Isabel Miller & Julie Weber

Alma Routsong (November 26, 1924 – October 4, 1996) was an American novelist best known for her lesbian fiction, published under the pen name Isabel Miller. (P: photo © Julie Weber)

Alma Routsong was born in Traverse City, Michigan on November 26, 1924, the daughter of Carl and Esther Miller Routsong. During World War II she served in the WAVES, training at the Farragut, Idaho Naval Training Center and then working as a hospital apprentice. She graduated from Michigan State University in 1949 with a degree in art.

Routsong's first two novels were published under her own name, with the later works under the pen name, a combination of an anagram of "Lesbia" and her mother's maiden name. Between 1968 and 1971 she worked as an editor at Columbia University. From the mid-1970s until 1986 she was a proofreader for Time Magazine.

Routsong was an officer in the New York chapter of Daughters of Bilitis and was arrested during a DOB police raid.

The bottom line for Alma Routsong was home, sharing a home with another woman where life is peaceful, ordinary and full of creative work, good food, conversation and friends. Her books reflected her life. For the last 18 and a half years, Routsong had made a home with Julie Weber, multimedia artist, musician and teacher, in a big old house in Poughkeepsie, New York. Their house was a work in progress. When Routsong was not writing, she refinished furniture laboriously and beautifully. She was a prolific carpenter; her last major job was reworking the front porch. She fixed windows and sashes, stripped frames and doors. In the evenings she would read Julie to sleep. Together they read biographies of women, the Bible, May Swenson, Edward Field, Robert Frost and The Illustrated Science and Invention Encyclopedia.


Isabel Miller with Julie Weber, 1992, by Robert Giard
Alma Routsong was an American novelist best known for her lesbian fiction, published under the pen name Isabel Miller. The bottom line for Alma Routsong was home, sharing a home with another woman where life is peaceful, ordinary and full of creative work, good food, conversation and friends. Her books reflected her life. For the last 18 and half years, Routsong had made a home with Julie Weber, multimedia artist, musician and teacher, in a big old house in Poughkeepsie, New York.

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

( Isabel Miller, 1992, by Robert Giard )

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
CreateSpace Store: https://www.createspace.com/4910282
Amazon (Paperback): http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500563323/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MZG0VHY/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

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

John Amaechi (born November 26, 1970)

John Uzoma Ekwugha Amaechi, OBE (/əˈmeɪtʃi/; born November 26, 1970) is an English retired basketball player who currently works as an educator and broadcaster in Europe and the United States.

In February 2007, after his retirement from the NBA, Amaechi became the first former NBA player to come out publicly after doing so in his memoir Man in the Middle. Since then he has been regarded as "one of the world's most high-profile gay athletes".

The son of a Nigerian, Igbo father, Amaechi was born in Boston in the USA. He was raised by his English mother in Heaton Moor, Stockport, England, with his two younger sisters, attending Stockport Grammar School. He first played basketball at the age of 17, coached by Joe Forber, whom he describes as a father figure.

Amaechi moved to the United States to play high school basketball at St. John's Jesuit High School in Toledo, Ohio. He began playing college basketball at Vanderbilt but transferred to Penn State, where he was a two-time First Team Academic All-American selection. While at Penn State, Amaechi became a motivational public speaker and a mentor for area youth.

The 6 ft 10 in, 270 lb (208 cm, 122 kg) center was signed undrafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1995. He played 28 games for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 1995–1996 season, then played for two years in Europe (France: Cholet, Limoges; Italy: Kinder Bologna; Greece: Panathinaikos; UK: Sheffield Sharks). In the season 1996–1997 he played for Panathinaikos BC. In September 1996 he won the Intercontinental Cup, being the first scorer (alongside Fragiskos Alvertis) of Panathinaikos BC with 59 points in the 3 games of the tournament (18,23,18 pts). In 1997–1998 he played with Kinder Bologna but left mid-season before the Italians won the Euroleague.

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

( Further Readings )

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

Rainbow Awards pre-party and 8th anniversary (Day 26)

November 2014 marks the 8th anniversary since I opened my first journal on LJ, and the 6th anniversary of the Rainbow Awards and we will have again a 1 month long big bash party. 120 authors, all of them in the 2014 Rainbow Awards, have donated an ebook and I will use them for a Treasure Hunt. Every day, for all November, I will post 4 excerpts (a random page of the book). No reference to title, or author, or publisher. You have to match it with the book ;-) comment on the blog (do not leave anonymous comments, if you post as anonymous, leave a contact email (comments are screened)), you can comment 1 time for more matchings (you can even try for all 4 books if you like, so 4 chances to win every day). Until the end I will not say which matching is right, so you will have ALL month to try. No limit on how many books you can win, the more you try the better chance you have to win. End of November, among the right matchings, I will draw the winners. So now? let the game start!

If at the end of the treasure hunt there will be still unmatched excerpts the giveaway will go to the one who matched more books.

( The books are: )

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Today excerpts are:

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