It gives us great pleasure to present Season 10, Episode 43: Jon Kinnally!
Jon Kinnally shares his memoir I’m Prancing As Fast As I Can. We discuss how his life as a self-doubting gay youth brought him to acting and ultimately writing for television’s Will & Grace, Ugly Betty, The Crazy Ones and others.
Bio:
Jon Kinnally was born in Upstate New York and went to college at Oswego State before moving to a then-affordable Manhattan, where he pursued acting and performed with his writing partner, Tracy Poust, in their comedy group Loud Blouse.
After relocating to Los Angeles, they got a job on a new show called Will & Grace and stayed with it for its entire eight seasons, eventually running it and returning for the reboot. Over the years, there were many Emmy nominations as well as a Writers Guild Award for Outstanding Writing in Episodic Comedy in 2018. He has also worked on several other shows with Tracy, including Ugly Betty—Emmy and NAACP award nominations—and The Crazy Ones which they ran, and had the privilege to write for the great Robin Williams. He currently lives in Spain with his husband Chris and their cats, Howard Bannister and Elliott.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 10, Episode 42: Vinny Cusenza!
Vinny Cusenza shares his novel Blood and Soil. We discuss setting a romance and thriller against the American Nazi movement in the 1950s, and how that shaped the gay closet. We then correlate that history to the echoes of it we’re feeling today.
Bio:
Vinny Cusenza writes across genres, but always from the heart. Whether in his literary debut Blood and Soil or his personal essays and travel meditations, Vinny explores the nuances of identity, place, and the quiet power of human connection.
A native New Yorker with a photographer’s eye and a wanderer’s soul, he has won awards for his photography, founded a boutique New England inn, and once sang with Liza Minnelli in Central Park. His work blends emotional honesty with lyrical precision—and just a touch of mischief.
Vinny lives in Brooklyn with husband Steve and the spirit of Neko, their dearly departed, transsexual cat. When he’s not writing or editing, he’s likely photographing the boroughs or planning his next travel dispatch.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 10, Episode 41: Frank Pizzoli!
Frank Pizzoli shares his book Passionate Outlier. We discuss the evolution of journalism, interviewing the movers and shakers of early LGBTQ literature on what their thoughts are on their careers.
Bio:
Frank Pizzoli is a writer, editor, and producer. His work has appeared in Lambda Book Report, White Crane Review, Instinct, POZ, Rivendell’s Q Syndicate and Press Pass Q, HIV Plus, AlterNet Syndication, Positively Aware, Body Positive, New York Blade News and Washington Blade. He is the publisher and editor of Central Voice newspaper and founder of nonprofit Positive Opportunities, Inc., a Points of Light Foundation award winner (2001).
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 10, Episode 40: Jaye C. Watts!
Jaye C. Watts shares their novel The New Worlds! We discuss dystopian science fiction that explores themes of polarization, digital silos, and the nature of truth. We then touch on Jaye’s work at the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria.
Bio:
JAYE C. WATTS (he/they) is a queer and trans sci-fi writer living on Lək̓ʷəŋən territory in Victoria, BC, Canada.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, with a minor in Technology and Society, as well as a diploma in Professional Recording Arts from the Art Institute of Vancouver.
When he isn’t writing, Jaye can be found falling down rabbit holes of all kinds thanks to an unquenchable curiosity and lust for learning – homeschooling will do that to you.
Jaye also loves classic jazz, mixing cocktails, biking all over the city, and of course, people watching.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 10, Episode 39: Jeffrey Round!
Jeffrey Round shares his novel The English Tutor! We discuss cultural differences, dividing beliefs, and love that still blossoms as two people from completely different worlds learn to understand one another.
Bio:
Jeffrey Round is an award-winning author, filmmaker, songwriter, and photographer. His books include the Lambda Award-winning Dan Sharp series, the comic Bradford Fairfax series, and the acclaimed war novel The Honey Locust. He directed Agatha Christie’s stage classic, The Mousetrap, for three of its twenty-seven record-breaking years at Toronto Truck Theatre. His plays, films, and music videos have won multiple international awards, including the Luis Buñuel Memorial Award.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 10, Episode 38: Elizabeth Roderick!
Elizabeth Roderick joins us with their series: Tales from Purgatory! We discuss books 1, The Commune, and 2, Deathwalkers, and the intersection of the afterlife and dreaming. We conclude with discussion on helping queer asylum-seeking immigrants.
Bio:
Elizabeth Roderick (or LIZ RODERICK when she’s writing YA) grew up as a barefoot ruffian on a fruit orchard near Yakima, in eastern Washington State. After moving all around the West Coast, she now lives in a space crammed full of crystals, dogs, small tinkling bells, and books. She spends her time gossiping with crows, conjuring tulpas, and vaguely wishing she had money.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and organic ag from The Evergreen State College, and worked for many years as a paralegal, interpreter, transcriptionist, editor and farmer. She is a musician and songwriter, and has played in many bands, rocking some instruments she doesn’t even know the real names for, but mostly guitar, bass and keyboards. She has an album of original music entitled Surviving the Rapture.
Elizabeth writes novels, short stories, and memoir which is way more interesting than it should be. Her stories are about love, death, gang warfare, and madness. Her characters tend to be of the type that society generally shuns: addicts, convicts, and the neurodivergent. She believes if you get to know these characters in books, you’ll find them more likable than you originally thought.
She applies Hunter S. Thompson’s Gonzo method to fiction writing. It often gets a little heavier than what she had in mind, but she chalks it up to forced consciousness expansion.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 10, Episode 37: Andrew J. Peters!
Andrew J. Peters returns with his series Jaguar of the Backward Glance! While talking about book one The Awakening and book two The Sim Ru Prophecy we cover feline shifters and the research into myths and legends across the globe that brings this paranormal fantasy thriller to life!
Bio:
Author Andrew J. Peters is the third most famous Andrew J. Peters on the Internet after the disgraced former mayor of Boston and the very honorable concert organist of the same name.
He’s an award-winning author, an educator and an activist, and has written over a dozen novels, primarily in the fantasy genre. He has a passion for ancient world myth and legend as well as retold stories with a queer bent.
Andrew grew up in Buffalo, New York, studied psychology at Cornell University, and spent the early part of his career as a social worker and an advocate for LGBTQ+ youth. Currently, while writing, he works in higher education, and he lives with his husband and their cat Hugo in New York.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
Or Listen/Watch Right Here:
November 22, 2019
It gives us great pleasure to welcome Andrew J. Peters back as the guest on Episode 243 – Daddies to the Peach Boy!
Andrew J Peters returns to discuss his latest release Slashed and Mashed, and share how he gayly subverted classic stories and folklore.
Author Andrew J. Peters is the third most famous Andrew J. Peters on the Internet after the disgraced former mayor of Boston and a very honorable concert organist of the same name.
He’s an award-winning author, an educator and an activist. His novel The City of Seven Gods won the 2017 Silver Falchion award for Best Horror/Fantasy and was a finalist for 2016 Sci Fi/Fantasy Book of the Year at the Foreword INDIES. His Werecat series was a 2016 Readers’ Choice finalist at The Romance Reviews. He has written two books for young adults (The Seventh Pleaide and Banished Sons of Poseidon), and he is the author of the adult novel Poseidon and Cleito. His latest title Irresistible is a gay rom-com based on the oldest extant romance novel in the world.
Andrew grew up in Buffalo, New York, studied psychology at Cornell University, and has spent most of his career as a social worker and an advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. He has been a contributing writer at Queer Sci Fi, the NY Journal of Books, The Good Men Project, Gay YA, YA Highway, and La Bloga.
While writing, Andrew works as an administrator and an adjunct professor at Adelphi University. He lives in New York City with his husband Genaro and their cat Chloë.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
Or right here:
September 7, 2018
It gives us great pleasure to welcome Andrew J. Peters as the guest on Episode 180 – A Very Spoofy RomCom!!
Andrew J. Peters joins us to talk about his new release Irresistible, the state of LGBT literature, and the need for more representation in RomCom, Fantasy, and other fiction.
Author Andrew J. Peters is the third most famous Andrew J. Peters on the Internet after the disgraced former mayor of Boston and a very honorable concert organist of the same name.
He’s an award-winning author, an educator and an activist. His novel The City of Seven Gods won the 2017 Silver Falchion award for Best Horror/Fantasy and was a finalist for 2016 Sci Fi/Fantasy Book of the Year at the Foreword INDIES. His Werecat series was a 2016 Readers’ Choice finalist at The Romance Reviews. He has written two books for young adults (The Seventh Pleaide and Banished Sons of Poseidon), and he is the author of the adult novel Poseidon and Cleito. His latest title Irresistible is a gay rom-com based on the oldest extant romance novel in the world.
Andrew grew up in Buffalo, New York, studied psychology at Cornell University, and has spent most of his career as a social worker and an advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. He has been a contributing writer at Queer Sci Fi, the NY Journal of Books, The Good Men Project, Gay YA, YA Highway, and La Bloga.
While writing, Andrew works as an administrator and an adjunct professor at Adelphi University. He lives in New York City with his husband Genaro and their cat Chloë.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 10, Episode 36: Daniel W.K. Lee!
Daniel W.K. Lee shares his book of poetry, Anatomy of Want. We discuss exploring desire that isn’t necessarily romantic, and writing in a way that’s evocative, not provocative.
Bio:
DANIEL W.K. LEE is a third generation refugee. Born in Kuching, Malaysia to an ethnic Cantonese family who fled wars in China and then Vietnam, he made his escape to New Orleans—with his head-turning whippet, Camden.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 10, Episode 35: Blair Fell!
Blair Fell joins us to talk about life as a writer, and then shares his two novels, First, The Sign for Home about the deaf/blind experience with a gay twist. Then Disco Witches of Fire Island, a romantacy about losing a love, moving, and finding elders who help him mend his heart.
Bio:
Blair Fell writes and lives in New York City. Blair’s television work includes Queer as Folk, and the Emmy Award–winning California Connected. He’s written dozens of plays including the award-winning plays Naked Will, The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun, and the downtown cult miniseries Burning Habits. His personal essays have appeared in HuffPost, Out, Daily News (New York), and more. He’s a two-time winner of the prestigious Doris Lippman Prize in Creative Writing from the City College of New York, including for his early unfinished draft of The Sign for Home. Concurrently with being a writer, Blair has been an ASL interpreter for the Deaf since 1993, and has also worked as an actor, producer, and director.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 10, Episode 34: ‘Nathan Burgoine!
‘Nathan Burgoine returns to share his latest Hi-Lo novel, Dogs Don’t Break Hearts. We discuss the importance of High-Interest-Low-Complexity novels, and why stories for reluctant readers are the “if you know, you know” genre. We then touch on the awful notion of the neutrality movements and the damage they’re doing.
Bio:
‘Nathan Burgoine is a tall queer writer of (mostly) shorter queer fictions. His stories live somewhere in the Venn of Romance, YA, and Spec-Fic—but always queer. He grew up a reader and studied literature in university while making a living as a bookseller. His debut novel, Light, was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award and his debut YA Novel Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks was a Prix Aurora Award finalist.
A cat lover, ‘Nathan managed to fall in love and marry Daniel, who is a confirmed dog person. Their ongoing “cat or dog?” détente ended with the rescue of a huskie. They live in Ottawa, Canada, where socialized health care and gay marriage have yet to cause the sky to cave in.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
Or Listen/Watch Right Here:
April 5, 2024
It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 9, Episode 16 Interview – ‘Nathan Burgoine
‘Nathan Burgoine returns to share the long-awaited third book in his trilogy, Triad Magic! We discuss character growth and relations in queer literature, as well as a recent limited-time anthology and where to watch for news of his contribution being available in the future.
‘Nathan Burgoine grew up a reader and studied literature in university while making a living as a bookseller. His works can be found in genres ranging from comedy, romance, and erotica, through to serious and sci-fantastic. He seems equally comfortable writing short- as well as long-form.
A cat lover, ‘Nathan managed to fall in love and marry Daniel, who is a confirmed dog person. Their ongoing “cat or dog?” détente ended with the rescue of a six year old husky named Coach, who gave them four wonderful years before crossing the rainbow bridge. Since then, they’ve rescued Max, another husky, who is much younger and very determined to be a bed dog. They live in Ottawa, Canada, where socialized health care and gay marriage have yet to cause the sky to cave in.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 8, Episode 50 Interview – ‘Nathan Burgoine
‘Nathan Burgoine returns to introduce us to the Hi-Lo style of writing with his latest young adult novel Stuck with You. We discuss the benefits of this high-interest, low readability approach to literature and why it’s important.
‘Nathan Burgoine grew up a reader and studied literature in university while making a living as a bookseller. His works can be found in genres ranging from comedy, romance, and erotica, through to serious and sci-fantastic. He seems equally comfortable writing short- as well as long-form.
A cat lover, ‘Nathan managed to fall in love and marry Daniel, who is a confirmed dog person. Their ongoing “cat or dog?” détente ended with the rescue of a six year old husky named Coach, who gave them four wonderful years before crossing the rainbow bridge. Since then, they’ve rescued Max, another husky, who is much younger and very determined to be a bed dog. They live in Ottawa, Canada, where socialized health care and gay marriage have yet to cause the sky to cave in.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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!
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):
It gives us great pleasure to welcome ‘Nathan Burgoine back as the guest on Season 6, Episode 19 – The Most Annoying Trait in the World!
‘Nathan Burgoine returns with laughter and joy as he shares his new novella Village Fool. He also shares how he wrote while injured, and we dig into the merits of writing novellas as a series.
‘Nathan Burgoine grew up a reader and studied literature in university while making a living as a bookseller. A cat lover, ‘Nathan managed to fall in love and marry Daniel, who is a confirmed dog person. Their ongoing “cat or dog?” détente ended with the rescue of a six year old husky named Coach, who gave them four wonderful years before crossing the rainbow bridge. Since then, they’ve rescued Max, another husky, who is much younger and very determined to be a bed dog. They live in Ottawa, Canada, where socialized health care and gay marriage have yet to cause the sky to cave in.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
Or Listen Right Here:
OR Watch on YouTube:
November 30, 2018
It gives us great pleasure to announce ‘Nathan Burgoine as the guest on Episode 192: The Queerlings!
‘Nathan Burgoine returns to discuss his latest, and first Young Adult, release: Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks. He then shares what it was like for him talking with today’s youth about the stories they want and his beautifully interwoven short story collection.
‘Nathan Burgoine grew up a reader and studied literature in university while making a living as a bookseller. His first published short story was “Heart” in the collection Fool for Love: New Gay Fiction. Since then, he has had dozens of short stories published, including Bold Strokes titles Men of the Mean Streets, Boys of Summer, and Night Shadows as well as This is How You Die (the second Machine of Death anthology). ‘Nathan also has a series of paranormal erotic short stories that begins in the Bold Strokes anthology Blood Sacraments, and continues with further installments in Wings, Erotica Exotica, and Raising Hell. His standalone short erotic fiction pieces can be found in the Lambda Literary Award finalist Tented, Tales from the Den, and Afternoon Pleasures. ‘Nathan’s nonfiction pieces have appeared in I Like it Like That and 5×5 Literary Magazine.
‘Nathan’s first novel, Light, was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. His second and third novels, Triad Blood and Triad Soul, are available now from Bold Strokes Books. Both are available wherever quality LGBT fiction is found—always check Indiebound for your local brick and mortar, if you can. For novella lovers, ‘Nathan’s wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey gay romance In Memoriam is available on Kindle and Audible, and his gay holiday chosen family romance Handmade Holidays is available from NineStar Press.
A cat lover, ‘Nathan managed to fall in love and marry Daniel, who is a confirmed dog person. Their ongoing “cat or dog?” détente ended with the rescue of a six year old husky named Coach. They live in Ottawa, Canada, where socialized health care and gay marriage have yet to cause the sky to cave in.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
Or right here:
June 2, 2017
It gives us great pleasure to announce ‘Nathan Burgoine as the guest on Episode 114: The Three Second Review!
This week ‘Nathan Burgoine joins us to discuss his series, to drop announcements of his upcoming projects, share the importance of chosen families, unveil Canada as a setting, and share the magic of the three sentence review.
‘Nathan Burgoine grew up a reader and studied literature in university while making a living as a bookseller. His first published short story was “Heart” in the collection Fool for Love: New Gay Fiction. Since then, he has had dozens of short fiction pieces published. His first novel LIGHT was a Lambda Literary Finalist. Both Light and his second novel, Triad Blood, are available from Bold Strokes Books.
A cat lover, ‘Nathan managed to fall in love and marry Daniel, who is a confirmed dog person. Their ongoing “cat or dog?” détente ended with the adoption of Coach, a six year-old husky. They live in Ottawa, Canada, where socialized health care and gay marriage have yet to cause the sky to cave in.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 10, Episode 43: Jon Kinnally!
