Elisa Rolle's Blog, page 172

Rainbow Awards Submission #22: Finding Aurora by Rebecca Langham

Finding Aurora by Rebecca Langham

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Rainbow Awards Submission #21: Heartache & Hoofbeats by Maz Maddox

Heartache & Hoofbeats: Stallion Ridge 1[image error]

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Rainbow Awards Submission #20: Rook by T. Strange

Rook[image error]

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Rainbow Awards Submission #19: Aunt Sookie & Me by Michael Scott Garvin

Aunt Sookie & Me: the sordid tale of a scandalous southern belle[image error]

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Rainbow Awards Submission #18: Mary, Queen of Scotch by Rob Rosen

Mary, Queen of Scotch[image error]

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Ethan Day, judge of the Rainbow Awards

Ethan Day was on the Rainbow Awards Jury since 2010, basically the 2nd years of the awards, and when we started collecting the Honorable Mention... here are some of Ethan's:
2010
Donald Hardy - Lovers Knot: My first historical and surprisingly great w/ mystery and paranormal aspects to it. Thanks for this - who knows how long I would have gone without reading a historical if it weren't for your contest! : )
Heidi Cullinan - Miles and the Magic Flute: I really got sucked into this one, and was hooked up until the end, which lost a little bit of the luster for me. It was a little too happy of a happy ending, if that makes any sense? But overall what an awesome book!
J.c. Herneson - Spring of the Stag God: I probably fell a little on the generous side of things with this one because I've honestly never read anything like it. It's way past anywhere I've gone in terms of fantasy, as either a reader or writer.
Dorien Grey - The Secret Keeper: This one was tough for me, I could tell it wasn't the first book in the series and I felt like I was missing part of the longer story arc. Kinda ruined the story for me a bit. I'm pretty anal about reading a series in order...a pet peeve. : ) But the writing was top-notch.
Clare London - Blinded by Our Eyes: Even though I saw a few things coming in this mystery, I thought this was a really well written book and I genuinely cared about the main character.
Carol Lynne & T.a. Chase - Dracul's Blood: Another book who's premise was totally unique and brilliant - not at all wat I was expecting - I bumped it up a few points for that reason. : )
2012
Michael Griffo - Unwelcome: I feel a little bad because I think the YA book suffered slightly because I hadn't read the first book in the series and I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd missed out on something. That kept the characters from feeling as close, I think. But I felt that was my issue, and not the authors fault, so I bumped that score up to an 8 from my original 7. Reading books out of order is a pet peeve - had I realized it earlier I would've had time to get the first book and read it before. That's the problem with my procrastination. Pretty bad on my part considering thecover says 'Lesson Two'! Though it's not in very big print.
Shane Allison - Nice Butt, Gay Anal Eroticism: I'm not sure judging these stories with the same criteria is a good thing, lol! Characterization and setting seemed less important and some of these shorts did better than others, but judging it from the whole isn't easy. I did find most of it...arousing? LOL! You can give it an extra point for me if you feel like that should figure into it. But I didn't really connect with characters so much as enjoyed watching them in my head, which is more like watching porn - where characterization isn't such a big thing.
2013
Alexa Land - Feral: I enjoyed this one, it had a nice build that kept me turning the pages and held my interest. The author did a nice job with setting, taking the time to set the scene without becoming overly detailed. I enjoyed the authors ‘voice’ though there were a few character foibles here and there that seemed off and thus pulled me from the story – but I did connect to them, was able to relate to them, which was nice. So not perfect scores but overall, I enjoyed the read.
George Seaton - Saving Skylar Hand: I enjoyed this book immensely. The characters developed through childhood, into puberty and beyond and it all felt real, and I found all the characters relatable. The author has a beautiful writing style and knack for providing a sense of setting w/o needing no overkill in details - that being said, I could have personally handled a little more. But I did find myself able to see the story unfolding inside my head w/o having to work to fill in the blanks. I thoroughly enjoyed both protags. A simple story, which I can totally appreciate as well as a little bittersweet here and there, nice.
2014
Kate Aaron - The Dead Past: I thoroughly enjoyed this novella. The author drew me completely into the setting to the point I felt like I was there. I liked the characters and wanted to continue reading in order to discover more about them. The mystery was also well plotted and kept me interested in reading more, though I felt the resolution came and was resolved a little quickly. I enjoyed this enough to go looking for the author and was happy to see there is another book available in the series. I'll be picking that up. Well done, Kate! : )
2015
Kim Fielding - Astounding!: This was a bit of an odd book for me as it started out feeling like it was going to be one thing and then turned on a dime part way into the story. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, mind you, just an odd thing. The cover as well, made it feel like I was getting a contemporary romance only to be surprised by the sci-fi aspect, so I didn’t get the vintage pulp-mag connection right away. I enjoyed the characters and the author included enough setting details throughout most of the book that I didn’t have to work as hard filling in the blanks. As someone who has never visited Yosemite, I would have appreciated more details about the area, but that was a small thing. I did feel at times that the emotional aspect of the relationship was a teensy bit heavy-handed here and there, but I enjoyed the story overall! My first time reading this author and based upon what I read, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up another book by her.
Kate Aaron - The Slave: What I appreciate most about this author, is her ability to take a subject matter that holds zero interest to me as a reader, while still managing to create characters that keep me engaged enough to continue reading in spite of that fact. There was enough setting and world-building to make the story feel real, though I confess I would have enjoyed seeing even more detail included, especially with regard to the Master’s complex considering the bulk of the story takes place there. The relationship is the plot here, one of self-discovery and in that sense, was well fleshed out, but otherwise not too complicated. Overall, I prefer this authors Puddledown Mysteries over this fantasy-based story, but like any great author, Kate managed to make this story work for me.
2016
Lynn Kelling - Loving the Master: The characters really put this one over the top for me. I enjoyed the fact this author didn’t completely ignore setting, adding details about the world in which the characters moved around in—I could have used more of that. I could have done without some of the sex and still enjoyed the story just as much, but that is a personal taste thing. I didn’t always ‘believe’ what was happening within the story, but the characters themselves felt real to me. All in all, I’m not much of a BDSM fan and that didn’t matter in the least with this story, the characters were well-drawn and I cared what happened to them, which allowed this story transcend the BDSM subgenre ties(no pun intended) to become a really nice romance. Two thumbs up.
Jp Bowie - Every Breath I Take (All I'll Ever Need #2): "A well-written romance with enough tension to keep me reading along to discover how it was all going to turn out at the end. I would have enjoyed more detail to setting, there was enough here that I didn’t feel like I had to work the whole time I was reading, trying to imagine those details for myself but I could have used more. I realize that’s an issue within the genre as there are many readers who don’t like much or any setting details. That being said, I’m selfish and greedy, and therefore always asking for more. : ) While the characters all felt real and I became invested in what happened to them, for me, there were perhaps too many POV’s for such a short novella length book. I would have preferred less in this size word count, or perhaps a longer book to allow the reader more time with and insight into each character. This felt like a second book in a series, so perhaps there is more to be found in an earlier work. I did appreciate that while this felt like a sequel to another book, the author provided enough backstory that I never felt lost in this book. All in all, well done!"

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New Release: And God Belched by Rob Rosen

Hello Readers! If you’re looking for a laugh, for some romance with a bit of heat, for a truly unique book, then I invite you to check out my twelfth (and, dare I say, best) novel, And God Belched, published by MLR Press.

Here’s a little bit about the book:
In this riotously funny romantic adventure, Randy and his younger brother, Craig, find themselves in a different universe, on a strange planet, desperately searching for Milo, a handsome stranger in imminent danger, all while being chased by the heavily armed local authorities. And that's just the start of this epic journey. But what else does fate have in store for our brave heroes? And can one human save two worlds, the handsome alien he's fallen in love with, his entire family, and a self-aware watch? Read on, dear Earthlings, to find out!

Feel free to pick up a copy here:
https://www.amazon.com/God-Belched-Rob-Rosen-ebook/dp/B078GG9L4P/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1513737466&sr=8-1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37589935-and-god-belched?from_search=true

And here’s an excerpt:
In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, and God said, “let there be light,” and there was light.

Um, you know, sort of.

Actually, in the beginning, God belched out a universe—a big bang of a belch, in fact. It was, so it’s told elsewhere, an odoriferous, gaseous cloud of a rumbling belch. And like all good belches, it was followed by several smaller ones, each forming their own universes, which spread out and filled that above-mentioned void.

Ours was belch number four, the very last one. God had to pound his expansive chest to get that one out. “Oomph,” He said as our existence was made manifest, as out atoms spread outward, trailing those other far greater universes, just before that famous light was flicked on.

Click.

Picture, if you will, four bubbles floating through the blackness, turning end over end as they rapidly grew and expanded, as molecules collided and elements formed: hydrogen and helium and lithium—so that many years later we could have zeppelins and balloons and long-lasting batteries, and all because God was a bit gassy one day.

Anyway, that first belch, that first universe, went to the right; we veered leftward. Those other two, well, they’re not really pertinent to this story. So, for the sake of argument, let’s just say that one went up, the other down. Ta-ta, sister worlds. Live long and, um, prosper.

A year went by, two, then fourteen billion, give or take. I, too, was made manifest: Randy—both a name, namely mine, and an apt adjective. Made, in fact, by mom and dad, belching my way into the void on a cold January morning. Yep, just like it’s said, we truly are made in His image, at least in belching ability.

In any case, on that same January morning, in a universe far, far away—sort of, though, uh, not really—another baby boy was born: Milo. Well, that’s what I called him, anyway. Or at least would, at a time when those two universes happened to decide to play bumper cars together. In any case, his real name was close to a dozen letters long, strung together with nary a vowel to be had. I tried to pronounce it once, and was instantly stricken with a sore throat.

But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself here.

Back to me, Randy—the name, for the time being, not the adjective. I was born in San Francisco, the city by the bay, the city by the gays. I lived high upon a hill, one of the steepest in the city, sort of like a prince in a castle. Though our home was made of steel, not brick, not wood, not even stone. The architect was hoping to design a quake-proof house, or so the legend went. And like so many legends, such was not even close to the actual case, as it turned out. Anyway, we froze in the winter and melted when the sun poked through the endless fog. In other words, our house was wisely one of a kind.

“High upon a hill lives Prince Randy, clad in his ermine cape and golden crown, scepter raised in royal salute.” The story rolled off my mom’s tongue as she fed me Gerber’s mashed peas: my favorite.

FYI, the cape was my blankie, not ermine so much as polyester. The crown was a yellow bowl bought at Safeway. I still own said crown. Now I use it for cereal, as opposed to headwear. The scepter was my rattle. It was bequeathed to my younger brother a couple of years later. These days, I lift my cell phone in royal salute.


All the best and enjoy!

Rob Rosen
www.therobrosen.com
Author of the award-winning novels Sparkle: The Queerest Book You’ll Ever Love, Divas Las Vegas, Hot Lava, Southern Fried, Queerwolf, Vamp, Queens of the Apocalypse, Creature Comfort, Fate, Midlife Crisis, and Fierce, and editor of the anthologies Lust in Time, Men of the Manor, Best Gay Erotica 2015, and Best Gay Erotica of the Year, Volumes 1 and 2 and 3.




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Samuel M. Steward (July 23, 1909 – December 31, 1993)

Samuel M. Steward, also known by the pen name Phil Andros, was a novelist and tattoo artist from Ohio, later based in Oakland. Thornton Wilder was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes—for the novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and for the two plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth—and a U.S. National Book Award for the novel The Eighth Day. Gertrude Stein, who at the time regularly corresponded with the both of them, introduced Steward to Wilder. Wilder drafted the third act of Our Town during a brief visit by Steward in Zurich, their first meeting. They began a sexual friendship then that lasted 11 years. Steward kept records of his many sexual encounters in a card index he called his "Stud File". They included Rudolph Valentino (a month before his death at 31, when Steward was 17) and Roy Fitzgerald Douglas (who became Rock Hudson). Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist, and Sexual Renegade by Justin Spring was published in 2010. The book was the recipient of many literary honors, and was a finalist for the National Book Award.

Timeline & Places:

• July 23, 1909: born.

• 1927: attended Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, Stati Uniti

• December 31, 1993: died.

References:

Days of Love: Celebrating LGBT History One Story at a Time
ISBN-13: 978-1500563325 (CreateSpace-Assigned)
ISBN-10: 1500563323
CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/4910282
Amazon print: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500563323/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MZG0VHY/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Queer Places, Vol. 1.3: Retracing the Steps of LGBTQ people around the World Authored by Elisa Rolle
ISBN-13: 978-1548165963 (CreateSpace-Assigned)
ISBN-10: 1548165964
CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/6980442
Amazon print: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1548165964/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IZ1BU9K/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

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Maud Babcock (May 2, 1867 – December 31, 1954)

Maud May Babcock (May 2, 1867 – December 31, 1954) was the first female member of the University of Utah's faculty. She taught at the university for 46 years, beginning in 1892. While there she established the University Theater, originated the first college dramatic club in the United States, directed over 300 plays and occasionally taught. She wrote five books on speech and elocution, and was a renowned traveler and lecturer. In addition to her professional interests in drama and elocution, she also favored women's suffrage and was a crusader against wasp-waist corsets. She was famed in Utah for her success in bringing big-name talent to the state. Along with all of her work in physical education and theater, Babcock was the first woman to serve as chaplain in the Utah senate.

Timeline & Places:

• May 2, 1867: born.

• 1880s: attended Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, Stati Uniti

• 1880s: attended University of Chicago, 5801 S Ellis Ave, Chicago, IL 60637, Stati Uniti

• 1892 to 1938: taught at The University of Utah, 201 Presidents Cir, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, Stati Uniti

• 1892 to 1938: lived at 273 E 11th Ave, Salt Lake City, UT 84103, Stati Uniti

• December 31, 1954: died.

References:

Queer Places, Vol. 1.1: Retracing the Steps of LGBTQ people around the World
ISBN-13: 978-1532901904 (CreateSpace-Assigned)
ISBN-10: 1532901909
CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/6228297
Amazon print: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1532901909/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IZ1BU9K/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Queer Places, Vol. 1.2: Retracing the Steps of LGBTQ people around the World Authored by Elisa Rolle
ISBN-13: 978-1544066585 (CreateSpace-Assigned)
ISBN-10: 1544066589
CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/7265079
Amazon print: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1544066589/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IZ1BU9K/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Queer Massachusetts: Retracing the Steps of LGBTQ people around the World
ISBN-13: 978-1979626897 (CreateSpace-Assigned)
ISBN-10: 1979626898
CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/7790492
Amazon print: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1979626898/?tag=elimyrevandra-20



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Isabella of Parma (December 31, 1741 - November 27, 1763)

Isabella of Parma (Isabella Maria Luisa Antonietta Ferdinanda Giuseppina Saveria Domenica Giovanna; 31 December 1741 – 27 November 1763) was the daughter of Infante Felipe of Spain, Duke of Parma and his wife Louise Élisabeth, eldest daughter of Louis XV of France and Maria Leszczyńska. At 18, Isabella was married to Archduke Joseph of Austria, later Joseph II, with whom she was not happy, finding more fulfilment in her close friendship with his sister Archduchess Maria Christina, who later became, by marriage, Duchess of Saxony-Teschen. The two women seemed to have a romantic lesbian affair. During the few years Isabella and Christina knew each other, they exchanged 200 letters and "billets" while living at the same court. Only the letters of Isabella have been preserved; those of Maria Christina were destroyed after her death. The difficult birth of her daughter Maria Theresa, followed by two miscarriages, affected Isabella's mental condition, and she died soon after giving birth to another stillborn daughter.

Timeline & Places:

• December 31, 1741: born.

• 1759 to 1763: lived at Schönbrunn Palace, Schönbrunner Schloßstraße 47, 1130 Wien, Austria

• November 27, 1763: died. Buried at Imperial Crypt, Tegetthoffstraße 2, 1010 Wien, Austria

References:

Queer Places, Vol. 3.2: Retracing the Steps of LGBTQ people around the World
ISBN-13: 978-1544068435 (CreateSpace-Assigned)
ISBN-10: 1544068433
CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/6980677
Amazon print: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1544068433/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IZXI10E/?tag=elimyrevandra-20




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