Brandon Shire

Author of Contemporary Gay Romance

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Interview with New LGBT Author Edward Jakab

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Edward Jakab
Welcome first time author, Edward Jakab to the blog. Since it is so close to Valentine’s Day I thought we would talk about young love, and Mr. Jakab’s first book, Fearless, is about just that.
B: Tell us about how you got started and where Fearless came from?

E: I first started writing screenplays; they were always about this guy named Jacob Moore who is based on me.  I wrote the book mainly because the story needed to be told. I just kept going back to those couple of moments in my life when everything was great with my first boyfriend, but then that took me to the time I told him about the other guy and how guilty I felt. But the other guy, he was the one. I know people say that all the time about everyone, but I truly feel he was the one, and he still is in some ways. [Read more…] about Interview with New LGBT Author Edward Jakab

The absence of hope – Homeless LGBT Youth

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As many of you know I help raise awareness and funds for two LGBT charities. 10% of the proceeds from the sales of my books go to them.  Lost n Found, one of the charities, posted a video about what they find during outreach to homeless LGBT Youth.

This is how 500,000 homeless gay kids live on the street every single day. You can help by donating to either of the groups below, or by finding a local lgbt charity in your area that does the same type of outreach.

 

lgbt youth nonprofit

Lost n Found

 

 

 

 

 

 

lgbt nonprofitGLBTAYS

Interview with Indie filmmakers Cati and Mike Gonzalez

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Filmmakers Cati and Mike GonzalezToday I’m talking with internationally known Indie filmmakers and photographers Cati and Mike Gonzalez, and you know me, if it’s raw and gritty any media can hook me pretty quick. This team of filmmakers had me hooked in about ten seconds. Not only are they well known in NYC and around the world, but it’s pretty rare that I come across someone that has a project that so closely matches my own concerns with LGBTQ youth.

Let me tell you about their film first. Prince & Ekaj hits on so many levels it’s not even funny. This is not some lame Glee view of what it means to be LGBTQ but a hardcore look at what it is to be growing up Latino, gay, and homeless in the hard city. (You can see the trailer below and a longer clip on their website.) [Read more…] about Interview with Indie filmmakers Cati and Mike Gonzalez

To Mom (A letter from a gay son)

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The following is from Gay Family Values. It was a letter attached to the video you will see below. It was so touching that I thought I would re-share it here with you, because sometimes we forget just how hard it is, even for today’s LGBTQ youth, to come out to their parents. 

To Mom,
Mom I have been trying to talk to you for a while now but I just can’t bring the words to say it. So, I am writing you this letter instead. I just want you to know that it isn’t because I don’t feel like I can’t talk to you it’s just that I can’t bring myself to say the words.

So for a while now I have been struggling with myself internally. I have hated myself for a really long time and as scary as it sounds I thought of suicide as the only escape. I then thought of you, my family, my friends, and all of the other things that I would miss out on. What you have to understand is that this was and still is really hard for me. I’ve tried for the longest time to change but I just can’t . I would give anything to be different but this just is not going to change about me. By this point you can probably tell that what I am going to tell you is that I am gay. And I am sure you always knew. [Read more…] about To Mom (A letter from a gay son)

Here’s Your Wake Up Call about LGBT Youth Programs

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Here is a reprint of the email one of the organizations I work with just received. Sometimes I really wonder if my reader’s understand what we’re actually battling against in LGBT Youth organizations. Sometimes I wonder if they really believe that the atrocities in my books are just a warped imagination and not a reflection of the devastation still being wrought on our community. And many times I wonder if we will ever wake up, put down our latte’s and actually do something beside give lip service to these tragedies. [Read more…] about Here’s Your Wake Up Call about LGBT Youth Programs

Facebook a danger to LGBT Youth?

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lgbt flagBack in September when Facebook started announcing and putting all their new changes into place, specifically the timeline, I had a talk with my online advisor. At that time we were discussing the fact that most LGBT Youth organizations do NOT communicate with teens through the medium they use most: their cell phone. In fact, most LGBT Youth organizations’ online info isn’t even accessible to at-risk teens if they aren’t sitting at a PC. Simply, website and contact info is nearly invisible if the organization’s website is not mobile friendly. (Or if they don’t have a mobile app.)

This came to light (to me) when I was trying to send some emergency contact info to an LGBT kid that needed immediate resources and help. I sent several of the most prominent national LGBT youth website URLs (and multiple local ones)  only to have him tell me that he couldn’t read or access any of it on his cell phone. (The only thing available to him.) That’s a pretty big fail for LGBT Youth organizations, especially those trying to help homeless youth.  If we can’t connect with the kids, how are we going to help? [Read more…] about Facebook a danger to LGBT Youth?