YA LGBT Books discussion
Introductions & About You
>
Introducing: Your Moderators! Sammy (RIP), Kaje, Jay, (and retired - Byron, Mel, and Jason)
date
newest »
newest »
Hello everyone! Recently there have been changes to our merry band of moderators, namely the addition of Kaje Harper--Welcome Kaje! So, I thought it might be fun over the next few days to introduce ourselves to all of you. Meet--Sammy
Unlike most writers, playwrights don't actually put pen to paper first...no, we tend to act out our fantasy stories, and create all kinds of characters with different voices and mannerisms and styles of walks and even accents. So that would explain why by the age of 3, I had an entire cast of friends whom only I could see and who never tired of playing with me. I cannot remember a time when I was not "acting", first in my backyard and next on an actual stage...I played the quintessential Peter Pan at the tender age of 7 and no, I did not fly--I sort of hopped--hey, what can I say--Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary day school wasn't exactly broadway!! LOL!
Hello, my name is Sammy--and no, it is not my actual name. So, perhaps I should begin there. I had a dog..a beloved companion--his name was Sammy. For years I was laughingly, lovingly referred to as "Sammy's Mom"...when he died in--yes, 2006 I became Sammy to my family and closest of friends--and the name has stuck ever since. I can always tell how happy or unhappy my hubby is by which name he uses! Yes, I have been married for 27 years to a lovely man. (No drooling or throwing things please) He was a cowboy. Yep, it's true--they had a cattle farm and he rode the range--gah, doesn't that just sound great!! We have two children, one of each. Our Son, a musician, is married to a Brit (go U.K.!) and she is lovely--they will have their first child this summer. Our daughter is finishing Uni this year and then is off to Med School. They are the light of my life. I have been writing plays since elementary school and been publishing for the last few years. I do both write and direct and love both equally. I am also a certified k-12 teacher and do just that, currently teaching Kindergarten--they are the second light of my life. Finally rounding it all out I, too, am a musician, playing guitar and a bit of piano--a very little bit, haha. Recently I have begun writing children's musicals and they have found some success around her Washington DC where I live.
Next to my family, my heart is owned by my dearest of friends, Rick. He has been a constant in my life since I was 6...I am 51 now. He and his partner Fred have been a part of the fabric of our lives for longer than I can remember. And one would think it was their lives which drew me here but that is not actually so. No, it was the death of a good friend that introduced me to m/m fiction...and opened the door to all of this...all of you. What a gift that was. So now, I am a moderator...and I get the honor of helping the other mods keep you crazy lot in line! What a lovely job that is--what a lovely group you are. So, that is me...and in case you didn't know...in meeting each of you...the pleasure has been all mine!
Hi, everyone! Byron, Juli and Sammy have been a little busy with the combination of real life and moderator duties, so they invited me to join them as a co-moderator for the group. Since I can never resist the chance to put my two cents in anyway, I said, "Yes, sure, sounds great!"Many of you know me but for those who don't...
Kaje Harper is my pen name. I write adult m/m romances, with several books published since I started in April 2011. I use the pen name Kira Harp for my YA writing. You may see me on the threads in both identities. That's not to cause massive confusion in you guys or myself (although it could happen), but because I write as Kira when I have my YA author hat on.
I'm married, have a biomed job that I love, and two bright, creative sons who are now 16 and 18. I have a patient husband who cooks for me when I work late, and only sometimes rolls his eyes at all the time I spend on my keyboard. We also share our home with a small white Bichon-mix named Tate, who believes that my whole purpose in life is to feed him and provide a comfortable lap for him to sleep in. ("You weren't planning to use that arm for typing, were you, Mom? I need a chin-rest. Well, unless that's food I smell...") I juggle the family, the job and home-schooling my younger son with my writing.
I'm very new to being a moderator here - just beginning to find out what my god-like powers will be. But I hope to be around and available regularly, and if anyone has questions, ideas or concerns, I check my PM's at least once a day. I'd love to hear from you. I look forward to working with the other Moderators to keep making this group a great place to hang out, discuss YA books, write, comment and meet with friends. Thanks for having me aboard.
Alex wrote: "YAY! Kaje, congratulations my dear!! Glad to see you as one of the "bosses" hehe x"Thanks! I will now become an unbearable tyrant, no doubt. Power tends to go to my head :)
Kaje wrote: "Hi, everyone! Byron, Juli and Sammy have been a little busy with the combination of real life and moderator duties, so they invited me to join them as a co-moderator for the group. Since I can ne..."Hi Kaje---I'd like to complain about this one mod--her name is Sam...er..uhm..wait a minute?
Welcome Kaje=:)
As of December 2014, Byron has retired from moderating the group, although he still runs the Facebook YA LGBT Books, and is still a welcome member here.
Sammy is still with us but two years of family crisis after family crisis has limited the time she spends here. We look forward to seeing more of her again when her life calms down *hoping 2015 is the year*
And we have a wonderful new moderator to give me a hand with the group.
Join me in welcoming ---- Mel. . She says, “I wear many hats but I suppose the two that are most relevant to this group are that I am a proofreader for Dreamspinner Press and their YA imprint Harmony Ink Press (I've been doing that for almost 2 years now) and I am a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian Ad Liteum) for children in the foster care system. I also do a bit of freelance editing, mostly on YA works, but also do some adult content. Thanks so much for the opportunity to work with you here. I can't think of a better investment of our time than to lend help and support to our young people. And I believe reading is a very important component to a full and happy life.”
You can contact Mel by clicking on her profile link and sending her a PM. You may have already seen her on the “Introduce Yourself” thread meeting mew members. It will be great for us to have more than one person running things :)
Introducing our newest moderator :Jason
He has very kindly agreed to come on board and help us out with this rapidly growing group. Jason has been with the group since March, and is already a well-known voice around the threads. I've invited him to introduce himself further and we'll hear from him a bit later on.
We're all delighted to add a new voice to the running of this group. Thank you, Jason!!
Kaje wrote: "Introducing our newest moderator :Jason
He has very kindly agreed to come on board and help us out with this rapidly growing group. Jason has been with the group since March, and is already a we..."
We are so happy to have Jason lending us a hand. He is a great addition to the team.
Howdy, everyone! I'm Jason. Recently, the group's membership numbers have been growing by leaps and bounds, in part because of being featured, although I like to think it's because the group is so dang awesome! As a result, Kaje has asked me to help out as moderator. I guess I'm the odd one out as moderator in the sense that I have no background in writing or literature. I just love to read!Also I'm fairly new to Goodreads, having only been a member since March. I've always been an old fashioned kind of guy. So, for the longest time I stuck with traditional books instead of e-books. Until March, I had never bought a book online. I would usually just browse B&N stores for my usual genres: fantasy, classics, science fiction, etc. I feel embarrassed to admit that I had no idea that so many LGBT books existed.
So when I was given a tablet as a gift earlier this year, this whole new world opened up to me. Part of me was kicking myself for not having thought of the possibility before. But I also have the benefit of reading so many great titles for the first time.
While browsing online book retailers, I came across the genre. I asked a friend for insight into good titles and he let me borrow the first book in a series that he was currently reading, a new adult title that is a little too explicit to list here, but suffice it to say I devoured the series in two weeks. Well, the rest is history. I was hooked.
So after a little more Google, I came across Goodreads. It's certainly the forum I needed to set me on the path to some awesome LGBT books.
In my younger days (not that I'm that old now), love stories and tragedies were always my favorites. Romeo & Juliet, Tristan and Isolde, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I absolutely LOVE tearjerkers. However, I also enjoy fantasy, science fiction and contemporary. I tend to be generous with my ratings, maybe it's because I really do get so much enjoyment out of a broad variety of writing styles, or perhaps I just haven't read a bad LGBT book yet. Time will tell I guess.
Orlando was my home until a year ago when I moved to North Carolina to be closer to my Mom. However, I spent my childhood in Hawaii, and in my teens and twenties I moved around a lot. I've lived all over the eastern seaboard, from NYC to Miami.
Several years ago I earned a BA in art/design. Although I currently work in the restaurant industry as my primary job, I also do freelance graphic design/digital media work.
I'm currently single. Two years ago, I separated from my partner of 13 years. Since then I have only dated casually. I'm the proud father of three sweet chihuahuas. Okay that's a lie, two sweet chihuahuas and one grumpy one (he's old). I'm an avid outdoorsman, motorcycle enthusiast, enjoy yoga, and consider myself to be compassionate, empathetic, friendly and respectful to others. I hate to see people being mean towards others or animals. Pretentiousness is not in me, I believe we are all equal.
Now that you know a little bit about me, you're welcome to contact me by PM if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions. I check my messages on a daily basis, with few exceptions. That said, it's nice to meet you all and I look forward to discussing/recommending books with my fellow members.
Happy reading!
Congrats, Jason!
Linda ~ chock full of hoot, just a little bit of nanny ~ wrote: "Congrats, Jason!"Thanks Linda. :D
Hi Jason! Congratulations! I am a bit late to read this. You are a great addition to this group-your comments are so thoughtful and I always look forward to them. :)
J. I completely missed your official introduction as moderator :)Thanks for letting us know a little more about you, and welcome!
D.
Sara wrote: "Hi Jason! Congratulations! I am a bit late to read this. You are a great addition to this group-your comments are so thoughtful and I always look forward to them. :)"Aww, thank you Sara! <3
Darren wrote: "J. I completely missed your official introduction as moderator :)Thanks for letting us know a little more about you, and welcome!
D."
Thanks again D. <3
Mel just let us know that she has to leave the moderator position she so kindly filled for me when I was struggling to keep up with this group. She's very busy with other parts of her full life. She hopes to still be around, and to comment here and there.So thanks sooooo much, Mel, for all you have done (as especially hundreds of welcome letters as the group has grown.) Very best of luck as a busy not-moderator in 2017!
The active mods are now Sammy, and Jason, and myself.
ETA: And Jason had to leave us as well in 2019.
So Sammy and I were the two until... YAY, 2021 - meet Jay. :)
Hi all,I'm Jay and I'd like to introduce myself as the newest moderator here.
After about four and a half years as an official member of the group, I have volunteered to help Kaje keep this train on the tracks and mostly running on time. You may have seen me posting on various threads as I like to think I've been a steady, if not frequent, contributor to the group. I dove in here after discovering the LGBT+ YA books that I would have loved to have had available when I was a teenager figuring out my own identity.
Some of my biggest interests outside of reading are movies and theatre so you'll often find me adding what I've heard about LGBT+ YA movie adaptations to that thread. When not consuming various arts, I dabble in creating as an amateur photographer and writer. To round things out, my Southern roots mean I'm an avid college football fan and grew up working on cars. I contain multitudes.
Anyway, I hope you will grow to enjoy this new era of benevolent dictatorship... j/k. I'm thankful to Kaje and all the previous mods who built this group and I'm just here to help maintain it as a valued resource and community for everyone who enjoys the genre. Feel free to drop me a note if you need anything or have any questions about the group you think I might can help with.
Best,
- jay
Welcome jay! Thanks so much for joining Sammy and me. I'm sure you won't let all that power go to your head... much.
Yay! Thank you for balancing out the members to mods ratio.:-D
RIP my sweet Sammy, who gave her time and energy and love unstintingly to this group, over almost a decade. She battled COVID complications for over a year, but in the end the virus won. She will be badly missed, on this group, and among her many friends and family, for her big heart, wicked sense of humor, advocacy and eloquence, and the way she opened herself to the world to make it a better place. Hug the folks you live with, send your safely-distanced love to the rest, wear your mask, get your shots, and stay safe. The virus took a bright light out of the world today. But we were better for having known her, for the time we were given.
Rest in peace Sammy ❤️ Sending love to her family during this time
Kaje wrote: "RIP my sweet Sammy."Devastated. Really heartbroken over this. My condolences to you and Jay and the others who knew her longer than I did.
Iamshadow wrote: "Kaje wrote: "RIP my sweet Sammy."Devastated. Really heartbroken over this. My condolences to you and Jay and the others who knew her longer than I did."
She is deeply missed. <3
So, Sammy has ceased asking for some sort of Bio thing.. Because she thought you all might be interested.. It's now in the do it or I'll kill you phase.. I'm not sure what she means by that, but hey, why test it out... O_o So this is your warning - here follows your cure for insomnia..
I'm Byron, I'm not a writer, I'm a reader!!! Sadly I can have four or five books on the go at any point in time.. I try to spend more time reading than anything else - (including sleeping!!) Consequentially I'm commonly found being quite cranky and rude to people who get up in my face when I am reading.
I am not a professional in any format, I've never done anything academic.. I've never done anything of note. Up until two years ago, the only relationship of note I ever had was with my dog.. (she was four days shy of her 19th b'day!! but don't feel sad for me or her, she was VERY OLD - some say like me!!) She has also been the best thing ever in my life.. aside from books and music. Again I can't really play anything but the recorder, and at that it's VERY bad.. I don't have any real hobbies, except me.. (I'm my own high maintenance hobby!!)
Currently I'm employed as a Customer Care Consultant... And I'll probably be there for a while, I really like the job!! I spent 10 years previously working in the retail and academic book industry. Once upon a life time ago, I also worked as a radio operator, Taxi driver, switchboard operator, mail clerk, burger flipper and a couple of other jobs that don't need to be mentioned here.. :p I'm an only child, I've been around Australia and when I say, around - I mean almost EVERYWHERE.. I've lived in all but two states and one territory (hey there are 6 states and two territory's!!)
Why do I hang around on this group and why did I offer to Mod?? Well, mostly because I LOVE LOVE LOVE YA literature... I, being a screaming queen some times, love LGBT stories/characters and thought it would be great to do something to support the genre..
And that folks wraps up anything I can think of to tell you.. (except that you might not think I'm around, but I'm a lurker predominately!)
*HUGS*
Take care, read on!