Spotlight-Excerpt & Giveaway: A LIFE IN LETTERS: A STORY OF RESILIENCE, SEQUINS AND HOPE by Rodney Rhoda Taylor

An emotional journey of resilience, sequins, and hope 

A Life in Letters: A Story of Resilience, Sequins and Hope

by Rodney Rhoda Taylor

Publisher:  Cresting Wave Publishing

Cover Artist: Brian R. Barilleaux, Rodney Rhoda Taylor 

Release Date: July 9, 2024

Genre: Non-fiction/Memoir

Themes: Coming out, Awareness, Societal Expectations

Length:  23 580  words/  140 pages

It is a standalone book.

Heat Rating: No sexual content

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From sudden pop-ups, ruined pajamas, glittery gowns, and conversations with God - a collection of letters that covers it all. 

Blurb

A Life in Letters chronicles a gay man’s journey as he navigates the ups and downs of life through his letters. From the innocent correspondence with Santa Claus and asking for a Cher doll, through the trials and tribulations of puberty, sudden pop-ups, coming out, drag queens, heartbreak, and the joys of a Cosmo, we learn how the author maneuvers through the many curve balls life throws at him. Throughout, it’s a story of hope, courage, and strength. 

Excerpt

Dear Masculinity,

I have spent years trying to figure out who you are, and I am no closer to solving this mystery than I was when I first started. You are an enigma—a puzzle that cannot easily be solved. I know as much about you as I know about the moon’s backside. Why is that? (Well, not the moon part…) Why is your identity so vague?

All I know is that for years, both the straight and gay communities have told me that I don’t act like you, that I act like a girl, and that I’m too effeminate. But neither constituency can provide me with a definition of who you are. The straights can’t define you because, for them, you are based on some ancient notion of what a man should be. And the gays can’t represent you because, for them, you are based on some overhyped-up sexual fantasy drawing created by Tom of Finland. And no one can measure up to an entire community’s sexual fantasy. I mean, damn—based on those two concepts, I was/am never going to fit into anyone’s idea of what being “masculine” is. The one element both communities agree on is that “men” are not supposed to have “feminine” characteristics. And if they do, then they better watch it, or they will be deemed … undesirable.

That leads to this question: Isn’t the whole preoccupation and belief that boys and men are supposed to act one way and girls and women are supposed to act another a bit … archaic?

Why do boys have to be masculine? Why do girls have to be feminine? And why, on God’s Green Earth, can’t either sex just “be”? Sans labels? If boys want to play with Barbie—so be it. If girls want to play football—so be it.

Let’s just say it: the idea of “masculinity” is out-of-date. It’s based on an out-of-date assumption that “men” are the more vigorous sex. These days, one’s strength is no longer strictly judged to be a “physical” attribute. These days, it is more (correctly) about a person’s inner drive and determination, regardless of the chromosome lottery.

Women have become quite “strong,” in my definition because they have had to fight their way out of being dominated by “masculine” men and more than a few ill-informed women. Then there are those men, like me, who get their nails done, walk with a swish in their step, shape their eyebrows, and act in a way that society says is “feminine.”

Our folks have always been deemed “not masculine” because of the way we act/appear. Yet many of us live on our terms—and do not welcome others’ ideas of how we should “act.” It takes a strong person to live their life that way. Especially considering the condemnation one can receive for doing so.

So, which is truly the strong, masculine person? The individuals who think Penis=Superior/Stronger? Or those who have had to fight to live on their terms despite the adversity they receive from the world for doing so? And which gender are they?

Thoughts?

Feminine and Proud.

About the Author  

Rodney Taylor is a San Francisco State University graduate with a degree in Creative Writing. Initially exploring various writing paths, Rodney found a niche in playwriting, creating several short plays, including Eros, Poolside, Good-Bye Cupid, Fairy Godmother, Baby Christina, Motherly Advice, and P.S. I Love You. Their passion for theater culminated in co-founding Left Coast Theatre Co., an LGBTQ theater in San Francisco, with Joe Frank. After a brief hiatus to focus on personal well-being, Rodney is now reviving their writing career. Shifting focus from plays to comedic short stories, Rodney travels the country with their chihuahua, searching for a place to call home.

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Spotlight-Excerpt: BOY ONE by Jaap Cové

Boy One 

Author and Publisher: Jaap Cové

Cover Artist: ricacabrex (Fiverr)

Release Date: April 1, 2024

Genres: Gay, M/M Memoir, non-fiction

Tropes: Secret love

Themes: Coming out, shame, fear, intergenerational relationships

Heat Rating: 3 flames

Length: 55 000 words/ 203 pages

It is a standalone book and ends on a sort of cliffhanger.

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Coming of age inside the controversial world of the Spartacus Gay Guide

Blurb

It is 1981. Jaap, a Dutch teenager, is a boy taking his first steps towards becoming a man. He’s reclusive, a wallflower with a handsome face and curly blond hair. He loves playing tennis and plays drums for a student rock band.

He is attracted to men and afraid of desires that he has not acted upon. By fortuitous accident, the Dutch teen meets Briton John D. Stamford, and his life changes. Stamford is the eccentric middle-aged editor of Spartacus International Gay Guide, the crucial book for gay male travelers. It listed both welcoming destinations and countries that carried strict penalties for homosexuality.

Jaap likes mature men; John prefers youths. BOY ONEis the record of their relationship, the deluxe global travel they did for John’s work, the eye-opening experiences of a sheltered teen, and the obsessive sexual relationship that developed.

Amid the glamor of five-star hotels and restaurants, conflicts arise. Jaap still thinks about having a girlfriend and wonders if he is bisexual. John is trying to push his young lover into something he’s not ready for—being openly gay all the time. Moreover, Jaap notices the Spartacus Guide lists opportunities for sex with underaged youths in places like Thailand. He suspects this is wrong. So do the police, who begin investigating John.

Despite the excitement and eroticism of their relationship, the moral issues grow until the two are at odds.

In BOY ONE, Jaap Cové tells the honest and gripping story of a remarkable part of his life. Revealing and outspoken, it is a unique, colorful and compelling coming-of-age story. It captures the excitement of international gay life in the early 80s, but it is also a troubling saga about morality and intergenerational relationships.

Excerpt

John picks me up at the airport with a taxi. We drop my bag in the RV that’s parked just outside Basel’s old center, but don’t stay there. John has other plans.  I’m in for a romantic weekend. It’s snowy and below freezing point. I never expected the city to be so beautiful, or is it because we’re together again? We lunch in an upscale Konditorei, then walk arm in arm past the historical buildings in the old center. People on the pavement glare at us, but John doesn’t let go of my arm. It feels warm and safe. We visit the Gothic church and head to the quay of the river Rhine, where we kiss. There are people watching, which makes it more exciting. Protected by John, I don’t feel any embarrassment. I exist in a constant state of being crazy in love.

He takes me to my first gay sauna in the old town to warm up. As we enter a dimly-lit steam room, I lose John in the mist. In no time, there are many hands all over my body, touching my ass, my c*ck and my torso. I am scared.

As I adjust to the light, I look into the faces of the young men groping me and start to panic. I want to break free, but they won’t let me. Someone shoves his tongue between my lips. I wriggle to get away from the mass of bodies. Just as I reach the point of using force, I feel a hand pull me from the crowd. John pulls me close and embraces me. He smiles and tries to calm me.

‘You didn’t like that?’ he asks.

‘No, I panicked.’

‘Come, let’s get out of here.’ 

He takes me to a private room where we make love on a rubber bed covered with towels. Our session isn’t long and elaborate as it would have been in the RV. It turns me on just the same. I’m quickly positioned on my belly by his big hands, feeling the cold KY-jelly on my ass, after which he carefully pushes his warm c*ck inside. Pleasing John, giving my lover what he wants, in the way he wants it, excites me. I become hard as a rock. This man owns me when we make love.

Downstairs in the bar area later, we have a drink. I play with the thought that John planned the episode in the steam room. At the same time, the thought is ridiculous. I can’t imagine him telling all those guys that his lover from Holland would be visiting, and asking them to give me a warm welcome.

‘It was almost like they were waiting for me,’ I say. ‘All those hands on me.’

‘Why is that strange? Have you looked in the mirror lately?’

‘Huh?’

‘You’re very handsome, Jake. You’re a f*cking knockout.’

I don’t know what to say, since no one ever told me that. I know I’m not ugly, but a knockout? I’m tall and slender, not muscled. And I’ve always been on the shy side, not confident about my looks. All my life people have told me that my blond curls are beautiful. But women couldn’t keep their hands off my hair when I was a young boy and I didn’t enjoy that. 

‘And you have such a hot ass,’ he adds with a big smile. Then he kisses me. 

As I take a sip of my drink, I think about how my life has changed. In less than three months, I have made the metamorphosis from Dordrecht wallflower to Basel knockout. My self-esteem balloons.

But something is gnawing at me.

‘So when you’re here on your own, I suppose those hands are on you, too, right?’

‘Why do you ask?’ 

‘I don’t like that thought.’

‘No, that doesn’t happen to me. I’m getting too old, Jake. Older gay people are less appealing in this world. You’ll find out.’

‘I find that hard to believe. When you walk around here naked, people look.’

‘I’m glad you think so.’ He smiles and looks past me, like he’s checking out the other guys. ‘But to answer your real question, yes, I do play around when I’m on my own.’

‘What… you mean, you still do, even though we’re lovers?’

‘Yes.’

‘Seriously?’

 ‘Remember that black kid we met in a bar in Nice on our last evening? I f*cked him soon after you left.’

That’s a sudden bucket of ice water. I put down my drink and sit frozen. I want to go home. Now. 

John continues sipping his drink. ‘It’s all right, Jake; it meant nothing. I love you.’

About the Author  

Jaap Cové (1962) studied anthropology and debuted in 2011 with his novel Walking Among Us, followed by Cajú (2012) and The Girl in the Web (2017). Dog Gone (2023) was his first nonfiction narrative. Boy One is his first memoir.

From my website:

Jaap Cové is an anthropologist, a drummer, a flautist, a globetrotter, and an author of fiction and nonfiction. His novels are filled with mystery, spirituality, symbolism and music. His nonfiction is a reflection of his eventful life.

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Back 2 School Special: MIXED GENRES-Includes Giveaway!

Spotlight and Excerpt: THE PAINTING AND THE PIANO by John Lipscomb and Adrianne Lugo

The Painting and The Piano, by John Lipscomb and Adrianne Lugo, is an improbable story of survival and love. 

Growing up more than a thousand miles apart and worlds away from each other, Johnny and Adrianne seemed to have all that a child could ask for. However, the demons of their respective mothers would tear their young, fragile lives apart.

Eventually, destiny would bring Johnny and Adrianne together, but first they had to endure the painful toll that alcohol, drugs, and a negligent court system would take on them. With parts of Adrianne’s story ripped from national news headlines, their story takes them from the depths of despair and near death, to their first serendipitous introduction and the moment each knew they were finally safe.

Filled with hope, inspiration and humor, The Painting and the Piano is an unforgettable story of pain, loss and the undying human quest for happiness. Told as a tandem narrative, Adrianne and Johnny’s stories are unique, but share parallels that create a taut and emotionally compelling narrative. 

The Painting and The Piano is set to be released in February 2016. 

Genres: Literary Nonfiction / Romance / Memoir / Addiction and Recovery

Praise for The Painting and the Piano:

“A vivid, moving account of addiction, trauma, and hard-won triumph by two survivors.” – Kirkus Reviews

“I really couldn’t put it down. Johnny and Adrianne’s stories are a story of loss, fear, suffering and true growth that is told in a beautiful format.” – Wally Klein

“Any reader who enjoys a great work of non-fiction, an autobiography, or a story of redemption and triumph in the face of great odds and a difficult history, should absolutely read The Painting and the Piano.” – Tracy Slowiak

“Although it is a non-fiction memoir, the book reads much like a novel: intense and at points, almost unbelievable.” – Red City Reviews

Excerpt

I’m in an office in Manhattan. There’s a large mirror embedded in one wall. The furniture is small, a table and two chairs built especially for children. There are a few toys, but none of them are very interesting. 

The room is bare and cold, even though it’s mid-summer in Manhattan. Honey, we have to go, but we’ll be back soon, okay? Mom says.
Where are you going? I feel fidgety and kick at the kiddie chair next to me. Just for a little walk, not too far. 

My tummy hurts and I don’t want to be there. Okay, Ady Maidy? Dad asks.
We’ll be back in a jip, Mom adds.
Jiff, Dad says. 

Wha? 

Jiff! We’ll be back in a jiff. 

Good grief. She knows what I mean, don’t you honey? 

Mom and Dad look at the woman who brought us to this room. I don’t remember her name, maybe it was Ms. Abramsky, but she’s wearing beige polyester pants and a sky blue short-sleeved blouse with a ruffle running along either side of the buttons. 

Her arms are folded across her belly. It’ll be okay. Your mom and dad will be here in a minute. I look at my parents. Mom and Dad are right here. 

Mom’s eyes are sharp, head tilted, arms across her chest, purse grasped tightly in her right hand. Dad’s eyes are soft, moist. His hands are in his pockets. 

I guess I mean Mr. and Mrs. Schoenowitz, Ms. Abramsky says. 

Can we step out into the hall? Mom asks. 

Yes Mrs. Cahn, replies Ms. Abramsky. 

Will, why don’t you stay with Ady, Mom says to Dad. She and Ms. Abramsky step into the hall. The door shuts solidly behind them. 

I couldn’t hear what they said, nor do I think I wanted to, but when I was older Mom rehashed the conversations she’d had with the agency. 

Everything was fine until I called to say we wanted to adopt Adrianne, Mom remembered saying. I know, responded Ms. Abramsky. 

When we first came into this agency we were very clear that we were looking for a baby girl that we could adopt— 

I wasn’t here then— 

I know that, but it should be in the file because when we were called we were told that you had a little girl from drug-addicted parents and that it would be a long-term foster parenting opportunity that probably would turn into an adoption. 

At that time the mother was in jail and the father was nowhere to be found, said Ms. Abramsky. Right...and all the time your agency is telling us, ‘Don’t worry, everything is fine—’ 

And it was. When you asked about adopting Adrianne we had to try and contact the biological parents, which we did— 

Uh huh— 

—When Adrianne was born Mrs. Schoenowitz voluntarily put Adrianne into foster care, so we had to try to speak to both Mr. and Mrs. Schoenowitz— 

So that’s why we’re here now—
—and they wanted to meet Adrianne.
What about adopting Adrianne? Is that still in the picture?
Mrs. Cahn, we’re a foster agency and in no way an adoption agency. We have certain guidelines.
Does one of those guidelines include telling Mrs. Schoenowitz she has the right to take Adrianne back? It took a long time for Mom to get an answer to that question. 

About the Authors

Johnny and Adrianne reside in South Florida with their Yorkie, Holly.  Both are involved in the AA/Recovery community. Adrianne currently works at a recovery house and Johnny continues speaking, sponsoring and helping others in recovery.

Readers can connect with them on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

To learn more, go to http://www.paintingpiano.com/