Blackmail, My Love, is a noir murder-mystery novel set in San Francisco, 1951 - "The Dark Ages of Queerdom," as author and illustrator Katie Gilmartin puts it - when cops raided gay and lesbian bars, beat up their patrons, and demanded "protection" money, and when lesbians and gay men were so afraid of exposure they were easy blackmail targets. Eric Jansen's guest on Out in the Bay (7pm PT Thursday) is historian, author, printmaker and Queer Ancestors Project founder Katie Gilmartin, who reads from her book and talks about San Francisco and queer life in days of yore. We also hear The Widow Norton herself (aka the late Jose Sarria, one of just two true-life characters in Blackmail, My Love) sing the 1950s anthem "God Save Us Nelly Queens." (Broadcast 12/4/14, 1/29/15 and 11/19/15) Listen here or at www.OutintheBay.org.
1951 San Francisco is setting for "Blackmail, My Love"
