Erica Lawson (born June 7)

Erica Lawson was born in Sydney Australia, where she grew up and has lived all her life. Erica hadn't really considered taking up writing until 2005, when she jumped into the world of online fan fiction, which lead to an opportunity to submit a manuscript to a publisher at the end of 2007. And the rest, they say, is history.

Her first novel, "Possessing Morgan", won the 2010 Golden Crown Literary Society Award for Mystery/Thriller. Her second novel, a Goldie finalist, "The Chronicles of Ratha", was released in 2010. "Soulwalker", her third release, was a 2013 Goldie winner for Best Speculative Fiction. Her latest release, "Miss-Match", co-written with A.C. Henley, was released through Affinity eBooks in April 2013. "Reflected Passion" was release in August/September 2013 through Blue Feather Books.

Soulwalker won a 2012 Rainbow Award as Best Lesbian Sci-fi/Fantasy. Out Of Retirement won a 2014 Rainbow Award as Best Lesbian Romantic Comedy.

Further Readings:

Soulwalker by Erica Lawson
Paperback: 326 pages
Publisher: Affinity E-Book Press NZ LTD; 2nd edition (February 15, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1927328764
ISBN-13: 978-1927328767
Amazon: Soulwalker
Amazon Kindle: Soulwalker

A hundred years into the future, in a near-totalitarian state, there exists a group of feared Government assassins called The Black Shadow Corps. They are albinos, able to send their inner shadow to kill in the name of the law. Tarris Waite is leader of The Black Shadow Corps. But she is different from them, visibly marked by her pale blue eyes. Her teammates consider her a half-breed, to be feared, and despised. A childhood accident left Tarris a paraplegic, yet she has never given up looking for a cure. Asher Hyrea is a medical researcher investigating nerve regeneration, and Tarris believes she may hold the key to her walking again. But Tarris soon learns that nothing is as it seems. Suddenly, even the most trusted members of her Shadow Corps team are suspect. Could her meeting with Asher be more than mere coincidence? When her loyalty is questioned, Tarris is left with no choice but to run. She is driven underground, where she discovers a horrifying secret that threatens the very fabric of society. Now Tarris is in a desperate fight to save her life and, more importantly, to save those who turned their back on her. But no one ever leaves the Corps alive.

Out Of Retirement by Erica Lawson
Paperback: 228 pages
Publisher: Affinity E-Book Press NZ; First edition (April 14, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1927282586
ISBN-13: 978-1927282588
Amazon: Out Of Retirement
Amazon Kindle: Out Of Retirement

Melanie Stokes was a doctor—a very good one, or so she hoped. She was calm and cool under pressure, and very little fazed her. Until… Caitlin Joseph ran a small retirement home for older women in need. The fact that everyone in the house was gay was a coincidence, although it did cut down the number of women agreeing to live there. Mel took up an offer to do some relief work for a local community center when their regular doctor was away on holidays. As soon as she arrived at the home she knew something was different about the place. Was it the little old lady chasing the paper boy down the street or the sign saying “Dykes Retirement Home”? But there was something about the place that also appealed to her. Sure, Caitlin was cute as a button, but it was more the fact that she took very good care of her charges, despite their rather bizarre behavior. The older women seized the opportunity to introduce a woman into Caitlin’s lonely life, using any means possible to keep Mel coming back. Their plans were boosted by the introduction of another woman into the house, who set hearts a fluttering and blood pressure rising. Now if she was a lesbian it would have been perfect…

Alonso Duralde & Dave White

Alonso Duralde (born May 18, 1967 in East Point, Georgia) is an American writer and film critic. Duralde lives in West Hollywood, California with his husband, David White. Duralde and White co-host the Linoleum Knife podcast, which began in late 2010. When White and his partner moved from Texas to California in 1999, he sent a number of his friends an email to update them about what was happening. Many of White's friends forwarded the entertaining emails on to other people, and the emails grew into a blog. (P: Jere Keys from San Francisco, USA. "Advocate" arts and entertainment editor Alonso Duralde moderates a panel with the creators of "The Night Listener" at the Queer Lounge during the Sundance Film Festival, 2006)

Duralde was the artistic director at the USA Film Festival/Dallas for five years. He was also the former arts and entertainment editor at the national gay and lesbian magazine The Advocate. In 2007, he became the film critic for MSNBC.com, and in 2009, his reviews began appearing regularly on The Rotten Tomatoes Show.

Duralde is a member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. His writing has appeared in The Village Voice, Movieline, and Detour.

In July 2011, he became the film critic for The Wrap, which also syndicates his reviews to the Reuters wire. He also appears on the TYT Network program What the Flick?!

In January 2010, he was a contestant on Jeopardy!

In November 2005, Duralde's first book, 101 Must-See Movies for Gay Men, was published.


Alonso Duralde (born May 18, 1967) is an American writer and film critic. Duralde lives in West Hollywood, California with his husband, David White. Duralde and White co-host the Linoleum Knife podcast, which began in late 2010. When White and his partner moved from Texas to California in 1999, he sent a number of his friends an email to update them about what was happening. Many of White's friends forwarded the entertaining emails on to other people, and the emails grew into a blog.

( Read more... )

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alonso_Duralde

Dave White (born June 7, 1964 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire) is an American writer, music critic, and film critic.

White is a prolific freelance writer. His reviews, interviews, and critical analysis of films, music, and pop culture has been featured in The Village Voice, Instinct, The Advocate, Movies.com, Glue, and Frontiers, among others. His writing stint as a music critic for Instinct began as a result of a letter to the editor about their existing coverage of music.

White attended Texas Tech University, graduating in 1982.

White was also film critic for the online website IFILM and writes film reviews for the website Movies.com. He also does work for MSNBC.com, including coverage of the 2006 and 2009 Academy Awards.

White, who is openly gay, lives in West Hollywood, California with his husband, Alonso Duralde, a writer, film critic, and the former arts editor of The Advocate. White and Duralde co-host the Linoleum Knife podcast, which began airing in late 2010.

When White and his partner moved from Texas to California in 1999, he sent a number of his friends an email to update them about what was happening. Many of White's friends forwarded the entertaining emails on to other people, and the emails grew into a blog.

In 2006, White's blog from that year was published as a book entitled Exile in Guyville: How a Punk Rock Redneck Faggot Texan Moved To West Hollywood and Refused To Be Shiny and Happy. White has since performed many readings across the Pacific Coast, including locations such as Sacramento, Long Beach, Hollywood, and San Francisco.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_White_(writer_born_1964)

( Further Readings )

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

Antonio Douthit & Kirven Boyd

Alvin Ailey dancers Antonio Douthit and Kirven Boyd married just before DOMA was deliberated by Supreme Court, on June 7, 2013. (P: Antonio and Kirven with Ailey stage manager and baker of the wedding cake, Kristin Colvin Young. [Photo Credit: Ellyxandria Ferguson])

“We had been talking about marriage for a while, and we knew years ago that we would be together forever, but about six months ago we just decided to go ahead and get married,” said Kirven, who has been bonded to Antonio since 2005. “We don’t have a cute little engagement story, or anything. There was no bended-knee proposal, or doves released, or any of that. Next time someone asks me, I might make up a story though.”

Kirven grew up in Boston surrounded by a large and loving extended family that embraced him when he came out at as a gay man and decided to pursue a career in dance.

“My mom has always been supportive,” said Kirven (born 1985). “I don’t think anyone was exactly shocked when I came out. Before I came out, my dad would express a dislike towards homosexuals, but now he really tries to understand me and he gets that I’m just trying to make something of myself. Being gay is not a bad thing. We’re born this way. As long as you’re a productive human being, that’s all that really matters.”


Antonio Douthit and Kirven Boyd marry. [Photo Credit: Ellyxandria Ferguson]
Alvin Ailey dancers Antonio Douthit and Kirven Boyd married just before DOMA was deliberated by Supreme Court, on June 7, 2013. “We had been talking about marriage for a while, and we knew years ago that we would be together forever, but about six months ago we just decided to go ahead and get married,” said Kirven, who has been bonded to Antonio since 2005. “We don’t have a cute little engagement story, or anything. There was no bended-knee proposal, or doves released, or any of that. Next time someone asks me, I might make up a story though.”

( Read more... )

Source: http://thegrio.com/2013/06/25/role-models-for-love-alvin-ailey-dancers-antonio-douthit-and-kirven-boyd-marry-as-doma-is-deliberated-on/2/#s:db2

Edward Field & Neil Derrick

Edward Field (born June 7, 1924) is an American poet and author.

Field was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Lynbrook, Long Island, New York, where he played cello in the Field Family Trio, which had a weekly radio program on WGBB Freeport. He served in World War II in the 8th Air Force as a navigator in heavy bombers, and flew 25 missions over Germany.

He began writing poetry during World War II, after a Red Cross worker handed him an anthology of poetry.

"In 1959, I was working in the typing pool of an advertising agency, and the supervisor assigned the typewriter next to me to a new temp, a terrific-looking young man from California named Neil Derrick. It was a case of immediate attraction between WASP and Jew. We started a non-stop conversation that led the supervisor to switch him to another typewriter rows away from me. But we were soon going out together and in a few weeks I moved into his cold-water flat on West 47th Street in Hell's Kitchen. Neil was several years younger than me, and, though he had always kept a journal, he now he started writing fiction. After our ad agency jobs ended, Neil landed a permanent half-time job at the front desk of the Museum of Modern Art, which allowed him to do his writing while I settled into a long-term temporary job at a writing school in Rockefeller Center." (Picture: Neil Derrick)

In 1963 his book, Stand Up, Friend, With Me, was awarded the prestigious Lamont Poetry Prize and was published. In 1992, he received a Lambda Award for Counting Myself Lucky, Selected Poems 1963-1992.


Edward Field is an American poet and author. He and his partner Neil Derrick, long-time residents of Greenwich Village, have written a best-selling historical novel about the Village, The Villagers. Field has lived upstairs the Westbeth art gallery, 55 Bethune Street, since 1972. He and Derrick, together since 1959 — “with a two-year hiatus when we broke up, and then we straightened out our heads” — are a familiar sight in Greenwich Village, walking together, Neil’s hand on Edward’s shoulder.

( Read more... )

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Field_(poet)

Stand Up Friend With Me or Variety Photoplays or simply go for his Collected Poems. Field has been overshadowed by James Merrill and John Ashberry but he’s the one who’s going to endure. All of his poems are inventive, with his unique and original voice, while being well-mannered, sly, sexy, funny, sad and at all times amazingly smart. Yes, this is poetry for people who don’t read poetry. --Felice Picano

( Edward Field, 1987, 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
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

Ken Blackwell & Rob Rosen

Rob Rosen (born June 7) is a noted novelist, short story writer, anthologist, and editor.

He has twice been nominated for a Lambda Literary Award and was the winner of the 2010 TLA Gaybie for Best Gay Fiction, the winner of the 2012 BEARy Award, and The Romance Studio’s 2012 CAPA Award finalist. His books include such favorites as Divas Las Vegas, Queerwolf, and Vamp.

Ken Blackwell is a seasoned photographer. More than a dozen years ago, the two met on a street corner, after many months of furtive glances in downtown San Francisco, where they both worked at the time. They met on a Monday in 2000, had their first date on a Thursday, and have been together ever since, marrying as soon as it was legal in California in 2008. “I'm a native New Yorker, transplanted to the South, who landed out West. I live with my incredible husband, Kenny, who I love more than anything in the world. I’ve been published in over 200 anthologies, and, thus far, have seven novels and four anthologies I’ve edited to my credit.”


Rob Rosen is a noted novelist, short story writer, anthologist, and editor. He has twice been nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. Ken Blackwell is a seasoned photographer. More than a dozen years ago, the two met on a street corner, after many months of furtive glances in downtown San Francisco, where they both worked at the time. They met on a Monday, had their first date on a Thursday, and have been together ever since, marrying as soon as it was legal in California in 2008.

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 (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

Maureen Brady (born June 7, 1943)

Though Maureen Brady (born June 7, 1943) wrote the humor column of her junior high school newspaper, she didn't actually comprehend that she was a writer until after she had moved to New York City in her twenties, where she began taking writing workshops at The New School and then fell headlong into the consciousness raising groups of the early 1970's.

She published her first novel, Give Me Your Good Ear, in 1979, and sold it to The Women's Press in England in 1981. Her novel, Folly, was excerpted in Southern Exposure, received wide critical acclaim, and was nominated by Adrienne Rich for an ALA Gay Book Award. She published a collection of short stories, The Question She Put to Herself, in 1987, then turned to writing nonfiction in the '90's, publishing Daybreak: Meditations for Women Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Midlife: Meditations for Women.

Her recent work has appeared in Bellevue Literary Review; Just Like A Girl; Cabbage and Bones: Irish American Women's Fiction, Mom, In the Family, and Intersections: An Anthology of Banff Writers. Brady's essays and stories have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and were finalists for the Katherine Anne Porter Fiction Prize and the Nelsen Algren Short Story contest.

( Read more... )

Source: http://www.maureenbradyny.com/bio.htm

( Further Readings )

More Particular Voices at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Particular Voices

Robert Dover & Robert Ross

Robert Jeffrey Dover (born June 7, 1956) is an American equestrian who has had international success in the sport of dressage. He is openly gay, and his partner is fellow rider Robert Ross. In 2009, to the question "What do you consider your greatest achievement?" Dover simply replied: "My 21-year relationship with Robert Ross."

"I can think of no greater hero in my life than my life-partner of 20 years, Robert Ross. It’s not just because I know exactly what he’s had to deal with for the past two decades of being my beloved. Yes, the rumours that I am slightly high maintenance just might be true, but it is really everything else about Robert’s life that puts him in a class of his own."

"Though he had left high school earlier in order to earn enough to get by, Robert passed his GED, and received his diploma at the age of 16. Many people would have gotten into trouble in his position, but Robert was in love with horses and, at the age of 22 had saved up enough money to fly out to New Jersey to train with the legendary George Morris. As fate would have it, I was also keeping my horses at George’s Hunterdon Farm and for me it was love at first sight.
OK, so maybe a little more lust than love at first sight, but I definitely knew Robert was very special and, after he left back for LA, I couldn’t get him out of my mind.
We stayed in touch and went on our first official date in the winter of 1989, and have been together ever since. And the last 20 years of being with Robert has truly been the most incredible I could ever have conceived."

Riding from the age of 13, Dover began specializing in dressage at age 19 and competed in his first Olympics in 1984. He competed in every summer Games between 1984 and 2004, winning four team bronze medals. He also took a team bronze at the 1994 World Equestrian Games. Dover is the most honored dressage rider in the United States, and has been inducted to the United States Dressage Federation Hall of Fame. Outside of competition, Dover founded the Equestrian Aid Foundation in 1996 to assist others in the equestrian world, and hosted a TV show that searched for the next dressage star. From late 2009 to early 2011, Dover served as the Technical/Coach Advisor for the Canadian national dressage team.


Robert Ross and Robert Dover
Robert Dover is an American equestrian who has had international success in the sport of dressage. His partner is fellow rider Robert Ross. In 2009, to the question "What do you consider your greatest achievement?" Dover simply replied: "My 21-year relationship with Robert Ross. I can think of no greater hero in my life than my life-partner. It’s not just because I know exactly what he’s had to deal with for the past two decades of being my beloved. Yes, the rumours that I am slightly high maintenance just might be true, but it is really everything else about Robert’s life that puts him in a class of his own."

( Read more... )

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Dover_(equestrian)

( Further Readings )

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

Euro Pride Con: Andrew Grey

Starting from June 1, 2015, I will daily feature authors attending the three conventions I will join, Euro Pride in Munich (July), UK Meet in Bristol (September) and GRL in San Diego (October).

For the Euro Pride in Munich, July 11-12, 2015, today author is Andrew Grey (Andrew Grey will also attend the GRL in San Diego): Andrew grew up in western Michigan with a father who loved to tell stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then he has lived throughout the country and traveled throughout the world. He has a master's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and works in information systems for a large corporation. Andrew's hobbies include collecting antiques, gardening, and leaving his dirty dishes anywhere but in the sink (particularly when writing) He considers himself blessed with an accepting family, fantastic friends, and the world's most supportive and loving partner. Andrew currently lives in beautiful, historic Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Further Readings:

Fire and Water (Carlisle Cops Book 1) by Andrew Grey
Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (December 15, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1632163586
ISBN-13: 978-1632163585
Amazon: Fire and Water (Carlisle Cops Book 1)
Amazon Kindle: Fire and Water (Carlisle Cops Book 1)

Officer Red Markham knows about the ugly side of life after a car accident left him scarred and his parents dead. His job policing the streets of Carlisle, PA, only adds to the ugliness, and lately, drug overdoses have been on the rise. One afternoon, Red is dispatched to the local Y for a drowning accident involving a child. Arriving on site, he finds the boy rescued by lifeguard Terry Baumgartner. Of course, Red isn’t surprised when gorgeous Terry won’t give him and his ugly mug the time of day.

Overhearing one of the officer’s comments about him being shallow opens Terry’s eyes. Maybe he isn’t as kindhearted as he always thought. His friend Julie suggests he help those less fortunate by delivering food to the elderly. On his route he meets outspoken Margie, a woman who says what’s on her mind. Turns out, she’s Officer Red’s aunt.

Red and Terry’s worlds collide as Red tries to track the source of the drugs and protect Terry from an ex-boyfriend who won’t take no for an answer. Together they might discover a chance for more than they expected—if they can see beyond what’s on the surface.

&

UK Meet: Anyta Sunday

Starting from June 1, 2015, I will daily feature authors attending the three conventions I will join, Euro Pride in Munich (July), UK Meet in Bristol (September) and GRL in San Diego (October).

For the UK Meet in Bristol, September 11-13, 2015, today author is Anyta Sunday (Anyta Sunday will also attend the Euro Pride Con in Munich): Anyta Sunday is a New Zealander, who followed her heart (and now husband) to Germany, where she lived for five years. Two cats, and a monkey-of-a-child later, she made the move to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, where she is currently working as both Mama and writer.

Further Readings:

rock by Anyta Sunday
Paperback: 250 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; First Edition edition (September 30, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1502542072
ISBN-13: 978-1502542076
Amazon: rock
Amazon Kindle: rock

Igneous. When Cooper’s parents divorce, he finds himself landed in Week About—one week with his mum and one week with his dad. Only, it’s not just his dad he has to live with. There’s Lila, too: The other woman, the one who stole the rock-solid foundation of his life. And then . . . There’s Jace. Lila’s son. Lila’s smug, regurgitated-fish-scale-blue eyed son. All Cooper wants is to have his family back the way it once was, but there’s something about this boy that promises things will never be the same again. Sedimentary. Resisting the realities of his new life, Cooper and Jace get off to a rocky start. But rocky start or not, after hundreds of shared memories together, they forge something new. A close . . . friendship. Because friendship is all they can have. Although it’s not like they are real brothers. . . Metamorphic. But how does that friendship evolve under the pressures of life? Under pressures of the heart?

&

GRL: Cate Ashwood

Starting from June 1, 2015, I will daily feature authors attending the three conventions I will join, Euro Pride in Munich (July), UK Meet in Bristol (September) and GRL in San Diego (October).

For the GRL in San Diego, October 15-18, 2015, today author is Cate Ashwood: Cate Ashwood wrote her very first story in a hot pink binder when she was in the second grade and found her passion for writing. Her first successful foray into romance writing came five years later when she wrote her best friend, who was experiencing a case of unrequited love, her own happily ever after.

Cate’s life has taken a number of different and adventurous roads. She now lives a stone’s throw from the ocean, just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband, son, and two cats. Her life is filled with family and friends, travel, and, of course, books.

Further Readings:

The Storm Before the Calm by Cate Ashwood
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press; 1 edition (June 5, 2015)
Amazon Kindle: The Storm Before the Calm

Charlie has one passion in life: dancing. It’s his salvation when it feels like the world is swallowing him whole. When his mom secretly secures him a spot in the summer intensive at the Free Rein Dance Company in New York, he is thrilled. He knows that once the summer ends, he'll have to return to Beacon to get a job and help support his family, but for those two months, he can spread his wings.

In New York he meets Max, a junior instructor who is everything Charlie wishes he could be. Bold and self-assured, Max radiates pride in who he is. As they spend time together, Max shows Charlie what life can be like past the walls of his closed-minded home town. But Charlie doesn’t know if he’s ready to show the world who he truly is when standing in the spotlight is the last thing he wants.