Punishment with Kisses

Imagine if, after fifteen years as a lesbian couple, your partner turned to you and said, "I think I'm really a man." What would you do? How would you respond? For Diane and Jacob (née Suzy) Anderson-Minshall this isn't a hypothetical question. It's what really happened. Eight years later, the couple not only remains together, they still identify as queer, still work in LGBT media, and remain part of the LGBT community. How did their relationship survive a gender transition? The authors explore this question and delve into their relationship to reveal the trials and tribulations they have faced along the way. In doing so, they paint a portrait of love, not only to each other, but to the San Francisco Bay Area, LGBT publishing, and the queer community. Queerly Beloved is a love story that flies in the face of expectations and raises questions about the true nature of identity, sexuality, and love.

In the detective business, the ordinary can quickly become deadly.

When private investigator Yoshi Yakamota and the Blind Eye Detective Agency are hired to find a woman's missing sister, the assignment seems fairly mundane. Then two teens fall to their death from a rocky oceanside cliff in what appears to be a tragic accident. Although the events seem unrelated, they have one thing in common: the controversial Pioneer Institute, a residential ex-gay youth program. Will sending a Blind Eye team member undercover reveal what's behind the school's terrible safety record, or will it just put the spy in harm's way?

The camera doesn't lie, but sometimes it captures a story worth killing for.

When Jeff Conant, the new executive director of San Francisco's Frameline Film Festival, takes a header off the Golden Gate Bridge, he is considered just another statistic—one of the thousands who've leapt from the landmark to commit suicide. But Jeff was also a childhood friend of reporter Velvet Erickson, who refuses to accept the coroner's ruling. Although unconvinced, Yoshi Yakamota reluctantly agrees to investigate Jeff's death. Diving into the victim's life, the Blind Eye Detective Agency uncovers potential suspects, but no real indications of murder.

What did happen on the Golden Gate Bridge that night? Did an independent filmmaker inadvertently capture the event on camera? When a Blind Eye team member is attacked, it becomes painfully clear that someone has a secret worth killing for—and with Yoshi dangerously close to exposing it, they may strike again.

The murdered body of lesbian publisher Rosemary Finney is found on a remote hiking path south of San Francisco. Local police of the wealthy Woodside enclave quickly focus on a prime suspect: Investigative Reporter Velvet Erickson. Velvet appeals to her friend and former lover—private eye Yoshi Yakamota, whose detective skills more than make up for her failing eyesight—for help. Yoshi dedicates the resources of her firm, Blind Eye Detective Agency, to proving her friend's innocence. But every time the investigators rule out one suspect, another takes their place. What has Rosemary Finney done to make so many enemies? And which one did it?

The boy on the gurney is dying. Held at gunpoint by a subterranean terrorist, Dr. Rayne Garcia fights to save his life. One false move will put everyone in danger. She’s seriously regretting volunteering at the third-floor free clinic when she usually works in one of the Eastern Coastal City skyscrapers.

Kaelyn Dark doesn’t like the label terrorist when all she wanted was to protect her people against the military units sent by the corrupt Celestial authorities. Kaelyn has brought the child, critically injured during a Celestial raid, into an enemy clinic. Attempting to save his life is reckless and desperate, but she’s unable to foresee how intertwined her and Rayne’s fates will become.

Meeting Kaelyn fuels Rayne’s suspicions about the propaganda fed to her and other Celestials. Once she takes a stand for what is right, she can never return to her opulent way of life—but can she survive the harsh conditions? A daring plan to migrate the subterranean population to live above ground—in peace, is underway. Kaelyn’s fought her entire life for this, and she can’t allow herself to fall for Rayne. If she loses focus and something goes wrong, it could mean the end for all of them.

Sydney meets Reagan in an Italian café when Reagan helps her order. Instant best friends, they spend an idyllic fall sightseeing until Sydney’s semester abroad comes to an end and she returns to the States. Reagan’s a young Army second lieutenant living under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and must stay behind and complete her assignment. But their final night together—complete with a first kiss—lives on in Sydney’s mind.

Over the next fifteen years, Reagan and Sydney ricochet in and out of each other’s lives, with each parting leaving deeper longings and scars than the last. When DADT is repealed and they both end up in Washington, DC, it’s a chance for Reagan to finally win the heart of the woman she has always loved, if only the Army didn’t threaten to send them to opposite sides of the world once again.

An epic love story that traverses the complexities of duty, loyalty, and sacrifice across the decades, Sydney and Reagan know what their hearts want, but love keeps slipping through their fingers.