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 a Gay Man Apologizes to the Straight Women Who Loved Him

Wade regretted lying to the women who helped him pass as straight over the years — until one of them asked for help in return. The Other Kind of Beard A “beard” is...

This Is How Splurging on a New Hair Salon Ended In Disaster

Wade decides it’s about time he splurged on a visit to an upscale salon, and he certainly ends up paying the price. Hair Before I spent a majority of my Ozarks childhood...

This Is How Being Obsessed With Celebrities Ruins All The Fun

Wade remembers a childhood spent worshipping celebrities from afar, and wonders whether being closer to today’s celebrities is really a good thing. Good and Evel Knievel My...

This Is How I Braved the Louvre to See the Lady with the Smile

Wade was close to making his lifelong dream of seeing the Mona Lisa come true until something, quite literally, got in the way. I’ve dreamed of visiting Paris ever since I was a...

A Gay Man’s first Trip to Provincetown Opens His Eyes

Wade remembers his first visit to Provincetown, where a chance invitation allowed him to glimpse a future he hadn’t begun to imagine. Good Morning, Provincetown! My first-ever...

How a Gay Couple Went from Loathing to Loving “Game of Thrones”

Wade and his husband assumed Game of Thrones wasn’t for them until they discovered it was enchanting – and surprisingly gay. And Why Do They Want This Alleged Throne?...

This Gay Man Arranged a Holiday Surprise for His Tone-Deaf Husband

What do you do when you love someone who adores singing Christmas carols but just can’t carry a tune? I discovered Gary couldn’t sing just a few days after we started dating....

Confessions of a Gay Man Who Gives Terrible Holiday Gifts

My husband, Gary, may be the best Christmas gift giver since Santa Claus, and it’s quite possible he genetically inherited this quality from his mother, who is a virtual Mrs....

End of Life Care: When You’re Gay Without Kids, Who Will Take Care of You?

In the course of helping their own parents face the slings and arrows of age, Wade and Gary make alternative plans for their own twilight years. It is the call no one hopes to...

DIARY: Hurting My Pride?

When a book event ends up overflowing with fans of his partner Gary, Wade is left wondering: How come no one showed up to root for him? BY WADE ROUSE On a recent book tour, I...

This Is How to Recover from Losing Your Luggage

Wade and his pal Trish spend a year planning to look fabulous on vacation, only to end up arriving without a thing for her to wear. Waiting for the Other Shoes to Drop The four of...

And . . . Voilá! Wade Rouse Explains His Pen Name of Viola Shipman

When Wade begins writing fiction under a female pen name, he’s forced to consider what womanhood means to him. “What’s he doing up there? Where’s Viola? That’s a man!”...