All posts by Vance

19Aug/22

Victor Evans

August 19, 2022

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 7, Episode 33 – Victor Evans + Our Review of The Sandman!

Victor D’Shawn Evans introduces us to his middle school mystery, The Case of the Missing Lightning Bat. We discuss why it’s so importance to support works with characters of color and different sexualities, especially for young teens who are just starting to question. Then Baz and Vance review The Sandman and share who won the week for them!

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Bio:
Victor D’Shawn Evans has been teaching communications in higher education for the past 20 years. Prior to teaching, he was an entertainment journalist. When he noticed there weren’t many places for gay black teens to see themselves represented, he started writing and a documentary film production company. When he’s not teaching or working on film projects, he can be found on his farm with his partner where they wrangle goats, pigs, and chickens.

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12Aug/22

John Whittier Treat

August 12, 2022

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 7, Episode 32 – John Whittier Treat + Our Review of Big Eden!

John Whittier Treat shares how his experience as a stutterer shaped his novel, First Consonants. We also discuss a bit about how the environment needs to be present in every story moving forward. Then Baz and Vance review Big Eden and share who won the week for them!

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Bio:
John Whittier Treat is the winner of the Christopher Hewitt Award in fiction and a Pushcart Prize nominee. He is the author of the novel The Rise and Fall of the Yellow House (Big Table Publishing Company), a finalist for the 2016 Lambda Literary Foundation Award for Best Gay Fiction. He was also a finalist for both the fiction and poetry prizes in the 2021 Saints & Sinners competition. His opinion pieces have appeared in The New York Times, HuffPost, and Out magazine. He’s lived in the Pacific Northwest for four decades, and currently resides in Seattle with his husband.

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Yst4swR0-4[/embedyt]

05Aug/22

Ellie Johnson

August 5, 2022

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 7, Episode 31 – Ellie Johnson + Our Review of The Lake!

Ellie Johnson shares how her experience on a 450 mile canoe trip lead to writing The Barrens with her father, Kurt Johnson. We discuss a bit about coming out, co-writing with a family member, and the importance of storytelling. Then Baz and Vance review The Lake and share who won the week for them!

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Bio:
Ellie Johnson paddled the 450-mile Thelon River with three other women at the age of seventeen. The novel is based in part on that canoe trip as well as her real-life experiences growing up as a gay woman. Ellie is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota and lives in St. Paul.

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15Jul/22

Frank W. Butterfield

July 15, 2022

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 7, Episode 28 – Frank W. Butterfield + Our Review of Stranger Things!

Frank W. Butterfield returns to share his latest novels: Situation, The Useful Uncle, and his upcoming The Seductive Sellout with us, and we then discuss his ability to weave mysteries in multiple decades as well as some of his more recent, modern tie-ins. Then Baz and Vance review Stranger Things and share who won the week for them!

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Bio:
Frank W. Butterfield is the Amazon best-selling author of The Nick Williams Mysteries and dozens of other stories all set in the same universe. Frank is a Sagittarius who enjoys the beach, watching old movies, and listening to the bossa nova.

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December 11, 2020

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Frank W. Butterfield back as the guest on Episode 298 – I Knew The Answer To This Yesterday!)

Frank W. Butterfield returns to share a year of holiday-oriented short stories, dealing with COVID in contemporary novels, and his deep dive into a real 1947 murder in Daytona Beach and how he’s using it as a template for a novel!

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Bio:

Amazon best-selling author Frank W. Butterfield (not an assumed name) loves old movies, wise-cracking smart guys with hearts of gold, and writing for fun.

Although Frank worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast. Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983. After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he now makes his home in a hurricane-proof apartment, built in 1926, with superior water pressure. While he hasn’t met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.

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August 16, 2019

Frank W Butterfield 2019 graphic
It gives us great pleasure to welcome Frank W. Butterfield back as the guest on Episode 229 – 3000 Questions About the Past!

Frank W. Butterfield returns to chat about his three series, how they’re all related, and about queer history and history in general. A fabulous time had by all!

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Books Mentioned in this Episode:

Bio:

Amazon best-selling author Frank W. Butterfield (not an assumed name) loves old movies, wise-cracking smart guys with hearts of gold, and writing for fun.

Although Frank worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast. Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983. After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he now makes his home in a hurricane-proof motel, built in 1947, with superior water pressure. While he hasn’t met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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October 26, 2018

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Frank W. Butterfield back as the guest on Episode 187 – My Gay Perry Mason!!

Frank W. Butterfield returns to the show to discuss adding a series alongside his current series, reconstructing history, and reviewer vs character point of view.

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Books Mentioned in this Episode:

Bio:

Frank W. Butterfield, not an assumed name, loves old movies, wise-cracking smart guys with hearts of gold, and writing for fun.

Although he worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast.

Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983.

After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he currently makes his home in a hurricane-proof motel with superior water pressure that was built in 1947.

While he hasn’t met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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November 17, 2017


It gives us great pleasure to welcome Frank W. Butterfield as the guest on Episode 138: It’s All True and Very Silly!

This week Frank W. Butterfield joins us to talk about his latest novel, The Rotten Rancher, the joys (and woes, but mostly joys) of writing a historical fiction series, and suspending belief long enough to let historical figures impact a story without their legacies being impacted!

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** Read Jayne’s Review of The Laconic Lumberjack HERE!

Bio:

Frank W. Butterfield, not an assumed name, loves old movies, wise-cracking smart guys with hearts of gold, and writing for fun.

Although he worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast.

Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983.

After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he currently makes his home in a hurricane-proof motel with superior water pressure that was built in 1947.

While he hasn’t met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.

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

08Jul/22

Allen Ellenzweig

July 8, 2022

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 7, Episode 27 – Allen Ellenzweig + Our Review of Grace and Frankie!

Allen Ellenzweig shares his biography George Platt Lynes: The Daring Eye with us, and we then discuss this photographer’s life in the early and mid 1900s as a gay socialite. Then Baz and Vance review Grace and Frankie and share who won the week for them!

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Bio:
Allen Ellenzweig is a cultural critic and commentator who has published in numerous arts and general interest periodicals, including The Village Voice and Art in America, as well as the online journals Tablet, The Forward, and Poetry Magazine. His landmark history, The Homoerotic Photograph: Male Images from Durieu/Delacroix to Mapplethorpe, was published in 1992. He is a regular contributor to the Gay & Lesbian Review/Worldwide and teaches in the Writing Program of Rutgers University.

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rOX-5FKdP4[/embedyt]

17Jun/22

Hans Hirschi

June 17, 2022

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Hans M. Hirschi as the guest on Season 7, Episode 24 – Hans M. Hirschi + Our Review of Fire Island!

Hans M. Hirschi returns to discuss his novel Michel: Fallen Angel of Paris! We discuss how this minor character from an earlier novel has stayed with Hans waiting for his story to be told. Then Baz and Vance review Fire Island and share who won the week for them!

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Bio:
Hans writes books and stories that deal with things that are important to him, family, relationships, everyday life of regular people in unexpected situations. They are mostly contemporary, inspiring feel-good fiction with unconventional, but always hopeful or happy endings. Because… It’s what he likes to read.

He’s not just an author, he’s a public speaker, a training executive, a tour guide, and an activist on behalf of our LGBTQ+ siblings around the world. He loves travel, as it often inspires his writing. Hans, his amazing husband Alex, their beautiful son Sascha, two cats, and a bunch of fish live together on an island in the Gothenburg archipelago where they are car-free and mostly carefree…

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March 27, 2020

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Hans M. Hirschi back as the guest on Episode 261 – Nobody Ever Told Me How to Douche!

Hans M Hirschi shares his upcoming release Matt: More Than Words, and a project he’s working on that pairs writers and dancers, plus a bit about being creative in this Covid-19 era.

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Books mentioned in this episode:

Writing for Dance Preview

Bio:

Hans likes to read books that deal with issues he can relate to, tackling the big as well as the mundane questions facing humanity and particularly the LGBT community today, from parenting, family relationships, love, loss, but also difficult subjects like our environment, trafficking, child abuse, racism, global warming, aging etc.

He’s a father married to the most amazing man, Alex. Together they have a beautiful son, Sascha. He considers himself a citizen of the world, having lived on two continents and traveled extensively (a hobby) through another three. He has friends all over the world.

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September 6, 2019

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Hans M. Hirschi back as the guest on Episode 232 – I’ve Never Spoken About This to Anybody…

Hans M. Hirschi returns to discuss the conclusion of his YA series, The Golden One, and reveal the next children’s book he’s working on.

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Books mentioned in this episode:

Bio:

Hans likes to read books that deal with issues he can relate to, tackling the big as well as the mundane questions facing humanity and particularly the LGBT community today, from parenting, family relationships, love, loss, but also difficult subjects like our environment, trafficking, child abuse, racism, global warming, aging etc.

He’s a father married to the most amazing man, Alex. Together they have a beautiful son, Sascha. He considers himself a citizen of the world, having lived on two continents and traveled extensively (a hobby) through another three. He has friends all over the world. When he’s not writing, he has a new side venture working as a tour guide in Gothenburg.

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April 12, 2019

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Hans M. Hirschi back as the guest on Episode 211 – Are We Supposed to Respond?

Hans M. Hirschi shares his latest book and audiobook releases for children (The Dragon Princess) and young adults (The Golden One trilogy).

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Books mentioned in this episode:

Bio:

Hans likes to read books that deal with issues he can relate to, tackling the big as well as the mundane questions facing humanity and particularly the LGBT community today, from parenting, family relationships, love, loss, but also difficult subjects like our environment, trafficking, child abuse, racism, global warming, aging etc.

He’s a fifty-one-year-old father married to the most amazing man, Alex. Together they have a beautiful five-year-old son, Sascha. He considers himself a citizen of the world, having lived on two continents and traveled extensively (a hobby) through another three. He has friends all over the world. When he’s not writing, he has a new side venture working as a tour guide in Gothenburg.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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May 23, 2018


It gives us great pleasure to welcome Hans M. Hirschi back as the guest on Episode 165 – Don’t Do This Without Parental Supervision!!

Hans M. Hirschi returns to the show to share his latest novel Returning to the Land of the Morning Calm, to talk about how he weaves all the elements of life into a story, and why he’s a feel-good writer!!

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Bio:

Hans likes to read books that deal with issues he can relate to, tackling the big as well as the mundane questions facing humanity and particularly the LGBT community today, from parenting, family relationships, love, loss, but also difficult subjects like our environment, trafficking, child abuse, racism, global warming, aging etc.

He’s a fifty-one-year-old father married to the most amazing man, Alex. Together they have a beautiful five-year-old son, Sascha. He considers himself a citizen of the world, having lived on two continents and traveled extensively (a hobby) through another three. He has friends all over the world. When he’s not writing, he has a new side venture working as a tour guide in Gothenburg.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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October 13, 2017


It gives us great pleasure to welcome Hans M. Hirschi as the guest on Episode 133: Hits Close to Home!

This week Hans M. Hirschi joins the show to discuss his latest release, Disease, writing about the tough topics that face families of every type, and the upcoming GayRomLit Retreat!

Follow Hans and support his work:

Bio:

Hans likes to read books that deal with issues he can relate to, tackling the big as well as the mundane questions facing humanity and particularly the LGBT community today, from parenting, family relationships, love, loss, but also difficult subjects like our environment, trafficking, child abuse, racism, global warming, aging etc.

He’s a fifty-year-old father who clings to the illusion of still being his pen-age of twenty-seven, despite his body’s daily wake-up reminders to the contrary. He’s married to the most amazing man, Alex, and together they have a beautiful four-year-old son, Sascha. He considers himself a citizen of the world, having lived on two continents and traveled extensively (a hobby) through another three. He has friends all over the world. When he’s not writing, he likes to do public speaking or training (where he has his professional background).

 

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10Jun/22

Veronica Carrera

June 10, 2022

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Veronica Carrera as the guest on Season 7, Episode 23 – Veronica Carrera + Our Review of Tangerine!

Veronica Carrera joins us to discuss her memoir 140 Miles of Life: A Remarkable Journey to Self Acceptance & Love! We discuss how she framed her themes of immigration, loss, faith, identity, love, and self acceptance within the legs of her Ironman experience. Then Baz and Vance review Tangerine and share who won the week for them!

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Bio:
Veronica’s story of triumphing over adversity, not only offers hope and inspiration for readers to discover true inner wisdom and acceptance but may save lives!

Hers is a story of love, loss, courage and healing.

Today, she is an avid triathlete and passionate advocate for human rights, a highly sought-after speaker and a successful sales leader at one of the top tech companies in the world. She is also the creator/producer of the LinkedIn Live show 30 Minutes of Wisdom-Rising in Consciousness & Mindfulness.

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXcCdS_4lTI[/embedyt]

03Jun/22

Marcus James

June 3, 2022

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Marcus James as the guest on Season 7, Episode 22 – Marcus James + Our Look at Queer Themes in the Star Trek Series!

Marcus James joins us to share his novel about sex, revenge, deceit, and affluenza – Where the Vile Things Are! Then Baz and Vance discuss queerness through the Star Trek series!

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Bio:
Marcus James has been writing since the age of 5. At 17 he finished his first novel, and at 19 he was signed with his first literary agent. He’s been published in a dozen anthologies, and has published nine of his own novels – all of them varied and wonderful, filled with complex and engrossing people.

Marcus’ experience with conversion therapy at the age of 14 led to a lifelong activism for LGBTQ rights and sharing his story to help end clinical conversion therapy in Washington state.

He’s a horror FANATIC, and loves to cook. Marcus also loves his pets, history, music & live shows, and drinking champagne till he can’t take the bubbles anymore! Through his novels he hopes to always show that everyone can be a hero, everyone can save the world, even a fem gay boy with a swish in his step!

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEaLmv3t-SY[/embedyt]

20May/22

Tyler Boyle

May 20, 2022

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Tyler Boyle as the guest on Season 7, Episode 20 – Tyler Boyle + Our Review of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil!

Tyler Boyle joins us to share his successes as an inspiring and energetic speaker and performer. He and Baz talk about the impact it can have when you share from the heart. Then Baz & I share our review of the older film “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”

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Bio:
Spirit Artist – a term once used to describe Tyler’s niche in the visual world, now used to describe his uplifting and inspiring energy and performances.

Tyler is an entertainer, host/emcee, hype-guy and speaker. Since 2012, he has been working in the festivals and events industry as a dancer and hype-guy. In 2017, he was invited to perform at TEDx Collingwood then invited back the following year as host. He has also hosted various Pride events and his local chapter of the popular show Dragon’s Den. In 2019, Tyler participated in Speaker Slam, Canada’s #1 Inspirational Speaking Competition. His talk entitled, Sabotaging my Dating Life went viral after it was posted online.

Tyler is also a painter and sculptor specializing in Spirit Art where he explores the theme of masculinity and the gay male experience.

As an elementary school teacher, Tyler is a recipient of the 2020 Prime Minister’s Award of Teaching Excellence and the 2020 Elementary Teacher’s Federation of Ontario’s Award for Local Humanitarian. Additionally, Tyler is an EDGEucator and resource consultant for a progressive education company called Moving EDGEucation.

Currently, Tyler is working on expanding the Dreamwalkers Meditations project. Dreamwalkers is a mental health resource of guided meditations for youth in schools.

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NONyKex2lRo[/embedyt]

13May/22

Greg Howard

May 13, 2022

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Greg Howard as the guest on Season 7, Episode 19 – Greg Howard + Our Review of Latter Days!

Greg Howard joins us to share his recent novels, Middle School’s A Drag, You Better Werk! and The Visitors. We talk about writing for early adolescent readers in a way that opens conversations about life topics like self-discovery, racism, homophobia, bias, and forgiveness. Then Baz & I share our review of the older film “Latter Days.”

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Bio:
Greg Howard was born and raised in the South Carolina Lowcountry where his love of stories blossomed at a young age. Following his songwriting dream to Nashville, Greg spent years producing the music of others before returning to his childhood passion for writing stories. His critically acclaimed, debut middle-grade novel, The Whispers was nominated for an Edgar Award and is currently being adapted for film. His second middle-grade novel, Middle School’s a Drag, You Better Werk! is being adapted for television by Harry Potter producer David Heyman, Heyday Television, and NBC/Universal.

Greg writes for and about LGBTQ youth, creating the kind of books he wishes he’d had access to as a young reader. When he’s not writing books, Greg enjoys traveling, reading, hiking, and spending time with friends. He lives in Nashville with his two rescued fur-babies—Molly and Riley.

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