All posts by Vance

17Nov/23

Damian Serbu

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November 17, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 8, Episode 48 Interview – Damian Serbu

Damian Serbu returns for a great discussion of his latest release, The Vampire’s War. We talk about author works mirroring author lives and why the freedom of the monster calls to us as readers.

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Damian Serbu is an author of gay horror/speculative fiction. After over twenty years of teaching history at the collegiate level, he now writes full time. He lives in the Chicagoland area with his husband and two dogs.

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ytncNKb7Mw[/embedyt]

April 30, 2021

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Damian Serbu as the guest on Season 6, Episode 17 – Loyal, Humorous, and Passionate!

Damian Serbu joins Vance and Baz for a great discussion of his latest release, The Vampire’s Witch. This leads to discussing queer representation in the horror genre and how a queer perspective can provide some unique perspectives.

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Damian Serbu lives in the Chicago area with his husband and two dogs, Akasha and Chewbacca. The dogs control his life, tell him what to write, and threaten to eat him in the middle of the night if he disobeys. His love for gay vampires led to his series, The Realm of the Vampire Council.

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10Nov/23

Judy Kiehart

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November 10, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 8, Episode 47 Interview – Judy Kiehart

Judy Kiehart introduces us to her memoir Calico Lane, and shares her journey through other people’s expectations on her life to where she arrived at the life that’s authentically her own.

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When Judy was little her mom told her, “Stop making things up.” She didn’t listen. In fact, she cannot remember a time when there wasn’t a story rambling around in her head leading her to scribble an idea into a notebook, a diary, or onto loose-leaf paper.

For a long time, the ideas remained scribbles. As the years passed, some of the ideas were crafted into short stories. Some of the short stories were adapted for the stage. Then, the scribbles became memory triggers for her latest journey: her memoir: Calico Lane.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRQx5ey1s1Y[/embedyt]

03Nov/23

Daniel M. Jaffe

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November 3, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 8, Episode 46 Interview – Daniel M. Jaffe

Daniel M. Jaffe introduces us to his book The Grand Sex Tour Murders, and shares the book’s satirical poke at the world as well as the story behind the banning of the first cover.

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Daniel grew up and attended college in New Jersey, then moved to the Boston area for law school. He worked for several years as a corporate/securities attorney before throwing caution to the winds and pursuing a career in creative writing. After his partner (and future husband), Leo Cabranes-Grant, accepted a university teaching position in California, Daniel moved with him to Santa Barbara.

Several of Daniel’s short stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and dozens of his stories, essays, and articles have appeared in anthologies, literary journals and newspapers in many countries and languages. His work has been taught in college and university courses. He holds degrees from Princeton University (A.B.), Harvard Law School (J.D.), and Vermont College (M.F.A.).

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AA6lyDVL1Q[/embedyt]

01Nov/23

Bodies Review

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November 1, 2023

Vance Bastian and SA “Baz” Collins give their thoughts and reviews of the Netflix series Bodies. They explore how it relates to queer life and discuss its strengths and flaws.

Media Presented: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18347622/

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27Oct/23

Richard D. Mohr

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October 20, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 8, Episode 45 Interview – Richard D. Mohr

Richard D. Mohr introduces us to his book The Splendid Disarray of Beauty: The Boys, the Tiles, the Joy of Cathedral Oaks ― A Study in Arts and Crafts Community, and shares how he came across information of these historic men and the community they built.

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Richard D. Mohr is an academically trained author with extensive journalistic experience and literary flair. He publishes books in three widely diverse fields: ancient Greek metaphysics, American ceramics, and gay studies along with queer theory, focusing on ethical, social, political, and legal issues. His book Gay Ideas: Outing and Other Controversies was banned in Canada and won the 1992 Lambda Literary Awards’ Editor’s Choice Award. The chapter on gay marriage in his book A More Perfect Union, in its treatment of privacy law and understanding of what marriage is, lay the conceptual groundwork for the Supreme Court’s 2015 gay marriage ruling. He and his hubby of 45 years live in Urbana, Illinois.

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEqUsJICd0o[/embedyt]

25Oct/23

Werewolves Within Review

Review, ,

October 25, 2023

Vance Bastian and SA “Baz” Collins give their thoughts and reviews of Werewolves Within. They explore how it relates to queer life and discuss its strengths and flaws.

Media Presented: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9288692/

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20Oct/23

Kelliane Parker

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October 20, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 8, Episode 44 Interview – Kelliane Parker

Kelliane Parker introduces us to her poetry chapbook Down the Foggy Streets of My Mind has an arc that takes the reader through DID, abuse, recovery, and healing.

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Kelliane is a queer, Latinx poet who uses poetry to reclaim the voices and the truth about surviving sexual trauma and violence. On a mission to de-stigmatize and de-pathologize dissociative disorders caused by trauma induced by others, Kelliane’s vision is a world free from victim blaming and shaming.

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WfNOrfD4o8[/embedyt]

18Oct/23

Bodies Bodies Bodies Review

Review, , , ,

October 18, 2023

Vance Bastian and SA “Baz” Collins give their thoughts and reviews of Bodies Bodies Bodies. They explore how it relates to queer life and discuss its strengths and flaws.

Media Presented: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8110652/

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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13Oct/23

JC Calciano

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October 13, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 8, Episode 43 Interview – JC Calciano

JC Calciano shares his Steam Room brand with us – youtube shorts, novels, podcast, and motion picture. He shares how it all began, how it pivoted when we were all at home, and where it’s headed!

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Over his 35-year career, JC has worked in nearly all corners of the entertainment business: from major studio blockbusters, independent features, and reality television to documentaries, music videos, webisodes, and theater.

In 2010, JC founded Cinema175, an entertainment production company under which he produces, writes and directs projects that predominantly focus on comedy and romance genres.

His first feature film as writer/director was the groundbreaking gay romantic comedy Is It Just Me? An official selection of over 50 international film festivals, it won several awards and honors, including audience choice and best picture. This was followed by eCupid—an instant best seller in the LGBTQ genre, screening at over 60 film festivals and winning four best picture and audience choice awards.

JC’s third feature film, The 10 Year Plan, played at over 51 international film festivals, winning 10 awards for writing and filmmaking before being adapted into a male/male romance novel.

He is also the creator, director and producer of the world’s most popular and longest running YouTube LGBTQ web series, Steam Room Stories. The Steam Room Stories brand has inspired several spin-off projects, including an award-winning motion picture, a series of novels, and the Steamy Stories podcast.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A41BaxxWo8[/embedyt]

11Oct/23

Life of William Haines + Being Gay in the 30s Documentary Reviews

Review, ,

October 11, 2023

Vance Bastian and SA “Baz” Collins give their thoughts and reviews of two documentaries archived on YouTube. First is Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: The Life of William Haines. Second is Gay Life: Being Gay in the Thirties. They explore how these relate to queer life and discuss their strengths and flaws.

Media Presented: William Haines: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0330734/, Being Gay in the 30s: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13051936/

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

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