Dan Stone (born March 17)

Dan Stone is the author of the gay romantic fantasy "The Rest Of Our Lives" and "Tricky Serum: An Elixir of Poems" (Lethe Press). He is an author, poet, life coach, and college instructor whose fiction, poetry and essays have appeared in Charmed Lives: Gay Spirit in Storytelling, White Crane Journal, A&U Magazine, Astropoetica, Mostly Maine, Bay Windows, Chiron Review, Gents, Badboys, and Barbarians, New Gay Male Poetry, and Rebel Yell: Stories by Contemporary Southern Gay Authors. He lives in Denver, CO, where he is working on his second novel and a children's book.

The Rest of Our Lives won a 2009 Rainbow Award as Best LGBT Paranormal / Horror.

Further Readings:

The Rest of Our Lives by Dan Stone
Paperback: 228 pages
Publisher: Lethe Press (May 25, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1590211472
ISBN-13: 978-1590211472
Amazon: The Rest of Our Lives
Amazon Kindle: The Rest of Our Lives

Colm McKenna has led a guarded life. Gifted with a wintry soul and a photographer's eye, he can stop time as easily as he freezes water, or call down cold north winds. He thinks he is alone and unique in the world. Then, seemingly by accident, he meets handsome writer Aidan Gallagher, his opposite, a young man who not only magically raises temperatures but quickens Colm's heart.
In this lighthearted and contemporary, gay romantic fantasy, can two male witches whose passion reincarnates century after century, find a way to express their love for each other again? Can this enchanting pair finally succeed after so many lifetimes?

A finalist for the 2009 Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Men's Romance!

More Rainbow Awards at my website: www.elisarolle.com/, Rainbow Awards/2009

Alice Austen & Gertrude Tate

Elizabeth Alice Austen (March 17, 1866 – June 9, 1952) was a Staten Island photographer. In 1899 Alice met Gertrude Amelia Tate (1871–1962) of Brooklyn, New York. She became Alice's lifelong companion. Gertrude moved in with Alice at Clear Comfort in 1917. (Picture: Austen in Richmondtown, Staten Island on October 9, 1951, for her photo exhibition)

Alice's father abandoned the family before she was born, and she was baptized under the name Elizabeth Alice Munn on May 23, 1866, in St. John's Church on Staten Island. She never used the name Munn and would initial her glass-photographic-negatives with "EAA" for Elizabeth Alice Austen. With no household income and no husband, Alice's mother moved back to her own parent's home, which was known as Clear Comfort. Alice was the only child in the household, which now consisted of: Alice's mother, Alice Cornell Austen (1836-?); Alice's maternal grandparents, John Haggerty Austen (c1800-?) and Elizabeth Alice Townsend (c1800-?). Also in the house were her mother's siblings: Peter Austen, who was a chemistry professor at Rutgers University; and Mary Austen (1840-?) aka Minnie Austen, who was married to Oswald Müller (1840-?) who was the owner of a shipping company. Oswald was born in Denmark. (Picture: Alice Austen & Gertrude Tate)

The house was built in the 17th century, but was expanded during the 19th century by Alice's grandparents: John Haggerty Austen; and Elizabeth Alice Townsend. Clear Comfort was dedicated as a National Historic Landmark on April 8, 1976, one month after the 110th anniversary of Alice's birth. It is also known as "Alice Austen House" and is located in the Rosebank neighborhood.


Elizabeth Alice Austen (March 17, 1866 - June 9, 1952) was a Staten Island photographer. In 1899 Alice met Gertrude Amelia Tate (1871-1962) of Brooklyn, New York. She became Alice's lifelong companion. Gertrude moved in with Alice at Clear Comfort in 1917. Clear Comfort was dedicated as a National Historic Landmark on April 8, 1976, one month after the 110th anniversary of Alice's birth. It is also known as "Alice Austen House" and is located in the Rosebank neighborhood.


©Captain Oswald Müller. Twenty-two-year-old Miss E. Alice Austen poses in her Sunday best - a smart overskirt, and a hat decorated with white lilacs. She holds a parasol and a silver change purse, 1888 (©1)

( Read more... )

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

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

Bayard Rustin & Walter Naegle

Bayard Rustin (March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987) was an American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, pacifism and non-violence, and gay rights. He was born and raised in Pennsylvania where his family was involved in civil rights work. In 1936, he moved to Harlem, New York City and earned a living as a nightclub and stage singer, and continued activism for civil rights. Rustin was survived by his partner of ten years, Walter Naegle, who was also his executor and chief archivist. In recent years Rustin's contributions have begun to be more widely recognized. A public high school in Westtown, Pennsylvania, bears Rustin's name. The documentary film Brother Outsider explores his life and work.

In the pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), Rustin practiced nonviolence. He was a leading activist of the early 1947–1955 civil-rights movement, helping to initiate a 1947 Freedom Ride to challenge with civil disobedience racial segregation on interstate busing. He recognized Martin Luther King, Jr.'s leadership, and helped to organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to strengthen King's leadership; Rustin promoted the philosophy of nonviolence and the practices of nonviolent resistance, which he had observed while working with Gandhi's movement in India. Rustin became a leading strategist of the civil rights movement from 1955–1968. He was the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which was headed by A. Philip Randolph, the leading African-American labor-union president and socialist. Rustin also influenced young activists, such as Tom Kahn and Stokely Carmichael, in organizations like the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).


Bayard Rustin (March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987) was an American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, pacifism and non-violence, and gay rights. He was born and raised in Pennsylvania where his family was involved in civil rights work. In 1936, he moved to Harlem, New York City and earned a living as a nightclub and stage singer, and continued activism for civil rights. Rustin was survived by his partner of 10 years, Walter Naegle, who was also his executor & chief archivist.

( Read more... )

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

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

George Goetschius, Tony Richardson & Donald Howart

Donald Howarth (born 5 November 1931) is a playwright and theatre director. He enjoyed a nearly fifty-year relationship with American LSE academic George Goetschius (March 17 1923; died October 11 2006) and entered into a civil partnership with him in February 2006 shortly after their introduction in the UK. Goetschius died in October 2006 at the age of 83.

In 1952 the young director Tony Richardson cast George Devine in a television adaptation of "Curtain Down", a short story by Anton Chekhov. There soon developed what Devine came to call their “great friendship”. Not long afterwards, together with Richardson's friend and partner the American sociologist George Goetschius, they formed a plan for a radical new theatre company, the objective of which, as Devine wrote later, “was to get writers, writers of serious pretensions, back into the theatre”, and thus to make the theatre “part of the intellectual life of the country”. The fulfilment of these goals led to the formation, in 1955, of what was called the English Stage Company. They acquired the rental of the Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square, London, and Devine placed an advertisement in The Stage asking for new plays. The Royal Court opened in April 1956 with a production of Angus Wilson’s play The Mulberry Bush, followed by Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, in which Devine played Governor Danforth as well as directing. It was not until the fourth production, John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger, that the theatre really attracted public attention. Although the play was badly reviewed by traditional theatre critics such as Milton Shulman and Philip Hope-Wallace, glowing reviews from the two Sunday critics Kenneth Tynan and Harold Hobson ensured that the play eventually became a hit.

Goetschius's relationship with Tony Richardson ended in 1959, when Richardson moved out of Lower Mall to live with the actor Vanessa Redgrave, whom he would marry a few years later. Goetschius took on the tenancy of the top-floor flat, and was joined there a few months later by the playwright Donald Howarth.

( Read more... )

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

Director Tony Richardson’s most famous films were Tom Jones (Academy Award for Best Picture) starring Albert Finney, John OSBORNE’s Look Back in Anger (starring Richard Burton and Claire Bloom), and The Entertainer (with Laurence OLIVIER). A Taste of Honey, which was adapted from Shelagh Delaney’s play of the same name, depicted a loving and supportive homosexual character.

Richardson’s The Loved One, based on Evelyn WAUGH’s book, was perhaps the most controversial film of his career. A satire about a grotesquely kitschy funeral home in California, the film attacked the American capitalistic attitude toward everything—including death. Robert Morse, John GIELGUD, Rod Steiger, LIBERACE, Tab HUNTER, and Robert Moreley appeared in the film.

Richardson’s Hamlet starred Nicol Williamson in the title role, with a supporting cast that included Anthony Hopkins, Anjelica Huston, Gordon Jackson, and a very drugged-out Marianne FAITHFULL as Ophelia. The Border (with Jack Nicholson, Harvey Keitel, and Warren Oates) and The Hotel New Hampshire (with Jodie FOSTER, Matthew Modine, and Rob Lowe) were not so successful. Even so, the blow-job scene catapulted Lowe to fame as a teen heartthrob and queer-lust idol.

George Goetschius is perhaps best remembered for his important contribution to the planning stages of the English Stage Company at London's Royal Court Theatre in the mid-1950s, and he was also an influential sociologist. Moving to London in 1954, Goetschius was employed as a research consultant by the London Council of Social Service. At the end of that year, he met the theatre director Tony Richardson and, in January 1955, moved into Richardson's flat in Lower Mall, Hammersmith, where he remained for most of his life. The house was owned by George and Sophie Devine. At the time, George Devine was working with Richardson on a scheme for a radical new theatre company, which would come into being the following year as the English Stage Company at the Royal Court in Sloane Square. In 1959 Goetschius's relationship with Tony Richardson had ended in 1959, when Richardson moved out of Lower Mall to live with the actor Vanessa Redgrave, whom he would marry a few years later. Goetschius took on the tenancy of the top-floor flat, and was joined there a few months later by the playwright Donald Howarth, a relationship that will last 47 years, until Goetschius's death in 2006.

( Read more... )

Stern, Keith (2009-09-01). Queers in History: The Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Historical Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals (Kindle Locations 10188-10202). Perseus Books Group. Kindle Edition.

( Further Readings )

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

2015 Rainbow Awards Submission: The Sum of Everything by April Kelley

The Sum of Everything by April Kelley
Gay Contemporary Romance
Link: www.extasybooks.com/The-Sum-of-Everything/

They say opposites attract but can they make love last?

Greg Mitchell’s entire childhood was filled with violence and abuse—that is, until he came to work on the Heath Farm. His life has forever changed for the better, including meeting Brian Stockwell. From the first moment Greg met Brian he's been in love. But a threat his father made four years ago has always held him back from pursuing any real relationship with Brian—until he learns his father is on his deathbed and of no further harm to himself or Brian.

Greg finds out his family ties are stronger than he thought, and they hold him back from really getting to know Brian the way he truly wants to. Both men discover that they have more differences than they originally thought.

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