Since being a writer is mostly a very solitary job, winning a Goldie was a wonderful recognition of a job well done. Knowing judges and readers alike enjoy my work keeps me trying harder to write the best books I possibly can.

At a time when our culture is growing increasingly hostile to queer lives and queer stories, I think it’s vital to have organizations like the GCLS that not only promote queer women’s writing, but celebrate its excellence.

I'm proud, grateful and deeply honored to have been recognized with several Goldie Awards over my career. I treasure them all because I treasure the amazing GCLS community that inspired my stories and nurtured me as I wrote.

When I got my Goldie I was a newly published author who struggled for years to find a publisher without success. A Goldie meant acceptance by my peers. It was a high only a Nobel prize winner can describe. Even the glow in my photograph could light up a city.