Tag Archives: audiobook

01Aug/25

Lee Pulaski

Featured Guest, Newsreel, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

August 1, 2025

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 10, Episode 29: Lee Pulaski!

Lee Pulaski shares his latest novel We Ride at Brunch. We discuss found family and whether friends can become lovers. Then we peek into the state of LGBTQ book events.

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Bio:
Living in the real world was never a long-term plan for Lee Pulaski. He spent many a day imagining bold adventures and playing them out in the quiet countryside of Chino Valley, Arizona. Lee was first published in high school for writing about the news and telling compelling feature stories about people. And while Lee’s still a working journalist today, his excitement for writing mystery, romance, and fantasy inspired him to write his first novel in 2006 after a particularly breathtaking autumn…

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

December 20, 2024

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 9, Episode 49: Lee Pulaski!

Lee Pulaski returns to share the latest novel in his Chino Valley series: Miss Phoenix Goes Deliciously Mad. We then discuss writing current hot-topics into romance novels, like drag queen story hour and mentoring youth through their coming out. He also shares the release of his anthology: Fables From the Other Side of The Rainbow, wherein you’ll find stories like finding grandpa’s love letters to another man, and a DJ who returns a missing cat only to be happily rewarded.

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Stories are like potato chips. Lee Pulaski cannot write just one.

Lee’s journey of writing books started in 2006, but his love of writing and reading was born much earlier. He learned to read at age 3½, a fact his proud mother will tell anyone anytime and anywhere. That love of reading soon turned into a desire to write, ranging from short stories for school to three-act plays that include one that was produced when Lee was in high school.

Lee’s motivation to write was born by not seeing characters that were like him in the books he absorbed. Since he couldn’t find stories about two men finding their happily ever after, he chose to provide that himself. At the time, Lee was sadly single, so the books helped to provide form to his dreams of finding a suitable gentleman. Even after finding his sweetheart, Todd, the love stories haven’t stopped.

Even with his relocation to Wisconsin in 2011, part of him remembers his hometown fondly, prompting him to “go home again” and write love stories based in Chino Valley, Arizona. In those stories, Lee seeks to push boundaries with those books, tackling topics like gay fatherhood and coping with family members in the fierce grip of alcoholism, as well as writing about runaway drag queens and furries.

When he finds himself in a rare moment of not writing, he likes to travel around Wisconsin with Todd, checking out street art and out-of-the-way restaurants, among other things, as well as spending some quality time with the latest litter of Australian Shepherd puppies his mother raises.

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

February 2, 2024

It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 9, Episode 5 Interview – Lee Pulaski

Lee Pulaski returns to share his recent books, Heartsong of the Lonesome Road, and The Tragic Tale of Tabby and Henny. After diving into those, we discuss his upcoming works, which include a mystery, a fantasy, an anthology and a drag queen.

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Living in the real world was never a long-term plan for Lee Pulaski. He spent many a day imagining bold adventures and playing them out in the quiet countryside of Chino Valley, Arizona. Lee was first published in high school for writing about the news and telling compelling feature stories about people. And while Lee’s still a working journalist today, his excitement for writing mystery, romance, and fantasy inspired him to write his first novel in 2006 after a particularly breathtaking autumn…

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

Or Listen Right Here:

Or Watch on YouTube:

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

June 2, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 8, Episode 23: Lee Pulaski + our “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” review!

Lee Pulaski returns with his audiobook White Christmas in the Desert, which he proudly gets to label “narrated by the author!” Then Baz and Vance rate and review The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and close by sharing who won their weeks!

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Mentioned in this episode:

Bio:
Living in the real world was never a long-term plan for Lee Pulaski. He spent many a day imagining bold adventures and playing them out in the quiet countryside of Chino Valley, Arizona. Lee was first published in high school for writing about the news and telling compelling feature stories about people. And while Lee’s still a working journalist today, his excitement for writing mystery, romance, and fantasy inspired him to write his first novel in 2006 after a particularly breathtaking autumn…

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=QsKCU_XVSk4[/embedyt]

August 26, 2022

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 7, Episode 34: Lee Pulaski + Our Review of Uncoupled!

Lee Pulaski returns to share his latest novel, The Night of the Hodag. We discuss writing supernatural investigations, the importance of writing non-traditional relationships (three men in this case), incorporating local lore into writing, and the importance of local writing groups. Then Baz and Vance review Uncoupled and share who won the week for them!

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Mentioned in this episode:

Bio:
Living in the real world was never a long-term plan for Lee Pulaski. He spent many a day imagining bold adventures and playing them out in the quiet countryside of Chino Valley, Arizona. Lee was first published in high school for writing about the news and telling compelling feature stories about people. And while Lee’s still a working journalist today, his excitement for writing mystery, romance, and fantasy inspired him to write his first novel in 2006 after a particularly breathtaking autumn…

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=HSmewK-8yqI[/embedyt]

 

October 29, 2021

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Lee Pulaski as the guest on Season 6, Episode 43 – All Of A Sudden An Idea Was Forming!

Lee Pulaski joins us to share his recent release, White Christmas in the Desert, how the fall colors inspired his first novel, writing stories about non-standard families, tender romances, mysteries, and so much more!

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Living in the real world was never a long-term plan for Lee. He spent many a day imagining bold adventures and playing them out in the quiet countryside of Chino Valley, Arizona. Still, he never could have imagined at the time that the dreams and worlds created in his mind would someday be in print form.

Lee first published in high school, where he wrote about the news and told compelling feature stories about people. His talent for photography helped to bring those stories to life. Lee’s still a working journalist today.

Despite seeing his byline several times a week, Lee still yearned to see his name on the cover of a book. He was inspired to write his first novel in 2006 after spending a vacation camping with family during a particularly breathtaking autumn, where the reds, oranges and yellows were on full display. The experience helped bring about a romantic story called The Colors of Love and Autumn, which he published through Torquere Press in 2008 as an e-book. Now twenty books in, Lee is still writing—and still in the pursuit of new worlds and new dreams.

He joined the Shawano Area Writers in 2011, giving him a chance to test out his WIPs, and providing an opportunity to work with other writers striving to see their work in print.

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=pS96K6YxQxA[/embedyt]

18Apr/25

Jim Provenzano

Featured Guest, , , , ,

April 18, 2025

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 10, Episode 13: Jim Provenzano!

Jim Provenzano shares the audio revival of his novel: Now I’m Here. We discuss writing love story arcs and perspectives, and the art of producing an audiobook.

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Jim Provenzano is the author of the novels Finding Tulsa, Now I’m Here, PINS, Monkey Suits, Cyclizen, the 2012 Lambda Literary Award winner Every Time I Think of You, its sequel Message of Love (a Lammy finalist), the stage adaptation of PINS, and a short fiction collection, Forty Wild Crushes. He edited and published his late uncle John Rigney Jr.’s 1950s novel, The Lost of New York, in 2022. His latest work is the YA novella, Lessons in Teenage Biology, out June 1, 2024.

Degrees include a BFA in dance from Ohio State University and an MA in English from San Francisco State University. Born in New York City and raised in Ohio, he lives in San Francisco.

A journalist in LGBT media for three decades, and the guest curator of Sporting Life, the world’s first gay athletics exhibit, he also wrote the award-winning syndicated Sports Complex column for ten years. He is the Arts Editor with the Bay Area Reporter.

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

21Apr/23

J. Marshall Freeman

Featured Guest, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 21, 2023

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 8, Episode 17: J. Marshall Freeman + Our Review of Titans!

J Marshall Freeman returns to share his narrated-by-the-author release of The Dubious Gift of Dragon Blood! We then go in-depth on his process in audio storytelling, followed by our review of the final season of Titans, and finally share what won our weeks!

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J. Marshall Freeman is the author of the young adult fantasy novels, The Dubious Gift of Dragon Blood (2020) and Barnabas Bopwright Saves the City (2022). He is one of three authors in the YA novella collection, Three Left Turns to Nowhere (2022), along with Jeffrey Ricker and ’Nathan Burgoine. Freeman is a two-time winner of the Saints+Sinners Fiction Contest. He is currently writing two novels: an adult magic realist tale of Toronto’s queer community in the early ’80s, and a middle-grade science fiction novel about evil trillionaires and brave dogs.

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=ODrKwehJ_Ag[/embedyt]

 

July 22, 2022

It gives us great pleasure to present Season 7, Episode 29 – J. Marshall Freeman + Our Review of The Umbrella Academy!

J. Marshall Freeman returns to share his latest novel: Barnabas Bopwright Saves the City with us, and we then discuss how to make inactive adults believable in YA, as well as diversity and father/son themes. Then Baz and Vance review The Umbrella Academy and share who won the week for them!

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J. Marshall Freeman is the author of the young adult fantasy novels, The Dubious Gift of Dragon Blood (2020) and Barnabas Bopwright Saves the City, which came out in May. He is one of three authors in the YA novella collection, Three Left Turns to Nowhere (2022), along with Jeffrey Ricker and ’Nathan Burgoine. Freeman is a two-time winner of the Saints+Sinners Fiction Contest. He is currently researching and writing The Yonge Line, a novel set in Toronto’s queer community in the early ’80s. Freeman lives in Toronto, Canada with his husband.

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=NMoLK2-4mm4[/embedyt]

April 22, 2022

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!

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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):

Apple PodcastsGoogle PlayiHeartRadioSpotifyStitcherTuneIn

Or Listen Right Here:

OR Watch on YouTube:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0eWRLS54is[/embedyt]

November 20, 2020

It gives us great pleasure to welcome J. Marshall Freeman as the guest on Episode 295 – Coming Out As a Novelist!)

J Marshall Freeman shares his latest release, The Dubious Gift of Dragon Blood. We talk about the evolution of the book and real, self-discovering queer characters in a world with dragons!

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Books Mentioned in this Episode:

Bio:

J. Marshall Freeman is a writer of fiction and poetry, a musician, and graphic designer. He is a two-time winner of the Saints+Sinners fiction contest (2017 and 2019). In 2019, he published “Arthropoda,” a chapbook of poetry.

In December 2020, his young adult fantasy novel, The Dubious Gift of Dragon Blood, will be published by Bold Strokes Books. Upcoming work includes the young adult adventure novel, Barnabas Bopwright Saves the City, and the climate change science fiction novel, Cicada Rises from the Earth.

He lives in Toronto, Canada with his husband and dog.

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

OR Watch on YouTube:

01Aug/17

Shax’s War (Brimstone Book 3) by Angel Martinez (Audiobook)

Review, , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW

For the purpose of review, this is the second series I’ve started in the middle, and as such, I have to make the assumption that most readers will have already read the first books.

I’m reviewing this because it is the audio version, narrated by Vance Bastian. It doesn’t take long to realise that I have to give this audiobook my full attention. NB: It isn’t a book to be listening to with your kids. The voices of Shax and Ness are immediately captivating, so much so that even driving is probably inadvisable, especially during the love scenes which, though infrequent, are S-T-E-A-M-Y.

Martinez writes good sex, that’s for sure, but she also creates memorable characters, cracking dialogue and fantastic story-telling, bought to life by Vance’s narration. A cocktail of caramel, cream and tequila, garnished with jalapeño is probably the nearest you will get to tasting the audio delight of this book. As a novella, it is a fairly quick read, but as an audiobook it is a fat n’ juicy 3 hours plus.

The story is basically a rescue. Shax the demon and Ness the angel are an established, loving couple, despite their obvious differences. When Shax plays dirty during a Trauma Ball game, it sets in motion a chain of events that leads Ness into danger and Shax on a desperate mission to rescue him from bad humans who want to harvest various angelic parts for their own purposes (eternal youth, etc.) Meanwhile, Ness is getting through his ordeal with the aid of a friend called Leopold, a sweet, pink hedgehog….

Anyone who loves Vance Bastian’s voice may find it hard to concentrate on what he’s saying, as opposed to how he is saying it. The audio quality is excellent and his narration first class, but because his voice is like a duvet made of honey and gossamer, seducing your ears, it almost upstages the book.

Almost, but not quite, because Martinez’s observations and comedic timing are pin-sharp and brilliant, as well as hilarious. I loved curmudgeonly Shax, angelic Ness and queenly Ivana, as well as Leopold, who may or may not be a figment of Ness’s vivid imagination. There are a few too many characters for me to follow properly, making the plot a little more convoluted than it probably needed to be. The problem with an audiobook is, it isn’t as easy to re-read if there is confusion, as you can with an e-reader or novel. But it’s a small quibble, because there is so much to enjoy here, it is almost an embarrassment of riches.

I recommend you listen at least twice, because you’ll find a lot to enjoy, not only from the sci-fi-tastic plot, action, adventure and colourful characters, but to wallow in the audial delights of the US’s male answer to the Cadbury’s Caramel Bunny. When a dream-weaver meets a cunning linguist, the result will always be a smorgesbord for the ears.

BLURB

Brimstone Series: Book 3
Next Book: Beside a Black Tarn
Preceded by: Fear of Frogs

The boys desperately need a vacation. With the not-quite-ill-gotten gains from the Frog incident, Shax takes the Brimstone’s crew to the exclusive resort planet, Opal, for some much needed rest and relaxation. The resort has everything a demon prince and his crew could want, but an incident on the Trauma Ball court sends Ness stalking off in anger and sends events swiftly spiraling out of control.

Shax will need every bit of his cunning and his legendary luck to save his Ness as he’s drawn into a web of criminal experiments and…pink hedgehogs?

Novella: 40,500 words/178 pages

THE BRIMSTONE SERIES
Potato Surprise: A Brimstone Prequel
Hell for the Company
Fear of Frogs
Shax’s War
Beside a Black Tarn

06Jul/17

Review of Spinning The Record: Stories by Robert Hyers

Review, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I was gifted a copy for an honest and fair review. The book is available in ebook, paperback and as an audiobook. We will have the pleasure of interviewing Robert Hyers later in the summer!

Don’t let the rather lofty blurb put you off. Robert Hyers’ anthology of short stories is a pleasure to read. Amidst the pin-sharp observations and savage wit, there are also gripping, staggeringly-detailed and well-written tales, all set amidst the gay club scene.

And a what a scene it is; dripping with drag queens, twinks, muscle-boys, and ordinary, newly-out men stumbling around as they try to find their feet in a vivid, complicated new world. The fashion, the music, the threat of homophobic violence at every turn. And the drugs…

There are a LOT of drugs, with some graphic details of their use and aftermath, enough to make a middle-aged lady clutch her pearls. Nothing is really glamorised. Instead, it is searingly honest, telling of the dark side of all the seemingly carefree, hedonistic fun. There’s nothing in the way of balls-to-the-wall sex, but it is implied, and that makes it all the more potent. It’s a heady, painful mix that will ring true for many men, whatever their age, race and financial circumstances.

It is all here, an oozing, sticky melting-pot that you will want to stick your finger into again and again, even though sometimes, the ingredients are hard to digest. I read this all in one gulp, as once I had read the first story, I couldn’t actually put the book down. This is a world I’m unfamiliar with; a frightening, colourful, dangerous world. It is hard to choose a standout, but the stories that stick in my mind the most are Bosom Buddies and Bacchae. The first is the stage performance of two drag queens, one reaching for the stars, the other falling from them. Any story that features RuPaul’s Drag Race will immediately have my attention, and the result is savage but hilarious. It is one of the shortest stories, but packs a powerful punch.

The second, Bacchae, concerns two men out with their “fag hag” female friend, ostensibly to pull her out of postpartum depression. I hate, hate, hate the term “fag hag” but it fits in this book, and anyway, the story isn’t about her. It’s about a kiss, a misunderstanding, dreams dashed and a spark of hope. Bittersweet and beautiful.

BLURB

Spinning The Record documents the search of its impoverished queer white and Latino protagonists for individuality inside the spectrum of the gay identity. Within the primary settings of gay clubs and raves in Manhattan and urban areas of New Jersey, these protagonists search for meaning and identity through illicit drugs, sex, pop culture, Greek mythology, and Christian iconography.

 

 

 

 

05Apr/17

An Asian Minor: The True Story of Ganymede (Audiobook) by Felice Picano

Review, , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW

This book was originally written in 1981 by Felice Picano, and details the early life and career of Ganymede, as told by the alluring boy in his own words. It is extremely well-written, a colourful, ribald account of his escapades as he fights off the attentions of men of all rank and age. His beauty also captures the attention of various Immortals, who will go to great lengths to seduce him. It probably should be noted to those unfamiliar with Ancient history that Ganymede is 12 at the beginning of the book, so 21st century sensibilities do not apply.

The book hasn’t been in print for a long while, but now it has been republished as an audiobook, narrated in a salacious drawl by Jason Frazier. This is the first audiobook I have listened to all the way through. The delivery is everything, especially with a book that could be dismissed as being either too highbrow by some or too lightweight by others. This would be a shame. In fact, it is a witty, sexy, sometimes humorous account of Ganymede’s life. The reader gets a peephole view into the lusty world of Troy and its inhabitants, where beauty is highly prized and judged at every turn. Ganymede is the most beautiful of all boys, gaining sexual experience with a variety of Immortal lovers, before being disgraced and shunned for rejecting the top man, Zeus; probably not his greatest career move.

Jason Frazier’s voice should have an R rating. He could read a telephone directory and make it ooze with sexual promise. The book itself is not explicit, but the theme of lust runs through it in a pulsing thread. Ganymede learns humility, but still retains an arrogance that only truly beautiful people can get away with. He isn’t particularly likeable, but that doesn’t matter. His story is told in such rich and gorgeous detail, one cannot help but be captivated. This is a book to be savoured at home, rather than driving, or in a public place, as it would be a crime to miss a single word.

I was given a copy of this Audiobook in return for an honest review.

Audible Audio Edition (2017)

Listening Length: 1 hour and 46 minutes

Version: Unabridged

Publisher: Lethe Press

Language: English

ASIN: B06XCGDZN4

 

Long out-of-print, this novella is Ganymede’s life story – unapologetic in its ribald details of Greek gods in disguise, trying to seduce the most beautiful youth in the Ancient world. When a prince of Troy is born with perfect proportions, not only does every man he meets desire him, but the Immortals want him as their lover. Ganymede loses his virginity to Hermes at 12, at 14 he captures the attention of Ares and Apollo…can Zeus be next? This risqué tale, narrated by acclaimed storyteller Jason Frazier, will appeal to all who have wondered how one boy stepped out of myth to become a gay icon.