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6 Questions for Author Kate Walter
Author Kate Walter Kate Walter’s recent book, Looking for a Kiss: A Chronicle of Downtown Heartbreak and Healing, is a deep examination of despair and recovery from a relationship that ended after 25 years. Not legally married at the time, she found herself single again, dealing with bewilderment and uncertainty, and ultimately on a road to healing. The memoir is her journey through that experience and her emergence on the other side. Following are Kate’s answers to ‘6 Questions’ about the book, her life and her plans for the future. – Mark McNease/Editor
MM: It was nice to meet you in person at the Rainbow Book Fair. You’re a fellow New Yorker (I’ve been here since 1993). Can you talk about your journey from there to here, wherever there was?
KW: I was born and raised in Paterson, New Jersey. As a teenager, I was influenced by Allen Ginsberg, home town celebrity, who used to return to read at the local public library. I graduated from a conservative Catholic women’s college in New Jersey, one of the few hippies on campus.
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6 Questions for Author Robert Hill
Author Robert Hill I recently had the pleasure of featuring Robert Hill’s newest book, The Remnants, a story of two near-centenarians preparing to observe their annual birthday tea and a town at the end of its days. His previous, debut novel, When All Is Said and Done, was shortlisted for the Oregon Book Awards’ Ken Kesey Awards for Fiction. A longtime resident of Portland, Oregon, Robert writes in an engaging style compared by one reviewer to James Joyce. It was a delight to have a chance to ask him ‘6 Questions’ and share his answers with you. – Mark McNease/Editor
MM: We’ll get to your new book The Remnants in a moment, but can you tell us first about yourself? I know you’re a New Englander by birth and a West Coaster by choice. How did that happen?
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6 Questions for Jesús Guillén, Artist, Activist and Shaman
Jesús Guillén I recently read a series of profiles in the San Francisco Chronicle based on their Last Men Standing Project, focusing on the lives of long term HIV survivors. Among those profiled in the piece and in the documentary is the extraordinary Jesús Guillén. Not only is he a long term survivor, but he also helps countless others on a dedicated Facebook page, through his art, music, shamanism, and in his indomitable spirit. I was delighted to have the chance to ask him ‘6 Questions.’ – Mark McNease/Editor
Note: This interview was edited with Jesús Guillén’s permission.
MM: How did you come to be involved with the ‘Last Men Standing’ project, and what was the process like for that as a written feature and a documentary?
JG: Ah, my point of view, my story, hopefully represented well. In the end all I can do is be myself and tell you how and what I’m going through or how I happen to be part of the LAST MEN STANDING project.
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6 Questions for Author and Speaker Grace Anne Stevens
Grace Anne Stevens Wonderful connections are often made out of the blue. I recently had another of those serendipitous moments when I corresponded with Grace Anne Stevens, author, educator, Huffington Post blogger, mover and motivator. Grace’s most recent book, No! Maybe? Yes! Living My Truth provides more than a memoir – it gives readers a first-hand tour of change, renewal and authenticity. Following are Grace’s in-depth answers to ‘6 Questions,’ answers I think you’ll find as educational and informative as they are encouraging for anyone wanting to live their truth. – Mark McNease/Editor
MM: It was so nice to connect with you. Let’s start with your book, No! Maybe? Yes! Living My Truth. What was the genesis for this book, and what can readers expect to find in its pages?
GS: Thanks so much, Mark. It is such a great pleasure to connect also, and thanks for all of these great questions.
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6 Questions for Author and Artist Paul Plumadore
Paul Plumadore Now and then I’m fortunate to share a new Featured Book and immediately want to interview the author. Paul Plumadore’s recent Archive 1957-1974 was one of those times. The book is his memoir of a life in dance that began at age 7 and carried him through an extraordinary series of achievements, including a stint in the internationally renowned Paul Taylor Dance Company in his 20’s. Utilizing photographs from the period, the book “chronicles the joy as well as the agony of the life of a dancer coming-out during the sexual revolution in 1970’s New York City.”
Following are Paul’s answers to ‘6 Questions’, each revealing a remarkable life of accomplishment, setback, grief and renewal. – Mark McNease/Editor
MM: You’ve recently published a book, Archive 1957 – 1974, about your life in dance. Can you tell us about the book and what readers can expect to find in it?
PP: Archive is a memoir that begins at age 7 when I took my first tap lesson and told my mother that same day that I would become a dancer, and ends in the year 1974 after my time with the Paul Taylor Dance Company. Those 17 years were filled with determination, excitement and, ultimately, hardship. It is the journey of a wide-eyed country boy who struggled to prove himself and turn himself into an artist through dance. -
6 Questions for Author R.E. Bradshaw
R.E. Bradshaw Fans of mysteries and fine writing will be familiar with the name R.E. Bradshaw. Her Rainey Bell series is a four-time Lambda Literary Award Finalist in the mystery category, including last year’s Relatively Rainey. She’s an example of a writer taking her dreams seriously and pursuing them, with great success. I was delighted to have the chance to ask her ‘6 Questions,’ and even more delighted with her answers. Enjoy them for yourself, and read more about her following the questions. – Mark McNease/Editor
MM: I understand you started publishing in 2010. What prompted that, and had you been writing before then?
REB: In December of 2009, I wrote my first complete novel over winter break. I was teaching school, designing and building scenery, directing dramas and musicals, and generally exhausted. My favorite shirt said, “Sorry, I can’t. I’ve got rehearsal.” I had wanted to write for a living since childhood, but was advised, as we all were, “You can’t make a living doing that.” Whenever asked what I would do if I could do anything, my response was always, “I want to sit in front of a big picture window and write novels. One day, on a whim, that wish came true.
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6 (More) Questions for Author Joe Cosentino
Author Joe Cosentino By Mark McNease/Editor
It was inevitable that I’d have more questions for author Joe Cosentino, one of the most prolific writers I know. I still haven’t figured out when he sleeps. I’d asked him ‘6 Questions’ last June, when his first Nicky and Noah mystery, Drama Queen, was published by Lethe Press. Since then Joe has had several more publications, including the recently released Drama Muscle, his second book in the Nicky and Noah series. Joe, welcome back to lgbtSr.
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6 Questions for Professor Drewey Wayne Gunn, Historian of Gay Literature
Professor Wayne Gunn I was recently introduced by a mutual friend to Drewey Wayne Gunn, Professor Emeritus , Texas A&M University–Kingsville. Professor Gunn has long been interested in recovering forgotten works of gay literature and has produced a treasure trove of guidebooks in his effort to acknowledge the many authors who, while largely ignored or forgotten, paved the way for the richness and variety we now enjoy in gay literature.
His books include the upcoming Gay American Novels, 1870 – 1970 (McFarland, 2016), as well as Gay Novels of Britain, Ireland, and the Commonwealth, 1881 – 1981 (McFarland, 2014), 1960s Gay Pulp Fiction, edited with Jaime Harker (Massachusetts, 2013), The Gay Male Sleuth in Print and Film (Scarecrow, 2013), and The Golden Age of Gay Literature, editor (MLR, 2009).
I had the pleasure of asking Professor Gunn ‘6 Questions’ about his books, his passion for forgotten works, and how he thinks we can best keep our literary heritage alive. – Mark McNease/Editor
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6 Questions for Author, Publisher and Talk Show Host Liz McMullen
Liz McMullen I recently had the pleasure of connecting with Liz McMullen, whose newest publication, Through the Hourglass – Lesbian Historical Romance: A Lizzie’s Bedtime Stories Anthology has just come out and gathers together some of the best writers you’ll find, as well as voices that may be new to you.
Liz is an author, publisher and talk show host. You can find her shows on YouTube and her website: www.thelizmcmullenshow.com. Her debut novel, If I Die Before I Wake, was a Rainbow Award Finalist. She co-authored Finding Home, a paranormal novel where the foster kids have magical gifts. Liz’s first romance novel, Unspoken, will be out in spring of 2016. Below you’ll find Liz’s answers to a ‘6 Questions’ interview, where you’ll read more about Liz, her projects and her passions.
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6 Questions for Author and Columnist Dave Hughes
Dave Hughes I met Dave Hughes in the vast meeting place of the internet sometime last year and have been reading his columns at RetireFabulously.com ever since. A new column in the email inbox means more great information from the perspective of someone who’s been there and done that – in this case, designed and lived his retirement, discovering both the expected and the unanticipated along the way.
Dave’s new book, Design Your Dream Retirement: How to Envision, Plan For, and Enjoy the Best Retirement Possible, just came out. I’ve read it and can’t recommend it highly enough for anyone who is living their renaissance or planning to. There’s so much we don’t know about the realities of retirement, both exciting and challenging, and Dave is an expert at providing that information in easy-to-understand language, with concrete examples that can help you form and design your own dream retirement.Following are ‘6 Questions’ Dave found time to answer. Enjoy them, and be sure to check out his book, for yourself or as a gift for a friend or loved one. It’s invaluable.
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6 Questions for Author Michael Graves
Michael Graves By Mark McNease
I recently had the pleasure of asking author Michael Graves ‘6 Questions.’ Michael is the author of Dirty One, a collection of short stories that was both a Lambda Literary Award Finalist and an American Library Association Honoree. His new novel, Parade, is set for release by Chelsea Station Editions October 1. Described as “a tour-de-force, comic tale of religion and government,” the book tells the story of Reggie Lauderdale in the midst of his crisis of faith. His cousin, Elmer Mott, dreams of becoming their hometown mayor. Both boys are doing their best to be adults in suburbia, but have yet to learn to be fully themselves.
Read on for Michael’s answers, some advance praise for Parade, and stay tuned – he’ll be a guest soon on the Live Mic Podcast in early October.
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6 Questions for Author Kate McLachlan
I recently happened upon Kate McLachlan’s new book, Ten Little Lesbians, on the “hot new releases” list for LGBT mysteries on Kindle. I loved the cover and soon found myself thoroughly enjoying the story of ten women stranded at the lesbian-owned Adelheid Inn in the Cascade Mountains after a mudslide closes the only road out. Murder and mystery ensue in a delicious Agatha Christie homage with a distinctly lesbian twist.
I couldn’t think of anyone I’d rather pose ‘6 Questions’ to than Kate. A double Goldie Award winner from the Golden Crown Literary Society and a Lambda Literary Award finalist, Kate shares her experiences, work and insights into the writing life. – Mark
MM: You’ve written a good number of books, including the RIP (“Rip Van Dyke”) time-travel series, mysteries, and the romance “Christmas Crush” that was a Lambda Literary Finalist in 2014. Have you always been a writer? What trajectory has your writing taken over the years? (That’s a twofer.)
KM: I’ve always been a writer in the sense that I’ve always written something, whether it was diary entries, journal entries, poetry that NOBODY ever saw, or the beginnings of stories without end. I wrote my first novel when I was in my mid-30’s, a historical adventure book for middle-school kids. I was teaching at the time, and I wrote the book to try to make ancient Rome come alive for my 6th graders. They seemed to like it, and I sent it off to some agents. This was in the mid-90’s. Publishing companies wouldn’t even read your query letters if you were unrepresented, and expensive vanity presses were the only choice for self-publishing. I had no luck finding an agent, so I stuck the book in a drawer, and there it still sits. I had proved to myself that I could finish a book, though, so I continued on that path. I decided to write what I enjoyed reading, so I wrote a few mysteries. Three of them still sit in that same drawer with my children’s novel, but two of them–after many intervening years filled with law school, career change, and coming out–have since been extensively rewritten and published as Hearts, Dead and Alive and Murder and the Hurdy Gurdy Girl.
