sargent and Giovanni Boldini, and photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnson, Arnold Genthe, and Carl Van Vechten among others. “It's wonderful. Laying it out chronologically is inspired, offering a solid GLBT history. I kept learning things. I love the decision to include couples broken by death. It makes clear how important love is, as well as showing what people have been through. The layout and photos look terrific.” Christopher Bram “I couldn’t resist clicking through every page. I never realized the scope of the book would cover centuries! I know that it will be hugely validating to young, newly-emerging LGBT kids and be reassured that they really can have a secure, respected place in the world as their futures unfold.” Howard Cruse “This international history-and-photo book, featuring 100s of detailed bios of some of the most forward-moving gay persons in history, is sure to be one of those bestsellers that gay folk will enjoy for years to come as reference and research that is filled with facts and fun.” Jack Fritscher

Blog Tour: When Sean Loves Rusty by Chris Cox

When Sean Loves Rusty (Bayou Boys) by Chris Cox
Series: Bayou Boys
Paperback: 204 pages
Publisher: Cox Endeavors, LLC (March 18, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1940601118
ISBN-13: 978-1940601113
Amazon: When Sean Loves Rusty (Bayou Boys)
Amazon Kindle: When Sean Loves Rusty (Bayou Boys)

Best friends since grade school, lovers since high school, Sean Delahunt and Rusty Duchene thought nothing could ever tear them apart. Then Sean graduates college and his world changes, while Rusty’s stays the same.

Offered a job in Boston, Sean knows asking Rusty to leave New Orleans is a big sacrifice for his soul mate, who has a successful career and supportive family. Abused and rejected by his own family, Sean struggles with self worth and thinks this career opportunity will give him a new life.

Rusty wavers in his trust but takes and chance and agrees to follow him to Boston.

Alone for several weeks in a strange city, Sean is determined to make friends on his own. When Rusty arrives, this new Sean makes him feel insecure. Crushing student loans, being unable to find a job and suspicions about the nature of Sean’s friends strain an already tenuous relationship.

A trip home for the holidays reminds both men of all they’ve left behind and makes them reevaluate what they want in their future.

On the verge of wedding vows, a career crisis threatens to bring their lives back full circle.

Money, moves and men…will this longtime love last forever or will life in the big city destroy their young love?

( Excerpt 1 )

( Excerpt 2 )

Author Bio: In Chris Cox’s stories, men climb steep mountains of emotion and brave treacherous valleys of personal growth on a journey to love. The Bayou Boys series is about deep relationships, about finding yourself as well as your soul mate, and about learning to feel right in your own skin.
Sexy and complex, Chris’ writing delivers the stories that touch readers’ hearts. Born and raised in Louisiana, Chris worked as an electrical engineer before chucking the corporate ladder and becoming a full-time writer. Chris resides in Louisiana, where the gumbo is hot…but the men are hotter. You can check out more about Chris Cox by visiting www.chriscoxwrites.com, on Facebook at www.facebook/chriscoxwrites.com and on Twitter: @ChrisCoxWrites.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChrisCoxAuthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7313513.Chris_Cox?from_search=true
Website: http://www.chriscoxwrites.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chriscoxwrites

Giveaway:

US ONLY: Bayou Gift Basket (Everything Cajun)
International: $25.00 Amazon Gift Card
Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e87f1e175

2014 Rainbow Awards Submission: Paris Connection

Gay Contemporary Romance
Paris Connection by J.P. Bowie
Publisher: Totally Bound
ISBN: 9780857156716

A young American falls in love with Paris, and a stunning Frenchman, but murder and mayhem, let alone distance, might ruin his chance of lasting happiness.

After seeing the movie Midnight in Paris, Jay Harrison becomes obsessed with the idea of a vacation in the City of Light. Jay has always been a bit of a dreamer and while he doesn’t think he will actually have the same bizarre experiences the main character in the movie had, he is certain that Paris holds something very special for him.

Jay is a shy man and a bit of a lightweight in the sexual experience arena, so he’s nervously surprised when Anton Delcour, a handsome Frenchman, introduces himself at the Café Les Deux Magots on his first day in Paris. He’s even more surprised by his own eagerness to know more about Anton—a lot more. When Anton offers to give him a personal tour of Notre Dame Cathedral, he jumps at the chance to perhaps get better acquainted with Anton.

The two men bond quickly through their mutual attraction, and Jay’s visit to Paris takes on a new dimension when he’s in Anton’s company. But when a case of blackmail and murder threatens to get in the way of his budding summer romance, Jay begins to think that the movie he loved might just pale in comparison to what is actually going on around him.

Charities Donation program progress:
25$ YouthCare: www.youthcare.org/
25$ Point Foundation: www.pointfoundation.org/
25$ PFLAG: community.pflag.org/
25$ CARE: careprogram.org/
25$ Lost-n-Found Youth: www.lost-n-found.org/
50$ Wes for Youth: wesforyouth.privacemail.com/
50$ Lambda Legal: www.lambdalegal.org/
108$ COLORS: www.colorsyouth.org/
132$ Galop: www.galop.org.uk/
150$ Cancer Research Institute: www.cancerresearch.org/
160$ UCAN: www.ucanchicago.org/
190$ SAGE: giveto.sageusa.org/
400$ Ali Forney Center: www.aliforneycenter.org/
TOTAL: 1365$*

* more than 150$ is a direct donation from a supporter of the Rainbow Awards who isn't submitting; while some authors were more than generous, arriving to donate 5 times the suggested amount, being the submission fee a non mandatory and voluntary direct donation, we were struggling to raise the same amount as last year and there is who decided to cover part of it. I thank you for all you are doing, and if you wish to donate to the above links, please drop me a note with your donation and I will update the total.

2014 Rainbow Awards Guidelines: reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/4162490.html

Statistics: March 2014

Here are the 3 months statistics for the visits on my website and 2 journals:

Site	January 2014	February 2014*	March 2014
elisarolle.com	315.510	338.221	335.393
reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org	12.746	12.107	11.768
elisa-rolle.livejournal.com	25.985	37.599	27.526
Total	354.241	387.926	374.687
*on a 31 days basis

Reminder: starting from January 2014, there is the possibility to place an advertising banner on my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/. The two top banners are already booked for all 2014, but there is still availability for the rotating side menu banners.

Moreover I have a special proposal for spotlight/promotion, to be considered if you have a coming soon release.

For more info please contact me and I will send details.