Moondancer Drake (born February 25, 1969)

Moondancer Drake is an author of environmental and spiritually driven multicultural fiction, especially paranormal lesbian romance. She is also a vocal advocate for civil rights and the responsibility of all people to take better care of Mother Earth. She lives in Wisconsin with her family and draws much of her inspiration from her spirituality as well as experiences as a Two-Spirit Cherokee woman and a mother.

Natural Order won a 2010 Rainbow Award as Best Lesbian Paranormal / Horror and Best Characters Development.

Further Readings:

Natural Order by Moondancer Drake
Paperback: 270 pages
Publisher: P.D. Publishing, Inc. (April 25, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1933720670
ISBN-13: 978-1933720678
Amazon: Natural Order

An evening at the movies turns into a living nightmare for Elizabeth Crew as her lover Dusty battles for their lives and the unborn baby Elizabeth is carrying. Dusty's dying request is that Elizabeth go live with Dusty's family, where she and the baby will be safe. Dusty's family takes Elizabeth into their home with open arms and a bit of concern. What will happen if Elizabeth learns that her new family includes shape-shifters? For Elizabeth, the family secrets are not all that awaits her in the darkness.

More Rainbow Awards at my website: www.elisarolle.com/, Rainbow Awards/2010

Arthur Lett-Haines & Cedric Morris

Arthur Lett-Haines (1894 – February 25, 1978), known as Lett Haines, was a British painter and sculptor who experimented in many different media, though he generally characterised himself as "an English surrealist". He was part of a London artistic circle, which included D. H. Lawrence, the Sitwells and Wyndham Lewis. (P: Cedric Morris, circa 1920, Given by Ronald George Blythe, 2004, NPG x127186)

Arthur Lett was born in 1894, the son of Charles Lett and Frances Laura Esme Lett (who afterwards married S. Sidney Haines). He was educated at St Paul's School.

In the First World War he served in the British Army.

In 1916 Lett-Haines married Gertrude Aimee Lincoln at Hailsham, but he met the painter Cedric Morris in 1918. Morris and Lett Haines fell in love and began a life-time relationship, and shortly afterwards Morris moved in with Haines and his second wife, Aimee. The trio planned to go to America, but in the event Aimee Lett-Haines left on her own, and the two men moved to Cornwall. They converted a row of cottages at Newlyn into a larger house and stayed there until the end of 1920, when they moved to Paris. Morris and Lett-Haines lived together until his death, Haines largely subordinating his own artistic career to promote that of his partner. This relationship lasted some 60 years, despite its open nature that included attachments on both sides such as Haines' affair with the artist and author Kathleen Hale.

After initially living at Newlyn, they moved to Paris in 1920, becoming part of an expatriate artistic community that included Juan Gris, Fernard Léger, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Nancy Cunard and Ernest Hemingway. They returned briefly to London in 1926, before moving in 1929 to Suffolk.


Robert Alexander Polhill Bevan; Allan Walton; Arthur Lett-Haines, circa 1920s, Given by Ronald George Blythe, 2006, NPG x128726)
Arthur Lett-Haines was a British painter and sculptor. Sir Cedric Lockwood Morris, 9th Baronet, was a British artist, art teacher and plantsman. In 1918 Lett Haines met Morris. Morris and Lett Haines fell in love and began a life-time relationship, lasted some 60 years. In 1937, Morris and Haines founded the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing at Dedham. The school closed when Haines died in 1978, though Morris continued to live at Benton End until his death in 1984.


Arthur Lett-Haines - Egyptian Figures

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Lett-Haines

Sir Cedric Lockwood Morris, 9th Baronet (11 December 1889 – 8 February 1982) was a British artist, art teacher and plantsman. He was born in Swansea but worked mainly in East Anglia. As an artist he is best known for his portraits, flower paintings and landscapes. (P: Cedric Morris, by Sir Cedric Lockwood Morris, circa 1930, Purchased, 1981, NPG 5407)

Cedric Lockwood Morris was born on 11 December 1889 in Sketty, Swansea, the son of George Lockwood Morris, industrialist (ironfounder) and Wales rugby international, and his wife Wilhelmina (née Cory). He had two sisters - Muriel, who died in her teens, and Nancy (born in 1893). His mother had studied painting and was an accomplished needlewoman; on his father's side he was descended from the first baronet Morris, whose sister Margaret married Noel Desenfans and helped him and his friend, Francis Bourgeois to build up the collection now housed in the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Cedric was sent away to be educated, at St Cyprian's School, Eastbourne, and Charterhouse School in Godalming.

He failed the exams to enter the army as an officer, and at the age of 17 he set out on a steamship to Ontario, Canada, to work on a farm. After a succession of jobs, including as a dishwasher and bell boy in New York, he returned to South Wales, and then entered the Royal College of Music, London, to study singing. But he gave up singing for painting, and went to Paris, where from April 1914 he studied at the Academie Delacluse in Montparnasse before the interruption of World War I.

During World War I he joined the Artists Rifles, but before embarking for France was declared medically unfit for action in consequence of the effects of a failed operation during his childhood. As an experienced horseman, however, he was allocated to the training of remounts at Lord Rosslyn's stables at Theale, Berkshire. He worked in the company of Alfred Munnings, under Cecil Aldin. He was discharged from this when the army took over the Remounts in 1917.


NPG x128725. Cedric Morris, 1920s (©19)

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

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
-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 Saul & Michael Sack

John Saul (born February 25, 1942) is an American author of suspense and horror novels. Most of his books have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List. He lives with his partner of more than 30 years, who has collaborated on several of his novels. In 1973 he go a job on the administrative staff of the Stonewall drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, which primarily serviced the gay community in Seattle. It was in the course of this job that he met clinical psychologist Michael Sack, who became is closest friend and literary collaborator. "Michael was essentially the drug and alcohol treatment czar of Wisconsin at the time. He'd been involved in setting up Tellurian Communities in Wisconsin and was working with the Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation to get therapeutic communities - TCs - licensed."

Born in Pasadena, Saul grew up in Whittier, California, and graduated from Whittier High School in 1959. He went on to several colleges,variously majoring in anthropology, liberal arts and theater, but never obtained a degree. After leaving college, Saul decided to become a writer, and spent fifteen years working in various jobs while trying to improve his craft.

Prior to the start of his bestselling thriller career Saul had around ten books published under pen names, the first of which he wrote in one weekend after unexpectedly losing his job. His first book sale earned him just $200. Today he has over 60 million books in print.

In 1976, Dell Publishing contacted him and asked if he'd be interested in writing a psychological thriller. The resulting novel, Suffer the Children, appeared on all the bestseller lists in the United States and reached the number one spot in Canada. In addition to his novels, Saul has had several one-act plays produced in both Los Angeles and Seattle.

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Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Saul#cite_note-advocate-1

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

Justin Trabert & Tedd Marefka

When Tedd Marefka met Justin Trabert at a beach party back in the fall of 2008, he knew Trabert was The One. (“I knew the second I saw him,” says Marefka (born 1970) about Trabert (born 1978)) Unfortunately, as Fate would have it, the two were just not meant to be together: Trabert had a boyfriend back in Germany. Nevertheless, Trabert took a risk and asked Marefka to have a drink with him anyway. They talked, they danced a bit, and they bonded — but it was all rather depressing for Marefka, knowing that nothing could come out of it.

After the beach party, however, Trabert received an email from his boyfriend asking him not to return to Germany — so several months later, after settling down and getting a job in Florida, he remembered his night with Marefka and called him up. It took a few dates for the two to really hit it off, but it was eventually clear to both of them that they had something special. “I always knew we were meant for each other,” says Marefka, “but it took [Justin]…a little bit longer to figure it out.”


Jubei Raziel. Tedd Marefka (left) and Justin Trabert at Lord Thompson Manor
When Tedd Marefka met Justin Trabert at a beach party back in the fall of 2008, he knew Trabert was The One. (“I knew the second I saw him,” says Marefka) Unfortunately, as Fate would have it, the two were just not meant to be together: Trabert had a boyfriend back in Germany. Nevertheless, Trabert took a risk and asked Marefka to have a drink with him anyway. The two wed on February 25, 2012 at Lord Thompson Manor in Thompson, Conneticut.

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Source: www.out.com/out-exclusives/wedding-guide/vows/2012/04/02/tedd-marefka-and-justin-trabert-lord-thompson-manor

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

2015 Rainbow Awards Submission: The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know by Brent Hartinger

The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know by Brent Hartinger
Gay Contemporary General Fiction
Series: Russel Middlebrook: The Futon Years
Paperback: 254 pages
Publisher: BK Books; 1 edition (November 27, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0984679480
ISBN-13: 978-0984679485
Amazon: The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know (Russel Middlebrook: The Futon Years 1)
Amazon Kindle: The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know (Russel Middlebrook: The Futon Years 1)

"I guess this was what they meant by a loss of innocence. Who knew?"

Russel Middlebrook is twenty-three years old, gay, and living in trendy Seattle, but life isn't keeping up with the hype. Most of his friends have a direction in life—either ruthlessly pursuing their careers or passionately embracing their own aimlessness. But Russel is stuck in place. All he knows is that crappy jobs, horrible dates, and pointless hook-ups just aren't cutting it anymore.

What's the secret? What does everyone else know that he doesn't?

Enter Kevin, Russel's perfect high school boyfriend. Could rekindling an old flame be the thing Russel needs to get his life back on track? Or maybe the answer lies in a new friend, an eccentric screenwriter named Vernie Rose, who seems plenty wise. Or what the hell? Maybe Russel will find some answers by joining his best friend Gunnar's crazy search for the legendary Bigfoot!

One way or another, Russel is determined to learn the all-important secret to life, even if it's a thing he doesn't even know he doesn't know.

Author Brent Hartinger first made a splash writing books for teens. The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know, Hartinger's first book for older readers, is just as much of a page-turner as his earlier works, with plenty of his trademark irreverent humor. But now his books have grown up along with his readers, exploring the issues of new adults, especially the complicated matter of love and sex.

2015 Rainbow Awards Guidelines: http://www.elisarolle.com/rainbowawards/rainbow_awards_2015.html