Kate McMurray (born July 3, 1980)

Kate is a nonfiction editor. Also, she is crafty (mostly knitting and sewing, but she also wields power tools), she plays the violin, and she dabbles in various other pursuits. She's maybe a tiny bit obsessed with baseball. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, with a presumptuous cat.

Across the East River Bridge won a 2012 Rainbow Award as Best Gay Paranormal/Horror. Playing Ball, co-authored with Shae Connor, Kerry Freeman & Marguerite Labbe, won a 2014 Rainbow Award as Best LGBT Anthology / Collection.

Further Readings:

Across the East River Bridge by Kate McMurray
Publisher: Loose Id LLC (October 10, 2011)
Amazon Kindle: Across the East River Bridge

When Finn’s boss sends him to a museum in Brooklyn, the last person he expects to see is his old rival, Troy. Although Finn and Troy have undeniable sexual chemistry, Finn still blames Troy for sending his career off the rails but Troy has research Finn needs. Troy also has an intriguing story; the museum he curates is haunted by the ghosts of two men who died under mysterious circumstances in 1878. Troy strikes a deal: he’ll help Finn if Finn helps him find out what happened to the men who died.

From diaries, police reports, and newspaper articles, Finn and Troy piece together the lives of the two dead men--and the romance that bloomed between them. As it becomes clear that the men were murdered, it also becomes clear that the ghosts are real and are capable of manipulating the dreams, thoughts, and actions of the living. When Finn and Troy start falling for each other, Finn worries that it’s all an illusion concocted by the ghosts to keep them working together to solve the mystery, but Troy is convinced the love between them is real. But how can he get rid of a couple of ghosts and prove it?

Playing Ball by Shae Connor, Kate McMurray, Kerry Freeman & Marguerite Labbe
Paperback: 270 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (September 25, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1627981756
ISBN-13: 978-1627981750
Amazon: Playing Ball
Amazon Kindle: Playing Ball

Baseball—America's favorite pastime—provides a field wide open for romance. A Home Field Advantage may not help when Toby must choose between the team he’s loved all his life and the man he could love for the rest of it. In 1927, Skip hides his sexuality to protect his career until he meets One Man to Remember. Ruben and Alan fell victim to a Wild Pitch, leaving them struggling with heartache and guilt, and now they've met again. And on One Last Road Trip, Jake retires and leaves baseball behind, hoping to reconnect with Mikko and get a second chance at love.

Home Field Advantage by Shae Connor
One Man to Remember by Kate McMurray
Wild Pitch by Marguerite Labbe
One Last Road Trip by Kerry Freeman

More Rainbow Awards at my website: www.elisarolle.com/, Rainbow Awards/2012 & 2014

Suki Fleet (born July 3)

Suki Fleet grew up on a boat and as a small child spent a lot of time travelling at sea with her family. She has always wanted to be a writer. As a kid she told ghost stories to scare people, but stories about romance were the ones that inspired her to sit down and write. She doesn't think she'll ever stop writing them.

Her novel This is Not a Love Story won Best Gay Debut in the 2014 Rainbow Awards, and was a finalist in the 2015 Lambda Awards.

This Is Not a Love Story won a 2014 Rainbow Award as Best Gay & Lesbian Young Adult and Best Gay Debut.

Further Readings:

This Is Not a Love Story by Suki Fleet
Paperback: 270 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (April 28, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1632160412
ISBN-13: 978-1632160416
Amazon: This Is Not a Love Story
Amazon Kindle: This Is Not a Love Story

When fifteen-year-old Romeo's mother leaves one day and doesn't return, he finds himself homeless and trying to survive on the streets. Mute and terrified, his silence makes him vulnerable, and one night he is beaten by a gang of other kids, only to be rescued by a boy who pledges to take care of him.

Julian is barely two years older than Romeo. A runaway from an abusive home, he has had to make some difficult choices and sells himself on the street to survive. Taking care of Romeo changes him, gives him a purpose in life, gives him hope, and he tries to be strong and keep his troubles with drugs behind him. But living as they do is slowly destroying him, and he begins to doubt he can be strong enough.

This is the story of their struggle to find a way off the streets and stay together at all costs. But when events threaten to tear them apart, it is Romeo who must find the strength within himself to help Julian (and not let their love story turn into a Shakespearean tragedy).

More Rainbow Awards at my website: elisarolle.com, Rainbow Awards/2014

Dennis McShane & Rich Gordon

Richard S. Gordon (born July 3, 1948) is an American politician from Menlo Park, California who currently serves in the California State Assembly. A Democrat, he formerly served for 13 years on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. Gordon is openly gay; his partner since 1987 is Dr. Dennis McShane. The couple were married on August 16, 2008 during the brief window of legal same-sex marriages in California that ended with the passage of Proposition 8 in November 2008. He is one of eight members of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus, which he chairs.

Gordon, a fourth generation Californian, was born and raised in San Mateo County before his family moved to Orange County whilst he was in his teens. He then attended the University of Southern California, working at Disneyland to fund his studies. He graduated from USC in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology.

On leaving USC, Gordon became a minister in the United Methodist Church, receiving a Masters of Divinity from Garrett Theological Seminary at Northwestern University in 1973. He returned to San Mateo County in 1976, working for the YMCA in Redwood City. He later worked for Youth and Family Assistance.

Gordon first ran for public office in 1992, seeking a seat on the San Mateo County Board of Education. He defeated an incumbent to take the seat and was re-elected in 1996.

When Ted Lempert was elected to the Assembly in 1996, a vacancy opened up on Board of Supervisors and Gordon ran for the seat. In the special election held on April 8, 1997, Gordon took 41% of the vote in a seven-candidate field and was elected. He was re-elected in 1998, 2002 and 2006.


California State Assembly 21st District Candidate Rich Gordon thanks his husband, Dennis McShane, for his support, while celebrating at his campaign party at the Lucie Stern Community Center on election night, June 8, 2010. Photo by Veronica Weber/Palo Alto Online.
Rich Gordon is an American politician from Menlo Park who currently serves in the California State Assembly. A Democrat, he formerly served for 13 years on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. His partner since 1987 is Dr. Dennis McShane. The couple were married on August 16, 2008 during the window of legal same-sex marriages in California that ended with the passage of Proposition 8 in November 2008. He is one of eight members of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus, which he chairs.

( Read more... )

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

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

Francesco Mastinu & Guido Spano

Since he was born, Francesco Mastinu (born February 12, 1980) has been living in Cagliari surrounded by the sun and the sea. He works in the field of social politics and he is an author and blogger. After writing a few short stories of various genre and homoerotic fiction, he released his debut novel “Eclissi (Eclipse)” (Lettere Animate Editore), gaining good appreciation from critics. In 2014 he released "Polvere (Powder)" (Runa Editrice), his second novel, and the short story collection "Concatenazioni (Concatenation)" (6Pollici Edizioni), all within the LGBT field.

Since 2011, he has been writing for the blog "Personaggi in cerca di editore (Characters in search of a publisher)" (www.jfmastinu.wordpress.com), where he talks about books, the publishing industry and rights for gay people; he also contributes on the same themes in a variety of national web networks.

Since July 3, 2001, he is the companion of Guido Spano (born October 21, 1964), with whom he shares his career, and the passion for reading and for cats.


Since he was born, Francesco Mastinu has been living in Cagliari surrounded by the sun and the sea. In 2014 he released "Polvere (Powder)", his second novel, and the short story collection "Concatenazioni (Concatenation)". Since 2011, he has been writing for the blog "Personaggi in cerca di editore (Characters in search of a publisher)" (www.jfmastinu.wordpress.com), where he talks about books, the publishing industry and rights for gay people. Since July 3, 2001, he is the companion of Guido Spano, with whom he shares his career, and the passion for reading and for cats.

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

Joey Manley & Joe Botts

Joey Manley (July 3, 1965–November 7, 2013) was an online publisher, known as the founder of the webcomics site Modern Tales, as well as numerous other web-specific entertainment properties (including the subscription webcomics sites Serializer, Girlamatic, and Graphic Smash, and the webcomics hosting service Webcomics Nation).

Starting in 2001, Manley hosted TalkAboutComics, which began as a podcast in which Manley interviewed webcomics artists; it later became a webcomics forum and blog. Manley co-hosted the "Diva Lea Show" podcast with Lea Hernandez starting in 2003.

He worked on the Webby-winning FreeSpeech.org, which he helped start in 1995. He was the author of one novel, The Death of Donna-May Dean, published by St. Martin's Press in 1991. At the time of his death he was serializing a new novel online called Snake-Boy Loves Sky Prince.

Manley died of pneumonia at age 48; survived by his long-time companion Joe Botts. On August 15, 2012, Manley wrote on his blog: "Joe Botts and I met twenty years ago today (more or less — we know it was in August, and have decided to celebrate in the middle of the month), in Birmingham, Alabama’s Rushton Park, which was a gay hangout back then. Maybe it still is. I dunno. Most of the results for “gay Rushton Park” on Google point back to this very blog. Maybe I am the last one who remembers those days.


Joey Manley was an online publisher, known as the founder of the webcomics site Modern Tales. He died of pneumonia at age 48; survived by his long-time companion Joe Botts. On August 15, 2012, Manley wrote on his blog: "Joe Botts and I met twenty years ago today (more or less)... Love is not about refusing to fight one another. Love is not about uncontrollable passion, either. We started fighting, and we stopped making out at every opportunity, not too long into our time together. But we will never stop loving one another. I can’t imagine a life without him. I can’t wait until we are even older together than we already are. That’s gonna be great."


Joey Manley by Robert Giard

American photographer Robert Giard is renowned for his portraits of American poets and writers; his particular focus was on gay and lesbian writers. Some of his photographs of the American gay and lesbian literary community appear in his groundbreaking book Particular Voices: Portraits of Gay and Lesbian Writers, published by MIT Press in 1997. Giard’s stated mission was to define the literary history and cultural identity of gays and lesbians for the mainstream of American society, which perceived them as disparate, marginal individuals possessing neither. In all, he photographed more than 600 writers. (http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/digitallibrary/giard.html)

( Read more... )

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

( Further Readings )

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

Euro Pride Con: Rhys Christopher Ethan

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 Rhys Christopher Ethan (Rhys Christopher Ethan will also attend UK Meet in Bristol): Rhys Christopher Ethan is by no means a scientist, but he is an architect of his own fantasy worlds; an illustrator of emotional and multi-dimensional characters; a doctor of creativity and inspiration and a chemist of genres; mixing two or more, to find the perfect fit for his creations. He lives in a small, dusty lab he calls Home in London and works hard to bring his experiments out into the world. His companions (for now) are his pet-Laptop and his coffee-Booster and a bunch of notes, digitized and paper-wise.

Further Readings:

Snow White & the Seven Angels (Queerky Tales 1) by Rhys Christopher Ethan
Series: Queerky Tales
Paperback: 54 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; First Edition edition (March 31, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1511480602
ISBN-13: 978-1511480604
Amazon: Snow White & the Seven Angels (Queerky Tales 1)
Amazon Kindle: Snow White & the Seven Angels (Queerky Tales 1)

White has a secret. One he has shared with his family to no avail. When he meets the Prince of his dreams, he decides he can no longer live a lie, but in order to do so, he will have to face his worst nightmares. Queerky Tales is a series of classic fairy tales retold with LGBT characters. Snow White & the Seven Angels is about fighting for your happy-ever-after, whatever shape it comes in. For children and adults alike

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GRL: LE Franks

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 LE Franks: At seventeen, LE Franks walked away from writing for love. Jumping head first into real life and travelling the world seemed to be fair compensation until the characters in her head demanded their turn. Now, living in the San Francisco Bay Area, surrounded by inspiration everywhere, LE is finally taking off the filters and giving the stories free rein. These days, LE can be found frequently writing about sexy men who desperately need a happily ever.

LE writes M/M Romance in a unique mix of humor and drama with enough suspense to produce fast-paced stories filled with emotion and passion and featuring characters that are quirky and complicated. Don’t expect the typical, rugged hero or sophisticated businessman with the world at their feet; LE’s men are living in the margins— they’re in the middle of their journey, doing the best they can while searching for a connection to something bigger than themselves. With a little effort, and a lot of luck, they may actually find their happily-ever-afters.

When not writing, LE wrangles an odd assortment of jobs (six— both paid and volunteer), houseguests (including pro baseball players), family, and friends. Manifesting an odd combination of contradictory talents and traits, LE is tragically honest and personally deceptive and makes the best piecrust— ever.

Further Readings:

My Marine by LE Franks and Sara York
Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing (June 23, 2015)
Amazon Kindle: My Marine

For a man who made his career in intelligence, falling for an Afghani national in the middle of a war zone wasn’t the smartest thing a Marine could do.

Marine Captain Sean Kelley loves his country and the men he serves with, but when he meets Akim, he’s tempted to throw it all away for the mysterious man. He knows better than to chase after a local, but repeat encounters culminating in a moment of passion leave him reeling—he’ll do almost anything to figure out how they can be together.

Akim Bijan has a secret of his own—one large enough to get more than just himself killed if it’s revealed. But from the moment he first lays eyes on the handsome Marine, he’s tempted to do just that rather than hide his growing attraction to the man. Being a translator allows him access to the base and he finds Sean alone one night. They take things farther than he ever intended. If only he could tell Sean everything, but his lips are sealed.

When tragedy strikes, Akim is afraid he’s lost Sean for good and he’s forced to make a decision that will change both their lives. Will love win—or will Sean and Akim be separated forever?

UK Meet & Blog Tour: Devil's Food At Dusk by MJ O'Shea & Anna Martin

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 Anna Martin (Anna Martin will also attend Euro Pride Con in Munich). Moreover I'm hosting the Blog Tour for Devil's Food At Dusk:

Devil’s Food At Dusk by M.J. O’Shea and Anna Martin
Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (June 22, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1634762851
ISBN-13: 978-1634762854
Amazon: Devil’s Food At Dusk
Amazon Kindle: Devil’s Food At Dusk

Joe Fitzgerald hates New Orleans, but he’s stuck there until he convinces one stubborn local family to sell Lumière, the crumbling French Quarter restaurant they’ve owned for generations. The place is a wreck, and it’s hemorrhaging money. Joe figures he's their best chance for survival.
Remy Babineaux despises Pineapple Joe’s and everything the chain stands for. He refuses to let Lumière become some tacky corporate tourist trap. Theme drinks and plastic beads in his restaurant? Yeah, right. Over his dead, rotting corpse. The last thing Remy wants is a meeting with the restaurant chain’s representative, but his father agreed to at least listen to the proposal. There’s nothing Remy can do about it.
Remy figures an anonymous hookup is exactly what he needs to decompress. When he ends up across the table from his fling the next morning, real sparks fly. Joe refuses to give up his prime location; Remy refuses to give up his legacy. It’s war, and they’re both determined to win at any cost. Neither of them counted on falling in love.

( Exclusive Excerpt )

About the Author: "I’m Mj O’Shea :) I grew up, and still live, in sunny Washington state and while I love to visit other places, I can’t imagine calling anywhere else home.
I spent my childhood writing stories. Sometime in my early teens, the stories turned to romance. Most of those were about me, my friends, and our favorite movie and pop stars. Hopefully, I’ve come a long way since then.
When I’m not writing, I love to play the piano, dance, cook, paint pictures, and of course read! I like sparkly girly girl things, own at least twenty different colored headbands, and I have two little dogs who sit with me when I write. Sometimes they comes up with ideas for me too…when they’re not busy napping.
Website: http://mjoshea.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mj.oshea.5
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mjosheaseattle
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3512511.M_J_O_Shea
Instagram: http://instagram.com/mjosheaseattle
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mjoshea5
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/M.J.-OShea/e/B003XERT7M/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1427433101&sr=8-2-ent

Anna Martin is from a picturesque seaside village in the south west of England. After spending most of her childhood making up stories, she studied English Literature at university before attempting to turn her hand as a professional writer.
Apart from being physically dependent on her laptop, she is enthusiastic about writing and producing local grassroots theatre (especially at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where she can be found every summer), travelling, learning to play the ukulele, and Ben & Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk.
Although her most recent work is in the LGBT romance genre, in the past Anna has worked on a variety of different projects including short stories, drabbles, flash fiction, fan fiction, plays for both children and adults, and poetry. She has written novels in the Teen or Young Adult genre, Romance and Fantasy novels.
Anna is, by her own admission, almost unhealthily obsessed with books. The library she has amassed is both large and diverse; "My favourite books," she says, "are 'The Moonstone' by Wilkie Collins, 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee and 'Oryx and Crake' by Margaret Atwood." She also owns multiple copies of Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park books and re-reads the Harry Potter novels with almost startling regularity.
Website: http://www.annamartin-fiction.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annamartinfiction
Twitter: https://twitter.com/missannamartin
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5251288.Anna_Martin
Instagram: https://instagram.com/missannamartin/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/annamartinficti/

Tour Schedule:
June 22: Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, My Fiction Nook
June 23: Drops of Ink
June 24: Love Bytes Reviews
June 25: Wicked Faeries Tales & Reviews, Molly Lolly: Reader, Reviewer, Lover of Words
June 26: Because Two Men Are Better Than One
June 29: Diverse Reader, Sid Love Writes
June 30: Gay.Guy.Reading And Friends, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
July 1: Man2ManTastic, JP Barnaby
July 2: Bayou Book Junkie
July 3: Nessa’s Book Reviews, Elisa - My reviews and Ramblings
July 6: BFD Book Blog, Evelyn Shepherd
July 7: MM Good Book Reviews
July 8: Multitasking Mommas Book Reviews, Books N Pearls
July 9: Rainbow Gold Reviews, Foxylutely Books
July 10: A Celebration of Books, Prism Book Alliance

Giveaway:
Winner’s Prize: $20 Amazon Gift Card.
2 Runners up win: An e-copy from either MJ O’Shea’s or Anna Martin’s Backlist.
Rafflecopter Code --
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Rafflecopter Link -- http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0f7bf72032/?

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