This month, the Goodreads group Readers Against Prejudice and Racism is hosting online discussions of Ronald L. Donaghe’s gay-themed novel Common Sons, Elie Wiesel’s Holocaust-themed book Night, Shirley Sterling’s Native American-themed book My Name Is Seepeetza, and Dr. Seuss’s war-themed picture book The Butter Battle Book.

Readers Against Prejudice and Racism describes itself as follows.

“Hello everyone! This is a group dedicated to people who want to see a more peaceful world and who enjoy learning about other cultures with respect and gratitude. Feel free to join this group if you believe in peace and harmony.

“The goal of this group is to understand about the dangers of prejudice and racism around the world and hatred can come in many different forms. Anyone who believes that prejudice against homosexuality, different cultures, different races, people with disabilities, or anyone who are different from society is wrong, are free to join this club to discuss about how we can prevent racism and prejudice from spreading across the world.”

Gay DVD Review: The Doctor’s Wife.

Summary:

In this inspiring documentary, Australians Jonathan Duffy and Dr. Vincent Cornelisse move from Brisbane to the small town of Mundubbera. They find surprising acceptance as they immerse themselves in the community.

Text:

Two gay men fall in love and share a home in Brisbane, Australia. One of them, Dr. Vincent Cornelisse, wants to accept a position that will help pay off his bills from medical school. The complication? It means practicing medicine in the small Queensland town of Mundubbera.

His partner, Jonathan Duffy, is an actor who not only agrees with the life-changing decision but also decides to direct a film about the adventure. Despite warnings from his best friend about closed-mindedness in rural locations, Duffy looks forward to new challenges.

Once there, Cornelisse works around the clock, while Duffy becomes increasingly bored and lonely. Eventually, Duffy decides to become just as involved in the local community as his doctor partner.

The more both men give to Mundubbera, the more they find it embracing them. Despite any fears of a backwards and homophobic town, they quickly become irreplaceable.

Throughout the film, Duffy reflects on how becoming so involved turns being gay into a nonissue. Everyone just sees them as people, with Duffy filling the traditional role of “The Doctor’s Wife” much better than anyone could expect. Even the closeted gays in the area begin seeing their openness as a model.

In a few places, The Doctor’s Wife looks more like a music video than a documentary, because of some experimental filming techniques. However, those moments help Duffy communicate his feelings and the film’s themes.

More importantly, he treats the other subjects of his documentary with the same respect he asks of them. Instead of portraying them as rednecks or country bumpkins, he sees them as the interesting people he would never have met if not for the unlikely opportunity of moving to Mundubbera. That positive tone comes through in this inspiring and often funny story.

The site and the DVD extras also reveal Duffy’s task of promoting an independent film without an advertising budget.

Thanks for visiting my blog! My comical story FAT DIARY is now available as a free eBook.

Gay Movie Review: Beauty.

Summary:

In this award-winning South African film, a homophobe becomes obsessed with a young man who sees him as a mentor. Francois (Deon Lotz) can’t control his desires, or his violent temper.

Text:

Francois (Deon Lotz) seems distant both as a father and husband, despite his success as a businessman and his apparent concern for his wife and daughter. He refers derisively to gays and people of color. On the side, he takes part in a secretive sex group that only includes white men.

Francois acts coldly towards his wife, who might also be seeking sex outside their marriage. He scolds and complains about his daughter, rarely showing affection to her.

At the beginning of the movie, Francois sees the son of an old family friend. Christian (Charlie Keegan) has grown into a strikingly handsome and charming young man who considers Francois his mentor. Francois quickly becomes obsessed with Charlie.

Besides the other revelations, we also receive hints that Francois once had some sort of angry episode and still needs a doctor’s attention to control his temper. Everything keeps leading to the idea that Francois will soon make some terrible decisions. However, the film hardly becomes predictable.

The camera sometimes seems to linger too long before and after scenes, and parts of the movie left me wondering what had happened. All of that might reflect cultural differences in film-making, or just Oliver Hermanus’s individual style as a director. Regardless, I still kept thinking about the film after watching it.

Hermanus and a talented cast present a picture of bigotry, both how it hurts society and how it hurts the people who hold bigoted views. While the film also looks at the dangers of hiding secrets or ignoring mental problems, the ugliness of hatred destroys Francois even more than his drinking and his anger. Deon Lotz gives a haunting performance in the lead role and helps make Beauty a brutal but memorable tragedy.

Beauty is in Afrikaans and English, with English subtitles. It won the Queer Palm D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and it was South Africa’s official selection for the 2012 Academy Awards.

Thanks for visiting my blog! Please read about my books The Acorn Stories and Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure.

Gay Movie Review: Four More Years.

Summary:

This Swedish import looks at the falsities and hypocrisy of political life within the framework of a light-hearted romantic comedy. Laughs usually dominate, despite some tender moments.

Text:

It looks like David Holst (Bjorn Kjellmann) will become a Prime Minister soon in Sweden, thanks to the efforts of his wife Fia (Tova Magnusson-Norling). David’s political prospects become complicated, however, when he meets opposing party member Martin Kovac (Eric Ericson). Sparks fly immediately, and neither man can deny the attraction.

The relationship often leads to humorous situations, as they try to hide their growing love from their families, their parties, and the general public. Their scenes with David’s parents are especially funny. Still, the chemistry between the two male leads brings a truly romantic depth to the story.

Besides playing Fia, Tova Magnusson-Norling also directed this light-hearted comedy. The story only slows down or gets serious a few times, but those moments stand out as especially tender. The rest of the time, the talented cast just delivers one funny line after another. Fortunately, Magnusson manages to save some of the best scenes for herself; Fia proves as insightful about love as politics.

The English subtitles change a bit quickly during the montage of opening scenes, but are easy to read during the rest of the film. The foreign setting never takes away from the universal themes.

Four More Years tackles the frequent hypocrisy and pretense of politics while also showing how ambition can often interfere with love and happiness. I love the strong character development and irreverent humor in Wilhelm Behrman’s script.

Thanks for visiting my blog! My comical story Fat Diary is available as a free eBook.

Overcoming Bullying, Joseph's Story From Friend Film

Part of a new film series, in connection with the upcoming gay-themed movie Friend. Director Elliot London (The Wedding Dance) is working on the project.

Primeval: New World first trailer. This is the Canadian spin-off to the British TV series about dinosaurs who wander into our time. It features some science fiction actors that fans of SyFy might recognize, but I haven't seen news yet on an American outlet for the show.

Book Promotion Site.

Awesome Gang provides free writer promotion and resources. Visit to gain exposure for your book, or to discover new writers.

Above All Things: The Journey of an Evangelical Christian Mother and Her Gay Daughter

Author to speak at St. John's Methodist Church about Accepting Gay Daughter. Shari Johnson appearing at PFLAG-Lubbock meeting.

Music Review: Virago: Love Over Fear.

Independent label rockers Maire Tashjian and Amy Schindler deliver a 10-song CD about equality, love, and many other topics. Musical diversity and passionate vocals add to the strength of their lyrics. Read my review at ThisWeekInTexas.Com.

Gay Movie Review: Morgan.

Summary:

The director of Gone, But Not Forgotten offers a touching and inspiring movie about a young gay man who might let an accident ruin his chances of happiness. Explorations of romance and tragedy make this independent drama a memorable experience.

Text:

Leo Minaya (Manito, How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer) plays Morgan Oliver, a young athlete whose recent accident left him partially paralyzed and seemingly ended his streak of winning awards for bicycling. Morgan resents his situation, spending his time moping and drinking. p> The handsome and athletic Dean Kagen (Jack Kesy) asks Morgan to pick up his basketball, not looking up in time to notice the wheelchair. He apologizes, but they quickly strike up a conversation, which leads to a date. Dean brings his own baggage to the relationship, but Morgan’s willingness to risk his own life to go back to racing could ruin everything.

Actress and comedienne Darra “Like Dat” Boyd (VH1’s Flavor of Love) plays Morgan’s best friend, Lane Williams. Lane won’t hesitate to tell Morgan exactly how she feels about anything, including his stubbornness and risk taking. She adds extra humor at first, but later adds to the film’s increasingly dramatic tone.

Film and stage actress Madalyn McKay plays Morgan’s mother, Peg Oliver. Morgan constantly takes her for granted and overlooks how his actions hurt her. The scenes between mother and son provide some of the most heart-breaking moments.

However, this film mostly centers around Morgan’s romance. The sparks between Kesy and Minaya intensify the happiest and saddest moments. Ultimately, expect an inspiring and romantic story that avoids the familiar territory of gay cinema.

Michael Akers directed a script he co-wrote with Sandon Berg. They previously collaborated on Phoenix, Matrimonium, and Gone, But Not Forgotten. Berg co-produced with Israel Ehrisman (Phoenix, Prodigal Sons).

A strong but never overpowering soundtrack captures some of the tragedy and romance. Ryan Rapsys scored the soundtrack, which also features songs by Miles, Molly Maguire, Nicholas Wells, David Raleigh, The Diamond Underground, and Ben Darwish. The music always seems just right for the moment.

Thanks for visiting my blog! Please read about my books The Acorn Stories and Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure.