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I was saddened to hear about the recent passing of David Hockney, a major artist and an openly gay man. To honor him, I thought I would repost this review I did of Life of David Hockney, a novel by Catherine Cussett. David Hockney is one of our pioneers: a well-known artist and a gay man. As a person – with his loves and inspirations —the two have never been separate. David Hockney hails from the working-class city of Bradford England, the same place that my mother’s ancest

Happy Pride! In honor of Pride Month, I thought I would repost this section of my novel, Loving Artemis, an endearing tale of love, revolution, and marriage (published by Thorned Heart Press). ____ My novel Loving Artemis, an endearing tale of love, revolution, and marriage (Thorned Heart Press) was featured by Jae this week in her Sapphic Book Bingo 2025 under her category of main characters who ride a motorcycle. This led me to post the ending of the novel. Enjoy! A

Recently, I was watching a vegan podcast that covered the response to Billie Eilish's comments that you can't eat meat and claim to love animals. I was surprised to hear so many young people on social media being so defensive and saying that "vegans think they're better than everybody." For the record, I don't think I'm better than anyone. I think I'm lucky. I came to veganism at sixty--late, because of a health issue, and shortly after experienced a consciousness-raising abo

In honor of World Turtle Day, I thought I'd repost this published excerpt from my novel in progress Dick Moby. The excerpt features a talking sea turtle! I was delighted to learn that a segment from my novel in progress is now being published by Adelaide Literary Magazine. The story is below. TRAPPED AND IMAGING (?) A TALKING SEA TURTLE by Janet Mason At first, I pretend that I’m not trapped. How could I be? Afterall, I named myself Dick Moby—after that thick book I found flo

This week, I thought I would post a brief excerpt from my novel, CINAMMON, a dairy cow's (and her farmer's) path to freedom, published by Adelaide Books in New York and Lisbon. The YouTube video of me reading is posted below. And the text is below that. Enjoy! “But they are right when it comes to the sacredness of cows. You’ve heard the saying ‘Holy Cow!’ – well that goes back to the cattle cults in Northern Africa. You may have heard of the goddess Hathor in ancient Egypt. S

I’m excited to share that my novel, The Unicorn, The Mystery, will be featured in an upcoming Author Spotlight with a Cincinnati-based LGBT book club. Note: This event was originally scheduled for May 9th and has been rescheduled for Date: May 25, 2026 The session on May 25, will begin at 12:00 PM Pacific Time, which would be 3:00 PM Eastern Time for you in Philadelphia. The session will bring together a group of engaged readers for a guided discussion exploring the themes an

I thought I would post a wonderful review of my novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders (published by Adelaide Books). The review is written by the author Andrew Ramer, who contacted me out of the blue after he read THEY. I was delighted with the review and hope you are too! THEY review by Eli Andrew In this challenging time, when we're surrounded by stories that seek to ground us in limiting cultural narratives of violence, war, and separation, how wonderfully eng

I wanted to repost this in honor of National Library Week. Libraries have been extremely crucial to my development as a writer, from childhood to my many phases of adulthood. There was always a library -- and a book -- just when I needed it. When I heard about National Library Week, I immediately wanted to blog about libraries. But my deep belief in libraries is too large to be contained in one week. When I heard that the Free Library of Philadelphia had ordered multiple copi

In honor of Earth Day, I thought I'd repost this excerpt from my novel in process, I AM the WOLF, a novel of ecology and rewilding. Recently, I was delighted to find out that an excerpt from my recently finished novel I AM the WOLF, a novel of ecology and rewilding, has been published by Down in the Dirt literary magazine. The standalone short fiction excerpt is recorded below on YouTube, and the text is pasted below that. Enjoy! Shedding tears for the Amazon rainforest and “

In honor of Lesbian Visibility Week, I thought I'd post a brief excerpt from my novel Loving Artemis, an endearing tale of revolution, love, and marriage published by Thorned Heart Press. The novel is a coming-of-age story set in the 1970s, when lesbians were quite invisible. I've recorded an excerpt for YouTube and posted the text below that. Grace walked over to the subject side and scanned the small drawers until she came to K - R. She opened the drawer and flipped throug

This week, I'm posting a short review I did of an interesting book I just read titled Innocencia , written by Emily Murphy. I recorded the book below for Book Tube and pasted the text below that. Innocencia , a novel by Emily Murphey, is set in the past and follows a young peasant girl at the dawn of the twentieth century in Mexico and the circumstances that may have led to her becoming the author’s grandmother. It is a story that the author, in the preface, tells us that her

Happy Spring! In honor of the occasion, I thought I'd post this short poem that I wrote decades ago -- when I primarily wrote poetry. The YouTube video is below, and the text is under that. Enjoy! Jesus is a daffodil! (by Janet Mason) How exciting--our first daffodil! You can get copies of my books at your local library, your local bookstore, or wherever books are sold online. For more information on my novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders published by Adelaide

We all have a lot to learn from trans people, including the bravery it takes to step outside the lines, and in rethinking what we were taught about gender. In honor of the 2026 Trans Day of Visibility (which should be every day), I'm offering this brief section of my novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders . The recorded version is below, and under that is the text. "You're acting like a baby, and we already have a baby," said Zerah, holding up one of the larger figurin

I just finished reading Bread of Angels , the new memoir by Patti Smith, and am posting a mini-review below (recorded for Book Tube). The text of the review is below that. I thoroughly loved the book and hope you enjoy the review! Bread of Angels , the new memoir by Patti Smith, reads like an epic poem that begins in her childhood, where she begins, “Laying down my pen, I find myself humming a melody of long ago, a song of the swampy woodland where I once lingered beneath fas

I was so pleased to be asked to participate in a Unitarian Universalist service focusing on the work of Patti Smith, in particular her latest memoir, Bread of Angels. Below is a brief reflection and meditation that I wrote for the Unitarian Universalists of Mt. Airy. When I heard Patti Smith say, on a talk show, that she lives in her imagination, I immediately related. As a writer, I have spent a good deal of my life in my imagination, and now I find myself focusing more and

Inspired by Women's History Month, I decided to repost this UU talk. It focuses on gardening and the Goddess Bastet, based on a talk I presented at the Unitarian Universalists of Mt. Airy. The Goddess Bastet, from ancient Egypt, is often presented as having the head of a cat and the body of a woman. I wrote this piece when I was writing my novel, The Unicorn, The Mystery (around 2018-2019). The novel was published in 2020 by Adelaide Books (New York; Lisbon). This morning, I

Since it is women's history month, I thought I would post a brief excerpt from my novel The Unicorn, The Mystery (Adelaide Books; New York; Lisbon) from a section that centers on two nuns who live in the abbey where the unicorn lives (the novel is based in 1390 and was inspired by the unicorn tapestries now in The Museum of Modern Art). These two nuns, who happen to be in love with each other, keep a secret cat (cats were forbidden in the Middle Ages and often thought of as r

I was inspired by LGBTQ history month, to read a brief excerpt from my novel, Loving Artemis, an endearing tale of revolution, love, and marriage . The YouTube video is below and under that is the written text. Grace walked over to a table and put her backpack on it. She pulled out a chair, sat down, and opened it, then pulled out her three-ring notebook. She flipped it open, staring down at the words on the page where she had written Art's suggestions: The Stonewall Rebelli

“I was in such agony, staying away from you, Heloise,” confided Isabella. “I knew the Mother Superior was on to us and I didn’t want to make her even more angry.” “I told you there is no pleasing the Mother Superior. She’s always angry. I think she was born that way.” Heloise giggled. “Sshh,” Isabella admonished. “Someone might hear you. We are not allowed to talk in the abbey.” “We are not allowed to talk anywhere,” retorted Heloise. If she sang in the choir — if women were

Since we're in LGBTQ history month, I have decided to post a short excerpt from my novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders (Adelaide Books, New York and Lisbon). After all, our history goes back quite a long time. This excerpt has to do with a popular Bible story--Joseph's Coat of Many Colors--as heard at the village well. I recorded this brief excerpt below and under that is the text. Judith rolled her eyes. "I like being part of public life. What I don't find out fro