Add a touch of lavender with your orange and black

It's October and perhaps you, like myself, enjoy some seasonal stories that also feature lesbians. Add a little touch of lavender with your orange and black, if you will. Here is a list of some of my favorite otherworldly stories featuring lesbians. Not a list for fans of serious horror stories, many of these books are more lesbian fantasy romance with a supernatural twist. The short story anthologies are more mixed both with gay men as well as lesbians and by degree from little spooky to downright horror. For the most part these lavender pumpkins fall into three broad themes: Stories featuring goddess-worshipping women, stories with preternatural creatures, and stories haunted by ghosts. Then a few anthologies that mix these elements. Over all, it’s a kind of “Caldrons and Critters and Haints, Oh My!” collection.

Caldrons
There are a number of stories that make reference to witches, especially in regard to Wicca/Pagan traditions. Laura Adams (a pen name for Karin Kallmaker aka "the Queen of Lesbian Romance") has some wonderful "witchy" romances. Foremost are the first two titles in her "Tunnel of Light Trilogy." The hauntingly powerful story of Ursula and Autumn touches on Goddess worship of the pre-Christian era, its survival in generations since the fall of Rome. Kallmaker weaves a haunting cycle of magic and reincarnation beginning with Sleight of Hand and followed by Seeds of Fire. Powerful, mythic and erotic, we are still waiting for the conclusion. The finale, "Forge of Virgins" has yet to be released. However, in 2008, Kallmaker released an edited and expanded version of Christabel, her retelling of the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem, which weaves historic and contemporary lives together with two very touching love stories. This title is well worth a Halloween purchase.

Jean Stewart's Isis Series begins with Return to Isis and is set in a futurist, post-pandemic world. Several of the women of Freeland have worked to develop their psychic gifts and many self identify as witches or wiccan. Stewart's characters are three dimensional and engaging, her plots will have you on the edge of your seat. The most recent entry is Wizard of Isis but you'll want to read them in order.

A witch and her talking dog are prominent in Karen William's Nightshade. Her second novel, Nightshade is peopled with several enticing women and she deals with her characters a bit more complexly than her first novel (see below). Alex's healing is an important element of her finding love in this delightful romance. Cynthia Lamb's Brigid’s Charge is a well-researched and entertainingly crafted story of Deborah Leeds, a woman who immigrates to colonial America and brings her carefully hidden Irish Celtic wiccan faith. Readers who prefer a little more history and a little less magic will enjoy Brigid’s Charge. The title may be difficult to track down, but is very worth the effort.

Ellen Galford brings a goddess-centric island off the Scottish coast to life in The Fires of Bride: A Novel. Maria Milleny, an unemployed London artist is drawn to the enigmatic Dr. Catriona MacEochan and the generations of mysteries of the island people. Out of print, this charming, witty novel lingers like the ghost hidden in its pages.

Critters
Monsters are slightly less popular in gothic lesbian lit, although vampires tend to be the exception to the rule. However, there a few titles that can be considered “critter-filled.” Chris Anne Wolfe's Roses and Thorns is a retelling of the "Beauty and the Beast" romantic fairy tale that questions the definition of “monster” and crosses over with witchcraft playing a role as well. Ellen Galford’s award winning Dyke and the Dybbuk has an ancient demon trying to haunt a very modern dyke. The results are a riotous mix of humor. Great fun for those who like their spooks to be more droll than troll.

Karen William's Love Spell is a charming little romance that deals with stereotypes of monsters, witches, magic and love between the local vet, Kate and the mysterious Allegra. Kate struggles to understand all of these issues after she experiences the most erotic night of her life. Gomez’s The Gilda Stories: A Novel introduces a lesbian vampire with a strong morale sense and weaves through history into the future. Ouida Crozier suggests vampires are not undead, but beings from an alternative reality in Shadows After Dark and they need not just human blood, but our help.

Haints
Gothic tales of lesbian ghosts weave their way through a number of novels. Rebecca Montague’s A Wild Sea has Katherine dealing with the ghost of loss in more ways than one. In Zanger’s Gardenias Where There Are None the computer becomes a conduit for a different kind of communication for Melanie.

The communication is not merely a metaphor in When the Dead Speak: The Second Brett Higgins Mystery, as Allie and Brett find themselves experiencing strange happenings in their old house. The will of the spirit is overwhelming in House at Pelham Falls by Brenda Weathers. Long out of print, this ghostly story of lesbian love holds classic gothic elements and was the first preternatural lesbian story I ever read. Blayne Cooper’s Cobb Island is a love story that echoes doomed relationship for the past. Uncovering the echo of that relationship, and finding love is the theme of this tale. While Cooper & Novan’s The Road to Glory is a different, but very touching kind of ghost story. On a bit spookier note is Dark Dreamer: a Dark Vista Paranormal Romance by Jennifer Fulton. Rowe Devlin is having a rough patch in her life and falling for a woman who sees ghosts doesn't seem to be the answer. This is the first of a series of preternatural novels from Fulton.

Oh My!
As a fourth category, let’s look at anthologies that feature any and all variations on the Caldrons, Critters and Haints themes. Three Bella After Dark titles are well worth a reading. The first is Bell, Book and Dyke: New Exploits of Magical Lesbians, a quartet of novellas by Karin Kallmaker, Julia Watts (both of whom also edited the stories), Barbara Johnson and Therese Szymanski. All the novellas feature "witches" and range from the wry and ironic "Skyclad" to the touching and powerful "Unbeliever." This is the best overall title of the "New Exploits" collections as all the stories in this one are worth your while. The second Bella After Dark to consider is Call Of The Dark: Erotic Lesbian Tales Of The Supernatural. Call of the Dark lives up to its title with erotic stories that will also send shivers of another kind down your spine. Edited by Szymanski, the collection is varied and well paced for readers with a mix of arousal, humor, and fear. There is also New Exploits 3: Stake through the Heart which features vampire stories from the four authors of the series.

Shadows of the Night: Queer Tales of the Uncanny and Unusual is a mixed anthology of stories by and featuring gay men and lesbians. It reads like a season from the Twilight Zone, and the stories here go from the odd to the down right scary, with some new twists on old ghost tales thrown into the mix. Out of Print and difficult to track down, The Ghost of Carmen Miranda: and Other Spooky Gay and Lesbian Tales is a fun mix of ghost stories. As with the title story, humor plays a role in some of the stories. Yet there are some very creepy entries here as well.

Night Shade: Gothic Tales by Women is a mix of supernatural stories, not all of which are queer. However, Jean Stewart’s story of the avenging hounds of the goddess, “Feeding the Dark” has stayed with me for years. Similarly, and also edited by Brownworth, Night Bites: Vampire Stories by Women is more feminist focused than “queer.” It also contains some memorable gems from the vampire theme.

Two of the best (and the first) anthologies to focus with lesbian vampires were edited by Pam Keesey, Daughters of Darkness: Lesbian Vampire Tales and Dark Angels: Lesbian Vampire Erotica. Both titles have been rereleased. Gomez’s Gilda makes an appearance and from Katherine Forrest, we have Drake in “Oh Captain, my Captain.” Keesey's introductions include an interesting evaluation on the history of the lesbian vamp in literature.

Without doubt, my favorite lesbian Halloween anthology is Kallmaker's 18th and Castro. The 13 stories relate to the residents of a mythic apartment building at 18th & Castro on Halloween night. It’s an address where you'll find intelligent, witty stories that are well-written and charming, and peopled with interesting characters. The preternatural makes at least two appearances. Readers will find something good to eat in this bag of treats!

Let's end this little Halloween reading list off with a tribute to the great lavender literary queen, Oscar Wilde with The Canterville Ghost. While there is very little lavender subtext in this charming little short story, it has Wilde’s trademark wit and wry observations about American and English cultures. And includes touching comments on the nature of love and the world. If you can find it, the Candlewick Treasures hardcover imprint (ISBN-13: 978-0763601324) is a delightful little book for ghostly Halloween gifting.

There you have it, a fine assortment of lavender Halloween treats for your reading pleasure.

Happy Haunted Reading!
-MJ, a queer little devil

BN: I'm not able to list all the authors and editors mentioned above in the labels, please look to the left to see full reviews of the titles mentioned, or reviews of other titles by those authors under the author's name.

Gift of Time

Robin Alexander
Intaglio Publications
9781933113821, $16.95
www.intagliopub.com

For practical, grounded, thirty-something CPA Leah Marks, time is about to become far more complicated than she ever imagined possible. A chance stop into a local antique shop introduces her to Reagan Montgomery, a woman that Leah feels very attracted to and results in her acquiring an unusual, lovely, antique snow globe. The globe is one of a pair created by a local craftsman nearly 100 years ago. No ordinary globe, it would seem, as Leah discovers that its image changes while she watches it. A tiny woman who looks very much like Reagan appears from within the elegantly wrought Victorian house in the globe. Investigation of the artifact reveals they once belonged to two women who bear a striking resemblance to Leah and Reagan.

The story takes a remarkable and fanciful turn when Leah is propelled back in time to 1907 via the globe. In 1907 Leah becomes Leanne, a young woman who is in love with Elizabeth, who looks like a younger Reagan. Returning to 2004, Leah finds herself compelled to discover all that she can about the women, who for some magical and unknown reason, appear to be herself and Reagan in another lifetime. Leah decides the only way to understand the full story is to return to 1907. When Reagan joins Leah in the past, the women find they have set in motion a complex set of events. When Elizabeth's mother discovers the young lovers in a compromising position, they both experience the horrifically violent attitude toward lesbianism at the time. The situation looks dire. Still, Leah's humor is engaging, as she recalls, "I had been clawed, dragged, slapped and choked in less than twenty-four hours. This was the most action I'd seen since I tried to put the neighbor's cat in a grocery sack as a child" (110).

Gift of Time evolves from a "simple" time-traveling romance to a complicated, layered tale with several plot twists. The women struggle to minimize the impact of their actions on the future--and still win a life together in the 21st century. As Leah observes of the early timeline, "There was no central heat, the cold chilled me to the bone, no Internet, and heaven help me, no Mountain Dew, the main staple of my diet" (110).

Alexander has given readers a charming romance with some fast-paced action. Leah's internal voice is often funny and self-effacing; the romantic interludes are sweet and sexy. The first portion of the story was not quite as engaging to this reader, however, perhaps because some of the characterization seemed unsettled and forced. Within a few chapters the characterization improves as the action picks up and the surprises unfold. The result was engrossing and enjoyable. Alexander makes observations about racism and human relationships in the South, then and now, which are thoughtful, hopeful, and earnest. The settings of historic and pre-Katrina Gulfport are carefully realized. Give yourself a Gift of Time and enjoy every minute.

-MJ Lowe

Dark Dreamer

Jennifer Fulton
Yellow Rose Books
http://www.regalcrest.biz/
1932300465, $16.95

Rowe Devlin is a best selling horror novelist and attractive butch who has hit a rough patch in her life. She's recently moved from the Manhattan scene to make a break from a fruitless relationship in the hope that she will be able to meet her next deadline. The move is not going well. Or, as she claims, she is "a washed up writer living in a haunted house in Maine in the middle of winter. She now had exchanged a hopeless passion for someone's wife for a doomed crush on her neighbors. Plural. And instead of finishing the piece of crap novel her agent was hounding her for, she was on some wild ghost chase with two young males who thought the government was spying on them." (68). Needless to say, this is not a high point in her career.

The neighbors in question, Phoebe and Cara Temple are identical twins and unusual women in their own right. Orphaned at age seven and reared by their grandmother, the Temple twins have a highly symbiotic relationship. Cara is the grounded, no-nonsense woman who works in the music industry. Phoebe is a more ethereal of the sisters. A few years ago Phoebe was in a car accident that left her in a coma. After she woke, she began having compelling dreams of women who had met with violent deaths. These women talked to Phoebe, asked her to send their love to their parents or spouses, and told her where to find their bodies. Recently Phoebe has begun using these communications to assist the FBI in tracking down serial killers.

Meanwhile Rowe's dogs will not enter her kitchen and the knives have a nasty habit of refusing to stay in their drawers. The writer begins to research former inhabitants of the house and in the process finds a tragic story with a possible connection with the Temple sisters. This revelation prompts more interactions with her neighbors and an offer to help with the ghost from Phoebe.

When the attraction between Phoebe and Rowe heats up, Cara becomes jealous, angry and conflicted. She'd been interested in Rowe herself and dreads what she sees as Phoebe's inevitable disenchantment with Rowe. -- Phoebe has a history of falling in love and failing to end relationships when she was ready to leave. More than once, Phoebe has convinced Cara to impersonate Phoebe for the needed break up. -- Venting about the relationship with Rowe, Cara decides "she'd been Phoebe's minder and interface with the world for twenty years. Twenty years! Enough was enough. She wanted a life of her own. Let Phoebe find out the hard way that the world was not her oyster just because she was sweet and sensitive and beautiful. In fact, the world chewed up women like her and spat them out. And let Rowe find out that Phoebe didn't just have issues, she had a subscription." (133)

However, other elements of Homeland Security discover that Phoebe's gift is "the real deal" and the plot takes an ominous turn. Fast-paced with an engaging and suspenseful mix of spooky -- the supernatural and the political variety -- happenings, Dark Dreamer is peopled with intelligent, witty, complex characters. The romance between Rowe and Phoebe is sweet with some fine lusty moments. Dark Dreamer is a highly enjoyable story that lives up to its series title of "A Heartstoppers Thriller Romance." This reviewer hopefully foretells that there could be future stories featuring Rowe and the Temple sisters and would look forward to them.

-MJ Lowe

BN: Dark Dreamer was re-released by Bold Strokes Books www.boldstrokesbooks.com in May 2007, ISBN 978-1933110745 , $15.95 as "A Dark Vista Paranormal Romance."

Call of the Dark: Erotic Lesbian Tales of the Supernatural

Therese Szymanski (Editor)
Bella Books
www.bellabooks.com
1594930406, $14.95

Just in time for your spooky autumn reading, the latest Bella Books anthology, Call of the Dark, has arrived. The 23 stories represent the work of well-known authors as well as new writers. Selected and arranged by Therese Szymanski, this collection is thoughtful and entertaining, sometimes witty and touching, often creepy and always arousing. The focus of the collection is "erotic" and it is not surprising that most of the stories fall into two categories: possession by or seduction at the hands of a vampire or a spirit. Nevertheless the stories are neither repetitive nor entirely predictable.

The vampires range from the dashing, charismatic Daron in Szymanski's "Dream Lover" to the horrific entity in Patty G. Henderson's "In the Blood." Henderson's tale questions the price of life, the cost of loyalty and the pain of survival. Victoria A. Brownworth's "The Feast of St. Lucy" is an aching little tale of loneliness and survival filled with vivid images of the ancient and ageless New Orlean's French Quarter and the scent of bergamot. Perhaps one of the most interesting twists is Ariel Graham's "Games of Love" wherein she illustrates how a really long-term couple keeps the relationship … fresh, and answers that nagging question of what is the appropriate gift for your 500+ anniversary.

The spirits (formerly human, and now ghosts or demon) who haunt these pages are equally varied. An ultimate surrender overwhelms the lead in Radclyffe's "By the Light of the Moon." In Heather Osborne's "That which Alters," the succubus finds herself falling in love with her victim in a fascinating role reversal. "Specter of Sin" allows Kristina Wright to provide a new variation on a traditional kind of ghost story set in the lonely despair of the Texas desert. The switch in perspective is explored by several writers, as when Rachel Kramer Bussel (a contributing editor at Penthouse) opens the door to "The Haunted, Haunted House." There, a ghost provides a heated coming out for a lovely young visitor.

Without question, the most amusing entry of the collection is "Lilith" by Karin Kallmaker. In this wry tale of a queer succubus who outlives her creator and is left to drift through the dreams and fantasies of humans without intent to consume them, Kallmaker opens the anthology and a discussion of the nature of fantasy, focus, and consent.

Szymanski's skillful selection and arrangement of the stories provides valuable contrasts and flow for the reader. Thus, Julia Watt's charming "Visitation" is followed by Barbara Johnson's "Loving Ophelia." The former provides the reader with a satisfying "all is right" even in the "other world" with a psychic who helps a wronged spirit, and has several of her own questions answered in the process. In the latter, Johnson pens a creepy little story worthy of the Twilight Zone.

This placing and pacing of stories allows the reader to read several stories in a row, moving between the touching, humorous, and thoughtful, to the downright creepy, then back again. The lighter entries, like those sunny days or well-lit rooms in a horror movie, serve to lure the readers into letting down their guard for that unexpected twist or nerve-jolting revelation of the next story. And while readers might not find all the stories entirely to their taste, it is not from lack of imagination or skill of writing. None of the stories failed to elicit a response in this reader.

Kallmaker's Lilith laments at one point, "I gathered ever more fantasies and yet had no witch with whom to share them. Truly, to have tales and no one to tell -- is there anything sadder?" (7)

Thankfully, Kallmaker and the other writers in this collection have lots of readers with whom to share their fantasies and we are all the richer for the experience. Pick up a copy of Call of the Dark, light a candle, pour yourself a glass of rich, red wine, and enjoy.
-MJ Lowe

Walls of Westernfort

Jane Fletcher
Bold Strokes Books
www.boldstrokesbooks.com
1933110244, $15.95

For Natasha Ionadis, the rules of life are as clear as her reflection on the breast plate of her Temple Guard uniform. For the last few of her 22 years, her mantra has been the Guard maxim, "when in doubt, polish it." In Walls of Westernfort, this devout young woman is offered an opportunity by the Temple hierarchy to be part of a covert mission and she leaps at the chance to offer her life to her goddess, Celaeno. She is to be part of a team of three women who are to infiltrate a group of evil heretics, journey to their stronghold known as Westernfort, and assassinate their leaders.

Natasha's commanders doubt any of the women will survive their mission. Posing as a family interested in joining the heretics, the intelligence agents' journey will challenge the beliefs that Natasha has sworn herself to defend, force her to face her own internal crisis, and define the nature of loyalty and faith. Along the way, she also struggles with her definition of family, and finally, love.

Walls of Westernfort is a recent release from Jane Fletcher and part of her growing Celaeno fantasy series. Celaeno is an all-female society in a pre-industrial, pre-Enlightenment setting ruled by a strict theocracy. The idea of a female-centric, goddess-worshipping world is often symbolic of a utopian culture in lesbian-feminist founded speculative fantasy and science fiction. And a new reader to the Celaeno series might be tempted to adopt this view initially, especially as she travels with the naive and earnest Natasha on her coming-of-age quest.

However, it soon becomes apparent that not all is as it may appear in Natasha's world. The Temple authorities who oversee the worship of Celaeno, with its complex undercurrents of science cloaked in religion, will tolerate no deviance from its established policies and will stop at nothing to ensure compliance with temple law. Thus issues involving the nature of religion, particularly that of a fundamentalist view, and the dangers it can impose in politics is a primary theme of Fletcher's Celaeno world.

As a result, Walls of Westernfort, is not only a highly engaging and fast-paced adventure novel, it provides the reader with an interesting framework for examining the same questions of loyalty, faith, family and love that Natasha must face.

Refreshing in its original twists on old themes, the Walls of Westernfort is well conceived and Fletcher's characters are multifaceted and interesting. Through Natasha's eyes the reader is treated to layered discoveries of the complexities of these women. Indeed, it is through familiarity that the "evil heretics" are revealed to be intelligent, equally determined women struggling to survive within their own conscience. This humanization of the evil enemy creates increasingly difficult internal conflicts for Natasha, forcing her to think for herself rather than accept established doctrine.

It is unnecessary to have read any other Celaeno novels to follow the action and the unfolding culture. While some of the characters in Walls will be familiar to readers of other Celaeno titles, the series is not designed to be strictly chronological. Rather, it appears to be theme-based on the institutions of that world, with stories focusing on the ruling Sisters of the Temple, the Temple Guard, the Rangers, the Militia, the psychically skilled healers known as Imprinters and, perhaps most importantly, the heretics.

In Walls of Westernfort, we see the Temple Guard, inside and out. We learn of their strict code of discipline and life, including abstinence from alcohol and sex, and with Natasha we learn of the harsh, cruel methods the Guard employs to deal with heretics in the name of Celaeno. Natasha finds herself struggling with age-old conflicts faced by military personnel. Is it lawful to complete a mission that is morally wrong? Is it insubordination to refuse? Who gets to decide?

Related to Natasha's self-questioning is her growing attraction to Dani, one of the heretics assigned to guide the "family" to Westernfort. A potter by trade, Dani's short life is marked by scars from a great deal of loss and pain, courtesy of the Guards. And as the attraction and affection between the two women grows, it will become apparent that before Dani can allow herself the hope of loving Natasha, she will have to deal with those scars.

In Walls, Fletcher brings this chapter of Natasha's life to a satisfying conclusion. However, it is clear that many stories of Celaeno remain to be explored. This reviewer will be looking for other titles set in Celaeno and hopes that Fletcher continues with her storytelling.

Wizard of Isis

Jean Stewart
Bella Books
www.bellabooks.com
1931513724, $12.95

Wizard of Isis, opens moments after the close of Winged Isis, and this fifth title in Jean Stewart's Isis novels is possibly the best of the series. As with other Isis books, Wizard is fast-paced and action-packed reading. Tomyris "Whit" Whitaker and Danu Sullivan ended the dogfight that culminated Winged Isis by chasing two jets (one carrying a nuclear weapon) back across the barrier between Freeland and Elysium. In their enthusiasm to defeat the invaders, Whit and Danu find themselves trapped in the racist, patriarchal, theocratic country. Occupying the eastern portion of what was the United States, Elysium arose some nine decades prior to the book's setting in a panicked response to a population-devastating pandemic.

Having established her futuristic, post-apocalyptic world that divided what is now the United States into two extremely divergent cultures, Stewart explores the possibilities of pockets of resistance inside the oppressive Elysium, where women who are not willing to subjugate themselves to men are literally enslaved or killed. She sets this resistance in the difficult terrain of the Appalachias. Dubbed "Amazons Outlaws" by the Elysium authorities, Stewart suggests that these women banding together for survival in mountain enclaves might easily carry the archetypal characteristics of the independent woman, the fighting "Amazon."

While the women warriors of Freeland were lucky enough to preserve and further develop their technology, these Amazon communities have been struggling to maintain what has reverted to a pre-renaissance trade culture in the last three generations. For several years, they have received an added boost in the form of a very psychically powerful Witch. Whit is concerned that the witch might be a nemesis from her past. Certainly, the witch's motivations and control over the community do have a dark side.

One of the interesting points about Stewart's Freeland democracy is that it is not some mystic tofu utopia. The political struggles and factions are a lively, complex element of the society. While these women are not afraid to defend neither their homeland nor their loved ones, the method of rescue for Whit and Danu is subject to debate by the ruling council. During these council negotiations, Kali, Whit's life partner, and Tor, Danu's girlfriend, decide to circumvent the time-consuming political haggling by launching their own rescue mission. Needless to say, this impulsive venture compounds the problem.

As non-mainstream, speculative fiction, Stewart's Isis series raises some frightening questions about our political system, health care, and our environmental responsibility. These issues ring even truer today than when the series first appeared in 1992. Indeed, Stewart's Isis has long been a warning parable for our times. She furthers this exhortation in regard to the controversial issues of freedom, independence, diversity, safety and community; issues with which the United States has been struggling with since the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

An exemplifying moment is a scene of Danu reciting the Preamble to the Freeland Declaration of Independence concluding, "We are the summit, the democratic ideal that mankind has been aspiring to throughout the ages. It is our duty to protect liberty and freedom in order to ensure it for those who come after us."(111) Despite the ironically sexist and unlikely use of "mankind," the ideals stated so eloquently sent shivers through this reviewer.

The point becomes more blatant near the book's climax when Kali tells a crowd of Elysians "A long time ago, your ancestors exchanged freedom for promises of safety, and you're doing it still. You stopped being Americans." (210) (Kali was doing great until those last four words since the Elysians present at this moment were not likely to remember or have knowledge of "America" given the repressive cultivation of illiteracy some 90 years after the fall of America.)

Despite the heavy political topics, bleak circumstances, and explicit violence, Wizard of Isis has some charming to downright funny moments. When an imprisoned Kali faces the local Elysian warlord, her strength of will and defiant nature prompt her to use what weapons she has left, namely her wit and voice (and perhaps a touch of her psychic abilities) to strike out at her captors. For this reviewer, the humorous pay-off of this scene is practically worth the book's purchase.

Wizard of Isis has all of the qualities that readers have come to expect from Stewart. The story is thoughtful and intelligent, action-filled and exciting. Her characters are interesting, complex women (and men). While she deals with archetypal elements, not all of her women are noble and heroic and not all men are evil. Indeed, one of the themes of Wizard is the idea that most Elysians are trapped themselves rather than actively supporting the regime. With a signature high-energy climax, Wizard of Isis adds a few surprises to the Isis Saga and it will be interesting to see where Stewart takes readers next.

-MJ Lowe

Seeds of Fire

Laura Adams (Karin Kallmaker)
Bella Books

Seeds of Fire, the second entry of Laura Adams' magical Tunnel of Light fantasy trilogy is an enchanting gift to her readers. Opening just days after the ending of Sleight of Hand (the first book in the trilogy), Seeds further braids themes of reincarnation, loss, betrayal, and redemption through a circle of contemporary women -- Ursula, Autumn, Kelly, Taylor, Elizabeth -- who find themselves sharing dreams of earlier lives together. Intelligent and intense, these women possess strengths and skills they do not fully understand as they struggle to repair a tragedy that echoes through the ages. Sleight of Hand deals with the origin for the legend of St. Ursula and the 11,000 virgins (circa 450 C.E.) and though Adams provides a great deal of background in Seeds, readers will do better to read the books in order. (Besides it's more fun!) In this second novel, readers witness the gathering of Ursula's circle in the early 12th century. The bard Hilea has made a place for herself as the Abbess Hildegard von Bingen (a remarkable, real life woman and an inspiration for the series) in Cologne. Hildegard has written a liturgy for the legend of "St Ursula and the 11,000 virgins" to "call" the other women back together.

Believing they have lost Ursula to the Darkness, the contemporary Taylor, Liz, and Kelly are devastated. Taylor takes desperate measures to try to determine how their Lammas circle went wrong. In many ways Seeds is Taylor's story, revealing her early training in the Old Religion, and that even in her childhood she was "certain of her right to meddle." (92) Taylor must confront that hubris. She seeks answers to her failings, faces the Circle of All Circles, and finds herself again. Meanwhile Kelly, feeling betrayed and hurt, turns to other sources for comfort, a power that will further Kelly down a dangerous path. Adams' examination of Kelly's corruption by Darkness in the past and the present, is insightful, thoughtful, and forthright.

Unknown to the women of Taylor's circle, the mysterious "magician and warrior" Autumn rescued Ursula from the Darkness that has haunted them for over 1500 years. Ursula survived the magical transportation at the cost of her memory, adding confusion to their plight. When Autumn begins to dream of Hildegard's time, she finds that she has gone to great lengths to attempt to save Ursula in the past. Autumn knows that the danger of the Darkness is still waiting for them, and she is determined to protect Ursula this time. In addition to the mystical complications these characters face, old-fashioned poor communication plays a role in their dilemma. Even Autumn's dog, Scylla seems aware of this. When Autumn considers telling Ursula about her dreams, and the dog thumps her tail hard on the floor as though saying, "Yes, tell her, you fool." (101)

As is often the case with middle aspects of trilogies, Seeds is a darker story than Sleight. Adams' characters complicate their entanglements via miscommunication, assumptions, doubts, and secrets. Despite the ominously growing power of the darkness, Seeds is a pleasure to read. The historical segments are well researched and authentically recreated. The story is engrossing with interesting, rich characterization. Adams provides balance to the darkness with her quiet, ironic humor, and the potential for perfect love and perfect trust to triumph. One of the finest writers of "lesbian fiction" today, Kallmaker via her Adams pen name blurs genre lines. The woman writes wonderful, lively, lush fantasy stories. That they feature lesbian characters is added fun for her readers. Her writing entices us to enter a world not far from our own; yet it's a place where magic can and must be mastered. Adams weaves together powerful imagery and themes, including leitmotifs such as the reappearing Norns -- the three wise women or "Fates" in Norse mythology who represent "Became, Becoming, and Shall Be." Indeed, Seeds of Fire appears to encompass the "Becoming" aspect of the Tunnel of Light trilogy. This reader eagerly awaits what Shall Be in the upcoming final novel, "The Forge of Virgins."

-MJ Lowe

Cobb Island

Blayne Cooper
Renaissance Alliance Publishing
1930928394

Olivia Hazelwood, Liv to her friends, has agreed to take her younger brother, Doug to spend a week on Cobb Island, off the coast of Virginia. Since an accident claimed their parents a decade ago, Livi has been more of a mother than sister to Doug. The 29 year old linguist and openly lesbian, Liv is recently back from a Peace Corps tour in Africa and is looking forward to catching up with the changes in Doug's life. One of the biggest being that he is very much in love with Marcy Redding. Marcy's family moved last year and the teens have been nursing their love over distance. This separation has prompted Marcy to invite Doug (and Liv) to visit Cobb Island, the colonial era, ancestral home of the Redding family. Marcy has also coaxed her older sister, Kayla to help with the chaperoning duties.

The tall redheaded Kayla seems to take an immediate dislike to Doug, and possibly, to Liv. Certainly the gorgeous 25 year old has difficulty communicating with Liv in anything other than an abrupt, rather rude, not to mention secretive, manner. Her behavior is even more odd given that the women seem almost magnetically drawn to one another. Liv is surprised, confused, and a little overwhelmed by the intensity of her feelings for Kayla. Impossibly, at times Kayla seems to read Liv's mind. Or is it impossible? The three century old Redding house itself, with its secret rooms, strange noises, and a library filled with generations of Redding enigmas has as important a role in the story as any of the characters. Several things about Kayla and the house are a little strange, yet enchanting. Liv finds herself falling under the spell of both mysteries. Meanwhile, desperate for time alone, the lovesick teens decide to visit the mainland just as a storm arises, leaving their older siblings stranded and forced to confront these powerful emotions.

Trapped by the storm, the women begin researching the early years of the house. Finding a hidden journal, Liv and Kayla discover possible answers to the Redding family legacy via a third romance. Bridget Redding, and her sister-in-law, Failynn, lived on Cobb Island in the late 1600s and struggled to find a place for their love in an unforgiving time for women, and condemning of those who dared to love. Could their story hold the secret answers to questions about the Redding family, the house on Cobb Island, and possibly even why Kayla and Liv seem destined to have found each other? Thus Cobb Island contains three love stories entwined in its pages along with a number of witty interactions, sweet moments and endearing scenes between the various couples. There is even a dreadful villain who demands being detested.

Overall, Cobb Island is a magical little romance and a charming mystery. A few of the plot threads are not neatly tied at the end and some elements of the historical period appear a bit anachronistic to this reviewer. Nevertheless, the overall effect of Cobb Island is a fun and fast-paced romantic mystery with a touch of spookiness thrown into the mix. It provides more than enough pleasure to justify its purchase. In fact there is enough pleasure to anticipate future stories from Blayne Cooper, including the continued adventures of Kayla and Liv in the forthcoming Echoes from the Mist.

-MJ Lowe

BN: Echoes from the Mist was released in 2006.

Madam President

Blayne Cooper and T. Novan
Renaissance Alliance Publishing (November 2001)
1930928696

The year is 2020 and the United States has, for the first time, elected as president, a woman. Blayne Cooper and T. Novan present this fascinating premise in Madam President. Yet, it seems very unlikely that the first woman president will be 38 years old, a single (actually widowed), openly lesbian, mother of three, which describes Devlyn Marlowe. Cognizant of the history making role of her administration, Devlyn has chosen a successful young historian/writer to observe her term in office and act as her biographer. Thus Lauren Strayer enters the White House and prepares to chronicle Devlyn's administration for history. The novel follows the events of the first year of her term.

Despite the premise, Madam President does not succeed as a futuristic political yarn. Novan and Cooper make reference to a number of interesting issues and incidents in Madam President, including Devlyn as a successful third party candidate, the trauma of domestic terrorism, the changes in gay and lesbian civil rights issues, and an international arms crisis; but there is little exploration of these issues. While the writers clearly researched the primary setting of the White House, the creative detail in their view of the U.S. 18 years from now is thin and it does not prompt the reader to consider possible changes in the coming years.

Instead the novel focuses primarily on the relationship between Marlowe and Strayer as it evolves from professional respect to personal friendship and romantic attraction. However, for this reader, the more than 300 pages of courting and foreplay became tedious. They are marked with cliché and repetitive incidents; such as the illness/recovery theme with three serious health problems between the two leads in less than six months. Indeed more personal and political crises occur in the first year of Devlyn's term than many Presidents ever see. And they apparently occur primarily to postpone the consummation of the couple's love, which began to feel saccharine after a while. This combination of elements feels like a caricature of the Xena uber genre, from which the story originated.

Several of the comic scenes felt too predictable. The lead characters did not come alive for this reader. The somewhat slapstick quality of the humor is belittling of the premise, given that other elements were not fleshed out to provide balance. Indeed some of the humor slips into what this reader considers dangerous territory. For example, Strayer writes a popular fictional adventure series under a pseudonym. When she considers having the lead character come out as a lesbian, her editor warns her that research shows one-third of Strayer's readers would lose interest unless there "was a sex scene every 63.4 pages." (323) Thus Strayer's readers, and potentially by extension, Novan and Cooper's readers are lampooned. For the humor it provides, this scene was annoying.

For this reader, Madam President is disappointing, both as a speculative futuristic political tale and as a lesbian love story. Certainly there are several amusing and charming moments in the novel. One of the funniest is when Devlyn, who would have been in her teens during the original run of the Xena television show, recalls her frustration and disappointment with the writers and producers failure to present the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle as an open lesbian couple. By contrast, Cooper and Novan's Road to Glory is very charming as a fantasy and an erotic, romantic love story. Cooper's Story of Me which satires a range of subjects, manages to tap into a genuine counter balancing sweetness that is not present in Madam President. As other reviews point out, many readers might feel quite differently about Madam President; however, this reader would prefer their future novels be more like Road to Glory or Story of Me.

-MJ Lowe
BN: This title has been released several times now, I don't know if any significant changes have occurred.

Death, Sweet Suitor Mine

Chris Anne Wolfe
Windstorm Creative
159092049X

Windstorm Creative has released another short story in it's Delimit Nonpareil series. Death, Sweet Suitor Mine examines the "relationship" between Death and a woman struggling with a life threatening illness. As Chris Newport mentions in her introduction, "This isn't a light read." (5) She is quite correct. Death, Sweet Suitor Mine is a first person and intimate exploration of how the narrator views death. A touching, even haunting story, it lingers in the reader's mind. This is especially true given that this story was written by the late Chris Anne Wolfe, who died in 1997 after several years of struggling with cancer. Wolfe saw four fantasy adventure novels published in her life. Each of them is wonderful and it appears that her skill with short stories was equally impressive.

Windstorm Creative has taken some effort in creating this book, described as handmade, 50 pages, and full color. However, this reader was disappointed with the aesthetics of the project. The book is actually 24 pages with a large font, unusual margins -- very wide on top and bottom, yet very narrow on the sides -- and the pages of this copy are not cut square to the print. Much of this formatting appears to be to make more of an approximately 3000 word, at the most, short story. Perhaps least forgivable in a book of this nature and length are the typographical errors. The cover is quite attractive -- a recognizable portrait of Wolfe with a shadowed profile of an African American woman -- yet somewhat disturbing in its implication, which to this reader was not defined by the author's work.

The handmade and environmentally friendly elements not withstanding, Death, Sweet Suitor Mine does not justify the price. It is not a pleasing gift book format. Nor is it long enough -- regardless of the quality of the writing -- for the price. And the repeated color photograph on each page does not compensate, regardless of publisher expense. There are a number of possible formats that could have been used to create a more enjoyable tribute to Wolfe's legacy. Newport's introduction also mentions that Wolfe gifted several unpublished short stories, novellas, and novels to Windstorm Creative in her will. Hopefully, the press will not attempt to dole out each of Wolfe's stories in this manner.

Finally, Windstorm Creative has the annoying habit of requesting in a front peice that readers buy their books, rather than borrowing them, bemoaning the difficulties faced by small presses. This reader is very sympathetic toward small, independent publishers and values their struggles to provide access to non-mainstream books, especially titles with positive lesbian characters. Having said that, the best way to increase book sales, is to release more good books. Lecturing the reader tends to create the opposite effect. Death, Sweet Suitor Mine is disappointing in everything except for Wolfe's writing. If you have the opportunity to read it, do so. . . . Perhaps you'd like to borrow my copy?

-MJ Lowe

The Road to Glory

The Road To Glory
T. Novan and Blayne Cooper
Renaissance Alliance Publishing,
1930928270, 264 pages

The Road To Glory is a charming romantic comedy from two of Xenaverse's better known bards, Blayne Cooper, AKA Advocate and T. Novan. The lead characters, RJ Fitzgerald, a tall auburn haired handywoman, and Leigh Matthews, a petite chatty blonde trucker have a familiar feel to uber fanfiction readers. Cooper and Novan even point this out via a dialog between a very animated couple of squirrels. Yes, the squirrels from Cooper's Story of Me make a reappearance and observe:

The female followed her mate's line of vision. "The humans we spy on back home!"
"Not quite."
"The hair ..."
She squinted. "The eyes ..."
"Just a little different. But not much. Same builds. Same wonderful screen presence no matter the location or genre." She rolled her eyes. "We all know what they're going to look like.""Genetic mutations because of the inherent weakness of their race?"
"Or lazy writers." (41)

Leigh finds herself diverted to Glory, South Dakota, by a highway construction detour. At Fitz's, a diner just outside of the small town, Leigh falls in lust at first sight with RJ. She happily returns each week during her circular truck route. After several fast and furiously erotic encounters, Leigh invites RJ to join her on her week off in Seattle.

As these two women continue explore their feelings and each other, it becomes increasingly clear that nothing is quite what it seems in Glory or with RJ. The vacation week in Seattle is full of humor, romance, and revelations. There are amusing trips to shop, to dance at a popular lesbian club, to play the arcade at a carnival and even to visit a retirement community. Strangely at the latter RJ spends time with an old friend named Ruth and gives us insight into the varied roles of women in the military during World War II.

Wry and witty observations of American culture in general and particularly of scifi/fantasy fandoms are sprinkled throughout the story. For example, upon discovering that RJ still lives with her mother, Leigh asks:

"You don't attend Star Trek and Xena conventions wearing silly costumes and stalking the actors, do you?" RJ looked totally confused. "I have no idea what on this earth you're talking about." "Good." Leigh nodded. A girl couldn't be too careful. Serial killers were one thing. But those weirdo convention goers were something else. (89)

The Road To Glory is an enchanting story dealing with issues of love, death and finding the hearts desire. Readers familiar with the Xena fandom, particularly uber fanfiction, might have a greater appreciation of some of the humor. However, that familiarity is by no means needed to enjoy this story. All that is required is the time to indulge and a willingness to go for the long haul.
-MJ Lowe

Fires of Aggar

Chris Anne Wolfe
Windstorm Creative
1886383421

Originally published in 1994, Fires of Aggar is a re-release of the second "Aggar" planet sci fi/fantasy novel by Chris Anne Wolfe. Occurring some 500 years after the events of Shadows of Aggar, Wolfe took this opportunity to explore the impact of the relationship between the Amazon Diana N'Athena and her "shadow" and life partner, the blue-eyed, Aggar woman, Elana, two characters from Shadows. In the intervening years, Aggar's ruling Council and the women of "dey Sorormin " (a planet populated by lesbians, known as the sisterhood) forged an alliance that led a colony of "dey Sorormin" women to settle on Aggar in the Valley Bay.

The war that was postponed in Shadows eventually consumed the Terran Empire. In the last five centuries, the descendants of those Terrans stranded on Aggar continue to clutch at their former, and now decaying, technology. They struggle with Aggar's natural habitat and against the native population.

Fires opens with a request for Gwen'l N'Athena, Royal Marshal to the council, to go to the aide of the Dracoon, the heir apparent of the city state of Khirla located to the South. Gwen is a "Niachero" or "daughter of the stars." This is the name given to those "dey Sorormin" that carry the appearance of the women of the N'Athena House or "Amazons." The Dracoon, Llinolae is a very gifted Blue Sight, a skill she has been carefully hiding. Fires is an espionage thriller with government intrigues and spies between various factions. Gwen is assisted by Ty and Ril, a pair of sentient sandwolves, and two shadow bound Amazons, Sparrowhawk and Brit.

Wolfe creates a refreshingly non-homophobic society on Aggar that values the strengths of "dey Sorormin" and respects their integrity. This is illustrated by the farmer who Gwen assists on her trip south, as well as the acceptance by the general population of same sex romantic relationships.

Finally, Fires of Aggar is a love story. Gwen and Llinolae, faced with a political knot, must balance their respective duties with their personal desire and the possibility of a future together. Fires draws the reader into their struggles to root for their success on personal and professional levels. Thankfully, the publishers have re-released this enchanting fantasy. Regretfully, they've changed the cover from the original illustration. The new image is not an improvement. Ignore the cover; enjoy the book.

-MJ Lowe

The Comfort of Strangers

Peggy Herring
Bella Books
1931513090

Long ago in an Intergalactic Corridor far, far . . . well you get the idea. This futuristic, science fiction story is a different kind of novel for Peggy Herring, typically a romance writer. The Comfort of Strangers involves a coalition of cultures, including a few female-only ones, that are struggling against the neighboring "evil empire" of Corlon, under the leadership of a heinous and destructive man named Exidor.

The novel focuses on Lela, a young healer turned scientific researcher and her mother's partner, Kricorian who is a sort of administrative leader for the "K Sector," an agricultural planet that also trains healers. The borders between the coalition and Corlon are decaying. Corlon star fighters are launching raids on these peaceful inhabitants. Their primary defense is provided by the warrior-focused, all female culture of Amtec. Their warrior women have an impressive reputation as skilled and lethal fighters as well as phenomenal lovers.

Members of the coalition have decided to hold a summit to sort out differences and decide what to do about the increasing raids. A delegate to the summit, Lela has the royal attention of the beautiful young Tavia, the Amtec princess. Yet Lela is drawn to the enigmatic commander of the Amtec warriors, Alaric. Tall, blonde and beautiful, Alaric has risen through the military ranks by her impressive intellect, strength and self-discipline. This highly respected leader carefully hides her feelings and seems to be sending mixed messages to Lela. Is she just following orders?

Although Lela is the lead character and the focus of amorous speculation and attention; Lela's other mother, Kricorian is more sympathetically drawn. Widowed for 15 years, Kricorian finds herself drawn to another Amtec warrior, Jaret. Will Kricorian be able to let go of the survivor's guilt and the grief she feels for the death of Lela's mother? Can she risk her heart again? Can she relinquish control?

Herring does not suffer from any restrictions to political correctness. When Lela prepares to open a cylinder that she believes contains a live human being, she gives Kricorian a laser gun and tells her, "if it's ugly, zap it. Don't be afraid to use that thing. It's the capsule I want to study." (63) This attitude is a far cry from most scientific investigative standards today, never mind the ethical obligations of a healer! This is not the only example of a poor moral code among individual characters or cultures other than the dreaded Exidor and his star fighters. Tavia's treatment of Alaric is case in point.

At its best, scifi/fantasy not only entertains but provokes the imagination and prompts readers to question current cultural practices and trends in scientific research or other technological developments. The Comfort of Strangers did not strike any such cords in this reader. It's a bit like watching an old "B" grade sci fi movie. The plot and characters are thin. The dialog has a campy sort of quality that makes for some amusing reading. However, it doesn't seem certain that was the writer's goal. In conclusion, The Comfort of Strangers is not a bad story. However, it does not stand up to many far more interesting, complex, action packed scifi/fantasy stories that have been released in recent years from lesbian writers.

-MJ Lowe

Tales of Emoria: Future Dreams

Mindancer
Silver Dragon Books
193092822X

Tales of Emoria: Future Dreams is the first in the Tigh & Jame chronology, although not the first Emoria tale published, and the reader may benefit from reading the stories by the characters' timeline. C.A. Casey AKA Mindancer creates an interesting complex fantasy world in her Tales of Emoria series. This pre-industrial and non-gun powder world is a semi-feudal, loose confederation of city state cultures. Refreshingly non-homophobic societies where pairs seem to run as commonly same sex as not, with amusing little twists to gender roles. Future Dreams is the story of how a young arbiter and a former warrior meet, fall in love, save each other and themselves.

Tigh is the eldest daughter of a successful merchant family from Ingor. The Ingorian culture is based on commerce, thus getting the best deal is the important goal. A few years ago, when war threatened Ignor and the surrounding city states, a plea went out for volunteers to for a new special unit, the Elite Guard. Tigh's family negotiated a very good deal for the then 13 year old's service. Using a cross between "magic" and medical techniques the Elite Guard was a marginally controlled, extremely aggressive, ultra strong, "berzerker" type warrior group.

Tigh, who was known as "the Terrible" during the war, rose to a position of leadership and authority during her years in the Guard. After the war, the government is faced with rounding up and "cleansing" the soldiers of their violent tendencies. This rehabilitation process includes a legal evaluation of the soldier's potential danger to society. The question is who will provide legal counsel to Tigh the Terrible?

Emoria is a women-only city-state hidden in the mountains. This isolated culture of warrior women is ruled by a queen and council and known for producing the best knives and swords in the land. In the last several decades Emoria has been increasingly isolationist and the ruling council is not entirely pleased that their heir apparent, Jame, has sought an education, and even worse, is considering a career outside of Emoria. The petite Jame has never entirely fit into Emoria's warrior culture. Emoria's mores, education, attitudes and values have marked Jame. Yet, she is also struggling to define herself and it is increasingly clear that being an arbiter is part of that self definition.

Jame is the only student Arbiter who is not afraid of Tigh. From a warrior culture herself, she understands Tigh and begins a process to defend and befriend the young woman. Can these two women help one another find a new place in the world?

Casey is another writer whose work could technically be considered Xena Uber, with the symbolic (and symbiotic) characters as well as the theme of redemption. These similarities have more to do with their archetypal quality than any real connection to the TV show. Casey provides an engaging beginning for her Tales of Emoria. She also asks some interesting questions in regard to society's responsiblity toward the dangerous soldiers that it creates, then attempts to discard after their usefulness. If you enjoy fantasy quests, consider a trip to Emoria, and begin with this volume.

-MJ Lowe

BN: Future Dreams was re-released by Mindancer Press http://mindancerpress.wordpress.com/ ISBN 0-9759555-5-1

Shadows of Aggar

Chris Anne Wolfe
1886383308
Pride Productions

Diana n'Athena is ready to go home. An "Amazon" from the all female planet of "dey Sorormin" (which Wolfe translates as the Sisterhood), Diana is a sociologist employed by the Terran Intergalactic Empire for the last 20 years as a Cultural Liaison and Feild Operative. Approaching forty, Diana has served the last five years on Aggar, a patriarchal, pre-industrial, semi-feudal planet located on the Empire's border. Over six foot tall, lean, strong and brown-eyed, Diana must pass as male to work effective on Aggar. Such a charade is not uncommon for Amazons serving on "primitive" planets, but it does wear on their spirits. Facing her last mission before she can return to her home world, Diana must locate and rescue a Terran pilot. He carries information that may mean the salvation of the Empire which is on the brink of war.

After years of working alone, Diana is not pleased when Aggar's ruling Council of Ten assigns her a native "Shadowmate." Shadows are individuals trained for years to act as guides, protectors, linguists, trackers, companions and whatever else is needed to aide the individual whom the Council has determined is important to the future of Aggar. Such assignments are one of the ways the Council "tips the balance" of fate for pivotal individuals and gently guides the planet's future.

Diana's Shadow, Elana is particularly special. In addition to her training and expertise, she bears the rare "Blue Sight." This extrasensory gift (genetically linked with blue eyes) allows her to read people's intent via their aura and create illusions. For years Elana has been training to become a Shadow. For the last five years she's been experiencing dreamlike visions of the Amazon that she is to Shadow.

Shadows of Aggar is a classic heroic quest. As such, the journey itself, what happens to both women during the trek and what they learn from the various encounters, is as important as the result of the quest. -- Although having the end of the empire as it is known hang in the balance does build the suspense! -- There are some similarities between Aggar and some other fantasy realms. Yet these parallels reflect cultural archetypes and Wolfe, who died in 1997, created some interesting, unique details and characteristics for three cultures: Aggar, Amazon and Terran. For example, imagine a race of humans whose skin color changes with excitement or exertion, thus making the racial differences we know, moot. Furthermore, Wolfe created the basics of a language for the "dey Sorormin" and provided a glossary of words from Aggar and the Sisterhood in the back for reference.

"Shadows" was originally released in 1991, and this reader has returned to it at least twice in the last decade. The story and characters hold up to re-reading. The same is true of Wolfe's second Aggar novel, Fires of Aggar. Happily, the publisher has made a commitment to keep Wolfe's titles in print. The new covers of both titles are disappointing and distracting. Yet, to coin a phrase, don't judge the book by it's current cover. If you like fantasy stories with strong female leads that explore complex issues of gender roles, societal pressures to conform and their impacts on the individual -- not to mention a good old fashioned adventure with a touch of lavender romance -- you'll enjoy Shadows of Aggar. Pick up a copy of it and its companion book, Fires of Aggar.

-MJ Lowe

Back to Salem

Alex Marcoux
Harrington Park Press
1560232242

For better and worse, Back to Salem reads like a Hollywood action suspense movie. The "better" part is that Back to Salem is fast paced and engaging reading with several plot twists that keep the reader guessing. The "worse" part that is that some of the themes are poorly presented; some plot lines are unnecessarily complicated (not to mention, a bit far fetched); and some character elements are annoying.

Jessie Mercer is an openly lesbian, best selling author and screen writer living near Los Angeles whose latest best selling book is to be made into a movie. This film interpretation is important to Jessie because this novel is different from her other books. The story practically wrote itself and for the first time she's written a novel with a lesbian as the leading character. In the novel's plot, a lesbian falls in love with a prominent actress whose husband is killed. The lesbian is framed and imprisoned for the murder. Jessie is pleased that she has been asked to help consult with the film's production.

Taylor Andrews, a popular singer, is auditioning for one of the lead roles in the movie. Taylor finds herself drawn to Jessie in a strangely intense attraction. Jessie has similar feelings and she believes she knows why. The two women become friends. Taylor will draw on that friendship after the sudden and suspicious death of her husband. Eventually Taylor surrenders to her "mystical" attraction to Jessie and the two become lovers. Meanwhile Jessie is a suspect in the death of Taylor's husband.

Annoyingly, Taylor repeatedly assures herself and others that she's not gay and isn't attracted to other women, just to Jessie. Loving Jessie is okay because Taylor comes to believe that she is her "soul mate." However unintentionally, this justification felt unnecessary and homophobic. If Taylor really isn't lesbian (or at least bi), surely she wouldn't consummate her feelings for Jessie in a sexual manner. Since she did (although the reader is only treated to oblique references and "PG rated kisses") doesn't that at least make Taylor bisexual in practice?

There are a number of interesting twists and the action moves quickly with several very dramatic revelations at the end. This reader is willing to suspend her disbelieve for a well spun story. Yet I can think of several examples of the reincarnation theme, some with lesbian characters, that have been done better --- with more plausible history and folklore, more humor, better romance, less homophobia, and more enchanting magic.-- Don't try to make all of the themes and threads make sense, because some are just too unlikely, like the Egyptian mythology and Colonial Salem connection. Some of these flaws are disappointing because they are the same ones made in Montegue's last novel. Having said that, Back to Salem is enjoyable if you think of it as a summer released action movie. It's fast paced and it makes a good book to take on vacation or read on the treadmill.

-MJ Lowe

Annabell and I

Chris Anne Wolfe
1883573963
Windstorm Creative Ltd.

The author, Wolfe says of Annabel & I in her introduction that she wrote the story as "a romance to celebrate magic and joy." She was quite successful. Annabel & I is an enchanting tale of the power of love in overcoming the restrictions of time itself.

The novel is the story of Jennifer Cassel. A shy tomboy, Jenny is struggling to deal with the loss of her mother and her emotionally distant father. She finds home and family every summer that she spends at Chatauqua, New York, where her uncle runs a lakeside lodge. It is also the story of Annabel, a girl that Jenny meets the first summer after her mother's death. Their friendship develops over the years as the two spend every summer of their adolescence together.

As the girls grow older they become more aware their differences. For Jenny, born in 1960, is growing up through the 1970s and 80s; while Annabel, born in 1879, is living in the 1880s and 1890s. Annabel's grandmama, the family matriach makes it clear that the girls should enjoy their friendship and not question the impossibility of it.

As a young adult Jenny finds herself attracted to women and eventually realizes that she is in love with Annabel. There are a few required misunderstandings before the two young women recognize that their love and attraction is mutual. Just as the young women discover the depth of their love for one another, their happiness is threatened by Annabel's brother, Richard. Having recently gained control of the family business, Richard is determined to force his "head strong" sister into a marriage that would increase the family assets. In a desperate effort to outwit Richard's machinations, Jenny and Annabel come to understand the magic of their time together and the plans, past and future, that Grandmama has been working on for years.

Annabel & I is a delightful little romantic fantasy that only asks the reader to suspend her disbelief and enjoy. Several pen and ink illustrations by Chris Storm are included and add an old fashioned charm to the story as well. It is a perfect love story for a lazy afternoon.

-MJ Lowe

Winged Isis

Jean Stewart
Bella Books
1931513015

Winged Isis is a fast-paced, action story with a cliffhanger ending. Beginning six months after the close of Warriors of Isis, it follows Tomyris Whitaker -- Whit to her friends -- and her partner Kali Tyler as they struggle to protect their country from invasion.

The satellite generated electro-magnetic shield between Freeland and Elysium has begun to fail. Thus the women of Freeland set about replacing the satellites. It is a race for time, as they also prepare to defend their young, prospering country from the Elysians. This is the story of Winged Isis.

The post-pandemic world that Stewart has created is a lesbian feminist cross between King's The Stand and Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Freeland, perhaps the most interesting presentation of a feminist democratic culture in contemporary literature, is not a utopia. Views of how to implement their country's political goals vary greatly among the citizens. Power struggles are frustrating to Whit (and perhaps to the reader) as she is drawn into the complexities of governing. However, they have a ring of reality that echoes the struggles of many feminist, democratic organizations.

Stewart is also unabashed in depicting Freeland's need for a military defense. Her exploration of how this woman centric society might go about creating and implementing this amazon military is thought provoking and insightful.

Stewart's characters are complex and realistic. In their struggles to rebuild the colony of Isis and survive the threats of the Elysians, many of these woman find love and hope for a happy future. These characters grow and change over the course of the series. Winged Isis appears to be a pivotal, transition story within the series. For example: the shy, brillant Danu finds confidence and skill as a Warrior; Kali and Tor both explore their mystical strengths; while Kali and Whit anticipate the changes that their first daughter will bring to their lives.

One might wish to read the first three titles in the series (Return to Isis, Isis Rising, and Warriors of Isis, in that order) before Winged Isis. The series as a whole is unique and enjoyable reading. However, it is not absolutely necessary to read them in order. Stewart provides enough context within Winged Isis to enjoy it alone. And there is a helpful glossary and character summary at the end of the book. Winged Isis is an exciting summer read. The series overall is thought provoking and lingers in this reader's mind.

It's been five years since the third Isis story was released. Given the ending of Winged Isis, one hopes it will not be so long before the fifth novel comes our way.
-MJ Lowe

BN: Wizard of Isis is the 5th book. The second and third are still available via www.bellabooks.com

Roses & Thorns : Beauty and the Beast Retold

Chris Anne Wolfe
Windstorm Creative
1886383642

Roses & Thorns is a touching retelling of the "Beauty & the Beast" fable with a lavender twist. We all know the old story. A young, handsome noble whose cruelty and selfishness had caused pain to many was cursed. He was condemned to appear to be the beast he had behaved until he could learn responsibility, compassion, how to love and finally be freely loved by a young woman.

The author, Chris Anne Wolfe, did not merely place a lover of women in the role of the callous beast. Instead she took an opportunity to explore how a hateful and homophobic society condemns those seen as different. Thus forcing the condemned to shamefully hide who they are in an effort to win acceptance, approval and possibly even love.

Years ago, Drew, a young noble woman was condemned as "the most perverted, grotesque of creatures known to our earth" because she loved another woman. Sadly the object of Drew's affections had more interest in gaining access to her father's wealth and having Drew cursed was part of the plan. ...Drew was cursed to live in a parallel, magical time and place until she could find another woman who would love her in return.

Drew internalizes this hate to the point of not expecting or believing that she could or should be loved freely by another woman. Drew's shame prompts her to cloak her female identity from any accidental visitors to her realm. Over centuries no young woman was willing to look beyond Drew's mask to know her as a person, let alone love her freely. It seemed to Drew that her damnation was deserved.

Bound by the curse, Drew once again barters for the hand of a traveling merchant's daughter. But Angelique, this latest young woman to arrive in Drew's domain, is different. She's not afraid of Drew. This charming, romantic fantasy is a delightful way to pass an afternoon. Quite enjoyable, it is unnecessary to read the fable as more than a love story. However, elements of the story returned to me after reading it. This is not just a "simple" retelling of the beauty and the beast story.

The late Ms. Wolfe succeeded in creating a new fable for the lesbian (and gay) community from this old tale. She reminds us that there are many "beasts" in this world who would like to condemn us for being different. People who use fear of that difference to achieve some personal gains. She points to our love as our ironic redemption in the face of such hate and fear. This multifaceted story is what fables are supposed to be. Read it and be charmed.

-MJ Lowe

BN: This title was originally published under the title, Bitter Thorns by Pride Productions, in 1994. The cover was based on Wolfe's illustrations and not as evocative as the new cover, however, if you can locate this edition, do so. There were editorial errors in the new edition.

Sleight of Hand

Laura Adams (Karin Kallmaker)
Bella Books
096777537X

Laura Adam's fourth novel, Sleight of Hand is her best work to date and one of the best fantasy stories I've read in awhile. Inspired by the liturgy composed by the medieval Abbess Hildegard von Bingen for the legend of St Ursula and the 11,000 virgins, Sleight of Hand weaves together three incarnations of Ursula's story as they blend across some 16 centuries.

Autumn Bradley and Ursula Colombine, two women who've never met and live half a world apart in the contemporary time, find themselves dreaming of a life in the region "under the constellation of Ursula" after the fall of Rome. During that unsettled time of barbarian raiders while Christianity struggled to reinstate order via its concepts of sin and patriarchy was conquering, co-opting, and converting the peoples of the region, Autumn and Ursula met and fell in love. It was a star-crossed meeting as Ursula, adopted daughter to the lord of Lower Northumberland, was on her way to wed an unknown Jut Lord to seal an alliance between the men.

The story of both pairs of Autumn and Ursula unfolds as the contemporary women struggle to understand what happened in their dream memories and how it impacts their lives. Adam's story of reincarnations includes several other characters from that early medieval cycle coming together in the present as well. Sleight of Hand is the first book of Adams' "Tunnel of Light" Trilogy and ends with an incredible sense of irony as the current Autumn and Ursula finally meet prompting more questions than answers. Your only regret in reading this book will be realizing that, like the rest of us, you'll be waiting for the next installments. (I particularly look forward to finally meeting the contemporary Hilea/Hildegard character.)

Adams is a pen name for Karin Kallmaker who is well known for her consistently charming, contemporarily interesting, and non-formula romance novels. Her works under Adams tend to explore mythic archetypes with lavender tinged reinterpretations of legends and folklore. Read more about Adams and Kallmaker at her home page www.kallmaker.com.

-MJ Lowe