Message of Love: Play Along

If you haven't already watched and listened to Dudley Saunders' wonderful acoustic adaptation of The Pretenders' "Message of Love," which inspired the title of my new novel, please do so. 

And once again, I've created a fun and historic playlist of songs mentioned in the novel, in sequence. But I also found some informative and slightly disturbing TV clips from the era, dealing with the encroaching crisis that the gay community faced in the early 1980s. 

I'll be posting book excerpts and music videos, as I did for Every Time I Think of You and PINS.

One of my favorite songs from the era of Message of Love's setting is actually 'heard' in the book later on. But I used a few lyrics as the epigram in the book, so it sorta gets re-placed up front. 

Here's Blondie performing "Accidents Never Happen." When I last saw them last year on a double bill with Devo, sadly they didn't play it! 

Anyway, here are the lyrics I used. When you read the novel, you'll understand the reference.

"Like the magi on the hill,
I can divinate your presence from afar.
And I'll follow you until
I can bring you to a perfect world."

Message of Love, the sequel to Every Time I Think of You

-->

Message of Love, the sequel to the Lambda Literary award-winning novel Every Time I Think of You, is finally published, in paperback and Kindle editions.

Stop Senate Bill 401

No clever puns for this title, because the latest bit of rightwing stupidity isn't even worth joking about; it's about outright government censorship.  As reported by Under the Dome Today, Senate Bill 401 would enforce broad and ridiculous censorship to school arts education.

I've had the honor of my first novel, PINS being added to reading lists of more than a dozen college classes at universities across the U.S. including my BFA alma mater, Ohio State University. While my books may not be "appropriate" for high school classes, I would be astonished if anyone actively sought out to censor my works and keep them from potential readers. This is just another case of the 'American Taliban' wielding its unlawful interference on government.