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The Weekly Readlines August 4
On a personal note: The Readlines is moving to Friday mornings, as I change my production schedule. Other new content from LGBTSr.com will go out on Mondays. – Mark
Quote for the week: “The attack on our nation’s Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy. As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies. Lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the U.S. government: the nation’s process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election.” – Special Counsel Jack Smith
BIG CUP: THE WEEK’S TOP STORIES
Former President Donald Trump was indicted (again). The charges are extremely serious, involving his efforts to overturn the election he lost, and may result in America having its first incarcerated Commander in Chief.
Actor Paul Reubens, aka Peewee Herman, died at 70. While it was sad, it was another one of those ‘He was 70?!’ moments I experience these days when people who are essentially my peers are exiting Planet Earth.
LGBTQ NEWS
Anti-LGBTQ Bills Drive Top Louisiana Kids’ Heart Doctor Out Of State
Shreveport TimesChicago LGBT Hall of Fame to announces 2023 inductees
Windy City Times -
Hot August Giveaway: All 6 Kyle Callahan Mysteries Free for 6 Days!
Get all 6 of my Kyle Callahan Mysteries FREE on Kindle from August 1 – 5. CLICK HERE to see all my books. New covers, new regular price, new adventures await for Kyle and the gang.
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Mark McNease On Topic: Cowgirls and Alpha Gomers
Enjoy my weekly Substack, Mark McNease On Topic. Subscribe HERE.
Slavery as a career path
Among the most appalling things I’ve heard in 65 years was the recent “curriculum” in Florida that requires history teachers include in their discussions of slavery that some slaves learned useful skills (like how to cut themselves down from a tree?). When I was in the 6th grade, attending a private school, we had to read books every summer. One of them was called ‘To Be a Slave,’ consisting entirely of the lives of slaves described by the slaves themselves. This book would surely be banned today in many states. Slavery was ugly, brutal, vicious, murderous, and demonic (defended with biblical scripture, as we can expect). The images included in the book were searing: men and women with deep scars on their backs from being whipped. Perhaps it taught them the skill of endurance? Embroidery? Surely they learned something they could parlay into a small business after emancipation.
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My Interview on Daniela Acitelli’s YouTube Vlogcast
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Interview: 6 Questions for Dave Hughes, Author and Founder of Retire Fabulously
Shared from LGBTSr.com
By Mark McNease
I’m delighted to share a new interview with someone I consider a longtime friend, inspiration, and fellow go-getter. Dave Hughes started his website, RetireFabulously.com, ten years ago. We managed to connect, considering some shared demographics with LGBTSr.com. Since then we’ve had many communications and several interviews. I believe he offers some of the best advice on retiring and living in retirement, and he’s now a novelist as well. Can you say dynamo? Enjoy the latest ‘6 Questions’ interview with Dave, and hopefully he’ll inspire some readers to pursue their goals as well, whether you’re retired or not. – Mark
Dave Hughes Congratulations on 10 years of Retire Fabulously! What’s the 411 on Dave Hughes for readers: who/what/where/why.
I enjoyed a reasonably successful career as a software engineer. That’s a broad job title, but at various times in my career, my responsibilities included writing code, customer support, training, and management. Overall, it was very enjoyable. It certainly paid better than being a jazz musician, which was my true passion (and still is). I spent the last 17½ years of my career at Intel Corporation where, in addition to my regular job, I was very active in their diversity and inclusion initiatives, primarily on behalf of LGBTQ employees.
I’m originally from Ohio. I lived in the Washington, DC suburbs for 11½ years before moving to warm, sunny Phoenix, Arizona in late 1995, at age 38. At the time, my motivations were to move to someplace where it doesn’t snow and freeze, and where the cost of living (especially real estate) was much less expensive. At the time, I wasn’t considering where I’d retire, but as it turns out, Phoenix is an excellent place to retire – at least for me.
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The Twist Podcast #234: Slavery As a Career Path, Hodag Highlights with Alex Melli, and an Interview with Kimberlee McGeshick
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as compare small town hellscapes, consider the benefits of slavery, learn about a creature called the hodag from Alex Melli, and listen to Rick’s interview with Kimberlee McGeshick.
Enjoy The Twist on Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and TheTwistPodcast.com.
Copyright 2023 MadeMark Publishing
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Kyle Callahan Mysteries Get a Cover Refresh (and a New Price)
It was time to breathe some new life into my Kyle Callahan Mysteries. I love these new covers, and the eBooks are now just $2.99 on Amazon.
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The Weekly Readlines July 19
Quote for the times: “Too many people hate the people that AIDS most affects: gay people and people of color. I do not mean dislike, or feel uncomfortable with. I mean hate. Downright hate. Down and dirty hate.” – the late Larry Kramer, true as it ever was
BIG CUP: THE WEEK’S TOP STORIES
Actors joined writers on strike, when SAG-AFTRA walked out over stalled contract negotiations.
Republicans assured defeat of the must-pass Defense bill by stuffing it with anti-women, anti-LGBTQ amendments meant to thrill the base but cripple the military. We predict the extortion will fail.
And California voters will have the chance to right a wrong by repealing Prop 8, the state’s same-sex marriage ban, with a vote in 2024. Be careful what you wish for, they could keep it.
LGBTQ NEWS
Idaho ‘Abortion Travel Ban’ Challenged By LGBT Group
FISM TVWhat’s A Tea Dance? The Fascinating History Behind These Unique Parties
GayCities -
New Video Promo for ‘Open Secrets: A Maggie Dahl Mystery,’ Audiobook Out Now, Narrated by Daniela Acitelli
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‘Open Secrets: A Maggie Dahl Mystery’ Audiobook Out Now, Narrated by Daniela Acitelli
It’s out! My newest audiobook, Open Secrets: A Maggie Dahl Mystery, narrated by the terrific Daniela Acitelli, is now available. It’s our fourth audiobook together. Listen to a three-chapter sample.
Publisher’s Summary
Maggie Dahl returns in Open Secrets. It’s been six months since the media circus surrounding the last murder Maggie solved and a year since her beloved husband, David, died. The dust seems to have finally settled. Then, one morning, a customer walks in and asks Maggie to do her a favor.
Soon, a body is discovered on a rural New Jersey road. A body Maggie is sure belongs to a local author whose next book was rumored to reveal secrets not everyone wanted known. But were they enough to kill for? And who murdered the woman found in the woods? Maggie is determined to find out, even as her life continues its road back to normal, complete with the possibility of new love.
Can she find the answers she seeks in the death of a local celebrity? And will love be part of her life once again when she least expects it?
©2022 Mark McNease (P)2023 MadeMark Publishing -
A New Goodreads Giveaway! Enter to Win a Kindle Edition of ‘I, Warlock,’ Through August 15
Goodreads Book Giveaway
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The Twist Podcast #233: GOP Defund Frenzy, Pink Paint Crisis, and an Interview with Bailey (Nemo) and Dana Mosling
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we donate our loose change to a military soon to be penniless from GOP extortion, volunteer to help out with the pink paint shortage, and enjoy Rick’s interview with drag teen Nemo Bailey and his mom Dana.
Enjoy The Twist on Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and TheTwistPodcast.com.
Copyright 2023 MadeMark Publishing
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Now Available: ‘I, Warlock’ 6-Chapter Book Sample with Audio Supplement
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FROM BOOK FUNNEL
Fasten your headphones, and leave the lights on! You can now read the first 6 chapters of ‘I, Warlock: The Warlock Wars Book I,’ and/or listen to the audio version above. Either way, you’ll be spellbound by Julius Tide, his beloved Charlotte, and the evil he must defeat to save them all. You can get the full edition eBook or paperback on Amazon now!
When the world’s survival depends on the struggle between good and evil, only one can triumph. The victor will preserve for humankind what makes life worth living, or he will rule atop a mound of skulls, served by the souls he defeated.
I, Warlock tells the story of Julius Tide, born part-vampire, destined to be all warlock. Follow his journey from a near-innocent, living quietly in the Vermont countryside, to a man whose decisions will determine the fate of the world. Every step of the way he has his beloved Charlotte, whose beauty first stuns him one spring day at a local fair, and continues to comfort him as he undertakes a battle against monumental evil that can have only one winner. Grief, joy, ecstasy, tragedy–it all comes into play as Julius, Charlotte, and a dizzying cast of characters march to their destinies in I, Warlock, The Warlock Wars Book I.