Paranormal Fiction Leads to True Lesbian Love...

Normally, I'm not a major fan of audio books, or even digital books for that matter. But for once, I've actually been looking into listening to my first audio book... and it ended up being a very educational experience.

for years now, I've been a big fan of author Daniel Hecht. And had it not been for his email to me years ago when he was starting his Cree Black thriller series, I probably wouldn't have known his name. But they are wonderful reads, all about a female paranormal investigator with some psychic ability solving interesting mysteries with supernatural ties. His last book, Bones of the Barbary Coast, was excellent (and I still need to get the hardcover to add to my shelf) so I decided to look his books up in the audio listings. There it was... read by one Anna Fields. It turns out she's a well-known name in the world of audio books. And it gets even more interesting.

Barbary Coast was released in the summer of 2006. In December, tragedy struck in Seattle. On the 14th, a flash flood struck the area and an actress by the name of Kate Fleming was trapped in her basement recording studio after part of the foundation collapsed. Fleming also recorded for audio books, under the name--you guessed it--Anna Fields. Her partner of nine years, Charlene Strong, was helpless to stop her death. And even now, she is haunted by the tragedy... and turned her plight into a film.

Strong has become known in the past few years as a champion for same-sex partner rights. It was never her intention, but after the untimely death of her partner Fleming at only 41, she found herself in the public eye. Through her actions, Washington State passed legislation for Domestic Partnership rights. The documentary For My Wife chronicles her story, from grieving widow to activist.

I can't help but wonder if Barbary Coast was one of her final projects. If you've ever read the book, you'll note some interesting irony between these two stories. If not, I highly recommend it. Here I set out simply to glance through an audio version of one of my favorite paranormal-themed fiction books... and ended up learning a lot more than I bargained for.