Videos

Why We Love Galen’s Legacy

From time to time, we like to share with you why we loved a book enough to publish it. In this video, Rattling Good Yarns Press Managing Publisher talks about “Galen’s Legacy,” by Henry Alley. What would you do if you were imprisoned by a homophobic town for a crime you didn’t commit? It gives you time to think about your life and your relationships. “Galen’s Legacy” follows Galen’s journey to repair his relationships with his family and with himself. “Galen’s Legacy” is now available from all online booksellers, independent bookstores, and the Rattling Good Yarns Press online store, with FREE SHIPPING and NO SALES TAX if shipped outside California. Rattling Good Yarns Press online store: https://rgyp.tiny.us/galens-legacy

WE’VE BEEN BANNED!

Managing Publisher, Ian Henzel, talks about why Rattling Good Yarns Press loves “The Grand Sex Tour Murders,” by Daniel M. Jaffe, and the recent banning of the book from library acquisition systems and from the Rattling Good Yarns Press Facebook shop. We encourage readers to read the book and form their own opinions.

Why We Love The Grand Sex Tour Murders

Managing Publisher, Ian Henzel, talks about why Rattling Good Yarns Press loves “The Grand Sex Tour Murders,” by Daniel M. Jaffe. At its heart, the novel is a spoof on reality TV and what happens when things go wrong. It is an engrossing Ian also talks about the recent banning of the book from library acquisition systems and from the Rattling Good Yarns Press Facebook shop.

Henry Alley reads from his Novel, Galen’s Legacy

In this segment, Galen and his family are coming to the climax of their trip to Amsterdam. We are at Galen’s mother Christabel’s book of poetry, “Pluto’s Bells,” has been republished. Christabel tells the audience about her brother, Eugene, a gay man, his flight from Nazi-occupied Germany, and his journey to be true to himself in the United States. What would you do if you were imprisoned by a homophobic town for a crime you didn’t commit? It gives you time to think about your life and your relationships. “Galen’s Legacy,” by acclaimed author Henry Alley follows Galen’s journey to repair his relationships with his family and with himself. Coming May 11th. “Galen’s Legacy” is now available for preorder from the Rattling Good Yarns Press online store, with FREE SHIPPING and NO SALES TAX if shipped outside California. To preorder, go to https://rgyp.tiny.us/galens-legacy.

Henry Alley Reads from his novel, Galen’s Legacy

Galen has traveled to Amsterdam with his quirky Dutch family and his would-be boyfriend Anton. Anton, due to his own family, has struggled with his gayness. In this segment, Galen and Anton grow closer. They drop their inhibitions and allow themselves to feel and act on what’s in their hearts. . What would you do if you were imprisoned by a homophobic town for a crime you didn’t commit? It gives you time to think about your life and your relationships. “Galen’s Legacy,” by acclaimed author Henry Alley follows Galen’s journey to repair his relationships with his family and with himself.

Author Daniel M. Jaffe reads from his new novel, The Grand Sex Tour Murders

In this reading, we hear from the killer and what drove him to evolve such peculiar habits. What happens when you combine a tongue-in-cheek spoof of murder mysteries, reality TV romance competitions, and the live-streaming gay porn industry? You get The Grand Sex Tour Murders! The Grand Sex Tour Murders is a tell-all written by Paulie Hahnemann, the producer of a live-streaming gay sex competition set in European bathhouses. Surrounded by beautiful architecture, fantastic art, and fabulous food, the eight hot, sexy guys compete to see who will score the most “sex points” to take home the grand prize of $250,000 and become the next big gay porn star! Seen through the eyes of Paulie, interviews with the stalking serial killer, and hidden camera segments of the contestants, we follow them all through great European cities. Paulie’s plan is to make a financial killing, that is…until the real killing starts.

St Sukie de la Croix Reads from His Novel, Twilight Manors in Palm Springs God’s Waiting Room

St Sukie de la Croix reads the chapter ‘Larry’s Party’ from his new novel, “Twilight Manors in Palm Springs God’s Waiting Room,” a hilarious romp through retirement. Signed copies are available from Rattling Good Yarns Press.

James Magruder reads from his new novel, Vamp Until Ready

The network of protagonists in Vamp Until Ready. Cary Dunkler, Isa Vass, Kristy Schroyer, Judy Gabelson, and Mark Shinner have lives that are transformed in surprising ways by working on or backstage at the Hangar Theatre, a summer stock outfit in upstate New York in the 1980’s. They make—and remake—their families in this closely observed, ultimately comic valentine to the Socialist-leaning hamlet of Ithaca and to the pleasures of putting on a show at warp speed in hot weather.

Yvonne Zipter Reads from her novel Infraction

Marya Zhukova is a woman of many passions. Her husband isn’t one of them. It’s mathematics and literature that captivate her, in part, but her lover, Vera, enthralls her most of all. These are, however, all dangerous obsessions in the socially turbulent St. Petersburg of 1875. Marya is the fiery center to a small solar system of characters, each of whom depends on her to light their own lives. There is her aunt Lidia, a spinster who, dying of consumption, exacts from her niece a promise to marry. There is Grigorii, Marya’s one-time math teacher, who longs for his former pupil to achieve the scholarly glory he cannot. There is Vera, a young tutor surprised to find she’s fallen in love with a woman. There is Sergei, an earnest librarian captivated by Marya and willing to do whatever it takes to be near her, even if that means a platonic marriage. But when Sergei is consumed with desire for Marya, his anguish over the promise he made sets in motion a deadly chain of events. St. Petersburg itself adds a richness to these characters as they walk and muse along the city’s canals or bounce along the rutted streets behind a hardy droshky driver on their way to dine at Privato or Leiner’s Deli or to watch ballet at the Marinsky Theater. Inspired by a real-life account, Infraction takes place at a time when women who yearn for more find that freedom comes at a cost.

Daniel M. Jaffe Reads from His Collection of Short Stories, Foreign Affairs

In this newest short story collection from award-winning writer, Daniel M. Jaffe, red-blooded American men revel in wild romps, lose themselves in romances, discover unexpected friendships, and wrestle with shocking encounters, all while vacationing abroad. These travelers befriend a serial killer in a Munich bathhouse, a gay Holocaust ghost in Prague, a shape-shifting seductress in Mexico City, a desperate prostitute in Seville, a closeted Catholic school administrator in Dublin, an old woman who feels herself a prisoner in Soviet Leningrad. On an El Al flight home from Israel, a New Yorker tries to make sense of a fellow passenger contentedly sealed head-to-toe in a plastic bag. A tourist from West Hollywood wonders in Spain whether he should cruise a handsome older man seemingly right out of an El Greco painting. A New Jersey suburbanite strives to suppress forbidden urges while on a public Puerto Rico beach. The Americans here are young, middle-aged, senior. They are gay, bi, and straight men longing for other men, for women, for a trans old friend. Whereas many of these stories are realistic, others bring to life ghostly incarnations of those long-dead, beings who defy definition, even the Devil himself. In Foreign Affairs, Daniel M. Jaffe blends humor, suspense, and eroticism with compassion for human frailty and respect for the universal struggle not simply to endure but to overcome. These stories titillate, intrigue, and tug at heartstrings.

Rick Karlin Reads from his Memoir, Paper Cuts: My Life in Chicago’s Volatile LGBTQ

Paper Cuts: My Life in Chicago’s Volatile LGBTQ Press is the story of Rick Karlin’s life writing for Chicago’s newspapers, balancing that with his family life outside of it. Joining the staff at GayLife in 1978 gave Karlin a front-row seat at some of the momentous events in post-Stonewall LGBTQ history. From the privileged vantage point of a newspaper office, he watched the rise and fall of disco, the AIDS crisis, same-sex marriage, bars opening and closing, and LGBTQ newspapers coming and going. Like gossip columnists, Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons, Karlin knew the dirt going on behind the scenes. … Scratch the veneer of what Karlin calls his “so-called celebrity” and you will find a man of conviction, morals, and a keen sense of community. In short, Rick Karlin is a jewel in the crown of Chicago’s LGBTQ press. In 1978 he dived into a polluted pool and, holding his nose, swam in it for decades.

Gregg Shapiro Reads “A Different Debra” from, How to Whistle: Expanded Edition

Gay men form intense friendships and often create their “chosen families” for love and mutual support. Just when you are comfortable and believe you understand your “chosen family” members, they can surprise us by taking unforeseen twists and turns. “A Different Debra” explores just such one relationship, where the people we thought we knew, turns out to be very different.

Gregg Shapiro Reading “Money Changing Hands” from How to Whistle: Expanded Edition

Gregg Shapiro reads the short story “Money Changing Hands” from his collection of short stories, How to Whistle: Expanded Edition.

Sukie Reads “The Big Fat Hairy Fairy Dance” from St Sukie’s Strange Garden of Woodland Creatures

Lobo the Wonder Dog’s favorite book in the entire world is “St Sukie’s Strange Garden of Woodland Creatures.” So, it’s storytime for Lobo. Watch along with Lobo and his woodland creatures pals!

St Sukie Reads “The Girl From Ipanema Disappears from St Sukie’s Strange Garden of Woodland Creatures

The animals have questions they want to be answered about the Girl from Ipanema. When she walks by, all of the creatures say, “Ah.” Find out all about the disappearance of the girl from Ipanema by getting your copy of “St Sukie’s Strange Garden of Woodland Creature!”

The Pride Movement Impact on Writing & Creativity

2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the first Pride parades. The first Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade in 1970, commemorated the Stonewall Riots that took place the year before when police raided the Stonewall, a gay bar in Greenwich Village. The Pride movement changed how we think about ourselves as LGBTQ people and has changed the way others feel about us. We thought it would be interesting to explore how fifty years of Pride has impacted gay writers and artists. How has their work changed and evolved alongside the Pride movement? We gathered together a panel of Rattling Good Yarns Press writers and artists to explore their journey. On Our Panel Are: Daniel M. Jaffe, author of the new collection of short stories, Foreign Affairs: Male Tales of Lust & Love, will be available later this year from Rattling Good Yarns Press. In this newest story collection from award-winning writer, Daniel M. Jaffe, red-blooded American men make mischief while vacationing abroad. They encounter a serial killer in a Munich bathhouse, a gay Holocaust ghost in Prague, a shape-shifting seductress in Mexico City, a desperate prostitute in Seville, a closeted Catholic school administrator in Dublin, and many others. These stories will transport, titillate, intrigue, and tug at your heartstrings. Philip Gambone, author of the upcoming title from Rattling Good Yarns Press, As Far As I Can Tell: Finding My Father In WW II. Philip Gambone, a gay man, never told his father the reason why he was rejected from the draft during the Vietnam War. In turn, his father never talked about his participation in World War II. Father and son were enigmas to each other. Gambone, an award-winning novelist and non-fiction writer, spent seven years uncovering who the man his quiet, taciturn father had been, by retracing his father’s journey through WW II. As Far As I Can Tell not only reconstructs what Gambone’s father endured, it also chronicles his own emotional odyssey as he followed his father’s route from Liverpool to the Elbe River. A journey that challenged the author’s thinking about war, about European history, and about “civilization.” Rick Karlin, author of Paper Cuts: My Life in Chicago’s Volatile LGBTQ Press, available now from Rattling Good Yarns Press. Joining the staff at GayLife in 1978 gave Karlin a front-row seat at some of the momentous events in post-Stonewall LGBTQ history. From the privileged vantage point of a newspaper office, he watched the rise and fall of disco, the AIDS crisis, same-sex marriage, bars opening and closing, and LGBTQ newspapers coming and going. Rick Karlin is a jewel in the crown of Chicago’s LGBTQ press and the Windy City is all the better for it. Gregg Shapiro, columnist, poet, and author. Gregg is the author of the popular collection of short stories, How to Whistle. A new expanded edition of How to Whistle with new, never seen before stories will be published later this year by Rattling Good Yarns Press. How to Whistle is a collection of gay male-focused stories that span the time from the 1970s through to the 21st century. His funny and poignant stories explore the gay male experience through the decades. Owen Keehnen, Co-Editor with St Sukie de la Croix of the very popular Tell Me About It series. We all have stories — sometimes poignant, sometimes entertaining, and usually quite interesting. As historians of LGBTQ life, award-winning authors St Sukie de la Croix, award-winning author, historian, and journalist. St Sukie is the co-editor of the popular Tell Me About It series. The third volume in the series, Tell Me About It 3 will be published later this year from Rattling Good Yarns Press. He is also the author of the soon to be released novel, The Orange Spong: Storytelling at the Vamp-Arts Café. In 1924 a group of exiled vampires gathers at the Vamp-Art Café in Chicago to tell stories. Fearing a pogrom, they had all fled Europe after the publication of Bram Stoker’s book Dracula, which misrepresented vampires as vile monsters. These vampires, much like Canterbury Tales, meet and tell stories. A more accurate truth about vampires is revealed through a series of stories told in a café by the undead themselves. Roy Alton Wald, artist & illustrator. Roy is a celebrated illustrator and illustrated the stories in St Sukie’s Strange Garden of Woodland Creatures. Roy brings to life high-heel wearing cross-dressing giraffes, a warthog orchestra, and others. Roy’s illustrations bring the stories to life and delight readers with their whimsy and humor. Roy is currently collaborating with St Sukie on a new book of stories, St Sukie’s Lunatic Asylum for Demented Toys, set in an institution for mentally ill toys. Visit us at RattlingGoodYarns.com Be the first to hear about new titles! Join our mailing list!: RattlingGoodYarns.com/mailing-list/ Books are available from our online store: RattlingGoodYarns.com/shop/Add some content for each one of your videos, like a description, transcript or external links.To add, remove or edit tab names, go to Tabs.

Author St Sukie de la Croix & Illustrator Roy Alton Wald discuss St Sukie’s Strange Garden of Woodland Creatures

Meet the crazy and off-beat duo who created St Sukie’s Strange Garden of Woodland Creatures, St Sukie and Roy! They are responsible for bringing the wonderful and wacky creature to life. You will be able to get inside the minds of this team and learn how the concept, that started with St Sukie’s daily Facebook postings made its way to the printed page and how this fantastic team collaborated on the project. St Sukie’s Strange Garden of Woodland Creatures the place where tequila bunnies sing, warthogs play marshmallow instruments, and cross-dressing giraffes love to shop for shoes. Grab a cup of earl grey tea, sit back and wander through the garden, and wander through the minds of author St Sukie de la Croix and artist Roy Alton Wald! 

Interview with St Sukie de la Croix and Owen Keehnen, editors Tell Me About It – LGBTQ Secrets, Confessions and Life Stories

Owen Keehnen and St Sukie de la Croix discuss their collaboration and experiences interviewing LGBTQ people for the “Tell Me About It” series. We know the lives of LGBTQ who are famous or make the news, but what about the everyday heroes? Those seemingly “ordinary” LGBTQ people who have faced oppression and obstacles to become the extraordinary people they are. The Tell Me About It series brings them out of the shadows to tell their remarkable stories.