O
Home
Weekly Quotation
March 10 - 17, 2024


March is National
Women's History Month!

“There is a concept in American literature that talking about your life is confessional and therefore for women. But all fiction writers use everything. We steal people and stories. And if life has messed with you repeatedly, then you ought to write it down. Everyone in the world has a story, a secret, a sneaky desire for vengeance.”
~Dorothy Allison [1949 -], author of the American classic, Bastard Out of Carolina, and poet, editor, novelist, feminist, political activist, cofounder of the Lesbian Sex Mafia, and winner of multiple writing awards

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

What's New
The 2024 Alice B Awards were announced today!


I really *love* being a part of this process! The Alice B Readers Committee has now awarded medals and the honorarium to over six dozen authors writing lesbian-themed literature. Click here to see the list of all who have been honored. Today the 2024 winners were announced. Congratulations to Nat Burns, Carolyn Gage, Tracey Richardson, and Brey Willows!

2/14/2024
And......the World is STILL being strange and crazy!

We had an unusually vicious snow and ice storm two weeks ago, and down came the best shade tree in the neighborhood.

Here is the view of my house around 10PM, about thirty minutes after the tree fell. We heard an ENORMOUS crash-thud, and the whole house shook.

It took a bit of time to gather up warm outdoor clothes and manage to slip and slide out the garage door and into the yard. The ice was treacherous. I can't believe neither of us fell.

The tree was definitely VERY up close and personal, but unbelievably, no windows were broken!

 

The tree smacked down on the deck, crushed the corner of the roof that juts out over the stairwell to the lower level, bent the fence (which you can't see in either picture), took out the gutter along half of the back of the house, and smushed the soffit--though so far <crossing fingers>--it's not leaking.

Big expensive mess! I have a $1,500 deductible on the ol' homeowners insurance. OUCH!!!

Sure hope I get a reeeeeeally big tax return!

2/6/2024
This Has Been a Strange Time!

I'm behind on everything, I'm still dealing with a crazy lawsuit, and my 20-yr-old car got T-boned and totalled by a rotten driver who ran a red light. It's pretty amazing how a few bits of bad luck can reverberate in a stressful way!

The good thing is that despite its age, my old car survived a 30-mph crash directly into the driver's door without anyone getting hurt. Amazing! Toyota/Lexus vehicles are the best ever. Most other cars would have been crushed in a lot more and injured the driver! I am *so* thankful for that.

And here's hoping that 2024 is a whole lot less stressful!

12/11/2023
A Little Bit of Ancestry Genealogy

I dipped my toe into the pond of DNA and Genealogy - and fell in headfirst all the way to the bottom of the ocean! I found a whole lot of stuff about my forbears. Because I descend from Sir Jerome Weston (1550-1603) who was a Knight of the Realm, High Sheriff of Essex, and Judge of Common Pleas, it turns out Elizabeth II, former Queen of England, is my 11th cousin/once removed. Whoa . . . . who knew!?

I have known for years that aviation's darlings, the Wright Brothers, were my first cousins/4x removed, but who knew that Lucille Ball is my 10th cousin, Rosa Parks is my 12th cousin/1xremoved, and Babe Ruth is my 10th cousin/3x removed! (A Visionary, a Fighter, and a Slugger.)

Alas, Shakespeare does not fall into the equation. But Charles Dickens is 8th cousin/6x removed and Jane Austen is 9th cousin/5x removed. I couldn't find out about Virginia Woolf, but she was so depressed and killed herself, so although her writing was amazing, she is not a very good example for me.

Susan B. Anthony is 6th cousin/5x removed, John Wayne is 10th/1x, Muhammad Ali is 9th/1x, and Elvis 8th/1x. Even Abraham Lincoln is in my bloodline: 6th cousin/5x removed, and George Washington (no wonder I have bad teeth!) is a 2nd cousin/10x removed.

How fascinating to learn I have common ancestors with so many people who made history. And following along with the fact that my DNA shows no Asian, Native American or any American blood, it's fascinating that some of my ancestors brought important Black figures into this world and I am tangentially related to them. Wow.

Mind = Blown. Officially!

8/7/2023
SHEER CRAZINESS!

UPDATE: At long last, all of these website pages seem to be up and working. Whew! If anyone sees anything that's off or goobered up, please let me know! ;-)

PREVIOUS MESSAGE: This main page ought to be okay (though some graphics might not show up right now), but for a short while, most of the embedded links and other page links will take some time to set up. I'll be migrating everything to a new host as fast as I can, and I appreciate your patience! And please wish me luck ! ;-)

7/10/2023
Author Q&A with Lori L. Lake and Barbara Lynn Murphy

I got a chance to read from Adventures Unlimited and listen to Barbara Lynn Murphy read from her debut book, Two Lives, One Heart. We had a rockin' good conversation with our interviewer Jazzy Mitchell. You can listen to it here:

INTERVIEW LINK

4/20/2023
Launch Point Press is Changing Hands

After over eight years of helming Launch Point Press (LPP), it’s time now to hand it over to new owners who will be able to take it to the next level. I’ve inked a deal with Jodi and Peggy Zeramby. (Jodi writes under the pen name Jazzy Mitchell.) Effective Jan 1, 2023, Jodi and Peggy will assume publishing duties for LPP.

My books and I will stay on as a part of the press, and this change will allow me to get back to my own writing. Since Jodi and Peggy live near me, we’ll be able to collaborate in making a smooth transition for the dozen authors and their published and forthcoming work. I’ll also stay involved as a consultant and resource for the new setup. LPP has been a wonderful learning opportunity, and I’m delighted Jodi and Peggy are the new publishers because their integrity, energy, and competence are stellar. Please join me in welcoming them to the helm!


Jodi (R) with me at Taborspace, Portland, Oregon, before the Pandemic

12/25/2022
A Great Time Was Had By All

Front Row/Left: Sandra de Helen and our crack team of Raffle Professionals, Drake & Katie; Back Row/Right: Jazzy Mitchell, Jessie Chandler, Judy Kerr, MB Panichi, Linda Vogt, Aliya Bree Hall, and Lori L. Lake.


The event yesterday at Taborspace put on by Literary Lesbians Present! was fantastic. Our readers: Jazzy Mitchell, Aliya Bree Hall, Sandra de Helen, Jessie Chandler, MB Panichi, and Judy Kerr were terrific. Looking forward to the next event sometime in February.

Updated 9/21/21
At the BOOKLOVER'S COMPANION

CA Farlow and I got the opportunity to interview Edith Zeitlberger about her new book, FRACTURES & HINGES.

CLICK HERE to see the podcast!

There are many fantasic reviews at The Booklover's Companion. Check out all the terrific author discussions and appearances here.

One of my favorite people on the planet and a great mystery writer, Ellen Hart, with me at Once Upon a Crime Mystery Bookstore in Minneapolis

 
Lee Lynch talks with me in THE ADVOCATE on "Lesbian Mystery, Police Raids, and Fairy Godmothers"
I had the great honor of doing an Advocate conversation with award-winning GCLS Trailblazer Lee Lynch.


CLICK HERE to check it out!

Don't Miss These Pages

Articles

Publisher
Resources +

Hall of Fame

 

This site last updated on March 12, 2024

All contents of this web site are protected by U.S. and International copyright laws and may not be reproduced in any manner (except in reviews and encyclopedia entries) without the written consent of the author and Launch Point Press.
Please contact lori (at) lorillake(dot) com with questions.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

News!
XXXXXX

Please
Subscribe to my
Periodic Newsletter

CLICK HERE
for Lori's
Newsletter

Lori's
Books

For excerpts: Click on Title!

Time's Rainbow: Writing Ourselves Back Into American History

Lesbians
on the
Loose:
Crime Writers on the Lam

   

Jump
The Gu
n

   
   
   
   
   
   

Movie Trailers
for the Books

 
With Brenda Adcock's wizardry, there are now movie trailers, complete with music, for two of my books. Click below to see - make sure you turn on your speakers, too.
 
Shimmer & Other Stories
 
Snow Moon Rising
 
Bound/Printed Books
My novels and short story collections can be purchased through any bookseller or online. If a store doesn't happen to have copies on hand, they will order them for you. CLICK HERE if you want to contact me to get autographed copies.
 
E-Books at
Bella Distribution
The team at Bella carry books by an enormous variety of authors, and they're distributing my eBooks and print books. CLICK HERE to get the books in Mobi and ePub formats.
Kobo E-Books
Kobo Ebooks also carries LGBT books by a variety of authors. CLICK HERE to get my books for the Kobo eReader.
Kindle E-Books
Amazon.com carries my books in the Kindle E-Book format. CLICK HERE to purchase novels and short story collections for your Kindle eReader.
B&N E-Books
Barnes & Noble - BN.com - carries my books in their Nook E-Book format. CLICK HERE to purchase novels and short story collections for your Nook eReader.
Click the image below to Friend me on Facebook!
 
Recent
Interviews
A.J. Llewellyn at Dark Diva's Blog did an extensive interview with me. CLICK HERE to find out all my deep dark secrets. The interview shows up on the March 4 entry, and you will have to scroll down through a couple other interviews to get to it..

VIDEO INTERVIEW - With Jody Seay, the amazing interviewer at Oregon PBS's "Back Page" program, who sat down and talked to me for her weekly TV program with Pacific NW writers


CLICK HERE - for the interview with author Jae who has written so many wonderful novels


CLICK HERE to read an interesting discussion in the "Spotlight Interview" section that the gals at Ylva have been doing. Astrid Ohletz is a terrific interviewer!


Earl Kemp's online 'zine, eI, has featured a memoir piece I wrote called "There is No Reason Not To Trust that the Act of Writing Will Be Enough."
CLICK HERE if you'd like to read it.


MYSTERICAL-E featured a long interview with me about writing, creativity, book themes, etc. There are several great stories featured in this issue as well as other podcasts and interviews by a variety of terrific authors.

CLICK HERE
to Subscribe to
Lori's Newsletter

 

x