Volume 7 includes the novella, "Life on Her Own Terms", the story of Phyllis, a professionally successful woman who eventually understands her romantic heart and decides to participate in the community of gays and lesbians in the earlier days of gays seeking rights in San Francisco. She faces the emptiness of her heart until the day her eyes meet Jeanne's and love fills their hearts for each other. Phyllis deals with her family seeking acceptance, deals with depression and grief, enjoys friends and is troubled by sad women who know but won't come out as lesbian because of fear. "Phyllis was almost speechless as Jeanne's eyes pierced hers and the radiant smile sent sunshine and shockwaves through her heart. Jeanne's low raspy voice was like a whisper gently brushing her ears. She shook her head momentarily to clear the cobwebs interfering with her ability to speak. "Jeanne, what a sweet voice you have. So distinct and beautiful." She giggled. "I'm sorry; my mind's not working right now. I must sound foolish." Other stories in Volume 7, like in Lesbians Rock Volumes 1 - 6, are about women of all ages, in all walks of life finding the courage to speak their truth about their lesbian heart, meet other gay people, love and are love, and sometimes find themselves in unhappy or abusive relationships, finding the perfect woman who loves them, dealing with family and the ordinary concerns of life of women everywhere as they live their lives to be happy. "For their anniversary celebration, Donna and Stacy invited friends to join them for a Hawaiian luau with barbecued pork, plenty of fruit and Hawaiian punch, along with appropriate music and decorations on the patio. Most of the friends who joined them were lesbian and gay men as couples. The Chief Executive Officer and his wife attended. Having enjoyed every aspect of the Hawaiian evening, their friends left after midnight and the two wives celebrated the remainder of the evening with a final drink before going to bed. Stacy was making hot, spiced tea when Donna walked up behind her, put both arms around her then kissed her neck, just below her ear. "I love you so much, Sweetheart. You were captivating in your grass skirt. You danced the hula better tonight than you did in Hawaii; and that was marvelous." She laughed. Stacy giggled, turned in Donna's arms, and they shared a long, slow kiss. "You're just too much in love to have noticed the errors I made. I guess your eyes weren't on my hands." "You're right. I loved the way your lovely hips swayed Hawaiian style." Donna laughed, took her cup of tea and sat down to enjoy it. During the night, Stacy was awakened by sirens. When she sat up in bed, she smelled smoke. "Donna! Donna! Wake up. I smell smoke. The house is on fire!" Donna jumped to the floor, grabbed her robe and hurried to the door. "The doorknobs hot! I dare not open it." She ran to the window, opened it wider and knocked out the screen. "Climb out first, Honey. Fast." "She grinned then touched Beth's nose. "You've got something black on your nose. It looks funny." "And, you've got flour on yours; so we both look funny," Beth said before she pulled Janice's lips to her own for a kiss. Two months later, the house was finished. Beth and Janice invited friends for a house-warming at their new home before they moved in. Friends joined them for a barbecue dinner to celebrate Beth's accomplishment and helped them move into the 'house that Beth built'. Everything changed the day before Christmas. Beth awoke, unable to turn over and look into her lover's eyes as she had done every day since they had lived as a 'married couple'. She couldn't make her body move; she tried to call out to Janice, but only garbled words escaped her lips. Janice heard the grunting, opened her eyes and realized Beth was having a stroke. "Oh, Honey, I love you. Please don't die. I know it's a stroke. I'll call 911 for help."
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 and Oregon.