I’m off next week to Chicago for the 11th annual Golden Crown Literary Society conference. Pictures to follow — hope to see you there! In the meantime, gots a new book! Moment of Weakness is ready for pre-order at Bella Books. In honor of that, I thought you might like to do some pre-reading. This […]

This time next week I’ll be in New York for the 29th Annual Lambda Literary Awards, which recognize excellence in literature from the LGBTQ community. From over 900 submissions, our judges chose 143 finalists. Come Monday June 12th at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (near Washington Square), we’ll announce winners in 23 categories. […]

UPDATED BELOW WITH YOUR DONATIONS Yes, I usually announce upcoming releases a LOT sooner. This one was different because I wasn’t even sure until today that I’d get it turned in on time. Now that it’s off for a line edit, I’m confident we’ll get it to the formatters soon. Are you ready for the […]

I get asked this question a lot. It’s one I stumble over, and if you read more than one interview or see me fielding this at multiple events, you’re likely to notice that I give different answers. Early books that moved me were written by or about women I wanted to be. Joy Adamson, Dian […]

I blame Netflix for the travel bug. I’m addicted now to European TV and film, especially crime thrillers, political intrigue and farce. Ergo we’re off to London today having planned the flight and hotel but nothing else. It’s like starting a book based on an opening scene with no idea of what happens next, a […]

I turned nine years old in 1964, the same year public schools in Wilmington NC began what would be a long, tumultuous journey to desegregation that peaked with the wrongful convictions of the Wilmington Ten. I planned my own birthday party that year, a campout in the back yard with five girls from my fourth […]

IMPORTANT UPDATE: I had this in my phone at 7:00pm. That’s because I live on the East Coast. THIS EVENT IS AT 4:00PM LOCAL TIME!!!! You probably wonder why lesbian authors do bookstore events, so let me clear that up: This is how we all get rich. And famous. Dozens of people — hundreds even […]

Several years ago, I was working through a checklist my attorney had provided to guide me through the process of setting up a revocable trust. The idea was to simplify my estate by putting all of my belongings in one place so they could be distributed without creating a legal and tax nightmare for my […]

I had hoped to spend the year holding Democratic politicians to their promises of living wages, racial justice, gender equity, greater LGBTQ equality … the progressive dream list was long. Instead I’ll be fighting Republicans to save Medicare, Social Security and the environment. I wrote a blog back in November about how I’d deal with […]

Let’s just all agree that 2016 uniquely sucked. Not only did it bring the violent massacre of our brothers and sisters in Orlando, it gleefully shoved that vile hatred and bigotry in our faces. I personally will feel the rage of this year’s elections for the rest of my years, no matter what the future […]

It’s been over a month now. Every single morning since Election Day, my first waking thought is that Americans chose as their 45th President an ignorant narcissist instead of a woman who arguably was the most qualified candidate ever. Yet I’m reminded daily in the press and on social media that Americans should strive for […]

It’s been nine days. I still wake up in the night mired in the horror of our political reality, with the feeling of a foot on my throat. I once had faith in the overall goodness of America — but no more. I’m disappointed in family, and in many I once thought were friends. They […]

I was in Dallas a couple of weeks ago discussing Trial by Fury with the Women With Pride Book Club at their brand new Resource Center. These women have rolled out the welcome mat for dozens of lesbian writers who come from all over the country (world?) to talk about their work with readers who […]

I have a stationery collection called “The Reading Woman” that includes this lovely painting by Harry Wilson Watrous. It hangs in the Brooklyn Museum, and I’m going to make a special trip to see it next time I’m in New York. I was writing cards today to thank some of our supporters at Lambda Literary, […]

Forgive me readers for I have slacked. It’s been nearly a month since my last blog. That was to tell you about my upcoming events, which now are in the rearview mirror — a reading and chat at Malaprop’s in Asheville with Karin Kallmaker; and a panel and chat at the LGBT Center in Raleigh […]

Late September is Goldilocks weather in Asheville, North Carolina — too late to be hot, too early to be cold. Peak leaf season in that part of the Blue Ridge Mountains won’t happen for another couple of weeks, but there ought to be a good range of color, since we’ve had a relatively dry summer. […]

I had an idea for a political novel but real life stole my plot. It’s just as well. If I wrote about a candidate whose best descriptor was an anagram of both racist sins and crisis tans, you’d accuse me of going over the top. Characters are supposed to be believable. (Says who? Polls…all of […]

Thank goodness for all the photos GCLS attendees posted on Facebook to chronicle our five days in DC. If I had to rely only on my memories, the entire conference would be nothing more than a blur of hugs, laughs, shivers, buffet lines and ominous signs telling us our time was up. With the GCLS […]

GCLS is no longer creeping up on us. It’s bearing down like a freight train, like an F5 tornado, like a roomful of lesbians on a box of Tim Tams. I know this because my suitcase is down from the attic and I’m starting to pay attention to what I can’t wear this week because […]

To Omar Mateen and all others who plot violence against the LGBT community: We aren’t afraid of you. We know real fear. For many of us who grew up lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, our greatest fear was never your automatic weapons, your fists or anything else born in your depraved heart. Real fear was […]