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Jeff Baker

The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is Jeff Baker, Boogieman In Lavender

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The Only Thing We Have To Fear… by Jeff Baker NOTE: I usually post this around the 13th of the month, but I may be away from the keyboard for a couple of weeks. So I’m posting this way early! —-jeff “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself…” — Franklin D. Roosevelt “High Ang—Ziety!” —– Mel Brooks I think I have anxiety issues. This has taken me decades to realize. I’ve always been apprehensive about doing things. Always. I’ve joked for years that I was afraid of pretty much everything, which to some degree may be true. … Read more

Nite Owl – Boogieman In Lavender

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I keep some odd hours. Part of this comes from the delivery jobs I had for about twenty-five years. There were some days I had to get up at four in the morning to get to the warehouse and start my run. The advantage was that some days I would be getting off work in the early afternoon when a lot of the nine-to-five workers would still be on the job. Of course, the disadvantage was that I would have to go to bed around nine at night to get enough sleep. During those delivery days I kept a spiral-bound … Read more

Jeff Baker, Boogieman In Lavender. Broken Metropolis. On Beyond Cisgender VIII

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QSF Broken Metropolis; On Beyond Cisgender VII by Jeff Baker AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is the latest installment of this column’s occasional feature “On Beyond Cisgender,” recommending books written by or that feature people beyond the “Old Dead White Cis Hetero Male Literature Canon.” It was suggested by A. M. (Amy) Leibowitz who was lamenting the choices of books for High School reading. I’ve been doing this feature since October of 2018 and it is even more important in an era of censorship and book banning. So, here’s the latest installment.—-jeff Queer-themed anthologies of science fiction and fantasy, while not dominating … Read more

In Deep Mudd. Jeff Baker, Boogieman In Lavender

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“I’m a doctor, not a T.V. tie-in writer.”—-anon. Recently, I viewed the last, nearly-forgotten episode of the original “Star Trek,” from 1978. Sort of. At least, I consider it an episode. But first, some background is in order. In the era before You Tube, streaming, DVDs or even VCR tapes there were precious few ways for rabid fans to relive their favorite T. V. shows or movies. For fans of Gene Roddenberry’s classic, the original “Star Trek,” one way was through a series of paperback novelizations featuring adaptions of the original episodes as short stories. These books, which were bestsellers, … Read more

“Potiphee, Petey And Me”: The Last Of Tom Reamy. Jeff Baker, Boogieman In Lavender

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Jeff Baker

Potiphee, Petey and Me; The Last of Tom Reamy by Jeff Baker The final story by the late fantasy master Tom Reamy has been published. It is everything a reader could hope for. “Potiphee, Petey and Me” was written for the final volume of Harlan Ellison’s cutting edge anthology series that began in the 60s with “Dangerous Visions.” But this volume “The Last Dangerous Visions” has never been published, despite several promised release dates (including September 2024.) Now Reamy’s final story has been published in a retrospective collection and it is indeed a dangerous vision. The collection “Under The Hollywood … Read more

Jeff Baker, Boogieman In Lavender at the World Fantasy Convention

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Panel LGBT Characters Done Well” L to R: Ellen Klages, Naseem Jamnia, Alex Jennings, Elizabeth Leggett. Photo by Jeff Baker. World Fantasy Convention 2023 by Jeff Baker The World Fantasy Convention, a celebration of all things in Light and Dark Fantasy was held in Kansas City, MO right before Halloween. And LGBT people were well-represented. Held this year at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center it featured author readings, panels and interviews as well as the Dealer’s room with everything from posters, the latest paperbacks and even a 1970s magazine with a first publication of a Stephen King … Read more

Jeff Baker, Boogieman in Lavender “Found Family”

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Found Family by Jeff Baker “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” —-Chas. Dickens 2023 was either an awful year or a good year where some bad things happened. War, violence, death, political upheaval. Open bigotry and divisions everywhere. But an awful lot of years are like that. On the other hand, there were births, triumphs, love, bliss. Continuations of lives. All the things that make the world and its people go ‘round. And little personal discoveries that sometimes “make” your day, sometimes without our knowing it. A concept very well-known to the LGBT Community … Read more

Jeff Baker: Boogieman In Lavender. Lou Rand’s “The Gay Detective.”

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Lou Rand’s “The Gay Detective” by Jeff Baker Bay City…Early Nineteen-Sixties…Fog rolling in across the bay…the famous bridge…you know which city this is supposed to be. Bars that are clandestine rendezvous for furtive meetings between men in back rooms…bodies found in the darkness. Not warm, welcoming bodies but Gay men, murdered. No suspects. Few clues. One looks like murder-suicide. It isn’t Into this foggy mess steps Francis “Frank” Morley, detective for hire. The classic private eye with a dingy office, a loyal secretary and a hulking mass of muscle for an assistant. And Morley is as openly Gay as you … Read more

Night Of the Living Queers; On Beyond Cisgender VII – Boogieman in Lavender

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This is the seventh (wow!) installment of our “On Beyond Cisgender” feature, where we look at books for YA readers (whether written for them or not!) It was initially inspired by a Facebook post from A. M. Leibowitz lamenting the lack of LGBT, non-cisgender, non POC books for High School readers several years ago. There aren’t a lot of good original anthologies aimed at LGBT YA audiences out there, and this one is appropriate for the season. —–jeff Just in time for Halloween, Wednesday Books has published “Night Of the Living Queers,” a YA anthology edited by Shelly Page and … Read more

Jeff Baker, Boogieman in Lavender: A Visit to XY Bar, Or My Glimpse of 2023

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A Visit to XY Bar or My Glimpse Of 2023 by Jeff Baker A month ago I did something I haven’t done in a couple of decades. I went to a gay bar at night when the joint was jumping. Let me explain. The last few months I’ve gone out to a few times to places where I can casually socialize. (I’ve missed having somebody around to talk too.) A nice little coffeehouse, the Public Library in the afternoon (which are also good places to write!) and a couple of Gay bars. Also in the afternoon when there aren’t a … Read more