Hey, Ladies (and our gentlemen friends). Here's a new post I decided to do on video. Most posts will be written, with this being a blog and all, but I decided to do a video, just cause I live by my own rules, dammit.

I've heard there have been requests for more comic book coverage, so here you go.

I made sure to promote my fiction blog (http://angelashaferfiction.wordpress.com/) because I'm a busy bee working on my own stuff.

I hope you enjoy this video. If you'd like to know when new posts are up, you can Follow this blog to get email notices.

So, here's the video about comics. Enjoy and Happy Reading!

Two Spirits: Might You Be One?

First of all, my apologies for letting a week go by without a new post. I sincerely intend to do better.

Second, I planned the new post to be about comic books, but first, I want to share a suggestion that is, for the PnT family and her audience, something that is at least interesting and possibly something that a lot of us might relate to.

I'm talking about Two Spirits. Europeans first met Two Spirits among the American Indians in the 19th and into the 20th centuries. They were mainly men, but also some women, who dressed in the opposite gender's clothing and were respected and honored by their tribes. Even the shaman, or Medicine Men and Women, would seek their advice because their nature gave them a broader perception than anyone else. The Europeans freaked, of course, and apparently couldn't write "sodomy" enough in their memoirs when expressing surprise and general eww. The other Indians, however, didn't get all worked up over it. There are those who still practice their own Indian Nation's traditions, including respecting Two Spirits, but there are many more Indian people who have turned their backs on Traditions and adopted the perspective of the European missionaries who'd first visited them. Despite that, more Two Spirited people are living openly.

A recent documentary on PBS described what Two Spirit means along with the story of a Two Spirit named Fred who was murdered. But this wasn't your typical LGBTQ sad tale documentary. Though Fred's story is tragic, and I take nothing from it's seriousness, the documentary is also a celebration of Fred's life and of all Two Spirits.
To learn more about the documentary, "Two Spirits," you can go to http://twospirits.org/

There is also a spiritual facet to be Two Spirit. It's almost like being able to see everything at once.
Here's a quote from this post's suggested reading, The Spirit and the Flesh: Sexual Diversity in American Indian Culture by Walter L. William, from a Lakota Indian Two Spirit named Michael One Feather:

"I always knew I had a different concept from what everybody else had. Of things, of life; how I saw things. Most people didn't see the way I saw. What I would call a way of looking at things. My ideas were always spectacular--overshooting, you know, and overachieving. I always had to do something more, to do it my way, based on my different view."

In other words, as I always say, "anything worth doing is worth overdoing" and "to be unoriginal is a sin."

Of course, those who talk about the Two Spirits tend to go into sexuality, but there is more to it than that. A lady can be a lesbian, but know she is 100% female, regardless of her look or how she behaves in a relationship. Being Two Spirit is about being male and female in one's identity.

So, might you be Two Spirit, also known as berdache? You can find The Spirit and the Flesh: Sexual Diversity in American Indian Culture and read more about it.

Another book to check out is Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality by Sue-Ellen Jacobs, Wesley Thomas and Sabine Lang.

You might also like to read the essay "Lesbians in American Indian Cultures" by Paula Gunn Allen in Hidden From History: Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past edited by Martin Duberman, Martha Vicinus and George Chauncey, Jr.
Thanks to Lee Wind at http://www.leewind.org/ for the article that drew my attention to this essay

So that's what I have for this post. Hope you enjoyed it and come back when I start talking about comic books. There are some great ones out there, but you have to do the research to find those that are truly lesbian versus straight guy fantasies (hint: if the promo image is of two women in a loving embrace, it's truly lesbian, if one of them is holding a sex toy, it's straight guy). I mean, there was this one site, lesbian-comics dot something. Can't get any more obvious than that, can we? So I clicked and it was totally straight guy stuff, celebrities like Beyonce doing each other. Beyonce is stunning, don't get me wrong, and I wouldn't complain if she came out (which I'm sure there's nothing for her to come out about), but they did go too far on that site. I mean, really, the Olsen Twins?


Till we continue,
Angie

Angel's Ashes Release Today on YouTube

It's a big day for my PnT sister, Tamara "Tee" Spicer. Today, on YouTube at 7pm CST, "Angel's Ashes," which Tee wrote, will debut. It's not easy to write a screenplay, much less get it produced, so I say a big Congratulations to Tee and all the cast and crew of "Angel's Ashes." If you go to the film's official website, http://www.wix.com/angelsashes/home, you'll be greeted by the lovely voice of Jess Walker, host of PnT's "Tales of an Inspired Musician" at http://pnttvmusic.tumblr.com/. You can also read more about the film, the cast, and crew. So happy weekend to all you dear readers, and congrats to Tee and Jess on the release of "Angel's Ashes." It's quite the big deal. May you get plenty of those little thumbs up Likes.

It's Download, Not Down Low

E-publishing is quickly becoming the new thing. The frustration of working on a work--fiction, poetry, script--then finding someone who looks willing to publish it, then getting the same old rejection letter is frustrating, to say the least. E-publishing allows writers the opportunity to get their work out there for readers. If the readers don't want it, at least the writer had the chance for readers to see their work and then decide instead of some third party putting up a road block. As someone who related, for once, to Jennie Schecter (nice girl comes to L.A. from the Midwest, gets another woman's face between her legs and then kills a dog, only to end up floating in her neighbors' pool while her adorable fluffball of a dog whimpers, what's not to relate to?) when she had her wall of rejection letters on "The L Word," it's a liberating opportunity. I believe readers should get to decide if they want to buy a download for themselves, and writers should have the chance to hear it from the readers. So E-publishing is a win-win. Now there are E-publishers out there who will or won't accept an ebook to publish, but writers can also publish their own work through sites that put them up for sale directly on sites like iTunes and Amazon. With all that in mind, I did a little search for "lesbian ebooks." Here's what I was pleased to find:

Here's one of the ebook publisher sites for lesbian literature. You can browse genres from the paranormal to sci-fi to poetry to erotica to urban fantasy (my favorite genre, by the by). There are also anthologies, i.e. short story collections. You can download free ebooks, also. If you're a writer looking to publish your work as an ebook, you can submit your work here.
http://l-book.com/index.html

If you like ebooks of the romantic lesbian fiction, including historical romance, variety, go to LavenderDoor.com. Their site says most of the ebooks they offer for download aren't available anywhere else, so it's worth a browse.
http://www.lavenderdoor.com/

Have iTunes? I've had iTunes for years, though my iPod is shot (not literally shot, but it doesn't work properly, I'm so hard on my stuff), but I still buy and download music to play on my computer. So I thought I'd tell you about the books section in the iTunes store. There is a Gay Section under Fiction (they don't distinguish lesbian, bi, or trans, it's all under "Gay"). They have classic titles, like "Tipping the Velvet" by Sarah Waters and "Patience and Sarah" by by Isabel Miller, and titles that should be classics, like "The Punany Experience" (The War Between Tops and Bottoms) by Jessica Holter. There are some titles that might offend members of our community (like "A Tranny's Nine Wishes," some don't take kindly to the word "tranny") and there are some kinda funny titles ("Leonardo di Caprio is a Vampire").
If you've watched episodes of LezLit when it was a webseries, you might remember when I suggested "Best Lesbian Romance 2011," which features a story by my friend Jamie Schaffner. It's on iTunes for $9.99, which is pretty good for a new book. But if you're not up for actually buying anything, like with actual or virtual money, there are the Susan Slutt Mysteries, which are available to download for free.
If you watched one of the earliest LezLit episodes, you might remember a lesbian mystery novel by Ellen Hart I'd reviewed. A collection of her work is available, including "The Lost Women of Lost Lake," which is expected to be released in September.
It takes some sifting through the many titles to find books for the lady-loving ladies, but they are there. If it says "Lesbian Erotica Tales" or something along those lines, it's a pretty safe bet. One title that's clear is "grl2grl" by Julie Anne Peters. The books are available to download on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and on your computer's iTunes (be sure to check each title for it's availability on each device) at http://itunes.apple.com/us/genre/books-gay/id10045?mt=11.

I hadn't planned on taking my suggestions in this post away from sites that offer ebooks for download, but I thought I might make a suggestion or two for anyone looking to publish her own ebook. To find a software program you like (and, if you're like me, can understand), you might like to read some reviews, like this one
http://ebookpublishingsoftwarereviews.com/

I use a free software download called MobiPocket Creator. You can create your ebook (including the cover photo, which I like) and publish it to the Mobi Publisher site. Either way, ebooks aren't made the old fashioned way, so I'd make sure to do my research about how they're made and what programs are out there to create one, much less finding an ebook publisher. One thing that hasn't changed is to always make sure this publisher accepts your type of work. It's still a toss-up, they might not already have your type of work but are looking to create a new niche for themselves to draw a new audience or they do have it and aren't interested in anymore or they might not have it because they don't want it or they might have it and want more because it does well for them. Like I said, it's a toss-up. A frustrating toss-up. Still, if it's your passion, it's worth a shot because readers are looking for a new voice and it is quite likely yours.

I know this might be like promoting the competition, but I look at it more like sisters in the LBTQ community connecting. This is the "Across the Page" column on AfterEllen. I'll suggest literature, of course, but this column has great suggestions, as well. And isn't it really about finding great stuff to read?
http://www.afterellen.com/columns/across_the_page

Okay, well, that's wraps up this post, bloggy-style (yes, I just said "bloggy-style"). Thanks for reading. Please, don't be shy or a stranger. If you have literature suggestions of any LGBTQ variety, please email me at lezliterature@hotmail.com

I supposed all that's left to say is happy downloading and happy reading.

Till next time,
C-ya

Happy Pride

In this first entry, I want to start by wishing you Happy Pride. I know Pride isn't what it used to be. With more at least tolerance of LGBTQ in society, at least United States society, at least in some places, it seems rather ridiculous to make a show of saying, "we're here, we're queer, get over it." Or is it "get used to it?" I like get over it. That being said, Pride is still something to celebrate, partly because we should be proud and say so and also just because larger cities have their "gay towns," and support for things like Marriage Equality is on the rise, that doesn't mean it's all peachy puppies and rainbows. There are still those who say gay bashing will stop if we just stop being gay, and they say it as if it's the most "of course" thing in the big ol' Universe. Just don't have sex with another woman (though they also dramatically say they don't know how that's possible, anyhow) or another man and the bashing will stop. As long as that's the attitude and people don't feel thoroughly ashamed of it, yes, we need Pride. I look forward to the day when we don't need to make a statement, when we're not constantly holding rallies, marches, and debates over our recognized equality. I believe that day will come, but it's not here yet. And we need to remember our sisters and brothers in other countries who have it much worse than we do, for all our American snotty brat complaining. Until that time comes, yes, we need to be loud and proud, because it's great to be us.
But this blog isn't about Pride or politics. It's about literature. Fiction, non-fiction, comics (yes, I said comics), poetry, ebooks, all literature of all kinds. If it's written, it's here. I remember the first time I read a book with a lesbian character, an out lesbian character, who said things like "family," and "my girlfriend." I remember that feeling. I didn't have to pretend the male romantic lead was actually a woman. This character, though she lived a life nothing like my own, still, was me. Literature should take us to another place, another time, another life, but the best literature guides us so that we feel like we could be this person in another place, another time, another life, so it makes a difference if this character is, at her core, like us. That doesn't mean I only read stories with lesbians in them, though I stand by my belief that Professor McGonagall in the "Harry Potter" series is a total lez. But there is a difference when the characters are like me, there's a deeper connection, and I can relax into a good story without searching for subtext or substitution.
Thank the good Universe for the web. It's not just for porn, you know. It's great to be able to connect, especially for those of us who live in places where there's a sense of being surrounded. I'm glad you're here, that we've connected, and I hope you'll come back again. If you'd like to see past episodes of LezLit, as a webseries, you can go to PnT's website, http://pnttv.weebly.com/. The title of the show was LezLit Review because the videos were loaded to YouTube and there was already an account named LezLit. Please, feel free to watch past episodes, read this blog, visit the PnT site and all my sister shows/blogs through PnT. That's why we're here, to connect.
As for me, I was an English major with Creative Writing Emphasis in college. Most of my classes were about creative writing, fiction and poetry, but I also took some literature classes and it's great to have an outlet for all that literature stuff. I'm a writer, sometimes artist, and I host shows about the paranormal on BlogTalkRadio at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/angelashafer and I started a UStream channel yesterday called Angela's Paranormal Normality at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/angela-s-paranormal-normality. I'm currently working on a book about my own paranormal experiences as well as my own observations, theories, beliefs about the paranormal and mysticism. I also have a homebase website about the paranormal/mysticism at http://angelashafer.weebly.com/. I should make sure you know I'm not a total paranormal geek, I also really love Monty Python.
So, now that I've introduced this blog and plugged myself thorougly (I mean promoted, not "plugged," you know, that way) I thank you for reading this first post and hope you'll come back repeatedly. I'll be making sure to give you lots of good literature suggestions, and if you'd like to suggest some yourself (or you'd like to request a suggestion, work or genre) you can comment here or email me at lezliterature@hotmail.com. So all that's left now is to say thanks for reading.
So...thanks for reading.