Ellen Hart & Kathleen Kruger

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Ellen Hart is the award-winning mystery author of the Jane Lawless and Sophie Greenaway series. She was born in Minneapolis, MN in August 1949. A professional chef for 14 years, Hart's mysteries include culinary elements similar to those of Diane Mott Davidson. When Hart's best friend from college, Kathleen Kruger, divorced her husband in the late 1970s, she and her two daughters relocated to Minneapolis and moved into an apartment with Hart. It was the beginning of a wonderful family. Hart and Kruger have been devoted partners for decades. Hart has legally adopted Kruger's daughters, Shawna and Bethany, whom she describes, along with Shawna's husband, Tom, as "truly the light of our lives." Hart and Kruger also have two grandsons. On September 22, 2013, Hart wrote: "This is an announcement I thought I'd never get to make: After being together for 36 years, my partner, Kathy, and I are getting (legally) married in Minnesota on Sunday. Just family and a few friends, but lots of food and champagne!" (P: Courtesy of Ellen Hart. Ellen Hart (©15))

The author says of her work, "I don't write about the Mean Streets. I don't live there .... I don't do lots of blood and gore. I don't do sex scenes in any great detail. I'd never kill a dog or a cat. I guess you could call my style, maximal suspense and minimal gore." Hart is openly lesbian. Her Jane Lawless series features a lesbian restaurateur and her smart mouth best friend, Cordelia Thorn. The Jane Lawless series began in 1989 and is an early Post-Stonewall example of the mystery genre in Lesbian literature. Hart's novels deal with GLBT issues and five of the Lawless series have won Lambda Literary Awards.


Ellen Hart is the award-winning mystery author of the Jane Lawless and Sophie Greenaway series. When Hart's best friend from college, Kathleen Kruger, divorced her husband in the late 1970s, she and her two daughters moved into an apartment with Hart. It was the beginning of a wonderful family. Hart and Kruger have been devoted partners for decades. Hart has legally adopted Kruger's daughters, Shawna and Bethany, whom she describes, along with Shawna's husband, as "truly the light of our lives." After being together for 36 years, they married on September 22, 2013.

Dubbed the "lesbian answer to Agatha Christie," for her Jane Lawless series, Hart also pens the culinary Sophie Greenway mystery series. She frequently tours and lectures on the craft of mystery writing. She has contributed to numerous crime writer anthologies including Resort to Murder: Thirteen More Tales of Mystery by Minnesota's Premier Writers.

In 2005, Hart was inducted into the Saints and Sinners Hall of Fame, joining literary greats such as Dorothy Allison, Felice Picano, Katherine V. Forrest, and others. At the 2007 annual meeting of the Golden Crown Literary Society, Hart was the keynote speaker.

In 2010, Hart was awarded the coveted Trailblazer Award from the Golden Crown Literary Society, an award given to other lesbian luminaries such as Ann Bannon, Jane Rule, and Lee Lynch. She's a founding member of The Minnesota Crime Wave along with local Twin Cities crime fiction writers Carl Brookins and William Kent Krueger. The Minnesota Crime Wave's TV show about mysteries and writing airs on CTV-15 in the Twin Cities or episodes can be seen at MinnesotaCrimeWave.org.

Hart has taught introductory classes for mystery writers at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis for many years. She and Kathy, her partner of over thirty years, lived in Minneapolis until 2012 when they downsized and now live in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

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

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