by Lorie Lewis Ham
The Always Anonymous Beast was originally released in 1987 and has recently been re-released by ReQueered Tales. It is the first book in the Caitlin Reece Mystery series written by Lauren Wright Douglas.
Caitlin is a private detective, but it’s not completely clear in this book if she is officially one or someone who simply is paid to help right wrongs. While Caitlin is definitely tough and capable she isn’t a stereotypical hard-boiled kind of detective—she is an ex-lawyer who once worked for the Crown Prosecutor’s office (think the D.A.’s office in this country), a Shakespeare scholar, and a classical music aficionado.
by Lorie Lewis Ham
In honor of Pride this month, we wanted to again interview a local LGBTQ+ performer like we did last year, so we reached out to local actor, singer, and so much more, Lilly Dale Read.
by Sharon Tucker
I’m not quite sure what I expected when reading Neon Yang’s The Black Tides of Heaven (2017). Terms like silkpunk and Asian fantasy/mythology were running through my head, but other than a passing acquaintance with Zen koans, the Tao te Ching, and the Mahabarata, I was in unfamiliar waters. I soon learned that “Silkpunk” is the term writer Ken Liu has coined for the genre of a “very specific technology and literary aesthetic” blending magic and technology in an Asian setting.
by Lorie Lewis Ham
This month we are highlighting LGBTQ+ authors, activists, artists, and more in honor of Pride. Recently we chatted with Brian Poth, who is the co-founder and Executive Director of The Source LGBT+ Center, about his podcast Queer Goggles. He hosts the podcast with Nick Vargas, who is co-founder of The Source LGBT+ Center and is their Director of Development and Strategy. The Source is based in Visalia, California.
by Lorie Lewis Ham
The Player’s Encore is the second book in Joe Cosentino’s Player Piano Mystery series. In the first book, The Player, grade school music teacher Andre Beaufort discovers an old player piano in the basement of his building and has it brought up to his apartment. Much to his surprise, the piano is haunted by Roaring Twenties playboy Freddy Birstwistle, who was the original owner of the house that has been converted into apartments.
by Lorie Lewis Ham
June is Pride month, but sadly, there are many places that still don’t acknowledge and recognize that fact. Former Selma, CA resident Lance Nelson decided that he wanted to make an effort to change that, starting with the area where he grew up. Lance was born and raised in Selma and attended Wilson Elementary School, Lincoln Middle School, and Selma High School. He graduated from Selma High School in 2006. Lance is currently attending Columbia University, majoring in human rights with an interest in equal access to education. His future goal is to work for a nonprofit, and perhaps one day, even the United Nations.
by Matt Lubbers-Moore
I live in Michigan which just announced that along with the CDC’s mask recommendation that fully vaccinated people no longer have to wear masks indoors. However, the state is less than 50% fully vaccinated, and I worry about a new spike due to non-vaccinated people parading around as if they are vaccinated. This gets me back to pride. In 2020 Pride events were cancelled or moved to virtual spaces.
by Lorie Lewis Ham
As we continue to feature other mystery podcasts, Pride month seemed like the perfect time to chat with Brad Shreve about his podcast, Gay Mystery Podcast. Earlier this month we reviewed Brad’s first mystery novel, A Body in a Bath House..
by Lorie Lewis Ham
In honor of Pride this year we thought we would do something a little different—we reached out to several of the LGBTQ+ mystery authors that we have covered in the past and asked them to share their favorite LGBTQ+ mysteries.
by Lorie Lewis Ham
In honor of Pride this month we wanted to interview a local LGBTQ+ performer, so we chatted with one who does a little bit of everything in the theatre community, Michael C. Flores. Michael was born and raised in Madera, CA and has been very involved with Selma Arts Center since 2015.
by Lorie Lewis Ham
Private detective Mitch O’Reilly is struggling to get clients so that he can pay the bills. He also runs a spy store called Eye Spy Supply in a mostly abandoned strip mall in Los Angeles. That isn’t going well either. The only time he seems to make a sale is when his sister Josie fills in for him when he’s off on a case. He is behind on the rent for his shop and practically living off cereal to survive.
by Cynthia Chow
Steve Levitan would be the first to declare that his Golden Retriever Rochester was responsible for turning around his human’s life. After two miscarriages led to now ex-wife’s compulsive shopping habit, Steve wielded his considerable computer skills to hack into three credit bureaus and block her ability to spend. Unfortunately, that also led to his being caught and imprisoned for a year, forcing him to rebuild his life into an administrator at Eastern College.
by Lorie Lewis Ham
& Neil Plakcy
In honor of Pride, this month we are featuring several LGBTQ+ authors and characters. When I was looking around for books to include, I stumbled upon Neil S. Plakcy’s series featuring Special Agent Angus Green and noticed that his latest book, Survival is A Dying Art, was a finalist for the 2019 Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Mystery. I decided that this was the perfect choice and I am very glad that I did!
by Rebecca Potts
In June of 1969, police invaded the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in New York City. During that era, gay bars were a place of refuge in an unaccepting world. The raid infuriated the community and led to six days of riots, which were responsible for sparking the Gay Rights Movement across the globe. The Stonewall Riots are also the reason that June has been named Pride Month.
