-
6 (More) Questions for Author Joe Cosentino
Author Joe Cosentino By Mark McNease/Editor
It was inevitable that I’d have more questions for author Joe Cosentino, one of the most prolific writers I know. I still haven’t figured out when he sleeps. I’d asked him ‘6 Questions’ last June, when his first Nicky and Noah mystery, Drama Queen, was published by Lethe Press. Since then Joe has had several more publications, including the recently released Drama Muscle, his second book in the Nicky and Noah series. Joe, welcome back to lgbtSr.
-
6 Questions for Professor Drewey Wayne Gunn, Historian of Gay Literature
Professor Wayne Gunn I was recently introduced by a mutual friend to Drewey Wayne Gunn, Professor Emeritus , Texas A&M University–Kingsville. Professor Gunn has long been interested in recovering forgotten works of gay literature and has produced a treasure trove of guidebooks in his effort to acknowledge the many authors who, while largely ignored or forgotten, paved the way for the richness and variety we now enjoy in gay literature.
His books include the upcoming Gay American Novels, 1870 – 1970 (McFarland, 2016), as well as Gay Novels of Britain, Ireland, and the Commonwealth, 1881 – 1981 (McFarland, 2014), 1960s Gay Pulp Fiction, edited with Jaime Harker (Massachusetts, 2013), The Gay Male Sleuth in Print and Film (Scarecrow, 2013), and The Golden Age of Gay Literature, editor (MLR, 2009).
I had the pleasure of asking Professor Gunn ‘6 Questions’ about his books, his passion for forgotten works, and how he thinks we can best keep our literary heritage alive. – Mark McNease/Editor
-
From the Interview Archives: Robin Tyler, Activist, Author, Comedian
Editor’s Note: One of the best things about putting out lgbtSr for nearly five years is the archives! From interviews, to podcasts, to columns, the library is full. I’ll be treating you to some of the best from the vault. Following is an interview with Robin Tyler from January, 2012. Enjoy! – MarkBy Mark McNease
Robin Tyler has been an LGBT activist for many years and it was a real treat to have the opportunity to ask her some questions. It was Robin who called for the first National March on Washington in 1979, as well as the fourth, and who served as the stage producer for the first three. She’s been honored as the first comic to come out on stage and in her comedy career, opening the doors for many to follow.
Robin is currently producing a comedy documentary about her life called “Always A Bridesmaid, Never A Groom” (which was the name of her first solo comedy album), and (yes, there’s more) she operates Robin Tyler International Tours and Cruises. Amidst all her activities she still found time for the following interview.
-
6 Questions for Author, Publisher and Talk Show Host Liz McMullen
Liz McMullen I recently had the pleasure of connecting with Liz McMullen, whose newest publication, Through the Hourglass – Lesbian Historical Romance: A Lizzie’s Bedtime Stories Anthology has just come out and gathers together some of the best writers you’ll find, as well as voices that may be new to you.
Liz is an author, publisher and talk show host. You can find her shows on YouTube and her website: www.thelizmcmullenshow.com. Her debut novel, If I Die Before I Wake, was a Rainbow Award Finalist. She co-authored Finding Home, a paranormal novel where the foster kids have magical gifts. Liz’s first romance novel, Unspoken, will be out in spring of 2016. Below you’ll find Liz’s answers to a ‘6 Questions’ interview, where you’ll read more about Liz, her projects and her passions.
-
6 Questions for Author and Columnist Dave Hughes
Dave Hughes I met Dave Hughes in the vast meeting place of the internet sometime last year and have been reading his columns at RetireFabulously.com ever since. A new column in the email inbox means more great information from the perspective of someone who’s been there and done that – in this case, designed and lived his retirement, discovering both the expected and the unanticipated along the way.
Dave’s new book, Design Your Dream Retirement: How to Envision, Plan For, and Enjoy the Best Retirement Possible, just came out. I’ve read it and can’t recommend it highly enough for anyone who is living their renaissance or planning to. There’s so much we don’t know about the realities of retirement, both exciting and challenging, and Dave is an expert at providing that information in easy-to-understand language, with concrete examples that can help you form and design your own dream retirement.Following are ‘6 Questions’ Dave found time to answer. Enjoy them, and be sure to check out his book, for yourself or as a gift for a friend or loved one. It’s invaluable.
-
6 Questions for Author and Storyteller David Hardy
I recently posted about the story collection BOLD, which is launching in just a few days on November 27. A treasure trove of personal stories and experiences revealing the lives of older LGBTI people, the book presents its subjects with intimacy, poignancy and vibrancy. We are alive, it says, and we matter.
“More than 50 older LGBTI people share their stories and images – of first love and family, of struggle and defiance and resistance and pride. They include prominent activists including Bob Brown, Sally Goldner and the Hon. Michael Kirby. Many of the stories are by ordinary and extraordinary people who may be Indigenous, born overseas, or live in cities or small towns across Australia, New Zealand, UK, US and Ireland.”
I had the opportunity to interview the book’s creator, story collector and driving force, David Hardy, for this ‘6 Questions’ feature. His extensive answers follow. You can also learn more about David and the Associate Editor for the book, Elizabeth Whiley, at the end of the interview.
MM: David, thanks for taking the time to answer ‘6 Questions.’ Let’s start with your background, which is extensive. You’re a storyteller, singer and performer in Brisbane’s Lesbian and Gay Choir, Doctorate of Philosophy in Indigenous Knowledges, and an ex-Diplomat. What does it mean to have a Doctorate of Philosophy in Indigenous Knowledges?
-
Senior Pride Initiative’s Troy Johnson Joins the Live Mic Podcast
Later this month, October 23 & 24, Senior Pride Initiative will be hosting its 2015 conference in Lexington, Kentucky. With the goal of improving the lives of LGBTQ people by raising and addressing issues related to aging, Senior Pride Initiative’s Growing Older Growing Bolder conference offers a full agenda of speakers, music, a screening of the film Gen Silent, and special guests. You can see more details HERE and register HERE. In the meantime, listen as I chat with Director Troy Johnson about the organization’s history, mission and its aims for our communities. -
6 Questions for Author Michael Graves
Michael Graves By Mark McNease
I recently had the pleasure of asking author Michael Graves ‘6 Questions.’ Michael is the author of Dirty One, a collection of short stories that was both a Lambda Literary Award Finalist and an American Library Association Honoree. His new novel, Parade, is set for release by Chelsea Station Editions October 1. Described as “a tour-de-force, comic tale of religion and government,” the book tells the story of Reggie Lauderdale in the midst of his crisis of faith. His cousin, Elmer Mott, dreams of becoming their hometown mayor. Both boys are doing their best to be adults in suburbia, but have yet to learn to be fully themselves.
Read on for Michael’s answers, some advance praise for Parade, and stay tuned – he’ll be a guest soon on the Live Mic Podcast in early October.
-
6 Questions for Author Joe Cosentino
One of the great pleasures of doing this website the last four years has been the opportunity to interview and get to know so many wonderful people – activists, advocates, artists, fellow travelers, and authors. Joe Cosentino is one of them, a terrific spirit, engaging personality and, judging from his output, indefatigable writer. His newest book, Drama Queen (A Nicky and Noah Mystery) is just out from Lethe Press and combines high drama with high humor, a delicious combination. (You can read more about the book as a Featured Book at lgbtSr here.) I asked Joe ‘6 Questions’ and he found the time to answer them. I’ll also be speaking with Joe again on an upcoming Live Mic with Mark podcast in July.MM: Joe, welcome back to lgbtSr. When last we spoke, your new Nicky and Noah mystery series was set to come out in the summer, and here we are! Thanks for answering ‘6 Questions.’ Let’s backtrack a little. The first time we talked, your book, An Infatuation, had just come out from Dreamspinner Press. How has that done and what’s the reaction been?
JC: I am so touched by all the readers who told me they laughed and cried reading An Infatuation, and begged for a sequel. Readers fell in love with Harold and Mario, which thrills me. The ebook novella was released by Dreamspinner Press in February, and it is still selling well. While there isn’t a sequel per se, I have another MM Bittersweet Dreams ebook novella releasing from Dreamspinner Press in the fall. It’s another remembrance piece entitled, A Shooting Star. Like the Nicky and Noah mystery series, it takes place in a college theatre department, however, this college is in Colorado. Also, two minor characters from An Infatuation have large roles in the novel I am currently writing, Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back.MM: You also have Paper Doll (A Jana Lane Mystery) out from Whiskey Creek Press, as well as several novellas. You’re very prolific. What sort of writing routine do you keep?
JC: I’ve written two more novels in the Jana Lane series: Porcelain Doll and Satin Doll, awaiting publication. As you know, in Paper Doll (book one), ex-child star Jana Lane has to uncover who attacked her on the studio lot at eighteen and who is attacking her twenty years later. In Porcelain Doll, Jana makes a comeback film and solves the murders onset. In Satin Doll, Jana travels to Washington DC and becomes involved in a political murder mystery.
-
6 Questions for Author Marshall Thornton
Marshall Thornton If you’re a reader of gay mysteries, you’ll inevitably come across the name Marshall Thornton. His Boystown detective series is among the more widely known and admired series in the genre. The series received two honorable mentions and was a runner-up in the Rainbow Awards, and has twice been a finalist for the Lambda Book Award – Gay Mystery. He’s currently re-releasing the series, with Boystown 7: Bloodlines set for release in March.
Marshall’s a prolific writer, with books that include Desert Run, My Favorite Uncle, and The Ghost Slept Over, to name a few. Somehow he found time to answer ‘6 Questions’! And here they are … Mark McNease/Editor
MM: I was looking at your bio. Having lived in Los Angeles in the 1980s, I’m wondering: why Long Beach? What got you there?
MT: Like many decisions in life, moving to Long Beach was a bit random. In my early thirties I decided to go back to college to finish my B.A. I applied at both Cal State Northridge and Cal State Long Beach and got into both. The deciding factor was that the Cal State Long Beach brochure said that you could see the ocean from campus—and, if you go to the top of the tallest building you can. Looking back, that’s a ridiculous reason to choose a college. But I’ve been here about twenty-two years. It’s really a great city. -
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 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.
