The first time I made pasta from scratch, I was eight years old. I grew up in rural Connecticut at the end of a cul-de-sac, with my maternal Italian grandparents living in the house across the street. To tell you it was heaven would be an understatement.

One rainy afternoon, my grandmother called me over to help her make something. I ran across the street, with my black Labrador retriever named Sam in tow, feeling important because my grandmother, who I thought was a lot like Superwoman, needed me to help her with something important.

After I took off my shoes, careful to avoid the “Blue Room” or the formal living room that was always covered in plastic and never seemed to ever actually be used, I found my grandmother standing in front of her stove wearing her familiar Nonna’s apron with the pink flowers nearly washed out, as she stirred a pot of tomato sauce with her favorite wooden spoon and sipped Southern Comfort with a single ice cube from a Dixie cup.

On that rainy afternoon, I remember my grandmother showed me how to make a hole in the flour on the board where she dropped in the eggs, and how the dough stuck to my fingers as I helped her knead it. We rolled out sheets of pasta until my arms ached that we cut in many shapes like fettuccine, pappardelle, radiatori, trofie, pacheri, and spaghetti. Batch after batch, one after the other, we hung pasta to dry on the clothes drying rack and even covered my grandparents’ king size bed with towels before covering the entire bed with more pasta.

While we made pasta, we also worked on the sauce. Some Italians call it gravy, but we always called it sauce, and Sunday sauce was loaded with braciole, or thinly sliced sirloin rolled into a thick cigar shape around garlic, parsley and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. We also made meatballs with a mix of ground pork, ground veal, ground beef, garlic, basil, mozzarella cheese and stale bread soaked in milk. All of it made the house smell heavenly as the rain fell in sheets outside the window, as my beloved dog Sam dozed in front of the television with my grandfather as he pretended to watch M.A.S.H.

I don’t remember what we talked about, but I remember feeling so happy to spend time with my grandmother, and I recall feeling utterly content in the kitchen making food that I knew our extended family would enjoy at one of our weekly Sunday dinners. In hindsight, I believe this was the moment I fell in love with food and with cooking. It was the first time I understood what it felt like to take time and care with fresh ingredients to make something special for loved ones. As we cooked, I imagined the now quiet dining room filled with laughter and clanking of dishes and silverware, as we all enjoyed Sunday dinner with cousins and family. I knew exactly which stories would be told because they were the same stories that had been told over and over again for years. My heart filled with joy as I thought about watching everyone I loved savor the food we had prepared.

Years later, I still make Sunday sauce and often invite dear friends and family to sit around our table to enjoy a leisurely dinner together devoid of cell phones or conversations about politics. We still tell funny stories and laugh at each other’s lame jokes, but the point is that we spend time together as the seasons, and the world around us, changes. The act of cooking something special soothes me, calms me in a way Yoga or meditation never will.

All of this experience and joy in cooking led me to writing my third novel, A Recipe for Love. This time around, I knew I wanted to write a traditional lesbian romance, but I wanted to write a story about my love of Italian food, so I decided that the two main characters would meet and fall in love in an Italian cooking class.

When I finished writing the story, I decided to include a pretty lengthy cookbook section where I could share some of my favorite recipes. A few of these recipes are family favorites that I learned from my mother and grandmother, while others are pulled from various sources that I’ve tried and adjusted over time. Because for me, writing a novel is a lot like cooking a meal. I take time to create a story that I hope will help readers relax and escape from the stresses of everyday life for a little while. Cooking a meal is much the same. Both make me happy to share part of myself.

Buon appetito!

About Lucy J. Madison
Lucy J. Madison is an author, screenwriter, and home-cook who may still attend culinary school so she can own a supper club in Provincetown one day. She’s at work on her fifth novel when she’s not in the kitchen. LucyJMadison.com
Facebook, Instagram & Twitter @lucyjmadison

About A Recipe for Love: A Lesbian Culinary Romance
Available for Pre-Order Now. Available 10/10/18.

Piermont, New York. Danika Russo is 55, newly retired from a 30-year career as a mail carrier, and stuck in a rut. After putting her own needs on hold to care for her terminally ill partner and her unloving father, Danika is holed up the childhood home she inherited, a claustrophobic time warp from the 1970s complete with brown Formica and linoleum, and not sure what to do next.

Her best friend Natalie suggests making a list of things she has always wanted to do. Stepping outside her comfort zone, self-deprecating Danika opts for taking an Italian cooking class, not knowing that she will both impress the appreciative chef with her tasting skills and meet a mysterious younger woman there, Finn Gerard, who will capture her heart and teach her the recipe for love. But Finn is withholding a grim secret and, despite her initial passion, appears unable to commit to Danika fully. Will Danika allow herself to let go and fall in love for the first time in her life, even if there are no guarantees? Even if she must learn to let go?

This complex lesbian romance touches on themes of rediscovery and transformation, showing that while love can be the answer, real healing always starts from within.

Lucy Madison’s latest will appeal to fans of fine, well-crafted lesbian fiction and authors like Caren Werlinger. Readers will enjoy a bonus cookbook section at the back, featuring all the recipes mentioned in the book!

YouTube Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/m4jzY_gRtxc

The post Cooking up a lesbian romance first appeared on Lesbian.com.

The Daddies is a story about love and grief – how hard it is to change even when we realize we must. In addition to the main storyline, the narrative reflects on the character’s childhood, exploring the origins of gendered living as a way to understand the adult decisions we make, often without realizing we’re making them.

We drove past the big pink building nearly every day. It was just off the freeway, on the way back to our home in Point Loma – a middle class suburb where the property values were rising every day in the early 1970s. It was great to live so near the sea, and so near the bay. The naval bases reminded us of freedom and the tuna fishermen were prosperous – out to sea for long stretches, then back again with money for presents for their Portuguese-speaking mothers, their good Catholic daughters. Point Loma was a good place to live and it’s where I was raised – at the very end of Interstate 8. We took the Rosecrans exit and just off the ramp – there it was.

The building was big, like a warehouse, but it was bright pink and it looked like fun! Big pink and yellow bubbles floated up the side of the building and each of the windows was pinked-over so you couldn’t see in. The windows were painted with little white lace curtains and bows too. Outside, was a lavender-colored bus. It looked like a school bus except for the color and the fact that the windows were painted and curtained with pink fringe. The words “Party Bus” were painted across the side of the bus too. It made me think of the way the Partridge Family painted up their bus all fancy to ride around in while they played music. I loved watching that show on TV.

The sign on the building was a big rolling script that said Les Girls and it lit up with big white bulbs against the pink building. That place looked so enticing! And it was something for girls – though I never saw any children around the building, going in or out. I sometimes saw sailors, or men my father’s age and older – never any girls at all, nor women.

Sometimes, as we drove past, I would say to my father “I want to go to Les Girls!” I pronounced the “s” in Les and he never corrected me. He just said, “No you don’t.” Or “That place isn’t for you.” Or “Why don’t we stop for a hamburger on the way home.” If he said that place wasn’t for me, I’d sing out “Yes, it is! It says girls! I want to go on the party bus!”

“Let’s get a hamburger.” Or “Let’s stop for an ice-cream,” was always a better response to my questions about Les Girls. Next door to Les Girls was a much smaller brown building with an orange and beige painted sign. It said “The Body Shop” in big letters up the side of the building and it had a huge sign up above it that said “Bottomless too.” I couldn’t figure out what that meant, but somehow, I sensed a competition between that business and my favorite one: Les Girls. It made me giggle to think about what a person might look like with no bottom.

One time, when we drove past Les Girls, and I came to attention and pointed, smiling, mouth agape, my father said, “That’s a place where girls work, not play. It’s for women to earn money.” And my mother, who was also in the car, added, “But not girls like you.” I was baffled. It looked like fun – and if it was fun, why shouldn’t someone like me work there, or play there for that matter. Who were the ones playing, if not the girls? That place was the same color scheme as my Barbie townhouse and her pink plastic convertible. Someone was not being honest with me, and I couldn’t figure out why or who.

And what was the proper way for girls like me to get money, when I was all grown up? It was the early 70’s and although feminism hadn’t really visited my idyllic white suburban neighborhood, it was affecting the bigger world around me. I was being told that women could go anywhere, do anything. My third grade class put on a performance of Free to Be You and Me. And yet, I was also being told that some places weren’t for me – even if they had the word “girls” in the name. Those girls were different, and I shouldn’t be different. The party bus also had smaller printing on it “Be king for a day!” and there was a little crown hanging off of the word “king.” I wanted to be king for a day – somehow the gender switch between girls and kings didn’t register problematic. I could be a king if I wanted to. I could.

Why didn’t my father tell me the truth? That my body is a commodity and that it’s possible to sell it for sex, or for voyeurism or for the sake of product sales? Why didn’t he tell me? How should I get money in order to make my way in the world, and from whom? Should I get money from women, or from men? Should I act more excited to get a gift from a man than from a woman like my mother and her friends? Should I save money by hiding it from a man – not letting him know that what I bought at the mall or that I took a friend to lunch? In addition to working for a living, should I use my sexuality to get things from a Daddy? What does it mean to be a “good” girl?

The images of women on the windows of Les Girls were all slithery silhouettes with their long hair curving up in the back. Sometimes at home, I stood with my body in an S like this and it’s true, if you lean your head back and curve your body just enough, someone could cut a silhouette into black paper that would make you look just like that. Well, almost. More like a cartoon version of a woman with her body slithered into an S and her long hair sticking out like in a photo-still moment. I practiced at home in the mirror, for when I could go to Les Girls. Les Girls. It looked like so much fun.

After I finished high school, my friend Jenny went to work at The Body Shop. By then, I knew why children weren’t allowed and why my father never spoke of the place. How could he? What would he say? By then, I didn’t want to discuss such things with my parents either. It’s in men’s best interest to keep those jobs hidden, along with the women who do them – it’s in men’s best interest to keep it all on the down low, away from their wives. Keep it in the realm of sailor’s stops on shore.

“Nothing to see here, move along!” That’s all anyone knew how to say. Both men and women in polite conversation just turned their heads as they drove past the big pink building, the giant Body Shop signage that still read – now in neon “bottomless too.” I too had learned the rules – I wouldn’t have mentioned that place to my parents because it would be uncomfortable. Those buildings were huge.

Jenny worked there and even she didn’t speak much about her work to those of us who weren’t in the business. It was as though she made a pact not to discuss the other world. She had entered an occupation where her non-stripper friends were not welcome, though perhaps she’d come to know our boyfriends, fathers and husbands in a different way than we knew them. Our other friend Kathy worked at a store in the mall and she felt jealous of Jenny somehow – like maybe Jenny was prettier, had a more desirable body. Kathy was concerned about the attentions of men too, and the gifts they could give her in order to help prove her worth.

So, what is the “proper” way for women to get money, status, wealth, without it always seeming like someone’s giving them something? Even after high school, that was a question I couldn’t answer. And I started to wonder, every time I drove past Les Girls: how is it legal to advertise “nude girls.” A girl is a female child, by definition. And it’s not legal to sell children for sexual purposes. If there really were girls in Les Girls, they’d be closed down, right? I mean, wouldn’t they?

Kimberly Dark is a writer, professor and raconteur, working to reveal the hidden architecture of everyday life one clever essay, poem, and story at a time. She is the author of Love and Errors, a poetry book. More information can be found on http://www.kimberlydark.com

The post Daddies, daughters and strippers first appeared on Lesbian.com.

It’s the holiday season and you know what that means, hours trying to figure out what to buy for friends that are impossible to buy for; and long, delayed holiday commutes home to see friends and family. I have the solution to both of these problems…books! Bring something along to read as you sit in the airport, waiting out a two hour long snow delay. Then, when you get to your destination, wrap the book up and pass it on as a gift! I’ve written about some really great reads on this website already, you can find them here, here, here and here. But if you’ve burned through those already, here are some great new reccos from your favorite advice columnist!

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

This novel puts a twist on the classic, ‘coming out and coming of age story,’ that has been done a hundred times before. Readers will find themselves engrossed in Cameron Post’s story as she falls in love and then gets sent to a ‘pray the gay away’ camp. The book is being made into a movie starring Chloë Grace Moretz, so read the book now! You will want to take a date to see the movie when it comes out. Buy it here!

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

Queerness and polyamory abound in The Fifth Season, the first book in the Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin. The book is a mix of sci-fi, fantasy and realism that will keep readers riveted. The New York Times review said, “‘The Fifth Season’ invites us to imagine a dismantling of the earth in both the literal and the metaphorical sense, and suggests the possibility of a richer and more fundamental escape. The end of the world becomes a triumph when the world is monstrous, even if what lies beyond is difficult to conceive for those who are trapped inside it. Read it and discover why the cult of N.K. Jemisin is blooming all over the world. Buy it here!

The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi

The Water Knife explores life in the U.S after water becomes scarce and states are locked in battles over water rights. The novel explores the lives of several characters, one of which turns out to be queer. I can’t tell you which, because that would ruin the surprise. But in a genre that tends to ignore women, and especially queer women, this novel gives life to a well-rounded lesbian character. Buy it here!

Revival by Stephen King 

I know, this is a weird entry to this list. But give it a chance! There is a really super cute lesbian couple in it. Also, the book is weird and crazy and a fun, fast read. Something that we all need as we head into 2017 and a Trump presidency. Buy it here! Or rent it from your local library.

Happy reading!

The post Queer books to read or gift this holiday season first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Image via. Amazon.com

I didn’t open up “Lucky Us” by Amy Bloom expecting a well-developed lesbian character- but it was a great surprise. “Lucky Us” is an ensemble novel, focused around the lives of two sisters, the actions of their deeply flawed parents and the consequences of their own actions. Set in the 1940’s, the book provides a fun, lush landscape for the novel as we follow Eva and Iris across the US.

Bloom is trained as a social worker and has practiced psychotherapy and this comes through in her writing. Sisters Eva and Iris both have very clear, distinct personalities. Even when they are doing wrong, their motivations are laid bare to the reader, which makes us aware of our own wrongdoings and the stories we tell ourselves in order to justify our actions.

The main protagonist in “Lucky Us” is Eva- who starts the novel as a happy 12 year old with a single mother and a father, having a wife and daughter already, only visits on the weekends. When Eva’s father’s wife dies, her mother unceremoniously abandons Eva to her father and half sister, the glamorous Iris. Iris and Eva take to each other immediately. When it becomes clear to Eva that her father has his own issues, Iris and Eva head to LA. At this point in the story, Iris starts picking up some of the narrative work in the form of letters to Eva from a near-distant future. I promise it’s not as confusing as it sounds.

Early in the book, Iris realizes she’s a lesbian. While there is a fun coming out scene, Iris’s story goes far beyond coming out. Iris loves women, she loves her sister and provides for her the best way she knows how- she’s ambitious and talented and calculating. Bloom manages to walk the fine line of having a lesbian character without ignoring her sexuality or making it the character’s only trait. As I’m sure all of you know from reading  queer lady fiction- this is incredibly refreshing.

The only sore point of the novel is that it starts out with a bang and doesn’t end quite as strongly. More and more characters are introduced, they pick up the narrative away from Eva and Iris and they just aren’t as interesting as our two plucky heroines. The heart of the story is the love these two sisters have for each other and their struggle to achieve their dreams and make a life for themselves. Sometimes, the extra characters feel like window dressing, or like they wandered into the wrong book by mistake.

More than anything, “Lucky Us” is about love, family and responsibility. If you find people who will be there for you when you’re high and when you’re low, you’re pretty lucky.

What do you think? Will you be reading “Lucky Us” anytime soon?

The post Book Review: “Lucky Us” by Amy Bloom first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Image via Photopin*

BY NATASIA LANGFELDER
Lesbian.com

It’s already August and summer is flying by. But the weather is still warm and it’s prime “sit outside and read” time season. There’s still time to soak in some sun and enjoy some good queer stories.

1. “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” by Emily M. Danforth

This ‘coming of age’ novel is a refreshing departure from traditional coming of age novels. It definitely has some of the hallmark of it’s predecessors, starting with a crush on a straight girl, conservative relatives and born-again Christian disapproval. However, Cameron Post is a relatable protagonist whose personality is able to elevate the book to the next level. Danforth leads readers to places they didn’t expect to go in her debut novel.

2. “The Adaptation Series” by Malinda Lo

“Adaptation” and it’s sequel, “Inheritance” are technically for ‘young adults,’ but anyone who enjoyed “The Hunger Games” and “Divergent” will love “The Adaptation Series.” Lo’s story follows protagonist Reese as she juggles government conspiracies, aliens, bisexuality and polyamory. This fast and fun read is perfect for a summer weekend.

3. “Under the Mink” by Lisa E. Davis

Lesbians, drag kings, murder, the mob- what more do you need? Davis takes readers back in time to the way our lesbian foremother’s lived in 1949. Read our review for all the reasons to read “Under the Mink.”

4. “Ammonite” by Nicola Griffith 

Imagine an entire planet, solely occupied by women- that’s what you are going to get in Nicola Griffith’s “Ammonite.” In Griffith’s carefully crafted world, women are friends, family members, enemies, lovers and parents. It’s a pleasure to read about two woman reproduction and to witness a world where women can, and have to, fill all roles- both traditionally masculine and female to keep their world running. This vision is reason alone to read this book- but Griffith also throws in intergalactic colonists who threaten this planet’s entire existence and you have a real page turner.

5. “The Argonauts” by Maggie Nelson

Maggie Nelson is an established poet and non-fiction writer. “The Argonauts” is her first treatise on her own queerness and her relationship with genderqueer artist Harry Dodge. “The Argonauts” reads like poetry and tackles issues of sexuality, long term relationships, queer parenthood, and gender.

6. “The Inheritance Trilogy” by N.K. Jemisin

This trilogy starts with it’s protagonist, Yeine, being thrown from her rural hometown into the royal palace of a bustling kingdom, that is bursting with magic and gods. Fantasy books have a huge problem with whitewashing protagonists and entire worlds. Jemisin’s world includes people of all colors and genders, which is a breath of fresh air. Okay, so here’s the thing with this Trilogy, there’s a lot of straight people sex and romance. But, by the third book, Jemisin starts playing with gender and queerness in a way that both makes sense in the story and is extremely satisfying.

Happy reading! Read any of these already? Let us know what you thought in the comments!

*photo credit: On a pink, green, and white cloud, two young women reading a book at Greenlake, with a daisy chain in a field of flowers, Seattle, Washington, USA via photopin (license)

The post 6 Can’t Miss Queer Summer Beach Reads first appeared on Lesbian.com.

After playing bad cop for two years, award-winning author Linda Kay Silva found her passion in teaching. She started writing as a disgruntled reader, looking for more than the standard coming out fare. That’s why she’s created bad-ass lesbian heroine after bad-ass lesbian herione.

Silva’s best advice for aspiring writers: Write. Don’t find the time, make the time. We’re grateful that she made the time to answer our questions on her way to Palm Springs.

Enjoy an excerpt from Silva’s latest book, “Demon Hunter.”

How did you get started writing?

I’ve always loved words, but I started writing seriously when I threw a famous lesbian writer’s book against the wall because I was so tired of the same drivel, the same tired coming out story. I decided I could do better, so I did. I got rejected over and over again, but I kept plugging away. I believe in myself. I do not suffer false humility. I knew I could write. I knew I needed to be dedicated to it. It paid off, as I have had four publishers at different times in my life.

When I left Bella for a better paycheck (you’d crap if you knew how little money your favorite lesbian authors really make), Isabella at Sapphire contacted me. She said, “We’re new, but I think we can grow with your help.”

I saw sincerity and integrity in her and signed immediately. I’ve never had more freedom or more support, and the best part is, we really are a family. We like each other. We party together. We Skype. It’s wonderful. Being a writer is a solitary endeavor, so to have sisters who are so loving and supportive, is a wonderful addition to our lives. Sapphore is a comer. We are doing a lot of things right.

Prior to being an author (or concurrent with it), what did you do for a living? How has it informed your work?

I was a shitty cop for about 2 years, but that experience gave me the irascible Delta Stevens. Delta is the cop I never could be. It’s a hard job and those who can do it well are priceless. I wasn’t that good.

Then I found my calling and became a teacher, then a professor. I am a literature professor who teaches British, world and American literature, modern epic fantasy, African literature, women’s lit and Asian literature. I love my job and I hope to teach until I no longer breathe. Obviously, reading all of those books has had an enormous impact on me.

What writers inspire you and why?
I grew up reading the Clives — Clive Cussler and Clive Barker. I love the way their stories are never linear. They are complex. I am complex. Women are complex. We need more than a girl-meets-girl story. I read smart writers and, in turn, I try to give my readers a smart read as well. I make no bones about it, I am an intellectual snob. I abhor idiocy, stupidity and pablum. Make readers expand their universe, test the boundaries of what they think they know. To question what is and what could be. That’s what I want from my writers and what I try to give to my readers. I want to crawl under their skin and help change their lives. That’s who I am and why I exist in this world. I am an agent of change. It is what I have been doing as a teacher for 30 years and I have hundreds of students on my FB who will attest to that.

If we woke up every morning saying, “I wonder who’s life I am going to touch today,” we could change the world. I mentor middle school writers, GCLS writers and I rescue reptiles. Every day, we get the opportunity to make positive changes in the world around us. It’s why I write. I know that I touch lives. It’s the greatest feeling in the world. Yvonne Heldt is a writer who won Debut Author at GCLS last year. She emailed me several years ago to tell me that my Echo series resonated with her because she has had paranormal experiences. I suggested she write her story. She did. She won. We’re pals. She is supportive and loving plus I got a good friend out of it. How cool is that?

What are your favorite books and why?
“Fried Green Tomatoes” by Fannie Flagg(“You’re nothin’ but a bee charmer, Iggy Threadgood.”)
“Anything” by Elizabeth Peters (Her heroine is lovely.)

But the ONLY book I’ve read more than once is “Six of One” by Rita Mae Brown. When Celeste Chalfonte tears her lover’s blouse off in a heat of passion, Ramelle wakes up to find a dozen different colored blouses on the bed to make up for it. If that’s not southern manners, I don’t know what is. Perfectly romantic. I wish Rita Mae would get back to that kind of writing and end her obsession with cats. LOL. I miss her.

If you could have a dinner party with anyone, living or dead, who would you invite?
Queen Elizabeth I
Cleopatra
John Adams
Hildegarde Von Bingen
Sigourney Weaver
Katherine De Medici

That would make for a fun crowd.

What’s your writing process like?

I am a rare breed. I write long hand with a fountain pen on binder paper. That way, I am not reliant on batteries or energy, and since I travel so much (I am on my way to Palm Springs as I write this), I can do it anywhere. I write every day, usually in the mornings so that my writing gets my best energy, but I write all throughout the day and night. I think young writers, or those who are seriously wanting to publish, need to make it a priority. When people ask me, “How do you find the time to write, since you work two full-time jobs, mentor, play tennis and ride the Harley?” My answer is simple. I do not find the time. I make the time. Big difference. If you truly want to write, make the time. Otherwise, build a birdhouse.

What’s next for you?

I’ve just started a kick ass-series about a reluctant demon hunter whose lover is a ghost. I am bringing out the Delta Stevens series again and I have a couple of standalones I want to publish. I am definitely a series writer, but I have a few standalones I think are good reads and show a side of me few get to see.

See, I have this Harley riding, demon slaying, zombie killing badder-than-bad ass image to uphold, but the truth of the matter is I am a peace-loving Druid who rarely raises her voice, who likes tranquility over chaos and whose favorite thing is to sit by my pond and just be. Few know or even get to see that side of me, but it’s there. Buried beneath leathers and a hard candy shell.

How has your writing evolved over time?

Oh my, sometimes it is hard to read the earlier stuff. I have become much better at planting seeds for my series. I plan better. I am more descriptive and I can pace a character’s growth better. As I have grown and changed, so have they.

WORKS BY LINDA KAY SILVA
The Demon Hunter Series
– Demon Hunter

Man Eaters Series
– Man Eaters
– The Horde
– Mob Rule

Echo Branson Paranormal Series
– Echo’s Revenge
– Magical Echo
– Frozen Echo
– When an Echo Returns (Golden Literary Award Winner)
– More than an Echo (Golden Literary Award Winner)

Time Travel Series
– In the Nick of Time
– Just Killing Time (Golden Literary Award Winner)
– Third Time’s a Charm
– Second Time Around
– Across Time

Delta Stevens Police Series
– Thunderstorm
– Storm Rising
– Tropical Storm
– Storm Front
– Weathering the Storm
– Storm Shelter
– Taken by Storm (Nominated for a Lambda Literary Award)

Standalones
– Lucky
– Tory’s Tuesday

The post Linda Kay Silva bests fictional zombies, demons first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Tania Katan and her dog, Felix
(Photo by Steve Craft)

BY CANDY PARKER
Lesbian.com

I first “discovered” Tania Katan in 2008 when I stumbled upon her memoir “My One Night Stand with Cancer.” Published in 2005, the book recounts Katan’s battle with breast cancer, a war she waged at both ages 21 and 31, and to which both of her breasts were ultimately lost.

The intensely candid memoir earned Katan honors as the recipient of the Judy Grahn Nonfiction Award, the Stonewall Book Award and was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. It also revealed her survivalist sense of humor, one which resulted in her listing “lesbian sex” as her preferred method of birth control when completing intake forms at the breast clinic.

Now 12 years removed from her last fray with cancer, Katan spends her time writing, performing and using her battle-tested sense of humor to effect change in the world. Currently, Katan is the “Producer of Shenanigans” at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art where she creates events like Arm Wrestling for Art.

Katan faced our Fast 5 questions as bravely as she stared down cancer and, just as she did with the disease, she came out a winner.

1. Which individual has been your greatest professional influence?

My mother, Joelle Katan — a single-mom raising three kids, holding down two jobs and going to school full time to earn her degree in Social Work.

2. What song can you not get enough of right now?

A song I wrote for my dog Felix. I sing it to him when we go on walks. It goes a little something like this:

“Felix, your not a cat, but if you had to wear a hat
In a pinch
It’d be a cinch
Cause you’re so cute; yeah, you’re so cute!

Felix you are so cute,
But we have to finish our route,
You need to walk
We need to play
And you need to poop; yes, you do!”

3. Which celebrity would render you totally star struck if you were to meet him/her?

Gilda Radner.

4. Beach or mountains?

Café.

5. If you could wake up tomorrow with one talent or skill you don’t presently have, what would you want that to be?

Olympic Curler. I already have the pants, so then I’d just need a broom and some lessons.

For more on Katan, visit www.taniakatan.com, follow her on Facebook or Twitter and watch her TEDx Scottdale presentation below.

The post Fast 5 with writer, humorist, activist Tania Katan first appeared on Lesbian.com.

When Melissa Etheridge came out in 1993, it was huge news. Today, she comes out as a bibliophile, breaking the hearts of millions of fans who love the raspy-voiced crooner.

“I’m hanging up my guitar. Music doesn’t feel right anymore,” she said in a statement. “I went into a library the other day. There were so many books. I realized, I want to read them all.”

A late literary bloomer, the ground-breaking singer said that until recently she’d only read graphic novels when she had time to read at all.

“The graphic novel lends itself to the kind of time I had,” she said. “A few minutes here and there on the toilet, backstage or on the tour bus. I tried reading more on tour this year, but it’s not enough. I can read maybe a book a week. I want to read a book a day.”

By retiring from her busy music career, Etheridge, 52, has freed up 8-to-10 hours a day to read whatever she likes. Her tastes range from the classics to science fiction, from old IRS manuals (the 1992 manual was particularly illuminating, according to Etheridge) to teach-yourself Kung Fu books (“Anyone can fight like Bruce Lee. They make is so easy,” she said).

Currently, she’s reading “The Fountainhand” by Andrew Rayne. “It’s a satire of Ayn Rand’s ‘The Fountainhead.’ in which the ‘second-handers’ are forced into a life-or-death game to come up with an original thought,” she said. “It’s fascinating. I didn’t even understand satire this time last year. I just thought ‘The Colbert Report’ was weird. All this reading is blowing my mind.”

Ever the philanthropist, Etheridge plans to donate the proceeds of all future album sales to global literacy programs. “I believe everyone should read as much as possible,” she said. “If the world were reading IRS manuals, there would be no more war or strife.”

Happy April Fool’s Day!

The post Etheridge hangs up guitar, comes out as bibliophile first appeared on Lesbian.com.

So you’re all caught up on the “Hunger Games” and “Divergent” trilogies and looking for something new to take up that book-shaped spot on the nightstand. If you’re willing to break free of the dystopian future genre and explore the world of non-fiction, you’ll find some fantastic lesbian-penned memoirs from which to choose.

In this edition of Lez get literary we’ve pulled together five of our favorites for you and present them in no particular order.

“Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” – Alison Bechdel

Bechdel’s graphic memoir was hailed as one of the best books of 2006 by numerous publications and deemed a “pioneering work” by the New York Times Sunday Book Review. “Fun Home,” drawn in black line art with a gray-green ink wash, chronicles the author’s childhood and youth in rural Pennsylvania, United States, focusing on her complex relationship with her father.

“Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?” – Jeanette Winterson

While some consider Winterson’s “Oranges Aren’t the Only Fruit” to be semi-autobiographical, “Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal” is the author’s official offering in the memoir genre. Winterson recounts her dour adolescence in a grimy English industrial town in the 1960s in which she discovered her affinity for words. The Boston Globe describes the work as “A coming-of-age story, a coming-out story, and a celebration of the act of reading.”

“She Looks Just Like You: A Memoir of (Non-biological Lesbian) Motherhood” – Amie Klempnauer Miller

This 2010 offering has been described as “Part love story, part comedy, part quest.” Miller’s frank and often amusing memoir is a cultural roadmap for becoming a parent, even when the usual categories do not fit.

“Two or Three Things I Know for Sure” – Dorothy Allison

In “Two or Three Things I Know for Sure,” the “Bastard Out of Carolina” author takes a probing look at her family’s history to give us a lyrical, complex memoir that explores how the gossip of one generation can become legends for the next. Allison’s work is brutally honest in documenting the lives of the women in her family – and the men who loved but often abused them.

“Zami: A New Spelling of My Name” – Audre Lorde

Technically, Lorde’s work is a biomythography – a genre combining biography, cultural history and myth – but we’d not want you to miss out on this masterpiece because of a technicality. In this 1982 work, Lorde, a renowned poet, explores lesbianism, racism and her difficult relationship with her  mother. Lorde shares her vivid childhood memories of growing up in Harlem and her coming of age experiences in the late 1950s.

Do you have a favorite lesbian-penned memoir that we missed? Tell us about it in the “Leave a Reply” section below.

The post Lez get literary: 5 must-read lesbian memoirs first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Ask me the name of my all-time favorite book and I’ll respond “Written on the Body” by Jeanette Winterson before the question is even fully out of your mouth. To my thinking, Winterson’s prose is poetic and the hopeless romantic in me is captivated by her artful imaging.

Winterson, an openly lesbian English author, is perhaps best known for “Oranges Aren’t the Only Fruit,” a semi-autobiographical novel that makes an appearance on many a lesbian “must read” list. But for my money, “Written on the Body” is Winterson’s most enjoyable work. As such, you will find it well-represented on this list of favorite Winterson quotes.

“There is no discovery without risk and what you risk reveals what you value.” — Written on the Body

“Whoever it is you fall in love with for the first time, not just love but be in love with, is the one who will always make you angry, the one you can’t be logical about.” — The Passion

“Trust me, I’m telling you stories. … I can change the story. I am the story.” — Written on the Body

“I am good at walking away. Rejection teaches you how to reject.” — Weight: The Myth of Atlas and Heracles

“Do you fall in love often?” “Yes often. With a view, with a book, with a dog, a cat, with numbers, with friends, with complete strangers, with nothing at all.” — Gut Symmetries

“What kills love? Only this: Neglect. Not to see you when you stand before me. Not to think of you in the little things. Not to make the road wide for you, the table spread for you. To choose you out of habit not desire, to pass the flower seller without a thought. To leave the dishes unwashed, the bed unmade, to ignore you in the mornings, make use of you at night. To crave another while pecking your cheek. To say your name without hearing it, to assume it is mine to call.” — Written on the Body

“I didn’t know what hate felt like, not the hate that comes after love. It’s huge and desperate and it longs to be proved wrong. And every day it’s proved right it grows a little more monstrous. If the love was passion, the hate will be obsession. A need to see the once-loved weak and cowed beneath pity. Disgust is close and dignity is far away. The hate is not only for the once loved, it’s for yourself too; how could you ever have loved this?” — The Passion

“Love demands expression. It will not stay still, stay silent, be good, be modest, be seen and not heard, no. It will break out in tongues of praise, the high note that smashes the glass and spills the liquid.” — Written on the Body

“You said, ‘I love you.’ Why is it that the most unoriginal thing we can say to one another is still the thing we long to hear? ‘I love you’ is always a quotation. You did not say it first and neither did I, yet when you say it and when I say it we speak like savages who have found three words and worship them. I did worship them but now I am alone on a rock hewn out of my own body.” — Written on the Body

And, finally, my all-time favorite:

“While I can’t have you, I long for you. I am the kind of person who would miss a train or a plane to meet you for coffee. I’d take a taxi across town to see you for ten minutes. I’d wait outside all night if I thought you would open the door in the morning. If you call me and say ‘Will you …’ my answer is ‘Yes’, before your sentence is out. I spin worlds where we could be together. I dream you. For me, imagination and desire are very close.”

Did your favorite Winterson quote make the list? If not, share yours in the “Leave a Reply” section below.

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