Pirate Web Sites

There is a discussion on Facebook about a site that is offering people's books for download free. We're not talking about older books that have been around and probably run through the bulk of their sales. Authors are finding their books that have just been released on these sites. No one is posting the site, I don't blame them, and I won't either. YOU know if you've been downloading books for free though.

This reminds me of when they started offering downloaded music and people thought they were "clever" because they were getting music free. This isn't right, folks. I know some of us have limited funds and books, even some ebooks, can be expensive, but taking a person's work for free is just plain theft. It's the same thing as me finding out you're not home and forgot to lock your front door, so I go in and clean out your refrigerator because I can. It's the same as your neighbor finding a way to tap into your cable or whatever and getting internet, phone and TV services free while you pay the bill.

If you want to read books and your money is seriously limited, there are things you can do:

1. Ask your local library to order the books.

2. Many authors give away free books all of the time.

   Enter their drawings or whatever they're doing.

3. Borrow books from friends you know who buy them.

4. Many of the book publishers and different groups have

   ways of helping you get some books. Ask them.

5. Join one of the many online groups and see if there is

   someone there who will share with you or give you some

   books free. That doesn't get the author a sale, but

   someone paid for the book at one point.

Please don't take free books from any site "just because you can." Most of these authors don't make that much money to begin with. Don't drive them out of the business just so you can put something over on someone.

Besides, it's just not fair.

Ruth Perkinson's blog

Ruth Perkinson, a really wonderful author, posted on her blog today about the fact that she is going blind. This is the link for the blog Going blind . . .

			Going blind . . . What it means to be going blind… It seems like a terrible trick when one’s eyesight begins to diminish and fail. And in truth, it is. I can’t think of any ...
			View on ruthperkinson.com	Preview by Yahoo

Ruth is a friend. We've known each other a number of years and, since she lives in Virginia, we've met up a couple of times and at the GCLS conference. Her books and our shared experiences with teaching brought us together. If you haven't read her work, you should. Ruth was one of the first lesbian authors, in our current crop, to veer off from the thin romances, mysteries and other types of stories to write what I guess we would call "literature." Her books have depth and complexity and require you to think.

I'm not trying to insult anyone, but, when Ruth showed up, too many lesbian "novels" were still stuck in the Xena fan fic arena (I swore if I read one more book with a tall, stoic dark haired woman and her spunky, shorter blond girlfriend that I would start a bon fire and burn them all) or suffered from the belief that 120 pages was a long book. I was constantly posting on here, the GCLS site and anywhere else I could rant that we needed to do better. I would use Ruth as my example. Fortunately, we're moving more and more in that direction, but I hate the thought that we may lose Ruth from this community because she can't read to write anymore.

If you do a search, you'll find her books. My personal favorites are Piper's Someday (dog lovers will have a special interest in this) and The Mystic Market. I have reviews of them posted here. If you're looking for good reading with some real substance and texture to it, give Ruth a try.

Legacies of Lesbian Literature Project

Those of you who attended the Golden Crown Literary Society conference last year may have attended a presentation done by Sandra Moran and Marianne K. Martin about a project they were starting. Many of us have realized that some of our heritage is beginning to disappear and it needs to be preserved so that people, not just lesbians, will know how our literature has developed and the women who have played a part in it. Marianne and Sandra came up with a project to do something about this......and then we lost Sandra. Fortunately, Sandra's wife, Cheryl Pletcher, has stepped forward and is determined to finish this as part of Sandra's legacy.

This is going to be no small undertaking, folks. It's not just a matter of writing a paper or making a PowerPoint. The plan is to do video interviews of some of our pioneers while they're still here to tell us our history. Marianne has already started with these and the list includes Dorothy Allison, Ann Bannon, Rita Mae Brown, Emma Donoghue, Rita Mae Brown, Katherine V. Forrest, Jewell Gomez, Jenifer Levin, Lee Lynch, Alice Walker and Jeanette Winterson. Others will be added as the project progresses. They intend to produce a documentary and DVDs so that this information can be stored and shared with people for years to come (assuming we don't blow the world up first.)

I've uploaded a picture of the project logo, designed by Ann McMan. It's really striking.

They need help. Eventually, they're going to need people to help them with script writing, research, production, editing, graphics, promotion, distribution....you name it and they'll be asking for people who can participate. What can you do right now?

All of the royalties from Sandra's books are going to fund the project, but more is needed. You can make a contribution by going to https://www.crowdrise.com/legacies-of-lesbian-literature-project. Contributions aren't tax deductible yet, but they're working on getting that status filed. The site only takes credit cards at the moment, but they're going to work on getting a PayPal link. Cheryl says, if you don't want to donate online, you can send donations to her at 9951 Fountain Circle, Lenexa, KS 66220.

You can also friend the project on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LegLesLit. You can link to the site so that other people will see it and you will receive updates about how the project is progressing.

Maybe it's the history teacher in me, but I was excited about this project when I heard about it last year. I'm impressed with how far they've gotten already in the planning and will be giving them some of my time. A lot of my time if you listen to Marianne.

If you want to contact them, their email addresses are mkmbywater@aol.com or cpletcher54@gmail.com.

They will be happy to have the smallest contribution, time or whatever you can do to support the project. This is OUR history and literature. I hope some of you will be inclined to help in some way.

Lynne  

Double Exposure by Bridget Birdsall

Publisher:       Sky Pony Press

Double Exposure addresses an issue that is not often seen in novels, people who are intersex. Intersex people are those who are born with the gender characteristics of both male and female. This occurs more often than most people are aware because doctors and parents usually prefer to alter a baby to one sex soon after birth and then keep the situation secret. Bridget Birdsall has chosen as her character Alyx Atlas, a fifteen year old whose parents decided to wait for the procedure until their child was older.

Alyx spends the first fourteen years of his life defined as a boy, but life is not easy. He has just enough questionable characteristics to make other boys wonder about him and he is coming to identify himself as a female. After a vicious beating, Alyx’s mother moves him across country to be with her family and to start Alyx’s life over as a girl. Being a teenager is difficult enough, but Alyx’s life is almost unbearable. Her refuge from everything is basketball. She’s very good at that and uses it as the way to make a life for herself in a new high school and community. As the team moves higher in the standings and seems headed for a state title, Alyx begins to feel good about herself for the first time. Nothing stays secret forever though, especially when a jealous teammate begins digging into Alyx’s past. Learning to cope has a whole different meaning when it’s applied to her situation.

Birdsall’s book is an interesting look into what it feels like to be “different” in society. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have much depth. According to the author and the way the book is listed, it’s meant to be for young adults, but there isn’t anything here to help them if they happen to be intersex or to make a person more emphathetic towards people who are different. The book is a good look into girls’ basketball and how a team works. It also gives a view of what it is to be a child living in a family where everyone is just a little “different.” Alyx could be any teenager though. What she deals with at school and on the basketball team could apply to any teenager. The fact that she feels alienated from her family is certainly not unique. The problem with the book is, if you take away the fact that Alyx is intersex, then this is nothing more than a story about a teenager trying to come into her own sense of identity. Then Alyx spends too much time whining about her family and how everyone is unfair to her to be really sympathetic.

Perhaps Birdsall meant to show that intersex youth are no different than other people. In that case, the book is successful. If you are searching for a book that will help you or someone you know learn how to deal with being intersex, this one won’t help much.

Review by Lynne Pierce

Neither Present Time by Caren Werlinger

Publisher:       Corgyn Publishing

It gets to be boring to review Caren Werlinger’s books after a while. After it’s been said a few times that her writing is magnificent, engrossing, sophisticated and thought provoking, to say it again seems redundant. There is a danger that people might not believe the reviews anymore. So, here is a new word – consistently. Caren Werlinger’s books are consistently magnificent, engrossing, sophisticated and thought provoking.

Neither Present Time is the story of two women who are brought together by a book. Beryl Gray is a university librarian who finds a book with a personal inscription in it and is driven to find out more about the people involved. This leads her to Aggie Bishop and her great-aunt Cory. Beryl and Aggie share the characteristic of being caregivers. Beryl cares for practically everyone she knows and Aggie is trying to care for Aunt Cory. Since Aunt Cory doesn’t think she needs any help, even though her family is trying to institutionalize her and sell away the family home, Aggie’s one case practically equals all of Beryl’s. Neither Beryl nor Aggie has been able to sustain healthy relationships, but in learning Aunt Cory’s story, both women will learn a great deal about themselves. Looking into the past will cause them to examine the present with different eyes and will alter the lives of all three women.

Werlinger tells a good story, but what makes her book more appealing is the complexity of what she presents. There is romance in the book, but romance is in the story not THE story. There are messages and lessons to be learned while her characters do a complex dance weaving together the themes, including moving between different time periods. Werlenger’s talent is shown by the story being real, but not preachy; complex, but easily understood; and peopled by characters the reader probably knows.

Neither Present Time is like all of Werlinger’s books, a good read.

Golden Crown Literary Society award winners

The Golden Crown Literary Society has just finished its annual conference and given the awards for 2015. If you haven't seen it, here is the list:

Award Winners of 2015

Ann Bannon Popular Choice

• Olive Oil & White Bread by Georgia Beers, Bywater Books

Tee Corinne Award for Outstanding Cover Design

• Ann McMan, TreeHouse Studio for Everything, Bedazzled Ink Publishing

Trailblazer Award

• Joan Nestle

Directors’ Award

• Watty Boss

Lee Lynch Classic Award

• Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown, Published by Daughters Publishing Co.

Anthology/Collection (Creative Non-Fiction)

• An American Queer: The Amazon Trail by Lee Lynch, Published by Bold Strokes Books
• Queerly Beloved: A Love Story Across Genders by Diane and Jacob Anderson-Minshall, Published by Bold Strokes Books

Anthology/Collection (Fiction)

• Wicked Things: Lesbian Halloween Short Stories Edited by Jae and Astrid Ohletz, Published by Ylva Publishing
• Unwrap These Presents Edited by Astrid Ohletz and R.G. Emanuelle, Published by Ylva Publishing

Debut Author

• Never Too Late by Julie Blair, Published by Bold Strokes Books
• Just Intuition by Makenzi Fisk, Published by Mischievous Books
• Stick McLaughlin: The Prohibition Years by CF Frizzell, Published by Bold Strokes Books

Dramatic General Fiction

• The War Within by Yolanda Wallace, Published by Bold Strokes Books
• Loved and Lost by Stephanie Kusiak, Published by Sapphire Books Publishing
• Everything by Carole Wolfe, Published by Bedazzled Ink Publishing

Erotica

• Heart's Surrender by Emma Weimann, Published by Ylva Publishing
• Best Lesbian Erotica 2014 by Rachel Windsor, Self-Published
• Escapades by MJ Williamz, Published by Bold Strokes Books

Historical Fiction

• Tangled Roots by Marianne K. Martin, Published by Bywater Books
• Waiting for the Violins by Justine Saracen, Published by Bold Strokes Books
• Bright Lights of Summer by Lynn Ames, Published by Phoenix Rising Press

Mystery/Thriller

• The Acquittal by Ann Laughlin, Published by Bold Strokes Books
  
• Left Field: Lillian Byrd Crime Series Book 5 by Elizabeth Sims, Published by Spruce Park Press
• The Consequence of Murder by Nene Adams, Published by Bella Books

Paranormal/Horror

• The Magic Hunt by L.L. Raand, Published by Bold Strokes Books
• The Devil You Know by Marie Castle, Published by Bella Books
• Dogs of War by Geonn Cannon, Published by Supposed Crimes

Poetry

• Undone EM Hodge, Published by Sapphire Books Publishing
• kissing keeps us afloat by Laurie MacFayden, Frontenac House

Romantic Suspense/Intrigue/Adventure

• The One by JM Dragon, Published by Affinity Ebooks Press NZ Ltd
• Sharpshooter by Julie Murrah, Published by Sapphire Books Publishing
• Switchblade by Carsen Taite, Published by Bold Strokes Books

Science Fiction/Fantasy

• FutureDyke by Lea Daley, Published by Bella Books
• Return of an Impetuous Pilot by Kate McLachlan, Published by Regal Crest Enterprises
• Rabbits of the Apocalypse by Benny Lawrence, Published by Bedazzled Ink

Traditional Contemporary Romance

• Kiss the Girl by Melissa Brayden, Published by Bold Strokes Books
• Nightingale by Andrea Bramhall, Published by Bold Strokes Books
• The Midnight Moon by Gerri Hill, Published by Bella Books

Young Adult

• Double Exposure by Bridget Birdsall, Published by Sky Pony Press
• Riding the Rainbow by Genta Sebastian, Self-Published
• Just Girls by Rachel Gold, Published by Bella Books

Olive Oil & White Bread by Georgia Beers

Publisher:       Bywater Books

A straight person would not write this book. It wouldn’t occur to him or her that there was a need to write a book about a couple that meets, falls in love, and has a completely normal life that spans a long relationship. Where is the story in that? Well, Nicholas Sparks might write it, but it would be short and poignant.

Gay people don’t usually write these books either. Their books are about “hot young things” consumed with sexy encounters that may turn into relationships, and that is usually where the story ends. Sometimes they throw in a message with the story and a romance. Or they write mysteries, supernatural stories, space adventures or whatever the genre and the main characters are made lesbian or gay, but really don’t need to be. Basically, the reader is getting a straight story with gay/lesbian characters and the readers like that because they can relate to the characters. That’s fine.

Then there are exceptions like Olive Oil & White Bread. There is nothing extraordinary about Angie Righetti and Jillian Clark. One is a salesperson and the other teaches elementary art. They fall in love, buy a house, then buy another house, acquire a dog, deal with family events (happy and sad) and confront what can happen to a relationship when it’s taken for granted instead of nurtured. That is what makes the book worth reading. The reader gets to see the couple grow together and apart and back together. They deal with situations everyone faces - the death and aging of parents, the differences in families and the struggle to balance work with home. There are the crushing effects of the losses of a beloved pet and a life-long friend. In other words, these are just normal people going about their lives. And that is what makes this book important.

If you have friends, family or anyone who “just doesn’t get” what gay people are about; if they don’t understand the importance of gay marriage; if they think gay people are a threat or different or whatever, this is the book you want to give them. This is the book that will show them that gay people don’t have wild and perverse sex lives (at least not all of them), they buy houses in the suburbs, love and screw up. In other words, they’re just normal.

Georgia Beers has many strengths as a writer. She’s written outstanding romances, poignant stories based on 9-11 and won awards for her books. Olive Oil & White Bread may be her gift for the gay community to the rest of the world though. It proves there just isn’t that much difference between us.