Latest News 02-19-2018

Latest News: On Feb. 19, 2018, Alan Rose wrote: “The Book Chat interview has been uploaded to my website. KLTV has begun airing it.” Alan’s interview with me was recorded in January of this year. It covers my novel Acquaintance, the KKK, and the...

Immigration and the KKK

We must examine in historical context the attitude expressed by Donald Trump that America needs more immigrants from Norway. A December 22, 2016 article on the Right Wing Watch website notes: “In an interview with [Steve] Bannon in October 2015, [then Senator Jeff]...

Eugenics and Sterilization in Oregon

In the first chapter of Acquaintance, I introduce a number of the major themes in my Medicine for the Blues trilogy. One important subject in the political milieu of 1923 Portland, Oregon, was the eugenics movement and human sterilization bills. In the book, Dr. Carl...

Why Gay History Is Indispensable

In a recent article, Charles Francis, the current president of the Mattachine Society, referred to the Canadian prime minister’s recent apology to his country’s sexual minorities for decades of “systemic oppression, criminalization, and violence.” Francis goes on to...

Some Thoughts on Writing Customer Reviews

  Here are some things I’ve learned about writing customer reviews for books on Amazon, Goodreads, and other platforms. The best length for a review is about 100 words. A detailed review is better than just “I loved it.” You don’t need to summarize the plot—the...

Trans People, Homosexuals, and Self-Hatred

  “Trans” is much in the news these days, and trans people have as much self-hatred to deal with as homosexuals. I recently had an illuminating experience at a fundraiser for Portland’s Q Center. It was held at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront and as I went...

Book Launch Party!

Saturday, November 4th, 3-5 PM at the Q Center, 4115 N. Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97217 Come out and help celebrate the release of my new novel Acquaintance, Book 1 of the trilogy Medicine for the Blues.

Bix and the Jazz in Medicine for the Blues

Jimmy Harper, one of the main characters in my trilogy Medicine for the Blues, is a musician, and blues and jazz are a big part of his life. As I began studying the 1920s, one of the first books on music of that period that crossed my radar was Hoagy Carmichael’s The...

Happy Endings to Gay Movies

When I started working on Medicine for the Blues, I insisted that it have a happy ending. This conviction first dawned on me when I saw a gay-themed film at the Seattle International Film Festival back in the 1980’s. It was a French film called The Wounded Man...