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It Never Gets Old: ‘Final Audition: A Marshall James Thriller’ Hits the Amazon Best Seller List – Twice!
In case you wonder why I do book giveaways … Final Audition: A Marshall James Thriller, hit #2 in Gay Fiction free, and #15 in Crime Thrillers free. Kaboom!
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Banned in Tennessee? Peter and the Starcatcher Shocks the Senseless
We saw a production of the delightful Peter and the Starcatcher at Music Mountain Theatre yesterday. Several children were in attendance and appeared to be having as good a time as the rest of us.Then … to my shock … the actors who played pirates were in two scenes dressed as mermaids. Also, there was another pirate who, donning an apron, played the part of a cook/maid. It was a ship filled with men, but somebody had to do it! Or did they?It occurred to several of us that this play, as child-friendly and comical as it is, could not be performed in Tennessee, or soon to be Florida (add to the list as the days go by). There are many, many plays and musicals in the theatrical canon going back hundreds of years, including the original Shakespearean actors who played women’s parts because women weren’t allowed on stage (are we there yet?).If the overlords of censorship and suffocation want to drag us (pun intended) back to a godawful 1940s (and even the people back then had Vaudeville, where crossdressing was common on stage), they CANNOT make exceptions for entertainment they approve of for their children. No “prosthetics breasts” means what it says. Period. Having decided what the rest of us can see, and what we can take our children to see, they cannot be given an out. I’m also of the opinion that book bans must include the Bible, as bloodthirsty and incestuous as it is, and most books in general where heterosexuality is portrayed in any way. Sexuality is sexuality. Cut the crap or stop passing these laws to try and smother our spirits. You will fail.In the meantime, please enjoy this hysterical show. The young boys with their parents in the row in front of us had a great time. -
Back in Wide Distribution – Save Even More and Buy Direct!
After doing very well as a Kindle Unlimited exclusive publisher the last several months, I’ve released several of my books ‘wide,’ as we say. You can find me at Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and my own Payhip storefront where you’ll save even more!
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Book Review: Code Gray: Death, Life, and Uncertainty in the ER, by Farzon A. Nahvi, M.D
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm SexCode Gray: Death, Life, and Uncertainty in the ER, by Farzon A. Nahvi, M.D.
c.2023, Simon & Schuster $27.99 256 pagesYou know exactly who’s in charge here.
It’s the person in the white coat, a physician with a stethoscope around their neck and a packed pocketful of paper notes and pens. The white coat instantly gets your attention. It’s meant to quickly convey authority, and it does – so much so that you trust your very life to the person wearing it. In “Code Gray” by Farzon A. Nahvi, M.D., that white coat won’t leave you in the dark.
It was only supposed to be a friends-catching-up kind of text thread but for Farzon Nahvi and his colleagues around the country, the flurry of messages they exchanged during the pandemic became a lifeline. For each, it was good to know that their hospital’s reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic wasn’t the only one lacking.
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Bella DuBalle Fights Back Against Drag Bans (YouTube)
Bella DuBalle, a drag entertainer and the show host at Atomic Rose in Memphis, TN, explains how the new drag show ban law signed by Governor Bill Lee is affecting performers in the state, and what they are doing to fight back.
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Q Audiobooks: I’m So (Not) Over You, by Kosoko Jackson, Narrated by Timothy Bell Reese
I’m So (Not) Over You
By: Kosoko Jackson
Narrated by: Timothy Bell Reese
Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
4.5 out of 5 stars (50 ratings)“Shine[s] with a beautiful, blooming sense of wonder.”—New York Times Book Review
A chance to rewrite their ending is worth the risk in this swoony romantic comedy from Kosoko Jackson.
It’s been months since aspiring journalist Kian Andrews has heard from his ex-boyfriend, Hudson Rivers, but an urgent text has them meeting at a café. Maybe Hudson wants to profusely apologize for the breakup. Or confess his undying love. . . But no, Hudson has a favor to ask—he wants Kian to pretend to be his boyfriend while his parents are in town, and Kian reluctantly agrees.
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Hotel Review: Boston’s Verb Hotel Gets 4.5 Fresh Towels
Prefer to listen? Just click for the audio version.
Hotel reviews are based on a Fresh Towel rating. Five means a top destination, one means check in at your peril.
Welcome to the first hotel review. It’s being added to my restaurant reviews (1-5 Yums), and my general travel reviews and blog posts.
Like a lot of people, we’ve been traveling a lot since the removal of pandemic restrictions. We’ve been to Delaware, Atlantic City, and we’ll be heading to California and Las Vegas soon, as well as taking a cruise to Canada in October that arrives back in Bayonne, NJ, on my birthday!
I was especially prompted to kick these off because we’ve come to Boston to visit one of Frank’s oldest friends (who takes the ferry to Provincetown every year in August when we head their for our annual time share). Frank booked us into The Verb Hotel, and I was wowed!
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‘Triple Threat: 3 Marshall James Thrillers’ Hits #1!
It’s a hit! ‘Triple Threat: 3 Marshall James Thrillers’ hits #1 in LGBT mysteries. Now I KNOW I have to write another book in the series.
You can listen to the first three chapters of Book #2, ‘Beautiful Corpse,’ narrated by the amazing Sean Rhead HERE, as an episode of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast.
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BookBub Featured Deal! Triple Threat: 3 Marshall James Thrillers (February 17 – 22)
I’m delighted to announce another BookBub Featured Deal, this one for my recently-released triple-header. Triple Threat: 3 Marshall James Thrillers combines all of the Marshall James books in one page-turning collection. It’s reduced to just $1.99 for five days, February 17- 22. That’s three, three, three thrills in one. I’ve also marked down most of my other books to .99 cents for the duration of the deal. So head over, and prepare to stay up late for a few nights. You won’t be able to put these down.
Update: For fans of the series, rest easy! A new Marshall James Thriller is on the way. He just needed some time on a beach, but he’s got a return ticket booked for 2024.
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New Release! ‘Double Trouble: 2 Maggie Dahl Mysteries’ Now Available on Amazon
Now on Amazon! Why not start the new year with some page-turning detection? Join Maggie Dahl and the cast of characters from the Maggie Dahl Mysteries as she finds herself in a new life, new town, and new adventure searching for killers who may very well be searching for her.
Double Trouble brings together the first two Maggie Dahl Mysteries: Black Cat White Paws, and Open Secrets. Maggie and her late husband David had left New York City for a new life in Lambertville, NJ. Soon after following their dream there, Maggie finds herself pursuing it alone after David’s sudden death. She opens Dahl House Jams, she devotes herself to success, and she comes face to face with murder.
In Black Cat White Paws, Maggie throws herself into solving the murder of her neighbor, whose cat Checks quickly becomes part of Maggie’s family. Her sister moves from Philadelphia to help her in this difficult time and forget her own rocky relationships with men. Soon the sisters are tracking down a killer and revealing a shocking secret that has kept a notorious case unsolved … until now.
In Open Secrets, Maggie has become a minor celebrity in town, and she suddenly finds herself trying to learn what happened to another one: local author Shanna Delaney, whose second book of essays threatens to reveal secrets someone wants kept unknown. Throughout the two books, we’re introduced to characters who all have one thing in common: life in an idyllic Delaware River community that had not seen a murder in decades … until Maggie Dahl came to town.
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Free for Subscribers to LGBTSr.com: In Harmony with the Seasons: Herbs, Nutrition and Well-Being, by Cathy McNease, Dipl CH, RH
Now complimentary for all subscribers to LGBTSr.com: In Harmony with the Seasons: Herbs, Nutrition and Well-Being, by Cathy McNease, Dipl CH, RH.
Prefer a paperback? In Harmony with the Seasons is available on Amazon.Already a subscriber? Look for a link to your eBook copy in the weekly email. -
Restaurant Review: 4 Comfy Yums for Plumsteadville Inn (Plumsteadville, PA)
By Mark McNease
Plumsteadville Inn
5902 Easton Road Pipersville, PA
Tel: 215-766-7500
$$ – $$$ (depending on what you order)
4 Overall Yums (3.5 food, 4.5 service)Yes, the restaurant reviews are back. In my early blogging days I sometimes got responses from restaurants I reviewed, but that’s not why I’m doing it. I love to eat, and I love to write, it’s that simple
I realized that some of our favorite places to eat are not the sort of fine-dining, 5 Yum establishments I sometimes have the good fortune to rave about. Sometimes they’re just diners, or casual establishments, and I can’t fairly compare them to a $200 meal, excluding tip, that was worth every penny. In the case of Plumsteadville Inn, where we went for the second time last night, they’re just very inviting, popular, often crowded and crowd-pleasing places where you can get good comfort food and great service.
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Now on Substack: Mark McNease On Topic
It’s a blog! It’s a newsletter! It’s a new adventure in writing!
Having just discovered Substack and all the great writers, journalists, thinkers and contemplatives offering up their intellectual property, I decided to jump right in. Mark McNease On Topic is the result. I’ll be examining something at least twice a week (gun rights, self-creation, the dangers of the unwoke, politics, culture). And on Fridays I’ll put out my Weekly Readlines news roundup.
While a lot of the writers on Substack are journalists or quasi-journalists offering paid subscriptions roughly the monthly cost of a cappuccino, mine will be free until further notice or until I have a much bigger subscription base. So why not sign up now and take this journey of discovery, recovery and misdirection with me!
Here’s my first official post from this morning (New World Disorder). Like a good blob of dough on a floured baking board, I expect to knead this out week by week until it’s something everyone in their wrong mind will want to get in their inbox. Yours, Mark.