Katherine Forrest posing for a photo with Lynn Ames and Ruth Perkinson
KE Lane and I signing books
I’ve just returned from my second literary convention of the year, the Golden Crown Literary Society 4th Annual Convention. The GCLS is an organization founded solely for the purpose of championing lesbian literature. The convention is unique in that it welcomes and celebrates the reader as much as the author, and the weekend of panels, workshops and events has as much in the way of entertaining fans of lesbian books and their authors as it does workshops on craft for the writers. A particular thrill for everyone this year was the presence of Katherine V. Forrest, a true icon in the world of lesbian literature, a trailblazer in many ways and a very fine writer and editor to boot. Her Kate Delafield mystery series saw me through a particularly bleak post-break-up period many years ago. I would lose myself in those stories and forget about my own for awhile. And many, many lesbians remember Forrest’s Curious Wine as the first honest to god lesbian romance they ever read. By the time the two women in that book finally got together the reader – especially the reader of the early 80s – was practically panting. Plus, there was no fall out in the way of older lesbian books. No suicide, no ostracism, no arrest, no murder.
I enjoyed myself throughout the weekend, learned a lot, met some really nice readers and writers, signed some books, and enjoyed some of the Arizona sun. Or as much as you can enjoy 110 degrees. I hung out a bit with KE Lane, whose first book – And Playing the Role of Herself – won all three categories it was nominated in at the awards on Saturday night. Kathy is a modest and delightful person and I was thrilled that she won.
Reading a sex scene from Sometimes Quickly, with Catherine Lundorff looking on.
My erotica reading went well, but I admit being upstaged by Nell Stark’s reading of a very hot and well-written story of her own. Her delivery was sensational and taught me a little about how important that is, no matter what you’re reading for an audience. I spent some time with Nell during the conference and thought she was delightful.
Now I’m home for a week and then off to L.A. for the Emerging Writers Retreat. Lucky for me, I’ll get to spend more time with Katherine Forrest while in L.A. She gave a terrific all-day workshop at GCLS and I’ll happily sit through it again while at the Retreat.
