Category Archives: LGBT

Read an Ebook Week 2017

Posted on March 4, 2017 by Gabriella West

Tomorrow, March 5, brings the start of Read an Ebook Week on ebook platform Smashwords, which is where I started my own self-publishing journey in 2011. According to the site, “This [their catalog] is the hub of the action, where you … Continue reading →

Posted in LGBT, News, Self-publishing, Writing | Tagged Califa, connecting the dots, ebooks, Elsie Street, Free, Kobo Plus, LGBT, library, Read an Ebook Week, Rita Toews, self-publishing, Smashwords | Leave a comment

The Downhill Slide: Two Literary Biographies

Posted on December 18, 2016 by Gabriella West

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin Manderley Forever: A Biography of Daphne du Maurier by Tatiana de Rosnay Literary biography can be such a depressing genre, although I read it, I realize, to feel vicariously alive, to really … Continue reading →

Posted in creativity and its discontents, LGBT, Reviews, Writing | Tagged 1950s, anxiety, barbiturates, bisexuality, Cornwall, Daphne du Maurier, daughters, dominance, Dublin, feminist, France, Gertrude Lawrence, ghosts, haunted lives, lesbian, life, literary biography, London, marriage, Menabilly, mothers, old age, Rebecca, Ruth Franklin, Shirley Jackson, Stanley Edgar Hyman, Tatiana de Rosnay, truth, Vermont, women's lives | 3 Comments

A Happy Fourth…

Posted on July 4, 2016 by Gabriella West

I wanted to wish everyone out there in the US a happy Fourth of July! The weather is always chilly and foggy here in San Francisco. At night in our neighborhood, the air is filled with the sound of homemade rockets … Continue reading →

Posted in LGBT, News, Personal, San Francisco, Self-publishing, Writing | Tagged Bill Maher, Brexit, clare ashton, connecting the dots, Elsie Street, Fourth of July, Free, Hillary Clinton, Kate Genet, Rainbow Shelf, Shannon Yarbrough, Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale, The Great British Baking Show, The Pull of Yesterday | Leave a comment

Orlando, a week later

Posted on June 21, 2016 by Gabriella West

I woke up last Sunday morning to news of the Orlando LGBT club massacre on Twitter. It was a terrible moment. The first pieces of news said that 20 people were dead, which was unbelievable enough. I believe the last … Continue reading →

Posted in LGBT, News | Tagged gun control, LGBT, mass shooting, Orlando, Pride Month, Pulse | Leave a comment

Elsie Street Sequel Now on Preorder!

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Gabriella West

I’ve been busy writing this spring. The full-length sequel to Elsie Street, The Pull of Yesterday, is now available for preorder at Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. It will be released on those platforms on June 5. Meanwhile, … Continue reading →

Posted in LGBT, News, San Francisco, Self-publishing, Writing | Tagged 5-star review, Elsie Street, Free, gay romance, Google play, LGBT romance, preorder, The Pull of Yesterday | Leave a comment

Elsie Street Will Be Deal of the Day on ARe!

Posted on February 21, 2016 by Gabriella West

All Romance eBooks is an ebook platform focused on, well, romance, and to my surprise my latest novel, Elsie Street, has done quite well there as opposed to on the bigger stores like Apple and Barnes & Noble. So I was … Continue reading →

Posted in LGBT, News, Self-publishing, Writing | Tagged All Romance eBooks, Daily Deal, Elsie Street, LGBT romance, promotion | Leave a comment

Review: Lust & Wonder, A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Gabriella West

Oscar Wilde once famously said that all women become like their mothers; that’s their tragedy. He added, “No man does. That’s his.” Wilde was implying that all men become like their fathers. The fact is, the last book I read … Continue reading →

Posted in Abuse & Recovery, LGBT, Reviews | Tagged anxiety, augusten burroughs, borderline personality disorder, dry, gay men, lust and wonder, memoir, PTSD, relationships, running with scissors | 2 Comments

Year of the Fire Monkey

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Gabriella West

So, the upcoming Chinese New Year is the Year of the Fire Monkey. For those who don’t know, each year is named after a particular animal and falls only every 12 years. Looking back on my Monkey years, I was … Continue reading →

Posted in LGBT, News, Self-publishing, Writing | Tagged Chinese New Year, Elsie Street, Free, LGBT romance, mailing list, Nat Russo, relationships, The Leaving, The Pull of Yesterday | Leave a comment

New Year; A Look Back at Reading

Posted on January 1, 2016 by Gabriella West

Well, it’s January 1, and last year was so busy with both writing and editing work that I didn’t get to tend to this blog as much as I should have. So here’s a little recap. Thinking back to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Abuse & Recovery, LGBT, Reviews, Writing | Tagged 2015, cutting, ebooks, great American novel, Hanya Yanagihara, intimacy, Kindle, Oliver Sacks, pain, Peter Hujar, reading, sex, sexual abuse, sexuality, suicide, survival, trauma | Leave a comment

Elsie Street Goes Wide

Posted on November 28, 2015 by Gabriella West

Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. I’m battling toothache, which is, um, what happens when you neglect your teeth for a long time… 😦 Indie authors call it “going wide” when you release your book outside the KDP Select platform. … Continue reading →