-
6 Questions for Author Jean Ryan
I’ve recently had the pleasure of getting to know Jean Ryan, a gifted writer and generous spirit whose story, Manatee Gardens, opens the collection Outer Voices Inner Lives. Jean has since kept up a correspondence with me and had several of her blog posts featured here at lgbtSr. Her collection, ‘Survival Skills’ (Ashland Creek Press) is available for anyone interested in superb writing and stories with deep insight into the human experience. I couldn’t think of anyone better for a 6 Questions feature. – Mark/EditorMM: It’s been really good to get to know you more since we “met” through the Outer Voices Inner Lives collection. Can you tell readers a little about Jean Ryan? Native Vermonter, now in Napa, CA …
JR: I was born and raised in Vermont. After college I moved to Boston and eventually wound my way to California, drawn by visions of sunny beaches and the freedom to live openly as a lesbian. Berkeley was everything I’d hoped for and more. It is still a treat to drive down from Napa and walk through the colorful neighborhoods of Berkeley, where everyone is accepted and anything goes.
-
6 Questions for Olivia Hart, Her Excellency, Royal Countess de Orenburg
Frank, Olivia and Ophelia By Rick Rose
I recently read about Beautiful By Night, James Hosking’s documentary in which he invites the audience into the lives of three older drag performers at Aunt Charlies, a legendary venue in San Francisco’s Tenderloin. Olivia Hart was one of those three veteran performers in what some consider a disappearing art form. You wouldn’t know it from talking to Olivia. I had the pleasure of asking her ‘6 Questions,’ which she graciously answered. – Rick
Miss Olivia Hart
Her Excellency, Royal Countess de Orenburg
“From the Heart, Through the Court, For the Community” -
6 Questions for Author David Lennon
The author in 1975 I learned about author David Lennon a few years ago when I read his first mystery, The Quarter Boys, set in New Orleans. Subsequently, his Michael Doucette and Sassy Jones Mysteries series was nominated for three Lambda Literary Awards and won the 2010 Lammy for Best Gay Mystery. I just finished his newest novel, DeadFall, and had the pleasure of asking him ‘6 Questions,’ which he graciously answered in depth and detail. – Mark McNease/Editor
MM: You have a new book out, DeadFall, that begins in 1975. It made me think a lot of having been a gay teenager, first love, regrets and what-ifs. What inspired you to write that story, and why now?
DL: The why now part is easy. I’m at an age where there’s most likely more time behind than ahead, so I’ve begun to reflect on the past. As I mention in the introduction, the summer of 1975 when I was thirteen was one of my favorite times because I was experiencing so much for the first time and it all felt so intense, heightened by hormones and possibly other substances. It was also the time when I first felt like I was leaving childhood. All of that is something I’ve thought about trying to recapture for about five years now.
-
6 Questions for Lady Ellen, Founder of Le Femme Finishing School
Last week I shared a recent Aged to Perfection podcast with Lady Ellen, founder of Le Femme Finishing School in New Jersey, the only one of its kind in the state. Talking to Ellen, I quickly realized the deep value of what she offers her clients: a space to be themselves, to explore their identities, express their spirits and use their experiences with Ellen to emerge from the chrysalis into themselves. Following are six additional questions for her about the School, her clients and her mission.MM: What is some of the most common guidance your clients are looking for?
LE: Most clients want to see what they would look like as a female, want to know if they can “pass” in public and wish to learn makeup application techniques. I teach my clients what they would have learned from the women in their lives if they had been raised as a woman. I offer lessons in makeup, deportment, movement, image and style and constantly tell them to keep their knees together when wearing a skirt. That is why clients come to me, but often they thank me the most for lending them a sympathetic ear, a shoulder to cry on, an understanding heart that makes them feel accepted. I give a lot of advice about accepting one’s self and going forward with confidence and courage. Liking what they see in the mirror helps build that confidence and positive self image.
