All posts by Vance

23Jun/23

Felice Cohen

June 23, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 8, Episode 27: Felice Cohen + our “Matteo Lane: Hair Plugs & Heartache” review!

Felice Cohen joins us to share her memoir, Half-In: A Coming of Age Memoir of Forbidden Love, which leads us into a discussion of forbidden love and moving forward. We also dive into how she rewrites classic fairy tails with an LGBTQ+ twist with her The Fancy Tales. Then we review Matteo Lane: Hair Plugs and Heartache, and share what’s won our weeks!

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Bio:
Known nationally and internationally as the woman who lived in one of the world’s smallest apartments, Felice Cohen is the award-winning author of the bestselling books Half In: A Coming-of-Age Memoir of Forbidden Love, 90 Lessons for Living Large in 90 Square Feet (…or More) (inspired by the YouTube video of her tiny NYC studio with over 25 million views) and What Papa Told Me, about her grandfather’s life before, during and after the Holocaust.

Felice also writes The Fancy Tales, a modern day take on the versions of the classic fairy tales we grew up with. These tales take place in New York City with the magic happening in Central Park, and contain a wholesomely presented and slightly sophisticated LGBTQ+ twist. Felice splits her time between NYC and Cape Cod.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilrsUV-k2N8[/embedyt]


 

16Jun/23

Jeffrey Dale Lofton

June 16, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 8, Episode 26: Jeffrey Dale Lofton

Jeffrey Dale Lofton joins Vance for a WRitten On The Edge Pride Short. We talk about the inspiration for Jeffrey’s debut novel Red Clay Suzie, and then dive into some of the events that inspired the fictional memoir and close with a message that help is available if you need it.

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Bio:
JEFFREY DALE LOFTON hails from Warm Springs, Georgia, best known as the home of Roosevelt’s Little White House. He calls the nation’s capital home now and has for over three decades. During those early years he spent many a night trodding the boards of the DC’s theaters and performing arts centers, including the Kennedy Center, Studio Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, and Signature Theatre. He even scored a few television screen appearances, including a residuals-rich Super Bowl halftime commercial, which his accountant quipped “is the finest work of your career.” His years telling the stories of playwrights and scriptwriters taught him the pull of a powerful story arc, and the splendor of language well used. Today, he is a senior advisor at the Library of Congress, surrounded by books and people who love books—in short, paradise.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikysg3io8Q0[/embedyt]


05May/23

Daniel Land

May 5, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 8, Episode 19: Daniel Land + Our Review of Alex Borstein: Corsets & Clown Suits!

Daniel Land joins us to share his upcoming album, Out of Season. He leads us into a discussion about identity and memory, then we review Alex Borstein’s Corsets & Clown Suits, followed by what won our weeks!

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Bio:
Daniel Land has become both a scholar and a practitioner of the kind of music he creates, studying towards a PhD on artists like the Cocteau Twins and Slowdive at the London College of Music, whilst collaborating with artists as varied as Darkher, Swoone, and the electronica auteur Ulrich Schnauss.

Daniel will release his new album, Out of Season, in 2023. He is currently writing a concept album about the AIDS crisis, and is working on the second draft of a memoir about homophobia.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plxYfpXXJzY[/embedyt]


28Apr/23

Just the 2 of Us

April 28, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 8, Episode 18: Just the 2 of Us + Our Review of Do I Sound Gay?

Just the hosts this week, kicking off with our review of Do I Sound Gay, followed by a rollicking share of what won our weeks!

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Tune in for weekly discussions about LGBTQ storytelling in all genres and mediums. Our guests share personal accounts on living the artistic life and their personal experiences writing, crafting, and reading stories that explore the edges of what’s accepted and where storytelling should be headed.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7_BKVU5xLQ[/embedyt]

21Apr/23

J. Marshall Freeman

April 21, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 8, Episode 17: J. Marshall Freeman + Our Review of Titans!

J Marshall Freeman returns to share his narrated-by-the-author release of The Dubious Gift of Dragon Blood! We then go in-depth on his process in audio storytelling, followed by our review of the final season of Titans, and finally share what won our weeks!

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J. Marshall Freeman is the author of the young adult fantasy novels, The Dubious Gift of Dragon Blood (2020) and Barnabas Bopwright Saves the City (2022). He is one of three authors in the YA novella collection, Three Left Turns to Nowhere (2022), along with Jeffrey Ricker and ’Nathan Burgoine. Freeman is a two-time winner of the Saints+Sinners Fiction Contest. He is currently writing two novels: an adult magic realist tale of Toronto’s queer community in the early ’80s, and a middle-grade science fiction novel about evil trillionaires and brave dogs.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODrKwehJ_Ag[/embedyt]

 


July 22, 2022

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 7, Episode 29 – J. Marshall Freeman + Our Review of The Umbrella Academy!

J. Marshall Freeman returns to share his latest novel: Barnabas Bopwright Saves the City with us, and we then discuss how to make inactive adults believable in YA, as well as diversity and father/son themes. Then Baz and Vance review The Umbrella Academy and share who won the week for them!

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J. Marshall Freeman is the author of the young adult fantasy novels, The Dubious Gift of Dragon Blood (2020) and Barnabas Bopwright Saves the City, which came out in May. He is one of three authors in the YA novella collection, Three Left Turns to Nowhere (2022), along with Jeffrey Ricker and ’Nathan Burgoine. Freeman is a two-time winner of the Saints+Sinners Fiction Contest. He is currently researching and writing The Yonge Line, a novel set in Toronto’s queer community in the early ’80s. Freeman lives in Toronto, Canada with his husband.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMoLK2-4mm4[/embedyt]


April 22, 2022

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Jeffrey Ricker, J. Marshall Freeman, and ‘Nathan Burgoine as the guests on Season 7, Episode 16 – Oooh, Nerd Hot!

Jeffrey Ricker, J. Marshall Freeman, ‘Nathan Burgoine tag-team the show to introduce their latest work, Three Left Turns to Nowhere. Each has written a novella about a young man on his way to a sci-fi convention when Fate intervenes and strands them in Hopewell where they find that thing they didn’t know they needed. These three authors are so much fun, and it’s easy to see how well they worked together!

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Jeffrey Ricker is the author of Detours (2011) and the YA fantasy The Unwanted (2014). His stories and essays have appeared in Foglifter, Phoebe, Little Fiction, The Citron Review, The Saturday Evening Post, and others. A 2014 Lambda Literary Fellow and recipient of a 2015 Vermont Studio Center residency, he has an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and teaches creative writing at Webster University.

J. Marshall Freeman is a writer of novels, short stories, and poetry. He is the author of the young adult fantasy novel The Dubious Gift of Dragon Blood (2020) and the upcoming YA adventure Barnabas Bopwright Saves the City (May 2022). He is a two-time winner of the Saints+Sinners Fiction Contest (2017 and 2019), and lives in Toronto, Canada, with his husband and dog.

’Nathan Burgoine grew up a reader and studied literature in university while making a living as a bookseller. His first novel, Light, was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. Triad Blood and Triad Soul are also available from Bold Strokes Books, as is his YA novel Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks and his first collection, Of Echoes Born. For novella lovers, In Memoriam, Handmade Holidays, Faux Ho Ho, Village Fool, and A Little Village Blend are shorter queer romances (often with a dash of speculative fiction). A cat lover, ’Nathan managed to fall in love and marry Daniel, who is a confirmed dog person. They live in Ottawa, Canada—with their rescued husky, in case you were wondering how the cat-dog thing turned out.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0eWRLS54is[/embedyt]


November 20, 2020

It gives us great pleasure to welcome J. Marshall Freeman as the guest on Episode 295 – Coming Out As a Novelist!)

J Marshall Freeman shares his latest release, The Dubious Gift of Dragon Blood. We talk about the evolution of the book and real, self-discovering queer characters in a world with dragons!

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Bio:

J. Marshall Freeman is a writer of fiction and poetry, a musician, and graphic designer. He is a two-time winner of the Saints+Sinners fiction contest (2017 and 2019). In 2019, he published “Arthropoda,” a chapbook of poetry.

In December 2020, his young adult fantasy novel, The Dubious Gift of Dragon Blood, will be published by Bold Strokes Books. Upcoming work includes the young adult adventure novel, Barnabas Bopwright Saves the City, and the climate change science fiction novel, Cicada Rises from the Earth.

He lives in Toronto, Canada with his husband and dog.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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07Apr/23

Olivier Bosman and Audio Mystery Theatre

April 7, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 8, Episode 15: Olivier Bosman and Audio Mystery Theatre + our “Can You Ever Forgive Me” review!

Olivier Bosman, creator of Audio Mystery Theatre, shares how he’s worked to transform his mystery novels into a radio show-style podcast. We then review Can You Ever Forgive Me and share what won our weeks!

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Born to Dutch parents and raised in Colombia and England, Olivier is a rootless wanderer with itchy feet. He’s spent the last few years living and working in The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Sudan and Bulgaria, but has every confidence that he will now finally be able to settle down among the olive groves of Andalucia.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huhrmNUzWVs[/embedyt]


24Mar/23

Larry Altmayer

March 24, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 8, Episode 12: Larry Altmayer + our “Magpie Murders” review!

Larry Altmayer, actor, producer, and writer, joins us to share his two films that are being sent to the film festivals: Favorite Son and Silver Fox. We discuss pursuing one’s dreams and developing projects. We then review Magpie Murders and share what won our weeks!

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Larry Altmayer is an actor, writer, and producer living in the Los Angeles area. He grew up in Levittown, NY, and has also lived in the Washington, DC area.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfSjG-nZlxY[/embedyt]


17Mar/23

Brad Shreve

March 17, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 8, Episode 11: Brad Shreve + our “Bros” review!

Brad Shreve has embarked on a new podcast journey, Queer We Are, where he interviews everyone from normal folk to celebrities about the challenges they’ve faced, inspiration they’ve found, and how they define their success. As though he were a guest on his own show, Brad shares his origin story with us while discussing the shows focus. We then review Bros with guest reviewer Albert Nothlit!

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Bio:

Brad’s life has been a series of adjustments.
He was 35 and had a wife and daughter when he came out, forcing him to adapt from living a lie to being who he is overnight. Freeing, yet difficult.
Later, drugs and alcohol consumed his life taking him from a being corporate executive to living on the streets of Los Angeles. Once he believed he had rebounded his life took another turn and he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. A disease he struggled with his entire life but didn’t understand.
Brad realized although his life was a series of struggles, he survived by following the inspiration of others and redefining his life and what success meant to him. Many people, have the definition of success thrust upon them and queer people especially.
Wanting others to be inspired as he had been he decided to launch Queer We Are. Brad’s goal is to motivate and inspire listeners without feeling they’re listening to a show about motivation and inspiration. His expectation is he’ll help more people by making his conversations equally entertaining.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilJEE_LZD-w[/embedyt]


March 26, 2021

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Brad Shreve back as the guest on Episode 313 – These Are Not the Romances You Are Looking For

Brad Shreve, host of the Queer Writers of Crime podcast jumps in for something completely different! We compare and discuss the necessity of our respective podcasts and Brad gets to put Vance and Baz in the hot seat about how WROTE began and evolved, and the small part it had in Brad’s own journey.

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Bio:

After growing up in Michigan and North Carolina, Brad crisscrossed the country while working in the hotel industry. In addition to working in hotels as a bellman, front desk clerk, and reservation call center director, he managed coffee houses, waited tables, sold potato chips off a truck, and even hawked pre-burial funeral plans.

Though his interest in writing began at an early age, entering the hotel business soon after graduation steered him in a different direction. The secretary, the big office and a prestigious title were great for the ego but weren’t all that fulfilling.

He was delighted when he discovered the gay mystery subgenre and the number of writers who inspired him to follow this more comfortable direction are too numerous to mention.

As a grownup Brad was thinking of what he wanted to do when he became a bigger grownup and the answer was obvious. His fingertips have been on the keyboard ever since.

He’s a proud dad, beach bum, and coffee house squatter.

He currently lives in the Los Angeles South Bay with his husband, Maurice.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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November 1, 2019


It gives us great pleasure to welcome Brad Shreve as the guest on Episode 240 – Crime is Prime!

Brad Shreve joins us to discuss his latest release, A Body in the Bathhouse, and his new gay mystery podcast.

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Books Mentioned in this Episode:

Bio:

After growing up in Michigan and North Carolina, Brad crisscrossed the country while working in the hotel industry. In addition to working in hotels as a bellman, front desk clerk, and reservation call center director, he managed coffee houses, waited tables, sold potato chips off a truck, and even hawked pre-burial funeral plans.

Though his interest in writing began at an early age, entering the hotel business soon after graduation steered him in a different direction. The secretary, the big office and a prestigious title were great for the ego but weren’t all that fulfilling.

He was delighted when he discovered the gay mystery subgenre and the number of writers who inspired him to follow this more comfortable direction are too numerous to mention.

As a grownup Brad was thinking of what he wanted to do when he became a bigger grownup and the answer was obvious. His fingertips have been on the keyboard ever since.

He’s a proud dad, beach bum, and coffee house squatter.

He currently lives in the Los Angeles South Bay with his husband, Maurice.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
Apple PodcastsGoogle PlayiHeartRadioSpotifyStitcherTuneIn

Or right here:

 

10Mar/23

Eric Terino

March 10, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 8, Episode 10: Eric Terino + our “The Power of the Dog” review!

Eric Terino, poetic bard of the modern era, joins us to share his recent album, Innovations of Grave Perversity! He then shares how he’s collaborated with others in recent years, and closes with a live performance of “Felt” from the album! Then we review The Power of the Dog, offer an apology to author Fiona Shaw, and share what won our weeks!

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Tapping into the rich timeless history of romance and poetics past, Eric Terino’s musical landscape paints a portrait of an American artist with a sweeping perspective on what it means to be human. The deeply personal becomes universal and heartbreak can be transformed to healing. Similar in fashion to Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, his tales of suffering mend with beauty. Gilding the places we have been hurt as a means of moving forward. This potential for alchemy exists everywhere, and Terino’s serenaded solitude reminds us of the infinite beauty in it all.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGA-uG5LYp8[/embedyt]

 

03Mar/23

Zoe Briskey

March 3, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 8, Episode 9: Zoe Briskey + our “Spoiler Alert” review!

Zoe Briskey, an exhilirating electronic pop artist from NYC, joins us to share her upcoming single, Better Than Ur Boyfriend! She then tells the hilarious story of the song’s origin, and closes with highlighting her hilarious TikTok adventures! Then we review Spoiler Alert and share what won our weeks!

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Hailing from New York City, Zoe Briskey is one of the most exhilarating electronic-pop artists of this generation. Musically she synthesizes mainstream pop with an experimental electronic touch, invoking names like Charli XCX and Halsey. Her clever and caring nature can be felt through her lyrics, which center around queer love and the discovery and empowerment of oneself.

Self built, self funded, and entirely self produced, Zoe can be found touring worldwide. She is intoxicating to be around, unabashed in who she is, and unafraid to be herself, both in life and in her music. Zoe also runs a TikTok that focuses on the LGBTQIA+ community, for which she has a strong commitment to representing and staying in close touch with.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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Or Listen Right Here:

OR Watch on YouTube:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I0yK2fyCvI[/embedyt]