Turning Point by Lara Zielinsky

Publisher:                 P. D. Publishing


Lara Zielinsky's work is familiar to many people who like to read online fan fiction. Now, she brings her first novel, Turning Point, to print. Fans of the program "Star Trek: Voyager" will see where she got much of her inspiration.

Turning Point is set in Hollywood and centers around the cast of a sci-fi series called "Time Trails." The show's long time star Brenna Lanigan has had a trying year because the producers brought a new character into the show to ramp up the sex appeal of the program. Cassidy Hyland admires Brenna for being a consummate professional and highly skilled actor, but she's spent the last year getting nothing but the cold shoulder from her co-star. All of that begins to change when Brenna uncharacteristically accepts an invitation to a birthday party for Cassidy's young son. The party gives both women a chance to show aspects of their personalities that have been hidden from each other.


From that tentative beginning comes a friendship based on shared experiences and emotions and before long Brenna and Cassidy find themselves being drawn into a deeper relationship that neither had anticipated. Meanwhile, they also have to deal with the stresses of the final season of their show, planning for the future and difficulties with the other people in their lives. Ultimately, the question becomes if the women can have very public careers and the type of love that they truly want.

For those who feel that plots of books are often rushed to completion without good character development, this book will be a welcome change. It spends considerable time letting the reader get to know the characters and study the development of their relationship. There are numerous and varied scenes showing them interacting with other characters and the reader can develop a sense of what is going on in these women's heads. 

Not only does the book contain more pages than the average lesbian novel, but it's printed in the larger size book and in a smaller than usual font, so there is a lot on each page. The font size is the biggest drawback to this book. It is one way to get more story in while not having to increase the number of pages, but for those who have difficulty with print size, this book may be beyond the limits of their toleration. 

Another distracting aspect is that, since it's based on people from a well-known TV show, the reader can't help but visualize Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan in the two main characters. That isn't necessarily a detriment to the story, but readers who like to conjure up images of characters for themselves may have a problem with this. On the whole this is a well written book and, though some scenes might have been eliminated to shorten the book, the story moves at a good pace and keeps the reader engrossed. It's a standard romance and worth the reading time.

Turn For Home by Lara Zielinsky

Publisher:               P.D. Publishing

Turn For Home is the sequel to Turning Point and picks up the story of actresses Brenna Lanigan and Cassidy Hyland as they are trying to decide how public to make their relationship.  Their sons are divided in their support and Brenna is going through a divorce, so keeping things quite seems best.  As the stars of a popular TV show and actresses who are in demand for other jobs, they have a lot at risk professionally.  The issue is taken out of their hands when a violent attack against Cassidy by her ex-husband brings everything out into the open.  The women find out just who their friends are and how much the entertainment world will support.  Brenna is also in for some surprises from her sons.

Like any sequel, there is a comfortable feeling about this book.  It provides an opportunity to catch up with characters the reader may already be familiar with and see how their lives are progressing.  It covers a brief, but traumatic period in the women's relationship.  There are few books that describe a physical attack as vividly as Zielinsky does in this one.  Besides the issue of abuse, the book also delves into the difficulty that partners can have with the health care system when they have no legal rights and the parents of one of them tries to seize control of the situation.

Turn For Home has a weakness.  It's really necessary that the first book has been read.  A new reader will definitely feel like she's walked into the middle of what is going on and won't have much frame of reference for how these women reached the point where the story picks up.  Adding more back story to this book would have resolved the problem.

This book is good for a couple of hours of entertaining reading.  It should be particularly appealing to those who enjoyed Turning Point.

 

To Love and To Cheirsh by Beth Wylde and Lara Zielinsky (editors)

Publisher:                  loveyoudivine Alterotica

This anthology was created to raise money for the Marriage Equality movement for gays and lesbians.  All of the profits go to that movement instead of to the authors or publisher.

The book includes submissions from a number of familiar authors: Jean Roberta, Allison Wonderland, Lara Zielinsky, Stephanie Rose, Jolene Hui, Kissa Starling, Adrianne Brennan, Moondancer Drake, Ann Cory, Jessie Taylor Quinn, Meg Leigh, Dalia Craig, Adrianna Kraft and Beth Wylde.  The stories are divided into three sections called On Bended Knee, With This Ring and Lives and Wives.  Those make up the three books of the eBook versions.

As with most anthologies, the quality of the stories varies among the selections and they cover a number of topics based around gay marriage.  There are the inevitable stories about prejudice, family conflict and wedding preparations and healthy doses of erotic fantasy and reality.  Some of the stories are real jewels.  The Art of Communication by Jean Roberta deals with that careful dance in a relationship when one partner has more wealth than the other one and the less wealthy partner is conscious of it.  It will be impossible for anyone to read Stephanie Rose's The Anti-Proposal and not collapse in laughter as her main character tries to pull off the perfect event only to have everything possible go wrong.  Just a hint, both women end up in hospital beds, but still very much in love.  Adrianne Brennan deals with combining cultures and the importance of communication in My Big Fat Greek Pagan Lesbian Wedding.  This Magic by Meg Leigh reveals the love that lasts forever and transcends death.  This story also demonstrates that it doesn't take a lot of words to express something beautiful.

Most people will probably buy this book in order to contribute to the movement.  The fact that they will receive several hours of enjoyable reading will be the bonus.