NANBEC: THE DYNAMIC DUO!
Nancy Manahan and Becky Bohan grew up in Madelia, Minnesota, a small prairie town. Nancy and Becky connected at an all-high school reunion in 1990. They fell in love in 1993, became partners in 1994, and were married in 2008. Between them, they have published eight books.
For Nancy and Becky, retirement has meant INSPIREMENT! Their Florida home bursts with playfulness and creativity. In addition to reading, writing, editing, reviewing, and discussing books, they have made a documentary short about the Carefree Concert Band.
They love to travel and have established homes in Minnesota, Florida, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Nancy and Becky study and practice non-violent communication. They divide their time between Minneapolis, MN, and Pompano Beach, FL.
[Photo at the Carefree Valentines Dance, February 14, 2026]
UPDATE FROM NANCY
In 2026, Nancy received an Alice B Award for lifetime achievement in lesbian writing. Recipients since 2004 (including Ann Bannon, Alison Bechdel, Katherine V. Forrest, and Penny Michelbury) are at Photo Gallery of Medal Winners - The Alice B Awards.
Nancy's groundbreaking 1985 best-selling anthology Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence is now available as an audiobook. The audiobook is based on the 2013 blue cover edition, with a new foreword by historian Joanne Passet and new afterwords by the co-editors. Narrated by Elizabeth Ashby, the audiobook is available at Amazon, Apple Books, Bella Books, Hoopla (public libraries), Google Play, and other platforms.
A January 23, 2026, article on Austraddle, "What We Can Learn from Lesbian Nuns" by Carolina Flores, Ph.D. asserts, "We should read Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence because these Boomer nuns have the exact wisdom we 2026 queers are starving for."
A 2926 article in the Philadelphia Gay Newsfeatures, "From 1976 to 2076: PGN's Past, Present and Future" analyzes "Lesbian Nuns: Closeted in the Cloister?" by Victoria A. Brownworth, who co-incidentally, wrote the foreword to Nancy's book On My Honor: Lesbians Reflect on Their Scouting Experience forty years after this article was published.
Finally, I discovered a good, accurate summary of my life's work at Women Who Paved the Way: Author Nancy Manahan | Advocate.com by Trudy Ring.
UPDATE FROM BECKY
Slow Bright Things, the sequel to A Light on Altered Land, shimmers with humor, passion, and mature love as it explores the challenges of relationships and how exes can foster growth. It is available as a paperback and eBook from Amazon.
Fertile Betrayal is now available as an audiobook.
Becky's current project is a sequel to Fertile Betrayal with the working title, Prisoner of Lake Amelia. Once again, veterinarian Nedra Wells untangles a mystery in a small town in Minnesota . . . a mystery that begins back in the days of World War II with a German prisoner of war, whose work on a food production line in Lake Amelia impacts lives decades later.