In tribute to the recently announced passing of Tereska Torrès, who’s credited with writing America’s first lesbian pulp novel, Women’s Barracks, I thought it would be fitting to talk about romances for girls who, you know, like girls. According to the obituary in the New York Times, two years after Ms. Torrès’  novel was published, The House Select […]

Been reading some interesting stuff this week and I’ve got a couple of recommendations for your weekend downloads. Sheltered, by Charlotte Stein, is quite a good read. There are some interesting elements to her characters that drew me in from the start.The heroine is Evie, an only child who lives with a horribly abusive, domineering father who keeps […]

I”m always up for a good scare. Ghosts, abandoned houses, demonic possession, things going bump in the night . . . bring it on, I say. The horror genre fascinates me because I find it interesting to consider what truly frightens people. The causes can be so vastly different. A writer who’s figured out how to […]

I recently finished The Lantern, a book that draws similarities to Daphne Du Maurier’s classic Rebecca in both setting (crumbly old farmhouse in Provence) and suspensful atmosphere. Author Deborah Lawrenson’s book has been labeled as “a modern gothic novel of love, secrets, and murder,” and that’s what enticed me to read it in the first place. I dug Rebecca and […]

Having just returned from a vacation in Italy, I was struck by how much that country is a venerable feast for the senses. Smells and tastes of sumptuous food, sights of stunning art and architecture from cities steeped in history, the soul-stirring ringing of church bells, the rugged feel of the cobblestones beneath my feet […]