2024-01-15 22:12
I finally completed the trailer for my late uncle, John Rigney Jr.'s novel, "The Lost of New York." Yes, it was published in May 2022, but as the saying goes, better late than never.In putti… Read More
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Jim Provenzano - Author Blog
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Themes and inspiration from the Lambda Literary Award-winning novel Every Time I Think of You, its sequel Message of Love, plus Cyclizen, Monkey Suits, PINS and the short story collection Forty Wild Crushes. Read me.
2023-12-29 05:04
While the holiday shopping season may be over, authors like myself hope that you still consider buying books. A new outlet, along with a recently developed one, provide the opportunity to pu… Read More
2023-11-16 19:26
photo: Dana JacobsIf you know even a little bit about my books, you know my sixth novel, "Now I'm Here," is infused with Queen's music and song titles. But it took the reminder from gu… Read More
2023-09-27 19:39
Books with LGBTQ themes are under attack while anti-gay harassment is
spiking nationwide. To counter the book bans, Castro district Fabulosa
Books has organized Read For Filth, a 24-hour c… Read More
2023-08-23 03:41
Gay romance novels have never been more popular than they are today. The most popular example is of course “Red, White and Royal Blue,” Casey McQuiston's bestselling… Read More
2022-11-02 04:33
Dink: “Welcome to the Orange and Black.”Joey: “Huh?”Dink: “It’s always Halloween.”That’s one of my favorite lines from my debut novel PINS and… Read More
2022-10-06 01:48
October is underway and that means it's time for pumpkins! I'm not just talking about pumpkin spice and all its stereotypical memes and humor, but the actual gourds that I go crazy… Read More
2022-09-18 00:26
Bookshelf at Books a Million, Rapid City SD Read any banned books lately? The list of literary works under attack by right wing idiots continues to expand. But the stupid thing is of c… Read More
2022-04-18 00:27
Hidden away for more than half a century, my late uncle’s novel, The Lost of New York, is finally a book (May 6, 2022). So, why did I task myself with the arduous proce… Read More
2022-03-19 22:59
When someone posted on Twitter asking how artists, specifically fiction writers, could continue to create while bad things happen in the world, the responses were numerous. While I haven't b… Read More
2022-01-02 02:25
While we mourn the loss of some great stars of stage, TV and film, I’m thinking about an actor-dancer who was more forgotten than most, and undeservedly so.Paul Wallace and N… Read More
2021-12-21 18:42
Happy Holidays! I got you something. My short story, "Cabin Fervor," is free today through Dec. 25. Ernie and Jase, two unemployed Broadway dancer boyfriends, escape pandemic-ridd… Read More
2021-11-28 07:52
It's impossible to imagine a world without the music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim. The prolific composer-lyricist died on November 26 at age 91. His passing got me reeling through my years… Read More
2021-11-07 20:17
I recently unsubscribed from a lot of the writers’ newsletters I’d been getting for years, and most of the authors’ Facebook groups, and Twitter groups that happen to have… Read More
2021-08-25 04:10
Thousands of teenage aspiring writers found inspiration from the notebook-scribbling eleven-year-old girl in the best-selling 1964 novel Harriet the Spy. Some, myself inc… Read More
2021-05-16 21:02
While I'm very lucky to have been employed through the past year, the additional writing and editing assignments for my day job have somewhat overtaken my fiction writing. But here's why tha… Read More
2021-04-20 01:27
Shhh! Don't tell anyone, but I've been secretly donating copies of my first novel PINS at little public libraries around town. If you want a copy just let me know. When I shared this elsew… Read More
2021-03-06 21:14
Literature online is now nothing new, but with an entire literary festival, from readings to panels, all online, the 18th annual Saints & Sinners LGBTQ Literary Festival, usually h… Read More
2021-01-26 05:00
Wild animals in cities, Broadway dancers, OnlyFans and the pandemic might seem like unlikely story ideas, together at least. But these four topics blended together in an inspired writing spe… Read More
2021-01-11 05:53
Considering the current state of things, I should be amazed anyone's buying or reviewing my books. But three months after being published, two more reviewed of my seventh novel Finding Tulsa… Read More
2021-01-05 17:16
I understand, dear reader, fan or accidental visitor to my blog who was actually looking for celebrity nude photos; you haven't had time to read my seventh novel, Finding Tulsa, because it's… Read More
2020-11-13 18:13
Watch my Nov. 12 chat with author Felice Picano, hosted by Greg Newton at NYC's Bureau of General Services—Queer Division. We discussed our new novels about gay Hollywood: h… Read More
2020-11-05 02:27
Here's my recent interview on the Bay Area news website, News Up Now, with affable host Gleidson Martins: Read More
2020-10-21 19:46
These days, it's difficult to plan in advance. Will your favorite restaurant re-open? What are the revised hours of your local bookstore? Will November 3 welcome a days-long Biden/Harris Hap… Read More
2020-10-08 01:09
This is how I single-handedly shut down two thieving audiobook pirates on YouTube. Yes, thousands of illegally shared audiobooks are still on YouTube, converted to mp4s. If you're a fan of s… Read More
2020-09-24 17:31
My Sept. 22 book chat with Baruch Porras-Hernandez covered a lot of topics related to my seventh novel, writing, books, chorus boys, musical theater, snacks, even gay porn! Hosted… Read More
2020-09-16 18:25
Join me in a chat with author Baruch Porras-Hernandez on Sept. 22 at 8pm PST as we discuss my seventh novel Finding Tulsa. Hollywood, the 1990s, gay sexuality and musical theatre are among t… Read More
2020-09-02 00:57
My seventh novel, Finding Tulsa, is getting around with less than a month before its official publication date. You can choose from supporting my IndieGogo campaign, simply ordering it in ad… Read More
2020-08-24 01:07
I'm on Broadway! ... World, that is.Finding Tulsa got a nice advance mention on Broadway World.The notice includes a story summary and link to my IndieGogo campaign, which is still ac… Read More
2020-07-15 08:31
My seventh novel, Finding Tulsa, will be published in September 2020 with Palm Drive Publishing. Check out the rave advance quotes from some of my favorite authors and filmmakers, and… Read More
2020-07-04 21:52
The author at Ashland Balloonfest 2004As Americans endure the strangest July weekend in years, I'm reminded of another holiday weekend years ago, in my hometown, where celebrations and destr… Read More
2020-06-06 02:55
Lambda Literary Award winner and finalist, Every Time I Think of Youand Message of Love now published as paired audiobooks on Audible.com“Their love is a force of nature.” … Read More
2020-05-09 20:21
Can a history of 20th-century gay male authors (with a bit into the 21st) be both expansive and succinct? With Eminent Outlaws, author and essayist Christopher Bram has done that. He retells… Read More
2020-05-03 19:46
I've decided to start reposting my GoodReads/Amazon book reviews on my blog, because who needs more essays about enduring the pandemic? Not to say that such writings aren't helpful. I'm jus… Read More
2020-04-04 05:17
The Bay Area Reporter has been a vital news source to the LGBTQ community for almost 50 years. It’s also been my employer for more than 25 years. For book fans, the B.A.R.’s… Read More
2020-03-02 03:06
Touring bookstores to promote one's books can be very expensive and time-consuming, which is why I'm happy to announce that I'll be reading from and discussing my sixth novel, Now I'm Here… Read More
2020-02-10 17:07
The death of actor Robert Conrad on February 8 brought on a slew of remembrances from fans online, most notably those who recalled him shirtless, in tight pants, and often tied up, in the un… Read More
2020-01-01 04:54
Since I haven't blogged in weeks, what better time than on the last day of a year, and a decade, full of ups and down, books and breaks. The 2010s were pretty good for me, book-wise. I self… Read More
2019-11-16 19:21
In my new Q&A with NF Reads, I share a few secrets about writing, book covers and creative inspiration.An excerpt:What are the real-life stories behind your books? That’s a frequ… Read More
2019-10-28 01:51
As Halloween celebrants set about carving up pumpkins in creative ways for the holiday, consider extracting the many seeds from the gloppy guts of your purchased or homegrown gourds. Yes, th… Read More
2019-10-02 07:29
This week is the twentieth anniversary of the publication of my debut novel, PINS, a wrestling coming-of-age story about patron saints, headlocks, crash diets, thrash metal, dogpiles, nutpul… Read More
2019-09-01 23:59
While my sixth novel Now I'm Here focuses on Joshua, a piano-playing prodigy and Queen fan, it also includes almost equal focus on his boyfriend David who is raised on a farm in southern Ohi… Read More
2019-08-14 18:45
Here's a smart Bay Area Reporter Q&A in which I'm paired with best-selling author (and my new coworker) Meg Elison! Her 'Road to Nowhere' scifi trilogy is terrific.From Arts Editor R… Read More
2019-07-14 00:27
Ernest Hemingway was an alcoholic animal-hunting macho lout. Gertrude Stein supported fascism. Nicolas Sparks owns an allegedly bigoted Christian Camp. And now we have Dale Peck, a gay autho… Read More
2019-06-13 01:56
As one of the 111 ACT UP members arrested in the Stop the Church action of December 1989, it was wonderful to see the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power included in the Season 2 premiere episod… Read More
2019-06-04 08:48
Fans and critics are raving about the creative and mesmerizing Elton John biopic Rocketman, and comparisons to other rock star movies have led some to say it's what Bohemian Rhapsody could h… Read More
2019-05-18 21:59
On this rainy Saturday, while I'm looking forward to this evening's plans, I feel, like many others, a sense of dread and worried anticipation for the series finale of Games of Thrones tomor… Read More
2019-03-31 01:59
Bohemian Rhapsody in China = NoHomoHow long after an artist has fully explored a topic that they care about should it be abandoned, or put on a shelf? Granted, my novels will always be… Read More
2019-03-11 06:22
"If Memory Serves," the eighth episode in Season 2 of the amazing Star Trek: Discovery, not only recalls the earliest of days of the show's legacy, but along with a thrilling multi-layered s… Read More
2019-02-11 06:45
Patricia Nell Warren's The Front Runner remains one of the prime inspirations for me to write fiction. News of her death today has reached beyond mutual friends to her many fans. I recall… Read More
2019-02-01 04:47
Three examples of online arguments vexed me enough to further explore them. The first was being scolded for calling Starbucks coffee drinkers dumb, the second for getting rightwing hatred in… Read More
2019-01-23 05:16
With a few Golden Globes, five Oscar nominations, and fan adoration worldwide, Bohemian Rhapsody is enjoying another encore.I'm making plans to see the sing-along version of Bohemian Rhapsod… Read More
2019-01-14 02:14
The recent trend of sharing then-and-now photos has me thinking of the years spent between major accomplishments, and how we document our lives. I mark my timeline by novels, and where they… Read More
2018-12-18 07:47
While the film about the life of Freddie Mercury and Queen's rise to fame continues to break box office records, the title song, considered by critics and fans alike, had become the most pla… Read More
2018-11-25 21:37
As, November 24, the 27th anniversary of the death of Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury, receives worldwide attention, it's important to remember the legacy he left, that of his music and hi… Read More
2018-11-14 02:53
Why would an author like me produce a concert of acoustic Queen music in a beautiful Alamo Square Victorian with a rich LGBT history? Because I can! Also, I won a book award.Yes, for months… Read More
2018-10-25 02:19
It's no surprise that my sixth novel, the Queen-infused Now I'm Here, is benefiting from the publicity for the new Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody. Although I started the novel more than twe… Read More
2018-10-19 05:27
The fuchsia Bohemian Rhapsody sign with Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury looking down through the window from across the street at my West Hollywood reading for my sixth novel Now I'm Here serv… Read More
2018-09-25 07:16
While it's been several days since the launch and first reading event for my sixth novel, Now I'm Here, I'm still energized by all the love and support shown by the nearly 50 people who atte… Read More
2018-09-06 03:31
September 5 is the birthday of Queen singer Freddie Mercury, and in anticipation of the release of Bohemian Rhapsody, the film biopic about Freddie and the band, the promotional Twitter acco… Read More
2018-08-23 07:25
Here's the book trailer for my sixth novel,Now I'm Here. Pretty cool! Read More
2018-08-04 05:02
Instead of whipping up some inspirational essay on writing, or revealing the hours of unleashing stage one of a media campaign, I'll instead just share the goods on my sixth novel, Now I'm H… Read More
2018-07-04 05:24
It's Christmas in July! New Advance Reader Copies of my sixth novel, Now I'm Here, have arrived. I'll be mailing signed copies to more than a dozen fans in the next few weeks.To sign u… Read More
2018-05-14 07:31
Now I’m Here a novel by Jim ProvenzanoBeautiful Dreamer PressISBN-13: 978-0998126265Release date: September 19, 2018“Here is a novel of such sweep and breadth that to call it si… Read More
2018-05-04 06:19
Randy Harrison and Francesca Faridany in Angels in America at Berkeley Rep. photo: Kevin BerneIt would be great if the fact that two major productions of Tony Kushner's two-part drama… Read More
2018-02-24 20:08
Defying the latest round of rightwing-fed 'crisis actor' accusations, teenage survivors of the latest school shooting have proven defiant to the hypocritical inaction of GOP politicians who… Read More
2018-02-03 03:38
The mark of a good writer is prolificity, that is, the ability to get it all written. Fortunately, I've been doing that, elsewhere, leaving the obligatory blogging to wait.A single theme esc… Read More
2017-12-22 05:37
Ah, the holidays. They're almost over, but I feel the need to share the fun as the year winds down to the last few days. Among my new favorites are Christmas book trees, and the guilty pleas… Read More
2017-12-04 00:11
Does anyone still read AIDS fiction, and what stories remain relevant today? Of course my answers are "Yes," and "All of them." But given the state of things these days, with greater cr… Read More
2017-11-02 06:07
Puerto Rico hurricane devastation: New York TimesHow can a fiction writer continue to work in a made-up world when so many bad things are happening in the real one? Why should we even bother… Read More
2017-09-07 06:29
Have you ever read a novel only to have the effect of it come back to you like a boomerang that knocks you in the back of the head until the tears spring out?Such is the case with Mark Merli… Read More
2017-08-12 18:10
I met Sam Shepard in a dream last night, my last one before waking, on an open cement flat construction site with poles sticking up. It had been turned into a movie set where I… Read More
2017-06-22 22:19
Cazwell and his dog ElvisAlthough late in Pride month, I've long wanted to pen a blog post with mention of all -or most- of the talented LGBT artists and straight allies I've had a chance to… Read More
2017-05-28 20:09
Gay Games V figure skating: photo Jim ProvenzanoAlthough I predicted it more than a decade ago, the abrupt cancellation of this year's OutGames –and most likely all future ones–… Read More
2017-05-10 00:06
I haven't blogged in more than a month - oh my! - but I did do a reading on Facebook Live on April 20 hosted by prolific author and editor Rob Rosen, and with Bay Area poet, author and amiab… Read More
2017-03-11 20:05
What is the legacy you want to leave behind? As a person, you can hope your family will remember you. As an artist, you usually hope for a little more. If you're ambitious, you crave a lot m… Read More
2017-01-27 08:43
You can tell a lot about a person by what they try to destroy.That is what they fear.Women. Children. Veterans. Artists. Muslims. Mexicans. Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Gypsies, Trans people… Read More
2016-12-31 21:28
As we dive butt-first into a new year, I was going to repost one of the lovely retro New Year's Eve scenes from my past two books, Every Time I Think of You and Message of Love. But you… Read More
2016-12-10 22:49
How do we find inspiration to make art in difficult times? What kind of art should we make when our lives are being disrupted by the most absurd and clearly corrupt election in decades? What… Read More
2016-11-22 04:35
People are comparing our situation through less than subtle artistic interpretations this week, from revamped comics to musicals. And music acts are singing their sympathies for those horrif… Read More
2016-11-06 04:32
I once served Donald Trump dinner while a cater waiter in the 1980s, at The Frick Mansion, I recall, and in retrospect, it was the lowest day of my employed life. He didn't even clean his pl… Read More
2016-10-27 17:44
Forty Wild Crushes won a 2016 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention! Here are two mini-reivews from the anonymous judges: "It is so easy to read, sympathize with, laugh with and at times laugh a… Read More
2016-09-26 19:32
The book cover for my new short story collection, Forty Wild Crushes, is among the many, many candidates for the Rainbow Awards annual competition. Please vote for mine, which features an or… Read More
2016-08-30 21:56
While many readers of my last two novels have asked for a third companion piece about the later lives of Reid Conniff and Everett Forrester, I have yet to write so much as a sentence of such… Read More
2016-08-13 18:41
With many expected controversies at the 2016 Rio Olympics, now underway, and nearly 50 competitors being openly gay, lesbian and transgender, I longed for the days when I penned my weekly Sp… Read More
2016-07-17 22:56
Enjoy stand-up comedy, and a comedic reading from yours truly, at the premiere of Marga Gomez' 'Comedy Salon,' at Sparks Arts in San Francisco's Castro district.Hop a bar or three before or… Read More
2016-07-03 21:25
Another reading, another bookstore! July 11, I will be part of a reading and panel discussion with two other authors at the new home for LGBT events with Books Inc, at Opera Plaza on 601 Van… Read More
2016-06-20 23:32
"If you can't wrap your head around a bar or club as a sanctuary, you've probably never been afraid to hold someone's hand in public," wrote Jeramey Kraatz in one of the more astute of socia… Read More
2016-06-14 02:38
Tom Schmidt discusses his photos.This week I attended and read at two of the last three events at Books Inc. in the Castro. The store has hosted hundreds of readings, many of which I attende… Read More
2016-06-02 20:26
Let me completely spoil the film and book Me Before You, because it represents the worst of ableist pop culture, and because anyone who is disabled knows it, and is saying so. The guy dies i… Read More
2016-05-19 18:30
Few works of pop culture hold a devoted fan base like The Rocky Horror Picture Show and its original stage version, The Rocky Horror Show. Months before its October airdate, the Fox TV adapt… Read More
2016-05-08 19:44
It's more PR time. Win a signed paperback copy of Forty Wild Crushes, my new short fiction collection. Link: http://amzn.to/1TwAew0 "Teenage lust in summer theatre, cheating boyfriend… Read More
2016-05-04 05:30
Forty Wild Crushes , my short fiction collection, is now available in paperback on Amazon.com. The Kindle edition comes out June 1, with pre-sale orders available now. Here's the descri… Read More
2016-04-07 11:34
Thomas Gorrebeeck (center) in Andrew Henderaker's Colossal at SF Playhouse. The intersection of sports, disability and gay love is not an easy balance in art. Few have tried. Having tak… Read More
2016-03-28 21:57
Who deserves to be visualized in media when discussing disability? It's well known that attractive people are treated better by others. And when you think of the term 'model,' you thin… Read More
2016-03-20 21:19
Spring into action for a free copy of my debut novel, PINS.Gay grapplers. Get a grip.I'm currently giving away a few free Kindle Editions of PINS, for who have yet to read it.Two more weeks… Read More
2016-03-09 20:40
So, do we write best with what we know, or what we discover while performing as if we know? Gay author Garth Greenwell discusses the roots behind his breakaway hit, What Belongs to You, in a… Read More
2016-02-23 18:44
"The muse; she speaks through me. I am but a humble servant."Inspiration can come from the most unusual places, even on episode 2 of Better Call Saul season 2, when actor Bob Odenkirk's char… Read More
2016-01-18 17:34
David Bowie fans around the world have shown their love for the multi-talented musician, actor, writer and producer since his death last week of cancer at age 69. While I regret having never… Read More
2016-01-04 01:32
Penn campus Ben Franklin statueIn setting a pair of novels from 1979 to 1983, I had the fortune of discovering historical events that matched the stories I wrote. But omitting several other… Read More
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