About the Book
"Lesbians Rock," collections address the stories of lesbians of all ages, in all walks of life, living somewhere in America. The stories tell of teenage girls and older women coming out to themselves and each other, and stories of women like her who followed the norm in society by marrying and having a family before acknowledging what they apparently knew all along, that their hearts were drawn romantically to women, never toward men. "What they didn't expect to ever have to worry about happened that night. **************** An airplane loaded with sixteen passengers was having engine trouble at three in the morning and the pilot was unable to maintain control of his aircraft. Suddenly it exploded with pieces falling on many homes, causing fires, injury and death. A piece of the airplane fell against Merle and Dolly's home, scraping and cutting a slice down one wall in exactly the place Dolly was sleeping. The noise overwhelmed Merle. When she saw the metal had struck Dolly, she lost her sense of place and was unable to move for several minutes. Suddenly, she realized the danger she was in and began to move. Somehow, as her habit had been, she grabbed her robe and put it on as she ran around the bed, picked up Dolly with the blanket around her and managed to get them both out through the deck door before fire engulfed the wall of the house. Holding Dolly in her arms, Merle sat on the ground against the backyard fence, starring while tears rolled down her face. It wasn't as though she was looking at anything; she was just starring. "They laughed and ran together like two little girls having a fun afternoon. That evening they sat on the beach together, leaning against a giant log to watch the sun set over the ocean horizon. Trudy reached to hold Nancy's hand. "My sweet love, you are all the world to me. I want to always watch sunsets with you wherever we make our home. Part of the time it may continue to be here in Florida; part of the time I know it will be Amsterdam; and regardless of where we go, I want to be with you, only you. I don't remember a day that I have been happier than these last hours." She looked into Nancy's eyes, smiled and pursed her lips to throw a kiss. "Tell me about your father. When did he die?" "Trudy continued to hold Nancy's chin. "I been wanting to do that for months, actually for years. Nancy, I love you in the way other girls want boys to love them." "Me you too, Trudy. I love you but I've been afraid to show it."They kissed again. As the kiss lingered, they lay together on the bed, wrapped their arms around each other and let their tongues touch, in what both of them had been told by older girls was "French kissing". While Trudy and Nancy were lost in their passion, the bedroom door opened. Trudy's mother walked in, carrying a box for Trudy. She yelled, "What in hell are you girls doing? Leave here right now, Nancy. Trudy, your father will deal with you. He just got home."Nancy jumped up, rushed past Trudy's mother and hurried down the stairs then drove to her home across town. During the next few days, Trudy's mother not only told her husband, but also telephoned Nancy's mother and told her what she had seen the girls doing on the bed. Trudy's mother had a heart attack two days later and died. Immediately, Trudy was shipped to Europe to live with her paternal grandmother with instructions that she was not to have any communication with any of her Florida friends. Her father was determined to prevent her from having a lesbian relationship. "Reba held Kandi close and whispered in her ear. "Perfect song. You're the one who loves me so I'm dancing with the somebody I love." Kandi looked into Reba's blue eyes and smiled. "Me you too." During the next two hours, Kandi and Reba danced and enjoyed conversation at their table. Then they went to the beach where they held hands and walked quite a distance south of the Inn where the only light came from the
About the Author: Ann Gross Patterson, now living in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. with her partner/wife of fourteen years awaits the day when her state will join sixteen other states to allow gay marriage. They own their home and have pets including two small dogs, one adopted cat, a cottontail rabbit, four laying hens and a pet turkey named T-Bird. Ann, a teenager in the 1950's, knew her romantic heart was different than her sister's who was 'boy crazy' and had a boyfriend from her early teens. Ann knew she had a 'girl crush' on various girls, then women; even so, she married a man who pursued her throughout her college years because the pressure from parents, church and society. She divorced after sixteen years and three wonderful children, when her husband became abusive. After raising her children as a single mother and her first grandson his final teen years, she followed her heart and came out publicly as a lesbian. From that day forward, she has remained proud and happy as the lesbian she had always known she was. Her children accepted her decision and continued to love and accept her as they always had. Ann began writing at the age of sixty-nine and found her primary genre to be lesbian romance. Her stories tell about ordinary women, lesbians whose hearts are naturally attracted to women, not men. The characters in her stories live real lives in ordinary homes, facing real and ordinary problems while sharing the same romantic love known by heterosexual/straight couples. Together they purchase homes, enjoy pets of all kinds, go to church when accepted at the church of their choice, take vacations, grill steaks on the patio, face their problems and contribute to their communities while also enjoying the company of gay friends and straight friends and neighbors. Her stories are written not only for lesbians and their friends but also for Questioning youth, Just Out women and for family members of gays and lesbians who desire to understand the ordinary lives of gay couples. Ann graduated from Modesto High School and Fresno State University, both in California, and taught "Creative Writing" to eighth grade students starting in 1960. From that day she intended to write a book but put it off for fifty years. Today, she encourages anyone who has ever said, "Someday I'm going to write a book" to do it now instead of waiting for the years to pass. She served in official capacity as management for numerous nonprofit organizations in Idaho before moving to Oregon.