Welcome to the Kickoff of the Readers and Dreamers Series with Patricia Nelson!

The time I spent interacting with readers during GRL was the most enjoyable and rewarding time of the entire event. As authors, we spend time interacting with our readers through brief comments on social media, but we rarely have a chance to hear full and complete thoughts, cares, and opinions. So, I opened my blog up to those who we cherish, but so rarely have a chance to hear from: non-authors.

Please join me in welcoming Patricia Nelson to my blog to kick off our Non-Author Series! Patricia has been a loyal friend, reader, and reviewer since I made my foray into the LGBT writing world, and I cherish her friendship beyond words. She is always one of the first one to step up and support authors, read books, and write reviews. She also has a wicked sense of humor that rivals the size of her big heart! She won't tell you this, but I had to beg, plead, and grovel to get her to be my first guest and...to my pleasant surprise, she agreed! I nearly fainted. A great big heartfelt thanks to you, Patricia, for being my first guest and for kicking off this series! Take it away!

Growing up, I heard the same homophobic hate crap that so many so-called "normal" people spout. I've always believed that everyone should be free to love whoever they want, but I never gave it much thought until about five years ago when I discovered and read my first MM book. 

This led me to the author's Facebook page, which started my journey into the world of LGBT. I discovered that I really liked reading MM books. So much so that I began doing book reviews for several different review blogs. My Facebook friends list grew like wildfire, and I felt like I had found my niche. On the dark side, I saw and heard so much hate masquerading as religion—as in "you're a sinner, an abomination, and you're going to burn in hell," etc., etc., and so on.

After all this time, I still I can't understand why just the thought of equal rights for anyone outside the "marriage is only for one man and one woman" makes so many people absolutely rabid!! I cheer when I hear about the advances made in the fight for equal rights, cry when I see the pain and agony so many suffer, and want to kick some major ass when the asshats and idiots spout their crap!! All this leads me to believe that the road ahead will have many bumps, obstacles, and detours, but I’m confident, through it all, we'll ultimately reach our goal in the end. Have hope, stay strong, and don’t let the haters get you down!

About Patricia Nelson:

Patricia hails from the state of Texas. She is a widow who lives a quiet life reading, and has ZERO tolerance for haters. Her FAVORITE thing to do is curl up with a good book surrounded by peace and quiet. You can find Patricia on Facebook or contact her directly at npat78@yahoo.com.

If you'd like to be featured on the Readers & Dreamers Series, simply sign up here!