Carina & Ursula Holl

Ursula Ulrika Holl (born 26 June 1982) is a German footballer. She plays for FCR 2001 Duisburg and the German national team as a goalkeeper. On 18 June 2010, Holl has married her partner Carina in Cologne, Germany. They live together in a same-sex union as recognised under German law.

Holl started her career at TSV Uengershausen, before joining FSV Frankfurt, where she made her Bundesliga debut. She moved to local rivals 1. FFC Frankfurt in 2000, where she played for three season, but only appeared sporadically. However, she celebrated several major titles at the club, including the Treble in the 2002–03 season when Frankfurt won the Bundesliga, the German Cup and UEFA Women's Cup.

She returned to FSV Frankfurt in 2003 in order to play regular first team football. After two seasons, Holl transferred back to 1. FFC Frankfurt, now as the team's first choice goalkeeper. During her second stint at FFC Frankfurt, she won a second UEFA Women's Cup in the 2005–06 season, as well as another league title and the 2007 German Cup. From 2007 to 2009, Holl played for SC 07 Bad Neuenahr, before joining Bundesliga side FCR 2001 Duisburg. At Duisburg she was the Bundesliga runner-up in the 2009–10 season and won the 2010 German Cup, her fourth national cup title in total. After the 2010–11 season she left Duisburg and signed a one year contract at Bundesliga side SG Essen-Schönebeck. (Picture: Ursula & Carina Holl)

At junior level, Holl won the UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship with the German team in 2000 and 2001. She was the first choice goalkeeper at both tournaments. Holl was Germany's third goalkeeper at the 2005 European Championship, winning her first international title without a single cap at senior level. She made her debut for the German national team almost two years later in March 2007 at the Algarve Cup against France. That year she also won the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup with Germany, again as the team's third choice goalkeeper.


Ursula Ulrika Holl (born 26 June 1982) is a German footballer. She plays for FCR 2001 Duisburg and the German national team as a goalkeeper. On 18 June 2010, Holl has married her partner Carina in Cologne, Germany. They live together in a same-sex union as recognised under German law. After the retirement of Silke Rottenberg, Holl has been Germany's first reserve goalkeeper to Nadine Angerer at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Holl has been called-up for the German 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup squad.

( Read more... )

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

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

Édouard Mayer & Rudolf Brazda

Rudolf Brazda (June 26, 1913 – August 3, 2011) was the last known concentration camp survivor deported by Nazi Germany on charges of homosexuality. Brazda spent nearly three years at the Buchenwald concentration camp, where his prisoner uniform was branded with the distinctive pink triangle that the Nazis used to mark men interned as homosexuals. After the liberation of Buchenwald, Brazda settled in Alsace, northeastern France, in May 1945 and lived there for the rest of his life.

Although other gay men who survived the Holocaust are still alive, they were not known to the Nazis as homosexuals and were not deported as pink triangle internees. At least two gay men who were interned as Jews, for instance, have spoken publicly of their experiences.

Brazda was born in Brossen (now part of Meuselwitz, Thuringia, Germany), the last of eight siblings, born to parents originating in Bohemia and who had emigrated to Saxony to earn a living (his father worked at the local brown coal mines). After World War I, he became a Czechoslovak citizen, owing to his parents' origins in that newly established country. His father, who was demobilised only in 1919, died in 1922 following a work accident.

Brazda grew up in Brossen, later in nearby Meuselwitz where he started training as a roofer, failing to get an apprenticeship as a sales assistant with a gentlemen's outfitter. In the early 1930s, prior to the Nazis' accession to power, he was able to live his sexuality openly, thanks to the climate of relative tolerance which prevailed in the last days of the Weimar Republic. In the summer of 1933, he met Werner, his first companion. Together they shared a sublease in the house of a Jehovah's Witness landlady, who was fully aware and tolerant of the bond existing between them. In the following two years, despite the Nazi accession to power and the subsequent reinforcement of Paragraph 175, they led a happy life, befriending other male and female homosexuals, and would often take trips locally, or further away, to visit gay meeting places, such as the "New York" Café in Leipzig.


Rudolf Brazda in a photo take at Mulhouse, late 1940, Private Collection
Rudolf Brazda was the last known concentration camp survivor deported by Nazi Germany on charges of homosexuality. Brazda spent nearly three years at the Buchenwald concentration camp. After the liberation Brazda settled in Alsace, in May 1945 and lived there for the rest of his life. In the early 1950s Brazda met Edouard "Edi" Mayer, who became his life companion. He tended to Edi for over 30 years after Edi was crippled by a severe work accident, until his death in 2003.


Édouard Mayer & Rudolf Brazda are buried together in the Cemetery of Mulhouse, France. After a remembrance service attended by approximately 40 people, Rudolf Brazda's body was cremated, and his ashes interred alongside those of his late partner Édouard Mayer.

( Read more... )

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

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

Libby Holman & Louisa d'Andelot Carpenter

Jeanne Eagels (June 26, 1890 – October 3, 1929) was an American actress on Broadway and in several motion pictures. She was a former Ziegfeld Follies Girl who went on to greater fame on Broadway and in the emerging medium of sound films. It has been reported she was at a time Libby Holman's lover, and she was friend with Mercedes de Acosta, Greta Garbo's lover, among the others.

She was posthumously considered for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her 1929 role in The Letter after dying suddenly that year at the age of 39. That nomination was the first posthumous Oscar consideration for any actor, male or female.

Jeanne Eagels was born in Kansas City, Missouri to Edward and Julia Sullivan Eagles (1865–1945) on June 26, 1890 of German and Irish descent. Her parents were married on April 26, 1886 in Platte City, Platte County, Missouri. Although many biographies state that her birth name was Amelia Jeanne Eagles, her actual birth name was Eugenia Eagles according to both the 1900 and 1910 United States Federal Censuses for Kansas City, Missouri. Her sister, Edna, also had a daughter named Eugenia. According to her obituary and census records, she was the second oldest child. Her siblings were Edna, George, Helen, Leo, and Paul.

Her father died on February 15, 1910 in Kansas City, leaving his 44-year-old widow with six children to raise. Eagels attended St. Joseph's Catholic School and Morris Public School. She quit school shortly after her First Communion to work as a cash girl in a department store.


Jeanne Eagels, 1921, in a fashion photo wearing a dress and cape by Paris couturier, Madeleine Chéruit
Jeanne Eagels was an American actress on Broadway and in several motion pictures.  She was posthumously considered for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her 1929 role in The Letter after dying suddenly that year at the age of 39. Her famous lesbian relationships included friend Mercedes de Acosta, an American poet, playwright, and novelist, and lover Libby Holman, an American torch singer and stage actress who also achieved notoriety for her complex and unconventional personal life. 

( Read more... )

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

Libby Holman (May 23, 1904 – June 18, 1971) was an American torch singer and stage actress who also achieved notoriety for her complex and unconventional personal life.

Elizabeth Lloyd Holzman was born May 23, 1904, in Cincinnati, Ohio to a Jewish lawyer and stockbroker, Alfred Holzman (August 20, 1867 - June 14, 1947) and his wife, Rachel Florence Workum Holzman (October 17, 1873 - April 22, 1966). Their other children were daughter Marion H. Holzman (January 25, 1901 - December 13, 1963) and son Alfred Paul Holzman (March 9, 1909 - April 19, 1992). In 1904, the wealthy family grew destitute after Holman's uncle Ross Holzman embezzled nearly $1 million of their stock brokerage business. At some point, Alfred changed the family name from Holzman to Holman. She graduated from Hughes High School on June 11, 1920, at the age of 16. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati on June 16, 1923, with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Libby Holman later subtracted two years from her age. insisting she was born in 1906. She gave the Social Security Administration 1906 as the year of her birth.

In the summer of 1924, Holman left for New York City, where she first lived at the Studio Club. Her first theater job in New York was in the road company of The Fool. Channing Pollock, the writer of The Fool, recognized Holman's talents immediately and advised her to pursue a theatrical career. She followed Pollock's advice and soon became a star. An early stage colleague who became a longtime close friend was future film star Clifton Webb, then a dancer. He gave her the nickname, "The Statue of Libby." Her Broadway theatre debut was in the play The Sapphire Ring in 1925 at the Selwyn Theatre, which closed after thirteen performances. She was billed as Elizabeth Holman. Her big break came while she was appearing with Clifton Webb and Fred Allen in the 1929 Broadway revue The Little Show, in which she first sang the blues number, "Moanin' Low" by Ralph Rainger), which earned her a dozen curtain calls on opening night, drew raves from the critics and became her signature song. Also in that show she sang the Kay Swift and Paul James song, "Can't We Be Friends?" The following year, Holman introduced the Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz standard "Something to Remember You By" in the show Three's a Crowd, which also starred Allen and Webb. Other Broadway appearances included The Garrick Gaieties (1925), Merry-Go-Round (1927), Rainbow (1928), Ned Wayburn's Gambols (1929), Revenge with Music (1934), You Never Know (1938, score by Cole Porter), and the self-produced one-woman revue Blues, Ballads and Sin-Songs (1954). (Picture: Louisa d'Andelot Carpenter)


Louisa Carpenter, new manager of Robin Hood Theatre, July 1941.
Libby Holman was an American torch singer and stage actress notorious for her unconventional personal life. Louisa D'Andelot Carpenter was a du Pont heiress, Jazz Age socialite, aviatrix, and bon vivant. Holman married Zachary Smith Reynolds, the heir to the R. J. Reynolds's tobacco company. When Reynolds was found dead and Holman framed for his murder, Carpenter paid the bail. Libby and Louisa raised their children and lived together and were openly accepted by their theater companions.

( Read more... )

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

Lillian Faderman notes that many women prominent in New York theater, such as Beatrice Lillie, Jeanne Eagels, Tallulah Bankhead, and Libby Holman, established public reputations as sexually adventurous women with both female and male partners. Their association with respectable Broadway theater gave them economic security as well as the social freedom to live their lives outside the cultural and sexual mainstream. --Bronski, Michael (2011-05-10). A Queer History of the United States (Revisioning American History) (Kindle Locations 2632-2635). Beacon Press. Kindle Edition.

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

Eric Rofes (August 31, 1954 - June 26, 2006)

Eric Rofes (August 31, 1954 — June 26, 2006) was a gay activist, feminist, educator, and author who wrote or edited 12 books.

Rofes grew up in Commack, New York and he graduated from Harvard University. He received a master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1995 and a doctorate in social and cultural studies in 1998.

He was appointed to the White House Conference on the Family in 1980. He became director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center in the 1980s.

In 1989 Rofes became executive director of the Shanti Project, a nonprofit AIDS service organization in San Francisco. He resigned in 1993, following an audit that questioned how the group had spent federal funds.

In 1998, while doing his PhD at UC Berkeley, Rofes wrote Dry Bones Breathe: Gay Men Creating Post-AIDS Identities and Cultures, in which he argued that the AIDS crisis had passed and gay men needed to free themselves from the sense of emergency and victimhood. A review in The Nation described Dry Bones Breathe as "perhaps the most important book about gay male culture and community of the past decade." However, the book has also been castigated for only limning the experiences of 'middle-class, urban, white, gay men' instead of being more societally inclusive.

( Read more... )

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

( Eric Rofes at The Center, 1988, by Robert Giard  )

( Further Readings )

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

Euro Pride Con: Lisa Henry

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 Lisa Henry (Lisa Henry will also attend GRL in San Diego): Lisa likes to tell stories, mostly with hot guys and happily ever afters.

Lisa lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn't know why, because she hates the heat, but she suspects she's too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.

She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly.

She shares her house with too many cats, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.

Further Readings:

One Perfect Night by Lisa Henry
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Amazon Kindle: One Perfect Night

Townsville, Australia, 1943.

Tanner is a captain in the US Army, stationed at a radio post on an island in the middle of nowhere.

Nick is a coastwatcher, a man whose voice Tanner has only heard before over the radio waves.

They meet in the middle of war, when nothing is certain but this: Tanner and Nick are owed one perfect night.

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GRL: Mary Calmes

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 Mary Calmes: Mary Calmes lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with her husband and two children and loves all the seasons except summer. She graduated from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, with a bachelor's degree in English literature. Due to the fact that it is English lit and not English grammar, do not ask her to point out a clause for you, as it will so not happen. She loves writing, becoming immersed in the process, and falling into the work. She can even tell you what her characters smell like. She loves buying books and going to conventions to meet her fans.

Further Readings:

Forging the Future (Change of Heart) by Mary Calmes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press; 1 edition (June 29, 2015)
Amazon Kindle: Forging the Future (Change of Heart)

A Change of Heart Novel

Jin Church is back where he started, alone, wandering, and uncertain of his path. It’s not by choice but by circumstance, as he remembers he’s a werepanther… but not much else. He knows one thing for sure—he needs to find the beautiful blond man who haunts his dreams.

Logan Church is trapped in a living hell. His mate is missing, his tribe is falling apart, and he’s estranged from the son he loves with all his heart. His world is unraveling without his mate by his side, and he has no one to blame but himself.

If Jin can regain his memory and Logan can overcome the threats to his leadership, then perhaps they can resume their lives. The question is: Is that what they want? Back to the same house, the same tribe, the same troubles? They can choose from various roads leading to their future… or they can forge their own path.

UK Meet & Book Blast: Helping Hand by Jay Northcote

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 Jay Northcote. Moreover I'm hosting the Book Blast for Helping Hand:

Helping Hand by Jay Northcote
Publisher: Jaybird Press (June 24, 2015)
Amazon Kindle: Helping Hand

Wanking with a mate isn’t gay—as long as you keep your hands to yourself.

Jez Fielding and James MacKenzie—Big Mac to his mates—are in their second year at uni. After partying too hard last year, they make a pact to rein themselves in. While their housemates are out drinking every weekend, Jez and Mac stay in to save cash and focus on their studies.

When Jez suggests watching some porn together, he isn’t expecting Mac to agree to it. One thing leads to another, and soon their arrangement becomes hands-on rather than hands-off. But falling for your straight friend can only end badly, unless there’s a chance he might feel the same.

( Excerpt from Helping Hand by Jay Northcote )

About the author: Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England, with her husband, two children, and two cats.
She comes from a family of writers, but she always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed her by. She spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content. One day, she decided to try and write a short story–just to see if she could–and found it rather addictive. She hasn’t stopped writing since.

Where to find the author:
www.jaynorthcote.com
Twitter
Facebook profile
Facebook Author Page
Jay’s books



Tour Dates & Stops: June 26, 2015
Parker Williams, BFD Book Blog, Bayou Book Junkie, Elisa - My Reviews and Ramblings, My Fiction Nook, Prism Book Alliance, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Inked Rainbow Reads, Havan Fellows, Cate Ashwood, Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, Charley Descoteaux, Chris McHart, Happily Ever Chapter, Boys on the Brink Reviews, Molly Lolly, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Nic Starr, Elin Gregory, Dawn’s Reading Nook, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, MM Good Book Reviews, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Hearts on Fire, 3 Chicks After Dark, Carly’s Book Reviews, Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews, Iyana Jenna, Divine Magazine, Mikky's World of Books, Foxylutely Book Reviews, Velvet Panic, The Hat Party, Andrew Q. Gordon

Rafflecopter Prize: $10 Amazon card + backlist book of choice
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2015 Rainbow Awards Submission: Here Without You by Mia Kerick

Here Without You (One Voice Book 2) by Mia Kerick
Gay Contemporary Romance
Paperback: 216 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (February 16, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1632165589
ISBN-13: 978-1632165589
Amazon: Here Without You (One Voice Book 2)
Amazon Kindle: Here Without You (One Voice Book 2)

One Voice: Book Two

With all of his scratched and dented heart, Nate DeMarco wants to be two places at once, but he’s been forced to make an unbearable choice. Having barely survived high school, Nate and his boyfriends, Casey Minton and Zander Zane, are ready to move forward. Casey and Zander have left home to attend Boston City College. Nate remains in New Hampshire to protect his volatile younger sister from their increasingly violent alcoholic uncle. Nate suffers with anger, resentment, and loneliness as what he wants battles against what he feels he must do.

Separated, the young men fight to stay in contact. But they are faced with separate issues. Casey copes with residual fear from having been bullied in high school. Zander obsesses over the establishment of One Voice, the gay-straight alliance at Boston City College. And Nate fights for his sister’s survival. Meanwhile, the intensity of the boys’ relationship increases, both sexually and emotionally.

Nate’s effort to live two lives leads to tragedy, which threatens to blast their relationship apart before they can adjust to the changes in their lives. They must find their way back to a united path before it's too late.

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

2015 Rainbow Awards Submission: His Womanly Ways by K. Lynn

His Womanly Ways by K. Lynn
Transgender Erotic Romance
Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: Torquere Press (May 27, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1610409248
ISBN-13: 978-1610409247
Amazon: His Womanly Ways
Amazon Kindle: His Womanly Ways

Alex is a womanizer. He makes no excuses for it. Yes, he picks up women at the local bar, leaving them with just a memory of a good night and a good lay, but he hasn't had any complaints yet. That is, until he picks up the wrong woman. Not satisfied to be tossed aside as just another notch in Alex's bedpost, she curses him, wishing he "knew what it was like for a woman." And he's about to find out what she means, embarking on a genderswap journey that he can't stop. Alex starts slowly gaining secondary female characteristics. Waking up with his cock gone, replaced by a vagina, was bad enough. Then it gets worse, as his body becomes more like a woman than the man he used to be. Alex tries to hide the changes he's going through, for fear that someone will discover his secret, but keeping this quite literally "under wraps" might be impossible before the curse runs its course. With the help of his female best friend, Eve, Alex tries to deal with who he is becoming. He feels like he's lost his identity, his mind not matching the body he now has. But Eve sticks by him, and they become closer as Alex's changes progress. What started out as friendship may become something more before Alex's journey is over. Perhaps this curse was actually a blessing in disguise.

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

2015 Rainbow Awards Submission: Willem of the Tafel by Hans M. Hirschi

Willem of the Tafel by Hans M. Hirschi
Gay Young Adult
Paperback: 194 pages
Publisher: Beaten Track Publishing (May 28, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 191063543X
ISBN-13: 978-1910635438
Amazon: Willem of the Tafel
Amazon Kindle: Willem of the Tafel

The world we know is gone, destroyed by greed and ignorance. On a post-apocalyptic Earth, centuries into the future, few have survived the Great War. Some have taken refuge deep inside a mountain. One of them, Willem, is exiled to the surface... Alone and struggling to survive, Willem embarks on an epic journey, making a discovery that could once again alter the future of humanity. Willem of the Tafel is an epic tale of survival, second chances, hope and undying love.

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