Wade Rouse Author

WADE ROUSE is the internationally bestselling author of ten books, which have been translated into 20 languages, including his latest novels, The Heirloom Garden (April 2020) and The Summer Cottage. Wade chose his grandmother’s name, Viola Shipman, as a pen name to honor the woman whose heirlooms and family stories inspire his fiction. Also a noted humorist of four memoirs, Wade was a finalist for the Goodreads Choice Awards in Humor (he lost to Tina Fey) and was named by Writer’s Digest as “The #2 Writer, Dead or Alive, We’d Like to Have Drinks With” (Wade was sandwiched between Ernest Hemingway and Hunter Thompson). For more, visit violashipman.com or waderouse.com.

This Is How One Gay Couple Reinvented the Holidays

How does a gay couple reinvent their first holiday season far from the frosty forests and family that they love? Hot for the Holidays “What if we lit a cactus?”  With that,...

Gay Voices|

Read More

Drag Queen

This Is What It’s Like When a Gay Couple Makes Halloween Dreams Come True

I grew up learning to associate Halloween with disappointment. Little did I know, the glittering costumes I’d dreamed of were just a few decades away. Pushing the Limits...

Columnists and Letters • Gay Voices|

Read More

Handsome man's face

Pucker Up: This is How One Gay Man Lost Control of His Fetish

His childhood preoccupation with lip balm has only grown since grade school. Now Wade wonders whether it will land him on My Strange Addiction. My obsession with lip balm began in...

Columnists and Letters • Gay Voices|

Read More

Father and Son Embrace

This Is How It Really Feels to Struggle with Your Dad’s Dementia

Wade takes his dad for a visit to the past but discovers that the same scenes that bring his father comfort can also be haunting reminders. Memory Lane Each time I visited my...

Columnists and Letters • Gay Voices|

Read More

Beach Guy with Cocktails

This Is What It’s Really Like To Live In A Popular Gay Vacation Destination

From living in two popular destinations, Wade learns to loathe tourists. Then one of them finally reminds him why he moved there in the first place. Watch Out! If I ever end up on...

Columnists and Letters • Gay Voices|

Read More

Flamboyantly Dressed Man

This Is What It’s Like When a Gay Man is Mistaken for a Famous Actress

After Wade gets mistaken for an unexpected celebrity, he reflects on how his evolving relationship with fashion allowed him to take it in stride. Dude Looks Like a Lady I was...

Columnists and Letters • Gay Voices|

Read More

Man Watches TV

This Is What Happens When You Try to Stop Binge Watching

After realizing that binge-watching television is leaving them exhausted, Wade and Gary attempt to unplug — to mixed results. Just One More? “Just one more?” Gary asked...

Columnists and Letters • Gay Voices • Lifestyle|

Read More

Gay Couple on a Road Trip

This Is What It’s Like To Be a Gay Couple Constantly on the Road Together

When the world is your office and your spouse is your co-worker, it can be a challenge to finding balance. But it can also lead to some very special moments. Pull Over!...

Columnists and Letters • Gay Voices|

Read More

Guys working out

This Is How Couples Work out Working out Together

After years of embracing decidedly contrasting fitness routines, husbands Wade and Gary attempt to embrace one another’s regimens of choice. My husband Gary and I spend...

Fitness • Lifestyle|

Read More

Melissa Etheridge

This Is What It’s Like to Be Music Icon Melissa Etheridge

As lesbian music icon Melissa Etheridge prepares to play the closing ceremony of NYC WorldPride 2019, we look back with her at her at her dad’s influence, her battle with...

Entertainment • Music|

Read More

man kissing mother

You’ll Never Have Anyone Who Loves You Like Your Mother

After coming out to his parents, Wade thought he might never see them again — until his mother unexpectedly called from a bus stop. “I’m on a Greyhound bus, I’m callin’...

Gay Voices|

Read More

Man with Dog on Shoulders

This Is How a Dog Trained Its Owner to Write a Book

Wade didn’t think he could handle having a dog or writing a book — until he learned to start asking, “Why not?” Which One Is the Mess? One New Year’s Eve, I placed a...

Columnists and Letters • Gay Voices|

Read More