27Dec/19

2019 Authors Roundtable

December 27, 2019Featured GuestAuthors Roundtable, Kim Fielding, LA Gallagher Witt, LA Witt, Roundtable, SA Collins, Vance BastianVance

December 27, 2019

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Kim Fielding, LA (Lori) Gallagher Witt & FE Feeley Jr as the guests on Episode 248 – 2019 Authors Roundtable!

LA (Lori) Witt, Kim Fielding, Frederick Feeley, Jr, and SA “Baz” Collins are herded by Vance Bastian as they reflect on their careers, struggles writers face, and what we look forward to in the future. A great discussion for rounding out the year!

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Bio:

Kim Fielding has migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States and currently lives in California. She’s a university professor who dreams of being able to travel and write full-time. She also dreams of having two perfectly-behaved children, a husband who isn’t obsessed with football, and a house that cleans itself. Some dreams are more easily obtained than others.
Kim donates 100% of the royalties from her self-published stories and audiobooks to Doctors Without Borders.

L.A. Witt and her husband have been exiled from Spain and sent to live in Maine because rhymes are fun. She now divides her time between writing, assuring people she is aware that Maine is cold, wondering where to put her next tattoo, and trying to reason with a surly Maine coon. Rumor has it her arch nemesis, Lauren Gallagher, is also somewhere in the wilds of New England, which is why L.A. is also spending a portion of her time training a team of special ops lobsters. Authors Ann Gallagher and Lori A. Witt have been asked to assist in lobster training, but they “have books to write” and “need to focus on our careers” and “don’t you think this rivalry has gotten a little out of hand?” They’re probably just helping Lauren raise her army of squirrels trained to ride moose into battle.

F.E.Feeley Jr is married to his wonderful husband, John. Freddie is an avid reader of Mysteries, Horror, and Suspense, and biographies. He’s also a gamer. His favorites include Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Star Trek Online, Skyrim, Assassin’s Creed, Fallout, and Civilization Five. He LOVES to cook and dives into trying new recipes. He’s an avid music junkie from POPular music to Opera, to Showtunes, Gospel, Rock, Rap, and Hip Hop.

SA “Baz” Collins hails from the San Francisco Bay Area where he lives with his husband, and a kitten named Taki. A classically trained singer/actor (under a different name), Baz knows a good yarn when he sees it.
Based on years of his work as an actor, Baz specializes in character study pieces. It is more important for him that the reader comes away with a greater understanding of the characters and the reasons they make the decisions they do, rather than the situations they are in. It is this deep dive into their manners, their experiences and how they process the world around them that make up the body of Mr. Collins’ work.

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

Or right here:

20Dec/19

Trebor Healey

December 20, 2019Featured GuestBaz Collins, Falling, Latin America, Travel, Trebor HealeyVance

December 20, 2019

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Trebor Healey as the guest on Episode 247 – I Took All These Trips and I Didn’t Pay For Any Of It!

Trebor Healey shares his journey through Latin America, discusses his latest release, Falling, a collection of short stories, and touches on political, social, and economic issues and how they relate to queer life.

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Books Mentioned in this Episode:

Falling at UW Press

Bio:

Trebor Healey is the recipient of a Lambda Literary award, two Publishing Triangle awards and a Violet Quill award. He is the author of three novels, A Horse Named Sorrow, Faun, and Through It Came Bright Colors; a book of poetry, Sweet Son of Pan; and two previous collections of stories, A Perfect Scar and Eros & Dust. He co-edited (with Marci Blackman) Beyond Definition: New Writing from Gay and Lesbian San Francisco and co-edited (with Amie M. Evans) Queer & Catholic.

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

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13Dec/19

Kit Thomas

December 13, 2019Featured GuestArt, Kit Thomas, MMIW, SA Collins, Vance BastianVance

December 13, 2019

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Kit Thomas as the guest on Episode 246 – I Had My Own Parade!

Kit Thomas joins us for a deep discussion about growing up Native, finding art, the power of saying yes, creating works that fight for social justice, and a new project she is brainstorming to bridge the gap between Natives and Non-Natives via her art.

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Art Mentioned in this Episode:

#MMIW

Bio:

Kit Thomas is a Los Angeles based two-spirited visual artist, influencer, and drag performer. She has been honing her skills for the last decade. Her main focus is painting, and she also expresses herself through digital art. Marketing herself on social media has paved the way for many opportunities including showcasing with RAW Artists and being featured in a Jubilee Media video. As a two-spirit, Kit’s pronouns are she/her and he/him.

While dabbling with watercolor and acrylic, she has blended symbols from her indigenous roots and elements from her travels across the U.S. Kit is part of the wolf clan within the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe of Akwesasne. As a member of the Haudenosaunee alliance, also known as the Iroquois Confederacy, she grew up on the Akwesasne reservation located in both Canada and the U.S. Kit’s recent evolution from acrylic on canvas to digital art has given her another avenue for bringing awareness to important social issues.

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

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06Dec/19

Antoni Manwell

December 6, 2019Featured GuestAntoni Manwell, Click Bait, Culture, erotica, Queer Bate, SA Collins, Vance BastianVance

December 6, 2019

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Antoni Manwell as the guest on Episode 242 – It’s Intentionally Trashy!

Antoni Manwell joins us for a humorous discussion about his new erotic release, Click Bait, gay culture, and his podcast Queer Bate!

Follow Antoni and support his work:

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

Click Bait at Amazon

Bio:

Antoni Manwell is an American Writer and Podcaster and has always been a believer in the unbelievable. He imagined the world as he thought it could be, and fantasized of a love that looked like no other. Growing up in the south as an African American, he soon realized that his life did not look like most. He did what he could to experience all that life had to offer.

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

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03Dec/19

A Knife’s Edge by Eliot Parker

December 3, 2019ReviewA Knifes Edge, crime, drug cartels, Eliot Parker, featured guest, Fragile Brilliance, murder, noir, Ronan Mccullough, seriesJayne Lockwood

To find out more about Eliot Parker’s latest work, check out Episode 219: Don’t Be Afraid; Be Proud!

This is Eliot Parker’s new novel featuring police sergeant Ronan Mccullough, who previously appeared in Fragile Brilliance. This story can be read as a standalone, although it follows on neatly from the previous book.

Bloody and gruesome in places, but not gratuitously so, this is a clever crime novel with definite noir undertones and lashings of corporate intrigue. Ronan is very believable as the cop trying to make sense of the murder of a mutual friend, but before that even happens, there is a spectacular crash which sets up the tone of the book, and introduces tension between Ronan and his nearest and dearest.

I struggled in places with the plotting, and felt the editing could have been tightened up a bit. At times my attention began to wander, which didn’t make it a book I felt the need to devour in one go. As plots and characters go, there was nothing really new here but it was a solid crime novel with some genuinely shocking moments, although I had clocked who was the real crime kingpin by the middle of the book. The writing was good and it felt as if the author knew what they were doing, even if the reader didn’t, which ultimately kept me reading until the end.

BLURB

Six months after a drug cartel infiltrated Charleston, Ronan McCullough continues to fight the drug war that plagues the city. His investigations are halted when the body of a mutual acquaintance, Sarah Gilmore, is found in the trunk of a burning car. In an investigation that takes him deep into the professional and personal life of the victim, McCullough discovers secrets lurking in her past, and a tangled web of personal and professional conflicts, suspicion, and betrayal. Was Sarah killed for those reasons or something larger? As Ronan seeks answers, his life and the lives of those closest to him are used as pawns in a deadly game that has no ending.

29Nov/19

SA Collins

November 29, 2019Featured GuestAngels of Mercy, Beware Mohawks Bearing Gifts, Cove Chronicles, Haudenosaunee, Iroquois, Mohawks, Native American, SA Collins, Vance Bastian, Violet Quill ReduxVance

November 29, 2019

It gives us great pleasure to put SA ‘Baz’ Collins in the guest spot on Episode 244 – Beware Native Authors in Your Midst!

Join us for a Native American (specifically, the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois) culture discussion as our very own, SA ‘Baz’ Collins, presents his latest NineStar Press release, Beware Mohawks Bearing Gifts, Book One of the Cove Chronicles series. We also chat a bit about his other release, Before the Fall, the second book in his re-release of his Angels of Mercy series. And we wrap up with a brief chat about race/culture representation by non-PoC authors.

Follow Baz and support his work:

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

Beware Mohawks Bearing Gifts at Ninestar Press

Bio:

SA “Baz” Collins hails from the San Francisco Bay Area where he lives with his husband, and a kitten named Taki. A classically trained singer/actor (under a different name), Baz knows a good yarn when he sees it.

Based on years of his work as an actor, Baz specializes in character study pieces. It is more important for him that the reader comes away with a greater understanding of the characters and the reasons they make the decisions they do, rather than the situations they are in. It is this deep dive into their manners, their experiences and how they process the world around them that make up the body of Mr. Collins’ work.

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

Or right here:

April 1, 2016

(Covers link to the author’s preferred store)

It gives us great pleasure to announce SA “Baz” Collins as the guest on episode 051: A Contrarian Life!
Join us as we discuss Baz’s Angels of Mercy evolution as writing performance art, the Violet Quill Gang and Baz’ homage to that prolific era of queer men’s writings, Queer Representation at the literary table – time to step into full equality = Mainstream, and new RFQs with SA Collins in the hot-seat.You can buy SA Collins’ work here:

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Author’s Note:
Angels of Mercy is first and foremost, a series of character studies. A great deal of it is inner-monologue. Elliot will pause the action, will break momentum as he grapples with his world – all the while flipping a finger to the fourth wall. He knows you’re there. It was far more important to me as its author (and a gay man) that the reader come away with the whys of Elliot’s choices in how he navigates his often tumultuous world. The same can be said of Marco (his jock boyfriend) who will pick up the tale with Volume Two.

I’ve read much queer literature and what I find rather interesting is that for the majority of it, very little is written about the character’s headspace. When you live in a world where you constantly have to be vigilant as you navigate through, it can make for some very powerful storytelling. That is my goal in writing these boys’ lives. I want the reader who may not be queer themselves to come away with what it might be like to be in a gayboy’s shoes – constantly polling and pulse-checking your world because your very survival depends upon it. All of that while you hope, you secretly pray, that you’ll find someone who will see you too and find they can’t live without you in their world. A small slice of happiness to call your own. And though you do everything to keep to yourself, you may still run into those who find your very existence threatens who they are and how they think the world should run. I pull no punches with this work. They are hormonally charged eighteen year old young men who are sexually active. While the sex is present in the work it is not gratuitous in that the main character does evolve from his physical intimacy with his high-profile boyfriend. It is not a genre romance read either, though it has a very strong romance threaded in the work. These elements bring a light to their relationship that attracts all the wrong attention.

In a time where more queer youth are coming out to their teammates and their loved ones, I find that work of this nature is both timely and necessary to tell. I hope you’ll find it as interesting and provocative a read as I believe it is.

Our Voices. Our Lives – as we live them.

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22Nov/19

Andrew J. Peters

November 22, 2019Featured GuestAndrew J. Peters, Classical, folklore, Irresistible, Mythology, Queer Fiction, RomCom, SA Collins, Slashed and Mashed, Vance BastianVance

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.

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Books Mentioned in this Episode:

Slashed and Mashed at Ninestar Press

Bio:

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.

Follow Andrew and support his work:

Books Mentioned in This Episode:

Irresistible at NineStar Press

Bio:

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.

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:

01Nov/19

Brad Shreve

November 1, 2019Featured GuestBathhouse, Brad Shreve, crime, mystery, Podcast, SA Collins, Vance BastianVance

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.

Follow Brad and support his work:

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

A Body in a Bathhouse

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):

Or right here:

25Oct/19

M.D. Neu

October 25, 2019Featured GuestA Dragon for Christmas, A New World, Contact, Conviction, LGBTQA stories, MD Neu, sci-fi, SciFi, TAD, The Angel of Death, The Calling, The Reunion, VampiresVance

October 25, 2019

It gives us great pleasure to welcome M. D. Neu back as the guest on Episode 239 – There Might Be A Former Porn Star and a Scientist?

M. D. Neu brings his novel, TAD – The Angel of Death, to the show so we can discuss how he shone a light on an angel of death and a drag queen being kind over the years. Plus we crack each other up as our silliness grows.

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Books mentioned in this episode:

T.A.D. – The Angel of Death at Ninestar Press!

Bio:

M.D. Neu is a Gay fiction writer with a love for writing and travel. Living in the heart of Silicon Valley (San Jose, California) and growing up around technology, he’s always been fascinated with what could be. Specifically drawn to sci-fi and paranormal television and novels, M.D. Neu was inspired by the great Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas, Stephen King, Alice Walker, Alfred Hitchcock, Harvey Fierstein, Anne Rice, and Kim Stanley Robinson. An odd combination, but one that has influenced his writing.

Growing up in an accepting family as a gay man, he always wondered why there were never stories reflecting who he was. Constantly surrounded by characters that only reflected heterosexual society, M.D. Neu decided he wanted to change that. So, he took to writing, wanting to tell good stories that reflected our diverse world.

When M.D. Neu isn’t writing, he works for a nonprofit and travels with his biggest supporter and his harshest critic, Eric, his husband of twenty-plus years.

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

March 8, 2019

It gives us great pleasure to welcome M. D. Neu back as the guest on Episode 206 – What Would Grace and Frankie Do?

Join us for a very different format – we are talking MARKETING with author MD Neu. Which begs the question: #WWGaFD?

Follow Marvin and support his work:

Books mentioned in this episode:

A New World – Conviction PRE-ORDER at Ninestar Press!

Bio:

M.D. Neu is a LGBTQA Fiction Writer with a love for writing and travel. Living in the heart of Silicon Valley (San Jose, California) and growing up around technology, he’s always been fascinated with what could be. Specifically drawn to Science Fiction and Paranormal television and novels, M.D. Neu was inspired by the great Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas, Stephen King, Alice Walker, Alfred Hitchcock, Harvey Fierstein, Anne Rice, and Kim Stanley Robinson. An odd combination, but one that has influenced his writing.

Growing up in an accepting family as a gay man he always wondered why there were never stories reflecting who he was. Constantly surrounded by characters that only reflected heterosexual society, M.D. Neu decided he wanted to change that. So, he took to writing, wanting to tell good stories that reflected our diverse world.

When M.D. Neu isn’t writing, he works for a non-profit and travels with his biggest supporter and his harshest critic, Eric his husband of twenty plus years.

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

Or right here:

February 8, 2019

It gives us great pleasure to welcome M. D. Neu back as the guest on Episode 202 – Stop Feeding the Beast!

MD (Marvin) Neu returns to talk about his latest release, A New World – Contact. We also discuss aliens, religion, global politics, and refugees – a very timely and entertaining discussion! #WWFD (Wanna find out what that hashtag means? Listen to the blooper at the end of the show!)

Follow Marvin and support his work:

Books mentioned in this episode:

A New World – Contact at Ninestar Press!

Bio:

When M.D. Neu isn’t writing, he works for a non-profit and travels with his biggest supporter and his harshest critic, Eric his husband of twenty plus years.

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

Or right here:

April 20, 2018

It gives us great pleasure to welcome M.D. Neu as the guest on Episode 160 – Cross Gender, Cross Culture, Cross Economics!!

This week M.D. Neu joins us to chat about his works, with a deep look into the immortal vampires from his novel The Calling, as well as how our books are discovered, and the reality that LGBTQA is cross culture, cross gender, cross economics!!

Follow Marvin and support his work:

Bio:

M.D. Neu is a LGBTQA Fiction Writer with a love for writing and travel. Living in the heart of Silicon Valley (San Jose, California) and growing up around technology, he’s always been fascinated with what could be. Specifically drawn to Science Fiction and Paranormal television and novels, M.D. Neu was inspired by the great Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas, Stephen King, Alfred Hitchcock and Kim Stanley Robinson. An odd combination, but one that has influenced his writing.

When M.D. Neu isn’t writing, he works for a non-profit and travels with his biggest supporter and his harshest critic, Eric, his husband of eighteen plus years.

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

Or right here:

18Oct/19

Chelsey Engel

October 18, 2019Featured GuestA Summer of Fever and Freedom, Chelsey Engel, historical fiction, Moon Landing, Queer History, SA Collins, Stonewall, Vance Bastian, WoodstockVance

October 18, 2019

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Chelsey Engel as the guest on Episode 238 – A Bad@$$ Lara Croft!

Chelsey Engel brings her novel, A Summer of Fever and Freedom, to the show so we can discuss how she combined her passion for queer history with her drive to fight for social justice.

Follow Chelsey and support her work:

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

A Summer of Fever and Freedom at Amazon

Bio:

Chelsey Engel is a writer, photographer, and activist living in Pittsburgh, PA. After earning her bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from Point Park University in 2011, she began working in communications with the United Steelworkers.

Outside her work as a union thug, Chelsey freelances and volunteers for as many organizations and causes as she can, from political campaigns to community and fundraising events.

When she isn’t writing, fighting, or marching for justice, you can find her working on one of her several novels or lounging at home with her cat watching Cate Blanchett movies.

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

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