In Book News & Events

Being Emily discussion questions and resources

By Rachel Gold

Thanks to the wonderful people over at RECLAIM for coming up with these questions and providing a training for their book circle facilitators. Please check out RECLAIM's website and don't hesitate to contact them with questions or support if you want to host a book circle in your community. RECLAIM works to increase access to mental health support so that queer and trans youth may reclaim their lives from oppression in all its forms. Being Emily Discussion Questions Chapters 1-2 What was your reaction when Chris(Emily) came out to Claire as transgender? Would you have responded differently than Claire did? Chapters 3-6 In these chapters we see both Claire and Chris(Emily) struggling. How are their difficulties the same, and how are they different? Chapters 7-12 In chapter 8 we meet Natalie. How does she compare to the portrayal of transsexuals we see in mainstream culture? Chapter 13 How do Dr. Webber and Dr. Mary Mendel compare as therapists for Emily? Which one more closely matches what you were expecting a psychologist to be like? In chapter 13 we meet the gender support group that Natalie attends. Did the diversity of the individuals there surprise you? Chapters 14-19 Assuming that you identify as cisgender (identify with the biological sex you were born

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August 20, 2015
In Book News & Events

Just Girls wins Goldie Award (and that’s not even the best part!)

By Rachel Gold

I had a wonderful time at this year's Golden Crown Literary Society conference -- even before the awards ceremony. Meeting Dorothy Allison and Rita Mae Brown was fantastic! I first read both of them at 16-19 when I was coming out and starting college. They both impacted my writing and seeing them speak reminded me of all the reasons they're amazing and I should keep aspiring to follow the paths they blazed. If you need to get your reading on: Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown Trash by Dorothy Allison (or read Bastard out of Carolina, if you prefer novels to short stories) Just Girls by me!

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July 31, 2015
In Book News & Events

Gaming, writing & mental health – I’m teaching at The Loft!

By Rachel Gold

In August, I get to play games and talk about brains while teaching* teens at The Loft.  (* and by "teaching" I mean tossing out really cool ideas and watching the class make them more awesome.) I'm deeply excited about this for a few reasons: Gaming + writing = super fun writing Gaming with teens = radical creativity at play I haven't taught teens before, but I have taught lawyers and teens have to be immeasurably more fun (with apologies to my lawyer friends) My next YA novel (out spring of 2016) includes radical ideas about mental health (like the fact that sometimes the person with the disorder is the perfect person for you to date) It took me at least 10 years to figure out how to work with my brain to get novels written and I'm excited to share what I've learned and hear what works for other people Below are the class listings. Click through either title to go to The Loft's site where you can register. Also look forward to future posts about mental health, gaming and writing. If you have a topic or question you'd like me to address, comment, tweet, social or email me (contact info is at the bottom of

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June 6, 2015
In Book News & Events

January Book Club

By Rachel Gold

Gayya.org is hosting a January book club for Just Girls! Much of the discussion is happening on Tumblr -- you can see the details here on the Gayya.org site. You can follow the discussion by following the GayYA Book Club tag. There will also be an hour-long Twichat on January 21st at 8pm EST hosted by Katherine Locke.

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January 12, 2015
In Book News & Events

Follow the blog tour

By Rachel Gold

The Just Girls blog tour has kicked off and will run through Nov. 16 with blog reviews of the books and many changes to enter a raffle to win a $50 Amazon gift card and signed copies of Just Girls. And here's a quick peek at what some of the first reviewers are saying: Melissa Storm's Blog: "What does it mean to be a young adult in today’s world? What does it mean to be a feminist? To be a girl? Rachel Gold’s fantastic Just Girls asks all these questions and more, and the answers are bound to surprise you while also resonating deeply with anyone who has ever felt insecurity, fear, or love." Pavarti K Tyler's Blog: "Ella’s story is sweet, brave and easy to relate to.  Her relationships with Tucker and Shen especially bring to the discussion the difference between sexuality and gender, a distinction not often considered by the mainstream public.  I very much enjoyed the book."  

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October 22, 2014
In Book News & Events

Just Girls: Art Giveaway, part 2!

By Rachel Gold

Remember how I had this great plan to reward people who bought Just Girls in its first six weeks with free, amazing art of the characters? Then I spent some time with art and realized I just want everyone to have it. So forget what I said about emailing me to tell me you bought the book. If you want the art, it's yours! Clicking the link below will start downloading the PDF for you (or open it in a browser window so you can save it to your computer). Give it a minute to download. It's a 93MB file so that you can print it out in high quality if you want. Just Girls character art Here's a smaller file version of the finished art so you can see the whole illustration:

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October 20, 2014
In Book News & Events

Virtual reading: Just Girls chapter 3

By Rachel Gold

If you wanted to see me read from Just Girls, here it is -- a virtual reading for folks who can't make it to one of the launch parties or who want a trailer for said parties. (If you're viewing this on my home page, click the title to go to a page with a bigger video player.) Here's the link to the page with the preview of chapters one and two in case you want to read those first.   Here's a page with links of places where you can buy a copy of Just Girls: https://rachelgold.com/just-girls/ And here's my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BeingEmily

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September 17, 2014
In Book News & Events

Just Girls: Art Giveaway!

By Rachel Gold

Because I believe readers will fall in love with many of the characters of Just Girls, I'm working with an illustrator to create a free art piece for anyone who buys a copy of the novel between now and Nov. 1, 2014. In this post you can see some preview sketches from the early drafts (be patient with the page of sketches, it takes a few moments to load). The final piece will be a detailed, two-color, full-page illustration. I'll also have at least one framed copy signed by me and by the illustrator as a prize for the games we'll be playing at the Sept. 27 launch party at Addendum Bookstore.  To get your digital copy of the art emailed to you, just email me some proof that you bought the book: part of the receipt, a photo of you holding the book or your eReader with the book on it, or the confirmation from your favorite online bookseller that you bought a copy. Send that to: Beingemily@gmail.com. I'll email you the art, which will become available around Sept. 20. And now on to the sketches from the talented (and delightful) Mandie Brasington. (Fans of Just Girls will appreciate her comic: How

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September 11, 2014
In Book News & Events

Order Just Girls

By Rachel Gold

Available from your favorite booksellers (or the ones you grudgingly order from because they're cheap and have fast shipping). For more information visit my Just Girls page. You can order your copy  from Bella Books, Powell's Books, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound and many others.

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September 8, 2014