For centuries we have relied on historians to tell us what the world was like before our time. Lately, however, we have found sometimes historians lied to us, told us what they wanted us to believe according to their agenda. I believe that to be so about the lives of gay people, that we have been present and even flourished in all eras of history, no matter the prevailing attitudes. These are the stories that I choose to tell, that we could live, love, and be happy in spite of a hostile world.
For centuries, we have relied on historians to tell us what the world was like before our time. Yet, historians are often known to lie, to tell us what they want us to believe according to their agenda. Thus, for centuries, gay people have been missing from history. It is only recently that their stories are coming to light. These are the themes of my books. That gay prople have been present, have flourished and contributed meaningfully in all eras of history, no matter the prevailing attitudes. That we could live, love, and be happy in spite of a sometimes hostile world.
books
A Savor of Clove
A tale of lost love, betrayal...and murder
At the dawn of the twelfth century, a lad on the verge of manhood fell in love for the first time and it nearly got him killed. Thirty years later, can he find the courage to risk love a second time—with the same man?
Left for dead by a stream and found by a kindly monk, Rhonwellt ap Mwrheth spent the intervening years as a brother at a small Benedictine Priory in southern Wales. His days are simple and predictable, ora et labora, prayer and work. His life takes a turn when Sir Tristan Cuniff, an embittered, war-weary knight rides back into his life. For the last thirty years, each thought the other dead, with only fading memories of the forbidden love they once shared and its tragic consequences. Reunited and faced with possibilities neither could have imagined, they must decide where to go from here.
This has been without doubt the best read I've had for the past few months. A mystery/whodunnit set in the Crusade times (12th century), I was swiftly drawn into the world setting by fantastic scene setting, fast paced action/drama, great characters and brilliant dialogue. GoodReads Reviewer
What a wonderful surprise!
A Savor of Clove is an excellent and well-researched gay historical murder-mystery enriched by vivid depictions of medieval life. Right from the start the reader gets a strong sense of time and place... Amazon Reviewer
An Unholy Fellowship
Can secrets from the past govern the future
1135 AD--Christmas and Epiphany are past, and the dark days of mid-winter have settled over Ryd Lliw, a small manor estate in the wilds of southern Wales.
Away from the priory, the place he had lived since his youth, Brother Rhonwellt adapts to his new life as priest at Saint Tysilio’s, aided by Brother Ciaran. The challenge is living this close to Sir Tristan, the knight he first loved as a lad—the man he loves still. Reunited after thirty years apart and no longer able to deny his feelings, Rhonwellt struggles to reconcile his devotion to God and the forbidden love he has for his moody knight.
Strangers arrive, bringing death and reminders of events from long ago. Who is the child that appears at the gate of the churchyard next to the dead body of an old crone? Who is the mysterious young woman Tristan rescued from bandits and carrying secrets about his past? Will these things change their lives and could Rhonwellt possibly lose Tristan a second time?
This is our second book in the Sanctuary Series. It does not disappoint. It reveals what it must have been like to live in the Twelfth Century, and how it was to be considered "other." Amazon Reviewer
Dance With The Devil
Everyone has demons
Addicted to opium and thinking he is possessed, Brother Cledwyn flees Twycross Abbey, leaving his beloved Brother Dwennon and the only home his memory knows behind. His plan is to become a hermit to reclaim his soul.
Meanwhile, Boswell Archer, dissolute bowman, is running from demons of his own. Still haunted after witnessing the death of his younger brother, Godwyn, ten summers ago, he has taken to a life of heavy drinking, gambling, and roaming from bed to bed. Lad or lass, it matters not. One risky assignation got him transported to the far side of Wales, and he is making his way back to his life and the seedy streets of London.
At the small village of Saint Ysfael, Boswell is conscripted by its citizens to help save their hermit from drowning in the surf, then coerced into staying with him in his cave until he is free of the influences of the poppy juice. It does not help that this young hermit bears an uncanny resemblance to the man Godwyn might have become. Troubling seeds of attraction are planted. Can each of them find the warrior within himself to vanquish his demons and find happiness in the other as they head for an unknown fate?
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Tom R McConnell tells stories of gay historical romance.
For centuries, we relied on the work of historians to learn what the world was like before our time. Now, we have found those historians often lied to us, that histroy was only their version of events, what they wanted us to believe according to their agenda. So history tells us the lives of gay people were always sad and unsuccessful and almost always ended tragically. The troublesome and radical truth is, we have been present and even flourished in all eras of history, no matter the prevailing attitudes. Those are the stories that need telling, that gay people lived successful, productive lives, full of profound love and joy, despite a hostile world.
But, as they say, the struggle is real. Tom R McConnell had been running scared from a beast called writer for more years than he cared to admit. Then, one day, the beast caught him by the throat and refused to let go until it had squeezed a book out of him. He is recuperating slowly.
A bit OCD about mistakes on the page and an aversion to strike-outs, he found himself a spectacular failure at keeping a journal or writing of any kind. It wasn't until the advent of word processors and finally computers that perfect pages were possible with little effort. OCD problem solved, and by some strange miracle, a writer was created from bits of bone, hair and a few orphaned fonts.
Tom is a Member of the Northwest Independent Writers Association and Willamette Writers
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