Product Description

A collection of 25 love stories from your favorite lesbian authors benefiting breast cancer research. The proceeds from Romance for LIFE will be donated, in the authors collective names, to The National Breast Cancer Foundation and to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Contributing Authors: Robin Alexander, Lynn Ames, Bridget Bufford, Carrie Carr, Caro Clarke, Stella Duffy, Nann Dunne, Jane Fletcher, Vada Foster, Verda Foster, Jennifer Fulton, Gabrielle Goldsby, Melissa Good, Lois C. Hart, Ellen Hawley, Karin Kallmaker, Lori L. Lake, Lee Lynch, Marianne K. Martin, Val McDermid, Radclyffe, Elizabeth Sims, Jean Stewart, Ida Swearingen, and Jane Vollbrecht, with Foreword by Kathy L. Smith.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #802062 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Customer Reviews

Collaboration at its Best!
Twenty-five authors, all talented writers, come together for one of the most worthy of causes...the fight against breast cancer. Valentine's Day was the perfect date for the release of such a dynamic book offering works by Robin Alexander, Radclyffe, Bridget Bufford, Lynn Ames, Karin Kallmaker, Carrie Carr, Elizabeth Sims, Ida Swearingen, Nann Dunne, Caro Clark, Jane Vollbrecht, Stella Duffy, Jane Fletcher, Jennifer Fulton, Vada Foster, Gabrielle Goldsby, Lori L. Lake (who provided editing along with Tara Young), Lee Lynch, Verda Foster, Melissa Good, Jean Stewart, Marianne K. Martin, Val McDermid, Ellen Hawley and Lois Cloarec Hart.

Ranging from heartfelt to dramatic and from heartbreaking to life affirming each offering tells truly well-written stories of life, of loss and of love. All of the stories will touch your heart in a way you won't realize until it happens. Whether it's Robin Alexander's tale, Crossing the Line, which tells of one woman's heartrending decision; Radclyffe's The Queen of Hearts invoking readers to cheer for the woman hoping for the date of her life or Gabrielle Goldsby's Best of My Life telling the story of one woman who writes a letter to her lover while waiting for her in the doctor's office - to name but a few - you will be entertained and amazed. Whether you've been affected personally or know someone who has either won or lost one of the most significant of battles for her life each story will most definitely touch you.

Not withstanding the reason behind its publication, Romance for Life is a wonderfully, definitive collection of stories any reader would be proud to own.

Tremendous Anthology
Just look at the list of authors in the book description up top and you know the writing will be superior in every way. I recommend reading one story a day so that you can savour them.

Favorites are -

Seasons by Jean Stewart
The Queen of Hearts by Radcyffe
Fences by Lois Hart
Crossing the Line by Robin Alexander
Homecoming by Val McDermid
Tattered Pages by Marianne Martin
Absinthe by Jenifer Fulton
Boxes & Dreams by Carrie Carr
Ten Times Proud by Stella Duffy

Hands down favorite is 'Best of My Life' by Gabrielle Goldsby

This collection is a keeper and makes for a wonderful gift.

A Little Something for Everyone
The best reason to read Romance for Life, an anthology of lesbian love stories, is that 100% of the profits are being donated to breast cancer charities. The second best reason is that this compilation of 25 short stories by best selling lesbian fiction authors has a little something for everyone.

The stories run the gamut from tender and romantic to socially relevant. They include tales about young love, a lifetime of love, and loss. While the focus is not on erotica, there are some steamy scenes within more than a few stories.

Among the 25, I found several stand-outs. Jennifer Fulton's Absinthe touched me deeply. Her piece, about love and survival during World War II, spoke of finding and holding onto love within the greater setting of a horrific war. Keeping with the times, she includes an erotic scene when the two lovers first meet on a train that sizzles despite the absence of graphic detail.

Karin Kallmaker's Pas de Trois is funny, sexy and heartwarming. This tale of love lost and love found makes you cry and laugh at the same time. Radclyffe's Queen of Hearts has beautiful, heart-stopping prose about young love, first love. Jean Stewart's Seasons deals with compromise, changing and growing old together and gives one pause about how much we take for granted.

Of all the amazing tales, the one that sums up this collection the best is Gabrielle Goldsby's Best of My Life. It is a letter from a woman to her partner who has breast cancer. It is moving and life-affirming, and only the hard-hearted will not shed a tear after reading it. In the shortest piece in this anthology, Goldsby has accurately captured the essence of Romance for Life.