Laura Antoniou (born August 4)

Laura Antoniou is the author of the well known Marketplace series of erotic novels. The Marketplace series describes "an elite and secretive world organization,dedicated to the auctioning and overseeing of the world's finest lifestyle slaves... a world so vivid in sequel after sequel, it takes on a reality of its own, one that's visually hard to let go of once the reader has put down the book." (Libido Magazine). Laura is finishing book Six in the series, "The Inheritor," which will be published in 2015. She has also published a series of short stories based in the Marketplace, entitled "Scenes From The Marketplace," and edited a fan fiction collection, entitled "No Safewords."

In addition to the Marketplace series, Laura is the author of "The Killer Wore Leather," a comedy murder mystery that takes place at a BDSM convention. The book is nominated for the 2013 Lambda Literary Award, and won the 2013 Rainbow Book Awards.

Laura also edited the groundbreaking "Leatherwomen" anthologies, and several other collections of fiction and non-fiction. She will be editing the upcoming "Best Lesbian Erotica," to be published in late 2014. Her work has been translated into Spanish, German, Hebrew, Japanese and Korean.

The Killer Wore Leather won a 2013 Rainbow Award as Best LGBT General Fiction and Best LGBT Novel.

Further Readings:

The Killer Wore Leather: A Mystery by Laura Antoniou
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Cleis Press (April 9, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 157344930X
ISBN-13: 978-1573449304
Amazon: The Killer Wore Leather: A Mystery
Amazon Kindle: The Killer Wore Leather: A Mystery

Mr. Global Leather has been murdered!

In the Grand Sterling Hotel of Midtown Manhattan, home of the huge annual leather/BDSM/fetish ball and contest, Mr. & Ms. Global Leather, last year's male winner lies dead on the floor of his suite, wearing only very frilly, bright yellow panties. Cormac "Mack" Steel made a lot of enemies in his year wearing the studded leather sash, not the least being his co-winner Mistress Ravenfyre. But she is not alone – there are over three thousand attendees at this year's fetish-festooned event from all over the world, some of whom might have had some very personal issues with the corpse.

Enter Detective Rebecca Feldblum of the Midtown East Precinct. Assigned to this doozy of a case because, as one of NYC's only out lesbian detectives, her Lieutenant seems to believe these are "her people." Shocked, amazed and alternately puzzled and amused, Detective Feldblum must navigate a world of doms and subs, masters and mistresses, pups and trainers, leather, latex and lingerie, and discover who murdered the late Mack Steel – and hopefully do it before the weekend is over and everyone goes home. In the process, she will discover more about the sexual underworld than she ever really wanted to know, and more about her own past than she could have ever imagined.

More Rainbow Awards at my website: www.elisarolle.com/, Rainbow Awards/2013

Esther Roper & Eva Gore-Booth

Eva Selina Laura Gore-Booth (22 May 1870 – 30 June 1926) was an Irish poet and dramatist, and a committed suffragist, social worker and labour activist. She was born at Lissadell House, County Sligo, the younger sister of Constance Gore-Booth, later known as the Countess Markievicz.

Both she and Constance, who later became a prominent Irish revolutionary, reacted against their privileged background and devoted themselves to helping the poor and disadvantaged. In 1895, Eva became seriously ill with threatened tuberculosis. In the following year, while convalescing in Italy, she met and fell in love with Esther Roper at the villa of Scottish writer George MacDonald. Esther Roper was the daughter of Edward Roper, a factory hand who later became a Missionary, and Annie Roper the daughter of Irish immigrants. Esther identified as half Irish. By 1896 Esther had been secretary of the North of England Society for Women's Suffrage for four years.

Eva returned briefly to her home at Lissadell and established a Sligo branch of the Irish Women's Suffrage and Local Government Association. Within months Eva rejected her privileged lifestyle and went to live in Manchester with Esther. They later became joint secretaries of the Women's Textile and Other Workers Representation Committee.

In 1901 and 1902, Eva collected 67,000 signatures from textile workers, on a petition for women's suffrage.


Eva Gore-Booth was an Irish poet and dramatist, and a committed suffragist, social worker and labour activist. She was born at Lissadell House, County Sligo, the younger sister of Constance Gore-Booth, later known as the Countess Markievicz. In 1895 she met and fell in love with Esther Roper at the villa of Scottish writer George MacDonald. As she grew older, Eva was forced to give up active work but continued writing poetry. Esther took care of her and they were together at the end.


Eva Gore-Booth & Esther Roper were buried together under the same headstone in the Churchyard of St. John's Church of Hampstead, London, England

( Read more... )

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva_Gore-Booth

Esther Roper (4 August 1868 – 28 April 1938) was an English suffragist who was one of the first women to graduate and gain her BA at Owens College in Manchester. She was the daughter of a Manchester factory worker who later became a missionary in Africa.

She was a working woman and a skilled organiser, administrator and fund-raiser — at her best behind the scenes rather than in front. She worked for the women's department of Manchester University and, as the Secretary of the North of England Suffrage Society, she was a committee member of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, led by the veteran Millicent Fawcett, as well as Secretary for the Manchester National Society for Women's Suffrage.

In 1896 she met Irish poet Eva Gore-Booth when they both were staying at Scottish writer George Macdonald's guest house in Bordighera, Italy. They became lifelong lovers.

Together with Eva, she supported the cause of women in various fields such as flower sellers, circus performers, barmaids and coal mine pit girls.

They were prominent pacifists during the First World War, working in the International Committee of Women for Permanent Peace. Among other things they helped support the wives and children of imprisoned conscientious objectors. After the war they became members of the Committee for the Abolition of Capital Punishment and worked for prison reform.

( Read more... )

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Roper

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

Sapphire (born August 4, 1950)

Sapphire (born Ramona Lofton on August 4, 1950) is an American author and performance poet.

Ramona Lofton was born in Fort Ord, California, one of four children of an Army couple who relocated within the United States and abroad. After a disagreement concerning where the family would settle, her parents separated, with Lofton's mother "kind of abandoning them". Lofton dropped out of high school and moved to San Francisco, where she attained a GED and enrolled at the City College of San Francisco before dropping out to become a "hippie". In the mid 1970s Lofton attended the City College of New York and obtained a MFA degree at Brooklyn College. Lofton held various professions before starting her writing career, working as a performance artist as well as a teacher of reading and writing.

Lofton moved to New York City in 1977 and immersed herself in poetry. She also became a member of a gay organization named United Lesbians of Color for Change Inc. She wrote, performed and eventually published her poetry during the height of the Slam Poetry movement in New York. Lofton took the name "Sapphire" because of its one-time cultural association with the image of a "belligerent black woman," and also because she said she could more easily picture that name on a book cover than her birth name.

Sapphire self-published the collection of poems Meditations on the Rainbow in 1987. As Cheryl Clarke notes, Sapphire's 1994 book of poems, American Dreams is often erroneously referred to as her first book. One critic referred to it as "one of the strongest debut collections of the 1990s".

( Read more... )

 

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapphire_(author)

( Sapphire, 1988, by Robert Giard )

( Further Readings )

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

Ramon Maniapoto & Tim Barnett

Tim Barnett (born 4 August 1958) has been a member of the New Zealand Parliament for Christchurch Central since 1996, and was the Senior Government Whip. He currently resides with his partner since 2001, Ramon Maniapoto, an Air New Zealand service consultant, in Christchurch, Canterbury. They married at Waitetoko Marae at Lake Taupo in November 2007 during a relaxed ceremony attended by about 300 guests, including a who's who of the Labour Party. Barnett, who wore an ivory coloured shirt with black koru-shaped swirls on it, was escorted down the aisle to a smiling Maniapoto, dressed in a black suit and white shirt, by parliament's Speaker of the House Margaret Wilson.

In his previous Parliament term he was the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Associate Minister of Justice on human rights issues, the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, and the Minister for Social Development. He was also chair of the Justice and Electoral Select Committee.

Born in Rugby, UK, Barnett co-founded (with Ian MCKELLEN and Michael CASHMAN) the gay activist organization Stonewall UK. Five years after emigrating in 1991, he became the first openly gay man to be elected to New Zealand’s parliament.

He has been active in many community-based organizations in New Zealand, including Rainbow Labour, which he helped to found in 1997, and he is a supporter of UniQ, the Queer Students Association at New Zealand universities. He was the Parliamentary promoter of the Prostitution Law Reform Bill, a bill in his name that became law in 2003, and an outspoken supporter of the Civil Union Bill, which became law in 2004.


Tim Barnett has been a member of the New Zealand Parliament for Christchurch Central since 1996. He resides with his partner since 2001, Ramon Maniapoto, an Air New Zealand service consultant, in Christchurch, Canterbury. They married at Waitetoko Marae at Lake Taupo in November 2007 during a relaxed ceremony attended by about 300 guests, including a who's who of the Labour Party. Five years after emigrating in 1991, he became the first openly gay man to be elected to New Zealand’s parliament.

( Read more... )

Source: Queers in History by Keith Stern

( Further Readings )

UK Meet: Philip Ambrose

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 Philip Ambrose: Whatever his chronological age, Philip Ambrose has never really grown up, still has the enthusiasms of an eleven year old and is happiest in a world of imagination and invention. He has a passion for history (real or invented) especially historical mysteries from the “princes” in the Tower; Jack the Ripper, ancient Egypt, the Wars of the Roses and military history. Perhaps that interest relates to having been brought up in an English Cathedral City where each day he was surrounded by Roman and medieval buildings. Now retired, Philip Ambrose was for almost forty years in the public service but could not possibly comment on whether that affected his writing style! Writing for publication has always been an aspiration but was not a realistic prospect until work was behind him. Today he lives surrounded by books and loves meeting people, enjoying a good meal, conversation and reading as well as writing the sort of books he would like to read.

Further Readings:

Portal to Logres: The Chronicles of Logres: Volume One by Philip Ambrose
Publisher: Wilde City Press (April 12, 2015)
Amazon Kindle: Portal to Logres: The Chronicles of Logres: Volume One

Students Marcus and Toby are stranded in the parallel kingdom of Logres, a world of treachery and intrigue, sinister puppet masters pull the strings of ambitious noblemen. Who can they trust?

In the shadows, an ancient evil is rising again and the two lads seem fated to have to face it. Yet, how can they hope to defeat an enemy of such power?

As they explore their deepening love for each other and with only each other to trust, Marcus and Toby must find a path through an unfamiliar world, as the fate of the kingdom rests in their hands. Will their love draw them together or will their destiny drive them apart?

GRL: Pat Henshaw

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 Pat Henshaw. Moreover I'm hosting the Blog Tour for Redesigning Max.

"Hi! I’m originally from Nebraska and have lived all over the U. S., landing here in Northern California. Now retired, I’ve held a number of jobs including theatrical costuming for the Alley Theatre in Houston, public relations for radio and television at WETA in D. C., and teaching English composition at a junior college in California.

Redesigning Max, the second of the Foothills Pride novellas, revolves around the unlikely pair of interior designer and architect Fredi Zimmer and the CEO of an outdoors equipment store and wildlife guide Max Greene. When he hires Fredi to redesign and update his Sierra Mountain mountain cabin, Max finds his life and heart undergoing a makeover too.

Not everyone in the small Stone Acres, California, community is as excited about Max and Fredi getting together as the guys are. Because Max’s been in the closet so long, he not only has to convince his friends that he’s gay but he also has to convince Fredi, who keeps getting mixed signals from him."

1) What are your ambitions for your writing career?

"I’m one of those lucky authors who’s already fulfilled her ambition for her writing career in a number of different ways. I’ve been a reviewer (books, movies, etc.) at the Houston Post and Houston Chronicle newspapers. I’ve also reviewed for Publishers Weekly and Booklist as well as All About Romance and The Romance Reviews. I’ve written a mystery book review column for the Washington Times newspaper, and written feature stories for a number of outlets including Gannett News Service. In other words, I’ve had a satisfying writing career for my entire adult life. Being an author is frosting on the cake. In the future, I hope Dreamspinner Press keeps publishing my books."

2) How many published books do you have? Can you tell us something about them?

"Redesigning Max is the second in the Foothills Pride novella series. My first book was What’s in a Name? It’s the story of Jimmy Patterson who is dumped by his boyfriend on Jimmy’s birthday bash at a gay bar. The owner of the bar, who’s been chatting up Jimmy for several months, is infuriated and takes Jimmy home when he’s abandoned at the bar. Jimmy enjoys the company of the bartender/owner, but doesn’t know what to call him since the bartender wears a name badge with a different name on it every night. Jokingly they make a seven-day wager after Jimmy falls in love with the bartender’s motorcycle: If Jimmy guesses the bartender’s real name, the bartender will teach him how to ride a bike. If he fails to guess the correct name, Jimmy owes the bartender a toe-curling kiss. And so the games begin."

3) Give us an insight into your main character. What does he do that is so special?

"Award-winning architect and interior designer, Fredi Zimmer, the viewpoint character, recently moved to Stone Acres, California, from the San Francisco Bay Area to be closer to his good friends, Jimmy and Felicity who are prominent in the first Foothills Pride novella. He works with recent Silicon Valley millionaires and multi-millionaires who are building vacation homes in the Sierra Foothills. He’s out-and-proud and is a clothes horse, dressing in the most avant guard fashions. He’s been all over the world, but likes the Sierras because they are close to what some people have called the Gay Capital of the World and because he’s also close to nature and his hobby of bird watching."

4) What are you working on at the moment? What’s it about?

"I’m currently writing the fourth in the Foothills Pride series, When Adam Fell, which revolves around renowned celebrity chef Adam de Leon, who appeared in the first two Foothills Pride novellas. In this book Adam is shocked when his high school boyfriend and first sous chef, Justin Fairbanks, returns after Adam kicked him out when Justin became addicted to drugs. Justin says he’s changed. But is Adam willing to give him a chance to prove it? And if he is, will Adam open his heart to Justin again?"

5) Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day?

"No. I just write. Some days it’s harder than others to get what needs to be written down on the page. Sometimes it all flows with minor editing needed. But occasionally the words need to be laid gently in each sentence, and that takes time. If I had a rigid number of words or pages, I’d set up myself for frustration."

Redesigning Max (Foothills Pride Stories 2) by Pat Henshaw
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press; 1 edition (July 29, 2015)
Amazon Kindle: Redesigning Max (Foothills Pride Stories 2)

Renowned interior designer Fredi Zimmer is surprised when outdoorsman Max Greene, owner of Greene's Hunting and Fishing, hires him to remodel his rustic cabin in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Fredi is an out and proud Metro male whose contact with the outdoors is from his car to the doorway of the million-dollar homes' he remodels, and Max is just too hunky gorgeous for words.
When Max starts coming on to Fredi, the designer can't imagine why. But he's game to put a little spice into Max's life, even if it's just in the colors and fixtures he'll use to turn Max's dilapidated rustic cabin into a showplace. Who can blame a guy for adding a little sensual pleasure as he retools Max's life visually?
Max, for his part, is grateful when Fredi takes him in hand, both metaphorically and literally. Coming out, he finds is the most exciting and wonderful time of his life, despite the conservative former friends who want to stop his slide into hell.

( Excerpt )

About the author: Pat Henshaw, author of the Foothills Pride series, was born in Nebraska but promptly left the cold and snow after college, living at various times in Texas, Colorado, Northern Virginia, and Northern California. Pat has visited Mexico, Canada, Europe, Nicaragua, Thailand, and Egypt, and regularly travels to Rome, Italy, and Eugene, Oregon, to see family.

Now retired, Pat has taught English composition at the junior college level; written book reviews for newspapers, magazines, and websites; helped students find information as a librarian; and promoted PBS television programs.

Pat has raised two incredible daughters who daily amaze everyone with their power and compassion. Pat’s supported by a husband who keeps her grounded in reality when she threatens to drift away writing fiction.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pat.henshaw.10
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6998437.Patois
Book website: http://whatsinanamenovella.blogspot.com
Website: http://patbooked.blogspot.com
E-mail: whatsinanamenovella@comcast.net
Tumblr: http://phenshaw.tumblr.com/
Twitter: @phenshaw
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25824113-redesigning-max?ac=1



Tour Dates & Stops:
29-Jul Bike Book Reviews, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Hearts on Fire
30-Jul Nephylim, Bayou Book Junkie
31-Jul Parker Williams
3-Aug Mikky's World of Books, Prism Book Alliance
4-Aug Velvet Panic, Elisa - My Reviews and Ramblings
5-Aug Happily Ever Chapter, Jessie G. Books
6-Aug Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
7-Aug Inked Rainbow Reads, MM Good Book Reviews
10-Aug Molly Lolly
11-Aug The Novel Approach, Divine Magazine

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