Celebrate with me!

My dear, wonderful community,

At long last, after quite a roller coaster ride, my debut teen novel will be published. This upcoming Tuesday, October 2, 2018, Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill heads out into the world, and into the hands, and minds, and hearts of readers.

I’ll be having two days of parties to celebrate (Oct 2, 2018 online, and Oct 13, 2018 all over Los Angeles), and I’m hoping you can join me for some or all of the fun ahead!

A virtual Facebook Live party on Tuesday October 2, 2018
This is actually in two parts:
From 9am-10am Pacific
And then
From Noon-1pm Pacific

In those two hours, with an eBook price drop (from $6.99 down to $2.99) and a super-special offer to get a FREE AUDIOBOOK of the novel, we’ll see if we can get Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill to hit the Amazon eBook bestseller list!

I’ll answer questions, and share some cool things that have been happening with the book (including the in-production audiobook), and we’ll all cheer as we join together to empower LGBTQ and Allied Teens!

If we’re not already connected on Facebook, I’m
leewind
over there. If you’re on Facebook, ping me, and I’ll bounce you back the invite to make it easy.

Details here:
https://www.leewind.org/2018/09/a-livestream-book-launch-party-on.html

and

Parties all over Los Angeles on Saturday, October 13, 2018

10:30am - 11:30am
West Hollywood Library Teen Read Week Event: "Meet Lee Wind, Author of Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill" West Hollywood Room. West Hollywood Public Library, West Hollywood, California.
Details: https://www.leewind.org/2018/09/west-hollywood-public-library-my-teen.html

1:00pm - 2:00pm
San Gabriel Valley Pride: Authors Tent.
Pasadena's Central Park. Pasadena, California.
Details: https://www.sgvpride.org/

7:00pm - 10:00pm
Launch Party at Highways. Santa Monica, California
Details: https://highwaysperformance.org/event/lee-wind-queer-as-a-five-dollar-bill-book-launch-party/

Whether you can join for none, some, or all, please know how grateful I am for your support as I travel a brand new road: that of a published author!

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee


P.S.: There will be more Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill book events in the future, including Palm Springs and Philadelphia in November 2018 and #KidLitCon19 and the Bay Area Book Festival in Oakland, California in 2019. You can see a partial listing of upcoming events here: https://www.leewind.org/2018/09/lees-queer-as-five-dollar-bill-book.html

It's Banned Books Week - Read With PRIDE (even in Maine's Rumford Public Library)

This time, religious folks were protesting the inclusion of LGBTQ books in a display of books that had been banned!

Happily, there was a librarian from the LGBTQ community who stood up and spoke out, people who supported that librarian, and ultimately a unanimous vote by the library's trustees to leave the current display intact.

Read the full article by Nick Duffy at Pink News here.

Tune Into Dr. Marissa's Talk Show Today (Tuesday Sept 25, 2018) To Hear Me On The Air!

Here's how Dr. Marissa (a.k.a. "The Asian Oprah") put it on instagram:

So how would we see sexual orientation if one of the presidents was gay? THIS WEEK it’s the last week of the month so time for my Sexual Healing series...where I am determined to make Pleasure a G-Rated Topic!! My special guest is @iamleewind author of a new YA book “Queer as a Five Dollar Bill” on my positive award-winning talk radio show “Take my advice I'm not using it: Get Balanced with #Drmarissa", the new Asian Dr. Ruth”

Broadcasting Live out of the Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood California with @ubnradiotv www.UBNRadio.com/Channel-1 at 'Naturally High Noon' 12pm PST Tuesday and then Saturday at 2 pm on my syndicated @cnbc and @NBC News Radio channel @kcaaradio AM 1050 FM 102.3 and 106.5 livestream www.KCAARadio.com and everywhere on @iheartradio !!

I hope you'll tune in!

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

I'm an "Indie Success Story" in Publishers Weekly!

WOW!

This feature in Publishers Weekly, "Bringing History into the Light: An Indie Success Story" by Matia Burnett is wonderful!

I'm so grateful that more people will find out about both the real historical secret (that there are primary source letters from Abraham Lincoln to Joshua Fry Speed that may reveal their having been in love—romantic love) and my novel, Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill that explores what would happen if a closeted gay teen today tried to tell the world about Lincoln's being in love with another guy.

Go read the article, and spread the word!

As my book's tagline says, "What if you knew a secret from history that could change the world?"

And now more people do...

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

A Livestream Book Launch Party on October 2, 2018

You're invited!

Please join me on Tuesday October 2, 2018 over at facebook live - I'm LeeWind on Facebook - during a time you can hopefully make work:

9am - 10am Pacific / Noon-1pm Eastern
and
Noon-1pm Pacific / 3pm-4pm Eastern

I'll explain all about how the community can come together with the goal of getting "Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill" to hit the Amazon Kindle bestseller list. (It's a big goal, but let's go for it!)

There will also be a special announcement about the audiobook of "Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill"!

Stay tuned, and thanks for your support.

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

Beulah Land - a Teen in the Missouri Ozarks struggles with just being herself: a girl who likes other girls.

Beulah Land by Nancy Stewart

Seventeen-year-old Vi Sinclair’s roots run deep in the Missouri Ozarks, where, in some areas, it can still be plenty dangerous to be a girl who likes girls. Her greatest wish is to become a veterinarian like her boss, Claire Campbell. Fitting in at school wouldn’t be so bad, either. Only one obstacle stands in the way: She may not live long enough to see her wishes fulfilled.

With help from her only friend, Junior, Vi unravels a mystery that puts her in conflict with a vicious tormentor, a dog fight syndicate, and her own mother. Vi’s experience galvanizes her strength and veracity as she overcomes the paradox of mountain life, in which, even today, customs and mores seem timeless, and where a person can wake up dead simply because of being who she is.

This book was a Foreword Indies Award Finalist. Add your review of "Beulah Land" in comments!

Snow Sisters - Two very different girls meet at a week-long writing conference, and find the same thing... Love.

Snow Sisters by Tom Wilinsky and Jen Sternick

High school students—Soph, who attends private school in Manhattan, and Tess, a public school student who lives on a dairy farm in New Hampshire—are thrown together as roommates at a week-long writing conference. As they get to know each other and the other young women, both Soph and Tess discover unexpected truths about friendship, their craft, and how to hold fast to their convictions while opening their hearts to love.

Add your review of "Snow Sisters" in comments!

Lee's "Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill" Book Tour: September and October 2018 events!

Hello, community!

We're 22 days from the official launch of "Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill," and there's lots shaping up...

Here's a current view of some of the events ahead!

September 2018

25th - "Get Balanced with Dr. Marissa Pei" Talk Radio show - Lee booked as featured guest.

October 2018

Oct 1st - Lambda LitFest Los Angeles "Crowdfunding Queer Lit" panel and reading - online. Register here.

Oct 2nd - Publish Day!

Oct 3rd - Star Style Radio Show with Cynthia Brian - Lee booked as featured guest. Listen here.

Oct 6th - InD'Scribe Con and Book Festival - Meet and Greet with the author! Lee will be signing copies of "Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill" from 1:30pm-4:30pm at this Indie Author and Readers event at the Burbank Marriott Convention Center, Burbank, California.


Oct 12th -

Pasadena Fall Art Night - YA Gets Queer Panel and Reading
7-8:30pm
Join authors Brandy Colbert (Stonewall Award Winner for Little and Lion, C.B. Lee (Sidekick Squad series), and Lee Wind (Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill) for a discussion about intersectionality, the lines between reality/fiction/fantasy, ally-ship, and much more. Following the panel and audience Q&A, Brandy, C.B., and Lee will read selections from their books and then be available for signing and a meet-and-greet with readers. Pasadena Public Library, Pasadena, California.

Queer Kid Lit Hangout
8:30-10pm
Do you write and/or illustrate LGBTQ characters, content, or themes for kids, tweens, or teens? Join us for an evening of great conversation with your creative community! Pasadena Public Library, Pasadena, California.

Oct 13th -
10:30am - 11:30am
West Hollywood Library Teen Read Week Event: "Meet Lee Wind, Author of Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill" West Hollywood Room. West Hollywood Public Library, West Hollywood, California.

1:00pm - 2:00pm
San Gabriel Valley Pride: Authors Tent. 
Pasadena's Central Park. Pasadena, California.

7:00pm - 10:00pm
Launch Party at Highways. Santa Monica, California

Oct 20th
Models of Pride.
Present "Discover our LGBTQ History" and give out 450 free copies of Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill from the Camp Brave Trails booth. Cal State LA, Los Angeles, California.

There's lots more in the works, and I hope you'll be able to join in the fun—either at one of the online or in-person events!

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

West Hollywood Public Library: My Teen Reads Week Event on October 13, 2018

My thanks to Adult and Teen Services Librarian Dione Surdez for enjoying "Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill" so much that she invited me to be the Teen Read Week finale event at the West Hollywood public library!

If you're in the West Hollywood area, I hope you can join in the fun!

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

Pasadena Fall Art Night 2018 - YA Gets Queer Panel and Reading and Queer Kit Lit Hangout

Friday October 12, 2018 is going to be awesome!

Join me at Pasadena Fall Art Night for two back-to-back events:

YA Gets Queer Panel and Reading

7:00pm-8:30pm

Join authors Brandy Colbert (Stonewall Award Winner for Little and Lion, C.B. Lee (Sidekick Squad series), and Lee Wind (Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill) for a discussion about intersectionality, the lines between reality/fiction/fantasy, ally-ship, and much more. Following the panel and audience Q&A, Brandy, C.B., and Lee will read selections from their books and then be available for signing and a meet-and-greet with readers. Pasadena Public Library, Pasadena, California.

Brandy Colbert

Brandy's amazing book, "Little & Lion"

C.B. Lee

The first book in C.B. Lee's kick-ass Sidekick series

Me!

My debut novel, in amazing company!

Queer Kid Lit Hangout

8:30pm-10:00pm

Do you write and/or illustrate LGBTQ characters, content, or themes for kids, tweens, or teens? Join us for an evening of great conversation with your creative community! Pasadena Public Library, Pasadena, California.

If you're in the Pasadena area, or can make the drive, I hope you'll join us for the panel and the hangout afterwards!

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

My Lambda LitFest Los Angeles 2018 Panel: CROWDFUNDING QUEER LIT: A PANEL AND READING

I'm really excited about this community curated event that happens the night before "Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill" publishes! Crowdfunding Queer Lit: A Panel and Reading

On October 1, 2018 from 7:00PM - 8:30PM Pacific Time. Here's the panel description:

Curious about crowdfunding? From teen novels to graphic novellas to poetry, our diverse Queer stories are being published and promoted using crowdfunding. Learn how these authors and publishers harnessed the power of their communities, hear excerpts of their crowd-funded creations, and get inspired about crowdfunding your next project.

I'll be moderating, and also speaking about my experience crowdfunding "Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill." The other two panelists are:

Tobi Harper is Deputy Director of Red Hen Press, Founder and Editor of Quill (a queer publishing series), Publisher of The Los Angeles Review, and Instructor for the UCLA Extension Publishing and Editing program. Tobi is a Queer speaker, event curator, literary warrior, tech wiz, and headed a Kickstarter project to help fund the publication of HANGING ON OUR BONES and a reprint of LOVE BELONGS TO THOSE WHO DO THE FEELING by legendary Queer poet, Judy Grahn.

Tee Franklin is a Queer disabled Black woman who writes comics: The Outfit (Nailbiter #27), A Blazin’ (in the Ignatz award winning Elements Anthology), Tears (in the Eisner-winning and New York Times Best Selling Love is Love), and Inclusive Press’ Queer romance graphic novella, BINGO LOVE. Franklin won the 2017 Queer Press Grant for Bingo Love and raised almost $60k for this graphic novella via Kickstarter. She fights for inclusion in comics, no matter the risks, as she hopes that the next generation of marginalized comic creators won’t have to put up with what’s been happening for the past 75+ years.

This online event is FREE, hosted by the awesome nonprofit where I work, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA). You can register here.

I hope you'll help spread the word, and join us!

The Seafarer's Kiss - a Lesbian Merfolk/Human Love... and Adventure

The Seafarer's Kiss by Julia Ember

Having long wondered what lives beyond the ice shelf, nineteen-year-old mermaid Ersel learns of the life she wants when she rescues and befriends Ragna, a shield-maiden stranded on the merfolk's fortress. But when Ersel's childhood friend and suitor catches them together, he gives Ersel a choice: Say goodbye to Ragna or face justice at the hands of the glacier's brutal king.

Determined to forge a different fate, Ersel seeks help from the divine Loki. But such deals are never straightforward, and the outcome sees her exiled from the only home and protection she's known. To save herself from perishing in the barren, underwater wasteland and be reunited with the human she's come to love, Ersel must try to outsmart the God of Lies.

Add your review of "The Seafarer's Kiss" in comments!

GRRRLS On The Side - Tabitha Find Her People, and a Girl She Likes, in the 1990s Punk Rock Scene

GRRRLS On The Side By Carrie Pack

The year is 1994, and alternative is in. But not for alternative girl Tabitha Denton; she hates her life. She is uninterested in boys, lonely, and sidelined by former friends at her suburban high school. When she picks up a zine at a punk concert, she finds an escape--an advertisement for a Riot Grrrl meetup.

At the meeting, Tabitha finds girls who are more like her and a place to belong. But just as Tabitha is settling in with her new friends and beginning to think she understands herself, eighteen-year-old Jackie Hardwick walks into a meeting and changes her world forever. The out-and-proud Jackie is unlike anyone Tabitha has ever known. As her feelings for Jackie grow, Tabitha begins to learn more about herself and the racial injustices of the punk scene, but to be with Jackie, she must also come to grips with her own privilege and stand up for what's right.

"GRRRLS On The Side" was a 2017 Bronze Foreword Indies Award Winner for Young Adult Fiction. Add your review of the novel in comments!