Showing results by narrator "Curtis Holland" in All Categories

Dispatches from the AIDS Pandemic is a unique firsthand account from three public health leaders of CDC's early response to AIDS. Drawing in part on interviews from the CDC's AIDS oral history project, the authors trace the evolution of AIDS from newly recognized disease to pandemic.

American Indians remain familiar as icons, yet poorly understood as historical agents. In this ambitious book that ranges across Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, and eastern California (a region known as the Great Basin), Ned Blackhawk places Native peoples squarely at the center of a dynamic and complex story as he chronicles two centuries of Indian and imperial history that profoundly shaped the American West.

Zookeeper Fred loves snakes, but his favorite is a tiny green snake named Vern. Vern is sneaky and constantly tries to hide in Fred’s lunch. When Vern gets loose in the zoo and lands atop a boy’s head, it’s trouble! A few citizens demand that all the snakes must go, and the Mayor closes the zoo until City Council decides what to do. Is Vern a menace? Are the snakes a danger to society, or are they a valuable resource for everyone? And who gets to decide? The Questioneers need all their talents to help Zookeeper Fred, but in the end, it’s Aaron’s art that leads the way.

Summer, 1989. It is a time for splashing in the lake and exploring the wilderness, for nine teenagers to bond together and create friendships that could last the rest of their lives. But among this group there is a young man with a secret—a secret that, in this time and place, is unthinkable to his peers. When the others discover the truth, it will change each of them forever. They will all have blood on their hands. Odd Man Out is a heart-wrenching tale of bullies and bigotry, a story that explores what happens when good people don't stand up for what's right.

Joey Crow and Caleb Hollings first see each other across the rural Oregon country road that separates the farms they live on. Joey, an orphaned Native American boy, has come to live with his grandparents on their farm after the mysterious disappearance of his parents from the local reservation. Caleb is the only son of devoutly Christian parents. The Crow Flies Free follows the two young men in the summer of their 18th birthdays as they begin to recognize their loving friendship has grown into a deeper kind of love.

Intersexion is a life-giving true story about choosing between social acceptance or health, fear or authenticity. Cynthia, an adjunct professor with a trunk full of ungraded papers and snack wrappers, has been an LGBTQIA+ ally for years—in convenient ways. She enjoys the company of her queer friends—but her support isn’t risky; it hasn’t cost her anything. Until she meets Danny.

Grace Cromwell lives behind a cool, regal façade to mask the intense pain suffered in her past. Armed with an inner strength that others underestimate, she’s ready to restore peace to the world. Notions of her own happy ever after vanished years ago, even if her heart reserves a small space for the man who claimed it before the world was destroyed. Tristan Holder has one mission: to vanquish the evil dictator Luthor Cromwell from their ravaged dystopian world. Blinded by his need for revenge, he almost overlooks the woman Grace has become.

Gay bars have been closing by the hundreds. The story goes that increasing mainstream acceptance of LGBTQ+ people, plus dating apps, have rendered these spaces obsolete. Beyond that, rampant gentrification in big cities has pushed gay bars out of the neighborhoods they helped make hip. Who Needs Gay Bars? considers these narratives, accepting that the answer for some might be: maybe nobody. Greggor Mattson embarks on a journey across the country to paint a much more complex picture of the cultural significance of these spaces, inside "big four" gay cities, but also beyond them.

Arianna Lawson has one goal: help her sister defeat the Sendaxa regime and live a solemn existence free from the chaos of their dystopian world. Life has taught her hard lessons about pain and loss, and she has no desire to open herself to love—even for the strong, stoic man who consumes her every thought.

When life has taught you to hide, can you ever spread your wings in the light? Writing songs has always been the way that Beatrice Cipriani processes the world around her, but as a painful introvert, none of those songs are ever performed. She excels at being invisible—she’s the best server in a fancy restaurant. Sometimes, though, it feels like she’s dying a little more with every passing day. Easton Moorland has finally made it big, but with a public company comes a board that has demands. As the chairman of a luxury brand, all eyes are on him, and they want him to look the part.

Ben is looking for an adventure when he accepts a temporary assignment in Hong Kong, but he never anticipates how his life might change when he meets a sophisticated, intriguing man named Sai. Their initial attraction is sizzling and soon grows into more as Sai takes Ben on a tour of the city’s famous landmarks and introduces him to the local cuisine. Sai stimulates Ben’s intellect and curiosity, and for jaded corporate lawyer Sai, Ben’s innocent eagerness is a breath of fresh air. It would be so easy to fall in love…. But nothing is that simple.

Clubbed Two is historical fiction, set in Philadelphia from 1982 to 1992. Club Sanctuary can be seen as a metaphor for the greater LGBTQ community, but it is written as a real place, with characters who are fabulous, funny, and flawed. The author combines historical characters and events with fictional ones, creating a story that's entertaining, informative, and emotional. The love story between the two main characters, Joey and Henry, serves as a vehicle for connecting the stories of diverse Queer characters.

Rio and Caden met under harsh circumstances when they were both teenagers trying to survive on their own. Together, they’ve made a family for themselves, and now they have a chance to add one more—a child of their own. When Caden’s sister offers to be their surrogate, they’re overjoyed. Now, if they can navigate nine months of pregnancy hormones, morning sickness, and mood swings, everything will be easy—until one little newborn arrives and keeps them busier than they ever imagined possible. Nine months seemed tough, but the first 12 will be even more challenging.

Jacob Crestmore has given up on the idea of a brighter future, but when a mysterious woman reveals the wrongs of his past, he sets out on a journey to recover an artefact that can unlock a power he never knew existed. With an evil empire trying to stop him, and the threat of war looming, will he find the artefact in time?

Sex. Drugs. Lust. Courage. Loyalty. Betrayal. Drag divas. Hustlers. Porn. Gogo boys. Anything is possible at the gay club scene. Even love. Joey, fresh from the suburbs, gets involved in the gay club scene in Philadelphia during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He shares the stories of a diverse cast of characters, including his own special love story. Everyone at the club has a story, and every story deserves to be told.

Josh Moore lives with his family on the "wrong side" of Hamilton, a gritty industrial city in Southwestern Ontario. As a young boy, Josh plots an escape for a better life far from the steel mills that lined the bay. But fate has other plans and Josh discovers his adult life in Toronto is just as fraught with as many insecurities and missteps as his youth, and he soon learns that no matter how far away he might run, he will never be able to leave his hometown behind.

Magus is dying from the inside out, and only the destruction of the barrier can save it. Even color magic can't defend against earthquakes, strange weather patterns, and erratic wildlife behavior. After discovering hundreds of captive Yellow magic-users, Ava and Elm fight to set them free. However, new dangers and unexpected enemies await at every turn, forcing them to face their greatest challenges yet.

A book that briefly discusses resiliency and self-reliance for young Black males.

After nightmares begin in the small town of Custer Falls, Montana, in 1992, it’ll be thirty years before they end. Just outside of Custer Falls, something is sleeping. Life in the small town was never ideal, but it was safe, quiet, and predictable. After Wes Henson and his friends’ field trip to Bloodtooth Caverns, all of that changes. All they did was stray off the path.

As a sergeant for the Apache Tribal police, Al Victor considers it his responsibility to protect traditional Apache culture while enforcing the law. But now those two duties are coming into direct conflict as he tracks a vagrant medicine man onto sacred ground.