All posts by Vance

21Jun/24

Mark Olmsted

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June 21, 2024

It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 9, Episode 24 Interview – Mark Olmsted

Mark Olmsted joins us to share his memoir Ink From the Pen. We discuss how caring for and losing his brother to HIV/AIDS while he himself was HIV+ took him down a dark path that included drug use and dealing. Being incarcerated gave him a second chance to get clean, and while doing so he turned to creativity as a form of healing that helped him survive the absurdity of prison.

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Mark Olmsted has been a writer since graduating from the NYU School of the Arts in 1980. After over a decade in Manhattan, he moved to California to pursue screenwriting and take care of his brother, who died of AIDS in 1991. Gay and HIV+ himself, Mark self-medicated through the worst of the plague years with crystal meth, which led to a conviction for drug-dealing in 2004 and nine months in prison, and his book, “Ink from the Pen.” This story was detailed in an in-depth article that appeared on GQ.com

He emerged into a life of recovery and activism, writing hundreds of essays for the Huffington Post and his personal blog. In 2011, he entered the Graduate Humanities programs in Mount St. Mary’s University, obtaining a Master’s Degree with a specialization in Creative Writing in 2013.

At present, he edits subtitles for a post-production house. He also does translation for French and script doctoring. Mark’s latest venture is writing children’s books with Marianne Hegg!

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14Jun/24

Chris Holcombe

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June 14, 2024

It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 9, Episode 23 Interview – Chris Holcombe

Chris Holcombe returns to share his Hidden Gotham series. He then teases the upcoming book 4, and shares his Pride Month Short Story!

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Chris Holcombe is the author of LGBTQ+ historical crime fiction called The Hidden Gotham Series, which showcases New York’s lively but criminally under-represented queer world of the 1920s. His first novel The Double Vice was released in 2021 to great acclaim, with Queer Writers of Crime calling it “one of the best I’ve read all year! I can’t recommend it highly enough!” His second novel The Blind Tiger was released in 2022, and it continues the story of gay speakeasy owner Dash Parker and his Queer friends in Greenwich Village and in Harlem. Readers heralded it as “honest-to-goodness pulp fiction at its gayest and most glamorous!” The third novel in the series The Devil Card was released in 2023, with readers saying it was Holcombe’s best one yet. He is currently hard at work plotting and planning the next Hidden Gotham novel. He asks that you send gin and chocolate for encouragement.

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June 16, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 8, Episode 25: Chris Holcombe + Our Review of ABC’s “Soul of a Nation: The Freedom to Exist!”

Chris Holcombe brings his fun energy as we talk about The Devil Card, the third in his Hidden Gotham series. We discuss his diverse cast and the real-world WTF facts from queer and prohibition history that shaped his setting. Then Baz and Vance rate and review ABC’s important “Soul of a Nation: The Freedom to Exist” and close by sharing who won their weeks!

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Chris Holcombe is the author of LGBTQ+ historical crime fiction called The Hidden Gotham Series, which showcases New York’s lively but criminally under-represented queer world of the 1920s.

He asks that you send gin and chocolate for encouragement.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi2viVRKYVE[/embedyt]

 

31May/24

Gayleen Froese

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May 31, 2024

It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 9, Episode 21 Interview – Gayleen Froese

Gayleen Froese returns to share her latest novel, The Dominion, a travel guide to a magical city-state that isn’t as safe as you might imagine. We then preview her upcoming release, The Man Who Hated Clouds, the latest in the Ben Ames mystery series.

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Gayleen Froese is an LGBTQ writer of detective fiction living in Edmonton, Canada. Her novels include the Ben Ames detective series, the superhero novel Lightning Strike Blues and urban fantasy The Dominion from DSP Publications, and Touch and Grayling Cross from NeWest Press.

Gayleen has appeared on Canadian Learning Television’s A Total Write-Off, won the second season of the Three Day Novel Contest on BookTelevision and, as a singer-songwriter, showcased at festivals across Canada. She has worked as a radio writer and talk show host, an advertising creative director, and a communications officer.

A past resident of Saskatoon, Toronto, and northern Saskatchewan, Gayleen now lives in Edmonton with novelist Laird Ryan States in a home that includes dogs, geckos, snakes, monitor lizards and Marlowe the tegu. When not writing, she can be found kayaking, photographing unsuspecting wildlife, and playing cooperative board games, viciously competitive card games, and tabletop RPGs.

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April 14, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 8, Episode 16: Gayleen Froese + Our Review of Only Murders in the Building!

Gayleen Froese returns to share her upcoming novel, The Man Who Lost His Pen. We talk about using setting to shape the story and geek out about languages a bit. We then review seasons 1 & 2 of Only Murders in the Building and share what won our weeks!

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Gayleen Froese is an LGBTQ writer of detective fiction living in Edmonton, Canada. She has appeared on Canadian Learning Television’s A Total Write-Off, won the second season of the Three Day Novel Contest on BookTelevision, and as a singer-songwriter, showcased at festivals across Canada. She has worked as a radio writer and talk-show host, an advertising creative director, and a communications officer.

A past resident of Saskatoon, Toronto, and northern Saskatchewan, Gayleen now lives in Edmonton with novelist Laird Ryan States in a home that includes dogs, geckos, snakes, monitor lizards, and Marlowe the tegu. When not writing, she can be found kayaking, photographing unsuspecting wildlife, and playing cooperative board games, viciously competitive card games, and tabletop RPGs.

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

December 9, 2022

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 7, Episode 49: Gayleen Froese + Our Review of Christmas at the Ranch!

Gayleen Froese shares her novel, The Girl Whose Luck Ran Out, which leads to talk about the disparity between the way M/M vs M/F romances are viewed in detective novels, and the importance of authentic locations. Then M.D. Neu joins us to review Christmas at the Ranch!

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Gayleen Froese is an LGBTQ writer of detective fiction living in Edmonton, Canada. She has appeared on Canadian Learning Television’s A Total Write-Off, won the second season of the Three Day Novel Contest on BookTelevision, and as a singer-songwriter, showcased at festivals across Canada. She has worked as a radio writer and talk-show host, an advertising creative director, and a communications officer.

A past resident of Saskatoon, Toronto, and northern Saskatchewan, Gayleen now lives in Edmonton with novelist Laird Ryan States in a home that includes dogs, geckos, snakes, monitor lizards, and Marlowe the tegu. When not writing, she can be found kayaking, photographing unsuspecting wildlife, and playing cooperative board games, viciously competitive card games, and tabletop RPGs.

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

Or Listen Right Here:

OR Watch on YouTube:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHkDdm4Qvwk[/embedyt]

24May/24

Alan Lessik

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May 24, 2024

It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 9, Episode 20 Interview – Alan Lessik

Alan Lessik shares his novel, Make The Dark Night Shine, a story of family heritage and discovery. We discuss the inspiration for the story, as well as Alan’s love of figure skating, how novels preserve queer culture, and a look into Zen Buddhism for queer folks.

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Alan Lessik is a member of the Berlin Queer Writers Circle, Zen practitioner, amateur figure skater and queer activist. His debut novel The Troubleseeker was short-listed for the Publishing Triangle’s 2017 Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ Fiction. His non-fiction works and essays have been published by Lambda Literary, the Bay Area Reporter, Advocate and San Francisco Bay Guardian. For three years, he moderated panels on queer fiction at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Conferences and served on the Board of the LGBTQ Writers Caucus.

His second novel, Make the Dark Night Shine, was awarded by Literary Titan and is a Kirkus Review recommended book.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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17May/24

Terry Connell

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May 17, 2024

It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 9, Episode 19 Interview – Terry Connell

Terry Connell returns to share his latest work, Lost Soles, a collection of images and essays inspired by the discarded shoes he saw while on long walks during the pandemic. We discuss the odd turns life takes, as well as the importance of being open to everything that comes your way.

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Terry has a degree in Elementary Education from Penn State University, and after a year of teaching he earned his Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Temple University. He worked as a therapist for a few years, until his partner Stephan died from AIDS complications. With his life at this turning point, he heard about an acupuncture clinic in Boston called AIDS Care Project (ACP). He moved to Boston in the middle of a blizzard, enrolled in the New England School of Acupuncture, and new he’d found his path. A month after graduation, he started working at ACP. After ten years, he opened a private office where he treats a variety of conditions. He published first published in 2011, his memoir titled Slaves to the Rhythm, and has continued with an award-winning collection of short stories, three screenplays, and the collection of essays in his latest work, Lost Soles.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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April 17, 2020


It gives us great pleasure to welcome Terry Connell as the guest on Episode 264 – There Are No Shoulds!

Terry Connell discusses his new collection of short stories entitled, A Little Chatter, and then shares some wellness ideas for the safe-at-home era.

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Terry has a degree in Elementary Education from Penn State University, and after a year of teaching he earned his Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Temple University. He worked as a therapist for a few years, until his partner Stephan died from AIDS complications. With his life at this turning point, he heard about an acupuncture clinic in Boston called AIDS Care Project (ACP). He moved to Boston in the middle of a blizzard, enrolled in the New England School of Acupuncture, and knew he’d found his path. A month after graduation, he started working at ACP. After ten years, he opened a private office where he treats a variety of conditions. He first published in 2011, his memoir titled Slaves to the Rhythm.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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10May/24

Gordon Blitz

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May 10, 2024

It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 9, Episode 18 Interview – Gordon Blitz

Gordon Blitz joins us to share his multi-genre strengths by writing about dementia, aging, and late-life same-sex love in Harmonic Dissonance. We then discuss his crime novel Murder Times Three-A Waverly Place Mystery where he highlights bisexual and asexual aspects of being queer while a cat uncovers clues that lead the amateur sleuth through the case.

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From a young child, Gordon was called a sissy, girlie, fag, queer, and homo. Getting towel whipped, stomach punched and spit on were part of his world. Being bullied like this made him go into a nice, staid, and stable career in accounting. Gordon didn’t find his writer’s voice until 2017 when he retired from forty years of debits and credits. Since then he’s become a passionate writing machine. Gordon has published work in Whoa Nelly Press, Wingless Dreamer, Two Hawks Quarterly, the Santa Monica College Journals Chronicles and On Going Moments, and Gay Wicked Ways.

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12Apr/24

Wendy Whitman

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April 12, 2024

It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 9, Episode 15 Interview – Wendy Whitman

Wendy Whitman returns to share her crime series that started in Premonition following the heroine, then followed the killer in Retribution. Then she drops that she’s working on the third book!

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Wendy Whitman has a unique background through her decades-long work as an executive and producer for Court TV and HLN, covering almost every major high-profile murder case in America. Through her knowledge of the most detailed aspects of the crimes, Ms. Whitman has become an expert on the subject of murder in America. Before attending Boston University School of Law, Whitman worked for comedians Lily Tomlin and George Carlin. After graduating from law school, the author embarked on what turned out to be a twenty-year career in television covering crime.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPkj1xqd2DQ[/embedyt]

July 25, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 8, Episode 32 Pride Short: Wendy Whitman

We catch Wendy Whitman on release day for her followup serial killer thriller, Retribution! This time, she’s applied her background expertise toward inviting you into the mind of the murderer!

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Wendy Whitman has a unique background. Before attending Boston University School of Law, she worked for comedians Lily Tomlin and George Carlin. After graduating from law school, Wendy embarked on what turned out to be a twenty-year career in television covering crime. Because of her decades-long work as an executive and producer for Court TV and HLN, where she covered in detail almost every major high-profile murder case in the U.S., she has become an expert on the subject of murder in America. Wendy received three Telly Awards and 2 GLAAD nominations during her tenure at Court TV.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rapf76kz-Ug[/embedyt]

January 28, 2022

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Wendy Whitman as the guest on Season 7, Episode 04 – Revenge!

Wendy Whitman shares how her 20-year career producing crime on television led to her first novel, Premonition!

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Wendy Whitman has a unique background. Before attending Boston University School of Law, she worked for comedians Lily Tomlin and George Carlin. After graduating from law school, Wendy embarked on what turned out to be a twenty-year career in television covering crime. Because of her decades-long work as an executive and producer for Court TV and HLN, where she covered in detail almost every major high-profile murder case in the U.S., she has become an expert on the subject of murder in America. Wendy received three Telly Awards and a GLAAD nomination during her tenure at Court TV.

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

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OR Watch on YouTube: 

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

 

29Mar/24

Mark S. King

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March 29, 2024

It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 9, Episode 13 Interview – Mark S. King

Mark S. King joins us to share his memoir, My Fabulous Disease, sparking conversation about collecting decades of essays about his life into a memoir narrative and he shares a great lens through which he sees events!

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Mark S. King has been writing about gay life, sex, and survival since testing HIV positive in 1985. His blog, My Fabulous Disease, has been nominated seven times for a GLAAD Media Award, winning in 2020. King has also been named LGBTQ Journalist of the Year by NLGJA, the association of LGBTQ journalists. King lives in Atlanta with his husband, Michael.

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22Mar/24

Rob Rosen

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March 22, 2024

It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 9, Episode 12 Interview – Rob Rosen

Rob Rosen returns to share his novel, D.B. and Me, sparking conversation about the growth of queer literature, and fictionalizing the later life of a real person!

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Multi-award-winning and best-selling author/editor/anthologist Rob Rosen is the author of Sparkle: The Queerest Book You’ll Ever Love, Divas Las Vegas, Hot Lava, Southern Fried, Queerwolf, Vamp, Queens of the Apocalypse, Creature Comfort, Fate, Midlife Crisis, Fierce, And God Belched, Mary, Queen of Scotch, Ted of the d’Urbervilles, Sort of Dead, Genie in a Vodka Bottle, Bobby Ray Breaks the Universe, and D.B. and Me. His short stories have appeared in more than 200 anthologies. You can read some of his best ones in Short Spurts, Short Spurts 2, and Short Spurts 3. He is also the editor of Lust in Time: Erotic Romance Through the Ages, Men of the Manor, Best Gay Erotica 2015 and Best Gay Erotica of the Year, Volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4.

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oau8XkX0rFY[/embedyt]

July 14, 2017


It gives us great pleasure to announce Rob Rosen as the guest on Episode 120: Utopian Society of Drag Queens!

This week Rob Rosen joins us to discuss his latest novel, the changes and growth of gay writing and erotica over time, why he writes in many genres, and his love of working to get other writers published.

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A native New Yorker, transplanted to the South, Rob has a B.S. in Biology from Emory University in Atlanta, where he worked for eight long years as a clinical biochemist. When he turned thirty, he packed it all in, sold his car, broke his lease and moved to the land of his dreams, San Francisco – where he plans on staying until he retires to Palm Springs, hopefully sooner rather than later.

He lives with his incredible husband, Kenny, who he loves more than anything in the world. On average, he writes two novels a year, and has also had short stories published in over 200 anthologies. He also contributed erotica to MEN and Freshmen magazines for over five years.

 

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15Mar/24

Gary Pedler

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March 15, 2024

It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 9, Episode 11 Interview – Gary Pedler

Gary Pedler returns to share the journey of his novel, Gaydonia, from post-travel idea, to screenplay, to stage play, to publication!

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Gary Pedler was raised in the Napa Valley when it produced as many plums as grapes; studied at UC Santa Cruz when it was still small and kooky; and made his home in San Francisco before it was annexed by Silicon Valley.

Gary’s publishing credits include the Middle Grade novel Amy McDougall, Master Matchmaker); the comic novella Gaydonia; and the travel memoir Couchsurfing: the Musical. His shorter works have appeared in The Missouri Review, Berkeley Fiction Review, The Smart Set, the anthology Outer Voices, Inner Lives, and other publications.

Gary is currently single and has no children, though he did once have a cat he was very fond of and still dreams about with intense feeling.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FztvI-guM4[/embedyt]

June 30, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 8, Episode 28: Gary Pedler + our “The Stroll” review!

Gary Pedler joins us to share his middle-grade novel: Amy McDougall, Master Matchmaker. We talk about being a queer parent, adopting, dating, and libraries. Then we review the documentary The Stroll, and share what’s won our weeks!

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Gary was raised in the Napa Valley when it produced as many plums as grapes; studied at UC Santa Cruz when it was still small and kooky; and made his home in San Francisco before it was annexed by Silicon Valley.

Gary’s publishing credits include the middle-grade novel Amy McDougall, Master Matchmaker; the comic novella Gaydonia; and the travel memoir Couchsurfing: the Musical. His shorter works have appeared in The Missouri Review, Berkeley Fiction Review, The Smart Set, the anthology Outer Voices, Inner Lives, and other publications.

Gary is currently single and has no children, though he did once have a cat he was very fond of and still dreams about with intense feeling.

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=b1Bw-Y4-WXs[/embedyt]